The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1857-09-03
A PER1Lous ASCENSION IN TROY.

Professor Marion made his uirtylourth
ascension from Troy, New York, on the Sth
Instant, under circumstances SO hasardous
and with result SO peculiar as to place il
among the most remarkable events in tho
history of ballooning, fraught as it is with
thrilling adventures. The Troy Times states
that the ascension took place from a lot
near North Baptist Church, and that lady
accompanied the ;cronaut to the height Of
about forty feet. The ascensive power,
however, not being sufficient for the weight
of the two passengers, the balloon rapidly
descended, and the lady was left on terra
tirma. The account OF the second ascent is
then described by the Times us follows:
Getting off again, he asccn1cd quite IA
pdly, bu: WIS carried hy the current Of air
upon which he struck rapidly toward the
church spirc. When his attention was
turned from the crowd, ho found, to his
astonshmcnt, that he was within twenty
feet of the church, and going toward it at
a dangerous rate Of speed. TO clear him
self he Immediately gr.sped ba. Of bal.
last and threw it outside. In descending
this passed within some two feet of the
head OF II lady who was looking out the
window of an adjoining building. made a
clean hole through a grape arbor, and broke
Il board in back stoop by its weight
.Atlcr throwing out the ballast, the balloonst
asccndc1 very fast, but it soon became
painfully apparent to the anxious crowd
below that 4 collision with the church
spirc WAS inevitable. This soon occurred.
The balloon, which WAS then going at IL ra-
pI speed, came i'll contact with the light
ming rod ut the apex, with blow similar
to that Of il vessel surging 1T high rate of
speed against Il rock. The conclusion WAS
terrible. The Professor, who had :,n,icipa-
ted the shock, braccl himself in the car,
and very anXi"usly awaited the result
After swaying to and fro an instant, the
balloon caught apparently, i'll bolt con-
Meeting the rod with the sprc and tore,
with Il sound that was distinctly heard from
the earth. The rcn. WAS between ten and
twelve feet i'll length, leaving monstrous
aperture, through which the gas rushed
with sound like that Of the wind. 4
thrill Of horror ran through the crowd Lc-
low, accompanied 10y cxclamations, in,lica-
tive of the general belief that the death of
the ;rronaut was inevitable But notwith-
Standing the hazardous situation in which
he was placed, he maintained the most per-
feet sclfposscssion and c,Iuanimity. The
balloon hung suspended 10y the sprc for Il
moment, the gas meanwhile escaping ut a
fearful rate, and with Il sound which, To Il
man possessed Of only ordinary nerve, would
have seemed Il sentence Of death. Then
discngaging itself, it rose slowly and with
vacillating motion, caused by the collapse,
until it had reached an altitude of five
hundred feet. 1t then descended rapidly
again.
10 rctarl this momentum, another BAG
OF ballast was thrown out, and the effect
was to cause Il second ascension. The bal
loon arose swiftly and gracefully, as though
the power which carried it up was not con-
stantly being lost. Iiany thing could have
allaycd the anxious excitement of the
crowd, it would havo been the apparent
Indifference Of The Professor to the tcrribl.
danger Of his situation. When at an al,-
tudo Of Il thousand feet he leaned forward
from the car, waved his hat to the crowd
below. The gas rushing out at the rate of
over thousand feet Il minute, the balloon
soon lost its asccnsivc power, and when
near the State dam began to descend at
the rate of twenty feet second. The
danger Of descending in the river became
imminent, but 10y leaning over in the car
and carrying the weight on one side, this
was avoided, and the descent was made
upon the dock, within twenty feet of the
water. The conclusion upon striking the
ground was very great, the ca, rcboundine
a distance OF three or four feet, and then
drifting towards the river. A number of
persons who were present prevented it from
going into the water by scizing the net
ropes and holding it with strong hands.
The result Of tho pulling and pressure Of
the escaping gas was collapse OF the bal
loon from top TO bottom. The danger was
ovcr-thc Professor had completed an
ascension which, VIC venture to assert, was
as hazardous as amy ever made by an
'cronaut who escaped from his adventures
with life and limb.
The scenes during and Immediately sue
cecd'ng the accident bcggars description.
When tho balloon struck the spire there
was general exclamation Of horror, and
hundreds averted their heads expecting
that the ;rronaut would be dashed 10 pieccs
an al, ,,ctoob co. II