The Shasta courier., 1859-08-06

OF the Trip.
1 We extract from account of the trip fur
nished by Mr. Lamoutain to the st. Louis Even
ing Nelrs, telegraphed from New York city. He
says:
liant bark to the earth, we did not seem to rise,
but the earth itself seemed to drop from beneath
US, and sink away from presencel We
might feel alarmed for our mother earth and
wonder where it would fall to! but our own
position seemed stable and secure. If we had
any sensation at all, it was that of safety, and
secret qualification that we had got off of our
planet before it began to fall
1t is this remarkable fact that emboldens the
aronaut, and gives him GOODNESS and self-pos-
session. man that cannot look from a two
story house without becoming dizzy, can as
cend in a balloon, miles from the earth's sur
face, without an emotion of fear. He feels that
he is safe and steady, though the earth itself
may be loosed from its moorings and falling
from his feet.
There is another singular effect produced as
we ascend in balloon, that was observed in
brilliant perfection as we rose from St. Louis
yesterday evening. Not only does the earth
seem to fall down from the balloon, but it seems
also to curve up at the edges or horison, and
assume bowl shape beneath US. The heaven
| 10 lucu SOuNtNC aUOfe us duQ tue tdTlu COu-
cave beneath us-we are the centre of the two
the one point around which heaven and earth
are bending So wonderful too is that feeling
in the soul of man, that he is ever in the imme-
diate presence of the Universe. The balloonfst
! better than all others, can appreciate that ex-
/ claimation of the Psamist: WHITTIER shall |
| 60 from thy Spirit? Or whittier shall flee
/ from thy presence? fl take the wings
of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts
of the sea even there thy hand shall lead me
and thy right hand shall hold me-"
And now we scared aloft above your city.
Its largest edi6ces shrunk into mole hlls-its
spires became as spears of grass-a thickening
vapor overspread it all, and at last became the
only mark on the wondrous map spread out
beneath US, to mark where so much life and
power remained. The reservoir was the last
distinguishable object of your city as we drifted
away and still away to the Northeast; and the
silver threads of the Missouri, Mississippi and
Illinois, were the landmarks that denoted to us
the course we were sailing.
X X
No pen can ever describe the glorious pano-
rama that curved up around US, as we foated
up into the cerulean depths of heaven. Gigan-
tic wheat fields became little parterres to the
sight, and forests, fringng the water courses,
were narrow hedges, in the one single garden,
which the great earth had now shrunk to be
The sky was coudess, the sun brilliant, but
without its earthly heat, and the serenity was
like the quiet bliss of heaven, as we were wont
to think of it.
We were all lost in admiration of the scene
and quickly absorbed in deep and silent medi-
tation on its inedable splendors. We were not
as have said, conscious of motion. The earth,
(which had become hollow or bowl shape be-
meath u.s. turned its kaleidoscope of beauties to
us, as if to display them to our eyes alone. 1t
was entirely impossible to write, or attempt to
write description of the scene and Mr. HYDE
had all his apparatus with him, but could not
withdraw his gaze from thhs eoncave earth and
Tneaven long enough to begin.
On we hoated, and higher still we ascended !;
but. fast as we rose, we could not keep the sun
in sight. At the altitude of about three miles,
and when we were perhaps sixty miles from st.
Louis, the God of day reached the horizon, and
in an instant was gone There was no twilight
there was no vapor to refract and retain his
rays. He opened the western gate of heaven
and swept out, and all was closed and dark be-
hind him The starry crown of night as in
stantly overspread US, and the new moon, l." the
silver bow now bent in heaven" was fixed on
the bosom of the western sky
"
This new ocean of upper air was altogether
different from the thin and cold ether that we
had been passing through. 1t was balmy, genial
| and delicious. 1t was full of nebulous life and
electric manifestations. While it moved in the
main, in steady stream from West to East it
had its internal eddies, currents and counter
currents, that give infinite beauty and glory to
the Cloud World.
| Forms and shapes, various, grand and fantas-
tic, alternately appeared and disappeared to
A no1dap horaa1ic i
the whole upper world. Then again, castles of
| cloud work would rise up, glow with electric
fires, like hostile armies in action, and subsde
Mock thrones of alabaster whitenes, and then of
gold and sapphire, would appear, stand awhile
and dissolve. And thunders would meanwhile
give voice to the life, the stir and commotion of
this upper world The balloon, now more buoy
ant and safe in this denser atmosphere, swept
along like thing of life, and seemed to greet
as sisters the quickly rising morning stars, for
the breaking of those latter above the eastern
horizon attested the course and rapidity of our
motion.
Weakened Mr.. eager and Mr. Wise who wit
messed with me the TRUTH and the preternatural
glory of the upper world. But all our efforts
were unavailing to rouse Mr. Hyde, and the edi-
tor of the /" Dog Star Gazette" we are sorry to
think, went to press without an exchange of
notes with sublunary prototype.
Judging that we had made sufficient distance
east, we let out part of our gas, and began to
descend to the earth, about six o'clock this
morning The sun had already burst through
the eastern gate the sky as suddenly as he
had left it in the west, and was lighting up in
unwonted loyeliness, the vened cup beneath u.s.
as we again caught sight of mother earth. We
were approaching the central portion of New
FORK State. | was soon able to trace the Hud-
son distinctly, and in a short time had the pleas
ure of fixing my eyes on the spot where was
Troy, my home, the scene of my many anxious
musings, now so glorously verified. The under
currents of air bore us now in a southeastery
direction, and about IL o'clock this morning
we descended in safety to the earth, as have
already described.
The writer concludes We will remain in
New York week, and then start again to St.
Louis. We expect to meet some capitalists of
Wall street on Monday next and raise a COM
pany to build fifty balloons, and start a line
semi-daily between St. Louis and New York
And soon thereafter, start one daily around the
world, stopping at New York, London, Hong
kong and San Francisco.
ANOTHER DIscovERY.-A letter from Cairo
says The general subject of conversation in
this city is discovery which has just been made
by the well known arch@ologist, NJ. Marette-
He has found at Thebes, after long and difficult
researches, the tomb, still intact, of Pharoah
Amosis. The king is lying in his coffin, COM
pletely covered with gold leaf, ornamented with