The Camden weekly journal. [volume] (Camden, South-Carolina) 1853-1861, 1860-02-21
NUMBER s.
Eria. Observations.

g Erias Observations. s-
We copy below the observations Of Prof.
LOWE, as made in his balloon ascension from
Citadel Green, Charleston, s. G, on Saturday,
tho 11th instant: - ds:,,,- : I. - qz,.ss g.sl
CHARLESTON I4orEL, Saturday, IL psm,s at
February ll,flsso. 7ss
/ Editors of The Courier As there seer1
to be an interest manifested in the result Of
my. 4Erial trip Of to-day, and many kind tques-
tions asked in regard to my safety, DC, /
thought propcr. in accordance with promises
to give your readers as full an account of the
trip as the circumstances and latcness of the
hour wifi admit Of The object of these Ex-.
permcntal Ascensions, Of which this was the
first of the series, your readers are well ac-.:
quaintcd with. Among the large concoursc OF
people assembled on Citadel Green to-day,
some forty or fifty desired to make topical as,
tensions; but owing to slower flow of gas.
than was cxpccted-it was past the appointed.
time of my departure before the Pioneer was
inflated. AT 4.l5 p. M. my instruments being,
placed in the. car, severed the last cord that
bound me down, and rose slowly far above the
heads Of the people, the tops of the houses and
the spires Of the towers and stceples Of the,
city.
The prospect, as I took Northwest. course
and rose gradually higher ard higher, was
beautiful indeed, and being a stranger to the
beautiful scenery which surrounds this city,
my eyes and mind were SO fully employed that
my notebook was almost entirely neglected.
and so must write from memory alone The
Ashley and Cooper Rivers, which, uniting,
form the beautiful Bay Of the City Of Char
lesion, were seen far away, winding from their
parent. Islands and main land lay spread out
like a beautiful picture Fort Aloultrie, enc of
the earliest moutll-picces of the Revolution,
rested as quietly upor her liquid bed: as 1ifno
story, of history had made her immortal, while
far away in the distance the wild waste of the
Atlantic bound the Eastern. horizon. Below
me- upon the ground I had just left, the smi<l
ling faces Of the Ladies and Gentlemen, which
chcered me on. How distinctly comes the
sound oe the voices from the crowd below, the
rafting of tile carriages the whistling and
rumbling of the locomotive upon Its iron track
even the childs honest laugh hear plainly
the white sails Of the vessels in the Bay
form an interesting relief in the groundwork
of the, beautiful picture spread out below me.
| Wliataa stand point from which one could COM
template life and its busy scenes. was borne
for ten minutes to the North, during which
time Iattained. an altitude of about two thou
sandafeet. Il then struck acurreut from the
West, which, bearing me to the East, carried
mo across Cooper River. My attention was;
! attracted by a.pecuiar Transparency of the
water. so much so, that could distinctly see
fish in schools, sporting and playing in thcift
native element, andsioccasionallY large oncsri
which ] thought might be sharks, seemed to-
make. disturbance among thcus Scattering thens
in every direction. safoEg 2i sss! ~ a,rs;f,.iI
| L was some ten minutes in crossing zthe
river, during which time my mind and eyes
were so fully employed, the oncqiin rejecting
aud .digcsting what. tlsaether saw that IS re-
. grettel a n :. dropned BOZ
TIlG'WTdPPtu M WlIte PtI5sl, 50
more easily distinguish it; down it, went, buz-
zing and .whistling through the air until it
struck, tic shock Of WHICH 1 distinctly felt, al
though was oyer 1000 feet high him my great.
est altitude was 1880 feet. -,I,,..s,5j b,sa,,~r,
! l continued in an Eastcrly, course, until sce-
ing clearing in a. forest, some four OF fYe
miles from Mount Pleasant determined to
land there safely effected it wlcrc1 design,
ed, and found myself near the plantation Of DR..
Joshua Toomer, at $50 p. m. The negroes
on the plantation were somewhat alarmed at
first, but by ovcrtures made to them by. tossing
oranges, sandwiches, &c. soon had their as
sistancc While discharging gas, the gentle
manly owner, the Doctor, came along and rem
dcrcd all the assistance in his power, and with
a team, drove me and the Pioneer to Mount
Pleasant where l enjoyed the hospitality Of
his house. After tea and good-by to the
ladies who graced the table, LEFT in the eve
ming boat, and returned to the hotel at O.
o'clockp. IN.
| am Gesreus of making one more expert
mcnt carly this week starting early in tho
day, giving those who were disappointed an
opportunity to make topical ascenslons.
cannot close this brief account without re-
turning thanks to Prof Hume, Major Welton
and others, who gave me valuable assistanee~
r. s. CLONE