Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1862-08-08
The Pcrils OF Ballooning.

Prof G.. w. Brooks met with perilons
adventure at st. Louis in the fall Of 1851,
while making one of his ml ial voyages
He encountered thunder storm and a
whirlwind, and came near losing his own
life besides on that occasion. He wrote an
account OF his adventures for the Missouri
Democrat, from which we quote
After attaining the altitude Of fifteen
hundred feet, | cut the cord which held the
parachute aud dog. they descending very
rapidly with am oscllating motion, until
they r ached the earth, about two minutes
after being cut Off The dog was picked
up, and taier to the park, where he now is,
enjoying his beef steak as calmly as if he
had never made an aseeesioa. Simnltan-
eously with cutting The dog loose, opened
the valve 10 discharge the gass, knowing
that so suddenly disposing of such weight
and with the ascgEsive power | already had
that the bolloon would shoot up with fearful
rapidity, and the expansion Of gas would
burst i. discharged about fi.e hundre |
cubic feet and still continued to rise, and
when atihe altitude ofone mi'e. ! commence
ed entering thick cloud, and in six minutes
after leaving The park, was envelaped in
| a thick mist, which was condensed by COM
Ing in contact with the balloon, running
down upon The side, and drenehed me
| through. Sill rising, | encountered hail
storm, and farther up snow storm. My
object was to get above the clouds, and
probably take another current Of air, which
would have carried me away from the thun-
der storm which was fast approaching, but
the expansion Of gas had filled the balloon
and was dischareing from the neck down
ward into the car. and knowing that the
balloon would collapse if allowed TO 60
much higher, | concluded would come
down and run the risk OF the storm, which
was now At its highest. The thunder roll
ing, the lightning flashing, and whiEzing
through the air, tie wind blowing with a
mournful howl, conspired 10 render my sit
uation anything but an agreeable one, but
the attempt must be made, and pulled the
valve rope with nervous hand, and found
| that il was fast. ! pulled three successive
times before il would open, ard commenced
descending, and v hen emerged from the
cloud, the balloon was coated with frozen
snow, which accounted for the valve not
opening before.
After got out of the cloud, encounter
ed a whriwind which appeared to be be-
tween the cloud had left and the stcrm-
cloud below, and it appeared as if the bal
loon would be torn TO atoms. The balloon
and car swayed back and forth III the same
manner as the DOG and parachute had done
before. pulled the valve rope again, and
sat down in the car, holding on TO The sides,
wondering what would meet next. After
remaining in the wind about ten minutes,
| succeeded in dscharging nearly thous-
and feet gas, before | commenced descend
ing, the balloon appeared TO be fastened to
this current of air, from which it would be
immpossihle TO rake it.
Leaving the whirlwind, descended into
the storm cloud below. The storm covered
an area of about twenty-five miles The
cloud was dark, heavy mass, resembling
the sea in storm, the waves piled noun
tains high, rolling against, and pling on
each other in one confused mass, the thun-
der and lightning rolling and flashing, rem
dered it awfuly grand no language can
/ describe it as | saw il, After descending
through the cloud. discovered that | was
in another wind, and likely to fall in a small
lake ahead Of me. instantly threw over
board ballast bag rope, and everything that
| could spare, and succeeded in passing the
lake, and landed in a corn-field. | came
down so rapidly that in striking the ground
/ | was knocked senseless and thrown from
the car; my right leg and arm getting en-
tangled in the ropes, was dragged four
hundred yards sometimes on the balloon
and sometimes under it, until brough; up
against large corn stack; the netting hold
ing fast, the wind tore the balloon in pieces
in less time than it takes totell it; the gass
escaping suddenly, freeing me from further
danger. All this was done during the har-
dest rain ever encountered.