The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1865-08-26

place in theSwagon by the coil of rope;
! McLennan acted us driver, while
Captain Cobb and remained OH the
ground as spectators. The horses
were started into u gallop, and the
kite rose slowly and heavily, but
steadily upward. I glanced ut my
watch--it was twenty minutes past 2
O'Clock. The kite continued to rise,
with slight swaying motion, higher
and higher. 1t seemed US though the
daring ;eronaut must become sick and
dizzy ut his lofty height. Suddenly l
] was startled by all exclamation from
my companion. and noticed IL d. x
object f:4iIing from the kite and flutter-
| ing slowly downward. Il was the
parachute which Smith had thrown
| away.
! Th" persons in the wagon, w:,ich
was bow AZ half IL mile distant, did not
seem to notice this occurrence. Oh
vlously Smiths situation, if his invcn-
ton should fail, Intd become one Of
appalling danger; s:.lce it is almost
impossible to ing Il Lite to the
ground without IL violent and Jerking
lateral motion. It seemed tu laliy
per1lous to stop or to proceed. Iro..i-
bling With anxiety, we watched With
stranllng eyes his fast rcceliag forn;.
1 had an excellent field glass, which
gave me Il perfect view OF his every
motion. And now We noticed tilas
both the hlaltlers and the wings had
begun to expand. Higher he rose,
sign Of doubt or trcpitl.tion: the
III, I Il 1>- 4.
to almost hide the man from view. He
had now reached an elevation, as near
as could judge, OF l,2UO t. 1900 feet,
! or a quarter of Il mile. He now dc
t,nhGd his arms from tlse ladder, his
feet remaining upon it. and waved his
wings upward and downward, as II to
try them. Fol all instant hc :;tco-i
thus, and then, relinqlisllinC all sur
port, he sprang off intQ the empty air
For 4 moment my heart stood st;..i.
| held my breath, expecting t, ,ce.
him dashed to the earth: But IL. did
not fall; he did not even seem Il. tend
downward. His wings played with
great swiitness, ana he tloateu i'll the
i.ori.> .:lpo<ition with apparent case.
Agsli44 l glanced at my watch. The
hand pointed to twcnty-S"ven minutes
before three The kite, depri> ed of
its ballast, had sunk to the ground.
Watching narrowly, it was evident
that N[r. Smith was slowly moving
forward. 1t appeared to me that i!,v
bladder slightly contracted and GA
pan'led alternately, rs ones chest does
in breathing. Of this could not feel
absolutely certain, since tho appear
ance may have resulted from their
tlutteling motion; vet the Captain $
opinion conceded with my OWL AZ
ter II few minutes. (which seemed ike
hoursl. we perceived ti::ps Mr. Smith
had l@g11n to dcsccns.. Very gradual
ly this w:,s accomplished. aud exactly
ut II quarter before three he touched
u:lc ground. We ran toward ]lilu .,n;!
found that he WAS considerably OK
hau>ted. He responded chcrriiy, how
ever, to our hearty congratulations
As the wagon had already returned. it
did not take long to Si.tsw away tl:e
kite, &c.. ard we then l%+:,rnc,l 70 the
city:
l have TIM" given Il plain and exact
account OF this most extraordinary oc-
currence. / will not Offer any speech
lations cone, rnipg the nature OF Mr..
Smiths invention, and, in fact. do not
consider myself ut liberty to DO so.
But am greatly ,nist;,llon y if tive ;,nne
OF David X. Smith is not soon f.lni-
liar to the public us one "i its greatest
benefactors. Any one can satisfy him
self as - his character and standing
in this community. by cnquiyins Of
Hon. G. V. EandcrburS, Judge Of the
District Court: II. r. BRYANT, Regis
ter; j. Morgan, Postmaster; Dorillr,s
Morrison, Esq, lumber merchant;
Colonel Cyrus Aldricl! Rev. &. G. Sal
ter, Pastor of the Congregational
Church; c. +. Freeman, Proprietor
Of the Nccollet House; or of almost
any citizen of Minneapolis. Ny
letter has extended to some le1irtl,,
l. =