The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1865-08-08

Halfety. alihough he had a heavy
tumble, dil not hose bis sell possess.
bot immediately caught thn cableand
tried 70 secure Il, bat his poor strength
was 81 10 avail Tie anchor broke
loose and away went ! dd NOT
rise bigh.
The balloon moved on very soon IA
q horizontal direction. slraigh, tow
ards the sea, which we were tbtu rap.
idly nearing, at The height Of abou,
twice the length Of the mooFiug cable.
The thought had struck me several
times to try by any means 10 make a
rent in the balloon, for. although | had
no knife, / might have torn tie silk
with my teeth. clmbelup short
distance. but then il occurred 10 me
that as soon as the gas escaped the
anchor would strike the ground again,
and | should not be able 10 support
the coneussion while hanging IN he
netting, and was suffering a good
deal from the shocks had sustained.
| descended, therefore, into tie car
and 20 my great relief found that |
was gradually coming nearer 10 the
earth. The anchor struck the ground
several times, but never held fast,
scattering about the tnrf and stones
like feathers. saw some men work
ing IN field, aud shouted out to them,
"For Gods sake, hclp me, or | shall
b3 lost, secure the anchorl' They
understood me at last, but too late.
Away we swept before them, the an
chor ploughing up the ground several
acres in length Coming to a farm
shouted out to tie people standing
there the same appeal Some women,
with their quick, humane instinct,were
the first TO conceive my danger, and
exhorted the men to hurry to my as
sistance, they themselves running as
fast as they could to tender what little
help they might be abb 10 give me.
The anchor struck in willow tree.
| shouted ont TO the persons below 10
secure the cable aud anchor by ropes,
which they did. The evening was now
beautifully still, the breeze had died
away, and the balloon was swinging
calmly at her moorings above the
farm yard. One Of the men asked me
whether ] had rope with me, or how
intended to get out. told hlm on
ly 10 take care Of the cable, because
the balloon would settle down herself
by-and by. ] was congralullting my
self on speedy escape from my dan
gerous position. ] had not counted
on the Wind a breeze ia about six or
eight minutes sprung up, and tossed
the balloon about like large sail A
crash and the anchor was loosed again.
1t tore through the trees, hlnging limbs
and branches about like matches. 1t
struck the roof Of the farm house,
splintering he cbmneys and tiles like
glass. On went came near an
another farm, shouted out for help
and told the men to secure the anchor
to the foot Of a large tree close by.
The anchor was soon made fast,
but this was only a momentary relief
The breeze again filed the the half
empty balloon like a sail; there was
a severe strain on the cable; then a
dull sound; and severe concusAk,n
Of the basket. The cat strange
fatality had broken; and the an
chor, my last and only hope, was
was gone. was now carried on IN .
straight direction towards the sea,
which was but a short distance ahead.
The anchor being lost gave up ali
hope. | sat down resigned in the car,
and prepared for the end. All at
once ! discovered that a side current
was drifting me towards the mountain;
the car struck the ground, and was
dashed along at fearful rate, knock
ing down stone fences and breaking
everything it came in contact with in
its wild career. think must have
gone at least at the rate Of ten or
twelve miles an hour. Almost eer-
tain death seemed before me, yet TO
jump out on this passage would have
ensured my being dashed TO pieces on
the rocky ground beneath. was
tossed about in the basket az the peas
in a child's rattle and cannot compre-
bend at this moment that my bones
were not all broken. By-and-by, the
knocks became less frequent we
were passing over a cultivated coun-
try, and the car was, rs il were, skim
ming the surface and grazing the tops
Of the hedges. saw a thick haw-
thorne hedge at some distance before
me, and the balloon rapidly sweep.
ing towards il; that was my only
chance. rushed to the edge Of the
ear. and flung myself down upon tie
hedge ! expected a severe tumble,
but bad a mild fall. The ear did not
rs ] feared, stlike me, bot the moment
left il rose over my head. ! sid
down on the other side Of the hedge. |
rose on my feet, and then tried every
limb. They were whole, and need
not describe my feelings At this almost
miracu Gus preservation When /
looked up saw the balloon soaring
majeslicaly oyer the sea. from which
! was about quarter Of a mile dis
taut
Tng ExFERIENcg or A REBgL.--
The following story is told by lie
New Orleans Ptcagane: