Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1865-08-05

life like" sketch ola aying machine, and how
IL worked. The ayef's name vas Snith-nos
John, however, but David-but We vii LET the
correspondent relate the story:
This morning at III O'Clock. the hour ap-
pointed, We were promptly At Mr.. Smiths store,
and found him ready tostart. At the door there
stood tao teams aud wagons, one OF which con.
tanned What / supposed TO DC a canvass tent,
With poles, &c. Ia the other We took our seats.
The party consisted of Mr. Smith and bis clerk
James NcLennan, Captain Cobb and myself.
Patrick Riley and Andrew Ward, tie drivers;
sir IN all. Mr.. Smith vas en.eopsd ia a large
linen duster. which quite concealed bis person.
During the ride be appeared rather serious and
taciturn. Ia Two hours We reached point about
twelve miles west Of the city and there stopped
The country was rolling prairie, wholly uneul.
uvated, and with no Travelled road for several
miles on either side. The canvass, &c, Was IA
hen out and spread upon the ground. aud found.
TO my smazenent. that, instead OF tent, IL was
an immense kite. made Of sa.l.cloth, with
strong jonted frame |. was OF the kind known
as the house kite" hexagon ia form, and. when
put together, sas twenty i've feet IN length,
thus con tanning area OF over 500 square feet.
Its cord was about the thickness Of my little no
ger. but OF great strength. having been man.
ufAetured 10 order. The tail OF the kite
Vas merely light rope ladder. Mr. &.
4
could scarcely avoid laughing At bis exiraordi-
nary appearance Beneath his Mmplv, and
extending around bis body, there Was copper
cylinder, foot vide from top TO bottom, aud
about two feat IN diameter. Hs ordinary
clothing had been replaced by q light fitting suit
OF ribbed cloth. made apparently all 10 ono piece.
Attached To bis arms aud body were pair OF
wsbbsd wings Of strong material with light
framework OF steel When at rest these wings
Il q all m
like . closed umbrella, but when his arms were
raised they became extended, and gave him al
odd resemblance 90 the Green Monster in the
pantomime Scores OF ordinary bladders we're
fastened 10 the suit above mentioned, and equally
In every part. Some were placed close 10 the
body, and others depended at various lengths.
from one 20 three feet From the mouth of each
hollow, flexible tube communicated with tho
cylinder. These, IL extended would conse-
quenty form a network OF air tubes | made
these observations hastily. for Mr. Smith at once
placed himself upon the rope ladder and requested
that the kite which had been set up on slight
elevation, should now be raised. The Captain
and myself called out together that he
had forgotten bis parachute; but he replied
impatiently that be did not need IL. We de
clared however, that We would not permit so
fool-hardy al experiment unless this precauIion
were taken, aud after a little barley he
consented. steady breeze now blowing
from the southeast Riley and Ward took
their places IN the wagon beside the coil OF
rope; MeLennan acted driver. while Captain
Cobo and | remained on the ground As spectators.
The horses were started 20 gallop anu the kite
rose, slowly and heavily, but steadily, upwards
7 glanced at NV watch il vas eHenty minutes
past two o'clock The kite continued 10 rise,
with a slight swayiug motion, higher and higher
it seemed as though the daring erODaut must be
come sick and dizzy at his lofty heghth Sud
denly | was startled by an exclamation IRON my
companion. and noticed a dark object falling
from the kite and iuttering slowly downwards
IL was the parachute which Smith had thrown
away The persons in the wagon, which was
now half mile distant, did not seem to notice
this occurrence. Obviously Smiths situation. il
his invention should fail, had become one of ap-
palling danger; since 1t Is almost impossible TO
bring "a kite 20 the ground without a violent aud
Jerking lateral motion. Ii seemed equally peril
Gus stop ~ proceed. Trembling with
anxiety, we watched with strainng eyes his fast
recsding form. | had aa excellent field glass
which gave me perfect view OF his every
ton And now We noted that both the bladders
and the wings began 10 expand. Higher he rose,
but We could detect IN his attitude sign OF doubt
or trepidation. The bladdeFs became
distended 30 as TO almos, hide the man
from view He had now reached an eleva-
ton. as near IS | could judge, of 300 to
l,oUU feet, or ABOUT a quarter OF a mile. he
now detached his arms from the ladder, his feet
remaining upon il, and waved the wings upward
and downward, as If 10 try them For an instan {
he stood thus, and then. rehuquishing all sup
port, he sprang OF into the empty air For a
moment my heart stood still. held my breath,
expecting TO see him dashed to the earth. But
be did not fall: be did not even seem TO tend
downwards his wings played with great swift
ness. and he foated in n horizontal position, with
apparent case. Again. glanced at my watch
The hand pointed TO twenty seven minutes DO
fore three. The kite, deprived of ts ballast had
sunk to the ground. Watching narrowly, It was
evident that Smith slowly moving forward.
1t appeared to me that the bladder slightly con
racted and expanded alternately. as ones chest
does in breathing. OF this / could not feel
absolutely certain, since the appearance may
have resulted from their futtering motion: yet
the Captains opinion conceded with my own.
After few minutes. which seemed like hours)
We perceived that Mr. Smith had begun to de
scehd. Very gradually this was accomplished,
and exactly AZ quarter before three be touched
the ground. We ran towards him aad found
that be was considerably exhausted To re
sponded cheerily, however. TO our hearty con
CALCULATIONS As the wagon had already returned
il did not take long TO stow away the kite. &c,
and We then returned TO the ety.