American citizen. [volume] (Butler, Butler County, Pa.) 1863-1872, 1867-05-29
A Terrible Balloon Voyage Across
s the Irish Channel.

e 49, a#
Mr. Hudson sends the Irish papers the
E,,lowine account of a trip from Dublin TO
w.s,,,oreland. England, in a balloon
"Tbe balloon ascended at 4:4o, ana took
= nor,be,lv direction to Clontarf, where'it
was nv intention to descend but from the
vs,ocity he balloon was travelling nt' per-
csiyed il was folly to try. In half minute
was over the muddy stand between Cion"
tart and Howth, where another attempt was
made to land but before the balloon de-
scsnded one hundred feet it was driven be-
tween Howth and Ireland's Eye. III no"
became evident to me that landing in Ire
land was out Of the questson, and that all
ARRANGEMENTS must be made to be driven
s;ther to Wales or Lancashire. Inc hrst
thing that struck me was to drop'the crap
NO, to it's full extent-one hundred and
twenty feet. This acted as guide to the
distance the balloon might be kept aoove
the surface Of the water, it being now dark
and by placing one hand on the rope 'ne
effect of the grapnel striking. the wafer was
distinctly felt. With an open bag OF bal
last on nv knee, every time the grapnel
s,ruek the water, couple of handsfni OF
.and vers thrown out and to this plan alone
owe my own preservation and success Inc
ballast taken was about thirty-hve stone
nFor three hours this plan was carred
"a ,ho, came on the most binding
and merciless rain 1 ever saw or felt, l
.ould not see fifteen feet before me- ana the
,o;se of the rain on the balloon and the wa
ter was such as to entirely unnerve me. My
hands became numb, and l was drenched to
the skin. now began to perceive my po-
sitiou more acutely. However, | determined
I would not give up until all the ballast and
ooveables were gone. The rain made the
balloon heavier every moment, and the bai>
last was thrown out more freely until about
TEN o'clock, when the fatigue overcame me
and I fell into stupor for few moments.
Bv this time the balloon had descended
within six feet Of the water, and instantly
ont went 1913 lbs Of ballast. The effect OF
this was that the balloon rose to an altitude
Of a mile entirely through the rain Clouds
and there the moon shone brilliantly; and
in this position it remained about quarter
Of an hour. The effect of the moon shining
ON the clouds beneath was such as any art
list might be proud Of. The shadow OF the
balloon was distinctly to be seen travelling
over the rough and uneven clouds, giving
the idea of balloon race. Everything now
became calm; no longer the hum OF the
ocean or the rain-allwas still. But wheth-
er the sea still ragged beneath was unknown;
"As the balloon descended, it was evident
n great change had come over the ceue-the
rain had ceased, and the Appearances OF eve
rytting was of the darkest hue-whether 1t
WAS an under stratum of dark clouds could
not be known Suddenly glinmer of light
was seen for a moment then with anxious
eyes cast downward to perceive any object,
al last small squares with darker margins
were clearly visible. This proved to be
fields and hedges, and they appeared to van
ish as quickly as objects passed when in
mail train. town. afterward proved to be
Appleby, was at last seen, and the sound OF
musical instruments heard. l then called
out to know where was, but the reply was
unintelligible. They however, saw it was
balloon.
"About two miles further on the grapnel
caught in large oak tree and held fast
This afterward proved 60 be Dagla Wood
Dufton, near Appleby, Westmoreland. l
then called out Justify, and sounds of per-
sons singing and playing music reached me-
These proved to be four young men coming
from Appleby, where they had been to
ball. They were natives of Dalton, and as
they advanced nearer their native village
they heard my voice.
Zone of them, more bold than the rest
was sent forward to see if 1t was really q
'bogle,' as they had heard of such thing;
before. However, their fears were soon dis
PEELED when the replies TO their question:
were answered satisfactorily. They at once
set to work to pull the balloon out OF the
wood, and convey it to field where it could
be folded up. 1t was then three o'clock in
the morning. Those young musicians af'
terwar1 played a tune to the village; and
many were the heads out Of windows to in
quire the reason of such an unusual pro-
ceeding. When it became known that a
balloon had come from Dublin, hundreds
came as early as five o'clock to see it, and
many were the inquiries as to hew man
could come from Dublin in sic a thing as
that, !, however, shall never forget theii
kindness many were the breakfasts pre-
pared for me, and / was positively pressed
to eat two. All wished me long life and
prosperity at parting, and hoped if ever
came that way again to give them a cali"
In the Supreme Court of the Uni
ted States it seems. to have been set