The Newberry herald. [volume] (Newberry, S.C.) 1865-1884, 1870-02-23
Return of the Erial Voyager
--Miraculous Escape.

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publishes tho following thrilling
account of tho aerial voyage ol
Prof King, who mado q successful
ascension from that city on the
9th:
MEssRs. EpIroRs: At fifteen
minutes past 4, tho preparations
being all complete, the balloon
was allowed to swing by a single
rope, tho ballast was adjusted, and
rising clear above tho reach of
Those below, Tho cablo was loosed
land tho voyage began. Tho wind
was high, and J. moved off rapidly,
I'm n North castcrly direction. I
knew by the shouts Of tho people,
which woro given with will,
that my balloon ascension thus
far had proved satisfactory,tand T
began to look around on tho grand
:sccno presented to my Wow. The
atmosphere was worry clear, giving
mo q prospect bounded only by
tho horizon, which was sharply
defined, and which presented a line
unbrokcn by any mountainous
projections around it's entire cir
cumforcncc. Tho whole face of
tho country appeared exceedingly
level, though occasionally / saw
some hills, but the general appear
ance was that ofa vast plain. 1
had a fino view of tho city just at
tho start, but in consequence Of
moving away so fast, | could but
notice its general appearance of
regularity and ncatncss. Hearing
q train Of cars beneath, 1 looked
down, and found that ] had over
taken tho Charleston train, and
was having lively raco with
them. They tried hard, as I have
since learned, to keep up with me,
but in vain. I crossed tho road
diagonalIy, and left thom away
behind. At halfpast 4, l had
reached tho height of ono mile,
and feeling n iittlo chilly, put on
my ovcr-coat. To tho left Of my
course, saw thrco villagcs-thcy
were Granitevillc, Aiken and
BlackvilIo. Tho general appear
ancc Of the country was as if tho
whole face Of it had been onco
complete forest, and spaces mado
here and there by clearing off tho
timber, thus leaving tho great
mass Of woods, and dotting tho
country over with plantations.
Occasionally l came low enough
TO hear voices Of persons below,
but though / tried repeatedly to
get some information OF my where
abouts, I failed to elicit any re-
sponsc to my questions. AS l
passcd over one house, / felt quito
sure that tho dwcllers therein had
Teccived q terrible scare, for tho
women werc screaming in O. terri
bic manner, aided BY single male
voice. Tho wind borc mo rapidly
by tho place, and I had my quiet
laugh at their expense, whom 1
saw flash ncap the door of the
house, followed by the report of
gun. L havo no doubt tho shot
was intended for tho balloon, but
was out of the reach of any Or
dinary gun, and so had another
jaugh to myself. AS o. sail on the
water is good appetizer, so is n
voyage in the Dir, and this was no
exception. Being we'll provlsioncd,
partoolf of n hearty supper, stop
ping occasionally TO observe the
movements of tho balloon, and to
put out q littlo sand occasionally,
tor tho sun was gctting lower, and
tho gas that had boon warmed by
its rays cooling and condcnsing,
thus gradually losing q portion of
its buoyancy. Night was ap-
preaching, and though folt sure
that it should be moonlight, I
looked in vain for the silvery orb.
thinking | must bo mistaken, 1
thought of landing without fur
thor delay, and looking below
found that the suns rays had left
tho Garth, though it was still shin
ing on tho balloon; in passing
over some water almost directly
boneath mo, tho reflection of tho
moon ON its surface, bright as the
original, caught my eye; tho bal
loon had hidden it from mo, so I
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