The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1870-02-04
BLOOMSBURY. PA, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1870. NJ,

nary. but could find no means whatever
of accounting for IT, Went to bed dis
satisfied, and in state of great anxiety
and agitation.
Aprn l1M. Found startling dimin-
ution In the apparent diameter of the
earth, and considerable increase, now
observable for the first time, In that of
the moon itself, which wanted only a
few days of being full. 1t now requir-
ed long and excessive labor to condense
within the chamber sufficient atmos-
pheric air for the sustenance of life.
april 12th. A singular alteration took
place in regard to the direction of the
balloon, and although fully anticipated,
afforded me the most unequivocal de-
light. Having reached, in its former
course, about the twentieth parallel of
southern latitude, it turned off suddenly
at an acute angle, to the eastward, and
thus proceeded throughout the day,
keeping nearly, if not altogether, in the
erdct plane Of the hndr eHipse, What
was worthy of remark, a very percep-
tible vicillation in the car was a conse-
quence of this change of QUITE, "a vacil-
lation which prevailed, in more or less
degree, for period of many hours.
AprH 1871. Was again very much
alarmed by a repetition of the loud
cracking noise which terrified me on
the tenth. Thought long upon the SUBJ
ject, but was unable to form any salts
factory conclusion. Great decrease in
the ea-th's apparent diameter, which
now subtended from the balloon an
angle of very little more than twenty
five degrees. The moon could not be
seen ut all, being nearly in my zenith.
1 still continued in the plane of the
ellipse, but made little progress to the
eastward.
April 1lth. Extremely rapid decrease
in the diameter of the earth. To-day l
became strongly impressed with the
idea, that the balloon was now actually
running up the line of apsides to the
point of perigee, lin other words, hold
it Immediately to the moon in that part
of its orbit the nearest to the earth. The
moon was directly overhead, and con-
sequently hidden from my view. Great
and long continued labor necessary for
the condensation of the atmosphere.
Aprt 18th. Not even the outlines of
continents and seas could now be traced
upon the earth with distinctness. About
twelve o'clock became aware for the
third time, of that appalling sound
which had so astonished me before. Il
now, however, continued for some
moments, and gathered intensity as il
continued. At length, while, stupifiet
, and terror.stricken, stood in expecta
tion of / knew not what hideous des
q truction, the car vibrated with excess
y i've violence and gigantic and flamin
mass of some material which / coul
not distinguish, came with voice of
!. thousand thunders, roaring and boon
ing by the balloon. When my feai
: and establishment had i'm some degre
@ subsidtd, / had little difficulty in SUP
v posing it to be some mighty volcani
fragment elected from that world t
!, which I was so rapidly approaching
a and, in all probability, one of that sir
gular class of substances occasionall
picked up on the earth, and terme
: meteoric stones for want Of better az
!, pellation.
/ april lGth. To-day. looking upward
n as well as could, through each of tn
side windows alternately, I beheld,
o my great delight, a very small porto
q of the moons disk protruding, rs
|, were, on all sides beyond the huge ci
J.. Gu mfei renee of the balloon. My agit
n ton was extreme; for had now lit
/. doubt of soon reaching the end of M
f perilous voyage. JUDGED, the labor no
n re equircd by the condenser, had incrca
ed to most oppressive degree, and a
lowed me scarcely any respite from e'
ertion. Sleep was matter nearly OF
> of the question. became quite i'll AN
my frame trembled with exhaustion
= 1t was impossible that human natul
= could endure this state of intense su
y fering much longer During the no
" brief interval of dsrkness meteor
= stone again passed in my vicinity, ar
the frequency Of these phenomena b
= gan to occasion me much apprehensio
= april I'm. This morning proved {
~ epoch in my voyage. 1t will be r
:; membered, that, on the thirteenth, Il
= earth subtended an angular breadth
> twenty-five degrees. On the hefourteent
:. this had greatly diminished; on the
- teenth, a still more rapid decrease W
. observable; and, on retiring for Il
night of the sixteenth, had noticed ,
: angle of no more than about seven
grees and fifteen minutes. What, ther
fore, must have been my amazemen
=, on awakening from brief and distur
- - ed slu amber, on the morning of this da
10 the seventeenth, at finding the surfa
~ beneath me so suddenly and wonde
fully augmented in volume, as to su
N tend no less than thirty.nine degre
q in apparent angular diameter! | W
"a thunderstruck No words can give al
q, adequate idea of the extreme, the abs
70 iuto iiOTIoi Slu uStoiiohulcutS WI
~ which was seized, possessed, and
- together verwhelmed. My knees t.
,o tered beneath me-my teeth chatter
-, my hair started up on end. "T
~ balloon, then, had actually burst
% These were the first tumultuous ide
aa which hurried through my mind: :"T
- balloon had positively burst II "
" falling-falling with the most imI
tuous, the most unparalleled velocit
70 To judge from the immense distaI
"e already passed over, it could not
more than ten minutes, at the farth
Ps before should meet the surface of
~ earth, and be hurled into annihilation
"o But at length reflection came to my
linc L L L