The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1871-10-11
THE HORROR IN THE CLOUDS.
The Awful Death OF Professor Wilbur
Falling Mile from O Balloon-The
Particulars Of the Shocking Disaster
in Pnolis Indiana.

IPaoli (Ind.) Correspondence OF the N. Y. World.l
Should live to be hundred years old the
horrible scene witnessed by me on Saturday
last will never be effaced from my memory.
see 1t before me now, and since that day
have been haunted ever since In dreams By
SEQ of upturned faces and angulshed eyes,
straining to watch In its descent through the
air the body OF human being. which In q few
seconds was dashed, mangled and bleeding,
upon the earth, at my feet. | would have
written of 1t before, but the sight so unstrung
my nerves that was rendered utterly incapa-
bic even Of collecting my thoughts, much less
of putting on paper deliberate account
OF the facts in the case. To see man whom
scarcely o minute before had spoken to as
friend. Jerked up into the clouds, and then
hurled down again, hishair streaming wildly
behind him, like that of Lucifer, hurled over
the battlements of heaven, falling, falling,
whirled, doubled up, and then spread out, his
arms apart as If rushing to embrace death, might
well unstrlng the strongest nerves; and wheu
to this are added the agouized cries OF the dy, ys
shTieEed, "My God my God will he dIe9" I
| wonder that even yet, with these things IN my
mind, am able to record what heard, telt
and saw. You have doubtless received oy tel.
egraph brief dispatch telling how Professor
| Wilbur, the we'll known aronant, tell while
attempting to climb into his balloon, and how
he was killed, but facts 80 meagre are but an
aggrayatlon l will therefore state the affair
simply as it occurred. The Agricultural Asso-
calion of this county had been holding its an
nual fair for some days, and no greater inter:
est attached to 1t than Is commonly connected
with such exhibitions of the industrial pro-
ducts of large and fourlshing commu-
Eaity The farmers came In their wagons,
Infringing with them their wives and daugh-
tere, oil dressed In as gorgeous array as
rtheir circumstances would permit. The
large pumpkins and enormous squashes,
1.-THE new patent churn and Washlng-ma-
chine, and the country boys lounging about
and gazing In open-mouthed admiration OF the
| yoluble gentleman who displayed with all the
| elouuence OF Cicero his intalllble toothache
eradlcator, received their due share OF atten-
tlon, and before long the interest IN the fair
was on the wane. But 1t had been announced
ton, Professor Wilbur, the great American
aronaut, would make an ascent IN his balloon,
as he had done one week before at Croydon.
| II is not often that the Inhabitants Of Orange
| County have on opportunity OF witnessing SUCH
sight, aud, curiosity being on tiptoe, It is not
to be wondered at that when Saturday arrived
the fair ground was full almost to sufocatlon,
| while on the outside OF the enclosure large
crowd had assembled to witness the flight OF
the great ship OF the alr. It was the gayest
day of the week; everybody was In holiday
dress, the girls looked their prettest, the farm
ers their most forld, and the country beaux
were beueckted aud Invested In colors Vleing
not only with the rainbow, but Win tne utmost
| powers ofanollne. The centre OF attraction was,
of course, the enclosed space where the bal.
loon was to be Inflated. about which gathered
on eager crowd, looking at everything connect
ed with the expected event, studying the
ropes, peering about to find where the gas
come from, aud pestering the amiable proies-
sor with questions as to how the gas was
| do q bo nn
things of the sort. The professor laughed
good-naturedly, explained as much as posi-
| Bile, and everybody was Jolly In the antlcipa.
| tion OF witnessing that to them most unusual
| of thIngs-a balloon ascension. at aooGt
o'clock In the afternoon the Imitation of the
balloon was commenced, and as the bag swell
ed out almost to bursting and struggled to be
remote from the spot straning their necks,
climbing into carriages, and even upon inc Inc
fences, to see the cor. 1t had been announced
that the editor Of the Orange County union
would accompany Professor wilbur ID hls u.s.
cent, and great things were expecteo irom the ai
report which his well known aolliey az ue,
scriptive writer gave every reason 10 oeneVe
| would be forthcoming In the next issue OF MS
newspaper. | was standing beside the Pre-
lessor. laughing and holding necessarily dis.
iointed conversation with him, for ne was
busy with preparations tor his niSnt. he nau
inst nodded his neaQ duu edlu iouSuiuS'Jt
%Wel goodbye, old fellow, III see you again
soon. Then Mr.. Knapp stepped into the cal, and
the nroiessor, who had hold ofthe rope fastening
the car to the body of the balloon, shouted;
81 ,et 90 r. But he had spoken too soon ana
was unable to reach the car, but still unWlsely
Kent the rope In his hand and endeavored to
climb to his place, succeeding only SO far as to
Cpt one arm over the rim OF the basket, where
Re hung dangling and struggling. His mo-
| tions and the fact that the basket came 10 con-
tact with rope that fastened the balloon to
the earth while it was being inflated, upset the
car when il was about twenty-five feet from
the the ground, and Mr. Knapp fell stunned 10 the
oro,Ind. But there was no time for caring ior
him. for terror held everybody spell-bound.
4 shont of admiration went up from those
who were too far distant from the scene to
rnow that an accident had befallen the adven-
irrers and who supposed that the ascent was
hene made sans contreterrps. But to those In
the Immediate vicinity OF the car the sight was
an awful enc, and for q moment everybody
seemed paralyzed with terror, and stood root
ed TO the spot without uttering cry or VI !.
The balloon. lghtened by the fall OF Mr.. Knapp,
shot upward with dreadfully increased veloci-
Nv. aud scream of terror which chilled the
blood of the hearers came down from the upper
air. where the doomed eronaut hung, utterly
hopeless OF escaping death. At my side stood
| uhn 7 offaruards heard was the