The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1871-11-16

Reddy's, tho Newsboy'S Remarkablc
Assertion from Oakland-.IheE GrsAt-.
: est Eerial Adventure OF tho Age
Miraea1ous is Escapoora = Young sEfo-.
f. naut. -
fToaae San FRANCISCO Aornsng Gull. IT -.
The readers of The Call will recol.
lect the frighttul mishaps which attend
ed couple Of unfortunate men who
were recently carried up by a balloon
in Kentucky. 1t V seems =. they were
standing by, the aerial car, holding to it
with their hands, when suddesly the
ropes were cut, and the balloon shot in-
to the air with wonderful velocity
Ono Of the parties let loose at height
Of thirty feet, the fall breaking both Of
MS legs. The other clung to the car with
death'liko grip, holding on until it is
supposed. he was upwards Of mile and
a half from the ground. Atthat dizzy
height he finally let go: aud was dashed
to pieces on the earth, being a mere
mass of pulp when found. What his
agony must have been, while soaring
high above the earth, and with the Ger.
tainty Of death vividly before his eyes,,
no tongue can tell nor pen describe.
This case brings fresh to memory the
most remarkable. balloon adventure
which ever came under our notice. We
:allude to the ascent made by freddy,
tho newsboy." at Oakland, in 1853. It
~ customary, in those. days, to. have:
some excitement every Sunday across
tho Bay. Thither would flock great
numbers of San Frauc;scaus, to see the
fun, whatever it might be. Sometimes
it was bull.fght, at others, bull
and bear.fght; and again, a balloon as
cension. This time the latter amuse-
ment was the attraction. A Professor
Wilson had advertised to Ego up" at
Oakland, and long before the hour tor
starting AN immense concourse Of people
had assembled to witness the perform
ance. Great difficulty was experienced
in initiating the aerial monster, which
rolled from side to side like a huge
whale. At the appointed time, howev-
er, in stepped the Professor, and the
fasteniugs were cast :loose-but the
-bal lloon> didn't go. Tho ballast was:
I'll 4oVn out. To- !"lightcn ship" s:ssihpo
go! Itlftubbornly refused. to rise:.-
Then the car was taken of, and a plain:
board made fast to the ropes. ii The
Professor seated himself on this, but
with no. better, luck. At this stage Of
the proceedings, some one CALLED out
for boy to 60 up. Give dollars for
any boy that will go up in the -balloon!!'
was shouted out by some reckless indi-
viduals, and several youngsters were
importuned to accept the offer. -.
T.: In q few minutes one was found in
the person Of "Reddy,", q newsboy OF
orange peddler, who was unluckily on
the ground. As soon as he announced
his willingness to make the fool-hardy
attempt no time was given for 'sober
second thought Instantly he was
| raised to the apot and seated on one
end of the board. :: The wind; which
had strengthened by~this time, now
caught the balloon and it began slowly
to ascend. When about 200 feet from
the ground the boy was observed te
give a sudden jerk at the valve rope
which evidently broke, as one end fell
oVer and trailed ,dewa. What horrible
situation for. an inexperienced youth h=7.-
| who probably had never seen balloon
before. Z Upward, " J., upward, steadily Up
ward, floating out across the bright
waters Of the bay in the direction q
Sacramento. Gradually the huge air
ship aud the young aronaut ''gtev,
small by degrees and beautifully less
until they were but a mereTspeck In tht
horizon, soon tobe lost entirely to tht
naked eye, = ~ :; -. .:.>c :
There we're = many heavy heart!
among the returning excursionists tha
day for the boy was "a favorite, aud
it Vas terrible to think of him sailing
hslpsssly through the clouds At th,
| mercy Of tho winds Of heaven, With th,
prospect Of being finally dashed t.
pieces on the earth below: But strang'
to say no such fate vas in store for th,
adventurous "Reddy.''' The balloon
after, ,cossing the Straits near 'Benica d c
scended short distance from the littl
town Of Martinez, Contra Costa county
"Reddy" jumped off as soon is it wa
close to the ground; and then, free'
from his weight, up it went again. Pa,
ties noticed the balloon pass over Sac
, ramento City, but after that it was nev
!, er heard of. 5u >%@ - .@.s
u The youthful balloonist was for.
f time quite hero on returning to tn
- =. ~s,s-> -, .-..