Bellows Falls times. [volume] (Bellows Falls, Vt.) 1856-1965, 1872-02-16
Aiseellanp.

A MAN WITH NERVES OF STEEL
Young Donaldson, the daring aronaut
who made balloon ascension at Read
ing, Pa, on the 30th Of August last, anc
performed series of trapeze feats when
mile or more from the earth, repeated
his thrilling performance in Norfolk on
Monday last. There was no basket 10
the balloon, but its place was suPpiied
bya trapeze similar to those used by CIR
Gus performers and above the trapeze
was place a hoop, secured to which was
a suit of heavy clothing to be used by
the eriel voyager when he encountered
the cold currents. TheNorfolk Journal
in describing the ascension says that
when the balloon was released from its
moorings and reached a great altitude
Donaldson suddenly andapparently with
little effort threw himself into sitting
posture on the bar, kissing his hand to
the crowd below. Suddenly pretending
to lose his balance, he fell backwards,
sliding head downward until he caught
by his toes on the side ropes that suspen-
ded the trapeze bar. In this perilous pc
sition he swung to and froseveral seconds
Ia time which seemed an age to the
awe stricken crowd below. 1t was curl
Gus to observe the varying emotions OF
the crowd-as varying as the disposition
of each individual. Some were thrilled
with admiration of the courage of the
daring man and kept their eyes rivited
on him. Others, shuddering with hor-
ror, turned away with pallid faces and
beating hearts, and covered their eyes
with their hands to shut out the dreadful
sight. Faint shrieks were heard from
the ladies, and some turned to leave the
spot, but, true to the character Of her
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS to take one
more look, and looking once, looked
again. Throwing himself back in his
seat on the bar the aronaut sat astride
the same. Then began series of gym
nastic evoutions balancing himself on
horseback, turning oyer and "skinning
the cat" by the side ropes. &c. Upward
grandly and steadily rose the balloon,
cleaving the air like mighty bird. At
length it looked like a mere speck in the
clouds. Opera glasses and telescopes
were brought into requisition, and by
their aid Donaldson could still be seen
performing his gymnastic feats. After
rising to tremendous hight the balloon
hung for few moments seemingly sus-
pended in mid-air, and then sailed off in
southeastern direction. When the
balloon was mere speck in the distance
invisible to the naked eye and almost
through powerful telescopes, the man
with nerves of steel and the heart of a
lion repeated his daring trapeze feat by
hanging head downward, suspended by
his toes. Such scene was never before
witnessed in Norfolk and seldom any
where in the world. The description of
such a scene reads like a romance, but
the reality far surpasses the most vivid
powers of word painting, and we desist
from the vain effort to depict it. When
the aerial ship had reached an altitude
of about half mile, and struck the
colder current of air, the aronaut was OBJ
served to climb up to the hoop, and get
his suit of thick clothes. Descending
to the bar he dressed himself, and then
resumed the gymnastic display-exer-
cising himself to keep warm. Those who
were fortunate to have telescopes saw the
balloon gradually descending. Occa-
sionally the eronaut would threw down
a bag of sand to enable the balloon to
rise-the country probably not being
suited for descent. Late in the even
ing it was rumored that Donaldson had
descended safely near Kempsville, in
Princess Anne county.