The sun., 1873-09-13

tu.
tho balloon at 3O'clock was wei distended. Its
crown rising forty feet IN the air; Donaldson
Donsdson in the foreground
strike a possh. lsh, cried somebody, and
the elatcd haiioouist struck II.
Now assume plensant expression" sung
out somebody else. and be smiled like an aga-
Mako n speech" was the next call.
After the ascension was the reply.
DoNALusoN's roUrCAST or ruE rRir.
DO you want me to prophe-y about this VEN
turct' saii donaldson To- a StN reporter.
well" proceeded the acronaut, 1--WE arc GO
inc to make aNotact # ut least two thousand
iu.'c, some say one Thousand. hut hcleVe We
NItl have El- VuOVE VEi.iu Hi~c Wr -tr kvf fr cI-terN
current. to carry us further than that Icrhlt-
To- md uu the other side. ANYHOW. yuu can rcst
assured that wrwill make a long NuNH-e iu some
direction. ami believe we az, unaIlN going 90
drop ia Ihc water. Ia thHt case. ut course the
..re1t danger win hc in launching our hont
fWuhIul that over was one thing that dccided
present arrangement we will be iu the boat
ready Tor u. u We had retained the car W.
-hou Il r,hahiy have had some diniculty iu
climbing down q" the boat 50; though the
change was made al the last hour thIuN it was
d Wj.c me. Whatever may he the result - this
at tcmpt, have worked hard aud h"ne-tN 20
300 ,c 10 a success. There will I've no handing. iu
llunobcn or on Long Island unless there l. some
disaster that ! can't think OF now. We have
-ut thr cts dud "a sound ball Don, and there H. mo-
quest i'n hat we can staN up nfty or sixty hour-.
-. II we don't 90 to Europe or long way to-
ward 1t IL VIII he the lault ot that current
IUNTs TNPECrATIoNs.
expect To have a sail IN that boat" said
Lunt, before Ne finish this trip she Is
stauur little vessel. but Of course do not sup
pose that she would stand much OF drop ia
the water without damage. No boat could be
built that would do that. should We he com
pelled to lower the balloon to the wafer on ac-
count ~ exhaustion "l gas or 10y some mishap
and the wind should he blowing the balloon at
the rate II forty or nifty miles an hour, probably
the boats bottom would be knocked on. But
that would Tot affect her huoyancv, as the air
a bottom a. with one. ny being all ready with
knives, We can detatch her instantly from the
balloon the moment she touches water. and in
ANYTHING i" moderate wind she wouldn't he
injured. Her load is all ia her hold below the
water line. she would right up easily. In stll
weather The only danger OF the launch would
he IN the hatility - the almost or quite empty
has falling down over as and holding Ms down
iu the water. We are well provided with chArt-
and nautical instruments, and COuldu cet lost,
no matter IA what waters We happen TO drop"
wIsEs DOUBTS.
Prot Wise returned TO the grounds shortly
after O'Clock, aud VA cheered bN the multi
tude; but lie did not seem to share Ia the gen
eral huucfuluc,-.
Are you - start with the Others - asked
~ tic, -ei the balloon inflated. he replied,
"which do n"t believe is pnssihie. will go. |
am satisfied that. should the balloon start, She
will hot keep up fDrty-eight hours. She L. mel
low IN spots. aud viii not stand the strain. II
viii be iuolhtrdy adventure. hut the Others
re bound tp make n. had rather face lion
nay motives would be misCunstru"d. However,
| do not thiuA they Will initiate her.
After this he LEFT the grounds a-ain. hut
stay ius away, WAS matter Of conjecture. tie
wts seen iu a street rdr, and was on his way
feuywaid when the LeWs Of the collapse Wa-
~ knew II would happen he said, aud con-
tuurd on D., way To- his lodgings.
From . To I "c clock TIE Imitation continued
ia,oraoly aud t"e amount OF - ia il,e nearly
had set lu hut 10 was not strong eu 'usi I" cause
hrrtch'r-IHu. Ih" balloon Was gently u-'iIdt
hundred men utld the netting urm 10 its place,
TuE GAs RISES WITHOUT IuE nae.
Tie last preparation fur the voyage had been
made. iht boat, mounted on wagon. stood
Luui sat in "a row on three sand 0ag-, and kept
up lively thinking Not less than sixty
from the gratis side Of the fence. What
they saw was this: gust, OF wind that passed
upward from under tue bag; mighty hlting
tug Of over three hundred thousand cubic feet
of gas strdiuing Of the guy ropes. and lifting
of the cl!nging assistants; and finally three
rents ia the bag, starting from the valve al the
top and running likr streaks of lightning down
it, sides to the very lotion. The collapse was
So sudden, complete, and unexpected that the
people stood for moment silent ia aInaLement.
A Instant before. they had seen the vast globe
swelling and tuggiu. in the air and now II had
Disappeared as though the ground had suddenly
developed a mouth and swallowed II. The boys
on the fence were tue nrst to recover from the
surprise. With eNultant wells they sprdng into
the enclosure and Joined in the rush over the
ropes TO the PROSTATE balloon, which was no.
thing but rnarl Of torn muslin and netting.
Tue tears had spt II ia thirds, like the peeling
of an orange, but the network had not been
AFTER THE COLLAPSE.
My God, is gone.' cried Donaldson.
Comprehending the extent Of the disaster, the
tear ran down his cheeks. The hard work #
three months,aud the hopes Of dis tiuCtiun in bis
business. had been literally blown away ia sec
Ond. The utmost confusion ensued among the
protIe A few laughed and hu0ted, but the
ID "
hudy had a theory, aud Was disposed to explain
II To- e.eiybody else. TIE burst occurred at
ward the fact began 10 be appreciated that the
show was over. Stragglihgly the crowd inside
to them they passed out. The outsiders,
however, we're more reluctant TO go. Many Of
them remained in the netghbOrhuod until dark.
Meantime the life boat was unpacked, the
phirapheInalla taken under the tent, and the
torn balloon rolled up and slowed away. After
The las spectator had gone Donaldson, Lunt,
Ford, steiner, and the Gvodsslls locked the gate
and went out I" supper. Iblay GfGphH Reporters
had been stationed On the top u The brooklyn
bridge pier, ia Trinity Church steeple, and un
the apex Of the 10y to%gr T Of the Croton a!uedi9ft,
balloon. Whether they are stlll watching -
purely matter Of conjecture,
THE CAUSE OF THE BURST
Prof Steiner was subsequently, asked by a
SuN reporter to state his views in regard to the
cause Of the accident
,onAa,s ~ d ne, sHa ha had nS gra,e
the pressure. But kept On Initiating, knowing
that, should she stand the strain while held 10
the ground, she would be safe enough when
hoIting in the air and relieved Of any great re-
sistance TO the hitting power Of the gas You
must remember that the upward pressure on the
crown OF that balloon was equal TO fOrty-seyen
thousand pounds, Little Of this tremendous
force was distributed over the sides but II all
lifted Ike a solid column against the valve and
the cloth around II. Although that part Of the
bag was strengthened 10y two extra thicknesses
of muslin, II gave way, starting close 10 the
frame ot the valve on three sides and tearing
down a. the gas rushed through the openings.
I No muslin balloon Of like SIZE has ever leen
inflated, and do not believe that one ever Will
be, Wise and myself once planned an air tTp
to Europe, but split on this point Of using cot
balloon Of that size that eau be Inflated must be
made OF silk, with sttonS canvass covering IN
/ the place ut "A netting,
FAULTS AND MERITS or THE Tons BALLOON.
"IuIs balloon, SO lar as | can Judge, was rs
strong as cotton balloon can possibly be made.
| IL was very tight, So much 50 that not gas
I emo ign ooLed through to be slneIled on the
outer surf ace, IL would have been -alc II once
got INTO the air. In my opinion, however, n was
too heavy. It had three thick coat OF oily var
ni-h, and was dried in the sun, which caused an
undue absorption of the coating. Nhy u
weighed fOrty-seyen thousand pounds, and all
that weight Was virtually hanging down on the
should have had two coats Of thinner yarnish,
ana been dried slowly under cover Some Of tho
sections were discOlOrod 10y rain, and that would
tend To mellow the material Whether II did
or not cannot say, but do not think chat rot
caused the break. The ueIIlnL, made