The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1873-07-31
Fatal Result Of a Balloon Ascension.
A reporter of the Eagle having visited Ion

A reporter OF Jno E0gle having VlSlIeu lOHla
yesterday and witnessed the entire celebration
there, we are able 10 give our readers 4th
of July narrative of different kind from that
which transpired in our city: 1t was marked
by horrible event, the like of which, in its
peculiar thrilling character, has never before
occurred in any city in our country on the 4th
of July or any other day. Men have lost their
lives before by means of balloon ascensions
but never in this awful manner. A regular
celebration having been arranged, with process
sion, Grafton, music and balloon ascension, the
streets of Ionia were alive with people at an
early hour in the forenoon, having come by
wagons and on each of the railroads crossing
at that place, ON which fares were at excursion
rates. The D. & M Railroad brought the last
great addition of people from the west on the
regular train, arriving about noon. The gen.
eral obseryances of the national holiday had
been gone through with in an enjoyable man-
ner no accident of any kind occurring to mar
the enjoyments, when, as the appointed time
for the balloon ascension drew near, 3 O'Clock
in the afternoon, q crowd of many thousands
of men, women and children, people of lonia
and their visitors, hocked to the Court House
square, besides great number who had re-
mained there from the Grafton.
The aeronaut on this occasion was La Noun
tain, of worldwide reputation in that daring
profession. There is another man OF that
name who has arisen 10 some eminence IN the
same line of achievements brother OF the
great La Mountain, we believe; but from the
description of the man and all else we are able
to learn, we conclude that this was the La
Mountain whose name will long be remember
ed throughout the world in fame somewhat
similar to that of Sam Patch: The latter
leaped the entire steep and depth OF Genesee
Falls, prepared for it, and never was seen again.
He of yesterday leaped the blue vault of heav-
en-, an indefinite distance, from no will of his
own. and bounded into eternity. Each made
the most terrific leap, one into the water and
This was one of the hot air balloons intended
to rise by the we'll known upward pressure of
the heated air confined, until, cooling in the
upper rarefed atmosphere, it gradually de-
scends. It is thought by some that the re-
nowned La Mountain would not, after all his
great experience, have been likely to use this
inferior means of ascension. But as there is
no gas at Ionia, it was impracticable tor him
or any one to use any other than hot air
balloon. At fifteen minutes before the sack
was supposed to be properly inflated, and at
that moment the tether was cut, and up 1t flew,
with shout from the assembled multitude.
FORM OF THE BALLOON.
The sack of this fatal air vessel was about
one third or one fourth larger than the one OF
the same kind which recently made two ascen-
sions in this city. 1t probably held about Il, :
900 feet of air. Its form was, as usual, oval,
except where it closes to point underneath.
The swell of the oval was capped by wooden
hub, supposed to be firmly fixed there, and
perforated by three holes, through which ran
the three suspension cords of the basket, cross
ing each other and coming down around and
beneath the sack, forming six ends. To these
the basket containing the aeronaut was sus-
pended There was no netting such as always
covers and incloses the sack of the large sized
gas balloons, or the accident resulting thus
Horribly could not probably have occurred.
There was but little wind at the time, and the
balloon arose directly upward, remaining right
over the Court House Square, whence it started
appearing, of course, to diminish in size, till it
was Judged, by that appearance and the rate of
its upward movement, to be 5000 feet high.
THE ACCIDENT.
The shouts had ceased, and ten thousand
up-turned faces watched the diminishing object
intently, when the basket was seen to separate
from the sack, which hung and wavcred about
in one spot for half moment or so, while the
basket and man were shooting downward with
the velocity of a cannot shot. AS the vast
throng of witnesses comprehended the fright
full tragic spectacle, thrill of intense horror
spread through them, as from among them
issued one widespread suppressed groan OF
agony, for all seemed too terror stricken TO-
shrek. Of course there was no such length OF
time in the downward flying of the devoted
man as the reader has occupied in reading
these last few lines describing it. From the
instant of the disaster to the balloon till he
struck the ground, the time was not probably
more than fifteen seconds, as measured off on
the watch dial by the second hand.
At the height of five or six hundred feet
from the earth, the unfortunate man got sepa-
rated from the basket-in fact it appeared as If
he leaped from it Intentionally. This certainly
made no difference as to the fatality of the
fall. The conclusion must have killed him
lust as quickly had he struck the earth with
tbe basket beneath him. Wonderful as it may
seem. from the time he sprang from the basket
his nosition in the air remained erect, feet
down. till he struck, Notwithstanding the
greater weight of the head and body, which
Causes most human bodies to turn and fall head
first. 1t is possible he had acquired faculty
of controlling his position in the air by athetlc
force Perhaps, in the hurried thoughts of de-
spair, he fanced he might, by striking feet
down, be spared from death. But the inde-
scribable swiftness of his descent must have
Knocked the breath out of him, even had he
struck on newly made hay-stack.
Many people declare that they saw such
movements of his limbs and even expressions
in his face as showed him to be alive until he
struck. But this is considered by the greater
number to have been entirely improbable.
His shooting through space with such lightning
like like swftness deprived him of all breath and
sense sens of life, undoubtedly, while part way
down. Indeed it is hardly possible that he
intentionally inter jumped from the basket. 1t is
more likely he fell from it when he had, nc no
longer any power to hold on to it. With ter
rific violence he crashed upon the earth, feet
down, his legs driven up into his body, and all
about his head being instantly mashed into a
sickening, quivering mass of spouting blood, !,
protrnding bones, and dropping flesh. His
feet stuck into the earth several inches. lie
+tai oil ,,o11 Onlv about