Port Royal commercial and Beaufort County Republican. [volume] (Port Royal, S.C.) 1873-1874, 1873-11-06
Up In d Balloon.
The Atlantic Voyage per B6Iloon which
SO Suddenly Terminated.

DrOOklyu III tuo atidutlc pelOSu, uaS
written a description Of the trip. He
says: After the ropes were cut we rose
proudly to height Of $500 feet, and
Immediately the whole Of the grand
panorama of New York and its sur
roundings was spread out before us.
At half-past nine o'clock we were 1900
feet high. The first pigeon message
was dispatched at this point. The bal.
loon soon slowly drifted over the Sound.
The thermometer marked, dry bulb, A.;
wet bulb, Al. We now began to skirt
along the northeast, skimming over the
towns bordering on the Sound. At10:08
the balloon was 4,200 feet high, one
mile being the highest elevation reached
up to this time. At twenty-eight min
utes after ten the balloon was going
north.northeast.
"How happy I feel" said Donaldson
"the dream of my life is realized"
At this time Lunt was verymuch con-
cerned about two bags of sand which
had been accidentally left hanging upon
the drag-rope, tied merely by two very
light strands of marline. After extra
ordinary e1ertions the two aeronauts
succeeded in getting these two bags into
the car, and they were subsequently
used with great advantage at critical
moment of the journey. At 1870 the
balloon was $3.50 feet high, and shortly
after 5000 feet.
eff she expands much more, we shall
rise above the stratum of clouds, and
then won't we fly p said Donaldson.
eve shall fly like the wind"
At quarter to eleven o'clock, when
the aforementioned elevation was
attained, the dry bulb thermometer in
dicated 81 degrees, and the wet bulb
48.
We felt not the least inconvenience
from cold. Although the temperature
fell to 40, none of the party experienced
the slightest inconvenience from the
cold, and Lunt worked round in his
shirt-sleeves all the time.
The gas now was evidently beginning
to lose its power, and we were coming
down rapidly. The appearance OF the
interstices between the network show
ed that the bag was getting fabby, and
Donaldson considered it advisable to
throw off another sand-bag-25 pounds.
The balloon then rose to 5000 feet.
She sank again rapidly, however, and
at five minutes of eleven she was A, 100
feet high, the thermometer being 81. .
81 have got to empty another sand.
Bag" said Donaldson, and out went 25
pounds more.
Still, however, the gas was rapidly
losing power, and we soon sank to
4, 100 again. But this elevation seemed
to be somewhat of permanent one, for
we hoated on very TRANQUILITY a great
number Of miles without any percep-
tible difference in the barometer.
Lunt called my attention to the mag
nifcence of the autumn foliage in the
woods below us. One of the woods
looked like parterre of tulips.
We were now getting in rather un-
pleasant proximity to the earth. The
drag-rope, which is 900 feet long, was
kissing, humming, booming Il hardly
know how to describe this extraordi-
nary sound) among the trees and across
the fences.
We had left the margin of the Sound
and were far from it in the interior Of
Connecticut. At one moment weseemed
to be but a few feet above the tops Of
the trees; but, by judicious sacrifice
of ballast, Donaldson saved us from
dashing most dangerously against q
formidable-looking stone fence three
feet below us.
Lunt didn't like the sound Of the
drag-rope, nor the experience recorded
above; but Donaldson said, 81 came
down Just expressly to try the powers
and capabilities of the balloon. I am
satisfied with the experiment I have
tried"
At this period the loss OF gas was be-
coming so apparent that Donaldson Sc
riously proposed to climb up on the
netting and cut off the guy-ropes, but
Lunt objected.
At twenty-five minutes past eleven
o'clock the dry bulb was 60, and thewet
bulb Sc. OF course, such tempera-
ture as this indicated near proximity
to earth. The height was, in fact, but
1900 feet.
At twenty-five minutes to twelve we
cast off the third bird. We let our
friends below know by this means that
we had now cast off about 500 pounds OF
sand ballast out Of the 600 pounds
placed on board. There then remained
600 pounds of water ballast and 300
pounds of other disposable material,
such as provisions, instruments, cloth
ing, &c.
The drag-rope was still making its
singular whistling or humming through
the trees; and the cattle in the fields
were terribly scared. The most anus
ing sight of all was, however, to see q
flock of geese scurrying at a great rate
from the rasping monster.
Provisions had to be thrown over.
board, and the balloon alternately rose
and fell again.
All of sudden it began to pour with
rain, and a dense mist environed us
with an impenetrable curtain. The
rain gathered upon the folds of the bal
loon and poured down upon us in buck
etfuls.. At the same time violent gusts
of wind seized us, and shcok the boat
in such manner that expected every
moment either that the balloon would
burst with these excessive shocks, OF
that the boat would break loose from
the tackle. We did not know where VIC
were drifting, except that every now
and then through the riffs of the cloud
we could see the colored foliage upon
the side of the mountain, or some little
homestead in the valley.
The rain meanwhile was pouring