The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-05-12
AN AERIAL VOYAGE.

Thrilling Experience of Three Venture
some AerOnauts.-An Ascension made
to Crafty an Iufuriated CrOwd-Flve
Hours strife Against Death by Drown
ing.
Count Zambeccari was going to ascend
from Bologna in a balloon holding four
t@en thousand cubic feet of gas, and
sought for two friends to accompany
him on his trip. These were found in
DR.. Grassetti, of Rome, and myself.
The week before the ascension while
we were making preparations was a
time of great excitement for us. The
Count was thoroughly cool; he had often
trusted himself to the frail ship and
risked his life; but with us it was diff
ferent. Two things make an aerial trip
dangerous: First, the covering must be
chosen of some light material, which is,
therefore, less durable and firm; and,
secondly, one is entirely dependent
upon the wind. Wherever it takes the
balloon and however it drives it
whether slowly or swiftly, or with the
fatal fury of the tempest-one must
submit. For this reason Grassetti and
were anxious. Early in the morning
we began to fill the balloon, for
which we had provided two hun
dred pounds of iron filings, six
thousand pounds of zinc and eighty
five hundred pounds of sulphuric
acid. But hour after hour passed, the
increasing volume of gas was very evil
dent, and yet the balloon was not yet
filled. Noon came; it was two, it was
three o'clock; we had reached perhaps
seven thousand cubic feet of gas, and
Zambeccari said to us:
Ascending to-day is not to be thought
of; it will be night before the balloon
will be filled.
We saw he was right. What observa-
lions could we make in the darkness?
We were not the only ones on the spot
All Bologna was on its legs-old and
young, rich and poor. In the forenoon
the people rushed to and fro, but in the
afternoon stood firm, and awaited from
hour to hour the longed-for spectacle.
The sun set, and evening came. The
spectators were impatient, and began
to sing and make noise. When at last
%Dout midnight, the Count told us the
work was done, we did not know what
would happen. We did not want to
ascend, yet we knew well that the peo-
pie would not be so easily deprived of
the desired sight.
Zambeccari mounted a barrel, got a
hearing, and announced to the specta-
tors that, as nothing could be seen at
night, he would ascend in the morning:
the balloon was now filled; they could
go quietly home, and next morning the
ascension would take place.
But what cries arose! How the
crowd raved! ''What?n screamed the
people, 1--WE stand here sixteen hours
and see nothing! We have waited since
morning, and now shall we 90 home?
Go up! Go up! Start at once!' And
howl arose that struck terror into our
hearts.
The Count obtained second hearing:
''1ou will lose nothing by it," said he;
"on the contrary, you will only gain, if
you Will be patient till morning. What
can you see now in the dark night?
Nothing! In moment we vanish from
your view. In the morning you can
watch the balloons flight for miles.
We can throw you notes and letters
from the air: The spectacle is entirely
different"
They would not let him speak. $50
up 81 up DtllOWeu thousand
Threats. They shook their fists. The
crowd pressed against our barriers
complete destruction threatened our
arrangements; as climax, stones were
thrown at the balloon. ''Start! start!"
was howled. Laths and beams cracked.
Every moment the stones thrown
threatened to destroy the balloon; even
our lives were in danger.
"My friends" Zambeccari whispered
to us: 50 the mob has gone mad. Let
us ascend. All wait for the perform
ance. We will fly half an hours dis
lance and let ourselves down again. to
begin the genuine expedition to-mor-
row" Crack! The beams broke.
The torrent burst in. ''For Heavens
sake, get in, get inn ...
Greatly alarmed, we sprang into the
basket; the ropes were cut; the balloon
flew on high, snatching us from the
hands OF the enraged mob; and Bravo!
braVo!' sounded after us from below.
''Hurrah!" came laundering up to us.
'Long live Zambeccari Long live
Grasseti! Long live Andredi! Hurrah
for the Count" Shouts from thousands
on thousands of voices accompanied us.
We soon recovered from our fright.
but what we perceived did not please
us 1.-The wind is too strong we cannot
land without danger of being de-
stroyed," said Zambeccari. We were
thus in a bad plight, and had to wait
for daybreak. But that was far from
us. The sun would appear above the
horizon at about a quarter of seven
o'clock, and it was a quarter of one
when we assembled. With lightning
speed. we flew up, up, always up, and
this wind whistled and rushed from the
southwest and chased us away, away,
always farther. How quickly Bologna
vanished from us! In very brief time
we no longer saw its lights, heard
nothing of its tumult-clouds lay be-
tween us and the earth. I.I -...II5.
The magic, the wonderful sorcery of
our posing by moonlight between the
clouds | cannot describe. We were in