The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1885-09-10
OUT OF THE WORLD.
r. ling in Thunder Shower 0,200 Feet In
the Air.

II 'tng In Thunder shower O,%oO Feet In
the Air.
On July 20 Captain e. A. Moore and
Professor S. M. Brooks made balloon
ascension from Winsted, Conn, and four
hours later returned home by the Hart.
ford and Connecticut Western railroad.
Captain Moore gives this account of the
trip:
aYou will remember that we started at
1854 o'clock, when we were advertised
to start at precisely l. The reason Of
our early start was to avoid heavy
shower Of rain, which we saw coming,
but we were disappointed, for it struck
US in less than three minutes after we cut
loose, but not with sufficient force to
cause any trouble, more than to bring us
down 800 feet. We were at height Of
1900 feet before encountering the rain.
We then threw out twenty-five pounds of
ballast, and Immediately arose to our
former attitude, where we were caught
by a light breeze, which carried US in
Southeasterly direction, giving US beau.
tiful view of 8 panorama which is never
seen except from balloon. There were
a dozen towns spread out beneath us,
some near enough to be recognized,
while others were so far away that the
houses looked like white spots on the
broad, green fields. Winsted's two lakes,
West Hill pond, in New Hartford, and
Otis pond, over in Massachusetts, shone
in the sunlight like silver shields. The
cackling and Growing of hens and roos.
ters, the shouting of boys and men, and
the rumbling of the Nangatuck railroad
train could be heard when all other
sounds ceased to reach us. The sight
was wonderfully grand, but we did not
get to enjoy it long, for on looking up
we discovered that we were being borne
toward what aeronauts call cumulus
cloud, or, to make it palmer, what was
apparently bank of fog, dark and heavy,
and about 400 feet through from the top
to the bottom. This cloud was continu.
ally moving in and out, seething and
boiling like the ocean in storm, while
cold breezes swept along its face which
chilled US and caused the thermometer to
drop twenty degrees in a few seconds.
Large blocks of cloud would break away
from the main body, sometimes passing
over US, sometimes under us, and then
enyeloping us in such darkness aud rain
that the balloon was scarcely visible
from the basket. After being buffeted
about on the borders of this cloud for a
few minutes, we were carried into the
sunshine again, with clouds beneath us,
but the earth visible on one side.
> "Here another trouble beset US; for
although the sunlight was comfort, yet
its heat, together with the lightness of
the air, which relieves the pressure from
the outside, caused the gas to expend to
such an extent that it passed out at the
neck of the balloon at the rate of 1000
feet minute.
"The stiffness here was oppressive. |
could plainly here the ticking of watch
in my pocket and our straw hats made
such a cracking sound that I thought
they were going to pieces. Brooks open
ed the valve at the top of the balloon
and we were dropped down few hun.
dred feet and came back pretty close to
our old enemy, the heavy black cloud.
We did not like the looks of things here
and were debating whether it would not
be better to continue down and make
.anding, when we were caught in whirl.
wind and carried right into the darkness
and storm. Then began what seemed
hours of terror. The rain was pouring
in on US in torrents. It came at us from
all sides-from above and below-being
forced through the bottom of the basket
by the changing wind. Forked tongues
of lightning severed the clouds on all
sides of us, each flash followed immedi-
ately by sharp swapping thunder. The
balloon trembled and sometimes stood
still for a second or two, then swung
away, to be again brought to halt by a
cross current; the netting would occa.
sionally shift from its position with a
grating sound, while we held on as best
we could until the wind began to whistle
through the cords, when ne Immediately
dropped to the bottom of the basket,
knowing that our course must soon change
and the basket 90 swinging around like
school boys playing snap the whip
ave were travelling at what seemed
better than a mile a minute, in total
darkness, sometimes in one direction aud
sometimes in another, when we began to
throw out ballast in hopes of rising above
the storm, but after having thrown out
165 pounds, and having but ten pounds
left with which to manage our landing, and
being still in the storm, we concluded to
return to mother earth. We were still
G,200 feet from the ground, as shown by
the Misunderstanding gone 1900 feet
through that one cloud. The thermome-
ter marked 4t degrees.
Throwing out ballast was stopped
and we started downward. When we
left the cloud the thermometer and watch
showed that we were going down at the
rate of 100 feet every four seconds. a
moment later we heard the voices Of
men, and looking down, discovered that
we were nearing some farm houses and
that the people were out watching us.
Many of their remarks could be plainly
heard, and when within about 800 feet of
the ground we dropped the graphing
iron, which dragged safely through a
herd of cattle in a pasture without catch
ing Oh TO anything that could stop US.
Brooks called on me to pull the rip cord,
which I did, opening hole forty feet
long in the side Of the balloon, and let
ting in gust of wind which turned it
inside out and dropped the whole thing
on Barn moor Hill CRANKY, without in
juring either of us. We were up fifty.
four minutes, and landed sixteen miles
from the starting point"
The Mason Harvester aud Gin.