News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1886-10-07
UP IN A BALLOON.
Sensations of an Aeronaut when VI lore thnn
Mile High.

As nearly as could be judged, I was
more than mile high, and all sounds
from the earth had ceased. There vas
a death like silence which was simply
awful. 1t seemed to my overstrained
nerves to forbode disaster. The ticking
of the watch in my pocket sounded like
trip-hammer. | could feel the blood
as it shot through the veins of my head
and arms. My straw hat and the willow
car snapped and cracked, being con-
tracted by the evaporation of the mois-
ture in them and by the fast-cooling
temperature. was compelled to breathe
little quicker than usual on account
of the rarity of the atmosphere. l be.
came sensible of a loud, monotonous
hum in my ears, pitched about on mid
die G of the piano, which seemed to bore
into my head from each side, meeting
in the centre with pop; then for an
instant my head would be clear. when
the same experience would be repeated
By throwing out small pieces of tissue
paper l saw that the balloon was still
rapidly ascending. While debating
with myself as to the advisability of
pulling the valve rope Il was afraid to
touch it for fear it would break and
discharging some gas, the earth was lost
sight of, and the conviction was forced
upon me that this must be the clouds
1t made me dizzy to think of it. Above,
below and upon all sides was a dense,
damp, chilly fog. Upon looking closer,
large drops of rain could be seen, silent
ly falling down out of sight into what
seemed bottomless space.
was alone, mile from earth, in the
midst of rain cloud and the silence of
the grave. Moreover, l had sole charge
of the balloon; if it had not been for
this fact could have taken little com
fort, as | had no confidence in my abil-
ity to manage it. A rain-storm upon
earth is accompanied by noise; the pat
ter of the rain upon the houses, trees
and walks always attends the storm,
while here, although the drops were
large they could not be heard falling
upon the balloon or It's belongings. ST
lence reigned supreme. The quiet
spoken of by DR.. Kane and other Arctic
explorers as existing in the northern
regions was hubbub beside this place.
More tissue paper was thrown out; see
ing that it seemed to ascend, | knew
that the apparatus was slowly descend
ing, being brought down by the weight
of rain upon it. Soon the earth was in
view. How peaceful and quiet it
looked. Immediately the whistle of
trains could be heard
Now mou. tains could be distinguished
from valleys, and the cawing of fright
ened crows and the shouting of men
could be heard l passed Immediately
over Talcott mountain tower, where
there were some goo people enjoying the
day l could plainly hear one of them
blowing horn. AS the balloon slowly
descended men could be seen running
from all sides toward the place of land
ing. Now the hum of insects could be
heard, and the grapnel, with hundred
feet of rope attached, was thrown out;
it soon struck the ground, and dragged
Iazily along through the turf and over
the stones without getting a secure hold.
| approached Il man weighing 300
pounds, who was sitting on a stone wall
all out of breath from running With
out the formalIty of an introduction l
asked him to ''catch on to that anchor
and stop the business" With a woe
begone look upon his honest face and
an ominous shake of the head he re.
piled: Its no use, young fellow;
can't work my bellows" But as the
rope twitched along near him he fell
upon it, and my journey was ended
From the September Cenury.