Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1890-05-29
A Balloon Ascent.

Great excitement was caused at
Croydon, England, on a recent Sat
urday afternoon in connection with
the ascent of Professor Higgins, the
parachutist, and for several hours
doubts were entertained as to his
safety. The balloon, which had
that day been named "rho Dukes
Motto" and which was OF the ca
pacity of 10000 cubic feet, was fully
charged by five o'clock. Higgins
said the direction of the wind, which
was Northeast, would nccessitatc
his travelling n considerable height,
but he hoped to return to the field
in about half an hour. When he
gave the signal to the attendants to
'lct co." the balloon gradually rose
and appeared to go in the direction
OF Norwood. Upon reaching an al
titudc of something like 1000 feet,
the parachute became detached
from the net Of the balloon, which
was rising at a great rate. 1t was
evident that something had gone
wrong. The ballon rapidly dis
appeared in the clouds. When
darkness set in and no news had
been received of the parachutist,
much anxiety was cvinccd as to his
fate. Shortly after eight o'clock,
however, all fear was dispclcd by
the receipt of telegram stating
that Higgins had landed safely near
Tonbridge. Higgins returned to
East Croydon by the 9:20 train. In
an interview with correspondent,
Higgins stated that he had expert
cnccd the most wonderful of all his
aerial voyages. When he had
reached a height of 1000 feet he be-
gan to get into strong current, and
the balloon twisted right round. The
current then caught his parachute,
causing the wooden ring of it to
catch him very tightly under the
arms. The test cord which held
the parachute then broke. Di-
rectly that happened he saw that
the parachute was hanging below
him fully inflated, and the pressure
on him was so great that it was i'm
possible for him to descend into the
middle Of the town with anything
like safety. lie thcrcupon opened
his pcnliniic with his teeth and cut
the parachute away. This caused
the balloon to shoot up G,000 feet
higher, and on reaching that altitude,
he met another current, which
brought him back, and he saw moth
ing until he passed through some
slcct and snow. lie could hear,
however, the sound Of trains. lie
was in this SNOW storm for at least
ten minutes, and when he had passed
through it the sun was shining beau
tllnlly. lie could sec the sun glis-
tcning ur the water at brighton.
lie found the air getting very sharp
and keen; iciclcs were hanging
from his moustachc. For few
minutes he w..S quite deaf. lie
now seemed to be descending, and
he thought he was getting near
Hastings or Brighton. lie could
smell the sea. When he was 1000
feet from the earth, he prepared to
descend By hanging by one arm
ON TO his trIpczc rope rs if he were
using his parachute. When his feet
touched the ground the balloon,
which was in front OF him, dragged
him for ten yards, and then rebound
ed some sixty feet in the air, be-
tween two trees. Two laborcrs in
response to his signals, arrived lust
as he came down Il second time, and
held the balloon until he let out the
gas. lie found that he had landed
on a farm in the occupation of Mr..
Nash, at Pcnshurst, about thirty
miles from Croydon. In reply to
questions, Higgins said that at one
time he must have been five miles
above the carth--thc highest he had
ever been. lie added that the bal
loon had no escape valve.