The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1901-08-23

thundercloud and escape un-
harmed Is an unusual II not
a unique experience. That is
what happened 10 the Rev. John NJ.
Bacon and some companions In one OF
his balloon ascensions from Newbury
England.
Mr.. Bacon In telling OF the expert
| ence. says: "In scarcely more than
twenty minutes from the start a sud
den and surprising change took place
In our circumstances. Our environ
ment, which had appeared absolutely
calm and clear, began changing with
the rapidity OF transformation
! scene. Below u9 the few hundred
feet which separated us from earth
began filling In with a blue haze quite
transparent, but growing palpably
filmier, while ahead. as also right and
left, the horizon at the level Of our
eye and higher opposed a dense fog
barrier OF an ashen hue. Overhead Of
course the sky view was entirely hid
den by the huge silken globe. At this
time we were being swept along on
our course. which remained sensibly
unaltered In direction, at a speed
which we subsequently were able to
fix at approximately forty miles an
hour
ITO ourselves the full significance
or these circumstances was not i'm
mediately apparent, but the onlookers
at our point OF departure-the town
gas works, now some five miles in our
wake-clearly detected the approach
Of heavy thunder pack and as they
reasonably asserted, coming against
the wind. 1t lowered above the
balloon, now seen projected plainly
against its face. IL came on rapidly
and assumed formidable proportions.
The balloon was flying due west at
high speed, and at apparently no great
distance overhead the thundercloud
was progressing at moderate veloc-
ity not accurately determined, but due
east or directly opposed to the surface
current
And now with n whistle a binding
singing their faces so shdrply as to
give the idea that the stones were
falling from great height, and i'm
mediately afterward from all sides
and close around flashes Of lightning
shot out with remarkable frequency
and vividness. We were, in fact, fairly
embosomed In the thundercloud. Other
and near observers narrowly watched
the phases of phenomena now In pro-
gress. These were the countrymen
who became interested spectators and
who presently came to our assistance.
They seemed to have imagined that
the balloon must be infallibly struck,
inasmuch as 1t appeared to them com
pletely encircled with lightning. 1t
was, indeed, the worst storm the
countryside had known for many
years. At Devices, only n few miles
ahead. IL lasted for five hours con-
tinuously. A little way on our right
n house was struck and burned TO the
ground, and on our left a couple of
soldiers were killed on Salisbury plain.
Though the storm progressed, II
also appeared to lag behind the wind
that bore IL along. Ii did not seem 20
advance against us as a whole, but
rather about us, forming itself out of
what a few moments before had ap-
peared mere empty and transparent
air.
The lightning rs seen 10y the people
in the balloon seemed TO leap from
cloud TO cloud and not from the clouds
to the earth. and the noise of the thun-
der consisted of short, sharp reports
like the explosions of gun cotton
without any OF the rolling reverbera-
tions heard on the earth. The aero
nauts passed through the thunder
storm uninjured, but II was trying to
the nerves. The question is: With
the lightning playing all around 1t
and houses and men being struck on
the earth below, why was not the
balloon demolished by n thunder
bolty'-New Orleans Tlmes-Democrat.