A BALLOON ADVENTURE IN AMERICA

Otago Daily Times, Issue 217, 30 August 1862, Page 5

A BALLOON ADVENTURE IN AMERICA

The exciting event of the day has been a balloon reconnaissance by Gen. Fitz John Porter on a^caleof ratber larger magnitude than was intended (<;avs -in American paper). At five o'clock in the morafaiGeneral Porter took his seat in Professor Lowe'* balloon. He supposed the usual number of ro'K-s were attached to it, whereas there was only one and a place in this, as was afterwards ascertained' h?d been burned by vitriol, used in generating gas. Takin* bis seat in the car, unaccompanied by aav onr> the rope was let out to nearly its full length—the length is about 900 yards—when suddenly snap went the cord, and up went the balloon. This was an unex peeted part of the programme. The men b?Iow looked up with astonishment, and the General looked dov with equal astonishment. "Open the valve" shouted one of the men below. " I'll manage it "re spondel the General. Up went the balloon, holier" higher. It rose with great rapidity; its hW form Lssaned as it wildly mounted into the regions of tl-e upper air; it became a speck in the sky. The wiad was takiusr him in the direction of the enemvV t-'-i----tory. By this time every staff office: and hun-lreds of others were looking at the moving spe C k every moment reeoming- less visthle? It is seen to move in our direction. The countenances of our men were seen to brighten with hope. It passes over our head*. l?oon it begins to descend; but with a rapidity tl*a» arouses renewed apprehensions. Quickly a" «on'ad ot cavalry, led by Captain Locke and Lieutenant M Quade otthe General's Staff, plunjre spurs into their horses, and dash away in the direction of the descending balloon. The rest of the story is as I received it from the General's own lips." While the rope was hejne payed out, he adjusted his riass in readiness for his proposed view of the enemy's territory. A sudden bound of the balloon told "him in a moment that the rope had given away. He drooled his glass, heard the call " Open the valve," made th c response given above, and set about looking for the valve. He was sensible of beincr nightly (the General loves a pun as well as the next one)," but was not at all nervous. He saw that the wind had taken him over the line of rebel-entrenchments. Havin»ns> desire to drop in amongst them, he let the valv^ tak-» care of itself, and proceeded to take advantage of his position to note the aspect of rebel ' object; below. Crowds of soldiers rushed from the woods, and he heard their shouts distinctly Luckily he was above the reach of their bullets, so he was not afraid on that score. The map of the country was distinctly discernable. He saw Yorktown and its works, York river and its windings, and Norfolk and its smoking chimnies A counter current of air struck the balloon and its course was reversed. Its retreat from over rebellion was rapid. He opened the valve, the gas escaped and down he came. He could not say how fast he came down; but it was with a rapidity he would net care to have repeated. The car struck* the top of th^ shelter tent-under which luckily no one happened to be at the tune-knocked the tent into <'pie'\and left him enveloped in a mass of collapsed oil-silk He crawled out and found himself in the middle of a camp, not 100 yards from General M'Clellan's head quarters. " I came mounted you see," was hfeS" mark to General Burns, who, seeing the op Jrhffi of getting off a joke, could not lose" the oppVrtunff \ou are a suspicious character," remarked General Burns. " How so V asked General Porter U.?^J the space of half an hour you have been taken ud by a balloon and arrested by a shelter tent * «\3j you have come down safe, I see," broke in r»»Volocke, Wore the WhSr at cfcJKw d£Ef puns; I came with this cavalry company to look yon up." " You ought to have sent flyim? SuW after me," rejoined General P«rter, J % artillery