A Great Sensation in Blacksburg
Dublin Core
Title
A Great Sensation in Blacksburg
Creator
[Unknown]
Source
http://addison.vt.edu/record=b1775388~S1
Publisher
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
Date
July 1875
Contributor
Kelly Holler, Michelle Seref
Rights
Permission to publish images from The Gray Jacket must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.
Identifier
LD5655.V8 L4, ser.1, v.1, no.1 (July 1875), p.7
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
A Great Sensation in Blacksburg
The town was all in a fever of excitement a few days ago. It was currently reported that the devil had made his personal appearance in the vicinity, no one seemed to know exactly where, but every moment served to fix with certainty the place at which he had been seen, and to intensify the excitement. In a short time a party of citizens, students and that nondescript element of society known as "town boys" set out in search of the monster. As they neared the place they fell in with a number of others, in search of the devil. On coming up with the monster, they found quite a crowd already assembled, and the number augmenting every moment. Instead of seeing the devil, we found two men, apparent-of foreign extraction, quietly eating a snack, occasionally looking up to ask a question about the country. When they had finished eating, I ventured to ask them what all that huge bag and basket, upon which they were sitting meant, whereupon me of them told a tale which I give below.
"This balloon was built by an association of enterprising men for the purpose of trying the possibility of making the transit of the ocean on the back of the wind. The heretofore unattempted feat was, to their minds, made possible by a machine which I had invented, by which the course of the balloon could he controlled. So this morning four days ago just before the hour of nine we took our seats in the car of the Adventure (the name of balloon) furnished with all things necessary for making a successful voyage which might last a week or more. At nine o'clock precisely, the ropes were cut, and as the balloon shot gracefully upward like a thing of life, shout after shout of applause and sympathy rung on our ears, until we could no longer hear them.
When we had gone up about a mile, to our great joy we found ourselves carried along at the rate of twenty-five miles per hour by a wind blowing almost directly from the east. This wind continued to blow steadily all that and the next day, and every thing seemed auspicious for the speedy consumation of our voyage. No tongue c an describe our feelings of exultation as we looked forward to our entering New York as the pioneer navigators of the "etherial blue"—the Columbus of the nineteenth century. As we glided through the air, there was nothing to break the monotony of the sea below, except an occasional ship as it laboriously plowed its way through the waves of the Atlantic.
On the evening of the third day we saw a dark' line of clouds looming up on the verge of the eastern horizon and the moan of the wind betokened a storm. Our voyage which had been all we could ask for, now began to present dangers from which there seemed to be no escape. The heavens grew darker and the wind howled more fiercely and terribly as it came nearer, lashing the sea until it rolled and hissed and groaned like millions of tormented demons.
Soon the wind struck the Adventure with violence and she reeled and darted about like a bird in a gale, and was in imminent danger of being carried down into the raging gulf below. There seemed to be no hope for us and we expected every moment to be thrown from the balloon into the frantic waters of the Atlantic. At last I succeeded in throwing out some of the sand bags and as the balloon lightened she gradually ascended and we found ourselves enveloped in darkness which might truly be said, could be felt: but we soon emerged into the golden rays of a setting sun. We fell upon our faces and thanked God for our deliverance,—we looked upon ourselves as men who had passed from death to life,—we had pierced the dark cloud that overhung the sea and were now sailing through the air feeling nothing of the storm, which was raging below, wrecking the most powerful ships, and filling the hearts of sailors with despair. When we looked at our compass we found that the wind was now carrying us in a South West direction. Now for the first time we found it necessary to put our steering machine to the test. It did not work as well as we had expected, as it required our united efforts to keep the balloon in a westerly direction. This wind continued to blow until about two o'clock that night, when it again changed and blew more directly from the East. This was a welcome change to us, utterly worn out by our exertions. We watched the direction of the wind for three quarters of an hour, when we both fell asleep. We slept soundly until nearly day this morning. Upon looking out from the balloon we found ourselves no longer over the sea but sailing over mountains. We determined as soon as it was light to find a suitable place and then descend; so when we saw this beautiful plateau, we began to descend. On reaching the ground, and making some enquiry of persons who, at last ventured to approach near enough to be in hailing distance, we found ourselves in 'Virginia, instead of N. Y., where we had intended to go."
They will start for N.Y, to-morrow morning.
Beta.
The town was all in a fever of excitement a few days ago. It was currently reported that the devil had made his personal appearance in the vicinity, no one seemed to know exactly where, but every moment served to fix with certainty the place at which he had been seen, and to intensify the excitement. In a short time a party of citizens, students and that nondescript element of society known as "town boys" set out in search of the monster. As they neared the place they fell in with a number of others, in search of the devil. On coming up with the monster, they found quite a crowd already assembled, and the number augmenting every moment. Instead of seeing the devil, we found two men, apparent-of foreign extraction, quietly eating a snack, occasionally looking up to ask a question about the country. When they had finished eating, I ventured to ask them what all that huge bag and basket, upon which they were sitting meant, whereupon me of them told a tale which I give below.
"This balloon was built by an association of enterprising men for the purpose of trying the possibility of making the transit of the ocean on the back of the wind. The heretofore unattempted feat was, to their minds, made possible by a machine which I had invented, by which the course of the balloon could he controlled. So this morning four days ago just before the hour of nine we took our seats in the car of the Adventure (the name of balloon) furnished with all things necessary for making a successful voyage which might last a week or more. At nine o'clock precisely, the ropes were cut, and as the balloon shot gracefully upward like a thing of life, shout after shout of applause and sympathy rung on our ears, until we could no longer hear them.
When we had gone up about a mile, to our great joy we found ourselves carried along at the rate of twenty-five miles per hour by a wind blowing almost directly from the east. This wind continued to blow steadily all that and the next day, and every thing seemed auspicious for the speedy consumation of our voyage. No tongue c an describe our feelings of exultation as we looked forward to our entering New York as the pioneer navigators of the "etherial blue"—the Columbus of the nineteenth century. As we glided through the air, there was nothing to break the monotony of the sea below, except an occasional ship as it laboriously plowed its way through the waves of the Atlantic.
On the evening of the third day we saw a dark' line of clouds looming up on the verge of the eastern horizon and the moan of the wind betokened a storm. Our voyage which had been all we could ask for, now began to present dangers from which there seemed to be no escape. The heavens grew darker and the wind howled more fiercely and terribly as it came nearer, lashing the sea until it rolled and hissed and groaned like millions of tormented demons.
Soon the wind struck the Adventure with violence and she reeled and darted about like a bird in a gale, and was in imminent danger of being carried down into the raging gulf below. There seemed to be no hope for us and we expected every moment to be thrown from the balloon into the frantic waters of the Atlantic. At last I succeeded in throwing out some of the sand bags and as the balloon lightened she gradually ascended and we found ourselves enveloped in darkness which might truly be said, could be felt: but we soon emerged into the golden rays of a setting sun. We fell upon our faces and thanked God for our deliverance,—we looked upon ourselves as men who had passed from death to life,—we had pierced the dark cloud that overhung the sea and were now sailing through the air feeling nothing of the storm, which was raging below, wrecking the most powerful ships, and filling the hearts of sailors with despair. When we looked at our compass we found that the wind was now carrying us in a South West direction. Now for the first time we found it necessary to put our steering machine to the test. It did not work as well as we had expected, as it required our united efforts to keep the balloon in a westerly direction. This wind continued to blow until about two o'clock that night, when it again changed and blew more directly from the East. This was a welcome change to us, utterly worn out by our exertions. We watched the direction of the wind for three quarters of an hour, when we both fell asleep. We slept soundly until nearly day this morning. Upon looking out from the balloon we found ourselves no longer over the sea but sailing over mountains. We determined as soon as it was light to find a suitable place and then descend; so when we saw this beautiful plateau, we began to descend. On reaching the ground, and making some enquiry of persons who, at last ventured to approach near enough to be in hailing distance, we found ourselves in 'Virginia, instead of N. Y., where we had intended to go."
They will start for N.Y, to-morrow morning.
Beta.