The New Hampshire Gazette

Mr. Clayton's Account Of his Aerial Voyage, reported by himself.
From the Cincinnati Post.

At a quarter before 6 P. M. I cast off the last rope that secured my aerial bark to the earth, and immediately she rose majestically into the atmosphere. In an instant I beheld the thousands of spectators that had collected on the outside of the amphitheatre, and in a few minutes a rich panorama of Cincinnati and its surrounding country opened to my view.

How delightful was now my situation!—High in air, I was suspended by materials capable of bearing twenty or thirty times my weight, and knowing this, I felt as safe as if I had been standing on a firm rock, with bulwarks around me. Beneath me I could view the "Queen of the West," Newport and Covington, and towns, villages and green and fertile fields. My view was more extensive than some might imagine.—I could see objects in every direction, distinctly, 20 miles at least, consequently, the area of my scene was more than twelve hundred square miles.

Around this view several dense clouds floated—their upper surface illuminated by the rays of the sun, and they appeared like vast fields, mountains, projecting rocks and caverns, all clothed in pure white.

On leaving Cincinnati, I passed in an East South East direction, and was on the Kentucky side of the Ohio river for a short time, but soon crossed the river again and moved about East by South. At half after six o'clock I lost sight of the Amphitheatre. Thirty-five minutes after six heard the firing of a gun. Ten minutes after seven could hear people shouting, and heard the firing of cannon three times in succession, which seemed at a considerable distance.

At seven I took the first observation with the instrument for ascertaining the rate of my travelling, and found that I was moving at the rate of one mile in 4 minutes 17 seconds—or about 14 miles per hour. I now marked on a number of the way bills the height of the Thermometer and Barometer, the course and rate I was travelling, and threw these, and also a number which were not marked, overboard. Thermometer 50 deg.: Barometer 24 1-10 inches; course East by South; rate 14 miles per hour.—At the time I took my departure, the Thermometer was 83 deg Barometer 29 3-10 inches. At 1/4 after 7. passed a little to the left of a town, which if I mistake not, was Batavia, the town bell was ringing, music playing, and people shouting. The inhabitants noticed me passing over, I waved my flag and threw out several way bills to them; I was an altitude of nearly a mile. I continued to pass over a fine open country. At half past seven o'clock I lost sight of the Ohio river. At eight o'clock I took my second observation. Thermometer 30 deg.; Barometer 21 inches; course East by South, rate 1 mile and a half in nine minutes. Saw Williamsburg to the South of me.

Several clouds were now floating above and below me, and as they had lost their pure white appearance, cast a dullness over all beneath, and robbed me of a scene of grandeur—the setting of the sun. Moisture from the clouds began to accumulate on the surface of my vessel, and to run down the neck, so as to completely soak my pantaloons and feet with water. At nine o'clock took 3d observation; the thermometer 35 deg: barometer 24 1-10 inches; course East by South; rate 1 mile to 6 minutes. The moon now shone, but it was not clear, and I had a very imperfect view of the earth.—A little before 10 o'clock, water poured down upon me; the blankets and sheets, the ballast bags, mail bag, and every thing on board were wet. I threw out a great weight of ballast to gain a more elevated and drier region in the atmosphere, and in a short time I found myself in a situation, though drier, much more unpleasant. The silk had become as hard as wood. Icicles hung from the valve rope; I stood in wet clothes upon blankets and sheets that were stiff with ice, and if I ever felt cold in my life, it was at this time. I felt desirous to know the height of the thermometer and barometer, but it was with great difficulty that I could hold my phosphorus bottle to see their height; thermometer 10 deg. the barometer down to 15 inches: I felt badly and sick at the stomach, and was stiff with cold and wet, and it was with the greatest difficulty, and only by beating my arms and body, and stamping with my feet, that I was enabled to keep awake; for I caught myself, even when in the act of striking my body, a nodding and falling insensibly asleep. The cause of this drowsiness was the coldness and rarefication of the atmosphere. Being desirous of preserving my gas, I would not open the valve to descend in a milder atmospheric sphere; soon found myself descending, and found that I had to discharge a great quantity of ballast, more than double the quantity I discharged on my former voyage, to keep at a safe distance from the earth. At first I thought the loss of the levity of my vessel was owing to the accumulation of water and ice on its surface: but I have since found it was owing principally to the two holes which I discovered and temporarily mended before I left Cincinnati, but which had broken again and formed large apertures. At 10 o'clock I felt too cold to pay any attention to my rate of travel. Shortly after, passed a little to the left of Florence. At 11 o'clock took an observation, thermometer 35 deg. barometer 24 1-10 inches, course about East by North, rate 1 mile in six minutes. At 12 o'clock, thermometer 40 deg.; barometer 26 inches; course East by North; rate 10 miles an hour.

After dark, the objects I took for measuring the angle, for ascertaining the rates of travel, were lights that appeared every now and then to pass beneath me. Before one o'clock, the moon was down; and I was left with no better lights to cheer me over the wilderness, than a few stars that appeared to struggle through the vapor or mist in which I was floating. I thought, before the moon went down, that I should have sufficient ballast to keep me afloat till sunrise, but at half past 1 o'clock my last bag of sand went overboard, next in turn went my six bottles and their contents, and provisions, then my cable and anchor, then after a while I found myself again descending, then went my blankets and sheets, and soon after my great coat, and at last some of my instruments, and after all I could not keep afloat till sunrise. My vessel had sprung a leak, and although all her valuable burthen, except myself, had gone overboard, yet she was compelled to sink to the bottom of her element. I at last found myself touching the top of the trees in a dense wood. I stopped myself with one hand without difficulty, for I was not moving, nor had been for the last half hour, at a rate not exceeding 2 or 3 miles per hour. I could perceive that there was no space between the trees to bring my vessel to the ground. I therefore secured her by means of a rope to a branch and then laid myself down in my cold and disagreeable birth, without any great coat, or blanket, or drink to warm me, and nothing to gaze upon but darkness, or to listen to but frightful noises in the woods. As soon as the sun arose in the morning, I began to exercise my lungs for the purpose of attracting some one to my assistance, but could not succeed in making any one hear. At seven o'clock in the morning, I unlashed my vessel from the tree, and drew her to within 20 feet of the ground, and descended by the means of a rope. I struck off in a due West direction, marking the trees, so as to be enabled to find my way back. I soon found a path which led to Mr. Bryan's house, about a mile from where I had descended. The news of the man having arrived who had travelled through the air from Cincinnati to the Alleghany mountains, spread in quick time for miles around; and a great number of ladies and gentlemen came to see me and my aerial ship: I allowed the "Star of the West" to remain inflated, and to ornament the woods until Sunday evening. I was then kindly assisted by Mr. Bryan, Mr. Beanning, (Justice of the Peace,) Mr. Joseph Pennellon, and two or three others. We cut down several trees and were enabled to secure her without any injury.

The spot on which I landed is in Pebble township, Pike county, nine miles from Piketon, 18 miles from Chillicothe, and 100 miles from Cincinnati. The letters entrusted to my care, were safely deposited in the Post Office at Waverly, a few miles from where I landed.

I take this opportunity of expressing my grateful feelings to the ladies and gentlemen of Cincinnati and its vicinity, for their liberal patronage on the day of my ascension, and to assure the public that had it not been for the unforeseen escape of gas through the apertures before alluded to, I would have remained in the atmosphere at least 30 hours, and have accomplished my proposed voyage to the seaboard.

R. CLAYTON.