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	HOME POE EVENTS POETRY GALLERIES DEAD GIRLS LIBRARY ABOUT US		The Balloon-Hoax Edgar Allan Poe OPENING: READER-RICHARD HEFT Extra! Extra! READER-MIKE CRAMER Extra! Read all about it! READER-EBBIE PARKER Get your copy of today's New York Sun! READER-CLIVE REES Extra, extra! Read all about it! READER-PAUL ROBERTSON ASTOUNDING NEWS BY EXPRESS, VIA NORFOLK! READER-HEFT The Atlantic Crossed in Three Days! READER-CRAMER Signal Triumph of Mr. Monck Mason's Flying Machine! READER-PARKER Arrival at Sullivan's Island, near Charlestown, South Carolina, READER-REES of Mr. Mason, Mr. Robert Holland, Mr. Henson, Mr. Harrison Ainsworth, and four others, READER-ROBERTSON in the Steering Balloon, "Victoria", READER-HEFT after a Passage of Seventy-five Hours from Land to Land! READER-CRAMER Full Particulars of the Voyage! READER-PARKER We stop the press at a late hour to announce that by a Private Express from Charleston, South Carolina, we are just put in possession of full details of the most extraordinary adventure ever accomplished by man. READER-REES The Atlantic Ocean has been actually traversed in a balloon and in the incredibly brief period of three days! READER-ROBERTSON The great problem is at length solved! The air, as well as the earth and the ocean, have been subdued by science, and will become a common and convenient highway for mankind. READER-HEFT The Atlantic has been actually crossed in a Balloon! READER-CRAMER …without difficulty… READER-PARKER …without any great apparent danger… READER-REES …with thorough control of the machine… READER-ROBERTSON …and in the inconceivably brief period… READER-HEFT …of seventy-five hours from shore to shore! READER-CRAMER By the energy of an agent at Charleston, South Carolina, we are enabled to be the first to furnish the public with a detailed account of this most extraordinary voyage. READER-PARKER The particulars furnished below may be relied on as authentic and accurate in every respect, as, with a slight exception, they are copied verbatim from the joint diaries of Mr. Monck Mason and Mr. Harrison Ainsworth. READER-REES "THE BALLOON" READER-ROBERTSON Two very decided failures, of late, those of Mr. Henson and Sir George Cayley, had much weakened the public interest in the subject of aerial navigation. READER-HEFT It was at this juncture that Mr. Monck Mason READER-CRAMER (whose voyage from Dover to Weilburg in the balloon Nassau occasioned so much excitement in 1837) READER-PARKER conceived the idea of employing the principle of the Archimedean screw for the purpose of propulsion through the air… READER-REES …rightly attributing the failure of Mr. Henson's scheme, and of Sir George Cayley's to the interruption of surface in the independent vanes. READER-ROBERTSON Like Sir George Cayley's balloon, his own was an ellipsoid. READER-HEFT Its length was 13 feet 6 inches- height, 6 feet 8 inches. READER-CRAMER It contained about 320 cubic feet of gas. READER-PARKER The weight of the whole machine and apparatus was 17 pounds. READER-REES Beneath the centre of the balloon was suspended a wicker basket or car. READER-ROBERTSON So well satisfied, however, was Mr. Mason of the ultimate success of his invention, that he determined to construct immediately, if possible, a balloon of sufficient capacity to test the question by a voyage of some extent; READER-PARKER …the original design being to cross the British Channel. READER-HEFT The project was kept a profound secret from the public. The only persons entrusted with the design being those actually engaged in the construction of the machine. READER-REES We proceed now with the journal, as transcribed by Mr. Forsyth from the joint manuscripts of Mr. Monck Mason and Mr. Ainsworth. READER-ROBERTSON The body of the journal, as given, is in the handwriting of Mr. Mason, and a P.S. is appended, each day, by Mr. Ainsworth, who has in preparation, and will shortly give the public, a more minute and, no doubt, a thrillingly interesting account of the voyage. READER-CRAMER "THE JOURNAL" READER-REES Saturday, April the 6th. READER-HEFT Every preparation likely to embarrass us having been made overnight, we commenced the inflation this morning at daybreak; but owing to a thick fog which encumbered the folds of the silk and rendered it unmanageable, we did not get through before nearly eleven o'clock. READER-REES Cut loose, then, in high spirits, and rose gently but steadily, with a light breeze which bore us in the direction of the Bristol Channel. READER-CRAMER At half-past eleven still proceeding nearly South, we obtained our first view of the Bristol Channel; and, in fifteen minutes afterward, the line of breakers on the coast appeared immediately beneath us, and we were fairly out at sea. READER-ROBERTSON Upon this we gave nine hearty cheers, and dropped in the sea a bottle, inclosing a slip of parchment with a brief account of the principle of the invention. READER-PARKER Hardly, however, had we done with our rejoicings, when an unforeseen accident occurred which discouraged us in no little degree. READER-HEFT The steel rod connecting the spring with the propeller was suddenly jerked out of place. READER-REES While we were endeavoring to regain it, READER-CRAMER our attention being completely absorbed, READER-ROBERTSON we became involved in a strong current of wind from the East, which bore us, with rapidly increasing force, toward the Atlantic. READER-PARKER We soon found ourselves driving out to sea at the rate of not less, certainly, than 50 or 60 miles an hour. READER-HEFT It was now that Mr. Ainsworth made an extraordinary but, to my fancy, a by no means unreasonable or chimerical proposition, in which he was instantly seconded: READER-CRAMER that we should take advantage of the strong gale which bore us on, and in place of beating back to Paris, make an attempt to reach the coast of North America. READER-ROBERTSON After slight reflection, I gave a willing assent to this bold proposition, which (strange to say) met with objection from the two seamen only. As the stronger party, however, we overruled their fears, and kept resolutely upon our course. READER-PARKER We steered due West. READER-REES We threw out fifty pounds of ballast. READER-CRAMER We flew with a velocity nearly inconceivable. READER-PARKER As the sun went down, the gale freshened into an absolute hurricane. READER-ROBERTSON We suffered no little from cold, and the dampness of the atmosphere was most unpleasant; but the ample space in the car enabled us to lie down, and by means of cloaks and a few blankets we did sufficiently well. READER-PARKER P.S. [by Mr. Ainsworth.] READER-CRAMER The last nine hours have been unquestionably the most exciting of my life. I can conceive nothing more sublimating than the strange peril and novelty of an adventure such as this. READER-REES May God grant that we succeed! I ask not success for mere safety to my insignificant person, but for the sake of human knowledge and for the vastness of the triumph. And yet the feat is only so evidently feasible that the sole wonder is why men have scrupled to attempt it before. READER-HEFT In a night such as is this to me, a man lives- lives a whole century of ordinary life- nor would I forego this rapturous delight for that of a whole century of ordinary existence. READER-PARKER Sunday, the 7th. [Mr. Mason's MS.] READER-ROBERTSON This morning the gale had subsided to a breeze, and bears us, perhaps, 30 miles per hour, or more. READER-REES At sundown, we are holding our course due West, principally by the screw and rudder, which answer their purposes to admiration. READER-CRAMER I regard the project as thoroughly successful, and the easy navigation of the air in any direction as no longer problematical. READER-HEFT I have not the slightest fear for the result. The difficulty has been strangely exaggerated and misapprehended. I can choose my current, and should I find all currents against me, I can make very tolerable headway with the propeller. We have had no incidents worth recording. The night promises fair. READER-PARKER P.S. [By Mr. Ainsworth.] READER-CRAMER I have little to record, except the fact (to me quite a surprising one) that, at an elevation equal to that of Mount Cotopaxi, I experienced neither very intense cold, nor headache, nor difficulty of breathing; neither, I find, did Mr. Mason, nor Mr. Holland, nor Sir Everard. Mr. Osborne complained of constriction of the chest- but this soon wore off. READER-REES We have flown at a great rate during the day, and we must be more than half way across the Atlantic. We have passed over some 20 or 30 vessels of various kinds, and all seem to be delightfully astonished. Crossing the ocean in a balloon is not so difficult a feat after all. READER-PARKER Monday, the 8th. [Mr. Mason's MS.] READER-ROBERTSON This morning we had again some little trouble with the rod of the propeller, which must be entirely remodeled, for fear of serious accident. READER-HEFT It is now 12 at night, and we are still going nearly West, at a rapid pace. The sea is peculiarly phosphorescent. READER-PARKER P.S. [By Mr. Ainsworth.] READER-CRAMER It is now 2 A.M., and nearly calm, as well as I can judge- but it is very difficult to determine this point since we move with the air so completely. READER-REES I have not slept. But can stand it no longer, and must take a nap. We cannot be far from the American coast. READER-PARKER Tuesday, the 9th. [Mr. Ainsworth's manuscript.] READER-CRAMER One, P.M. We are in full view of the low coast of South Carolina. READER-ROBERTSON The great problem is accomplished. We have crossed the Atlantic- fairly and easily crossed it in a balloon! God be praised! Who shall say that anything is impossible hereafter? READER-PARKER The Journal here ceases. READER-HEFT It was nearly dead calm when the voyagers first came in view of the coast near Fort Moultrie on Sullivan's Island. READER-REES The grapnel caught at 2 P.M. precisely; and thus the whole voyage was completed in 75 hours; or rather less, counting from shore to shore. READER-ROBERTSON When the manuscript, from which this narrative is compiled, was dispatched from Charleston, the party were still at Fort Moultrie. Their further intentions were not ascertained; but we can safely promise our readers some additional information either on Monday or in the course of the next day, at furthest. READER-CRAMER This is unquestionably the most stupendous, the most interesting, and the most important undertaking ever accomplished or even attempted by man. What magnificent events may ensue, it would be useless now to think of determining. READER-REES April 13, 1844 The New York Sun READER-PARKER Postscript. READER-HEFT In 1835, an American, Richard Clayton, began construction of a mammoth balloon which was to be called "Star of the West". READER-ROBERTSON However, the balloon and the project never got off the ground. READER-CRAMER In 1843, John Wise unsuccessfully attempted to raise money for a balloon voyage to Europe. READER-REES Finally, in 1859, wealthy O. A. Gager financed the construction of a 50,000 cubic foot airship. READER-PARKER Called The "Atlantic", the ship successfully flew 809 miles from St. Louis to New York in 19 hours and 50 minutes. READER-ROBERTSON However, the ocean crossing was cancelled. READER-HEFT In 1863, Jules Verne wrote of such a crossing in "Five Weeks in a Balloon". READER-PARKER The first airship to actually cross the Atlantic was… READER-REES …a British-built dirigible, READER-CRAMER …a balloon with both a power plant and directional control. READER-HEFT The voyage took seventy-five hours in 1919. READER-ROBERTSON The first successful manned crossing of the Atlantic by free-floating balloon, READER-CRAMER …such as the one described in this story, READER-REES …took place on August 17, 1978. READER-PARKER Three Americans floated over South Wales, headed toward northern France. ENDING © 2001 Brian Aldrich/PoeForward










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