with smoke, the aeronaut would be able
to search with his glass its entire extent. If the vapors were
rising, he, no doubt, could detect their source.

The balloon rose at once to a height of fifteen hundred feet, and
there rested almost motionless for a quarter of an hour. Evidently
the east wind, which was brisk upon the Surface of the earth, did not
make itself felt at that height. Then, unlucky chance, the balloon
was caught in an adverse current, and began to drift toward the east.
Its distance from the mountain chain rapidly increased. Despite all
the efforts of the aeronaut, the citizens of Morganton saw the
balloon disappear on the wrong horizon. Later, they learned that it
had landed in the neighborhood of Raleigh, the capital of North
Carolina.

This attempt having failed, it was agreed that it should be tried
again under better conditions. Indeed, fresh rumblings were heard
from the mountain, accompanied by heavy clouds and wavering
glimmerings of light at night. Folk began to realize that the Great
Eyrie was a serious and perhaps imminent source of danger. Yes, the
entire country lay under the threat of some seismic or volcanic
disaster.

During the first days of April of that year, these more or less vague
apprehensions turned to actual panic. The newspapers gave prompt echo
to the public terror. The entire district between the mountains and
Morganton was sure that an eruption was at hand.

The night of the fourth of April, the good folk of Pleasant Garden
were awakened by a sudden uproar. They thought that the mountains
were falling upon them. They rushed from their houses, ready for
instant flight, fearing to see open before them some immense abyss,
engulfing the farms and villages for miles around.

The night was very dark. A weight of heavy clouds pressed down upon
the plain. Even had it been day the crest of the mountains would have
been invisible.

In the midst of this impenetrable obscurity, there was no response to
the cries which arose from every side. Frightened groups of men,
women, and children groped their way along the black roads in wild
confusion. From every quarter came the screaming voices: "It is an
earthquake!" "It is an eruption!" "Whence comes it?" "From the Great
Eyrie!"

Into Morganton sped the news that stones, lava, ashes, were raining
down upon the country.

Shrewd citizens of the town, however, observed that if there were an
eruption the noise would have continued an