That's an excellent case, with a good photo (now lost). I actually think that in the "Terror of Guerrande" the two folks blamed for the events were possibly released in some kind of pod made from angel hair; the balloon was mantioned as being very strange and essentially disintegrated too. But no way to know..
THE TERROR OF GUERANDE. - Geelong Advertiser (Vic. : 1859 - 1929) - 3 Apr 1866 &searchLimits=exactPhrase|||anyWords|||notWords|||requestHandler|||dateFrom|||dateTo|||sortby
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bit more of the "Terror":
"The people got the loan of a stout sentry-box from the^rfmrffne on the Guerande road ; and'this*
wooden box they placed in a concealed corner of the farmyard from which the sheep had first been stolen. For eight nights Lanwic. Beaucfi, ,the saulnizr,! remained in that box without hearing or1 seeing anything remarkable1The ninth night was exceedingly dark. It was about midnight, or porhaps shortlyrafter it, when he was startled by hearing the clanking of a chain in the air, apparently right in front of him. He stated next ' morning that he had rushed out of his box,
heard a loud, ringing noise, but could see nothing. 1 It was Considered quite as likely, however, that he had-been overcome with fear, and" never stirred from his post. The most important testimony was that of a humble vihager of Saillie, who was in expectancy one night that his cow was about to.calve. About one o'olockin the morning he went out into the back yard,-and was about to cross to the rude mud-built cow-ho,use, when ho : dropped .the flint
; arid steel , whorowith ho had intended to:: light a
small lamp which he carried; He stooped down to seek.for them, : assisted by the clear starlight, and! was in this position when he suddenly, heard a loud noise overhead, and the next moment he felt himself nearly caught by two large iron clasps. Horrified, he looked up and saw some great black object hovering in the air,'and then, deadened by a sudden spasm of fear, he fell flat and rolled oyer into a gutter leading from the cowhouse, where he lay insensible. When he came to himself it was two o'clock; he was cold and wet, but otherwise unhurt. He entered the house, awoke his two sons,
and with them sat up during the might; for no one of them dared to sleep," ;-vow, this man had gone out with a thick fur cap on his head, as protection against the night air. The cap, as he had supposed, was left outside when he had stumbled terror-stricken into the house. Next morning, however, it was nowhere to be seen ; but a beaver hat, battered and worn with rain and wind, was found in a ditch a few hundred yards off. When the story was spread abroad as the last visitation of the mysterious marauder...."
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But the end was near. One eveniug the mayor of Gueratide, riding into the town, saw in the plain below a number of country people surrounding a strange, large object, which some of them were furiously attacking.
Turning his horse's head, he rapidly rode down to them, and found them madly tearing and tearing to pieces a balloon, so differently made from those of which the mayor had seen woodcuts, that he scarcely knew what the great, fluttering, helpless object was.
Some others of the peasants were binding j together the hands of two men with long and rough beards, and with white terror stricken faces, who, as the people had said, had fallen out of the infernal machine -when -it tumbled down to the ground, and who it was;asserted wore the clothes of their murdered victims. " We go to hang . them in. Bourgde-Batz," they cried "theyfare murderers and robbers,1 they deserve death." The mayor having .yainly endeavoured to protest,. rode; back to the town : for some gendarmes, who; yrere quickly oh i.ttfci, spot and' secured"
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f Another inquiry was at once instituted ■by the authorities, but the affair was shrouded in mystery. What is placed beyond doubt is that in 1799 Andre ;Lecuyer and Pierre Limogin Pillerault were'tried and 'condemned at Namur, in; Belgium, for two murders of unexampled ferocity,'and that they escaped from pri
son; whither, no one knew. Farther, it; was; proved that both these, men bad,, previous to committing this crime, been held in great'repute among scientific men for .their discoveries ; - and Pillerault especially ;had-been honoured by the; acquaintance, of the Marquis d'Arlandes, • who ascended in:the: badoon made-by; Montgolfier in. 17S3." But the balloon; found near Giierande liad been "merci
le'ssly cut and broken. into shreds; and '■ it'was: impossible to divine-how the • two; wild" - fugitives had: been successful in; their enterprise. Whether they-;hadj invented, even, at that early period, some; means for guiding the; course of their' balloon ' and so have stood out to sea ' during the day, is not known. The whole; affair soon became a mere local tradition, i and - the authorities had no interest fin making-too much of it, fir they 'were undeniably culpable in not having provided a sufficient escort to bring the two criminals from. Guerande to Nantes."