From the September 28, 1850 edition of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle:

“The Bordeaux papers contain the details of the death of Lieut. Gale, the aeronaut. He ascended upon the back of a pony, and at a short distance from the city, made a successful descent. The pony was detached and, while he was in the act of exhausting the remaining gas, his anchor gave way, and the balloon, being relieved of its chief weight, rose suddenly. A tree, by which the anchor held, snapped, and the shock upset the car. The lieutenant clung to the ropes, and in this state was carried a mile and a quarter, when he dropped, either with the balloon, or before it fell. His dead body, with all the limbs broken, was found in a wood. He has left a wife and eight children. He was engaged for twelve nights, at £90 each, free of expense. It is said that the Prefect of the Police intends to prohibit all balloon ascents out of the usual mode of performance.”