Traversing the air in balloons

This is from my letter Philip Turbin, April 28, 1784 (French balloonist Jean Pierre Blanchard wouldn't fly over Philadelphia until January 9, 1793, nine years later, with me in attendance, along with George Washington, John Adams, James Madison, and James Monroe):

Supposing you may not have received intelligence to be relied on as to the reality and extent of the late discovery of traversing the air in balloons, and having lately perused a book in which every thing is brought together on that subject as low down as December last, I will give you a detail of it.

The uses of this discovery are suggested to be 1. transportation of commodities under some circumstances; 2. traversing deserts, countries possessed by an enemy, or ravaged by infectious disorders, pathless and inaccessible mountains; 3. conveying intelligence into a besieged place, or perhaps enterprising on it, reconnoitering an army, etc.; 4. throwing new lights on the thermometer, barometer, hygrometer, rain, snow, hail, wind and other phenomena of which the Atmosphere is the theatre; 5. the discovery of the pole, which is but one day’s journey, in a balloon, from where the ice has hitherto stopped adventurers; 6. raising weights, lightening ships over bars; 7. housebreaking, smuggling, etc.

Some of these objects are ludicrous, others serious, important and probable. I will give you the figures of the balloons on the last page.