Part 11 (1/2)
It will have been gathered from what has been already stated that the balloonist is commonly in much uncertainty as to his precise course when he is above the clouds, or when unable from darkness to see the earth beneath hiinal experi the seventies had begun to interest himself in aeronautics
This was Captain Burnaby His method was to eht carry burning nesiuth of silk thread
On dropping one parachute, it would first partake of the motion of the balloon, but would presently drop belohen the second parachute would be disinary line drawn between the two bodies was supposed to betray the balloon's course It should be mentioned, however, that if a careful study isparachutes it will be found that their behaviour is too uncertain to be relied upon for such a purpose as the above They will often float behind the balloon's wake, but so off in some side direction, so ard and complex are the currents which control such small bodies Mr
Glaisher has stated that a balloon's course above the clouds ing below the car, as this would be seen to be out of the vertical as the balloon drifted, and thus serve to indicate the course However this may be, the most experienced sky sailors will be found to be in perplexity as to their direction, as also their speed, when view of the earth is obscured
But Captain Burnaby is associated notably with the adventurous side of ballooning, the , perhaps, that of crossing the English Channel alone from Dover on March 23rd, 1882
Outwardly, heto Paris by sky to dine there that evening; inwardly, he had determined to start simply with a hich bid fair for a cross-Channel trip, and to take whatever chances ithim
Thus, at 1030 am, just as thepohich rapidly carried hiht of 2,000 feet, when he found his course to be towards Folkestone But by shortly after 11 o'clock he had decided that he was changing his direction, and when, as he judged, so him not across, but down the Channel Then, for nearly four hours, the balloon shi+fted about with no improvement in the outlook, after which the wind fell calm, and the balloon remained s continuing for an hour, the Captain resolved on the heroic expedient of casting out all his ballast and philosophically abiding the issue Theup to 11,000 feet, caught a current, on which it was rapidly carried towards and over the main land; and, when twelve miles beyond Dieppe, it became easy to descend to a lower level by manipulation of the valve, and finally toin open country beyond
A few years before, an attempt to cross the Channel from the other side ended farpiloted the first runaway balloon frouered Paris, had deterland froe concourse asse loudly for the ascent But the wind proved unsuitable, setting out over the North Sea, and the ht fit to interfere, and had the car rerew i to keep faith with the his car, which he hastily carried back to the balloon, and i his seat, and accompanied by his wife, the intrepid pair co were settling down Shortly the balloon disappeared into the gathering darkness, and then for three days Calais knew no ers see aught for certain of their own course, and thus through the long night hours their attention holly needed, without chance of sleep, in closely watching their situation, lest unawares they should be borne down on the waves Whencarried out over the sea on a furious gale, being apparently off the Danish coast, with the distant mountains of Norway dimly visible on the starboard bow It was at this point, and possibly owing to the chill commonly experienced aloft soon after dawn, that the balloon suddenly took a doard course and plunged into the sea, happily, however, fairly in the track of vessels Presently a shi+p ca the castaways in despair, with their car fast succu to the waves
Help, nevertheless, was really at hand The captain of an English fishi+ng s balloon, and was already bearing down to the rescue It is said that when, at length, a boat caside as near as it was possible, Madame Duruof was unable to make the necessary effort to jump on board, and her husband had to throw her into the ar sequel to the story comes froland, were given a splendid reception and a purse of money, hich M Duruof forthwith constructed a new balloon, named the ”Ville de Calais”
On the 4th of March, 1882, the ardent amateur balloonist, Mr Simmons, had a narrow escape in circu, in company with Colonel Brine, to cross the Channel froe of wind carried the in the water, they abandoned their balloon, but were rescued by the mail packet Foa experience not long after, when in cony The two adventurers left Maldon, in Essex, at 11 pht out to sea, lost all sight of land till 6 ahted the opposite coast and descended in safety near Flushi+ng
Yet another adventure at sea, and one which proved fatal and unspeakably regrettable, occurred about this time, namely, on the 10th of December, 1881, when Captain Te-Gardner ascended froive the account as it appears in a leading article in the Ti over Glasobry, ”Crewkerne was presently sighted, then Beaave the next indication of the locality to which the balloon had drifted and the first hint of the possible perils of the voyage A descent was now effected to within a few hundred feet of earth, and an endeavour was made to ascertain the exact position they had reached The course taken by the balloon between Beaminster and the sea is not stated in Captain Teather, must have shi+fted, or different currents of air must have been found at the different altitudes What Captain Te, it would see still very near to the earth Soon after they had left Symonsbury, Captain Templer shouted to a man below to tell them how far they were from Bridport, and he received for answer that Bridport was about ahad now increased to thirty-five erously close, and a few h to carry them over it They seem, however, to have been confident in their oers of ht of 1,500 feet, and thence caround at a distance of about 150 yards froed for a few feet, and Captain Teas, rolled out of the car, still holding the valve line in his hand This was the last chance of a safe escape for anybody
The balloon, with its weight lightened, went up about eight feet Mr
Agg-Gardner dropped out and broke his leg Mr Powell now remained as the sole occupant of the car Captain Templer, who had still hold of the rope, shouted to Mr Powell to come down the line This he attempted to do, but in a few seconds, and before he could commence his perilous descent, the line was torn out of Captain Templer's hands All communication with the earth was cut off, and the balloon rose rapidly, taking Mr Poith it in a south-easterly direction out to sea”
It was a few seasons previous to this, namely, on the 8th of July, 1874, when Mr Simmons was concerned in a balloon fatality of a peculiarly distressing nature A Belgian, Vincent de Groof, styling hi in a parachute from a balloon piloted by Mr Simmons, as to start from Cremorne Gardens The balloon duly ascended, with De Groof in his machine suspended below, and when over St Luke's Church, and at a height estiht that the unfortunatehis apparatus, and fell forward, clinging to the ropes The machine failed to open, and De Groof was precipitated into Robert Street, Chelsea, expiring almost immediately
The porter of Chelsea Infir the balloon, asserted that he fancied the falling man called out twice, ”Drop into the churchyard; look out!” Mr Sihtened, to a great height, became insensible, and when he recovered consciousness found himself over Victoria Park He made a descent, without mishap, on a line of railway in Essex
On the 19th of August, 1887, occurred an important total eclipse of the sun, the track of which lay across Germany, Russia, Western Siberia, and japan At all suitable stations along the shadow track astronomers from all parts of the world established themselves; but atto the pheno obscured And on this account one astronomer determined on measures which should render his chances of a clear view a practical certainty Professor Mendeleef, in Russia, resolved to engage a balloon, and by rising above the cloud barrier, should there be one, to have the eclipse all to himself It was an example of fine enthusiasm, which, moreover, was presently put to a severe and unexpected test, for the balloon, when inflated, proved unable to take up both the aeronaut and the astronoh wholly inexperienced, had no alternative but to ascend alone, which, either by accident or choice, he actually did Shooting up into space, he soon reached an altitude of 11,500 feet, where he obtained, even if he did not enjoy, an unobstructed view of the Corona Itto the novelty of his situation, his scientific observations may not have been so complete as they would have been on terra firht was made by MM
Jovis and Mallet at Paris, with the net result that an elevation of 23,000 feet was reached It will have been noted that the difficulty through physical exhaustion of inhaling oxygen fro or cylinder is a serious ested that the helht prove of value
This contrivance, which has scarcely attracted the attention it hasoxygen and certain purifying media, by means of which the inventor was able to remain for hours under water without any communication with the outward air
About the period at which we have now arrived two fatal accidents befel English aeronauts We have related how Maldon, in Essex, was associated with one of the more adventurous exploits in Mr Simmons's career It was fated also to be associated with the voyage hich his career closed On August 27th, 1888, he ascended frohton, and Mr Myers, of the Natural History Museu to Flanders; and the voyage proceeded happily until the neighbourhood of Maldon was reached, when, as the sea coast was in sight, and it was already past five o'clock, it appeared prudent to Mr Siht Sohted the balloon corapnel coh a field of barley, when ballast was thrown out, causing the balloon to rise again towards and over some tall elms, which becarapnel, catching in the upper boughs of one of these trees, held fast, while the balloon, borne by the force of a strong wind, was repeatedly blon to earth with violence, rebounding each tiain on the same spot After three or four impacts the balloon is reported to have burst with a loud noise, when high in the air, the silk being blown about over the field, and the car and its occupants dashed to the ground Help was unavailing till this final catastrophe, and when, at length, the labourers were able to extricate the party, Mr Simmons was found with a fractured skull and both companions badly injured
Four summers later, June 30th, 1892, Captain Dale, the aeronaut to the Crystal Palace, was announced to rounds, weather per a violent storm prevailed, and it was contemplated that the exhibition would be withdrawn; but the wind abating in the afternoon, the inflation was proceeded with, and the ascent took place shortly before 6 pe rent had been discovered and repaired as far as possible by Mrs Dale As passengers, there ascended the Captain's son Williaed nineteen, Mr J Macintosh, and Mr Cecil Shadbolt When the balloon had reached an altitude estimated at 600 feet the onlookers were horrified to see it suddenly collapse, a large rent having developed near the top part of the silk, fro the balloon to fall like a rag” The occupants of the car were seen to be throwing out everythingAll, however, with little avail, for the balloon fell ”with a sickening thud,” midway between the Maze and lower lake All were found alive; but Captain Dale, who had alighted on his back, died in a fewpassengers sustained terrible injuries
Few balloon mishaps, unattended with fatal results, have proved e party had ascended frouidance of Mr coxwell, on a day which was very unfit for the purpose by reason of stormy weather A more serious trouble than the wind, however, lay in several of the passengers thehly excitable Irish orders
The principal hero of the story, a Ger afterwards to the Ulster Observer, entirely exonerates Mr coxwell fro his mischances solely to the reprehensible conduct of his coave clear instructions The passengers were to sit down in an unconstrained position facing each other, and be prepared for soet out one by one, and on no account to leave hold of the car Many of the passengers, however, refused to sit down, and, according to Mr Runge, ”behaved in the wildestthe valve rope theer pushi+ng back the weaker, and refusing to lend help when they had got out In consequence of this the car, relieved of their weight, tore away fro to it, and rose above the trees, with Mr Runge and one other passenger, Mr Halferty, alone within As the balloon caain, they shouted to the countryhtest avail, and presently, the anchor catching, the car struck the earth with a shock which threw Mr Halferty out on the ground, leaving Mr Runge to rise again into the air, this time alone” He thus continues the story:--
”The balloon ht towards the sea, which ere then rapidly nearing Co there Some women, with their quick huer, and exhorted theas fast as they could to tender what little help they ive me The anchor stuck in atree I shouted out to the people below to secure the cable and anchor by ropes, which they did The evening was now beautifully still, the breeze had died away, and the balloon inging cals above the farmhouse One of the men asked et out