Part 14 (1/2)

The leakage ht be expected chiefly to occur at the valve in the head of the balloon, it being extreht, however carefully its joints be stopped with luting On this account, therefore, it was determined that the balloon should be fitted hat is known as a solid or rending valve, consisting simply of balloon fabric tied hard and fast over the entire upper outlet, after the fashi+on of a ja hole of over 2 feet across; but by the tie was sufficiently prevented, the one drawback to this as now ad the valve line would si the entire wide aperture, which could in no way be closed again

Thethe balloon to sink spontaneously earthwards, and when it has settled near the ground, having chosen a desirable landing place, to tear open the so-called valve once and for all

This expedient, dictated by necessity, see sufficient for the purpose at hand, preparations were proceeded with, and, under the reed to act as aeronaut, a large balloon, with solid valve, was brought down to Newbury gas works on Nove the afternoon, was full andby sundown But as the meteor radiant would not be well above the horizon till after ht, the aeronautical party retired for refreshht wore on, it becah the sky reht The next day was overcast, and by nightfall hopelessly so, the clouds ever thickening, with absence of wind or any indication which ht it becaress or not

Under these circuht have been difficult to decide when to make the start with the best show of reason Clearly too early a start could not subsequently be rectified; the balloon, once off, could not cohly unwise for it to remain aloft and hidden by clouds for more than some two hours, lest it should be carried out to sea

Happily the right decision under these circu equal, the best time would be about 4 aetting low, and the two hours of darkness left would afford the best seeing Leaving, then, an efficient outlook on the balloon ground, the party enjoyed for some hours the entertainment offered the their seats in the car, sailed up into the calht

But the chilliness did not last for long A height of 1,500 feet was read by the Davy lah which the balloon would e of sand The fact was that the balloon, which had becoht of moisture from condensation on its surface, and when, at last, the whole depth of the cloud, 1,500 feet, had been penetrated, the chill of the upper air crippled the balloon and sent her plunging down again into theyet further expenditure of sand, which by this time had amounted to no less than 3 1/2 cwt in twenty ion on the upper in of the cloud floor, where evaporation reduced the tereenhouse war on around us on a gigantic scale was made very manifest The surface of the vast cloud floor beloas in a perfect turmoil, like that of a troubled sea If the cloud surface could be co on earth it h At one h, wide and deep below us, the next a hty billoould toss itself aloft and vanish utterly into space Everywhere wreaths ofaway into empty air, and, more remarkable yet, was the conflict of hich sent the cloud wrack flying simply in all directions

For two hours now there was opportunity for observing at leisure all that could beto our clear, elevated region, were exceptionally bright Thefrom the radiant point in the ”Sickle,” but these were not ht in any year, and served to eress The outlook was maintained, and careful notes an to break, the stars went in, and ere ready to pack up and co down We were at that ti out that at such an altitude it would have beenthe balloon of gas It may also be unnecessary to point out that in an ordinary afternoon ascent such a valve would be perfectly satisfactory, for under these circurow chill, and the balloonof an easy descent until a safe and suitable opportunity for rending the valve occurred; but noe knew that conditions were reversed, and that the sun was just going to rise

And then it e realised that ere caught in a trap From that moment it was painfully evident that ere powerless to act, and were at the , and, being well above the tossing billows of mist, we commanded an extended view on every side, which revealed, however, only the upper unbroken surface of the dense cloud canopy that lay over all the British Isles

We could only uess as to our probable locality We knew that our course at starting lay towards the west, and if erethat course a travel of scarcely more than sixty miles would carry us out to the open sea We had already been aloft for two hours, and as ere at an altitude at which fast upper currents are coh ti down; yet it was morally certain that it would be now many hours before our balloon would coas, by which time, beyond all reasonable doubt, we must be carried far out over the Atlantic All we could do was to listen intently for any sounds that ht reach us from earth, and assure us that ere still over the land; and for a length of ti, the lowing of cattle, the ringing trot of a horse on so, the sun cli by leaps and bounds, atched the cloud floor receding beneath us The effect was extremely beautiful A description written to the Ti, while the impression was still fresh, and from notes made at this period, ran thus:--”Away to an infinitely distant horizon stretched rolling billows of snohiteness, broken up here and there into seee fantastic hummocks Elsewhere doeneral surface, or an isolated Matterhorn towered into space In some quarters it was impossible to look without the conviction that we actually beheld the outline of lofty cliffs overhanging a none too distant sea” Shortly we began to hear loud reports overhead, rese small explosions, and we knehat these were--theout under the hot sun and yielding now and again with sudden release to the rapidly expanding gas It was, therefore, with grave concern, but with no surprise, that e next turned to the aneroid we found the index pointing to 9,000 feet, and stillupwards

Hour after hour passed by, and, sounds having ceased to reach us, it remains uncertain whether or no ere actually carried out to sea and headed back again by contrary currents, an experience hich aeronauts, including the writer, have been fath, there was borne up to us the distant sound of heavy haathered that ere probably over Bristol, and it was then that the thought occurred to ht possibly communicate with those beloith a view to succour

This led to our writing the followingthe overhead above the clouds Cannot descend Telegraph to sea coast (coast-guards) to be ready to rescue--Bacon and Spencer”

While thus occupied we caught the sound of waves, and the shriek of a shi+p's siren We were crossing a reach of the Severn, and most of our missives probably fell in the sea But over the estuary there , which crippled our balloon, for the aneroid presently told of a fall of 2,000 feet It was now past noon, and to us the turn of the tide was coe fluctuations, the balloon crept down till it reached and became enveloped in the cloud below, and then the end was near The actual descent occupied nearly two hours, and affords a curious study in aerostation The details of the balloon's dying struggles and of our own rough descent, entailing the fracture of hter's arm, are told in another voluanshi+re, only one and a half e which is a record in English ballooning--ten hours from start to finish

”By Land and Sky,” by the Author

CHAPTER XXVI RECENT AERONAUTICAL EVENTS

The first trial of the Zeppelin air shi+p was arranged to take place on June 30th, 1900, a day which, from absence of wind, was eminently well suited for the purpose; but the inflation proved too slow a process, and operations were postponed to thedelay, and by the time all was in readiness darkness had set in and the start was onceof the third day the monster craft was skilfully and successfully ot fairly away, carrying Count Zeppelin and four other persons in the two cars

Drifting with the wind, it attained a height of so apparatus being brought into play it circled round and faced the wind, when it rean to descend and, sinking gradually, gracefully, and in perfect safety, in about nine minutes it reached and rested on the water, when it was towed home

A little later in theestimated at sixteen miles an hour As on the previous occasion, the direct influence of the sun was avoided by waiting till evening hours It ascended at 8 press of about two ainst the wind for about 3 1/2 ave way, and theof October 24th of the same year, in very calm weather and with better hope, another ascent was made On this occasion, however, success was frustrated by one of the rear rudders getting foul of the gear, followed by the escape of gas from one of the balloons

Another and ain in calas was employed, and it would appear that the vessel had not sufficient buoyancy It re which it proved perfectly raceful journey out and honificent air shi+p, the result of twenty years of experiment, has since been abandoned and broken up; yet the sacrifice has not been without result Over and above the stiiven to the aeronautical world, two special triumphs are his He has shown balloonists how to ht material, and has raised powerful petroleum motors in a balloon with safety

In the early part of 1900 it was announced that a member of the Paris Aero Club, who at the time withheld his name (M Deutsch) offered a prize of 100,000 francs to the aeronaut who, either in a balloon or flying cha to the starting place within half an hour The donor would withdraw his prize if not ithin five years, and in the ement of worthy experireat variety and goodly nuan to be heard of, if not actually seen One of the earliest to be announced in the Press was a machine invented by the Russian, Feedoroff, and the Frenchof which would be worked like a velocipede by the feet of the aeronaut

Mr P Y Alexander, of Bath, who had long been an enthusiastic balloonist, and who had devoted a vast a skill to the pursuit of aeronautics, was at this ti machine, and was, indeed, one of the assistants in the first successful launching of the Zeppelin airshi+p