The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1879-09-20 00:00:00

A BALLOON ADVENTURE.

E. Elia Mirepoix, founder of the Paris Scien-
tific Airostation Society furnishes the following
details of a hazardous balloon voyage (says Galignanti).
He left Laferte-Maa (Orne) at half-past six in
the evening and travelled until one in the morn-
ing. The wind being calm at this hour and the con-
densation of the gas having brought him to within ten
metres of the ground, he threw out an anchor and
brought his balloon to a stand. Having moored it
securely, he knocked at a neighbouring farm house and
placed two men on guard with strict injunctions to call
him in case of a change of wind. After a hearty meal he
went to bed and slept until six o'clock. At seven he
bad prepared everything for a new start, and only
awaited the sun's rays to dilate the gas a little when he
again ascended, amidst the acclamations of the whole
commune, who had turned out to see him. After
four hours progress, during which he observed some
extraordinary phenomena of dilatation and concentra-
tion, of the gas' he had attained an altitude of 5,600
metres travelling for an hour without having seen
the earth, he suddenly noticed through a break in the
clouds that he was only a kilometre from the sea.
He immediately descended, and so rapidly that he
i
passed through 1,000 metres n three minutes. There
he encountered a breeze frem the sea to
which he owes his life in all probability,
for had the superior current continued in the lower
region he would infallibly have been blown some miles
out to sea. He took off all his clothes and threw them
overboard with his instruments, money, &c., and
reached the earth in puris naturadibus. The shock
was formidable, and he was seriously bruised, but was
immediately assisted by the fishermen, He had
alighted at Lombartzied (Belgium), at 100 metres from
the sea. In ten hours, after a stoppage of five hours,
he had travelled a distance of about 700 kilometres.

ARRIVAL OF CETYWAYO'S TUSK IN
LONDON.
,The tusk of ivoryeae
effr
o senteibngy,
oCrertyatwhaeyroastoan LrdG'helrnsfurd as a_ p
evi-
dence of his desire for peace, arrived safely at the
Odonial Office, Whitehall, on Monday. The tusk is
an enormous one in point of size, being seven feet in
length and about half a yard in circumference at the
girth. It is the finest specimen of an elephant's tusk
that has probably ever reached this country, and must
have belonged to an animal of prodigious dimensions.
Sir Evelyn Wood had charge of the tusk, which was
presented to the Colonial Secretary; and, as was the
case with King Dahomey's seat and Theodore's
umbrella, it is believed that the tusk will be shortly on
exhibition at South Kensington.

"H. H. M." writes to the Daily News :—" The
weight of Cetywayo's tusk is not given, but the length,
viz„ 7 feet, was greatly exceeded by a pair of tusks
rent to the first exhibition in London by Mr. Cawood,
of Port Elizabeth. Their joint weight was 3311 b., the
largest weighing 1671 b., and attaining to the length of
81t. 6in. Elephant hunters say that the heaviest tusks
are not always carried by the largest elephants."