The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1883-09-15 00:00:00

A BALLOON VOYAGE ACROSS THE
CHANNEL,

The coveted distinction of being the first to cross
the Channel from the French side in a balloon has
been gained by she well-known and enterprising young
aeronaut, M. L'Hoste (says The Times). This result
has only been obtained by perseverance after several
unsneceeeful efforts. The first time he went up from
Boulogne in company with M. Eloy, and the balloon
fell at Desvres, a little town about 12 miles inland. On the
second occasion he went up alone at midnight, and,
after descending near Dunkirk in the morning, started
afresh and was picked up in the North Sea by a fish-
ing boat. Nothing daunted by perils from whica he
had narrowly escaped, he made two subaegaent
assents, and each time came down at Dizmude, a
little town in Belgium. In recognition of his energy,
a subscription was started at Boulogne to provide him
with a new balloon, to be called the Ville de Boulogne-
sur-Mer, and it was with this that ha effected his
ascent from the Tuileries Gardens at Boulogne last
Sunday afternoon at five o'clock, in presence of a
great crowd of spectators. The wind at starting was
exceedingly light, and in order not to overweight the
balloon tie 3 aeronaut had to leave behind an amateur
who had arranged to accompany him. The wind
carried the balloon in a north-easterly direction, but
half an hour afterwards it was caught by a south-east
current, -and after floating awhile above the piers it
took its course over the Straits at a height of 1,000
yards. Wishing to be informed as to the land current,
M. L'Hoste dropped down to about 150 yards to ques-
tion some fishermen whose smacks were beneath him,
and also the tug Faidherk, which had followed him out
of the harbour. Having obtained the necessary infor-
mation, he threw out ballast, and ascending to 1,300
yards, continued his course with a south-west wind,
which took him towards Cape Grisnez. At 6-30 the
balloon dropped into the lower current and kept on a
favourable course, with a breeze which varied from east
to south-west. At 7.30 both sides of the Channel were
hidden by a thick fog, but at eight o'clock the moon
rose and the aeronaut could make out steamers on
their way north. He could also distinguish lights at
Cape Grianez and at Dover. At nine o'clock, believing
himself near the English coast, in order to test the
correctness of his supposition, he hailed land loudly
and heard the echo of his own voice, which proved him
right. The wind continued to carry him landwards, and
his attention was attracted to the lighta off Folkestone.
He was then at a height of 300 &Ares. At about ten
o'clock M. L'Hoete saw the English coast beneath him.
He left behind him a little town which he supposed to
be Sandgate, where he was hailed by several persons.
Later on he arranged for his deseent, and fell into a
large field, so that he had to dircharge the gas alone.
It was then about eleven o'clock, and taking a rapid
glance around him, and finding that the spot was
entirely deserted, he decided that he would sleep by
the side of his balloon, and made the beat arrange-
ments he could for passing the night. Early on
Monday morning he went to the nearest farmhouse,
at a village about twelve miles from Folkestone. The
farmer very obligingly effered him the use of a vehicle
to convey the balloon to the town, and travelling with
it he returned to Folkestone, and then proceeded by
tidal boat to Boulogne, where a warm reception was
accorded him.

LAST WEEK'S WRECKS.—The intensity of the Psd
weather last week is unmistakably apparent' in the
large number of shipwrecks recorded. We find that
79 actual wrecks were reportsd, of which only 28 were
British, foreign owned vessels numbering 51. The
actual loss of life (2') was, however, comparativeiy
small, although it is conjectured that a considerable
further number of men have been lost off the North
American coasts. The wrecks for the present year
now total up to 1,257, the increase compared with the
corresponding period of last year being 297, and the
increase for the week is 68.