The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-07-10

They cling to the belief and they assert their
o.,nv ion with confidence that inspires re-
spe'i. lat that which has heretofore been deem.
ed impossible Is not 90; that with their aerial
ship they can GROSS the ocean safely, expedi
tiorsly md with much precision as to their
course; and hey say that they regard the OK
pertinent just made as highly satisfactory in that
regard.
However that may eventually turn out, no
one can read the narratives of their voyage from
the Mississippi to the Ontario without feeling
himself as excited as he would be with the de-
scription of a mighty battle. The risks Of the
serial voJ ayers were fully compensated by the
emotions which they experienced: now sailing at
an altitude oftwO or two aud half miles in a pei
lucid atmosphere through which objects on the
earsh's surface were distinctly outlined /; now
sweeping over the tall trees Of the forest again
exchanging salutations and jokes with the skip
pers OF propellers on Lake Erie, and finally get
ting within the scope Of q hurricane, the fury of
which appalled, even the st0utest, and appeared
to leave them no option except as to the death
they would prefer-whetder they should be
swallowed up in the wild waves of the Ontario,
or dashed to pieces against the solid earth. At
one Of these fearful moments, when the balloon
was descending on the lake at the rate Of a
mile and three quarters per minute, La Noun
tain tells us that he was not disconnected, and
that his only thought was that at point on the
shore, dimly visible from where he stood, his
Low hvIric Rnf vuIS fh,c
verted to her who was the fountain of bis life,
he neglected no means which offered the faintest
promise Of preserving the existence of himself
and his fellow voyagers He appears never to
have despaired; and to his presence of mind
courage and selfsacrifcing intrepidity his com
panions owe, under Providence, their safety
He might have clambered out of the boat into q
tree which it struck but he refused to do 30, aud
assembled into the car, resolved that the fate o.
one should be the fate of all
Mr.. Wise says that it would have been quite
easy for them to have sailed directly to the city
done, had they kept more in the upper eurren.
but that that plan was frustrated on accoup
OF the u9rrepa.edness of some of the crew for S,
| cold an atmosphere. We do rot know whethe
this is reconcilable with Mr.. La Mountains state
ment that the upper current-two and hal
miles above the earth-was blowing in the SAM
direction as the hurricane. Both agree, how
ever, as to the theory of there being uniform cur
rents at certain attitudes. While their balloon a
an altitude of mile and half was carried
along in an easterly direction, smaller balloon
lower down, which had undertaken to pilot them
over St. Louis, was not carried in the same di
rection. Both declare themselves well satisfied
with the result of the experiment, and more
than ever determined to 60 forward with the en-
terprise of transatlantic ballooning. At all
events, this has been the most remarkable and
successful experiment that has yet been made il
aerial navigation, and the narratives of the voy
age are most exciting.