Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1862-12-11

case Of the third pigeon; but fourth
which was set at liberty at q hight o
four miles, alighted on the top Of The
balloon and was lost sight of; what be
came of it afterwards, the voyagers arr
unsbled to say. The two remaining
pigeons were brought to the ground
On examining them one was found te
be dead; the other, a carrier, was great
ly exhausted. but able to perch upor
Mr. Glaisher's finger. At hight o.
four lies, Mr.. CoxweH heard faint in.
dications Of terrestrial sounds; but Mr.
Glaisher observed none after he had
reached an altitude Of mile and half
when at that hight, he distinctly heard
the report Of gun; the only sound
which he perceived afterward was the
rustIing noise made by the balloon as i
sped upward.
When the voyagers had attained ar
altitude of about FIVE miles. Mr.. Glsishel
began to feel those symptoms that had
well nigh proved dangerous to him.
but in spite of which he persevered,
making observations Of importance to
science and meteorology. The temper
ature was below zero, and gradually de-
scending in an atmosphere SO thin that
the least exertion caused breathing TO
be a matter of extreme pain and diff
Guilty. Mr.. Glaisher subsequently be-
came unconscious without betraying
the slightest symptoms Of uneasiness, or
producing any such effects on his COM
panion. Mr.. Coxwell's power Of en-
durance seemed almost wonderful, for,
notwithstanding his exertion, climbing
in and out of the rigging, lifting the
sand bags and discharging nearly 1000
pounds OF ballast, he was able to with
stand the atmosphere, and to save him.
self and his companion from being swept
into eternity. At the hight Of about
five miles Mr.. Glaisher entered his last
ascending register, recording the tenn.
perature at minus 30, being temper
ature about go below that at the esrth's
surface. Mr.. Glaisher then found that
his eyesight began to fail, and he asked
Mr.. Coxwell to assist him in reading
, the instruments. Mr.. Coxwell, howev-
er, was wanted in the rigging TO ar
range some Of the cordage, and seeing
that their lives were more important
than the discoveries Of science. he at
once got into the rigging of the balloon
to attend to his own particular duties
Mr.. Glaisher, in the meantime, was u.s.
ing his spectacles and magnifying glass
es, but be could ascertain nothing ex-
cept that the barometer stood at about
10 inches, which would indicate hight
of 81 miles. He had previously felt
himself becoming unconscious, and had
made an entry to that effect in his min
ute book; but when he attempted to en-
ter the registering OF the barometer, he
found that he could not write. Think
ing that little stimulant would revive
him, he reached out his hasd to bran
dy-f1ask that was not more than foot
from where be sat, but he discovered
that he was powerless and gradually
he became unconscious; the last object
that he saw was the dim outline Of
Mr.. Coxwell's figure in the rigging of
the balloon. Directly after this, Mr..
Coxwell observed the condition Of his
companion. He states that Mr.. Clash
er was leaning back on his seat, his feet
out stretched. his mouth open, his arms
by his side, but his countenance per-
fectly calm. He descended into the
car and tired to revive him, but could
not, and Mr.. Coxwell was beginning to
feel symptoms Of fsintness, and fearing
that he, too, might become unconscious
for the balloon was still rapidly as
cending-he began to make prepara-
tions for lowering the machine. On
attempting to seize the valve-string, he
found that be had lost the use Of his
hands, and that they we're perfectly
black. Fortunately. being dentist as
well as an aeronaut, and believing in
the power of his teeth, he seized the
cord with his mouth, and after despe-
rate pull. he opened the valve, and the
balloon began to make its descent
In the course of few minutes Mr.
Glaisher revived, and by the time that
he reached the earth, the effects of his
raintness had entirely disappeared
While Mr.. Glaisher was unconscious,
Mr.. Coxwell happened to cast his eyes
on the needle Of the aneroid barometer,
and when Mr.. Glaisher recovered he in.
formed him of its position. From thi:
observation, Mr.. Glaisher estimates
that they attained hight of fully si1
miles. At a hight of five miles. the
mercury stood at minus 80; the self
registering thermometer indicated thai
it had been as low as minus 200 or 25e
below freezing point. Among the ar.
ticles taken up in the balloon, was q
T quantity of water, and until they reach.
ed a hight of FIVE miles, Mr.. Glaishel
kept it from freezing by occasionally
stirring 1t with a small ladle. Wher
ne recovered his consciousness, he found
that the water had been frozen into {
solid block of ice, and it remained il
this condition for an hour and a hal
after he reached the earth. Ozone wa,
observable in The upper atmosphere
The atmosphere beyond the clouds wa!
extremely dry, and but for this circum
stance the cold would have been fel
much more intensely.
The descent was made at 3:eeP M.
in field twenty-eigbt miles from VOL
[ I...hn..Hio. Thnxr l.