Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1868-12-15
THE AIR-SHTP
Five Miles Above the EArth-ThriI-
ling Adventure.


ling Adventure.
One dull day in August, just after
noon, a balloon rose in the air at the
foot of Cloet Hills, on the western
edge of the central plain of England
1t was inflated with the lightest of
gases which chemical skill could
produce, and it rose with amazing
velocity. A mile up audit entered
stratum of cloud more than
thousand feet thick. Emerging
from this, the sun shone brightly on
the air-ship; the sky overhead was
of the clearest and deepest blue, and
below lay cloudland-an immeasur-
able expause of cloud whose surface
looked as solid as that of the earth
not wholly lost to view. Lofty
mountains and deep, dark rayines,
appeared below the peaks and sides
of these cloud mountains next the
sun, glittering like snow, but casting
shadows as if they were solid rock.
Up rose the balloon with tremen-
dous velocity. -Four miles above
the earth a pigeon was let loose; it
dropped down through the air as if
it had been q stone. The air was too
thin to enable it to fly. 1t was as if a
bark laden to the deck were to pass
from the heavy waters of the sea into
an inland unsaline lake; the bark
would sink at once in the thinner
water. Up, up still higher! What
a silence profoundl The heights of
the sky were as still as the deepest
depths of the ocean, where, as was
found during the search for the lost
Atlantic cable, the fine mud lies rs
unstirred from year to year as the
dust which imperceptibly gathers on
the furniture of deserted house
No sound; no life-only the bright
sunshine falling through a sky
which it could not warm.
| Up-five miles above earth-higher
than the inaccessible summit of
Chimborazo or Dawangiri. Despite
the sunshine, everything freezes. The
air grows too thin to support life,
even for few minutes. Two men
only are in that adventurous balloon
THE one steering the air-ship, the
other watching the scientific instru-
ments, and recording them with a
rapidity bred of long practice. Sud
denly as the latter looks at his in
struments, his sight grows dim; he
takes 4 lens to help his sight, and
only marks from the falling baro-
meter that they are rising rapidly.
A flask of brandy lies within foot
of him; he tried to reach it, but his
arm refused to obey his will. He
tries to call On his comrade, who has
gone up into the ring above; whis-
per in that deep silence would suf-
fice-but no sound comes from his
lips-he is voiceless. The steers
man comes down into the car; he
sees his comrade in a swOon, and
feels his own senses failing him.
He saw at once that life and death
hung upon a few moments. He
seized or tried to seize the valve, in
order to open it and let out the gas,
His hands are purple with intense
cold-they are paralyzed, they will
not respond to his will. He seized
the valve with his teeth, it opened
little-once, twice, thrice. The
balloon began to descend. Then
the swooned marksman returned tC
consciousness, and saw the steers.
; man standing before him. He looked
at his instrument; but now the barO'
, meter was rising rapidly; the bal
loon was descending. Brandy VISA
used. They had been higher above
earth than mortal man Oh any living
, thing had ever been before. On'
, minute more of inaction-of com
pulsory inaction--On the part of th,
steersman, whose senses were failing