The Placer herald., 1868-06-20
PERILOUS BALLOON ASCENSION.

One dull day in Autumn, Just after noon,
a balloon rose in the air at the foot of elects
Hill, on the western edge of the great Cen.
'ral plain of England. 1t was inflated with
the lightest of gasses which chemical skill
could produce. 1t arose with amazing We
locity. A mile up, and it entered stratum
OF cloud more than thousand feet thick
Emerging from this the sun shone brightly
upon the air ship; the sky overhead was OF
the clearest and deepest blue and below
lay cIoudland-an immeasurable expanse oil
cloud, whose surface looked as solid as tha,
OF the earth, now wholly lost to view. Loft
mountains and deep, dark ravnes appeared
below the peaks and sides of these cloud
mountains next the sun gittering like snow,
but casting shadows as black as if they were
solid rock.
Up rose the balloon with tremendous We
locily. Four miles above the earth A
pigeon was let loose; it dropped down through
the air as though it had been stone. The
air was too thin to enable it to fly. 1t was
as il a bark, laden to The deck, were to pass
from the heavy waters of the open sea into
an inland unsaline lake-the bark would
still higher.
The spectrum, when opposed to the sum-
showed marvelously clear; lines appeared
which were Invisible in the deuser a,mos-
phere on the earth's surface but as the car
swung round in its gyrating upward flight,
the moment the direct rays of the sun passed
off the prism there was no spectrum at ALL
The air was so pure. SO free from the COM
paratively solid aqueous matter that there
was no reflected light; the air was too thin
to retain or reflect any portion of the air
upon it.
And what a silence profound ! The nights
of 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 as unstrred from year to year as
The dust which imperceptibIy gathers on the
furniture in deserted house. No sound
no lite-only the bright sunshine falling
through sky which it could not warm. Up
five miles above earth-bigher than The mac
cesssble summit of Chimborazo or Dewangiri.
Despite the sunshine, everything freezes
The air grows too thin to support life even
for a few minutes.
Two men only are in that adventurous bal
loon-the one steering the air-shp, the other
watching the scientific instruments and re.
cording them with a rapidity born of long
practice. Suddenly as the latter looks at his
instruments, bis sight grows dim: he takes
lens to help his sight, and can only mark
from the falling barometer that they are still
rising rapidly. A flask of brandy lies with
in foot of him, he tries to reach it, but bis
arms refuse to obey his will. lie tries to
call to his comrade, who has gone into the
ring above; whisper in that deep Stiffness
would suffice but no sound comes from his
ips-he is voiceIess. His head droops on
his shoulder with an effort he raises tit
falls on his shoulder; once more, with a reso
lutte effort, he raises tit falls backward
For moment be sees the figure of his com,
rade in the ring above then sensation fails
lies back unconscious.
Some minutes pass--lbe balloon still rising
upward. Seven miles above the earth The
steersman comes down into the car he sees
his comrade in a swoon, and feels bis own
senses failing him. lie saw at once that life
or death hung upon few moments. The
balloon was still rising rapidly; it must be
made to descend at once, or they were both
dead men He seized, or tried to seize
valve in order to open it and lot out por
ton OF the INITIATING gas. His hands are
purple with the intense cold--they are
parayzed they will not respond to his will.
1t was fearful moment. In another
minute. in their upward flight, he would be
senseess as his comrade. But he was
bold, self possessed man, trained in hun
dred balloon ascents, and ready for any emer.
Q ency. Lie seized the valve with his teeth
it opened a little--once, twice, thrice. Then
the swooned marksman beard voice calling
to himS" Come, take an observaion--try
lie heard as in a dream, but he could neither
see nor move!
Again be heard, in frmer and command
ing tones: Take an observation--oow,
then, do try!' lie returned to conscious
ness, aud saw the steersman standing before
him. He looked at his instruments they
must have been nearly eight miles up but
now the barometer was rising rapidly-the
balloon was descending. Brandy was used.
The aronauts revived They had been high
er above earth than mortal man, or any liv-
ing thing, had ever been before. But now
they were safe.
Such are the psrls which science demands
of her votaries, and which they encounter
braveIy and cheerfuly. Such was the
memorable balloon ascent of Coxwell and
Glashier from Woverhampton, on the 5th
of September, 1862.