Dallas herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1849-1873, 1869-01-23
Five Miles above the Earth.
A THRILLING ADVENTURE.

One dull day in August, just after
noon. q balloon rose in the air at
tho foot of Cloet Hills, on the west
ern edge of the central plain of
England. 1t was inflated with the
lightcst of gases which chemical
skill could produce, and it rose with
amazing velocity. A mile up, and
it entered stratum Of cloud moro
than thousand foct thick Emcrg-
ing from this, the sun shonc bright:
ly on the air ship; the sky overhead
was of the clcarest and deepest
blue, and below lay cloud landau
immeasurablo expanso of cloud
whose surface looked MS solid AZ
that of the earth not wholly lost to
view. Lofty mountains and deep,
dark ravincs, appeared below the
peaks and sides of these cloud
mountains next tho sun, glitterlng
like snow, but casting shadows as
if they were solid rock. Up rose
tho balloon with tremendous veloc-
ity. Four miles above the earth a
pigeon was lot loose; it dropped
down through the air as if it had
been a stone. The air was too thin
to enable il to fly. 1t was as If II
bark laden to the deck were to pass
from the heavy waters of the sea
into an inland unsalinc lake; the
bark would sink at once into the
thinner water. Up, up, still higher
What silence profound! The
heights Of the sky were us stlll us
the deepest depths of the ocean,
where, rs was found during the
search for the lost Atlantic cable,
the fine mud lies as unstirrcd from
year to year as the dust which i'm
pcrceptibly gathers on the furniture
of q deserted house. No sound, no
lifc-only the bright sunshine fall ,
ing through sky which it could
not warm.
Up-fve miles above carth!-
higher than the inaccessible sum
nit of Chimborazo or Dawanglra.
Despite the sunshine everything
freezes. The air grows too thin to
support life, even for a few minutes
Two men only are in that adven-
turous balloon-thc one steering
the air ship, the other watching the
scientific instruments, and recording
them with rapidity bred of long
practice. Suddenly, as the latter
looked at his Instruments, his sight
grows dim; he takes II lens to help
his sight; and only remarks from
the falling barometer that they are
testing rapidly. A flask of brandy
lies within a 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; whisper in that
deep silence would suffice-but no
sound comes from his lips-he is
voicelcss. The steersman comos
down into the car; he sees his com
rade in swoon, and feels his own
senses failing him.
He saw at once that life ana
death hung upon few nom ents.-
He seized or tried to seize the valve,
in order to open it and let out the
gas. His hands arc purple with
intense cold-they are paralyzed,
thcy will not respond to his will
He seized the valve with his teeth;
it opened a little-once twice,
thrice. The balloon began to dc
4 scend. The swooned marksman
returned to consciousness, and saw
the steersman standing before him.
He looked at his instrument; but
now the barometer was rising rapid
| ly; the balloon was descending
Brandy was used. They had been
higher above earth than mortal
man or any living thing had ever
been before. One minute more Of
inaction--of compulsory traction
on the part Of the steersman. whose
senses were failing him, and the
air-ship with its intensely rarified
zas, would have been floating un-
attended, with two corpscs, in the
wide realms Of space.