The Valley Virginian. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1865-1895, 1870-04-07
Scientific Daring.

One dull day in August, just afternoon, 6
balloon rose in air at the foot of Clecd Hills
on the Western edge of the Central plain O.
England 1t was inflated with the Eghtes
gases which chemical skill could produce, ane
it rose with surprising velocity. A mile W
and it entered Strata Of clouds more thar
a thousand feet thick. Emerging from this
the sun shonc brightly Oh the air ship; tn,
sky overhead was Of the clearest and deepes
blue. and below lay an immeasurable expanst
of clouds, whose surface looked as solid az
that of earth, now wholly lost to view. Lofty
mountains and deep dark ravincs appear be
low; the peak and sides Of those cloud noun
tains next to the sun glittered like snow, but
casting shadows as black as if they were sole
rock. Up rose the balloon with tremendous
velocity Four miles above earth pigeon
was let loose it dropped down through the
air as if ii had been stone. Tho air was
too thin to enable it to by. 1t WAS as if q
ship, laden to the deck, was to pass fiom the
heavy waters Of the sea into an inland unal
kaline lake; the bark would sink at once in
the thinner water. Up, up, still. higher i
What silence profound! The heights OF
the sky were as still as the deepest depth of
the ocean, where, as found during the search
for the lost Atlantic cable, the ire mud lies
as unstirred from year to year, as the dust
which imperceptibly gathers on the furniture
of deserted house. No sound, nor life
only the bright sunshine falling through a
sky which it could not warm. s
Up, FIVE miles above earth higher than
the inaccessible summit ,of Chimborazo or
Dawngiri Despite the sunshine, everything
freezes The air grows too thin to support
life, even fer few minutes Two men only
are in that adventurous balloon-the one
steering the air ship, the other watching the
scientific instruments, and recording them
with a rapidty bred by practice. Suddenly
as the latter looks at his Instruments, his sight
grows dim, he takes a lens to help his sight,
and only remarks from the falling barometer
that they are rising rapidly. A flask of bran
dy lies within foot Of him; he tries to reach
It, but his arms refuse to obey his will. He
tries to call on his comrade, who has gone up
to the ring above; whisper in that deep
silence would sufice-but no sound comes
from his lips-he is voiceless. The steers
man comes into the car he finds his comrade
in swoon, and feels his own senses failing
him. S'
He saw at once that life and death hung
upon few moments He seized the valve in
order to open it and let out some of the gas.
His hands are purple with intense cold-they
are parayzed, they will not respond to his
will. He seized the valve with his teeth, it
opened little-once, twice, thrice-the bal
loon began to descend. Then the swooncd
marksman returned to consciousness and saw
the steersman standing before him. He look
ed at his instrument-they must have been
nearly eight miles up; but now the barometer
was rising rapidly-the balloon was descend
ing, brandy was used. They had been high
er above earth than mortal man or living
thing had been before. One minute more of
inaction-on the part of the steersman, whose
senses were failing him, and the air ship, with
two corpses, would aoat in the wide realms Of
Week.