New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1872-12-19
Scientific Daring.

One dull day in August, just after noon, a
balloon rose in the air at the foot of elect
Hills, ~ the western edge of the central
plain OF highland. 1t was inflated with the
Gghtest uf gases which chemical skill could
proc ice, and it rose with amazing velocity.
y ale up, and it entered stratum of clouds
more than a thousand feet thick. Emerging
from this, the sun shone brightly on the air
ship; the sky overhead was the clearest and
deepest blue, and below lay cloudland-an
Unreasonable expansc of cloud whose sur
face looked as solid as that of the earth now
wholly lost in view. Lofty mountains, and
deep, dark ravines appeared below; the
peaks and sides of those cloud mountains,
next the sun, glittercd like snow, but casting
shadows as black as if they were solid rock.
Up rose the balloon with tremendous yeloc-
ity. Four miles above earth pigeon was
let loose it dropped through the air as if it
had been a stone. The air was too thin to
enable it to fly. 1t was Us if a bark laden to
the deck were to pass from the heavy waters
of the scasinto an inland unsaline lake the
bark would sink ut once in the thinner water.
Up, up, still higher! what silence profound!
The heights of the sky were rs still as the
deepest depths of the ocean where, as was
found during the search for the lost Atlantic
cable, the mud lies unstirred from year to
year as the dust which imperceptibly gathers
on furniture of q deserted house. No sound,
no life-only the bright sunshine falling
through q sky which it could not warm.
Up-fve miles above earth Higher than
the inaccessible summit of Chimborazo or
Dawangirl. Despite the sunshine, every
thing freezes. The air grows too thin to
support life even for a few minutes. Two
men only arc in that adventurous balloon
the one steering the air ship, the other
Al; I, ,,,cy
cor,iin9 them with rapidity bred of long
practice. Suddenly as the latter looks at his
instruments, his sight grows dim; he takes a
i IS to help his sight, and only marks from
the falling barometer, that they are rising
RAPIDLY. 4 flask Of brandy lies within foot
Of him, he tries to reach it, but his arms re-
fuse to obey his will. He tries to call on his
comradc, who has gone up into the ring
above; u whisper in that deep silence would
suffice but no sound comes from his lips-he
is voicclcss. The steersman comes down in
to the car; he sees his comrade in swoon,
and feels his own senses failing him.
He saw at once that life and death hung
upon 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 in
tense cold-they are paralyzed; they will not
respond to his will. He sezes the valve with
his teeth, it opens little-once, twice,
thrice. The balloon began to descend. Then
the swooned marksman returns to conscious.
ness and saw the steersman standing before
him. He looked at his instrument; they
must have been nearly eight miles up; bu
now the barometer was rising rapidly, the
balloon was descending. Brandy was used
They had been higher above earth than NOR
tai man or living thing had ever been before
One minute more of inaction-of compulsory
inaction, on the part Of the steersman whose
senses were. failing him, and the air ship
with its intensely raritied gas, would have
been floating unattended, with two corpses
in the wide realms of space.