Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1874-10-27
NO. 249.
INCIDENTS OLA BALLOON TRIP.
SIXTEEN THOUSAND FEET IN THE AIR


who accompanied Donaldson on his bal
loon trip, gives the following interesting
account of some Of bis novel experiences
Now came the most stirring incident of
our trip. From the height of four thou
sand feet we steadily ascended, the coun-
try dwarfing into a panorama of toys be-
low us. had the aneroid barometer in
my hand, and so marked our progress up
ward. At six thousand six hundred feet
our breaths became visible, just as they
would be on frosty morning. We al
ready began to feel cold in the body, but
the rays of the sun beat in with a fierce
Intensity. The index of the barometer
steadily crept around the dial. marking off
the thousands until it reached the four
teenth. then flying back and starting from
zero, from whence it progressed once
more around the dial until it halted on the
verge of the two thousandth, telling us
we were only about hundred feet less
than sixteen thousand feet above the earth.
At this height the world was an obscurity
to US. vapory haze shut it out from our
view, and we could detect nothing of it
but the silver lines that marked the great
bays and rivers. From a contemplation
OF the indistinct scene I revert to my own
feelings. The air was very cold, and the
sun was very warm. The thermometer
stood at 83 degrees. the sun was intense
ly hot as its rays fell upon US, but for that
we might as well have been in an Arctic
REGION. This is one of the most curious
phenomena of life above the clouds. The
rarefaction of the air hardly accounts for
the chilling cold which penetrates you
through and through, while the thermom-
eter and the heat OF the solar rays are in
dicating a high summer temperature. At
height of fifteen thousand feet | was
shivering, while my head seemed to be
burning up, and all the blood in my body
rushing towards it. / felt very slight
difficulty in breathing, but my ears were
stopped up, and could hardly hear what
Mr.. Fox was saying to me when he was
standing by side. We did not remain
long al this tremendous elevation. We
slipped down through the atmosphere to
between eleven and twelve thousand feet
above the earth, and it was there that we
had our grandest view.
We had within our range of vision at
the same moment Philadelphia, Baltimore
and Harrisburg, the Chesapeake and Del
aware Bays and all their upper tributaries
and also Annapolis and the most of the
smaller towns are included within this ex-
tended vision. But the grandest feature
OF all was when gazing eastwardly we
very plainly perceived the Atlantic Ocean.
There was no mistake about it the mist
had lifted little, and we could plainly
see where the waters of the Delaware Bay
mingled with those of the Atlantic. The
view at this time was above the possibili-
ties of language to picture. The peninsu-
Ia OF land between the Chesapeake and
Delaware Bays was but a thred of dark
green upon the landscape the Susquehan.
ma river was hardly perceptible except
for the dark line which we knew to be the
great bridge across it; the country below
us was but checker-board of indistinct
green and white squares; Baltimore and
Philadelphia were only masses of shade
upon the map; but the great ocean was
reality, and to the view of it we constant
ly turned our eyes with the feeling that
here was something everlasting and en-
during. The panorama that came within
our scope of vision was probably not less
than two hundred miles square, but from
our height of 10000 feet it seemed to be
dwarled to space you might cover with
your handkerchief. Is seemed to us as if
we were looking through the wrong end
of field-glass. When at the height of
10000 feet, or over three miles above the
earth, Prof. Donaldson told us that the
balloon had attained its equilibrium, that
it was poised on an exact balance, and
that as soon as the gas commenced to con-
dense, even in the slightest degree, we
would descend rapidly. And it was pre-
cisely in this fashion that we did go down.
But before talking of that l ought to de-
scribe an impression that was felt once
for lifetime and never perhaps again.
When we ascended on Saturday morning,
the conditions were the same as before
we descended on Friday night. The at
mosphere was absolutely calm, and there
was not a cloud in the sky. At any ele-
walton below eight thousand feet the air
was absolutely clear, and defined, but at
sixteen thousand feet there appeared to US
to be thin cloud springing upward from
the horizon and ending at an elevation of
about 40 degrees, as nearly as we could
calculate with on instrument constructed
from piece of paper and splinter of
wood. This cloud extended all around
the horizon, but it possessed semi-trans-
parency. Far off in the north, and prob
ly eight or nine thousand feet beneath US.
we could see the masses of distinct clouds
that were forming. They seemed to rest
half below and above this curtain of mist.
Seen through this extreneous cloud the
part beneath its edge was dull and dim,
but that above it shone with all the glory
of mountain of fleece lighted up with the
brilliancy of the sun. 1t was so utterly
queer to think of being at such an i'm.
mense elevation above the clouds, that
the mind must necessarily settle itself
down to a comprehension OF the strange
reality, and by the time that was done.
you were already several thousands OF
feet lower. Neither Mr.. Fox nor my N.Y.
self felt any inconvenience from the tow
ering attitude to which we attained ex-
cept the burning sensation and the slight /.
deafening in the ears which others have
alluded to.