The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1875-05-06
The Upper Alr-Fatal Balloon
=. Ascent In France.

but by suiIOcatiOn. They were enSageu
in determining the properties Of the up
per air, and one fact was certainly proven
beyond q doubt by the melancholy result
OF their experiment, namely, that the at
mosphere is 10 highly rariiied ut the dis
tance Of four miles above the surface of
the earth that it cannot be breathed by
human beings. Tho melancholy fate Of
these enthusiastic scientists Oughtto DO a
warning to all aerOnauts to check their
upward fight before they get into the
ethereal zone, in which organized life can
not exist. We must only aspire to dwell
in "tho blue ethereal dome" in fgura
live sense, When our bodies are literal
y transported there they perish I or want
OF the grosser elements that nourish and
maintain our physical being
The voyage OF these adventurous
Frenchmen II the most wonderful on rec
ord. They probably attained an altitude
that has never before been reached by
any breathing creature, Ats,O00 metres
(abont four and eight-tNnth miles) they
all lost their reasoning faculties, and un-
less the instruments which they carried
with them were self-registering, it will
mover be known how high the balloon
went before it began to descend. II was
prophetically named the Zenith" and it
made n nearer approach to that uncertain
point in space than any air.ship that ever
before amounted upward" Happily, ono
Of the mronauts survived to tell the tale
Of the voyage, although he was uncon-
soious while in the upper zone, and during
q greater portion Of the downward trip
was not In condition to make obserya-
tions, or even to make the proper prepa-
rations for anchOring the balloon. The
a,ronauh were Captain SiYel, ~ UrOce
Spinelli and CASTOR TiSsandier, The
first named were robust men, In perfect
health; TissandiCr is slightly bnilt man,
possessing but little physical strength,
but lie Is the survivor. The strong men
perished for want Of oxygen to nonrish
dlk bl0Od--the weak one lived to relate
lds marvellous experiences IN the inhos.
pitable regions above tho clouds. All
three were practical Gronanis Of large
experience, although Tissandier (the SUR
yivor) was the only one who might be
considered man OF science. He is the
editor Of French scientific journal called
La Nature. They carried with them the
best instruments for measuring altitude,
for detecting moisture In tho air, aud for
ascertaining its constituent elements St
various attitudes. They also carried
bags with them containing certain gases,
which they expected to inhalc when the
air became 30 highly rarided MS TO
threaten asphyxia.
Captain Sivel had charge OF the ballast,
and It WAS his reCklcsSness In cutting
away the sand bags that occasioned the
disaster. When about seven thousand
yards above the earth hc let three bugs Of
ballast drop, and instantly the balloon
shot MP to an unknown height; all the
acronauts lost consciousness, and for half
an hour the air-ship hOatcd about in the
upper currents, while the voyagers slum-
beFed In the chr below. Spinelli woke up
aud found that the balloon was descend
ing rapidly. Ills mental faculties were
paraIyzel, aud he began throwing every
thing out Of the car in order to check
what he supposed to he the perilous
descent Of the balloon. lie threw away
the ballast and the vessels contain
ing the breathing gas, Tissandier
was partly conscious and saw what
was going on, but could not articu.
late word OF remonstrancc. Relieved
Of this weight the balloon went up again;
Tissandier became completely nncon-
sci6us, and knows nothing of what oc-
CURED in the next two hours. When he
woke up the balloon was approaching
the earth; his companions were dead, and
he had Just strength enough left to throw
out the little ballast that remained, and
to prevent II sudden collision with the
earth. The balloon struck tree and
collapsed, and Tissandier descended from
the basket. As soon rs he reached the
ground he fell into swoon, and remained
unconscious for M hour or more. AS the
sLupor came over him he imagined that
he was going to join hisdcad companions
in the spirit world.
II will be seen that the disaster TO
these nr0nauts resulted from feeblcness
of the human intellect when the body Is
subjected to abnormal conditions. Prob.
ably the oxygen gas which they carried
with them, and inhaled when breathing
beanie difficult, helped to unsettle their
minds, Sivel threw away ballast with
The frenzy Of mailman, and his Compan.
ions acuiiesccd in the reckless proceed.
ing; Spinelli did the same thing, and Tis.
sander, who Ind the clearCst head In the
party, was too feeble to make any pro-
Ia 80 A.,