Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1875-08-06
BallOOning.

MANY are the dangers to which aero
nauts are exposed, but, considering the
thousands of ascents, the frail materials of
which the air-ship is constructed, and the
fickleness of the wind to the full power of
which the aerial Yoyagers are exposed, the
fatal accidents have not been nearly so
numerous as might have been expected.
In fact, out of the thousands who have
made ascensions, not more than twenty
five or thirty have been killed, which is a
low death-rate. The falls which really
occur are often from a great height, and
their terrible consequences are sufficient
to render them memorable. A year or so
ago a Tennessee aeronaut fell from a
height of mile and half, and, striking
the ground feet foremost, was crushed in
10 a shapeless mass by the descending i'm
petus he had acquired. Although the
ground was hard, his feet made an inn
preston more than eight inches deep, and
the bones of his thighs were driven up to
his shoulders.
The first balloon was sent up by the
brothers Stephen and Joseph Montgoltier,
June 5, 1888 Ii was not long before men
were found to venture their lives on such
a Journey into Cne air even in the year of
its discovery there were several ascents
made by different persons, and with safe
results. The balloons used were at first
the ordinary hot-air Montgolfiers. But a
few months were necessary to utilize the
hydrogen gas, whose superiority was evil
dent, on account of its greater lightness.
In 1885 occurred the first fatal accident
from the use of balloon. Two young
men attempted to cross from France to
England in hydrogen balloon to which a
hot-air balloon was attached. The latter
a. AL a.,1 I,a
two men fell on the coast of France and
| perished.
The most eminent aeronaut was an En-
glishman named Green. His career ex-
tended over thirtysiX years, during which
! time he made 400 ascensions, crossing
the North Sea three times and falling into
it twice On one occasion he travelled a
distance of 500 miles in eighteen hours
! This was, however, surpassed by Wise and
La Mountains great trip in 1860, when
they passed from St Louis to Henderson,
N. Y, distance of about / 150 miles, in
less than twenty hours, or at an average
velocity of Il mile per minute. This was,
we belieye, the longest aerial voyage eyeI
made, while the highest ascent was made
by Glasher and Coxwell, who reached the
remarkable elevation of 30 900 feet OF
about seven miles above the earth They
were both disabled by the intense cold
prevailing at that altitude, lost the use o.
their limbs, and CoXwell was obliged tC
pull the valve string with his teeth in ordel
to release the gas and return to warmer
region.
The impossibility of guiding the bal
loon renders it useless as a certain means
of aerial transit although inventors have
not been lacking who claimed TO have
overcome this difficulty by safely anC
surely guiding the air-ship in any desired
direction. One of these was at our fair
few years ago and succeeded very well in
turning his balloon here and there so Ions
as il was indoors, bymeans Of paddles lik'
the screw of propeller; but the case woulC
be very different in the open air especial
ly Ii acurrent Of wind were blowing. TIL,
great surface which the balloon offers L
the wind and the comparative lack Of re
sistance cause il TO be carried about viii
the velocity Of the wind By which ii il
borne.
This circumstance more than any olhe
has rendered the balloon useless for pur