Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-01-27
MARTYRS OF SCIENCE.
Hoc Ttco French Sarants Died il
Balloon.

Balloon.
The tragic end of the last balloon ascen-
sion by the two asronauts, NM. Sivel and
Croce-Spinelli, was briefly told by tele-
graph at the date of it's occurrence, but it
| has remained for M. Paul Bert-more cele-
brated perhaps as an experimental physi-
ologist than as minister of public in
struction-to give the inner history of an
| affair that proved puzzle at the time,
alike to European and American journal
lists. It appears from DR.. Berts statement,
which has just been published as part of
| his essay on 'Mountain Sickness says the
New York Times, that the journey into the
blue ether undertaken by Sivel and Croce-
Spineli was rather scientific quest than
mere voyage of curiosity. For several
years DR.. Bert has been engaged in perfect
ing an experimental demonstration of his
theory of the symptoms experienced by
travellers in the higher attitudes of the
Alps--the loss of sensibility, impairment
of hearing and vision, and surging uncon-
seriousness which almost every mountain
climber has more or less graphically de-
scribed. His view has been that privation
of oxygen-defciency of that element in
the highly rarefied upper atmosp here-is
responsible for these phenomena, and to
demonstrate its accuracy he has construct
ed in his laboratory an immense conical
apartment, shaped like diving bell, in
which the air can be gradually rarefed by
exhaustion until all the gradations of
moderate and high attitudes have been ex-
actly reproduced. The result has been
completely successful, all the varying forms
and lntensities of mountain sickness hav-
ing been artifcially produ ced. But the
process is not unattended with danger, for
the insensibility is followed by asphyxia,
and the latter by almost immediate death.
To obviate this risk the inmate of the bell
is provided with an oxygen tube, and by
placing its nozzle in his mouth and taking
a deep inspiration of the gas the symptoms
vanish as by wizard SPELL Sivel and
Croce-Splnelli often participated in these
experiments, and on one occasion the
latter delayed putting the tube to his lips
for so long a time that death was immi-
nent. Bert, who was observing the symp-
toms, was just about to open the valve and
let the air into the bell, when Croce-Spin-
ELI slowly and languidly lifted the nozzle
to his mouth. He was already black in the
1dOO, dLO LEGALLY 4ASCnoAO1S. Oub Ill
simultaneously the symptoms vanished and
his complexion resumed its tone. On the
strength of these experiments the two aer-
onauts agreed to undertake journey to
attitudes hitherto proved inaccessible even
to the most daring, for the purpose of
making meteorological observations, tax
ing supply of oxygen with them so as to
be able to correct the dangerous symptoms
arising from extreme rarefacation. Bert
was absent from France when the attempt
was made, and, contrary to his advice, the
quantity of oxygen that the two martyrs
to science carried with them was very
limited. The tragic fact OF the explorers
has been told already. In their efforts to
prolong their residence in the upper ether
they carried the task of economizing the
contents Of the oxygen bag trife to far
Croce- Spinelli was the first to succumb, in
the very act of putting forth his hand to
grasp the tube. He had delayed second
to long; his palsied hand refused to obey
his own volition; he fell down in faint and
died. Sivel scared his fate. Bert was
deeply affected by the death Of his aero
nautic friends and, with the self-accusing,
self -tormenting spirit of a sensitive nature.
he took upon himself something of the re-
sponsibility, albeit he was not consulted in
the details of the ascension nor present
when it was undertaken. In recounting
the narrative of his relation to the expert
ment of NM. Sivel and Croce-SpinelIi he
declares that the supply of oxygen was far
less than he had designated as minimum,
and maintains that had the precaution
which he advised been observed there
would have been no catastrophe.