Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-01-25
A TRIP AMONG THE CLOUDS.
A Balloon Ascension to Take Observs
tions for the Signal SarYica.

A Balloon Ascension to Take Observa-
tiOns for the Signal Service.
A big balloon rose swiftly from within
the walls of Girard College Yesterday
afternoon, says Philadelphia paper. In
the car attached were two men. The
great air ship assembled almost vertically
for a while, and then drifted off to the
northeast among the clouds. The forms of
the men were lost to sight, the wicker car
could no longer be distinguished from the
yellow bag OF gas, and only floating
speck could be seen appearing and disap-
pearing among and above the clouds that
hung over the upper end of Jersey. The
two men were Prof. s. A. King, an aero
naut famous for 257 ascensions, and w,
H. Hammond, an officer in the govern.
ment Signal Service. He never went I'D
in balloon before, and probably would
not have gone yesterday but that he
went on a government mission. His
special object was to take thermOmetric
observations. Both the wet and dry bulbs
were to be used, and such Investigations
to be made as would enable the Signal
Service to determine to what extent the
balloon can be used in meteorological
studies. Prot. King has been engaged to
make five aScensiOn6 for the department
Yesterdays was the first. The balloon
used was finished year ago, cost 5000, is
made of oiled cambria, is called 1.-THE
Eagle Eyrie," and holds 25,0C0 cubic feet
of gas. The wicker basket fastened to it
is about six feet long, four feet wide and
scarcely three feet deep. In it ride the
sailors of the air, and with them they
take score OF sand bags, an anchor and
rope, and the instruments for obserYa-
ton. Both the men were Creased in dou-
BE suits of clothing and wore caps which
left bare only the eyes. Prof. King said:
81 want to 90 up about two miles and re-
main about an hour. | cannot imagine
where we shall land" The aeronauts
prolonged their journey until nearly 10
O'Clock. They were then near Barnegat,
and by 1890 q safe descent was made.
"When we started from the Girard Col
lege grounds at yesterday afternoon"
said Signal Service Officer Hammond in
relating his experience, 81 confess felt
just little bit nervous. This soon wore
off, however, for the Professors GOODNESS
inspired one with a similar confidence,
We rose almost perpendicularly and very
rapidly from the college grounds. When
We reached an altitude Of about hall a
mile we were caught in nOrtneasterly
current and carried swiftly over the city
into New Jersey, in the direction of
Mount Holly. We gradually rose to a
height Of $500 feet and then found our
selves over some extensive woods. The
darkness was rapidly oVertaking US, so
Pref. King judged it would be better to
descend without attempting to reach a
loftier altitude, as we had intended doing.
owe, therefore, descended on a little
village called AaHAhawken, about two
miles from the bay and four and a half
miles from the extreme cad Of Barnegat
beach. 1t was five minutes after O'Clock
when we touched land. Our object in
making the trip was to obtain the changes
of temperature at different elevations. 1t
las been stated that the temperature va
ries one degree in 400 feet Of altitude, but
yesterday II changed one degree in $50
fest. When we left Girar9 College
the thermometer stOod al % de@ees.
6, 500 feet IL had gone Down to 8 degrees.
We also made note of our velocity, with
the result that in three minutes
we rose 1900 feet, or IA of
an inch Of the barometrical
change. That is at the rate of 400 feet a
minute. found another thing, that we
were so high at 800 feet that we could
not hear an echo and that at an elevation
of two-thirds Of mile we could distinctly
hear voice. 1t was not very cold. We
were very warmly clad, but l did not
even need to button nay coat. The dis.
lance traversed was about eighty miles
and we did it in two hours and fifty min
utes. 1t was my first ballOonItrip and en-.
j0yed it thoroughly. We received quite
an ovation from the ManahaWken villag-
ers, who were surprised beyond measure
at our sudden descent upon them from |
the skies. This was Pref. Kings two !
A1adred asd ary-@Esnth Vcxage.o j