Signal-Copiahan. (Hazlehurst, Copiah County, Miss.) 1885-1888, 1886-02-18
NAVIGATING THE AIR.
Tho Topic Considered Retrospect
ivoly and Prospeotlvely.


ivoly and Prospeotively.
There Is peculiar fascination In the
thought OF navigating the air. and
sometimes We can hardly help envy
ing the bird as ho gldes, with no ap-
parent effort, so swiftly and gracefully
over our heads, rising and falling at his
own sweet will. II is not strange that
the effort should have been made ut q
very early period in history to invent
some means Of initiating his flight; q
hope which is not yet rclinquishcd. Re.
cent experiments in France for propcl.
ling and directing the motion Of bal
Ions have n.ct with some degree OF
success. the aerial navigator having
been able to return to the point from
which he started after travelling q con-
siderable distance; but no continuance
has ever been discovered by which the
opposing force Of strong current OF
wind can be resisted, and il is impossi.
bic that il should be so long as We de-
pend upon gas for the support of the
flying machine in the air. The reason
Of this will be obvious enough IL the
reader will remember how impossible it
would be To steer boat SO rs TO make
1t sail agains. the wind, provided that
no portion Of the boat were under
water To oppose the action OF the air
there must be some resisting medium
OF Il denser nature 10 serve as full
crlim for the action Of the lever. At
tcntion il now directed to the inycn-
ton OF other modes Of sustaining and
navigating bodies in the aiI, which MAJ
possibly lead TO some practical result,
The history Of balloons is all COM
priscd within the period of 4 century.
The idea was suggested by watching
the ascent Of smoke from a chimney,
and the discovery Of hydrogen gas,
which is only onc.tliirteenth the weight
Of common air, induced Cavallo, Il dis
tinguishcd French electrician. to try
the experiment Of using this Gas to
float bodies above the surface of the
earth. On the fifth Of June, 1888, the
Brothers Montgollicr, paper manufact.
urcrs near Lyons in France, construct
cd n balloon one hundred and ten feet
in circumference, and weighing five
hundred pounds, made OF linen lined
with paper. As they had already tried
the experiment Of raising one Of these
paper balloons by means OF hydrogen,
but without success, on account OF the
rapid escape Of the gas through the
pores Of the paper, they rcsorted to
the cxpedient of using heated mir, sup
Piled by lire placed beneath an apcr.
atus in the bottom of the balloon. This
experiment having resulted successful-
IL. in the course OF few months bal.
loon made Of materials capable OF
holding hydrogen gas, was sent up
from Paris, which excited great in.
tercst among all classes of people.
After while man was found who
was willing to take the risk OF trusting
himself in the car Of balloon, but only
the length of rope attached TO the
earth. Before the year had ended, the
same bold advcnturer, with an equally
bold companion, assembled TO the height
Of three thousand feet above the surface
Of the earth, in n balloon seventy feet
high and forty.six in ''ameter. sus.
tanned by heated air. Thy were alb
sent from the earth about half an hour,
having consumed only third Of the
fuel taken with them. Soon after tls;s
two other persons assembled from Paris
in hydrogen balloon. alighting in less;;
than two hours at Ncsle, twenty-five
miles of. when one of the gentlemen
left his companion to rc.asccnd alone,
who continued bis flight for while,
rising to the height Of nearly ten thou.
sand feet. This was little after suns
set. and we may picture to ourselves
this solitary man, when he found him.
self, as IL were, alone with God, and
cut of from all connection with ter.
restrial things, at the mercy Of the
frailest element, "tho only illuminated
object" as he described it; "all the
rest Of nature being plunged In
shadow" 1t is an interesting fact in
connection with this expedition, that II
was the first time of discovering that
there were different currents Of air a'
different elevations.
II Is not my purpose TO follow out the
history Of aerial navigation in Its further
details. The sources Of information on
this subject are open to all, and 1t may
not have the same interest TO other'
that 1t has to the writer, who, in carly
life. was much given to experiments In
this department Of science. l will
merely alludo to the fact that 1t Is Just
one hundred years since DIR. John. JEFF
fries. of Boston, Mass, crossed the
channel in a balloon from Dover, In
company with NJ. Blanchard, and the
centennial Of this interesting event was
duly celebrated by his descendants in
Boston and vicinity.
The longest aerial voyage on record
was made in 1886 by three gentlemen
from London, who, crossing over into
France, after 8 voyage OF eightcer
hours, landed In the Duchy OF Nassau
I've huadrcd miles from the place