Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1890-10-30
A BALLOON TRIP.

In the issues of the Bombay papers OF
June A. and Of the year 1862 will be
found reports of Professor Mazam and his
balloon THE Princess" and accounts of
a successful ascension, and each day there
after for the next ten days the papers re-
corded the fact that ''up to this time moth
ing has yet been heard of the two men who
made the ascent on the 3D. inst.
/ turned up in Bombay in May OF the
year recorded after a year and half
in other portions of India, and very soon
thereafter it was announced in the papers
that Professor Mazam, the celebrated
French aeronaut, would soon make an as
cension from the public gardens. Three
or four days later ran across the profess
sor, and | was gratifed and surprised TO
find him to be none other than an old
friend whom had Travelled with in China.
He was an English speaking Frenchman
who had seen the whole world and taken
in all sorts of adventures, and had pur
chased the balloon of a genuine aeronaut
who had reached Bombay, with the idea OF
giving ascensions in all the larger towns
in the country. The aeronaut had fallen
sick, been despoiled of his cash, and he
sold his balloon to Mazam and Quit the
country in disgust Mazam was now going
into ballooning for the adventures il might
bring, and when he invited me to make the
first trip with him ! was not five seconds in
giving him my promise.
The 81 of June was a fete day, and the
city was filled with an immense crowd.
The balloon was new, very strong, and
Mazam had plans beyond mere ascension.
We packed the car with provisions enough
to last week, took along rifles, revolyers
and ammunition, and made all prepare
tons for long journey. The prevailing
winds in Bombay from May to July are
from the south, or up the Arabian sea, and
so we privately counted on being waited
inland, perhaps to the Turkish boundary
The people in general had the idea that we
would descend within a few miles of the
town, and more than n score OF men came
forward and volunteered 20 make the trip
with us Without her burden Of baggage
the balloon could easily have carried five or
six men As it was she shot up like
bird when all was ready to let 20, and in
few seconds the city and harbor were far
below us We at once started on our in
land journey, taking "A pace of about fif-
teen miles an hour, and for three hours
everything worked smoothly and well.
We made the ascent at sharp .. At
O'Clock we met a counter current of air
from the north, and in five minutes the
balloon had begun TO drive back TO the
south Ballast was thrown out, and we
eaped no to find the current still stronger
above. We then settled down as near the
earth as il v;us safe to 90, but still we
drove back over our course. Seeing that
we had to 60 ballast was flung out to give
MS "A higher altitude, and we moved 20 the
! northwest at the rate OF ten miles an hour
In an hour we could discern the sea and
it, coast line and as evening came we left
the land and lowered over the Gulf of Cam.
/ bav This was the last seen Of the balloon
/ on shore.
While Mazam had never made an ascen-
4 sion before, to say nothing Of the manage
ment Of balloon, he had no difficulty in
/ handling il, and neither of us was at all
! timid. It WAS serious matter to find the
| balloon sailing out TO sea, but we ate our
supper at an altitude of half a mile, and
/ hoped for a change Of wind At about 10
/ O'Clock, our progress then being not over
\ ten miles an hour, and a sort of fog shut
/ ting out sight of everything below MS,
went to sleep Mazam was to arouse me
/ at II or to 20 on watch, but az sunrise
both Of us opened our eyes and turned out
at the same moment. He had fallen asleep
soon after did, and the balloon had been
left to take care of itself The compass
showed her to be heading due west at a
gentle pace, but in another half hour she
might have been in the sea, everything be
ing saturated and heavy with dew. We
were down where we could plainly make
ont several steamers aud sailing craft, and
the balloon was evidently an object OF
great curiosity to the people on board some
of them Ballast was thrown out until W.
reached an altitude of 1900 feet above tn,
sea, and the sun soon dried the dew and
rendered the balloon very buoyant stiff
breeze also got up from the east and b,
{ O'Clock we were making railroad speed
through the air, bound for the coast O.
Arabia
During the entire day, which was very
pleasant one, our craft took sole care o
herself, never varying over fifty feet in he
altitude, and driving so steadily that ont
had but TO shut his ewes TO imagine tina
she was standing still From our perch vi
looked down on many craft during the day
and were consoled by the thought that il
case Of accident we were pretty sure to b
picked up. When night came We added 80
feet to our altitude as an offset to the dew
and as the weather was fine we both la,
down to sleep. Iawoke twice during tn
night, but to find all quiet. and when
turned out just at sunrise it was 10 iini
the Arabian coast almost under our feet
Had the wind held steadily during tn
night we should have reached the coast a
or near Mirbat, but it had changed two o
three points and drifted Us higher up. A
soon as the sun had dried the dew we de
seconded until not more than 1000 feet abov
the land, and then we made out a yer
bleak and sterile country under our feet
We were on the northeastern edge of tn
Arabian desert, and it was a good hour be
fore we saw any signs of civilization. Mean
while, both Of US knowing what sort of pee
pie we had to deal with, we had loaded al
the firearms and made a pile of such bag
gage as could be thrown away in case W
wanted a higher altitude.
If our air ship had lost any great amour
Of gas mp to this time we could not pereeiv