The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1891-05-03
THREE. MILES IN. TEE AIR.
An AerOlaltS Sensations at That Distance From
The Earth.

/ have sometimes stood with friends upon
the summit of some lofty mountain, where,
beneath the clear skies of summer there
has been spread out in front a thousand
square miles of rolling. forest-cTad, tumult-
uous wilderness and. far-reachlng Guilt
waited plains. have listened to their rapt.
urous exclamati0ns upon the noble Seene,
and have smiled gently to myself upon
rejecting that | have sailed over mount
aims as high as the coign of vantage
upon which we then stood, and so great was
our elevation that the vast storms Wept
cEagS seemed to US but as the hayStacks far
down IN yonder valley, writes an aeronant
in the Philadelphia Ledger. No ingenious
combinatiOn.Of words can convey an adequate
idea OF day spent in the basket of a balloon
three miles from the earth. No view that
rewards the. climber of Alpine peaks can
rival the vastneSs of. the" panorama seen
from such an air-ship as King, Donaldson
and Wise have commanded The absolute
silence in the awful utter depths, beyond
the utmost sound waves of earth, impresses
one more than any other element of Jour
ney tout of the world:
More than once | have prevailed upon my
fellow-v0yagers to forego that lively chatter
which seems to.be Inspired both by tile dry
atmosphere. OF. the upper heavens and the
excitement of a. new experience, and to re-
main perfectly silent. for five minutes by the
watch. And then what did we hear? AT
an elevation of Two miles the running:o of
many rivers. and cascades leaping over
rocks, the signing of the gale through the
forest, the roar of breakers upon far-aWay
shores, the clangor of bells ana the faint
ssSSream of steam whistles we're yet to be dis
o o,l5 Sched but at three miles what may
The stiilness is more absolute than that
of the grave, To-: eyen there the nnmbeT of
passing WneelS, the<Ounds of human effort
and OF nature penetraea but disturb not the
still sleeper. - ~ 'i'O
The silence smothers ana. cbo,,oo .bo n,
man mites that dare to enterhts c1d' pitilesa
depths. We listen, imnioVable.
We distinguish the metallic ticking # mr.
watches buried beneath our thick Wan.
pings We hear the reverberations of me5-
tai processes withiH our heads. Our hear
beats are accelerated and are the strokes OF
a great engine. There is no signing of
gale through the rigging above as in a ship,
although, perhaps, rushing on with the
speed of the fastest express, we seem in:the
midst of great calm.
In such "a place and time, once drifting
above a great silyery sea of clouds, rift
appeared in the mass below, and through it
we saw the picture of river and the white
Idots of village homes. 1t brought us back
10 life and:it affairs but while my senses
we're exalted WITH the experience of the
non I.actuaily felt pang Of regret that !
mus again go back 10 the earth, to creep
alone with its creeping multitudes, and
Dear. ogce more the black burden Of care, :
and IN Mat brief period of exaltatlon and
It's loli9Nng regret / believe there was
somethlnE?9f that ecstacy: which must be
Tire share sngels--a foretaste Of the joys
of another life.
Nc, person having witnessed or partiei-
pated IN the VeiSsiGldes that very often, ac-
/ company the ,yeturh. of balloon to the
earth, especiail,tif there is any ordinary
wind driving It along, would be likely to
various complicated machines and gearings.
would ever be ut for second Journey into
the Skies;