Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1894-08-10
HISTORY OF BAiLOONING.
THE ART or AERoNAUTICs TOLD
FROM ITS FANCY.

TT Is only III wears since the Mont
collier brother sailed in the air
balloon rilird with heated air,
crude affair at best; now the
latest Developments and Investigations
IF Langley, Maxim aud Holland are
h,coming well known to the public.
Bnt il l. only within few years that
any reaj progress mas been made. Ga
the 9TH Of Juur, 1888, Joseph Mont
golfer, at Aunonay, France. assisted
by his brother Stephen. sent up a
balloon made of vanished paper
They are credited with being the
first that ever burst into that IN
known sea
The first ascension with passengers
WAS undertaken by the Marquis OAR
handle, and Pilate de Rozier, coming
down in twenty-five minutes at u dis
tance of five miles from the starting
point. DIR. John Jefferies, a graduate
of Harvard, made, in 1885, the first
passage by balloon from England to
France, with the aeronani Blanchard,
lAN ing nun oNti gD'Vp lOl sLt tOSl ~
the trip. The trip occupied two hours
only. A monument was erected at
the point OF debarkation, and Mr..
Jeifries was much feted by the munic-
ipal council of the city of Guines, in
France, and its Compile having de.
scended in the forests of Guines. In
provements were made soon after i'll
the safety valve, hanging the car in
net, the method of using ballast, etc.
Gay Lussac and Blot reached an ele-
vation of 1000 meters, or n 900 feet.
No further progress was made in the
construction of balloons and the sci
entific development of aerial naviga
ton for nearly Il century.
The employment Of balloons in war
fare was found to be practicable dur
ing the siege of Paris, in 1870, when
Nadar and others established the bal
loon postal service. Gambetta him
self did not hesitate to escape from
Paris in this manner. In Tonquin, in
the late French war, balloons were EN-.
ployed. The balloon rose to Il height
of $50 meters, or during battles to $50
meters, and from that height it was
possible to inform the commanding
officer as to the point where the pro-
jectiles fell, the strength of the enemy,
etc, by raising the voice. or by drop
ping INSTRUMENTATION weighted
with stones 1t was also through this
chat tha OH "a
from retiring from BAG Mini, and that
place was taken without firing firing a
shot.
The use of the balloon III the recent
great military msneuvers in France
has perfected the science greatly, as
shown by NJ. Debureaux, an officer of
engineers, in his report. In conclud-
ing his report he claims that if Ma.
poleon at Waterloo and Bazaine at
Saint Privat had had balloon service
at their disposal, a different result
might have been expected from both
battles, and thereby the course of his
tory would have been changed. NJ.
Deburesux thinks that at distance of
three miles the balloon would be be.
yond the reach of artillery, and would
command the ground for distance of
more than six miles and even at night,
the country is sufficiently illuminated
to be compared with a map. 1t is diff
ticult. however, to distinguish the
movements of troops in a wooded coun-
try, and there are other drawbacks
If the proposed balloon ventures
succeed new era will have been in
augurated in aerostatics. The greatest
OF these is the nsvigable balloon,
based on the theory of Lieutenant
Clement de st. Marcq. 1t consists in
sending an electric current to q motor
placed in a easement, which is sus-
pended by balloon. thus operating
propeller situated in the anterior part
of the easement, the current to be con-
veyed to the motor by means of PHI
able cable towed by the balloon. and
sliding along an elevated seriel way
by means of a trolley. The balloon
is an elongated or cigar shaped
form. The central part of the
easement Is the governing station,
where the motorman has access to all
the actuating levers. The anterior
part is reserved for passengers, fitted
up like saloon steamer, and will &C
commodate twenty-five to thirty peo-
pie; the posterior part is reserved for
machinery. Here is located q motor
of 145 horse power. The speed of the
balloon IS estimated at twenty-five
miles an hour. The electric current
is generated by two dynamos of 200
horse power each. The track is to be
laid from the house in the city to the
fair grounds, q distance of about a
mile.
The other venture in aerostatics
lie chateau aerian-conslsts, as its
name suggests, in having castle sus-
pended III mld-air by means of
balloon. The gigantic enterprise is
not expected to be in operation until
late in the summer. The basket or
"chateau" will hold 100 persons at a
height of 1900 feet; connection be-
tween the chateau and the ground is
to be established by means of fast
elevators between heavy cables. The
balloon, the chateau and the elevators
are to be equipped with parachutes,
in case of accident. The moorings of
this aerial monster will consist of
forty steel cables, so arranged that the
airship can be drawn to the ground in
a very few moments.
Among the numerous inventions in
the field may be briefly mentioned
the aerial balloon of NJ. Champagnon.
The propellers of this are not screws
or paddle wheels, but eight oblong