The Lafayette gazette. [volume] (Lafayette, La.) 1893-1921, 1895-04-06
WITHOUT A WIRE.

WITHOUT A WIRE.
'o"E-n''t""ee 1" ,.nns.1 That Save" . D"'
Tales are plenty of long distances
over which mems voices have been con.
veyed by the medium of placid water.
An Adirondack guide tells of having
talked in ordinary tones, on very still
day, with a companion a mile and
half distant at the other end of lake.
and another guide caps this story with
one of yells which were heard and re.
turned near water extent of three
miles. These tales are quite outtlone
by a well-autllenticated story told by
CarlOtta, once the most famous woman
balloonist in the world. In her story
air instead of water was the medium,
and the distan of the conversation
was four miles. 1t took place a mile
above the outskirts of st. Louis some
years ago.
"It was an a,ronautic @exhibi:ion,'
says Carlotta in telling the story. land
a young man named White, who was
inexperienced in ballooning. had
agreed to make an ascension. I had
already gone up and was quietly drift
ing east ON an easy air current when
he started ont. lie had had enough
valves end sand bags. and he intended
to go up q mile or SO and then descend
easily. Now, the upper air is full of
varying currents. You may be going
due west at half a mile altitude, and
when you get up few hundred yards
further you may strike current that
carries you due east Mr.. White
checked his upward career in a west
bound draught SO that when he finally
drifted out OF that current into mine
we were a good long distance apart.
II always have u powerful glass with
me when 1 make an ascension. When
1 turned this on him 1 saw that he was
in trouble. His balloon had twisted a
little, in such a way that judged it
was likely to twist more, and he was
clambering around the ropes trying tc
right it, but without much apparent
conception of what was best to do.
was frightened for him, for when the
bag of a balloon turns too much the
gas begins to escape rapidly, and the
results are likely to be serious. Iknew
that voices could be heard Il long way
in the air, for had often heard people
a mile below enc shouting, SO without
knowing how far the two balloons
were apart, decided to hail the other
one. 1 gathered all my breath and
shouted:
Hello! Hello! Iello!'
"Then I turned my glass on the other
allOon again. Up where the air is SO
clear as it is mile above the cartl,
| one can see at great distances with
wonderful distinctness. Through my
glass 1 could sec Mr.. White start and
look all around him. That was
quite awhile after L had shouted.
He didn't seem to understa nd
where the voice came from, but finally
| 1 saw him put his hands into his
mouth, evidently making a speaking
ed, and was just about to shout again
when the huge gas bag above me be-
gan to thrill with sounds. They
seemed to buzz along its sides and
di1fusc in the air. only to collect and
come whirring and riimbling down the
funnel to be poured into my ears, and
they formed in a tone that seemed
made up of u million other tones.
Hello! Whcre-are you?'
'It was the most peculiar sound 1
had ever heard. When it had scat
ter ed itself into silence took out my
watch and timing myself, shouted:
Throw out one sandbag. Ill como
to you
the words:
All right. In trouble
''There was method in my telling
him to throw out the sandbag,. as il
! was afterward of use. I threw out n
number myself, for recl>oned that n
41CCie dUOVe liz "ouIu ma current
| to carry me toward Mr.. White. This
| did, and was soon within short dis
| lance of him, aerially considered. Tho
} trouble with his balloon was a
slight disarrangement of the ropes,
which had myself experienced, so 1
| told him what to do, and he was soon
| all right. AS 1 explained to him when
! we reached the earth, we had been
| talking over an aerial telephone, the
| gas bags being the only material OBJ
jects up there collecting all the sounds
| and acting as huge receivers
"'Well, said he, you got me out of
a very bad scrape, but 1 never was SO
scared in my life as when that voice
surrounded me. 1 thought the balloon
was talking, and that 1 had gone
| crazy.
'''It was pretty long talk, said L
| for allowing the voice to travel five
| seconds to a mile by my timing we
must have been close to four miles
apart
| ""That's simply impossible,' said he
| every well,' said. That's why
told you to drop that sandbag.
| threw some out, too, and we can fine
| out how far they landed apart.
| 1T wasn't much trouble to find pco
pie who had found the bags and knew
just where they were. Fortunately
| they had landed near a railroad track
so the distance estimating was made
| easy for us. 1t was four miles and :
| quarter. I guess that is the record uI
to date for long-distance talking with,