San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1895-04-07
WITHOUT A WIRE.
Long Distance Talking That Saved Bal
loOnist.

An Adirondack guide tells of having
talked in ordinary tones, on a 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 outdone
by Observation-Disclosures 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 distance of the conversation
was four miles. 1t took place a mile
above the outskirts of st. Louis some
years ago.
ut was an @ronautic exhibition"
says Carlotta in telling the story. land
young man named White, who was
inexperienced in balloOning, had
agreed to make an ascension. had
already gone up and was quietly drift
ing east on an easy air current when
he started out He had had enough
experience to know how to handle the
valves and sand bags. and he intended
to go up 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 a few hundred yards
further you may strike a current that
carries you due east. Mr.. White
checked his upward career in west
bound draught, so that when he finally
drifted out of that current into mine
we were good long distance apart.
81 always have powerful glass with
me when | make an ascension. When
turned this on him 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 to
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 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. l gathered all my breath and
shouted:
"'Hello! Hello! Hellor
"Then l turned my glass on the other
balloon again. Up where the air is so
clear as it is a mile above the earth
one can see at great distances with
wonderful distinctness. Through my
glass l could see Mr.. White start and
look all around him. That was
quite awhile after l had shouted
He didn't seem to understand
where the voice came from, but finally
l saw him put his hands into his
mouth, evidently making speaking
trumpet of them. l waited and wait
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
diffuse in the air, only to collect and
come whirring and rumbling down the
funnel to be poured into my ears, and
they formed in a tone that seemed
made up of a million other tones.
Hello! Where-are you?'
1T was the most peculiar sound |
had ever heard. When it had scat
tered itself into silence took out my
watch and timing myself, shouted:
Throw out one sandbag. I'll come
to you
Forty seconds later my balloon be-
gan to vibrate again, finally forming
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 a
number myself, for reckoned that
little above me | would find current
to carry me toward Mr.. White. This l
did, and was soon within a short dis
lance of him, aerially considered. The
trouble with his balloon was
slight disarrangement of the ropes,
which had myself experienced, so
told him what to do, and he was soon
all right. AS l 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
very bad scrape, but l never was so
scared in my life as when that voice
surrounded me. l thought the balloon
was talking, and that / had gone
crazy.
"'It was pretty long talk, said I;
for allowing the voice to travel five
seconds to mile by my timing we
must have been close to four miles
apart
"'That's simply impossible said he.
every we'll, l said. That's why |
told you to drop that sandbag. !
threw some out, too, and we can find
out how far they landed apart.
at wasn't much trouble to find 'peo-
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 a
quarter guess that is the record up
to date for long distance talking with
out a wire. IN. Y. Sun.
-CxruS CObb ls DESIGNING the heroic