The Press., 1895-06-20
RECORD FOR LONG DISTANCE CON
 vER5ATioN WITHOUT A WIRE.

by the medium of placid water An Adirondack guide tells of having talked in ordinary tones, on very still day, with companion E miles distant at the other end of lake, and another guide caps this story with one of yells which were heard and returned near a water extent of three miles. These tales are quite outdone by we'll authenti- cated story told by Carlotta, once the most famous woman balloonist ill the world. In her story air, instead of wa ter, was the medium, and the distance of the conversation was four miles. It took place above the outskirts of St. Louis some years ago.
 ''It was an aeronautic exhibition, " says Carlotta in telling the story, land a young man named White, who was inexperienced ill ballooning, had agreed to make an ascension. I had already gone up and was quietly drifting cast on an easy air current when he started out. He had had enough experience to know how to handle the valves and sandbags, and he intended to go up a mile or so and then descend easily. Now,
  You may be going duo west at half a mile altitude, and when you get up a few hundred yards farther you may strike a current that carries you due east. MT. White checked his upward career in a west bound draft, so that when he finally drited out of that cur rent into mine we were a good long dis tance apart.
 ''I always have a powerful glass with me when I 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 l judged it was likely to twist more, and he was clamboring 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 balloon turns too much the gas begins to escape rapidly, and the results are likely to be serious. I knew that voices could be heard long way in the air, for had often heard people mile below me shouting, so without know ing how far the two balloons were apart decided to hail the other one. gath cred all my breath and shouted:
 'Hello hello, helloP
 '"Then I turned my glass on the other balloon again. Up where the air is sc clear as it is a mile above the earth one can see at great distances with wonder full distinctness. Through my glass could see MT. White start and look all around him. That was quite awhile aft CT had shouted. He didn 'Eseem to un- derstand where the voice came from, but finally saw him put his hands tC his mouth, evidently making a speaking trumpet of them. I waited and waited and was just about to shout again when the huge gasbag above me began tC thrill with sounds. They seemed to buzz along its sides and diffuse the air, only to collect and como whirring and rum bling down the funnel to be poured intl my ears, and they formed in tono that seemed made up of a million other tones:
 " Hello! Where-are-you?'
 ''It was the most peculiar sound I haC ever heard. When it had scattered itself into silence. took out my watch, anc timing myself shouted:
 " Throw out one sandbag I'll come to youV
 "Forty seconds later my balloon be- gan to vibrate again, finally forming the words:
 "'All right. In troublel'
 '"There was method in my telling him to throw out the sandbag, as ii was afterward of use. l threw out 8 number myself, for I reckoned that $ little above mo I would find a current to carry me toward Mr. White. This did and was soon within a short dis tance of him, aerialIy considered. The trouble with his balloon was a slight disarrangement of the ropes, which had myself experienced, so I 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 gasbags being the only material objects up there collecting all the sounds and acting as huge receiv. ers'
 Well, said he, you got me out o1 scared in my lifo as when that voice surrounded ne. 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' simply impossible, said he
 Very well,' said. That's why ] told you to drop that sandbag. threw soma ont tOO and wa can find Ort hO1x far they landed apart.
 "It wasn't much trouble to find peo. pie who had found the bags and knew just where they were. Fortunately they had landed near railroad track, so the distance estimating was made easy fo1 us. It was 4 14 miles. guess that is the record up to date for long distance talk