The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1895-03-28

artificial breathing he constantly and with
relative ease fulfilled all necessary work.
Only once did his eyes close in spite of
himself, but the next moment he reused
himself scolding. at his own negligence;
his voice in the rarefied air sounded
strangely muffled. When at the height of
7700 meters he had already risen higher
than Glaisher, when the latter aeronaut
took his last note of the temperature. At
the height of $500 meters DIR. Berson
thought of the two French scientists who
had died at that height. At about s5OO
arrived at by Glaisher ON September5. 1852.
when the latter tainted away, only to awake
after his COMPANIONS had stopped the bal
loon from rising any higher. But
DR.. Berson, after momentary exam
nation of his own strength and
his provision of ballast, ventufed
to rise higher. The temperature had al
ready sunk to AZ degrees below zero (eenti-
grade). AT the height of 5000 meters his
balloon passed through and above the thin
stratum of high cirrus clouds, which he
had noticed high in the sky at his start.
The veil-like stratum consisted not of ce
crystals, but of well-formed small snow
flakes. At Il :45 A. NJ, two and half hours
after the start, the barometer indicated
only 231 millimeters, which corresponds
with a sea height of 5000 meters. and a
true height of 9150 meters. The Their
mometer stood at 47.9 degrees below zero.
Even the quicksilver in the barometer had
cooled to 90 degrees, and the ray Their
mometer, in full sunshine, indicated
only 1913 degrees. The balloon now
stopped. There were only six large and
one small sacks of ballast left. which
were necessary for descending and landing.
The balloon stood above the thin snow
| clouds in a clear sky, which stretched
family blue above. DIR. Berson felt so we'll
Al {o1, Inv,
1000 meters, but he could not have done SO
without risk1ng the whole of his successful
Journey. At this immense height. $3.50
meters, he felt much better than a short
time before. DR.. Berson opened the gas
valve now and then and the Phoenix grad
ually descended, till at the height of 1900
meters it stopped and again began to
rise. Another pull at the valve caused it
to redescend. At the height of $500 meters
it sailed over a river with mighty curves:
it was the Elbe, at the part, as was after.
ward found, near Domity.
But now the terrible cold 1began to have
effect. DR.. Berson, clothed as he was in
thick frrs, began to shake in every limb so
violently that he was obliged to hold on to
the rim of the basket. In slow waving
motion the balloon sank and sank. and
during the whole descent only one sack of
ballast was thrown out at the height of
$500 meters to moderate the rapidity.
Meanwhile a close stratum of heavy clouds
had hidden the earth and prevented any
ascertaining of the balloons position. The
slow descent, however, allowed of another
set of observations being taken, and now
the highest temperature, about six degrees
above zero, was found at the height of 400
meters. Thence down to the earth it sank
again five degrees. A whole hour
greatest height of his trip two of
his fingers were frozen, but he brought
them to life again by energetic friction In
the enormous cold the Paragraph had
stopped for a while. In the afternoon, at
3 O'clock, the northern sky showed I'M
| mistakable signs OF water" and DIR. Ber-
son decided that he must descend more
rapidly. After few more gentle ups and
downs he could distinguish the noise and
steam whistles of some large town. When
$50 meters high there appeared at last
below him the gray EARTH covered by a
cloudy sky. Now, with the drag strap the
balloon passed over lake, and presently
landed with the help of some countrymen
who came up, at 3:45 P. N. on a stubble-
! field at Sohonwohld, in the west of Kiel,
on the very evening when the German En-
peror, the founder of the Phoenix, hap
pened to be staying in that city.
The ascent of the balloon had taken two
hours and twenty minutes; the descent
| full three hours The most important re-
suits were as follows: 1. The arrival at a
greater height than was ever reached be-
fore. 2. The ascertaining of an unusually
low temperature at that height and q
much greater lowering of the temperature
between 1900 meters and $500 meters than
was ever before accepted for the winter.
3. A change of temperature mornings and
evenings till the height of 1900 meters.
4. Relatively very weak insulation even at
the greatest height. 5. Humidity in the
highest regions and fine mist in the sky to
the enormous height of more than 10000
meters. g. Snowflake structure of the
cirrus clouds at 5000 metres. Z. Tremend-
Gus increase of the swiftness of the wind
upward, for, with almost perfect calm on
the surface of the earth, more than $40
kilometers were made in five hours and
seventeen minutes, which gives medium
swiftness OF 1917 meters per second.