The Goodland republic. [volume] (Goodland, Kan.) 1891-1907, 1898-08-05
BALLOONS IN WAR.
4 Novel Battle In CIoudIand Nearly
Thirty Year, Age Between
France and Germany.

The announcement that the baIioOE
Z is destined to play a role In the present
war with Spain recalls the aerOnautiC
Experiment. made by the French during
the great war OF 1870 and1S71. AsearlJ
as 1892 balloons were used for military
signaling in France. But, in our times
during the siege Of Paris by the Ger
man troops frequent attempts were
made by Frenchmen to communicate
with those inside the beleaguered city
and to dispatch men and matter from
the capital by means Of balloons In
Paris itself, under the direction Of
Postmaster Rapport, a balloon post
and transport service was established
for carrying persons and govern
mental as well as private mail matter
from the besieged capital. Among the
public men leaving the city In this
way n. Gambetta VIII ever be re-
membered- HOming pigeons were also
sent by this route to carry news back
to Paris A total Of &C balloons, ac-
cOrding to Tissamdier's EN- Balloon
Pendant le Siege de Paris" left the
besieged city, and 16s persons, 1918
kilograms Of postal matter, including
and two boxes Of dynamite, were dis
patched by the aerial route. OF the
balloons, 50 descended in France, five
in Belgium, four in Holland, two in
Germany and one in Norway. Only
five OF them were captured by the Ger
mans, and two were never heard OF,
having been lost in the ocean
OF all voyages Of that time, how
ever, none could compare for exciting
and perilOus incidents with that Of the
well-known aerOnaut, AZ. Nadar, who
left Tours for Paris with important
government dispatches at six o'clock
one fine December morning. At II
he was in view Of the capital on the
Seine. While floating about 5000
metres above Fort Clarendon, Nadar
suddenly observed a second balloon
on the horizon. Thinking it to be one
leaving Paris, the French aeronaut
at once displayed the tricolOr Of his
country. and the other balloon re-
sponded by exhibiting the same flag.
Gradually the two balloons approached
one another, being drawn in the same
direction BY the same current Of air.
When they were separated by only a
short distance several explosions were
heard. The stranger had commenced
to fire shots at Madras baIloon-the
Intrepid-which began to descend
rapidly. The French flag had by this
time been replaced In the other bal
loon by the Prussian colors. The
Parisians, who were watching the af-
fair from the forts below, and who
now realized the true character
and object Of the last arrival, cried out
that their plucLcy eomPatriot was lost
But they were mistaken.
Nadar had scrambled from the car
up the network Of his airship after
the first shot from the enemy, to stop
a hole made in the tissue Presently
he descended tt the car Of the balloon
righted itself, and threw out guam
tity Of ballast, causing it to rise higher
and higher. Then, Selling his rife, he
fired shots with rapid succession into
the Prussian, which suddenly split
and sunk to the earth. On reaching
the ground a detachment Ct UhIans,
who had been watching the combat
from the plain, picked up the German
aerOnaut and rode OF to the Prussian
Nadar then aIghted IN
safety within the girdle Of the Paris
forts, meeting with an enthusiastic
ovation for his victory in the A-st
balloon duel.-Baltimore Sun