The daily morning journal and courier., 1898-08-04
BALLOONS IN WAR.

A Novel Battle in Cloudland Nearly Thirty Years Ago.
 The announcement that the balloon is destined to play role in the pres- ent war with Spain recalls the aero- nautic experiments made by the French during the great war In 1870 and 1871. As early as 1792 balloons were used for military signalling in France. But in our times, during the siege of Paris by the German troops, frequent attempts were made by the Frenchmen to com municate with those inside the be- leagured city and to dispatch men and matter from the capital by means of balloons. In Paris itself, under the dl- rection of Postmaster Ramport bai- loon post and transport service were established for carrying persons and governmental as well as private mail matter from the besieged capital Among the public men leaving the city in this way M Gambetta will ever be remembered Homing pigeons were also sent by this route to carry news back to Paris. A total of sixty-six bal looms, according to Tissandier's "En Balloons Pendant de Siege de Paris left the besieged city, and 16S persons, 10,194 kilograms of postal matter, in cluding 9,OO0,00O letters, 369 homers, 5 dogs and boxes of dynamite, were dis patched by the aerial route. Of the balloons 52 descenden in France, in Belgium, 1 in Holland, 2 in Germany, and 1 in Norway. Only of them were captured by the Germans, and two were never heard of, having been lost in the ocean.
 Of all the voyages of that time, how ever, none could compare for exciting and perlous incident with that of the well known earonaut, M. Nadar, who left Tours for Paris with important government dispatches at 6 o'clock one fine December morning. At il o'clock he was in view of the capital on the Seine. While floating about 5000 met res above Fort Charenton, Nadar sud- denly observed a second balloon on the horizon. Thinking it to be one leaving Paris the French aeronaut at once dis played the tri-color of his country, and the other balloon responded by exhib- iting 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 short distance sev- eral explosions were heard. The strang- CT had begun to fire shots at Nadar's balloon-the Intrepide-which began to descend rapidly. The French flag had by this time been replaced in the other balloon 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 lucky compatriot 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 hole made in the tissue. Presently he descended to the car as the balloon righted itself, and, throwing out quantity of ballast caused it to rise higher and higher. Then, seizing rifle he fired shots in rapid succession into the Prussian, which suddenly split and sunk to the earth. On reaching the ground a detachment of Uhlans who had been watching the combat from the plain, picked up the German aero- nauts and rode off to the Prussan out posts. Nadar then alighted i'll safety within the girdle of the Paris forts.- Baltimore Sun.