The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1898-04-02

grow like magic, and one could almos.
see them run. In an incredibly short
space Of tlme-but little longer than 1t
would have taken me to walk to the
edge of the timber-the line had disap-
peared among the trees. While / was
wondering what would be done next,
the instrument in the battery wagon
began to tick and a message came in
over the newly constructed line. asking
for further instructions. orders were
flashed back and the line was contin-
ued all the way to the foothills.
WITH THE BALLOON TRAIN.
Military ballooning has also ad-
vanced to such a state of perfection
during the past few years that 1t will
be perfectly within the range of possi-
bilty, in case of war, to accurately
photograph an enemy's position. obtain
accurate maps of his fortifiCatiOns. etc,
without sending any one within his
lines. The balloon service as it has
been conducted at Fort Logan, proves
this conclusively. TO the unintiated it
would seem out of the question TO
transport balloon with an army and
TO send II up for observation purposes
at any time or at any place. Yet the
difficulties that naturally surround this
problem have all been overcome, and
today there is at Fort Logan q fully
equipped balloon field train, ready for
service at any moment.
The balloon train consists of three
wagons, similar in construction to those
described above, and which transport
the field telegraph paraphernalia. The
balloon itself, a huge affair is placed
in the forward end of the wagon. At
the rear end there is a large reel, upon
which are carried several thousand feet
Of stout cable. The middle cOmpart-
| mcnt in the balloon wagon room is re-
served for the basket and netting. In
the second wagon are stored the hydro
gen gas tubes, needed for initiating the
airship. The tubes are constructed of
| steel. and are as light and strong as
it is possible to make them There is a
! generating plant for gas at Fort Logan,
and it is there that the tubes are filled
They are shipped in such quantities as
may be needed, to various points
! throughout the country. A supply suf-
ficent for several innations can be
carried with the field train, and if
! larger supplies are needed additional
| wagons are pressed into service.
The balloon itself is constructed of
| the finest and most costly material gold
! beaters skin being used for this pur-
| pose. The heavy wagon is of sufiic-
| lent weight to hold the balloon captive,
and if a change of base is necessary
! during an ascension the wagon has
/ simply to he moved in the desired di-
leCtiOn. Telephone communication is
| maintained through the cable which
! holds the balloon to the wagon.
AS the members Of the Signal Corps
| are also Typographical engineers, it is
/ a simple matter for them to prepare
! accurate maps of the country beneath
| them, while suspended out Of harms
| way above an enemy's camp. The
! adoption Of teleophotOgrap phlc lenses
also gives them means by which as
! accurate photographs can be made as
| if the artist were actually in the for
! tihcaticns.
BALLOONS AS TARGETS.
Statistics show that it is almost i'm
| possible to hit a captive balloon with
| musketry fire when at an elevation of
1000 feet The balloon is kept moving
almost necessarily, and in that lies a
| great measure of it's safety Nearly all
the standing armies of the world are
now equipped with balloon corps, and
the value of this sort of aerial survey
irg, in time Of war, is incalculable, at
least, it is so admitted by the military
| experts, and they ought to know.
The balloon corps of the German
army is said to be the equal, if not
| the superior, to any in the world.
1t is kept in constant practice and
experiments are made nearly every day
in the year.
| The latest s:ries OF experiments re-
Gently took place at Interbock, about
ten miles from Berlin, and We're to
test the sustaining qualities of a bal
loon when riddlei with heavy projec-
| tiles.
Results showed that at distance of
| 1000 feet above the earth an infantry
| FIRE from either mdslicts oc rifles had
little effect upon The tallooh. The at
mospheric pressure being about the
| equal of the gas pressure had the effect
of keeping the perfOrations closed so
that the balloon kept afoat the same
as if nothing had happened
The fire of an artillery battery, how
ever, at distance of 1900 yards, soon
brought the balloon to the ground, the
shells tearing large holes in the cover
ing and making it evident that a cap
tive balloon to be of service near a
fortifcation would have to be kept in
constant and rapid motion.
Whether or not experiment have
been made in the use of explosives
dropped from ballons. l have not been
able tC learn, but from what one can
see of the use of these aerial monsters
at Fort Logan il would not be strange
IL the widest dreams Of moderns may
soon be realized and the terrible death
dealing airship may soon evolve, as did
the Holland submarine boat, from
jules Vernes Twenty Thousand Lea
| CUES Under the Sea-"
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