The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1899-08-13
AT 10 NILES AN HOUR
HOST REMARKABLE BALLOON
TRIP ACROSS THE ENGLISH
CHANNEL
ABOVE WATER OVER A MILE

ABOVE WATER OVER A MILE
PercivaI Spencer Tells How He
Crossed the English Channel,
More Than 200 Miles, in Five and
One-HaIf DEMONSTRATING a Look
at Things at Height of 1900
Feet-Air's Awful SOIitudes.
LONDON, Aug. 12.-The balloon trip
from England to France made by Percival
Spencer, the aeronaut, accompanied by
MI Pollock, was one of the most remark
abe and thrilling aerial voyages of all
times.
Spencer distinguished himself last year
by making the highest ascent ever known.
Accompanied by a German professor, he
reached an altitude of 27,850 feet
This journey in the air over the Eng
lish Channel, more than two hundred
miles was made in little more than
five hours and half.
1t was made possible in part by de-
vice discovered by Andree, who hoped to
reach the North Pole in his balloon ana
who has never since been heard from.
This invention makes it possible to vary
the balloons course thirty degrees from
the wind.
While the results achieved by Spencers
latest aerial voyage are of value to sci
ence. the average reader will be more
moved by the perils of the undertaking.
For a long time it was by no means
hung over the sea, with nothing to tell
certain where the men could land They
them how fast they were travelling, and
with the balloon fast losing buoyancy
AS it was, they landed but a mile and
half inland. The story of this voyage
through space is here told in Spencer's
own words:
BY PERCIVAL SPENCER.
1--WE started from Crystal Palace at 2:30
p m on Saturday, the voyage to France
being made safely in five hours and forty
minutes.
"At the start we rose to a height Of
5000 feet. Before US was magnificent
spectacle. The balloon assembled through
rolling bilIowy mass of clouds upon
which it was sharply silhouetted as we
left them behind. The sunlight that
pierced the openings made gorgeous rain
bow rings all about US.
THE wind was almost due south and
between 43O and o'clock we had to
decide whether we should make descent
in England or attempt to cross the chan
mel.
1--WE had used four of ten sandbags,
each containing fifty pounds. AS we
neared the coast we saw that we were
crossing the twin towns of Hastings and
St. Leonard's. We then decided to con-
tinue our journey across the channel.
by $50 o'clock the clouds had COM
pletely shut out the English coast and
the balloon descended from the altitude
of 1000 feet, which it had reached, to
1000 feet. We were compelled to empty
half of our six remaining sandbags to be
lifted once more into the sunshine.
THUS we started from the English
coast with practically only $50 pounds of
ballast to cross the channel After con-
sultation we decided not again to permit
the balloon to descend into the cold lower
air, lest we should be compelled to ex-
haust all our sand in order to gain
safe altitude. BY careful discharge of
our ballast in small quantities we main
tanned our equilibrium and the balloon
reached an altitude of 5000 feet.
THE AWFUL SOLITUDES OF AIR.
AT this height we were in a vast
solitude. There was no sound to break
the awful stiffness. We seemed notion
less in space, cut off from the world
Below we could see the waves, but we
could no longer hear the wonderfully i'm
pressive hum of their constant motion
The waters below US were dark and
seemed to have no end. They were as
limitless as the air about US, in which
we swayed lazily.
'fMr PO1IOpl< ha fret 10 d;Coo,-o,,
the white line of cliffs that marked the
boundary of France. How far away they
were We could not know
I'VE were at a height of 1000 feet at
o'clock and we seemed to get no nearer
those white cliffs. Only one sandbag was
left, and we were parting with its con-
tents like misers. Half an hour later we
had reached a height of 10000 feet We
could tell that we were being borne on
ward, but very slowly. There is no way
of measuring speed in a balloon, so
tranquil is the voyage, except by OBJ
Jects on the earth. There was still the
awful silence
After little we could distinguish the
mouth of the River SOmme. But from a
height Of 600 feet miles shrink to rods.
High in the air the birdseye view plays
strange pranks with distances.
ut was debatable whether we sbou1d he
able to reach the coast or descend into
the sea.
We knew that If we were unable to
retain our altitude if the balloon sunk
below the level of the clouds. 1t might
commence rapid downward course We
would be powerless to prevent it, our bal
last gone.
Our last sand ran out at 7:35. We
were over the sea, miles from the shore
The balloon was sinking. 1t was neces-
sary at any cost to retain our level. We
seemed mouOnless or crawling at a snaiFs
pace.
I'VE threw over he empty bags. The
linen wrapper for inclosing the Debated
balloon followed.
MILE AND A HALF IN THE AIR.
AT 7:40 all possible weight had been
parted with and we were were still sink
ing. The land was ahead but beneath
US were the waters We seemed moving
more swiftly toward them than to the
white cliffs.
THE balloon dropped from 5000 to 5000
feet in less than a minute. The water
mile and a half beneath: the land
ten miles away.
There was nothing in the car but our
selves, our camera and anchor Mani
testify neither Of US could leave the car.
The camera weighed little and must be
saved at all costs. There was nothing
to do but to part with our anchor
THE anchor is as precious to an aero
naut as to the skipper CT sailing ship on