The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1905-08-13

being strong enough. 1t was necessary to
seek shelter for this last browning act
of air captainship. A corner of the for
est of Fontainebleau was coming toward
us. We turned the extremity of the
wood, sacrificing our last ounce of bal
last Here the trees protected us Aom
the violence of the wind. and we cast
anchor, at the same time opening wide
the emergency valve for the wholesale
escape of gas.
And so we landed-plumpl- without
dragging, and stood watching the balloon
die. 1t was almost a pitiful
SPRAYING in the field 1t was losing the
remains of its gas in convulsive move
ments like a great bird that dies beating
its wings. Then we packed the silk en-
velope. anchor, rope and utensils in the
basked and hired a man to haul it to tie
nearest railway station.
In a Spherical Balloon.
After two more such personally con-
Quoted trips, in which I sought to do all
the maneuvering with my own hands
under M. Machuron's kind Instruction.
l ventured in spherical balloon; and
during this early period l made very
many trips. landing in all parts of
France. Often ley were prolonged into
the night, and no sporting sensations
are more u1NefSlned ana aSfeehDle IMAM
those of night ballooning.
The spherical balloonist becomes an ex-
plorer Are you young? Would you
roam and tempt adventure? And are
you tied down? You may still penetrate
the unknown and deal with unex-
pected. Take to spherical ballooning. as
do the youth and beauty of the Paris
Aero club. At noon you lunch peace
ably with your family At 2 p. m. you
m
are no longer commonplace law-abiding
citizen, you are an explorer In unknown
seas of light Yes, the air is still for
most people an unknown element; and
who know 1t remain astonished at the
world OF different sensations on expert
ences in 1t as one goes as a spherical or
dirigible balloonist. me realization of
this wonderful .lference flashed on me
at a moment l recall well, as l was steer
ing straight, swift course along the
Mediterranean coast In my No g. dur
ing the memorable winter of 1902
l was by this time an experienced
dirigible balloon captain-it was the win
ter following my winning of the Deutsch
prize in Paris. had no task to perform,
nothing to prove, and l could give myself
up to the pleasures of aerial navigation
in by far the swifst airship l had yet
constructed. As l steered my course l
remember Saying 10 HnyS
How different are these from the sen
sations of the spherical balloonistl 1t is
true that he has the earth flying back
ward beneath him at q great speed; but
he knows that he Is powerless. The
sphere of gas above him is the plaything
of the air current in which it finds itself,
and he cannot change Its directionl"
Perfectly DrigIbe.
In my dirigibe balloon / could see my
self flying over the sea, and l had my
hand on a helm that made master of
my direction in the splendid course l was
making Once or twice, mere to test
its power, l showed the helm around
while going at full speed. Delightfully."-
obedient, the airship's helm swung to
the other side, and | was speeding in a
new diagonal course that would have
brought me to shore in few minutes
had l continued it. But the maneuvers
occupied only a few instants each, and
each time 1 swung myself back on a
straight line to the entrance of the Bay
of Monaco, from which l had come and
to which I must return to the balloon
house built for me by the Prince of
Monaco, for | was flying homeward like
an eagle.
To those watching my return from the
terraces of Monte Carlo and Monaco
town Gas they told me afterward) the
airship increased in size at each movement
like a veritable eagle bearing down on
them. AS the wind was coming toward
them they could hear the low, cracking
buzz of my motor long distance away.
Family now their own shouts of en-
enlargement came to me. They grew
louder. Around the bay a thousand hand
kerchiefs were futtering. l gave a sharp
turn to the helm, and the airship leaped
into the bay to slow down and be caught
and conducted to its STABLE"