The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1905-09-21
lLLOON|NG ABOVE ALPS
Wonderful Journey of an ltal-
ian AerOnaut.
TWENTY HOURS IN AIR
sttempt Of {. Speterini to Sail From
Zermatt to the Rhine.-He Rose
to a Height Of 1890 Feet, but
Was Defeated in Attempt by Nd
verse Winds.

verse Winds.
The Italian aerouaut, T.. Spelterini,
ent twenty hours in his balloon
ella on September II and rs last at
lights of from 10000 to 1890 feet,
an attempt to sail north over the
ps to the Rhine. He was defeated
adverse winds, but nevertheless
lde wonderful journey.
The few attempts at ballooning in
IN mountain regions have been re-
rded as especially interesting from
scientific point of view, and this as
ct of Spelterinis exploit was very
portant He has just printed in the
rmsn Aeronautischen Mitteilungen
only detail of his journey that has
I appeared.
de waited day after day at Zermatti,
e starting point for the Matterhorn
wind conditions that would take
m north across the Bernese Alps,
q central Swiss plain and the Juras
Germany. On September 18th the
yorable hour seemed to have come.
A gentle breeze was blowing from
south. The stations on the Saints,
,tthard and Gornergrat reported a
,ak south wind. At IL o'clock a
rail- balloon sent up by Spelterini
,ated slowly to the north-northeast
ward Mount Dom.
A few minutes after / o'clock an
, her trail balloon rising from Ter
att made direct for the Weis shorn
the north. The clouds were NOV
: northward and everything seemed
Opitious
At lis o'clock in the afternoon t :
ella was cast loose from her an
orage ground, rose with great rapid
to height of 1900 feet and drift
Z away directly north toward the
eisshorn. The day was very warm,
d the overheated balloon rose to
is height without any expenditure
ballast. But there was little wind,
d her progress at first was only
out six miles an hour.
The air was very clear and a dozen
Tsons at Zermatt were watching the
jloon through telescopes until she
rs finally lost to view in the neigh
rhood of Weisshorn. Every one sup
sed that the air vessel would GER
inly pass over the great SUBMITS
d proceed on the northern journey.
But something unexpected occurred.
clear the tops of the mountains
fely Spelterini emptied a consider
lie part of his ballast from the sand
gs and ascended to a height of about
300 feet
Here he struck a current of air that
'uld not be reported from the high
atoms. It was a steady wind from
e west and the balloon suddenly
tused in its northern flight and drift
rapidly to the east.
This was the contingency that could
9t have been foreseen. The airship
ed away far above the mountain
ps, though some of them rose to
lights of over $4,000 feet. The d.
ction was eastward and southeast
ard.
The aerOnaut passed over the tops
the Mschabel chain, the Fletsch-
Jrn, the Wcissmies and the Laquin-
Tn. He was lowering over Italy now
I'd the balloon began to move uorth-
ard over Domo d'Ossola and the Val
ltigorio, and finally hovered over
AXE Maggiore.
As darkness fell around him scarce
a breath of air was stirring and
.roughout the night the traveller
nld scarcely detect any movement
the balloon. He found in the morn
&, however, that he had drifted about
dirty miles to the west and was over
e Italian town of Peccia.
II was bitter cold, but he was well
tuipped for low temperatures and his
iysical discomfort was not so great
to impair his enjoyment Of the pros
act beneath him, a prospect more
.agnificent than any of the glorious
ews that may be seen from the tops
: the Alps
At sunrise his balloon was almost
'utlOnleSS, anu ne ueClueu 10 throw
at more ballast and see il he could
ct propelling power in higher strata
the air. He soon assembled to a
eight of over 10000 feet, where a
cry weak wind took him slowly to
ne north.
There was no prospect that he
yould find current Of air that would
AXE him over the northern mountains
/ least as far as the Swiss plain, so
le decided to seek mother earth, and
landing was effected at o'clock in
he morning, not without some danger,
m the Alp Shinti, which overhangs
he hamlet of Bigna3co.
He had been in the air for twenty
hours. The greatest altitude reached
vas 1890 feet. The average altitude
If the balloon above sea level during
The whole journey was nearly 10000
FEET.
This journey clearly revealed one
cause Of inaccurate weather reports.
The movements of the air currents are
an important factor in weather pre-
dictions; but there are movements of
air strata that are beyond the ken of
observers, and so some elements
which have to do with weather con.