The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-03-25
HERE TO SAIL HIS BALLOONS.
TEE COMTE DE la TAULX BRINGS
THREE OF HIS MACHINES.

One, the Centaure, Too Bis to Initiate Here
win Try His Second Largest at West
P~0lnt-Thinks This the Ideal C61lntry
for the spOrt-His 200 Asccnts.
Henri, Comte de la Vaulx, the balloonist,
arrived In New York yesterday from France.
He came in on La Savoie from Hayre,
bringing with him three of his seven bal
looms. Tall, soldierly, full OF enthusiasm,
the Count looks by all odds the part Of the
most daring Of air voyagers. He is 35
years old and took up ballooning at the
age Of q.
He Ia here to stay about a month; longer
possibly, II he can do so. He brought his
three balloons along In the hope that with
one Of them he will be able to make an
ascension.
Cortlandt Field bishop and Augustus
Post Of the Aero Club we're at the pier to
meet the Frenchman. He is vice-president
Of the Aero Club OF France. A number OF
other members of the local club were on
hand; too, and there was decided enthu-
siaam when the Count, ruddy complexioned
and with the ribbon of the Legion of Honor
In his lapel, walked down the g~angplank.
The ribbon was the gift Of the French Gov
eminent for services In exploring Pata-
gonia. That was before the Count took
up ballooning.
The Count, Mr.. Bishop and Mr.. Post set
at once to doing what they could to get
the three balloons through the Custom
House. After signing what the Count de-
scribed as yards Of paper arrangements
were made 30 that the three balloons will
be released by Tuesday. The Centaurei
the largest, takes $1,000 cubic feet Of gas.
It s an tmpossibility to raise that balloon
In this country. 1t carries five persons in
the basket. The Orient is the second largest
and the Ludion the third.
Once these things were arranged, the
Count, with M. Levee and the two members
Of the Aero Club, went TO the rooms Of the
club, at Ffty-eighth street and Fifth ave-
nue.. There the balloonist submitted to
interviewing, the process being slightly
difficult because he knew no English. One
well equipped reporter questioned the
Count in French, and the others stood about
and took down translated
The Count said that he hoped that he
would be able to make asoents from either
Tuxedo, West Point or Pittsfield. To fill
his balloons the Pittsfleld people say that
they will have to put in a new gas main,
which win take three weeks. While he was
talking to the reporters word came from
Lieut.. Lahm, over the long distance tele-
phone from West Point, that the Orient,
the second largest balloon, could be filed
In three hours by the gas at the disposal of
balloons will be taken to West Point as
soon as they are released from the customs.
An attempt at an ascent will be made as
boon as the frost is of the ground. .
"This Is the ideal country for ballooning, y
said the Count. Here at least one can start
off and fly straight away. There are no
suoh obstacles to be considered as in Europe.
, For instance, II one flies south from France
there Is the Mediterranean, and beyond
that the Sahara. To the east is Turkey,
to the northeast Russia and the Scandi-
navian Peninsula. II one tries TO get to
England one must know just what spot
he has to land on-a little slip and one is in
the ocean. But here one can fly clear from
Washington. to Denver. 1t is magnificent
only to think Of.
Only recently, at one gathering round the
Tuileries, I saw twenty balloons. l have
travelled 40, 900 kAometers in balloons since
/ took up the sport In 1893. That Is once
around the world at least, and means 200
ascents. In that time I have had as pas
sengers about /, 100 persons, of whom about
100 were m Figured out once that the
total time spent In the air in my 200 ascents
was two months
The Count was not very ca ger to tell
about himself and his answers did not
bristle with a desire TO introduce the first
person singular.
Asked to tell about some OF his long
trips, he said: Il have sailed from Paris
to Kief, in Russia, 1000 kilometres, in SO
hours; from Paris to Warsaw in 81 hours,
and from Paris to Hull. The last is only a
short distance, 900 kilometres, but it was
the first time any one had passed from
France to England"
= TIL Count talked at length about the
interest in the doings Of the Wright brothers
in Paris. He said that no one had been able
to see the %aeroplane Of the Wrights and
that no one could be found in Erance who
had ever seen it fly. The aerop1ane is said
to nave sailed thirty-fve kilometres. The
Count and NJ. Levee agreed that If it could
do that the syndicate which has an option
on it would be only too glad TO buy it. The
price to be paid is 800 900 francs when it
sails a certain distance and 200 900 francs
additional when the. Wrights teach some
one how to manage 1t. And If the aero
plane can sail that far it is cheap at a
million" said the Count.
The Count said that he was going to have
two new balloons built, which will bring
his total up to nine. There will be one Of
1000 metres diameter for the Gordon Ben
nett cup, and another, perhaps larger, for
the German Emperor's CUP. He will have
dirigible. Thu Centaure is the balloon
The Mediterraneen is the one in which he
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