The sun., 1908-12-27

died away. and nov we were maJestscaiJ
being swept along, encompassed by im'
penetrable walls Of silence go profound
that one hardly cared 10 talk.
@Another curious thing was the effect
which the sllghtest circumstance ha6
upon the equilibrium Of the balloon. BY q
very delicate instrument We carried tbs
rise or fall was measured. Its pointer
was rarely motionless.
"In the daytime the various strata oi
air have different temperatures. and the
air rising from dense forests or Of large
body of water causes the gas to contract
and the balloon to fall. Every article
of weight counts. We drank couple Of
bottles of water and threw the bottles
over the aide. Even to 30 light q weight
the pointer measured a rise Of about
twenty feet, and when we threw over
half sandbag We spurted upward hun
dreds of feet.
Il had always believed that a whole
sandbag was dumped over the side at
once. perhaps to the danger Of earth dwell
lers; but the correct way 10 to cut slit
in the top of bag and let the sand drib-
BILE out gradually. Sandbags are pro-
cious, and a good aeronaut always saves
several for landing.
"We sailed steadily. with the earth a
broad, green Kaleidoscope Of villages.
rivers and hills mile and half beneath
us. for several hours. At times when the
sun went behind bank Of clouds We
sank, but threw out no bags, as the air
above two miles from the earth causes
temporary deafness accompanied by q
queer buEzing in the ears.
"The suns rays were growing colder,
and just as we were above the great for
est Of Chantilly it popped behind a huge
bank of darkening clouds The with
drawal of the SUMS warmth, combined
with the humid air arising from the for
est. instantly caused us to drop.
How we did drop! Our pointer showed
fall of nearly half mile Ia little over
two minutes. Imagine the descent Of an
electric elevator in a thousand story build
ing. and magnify the sensation suffi-
GENTLY. and you will know how We felt,
though you did not mind it much unless
you looked down.
I'VE fell faster and faster; 90 fast that
when we attempted to throw sand over
it few upward instead Of down.
I'VE checked ourselves by the ssndbags
about half a mile from the ground. and
soon commenced to think Of descending.
Monsieur Sky Pilot first closed the safety
valve outlet and looked to see that the
guide rope was still dangling.
The guide ropes purpose is to break
the fall of balloon In case the balloon
sinks too quickly the rope drags on the
ground. and relieved of it's weight the
balloon rises momentarily.
"Ths balloon was beginning to sink
gradually now, and as we neared the
ground we realized the speed at which
We were travelling. We could see the
trees whip and bend in the half gale. and
we swept past woods and villages at
almost express train speed.
Landing in such a breeze is very diff
cult and Is a test OF all the skill an aero
naut possesses. We waited until broad
stretch Of fields appeared before us and
then threw over the anchor, which has
fukes just like that Of ship. In quiet
breeze the anchor can be caught in a
fence, hut II ours had caught in that
manner as we were going we would have
been jerked out OF the car.
just as our anchor was about ten
feet from the ground directly before US
from behind some woods to our right
train burst into view. Our paths were
converging to exactly the same point
and we leaned over and shouted. for we
simply couldn't stop.
1T looked like q near thing for mo-
,,,nnt A,,t ha an otaaar x1rNa nA aInuval
down and our anchor cleared the train
by six feet with the train but twenty yards
away. We flashed by with rows Of gaping
passengers gazing at us.
I'VE were nearly on the earth now
and flying like huge bird and our anchor
was liable to catch into the ground at
any moment. We climbed up into the
ropes on the upper side Of the basket;
for when the basket first strikes the
ground the shock may easily break the
leg OF one standing on the floor. and held
our breath. Finally it caught and with
a sharp reach the balloon keeled over
like q sailboat before a squall.
"A sharp bump and quick as flash
Monsieur Sky Pilot had pulled the valve.
allowing the gas to escape from the top
Of the balloon. and it gradually began
to settle on the ground. The first bump
Ia the crucial moment, for an aeronaut
must pull that valve so that the balloon
does not rise again from the ground
after being heeled over, II the balloon
leaves the ground again you may find
yourselves in the car anchored to the earth
but twenty or thirty feet above It,
Our man was wonder. for the basket
never rose after the first bump and the
balloon collapsed as gently as the kind
you buy on the street for five cents.
"By the time we had jumped off the
basket to the ground quite a crowd had
miraculously appeared. The shooting
season was on and every one seemed to
have gun and dog or two.
"The crowd yelled and gesticulated the
balloon sighed out it's life breath, we
took pull at the brandy flask the dogs
yapped and fought, and every one was
happy. After an hours work We had
the balloon slowed away in the basket
and shipped on board a farm wagon
for the nearest railroad station, which
was about twenty miles beyond Com
piegne. We had sailed hundred miles
since 1 o'clock.
"Then We started for the station with
IL. IL. Inll