Year: 1873

kind friends are thus assured that we ar,
not foolhardy, seeing that we shall pro
l vide against all and any contingencies
that are likely to possibly arise.


Our main reliance is on the great east
ward drift Of the trade wind, and, aftei
your publication of DIR. Ramsey's ad
mirable paper on the motion of the at
mosphere, always and forever eastward
without an attempt at the exact solution
Of It's cause, since the fact Is patent, and
with the Smithsonian Institutes reply tc
my letter on the same subject, that thi,
eastward motion Of the air "as an estab
lished fact Of science Of every days ex.
perienco," we have, | think, little to fear
for the result Of the voyage. We do moi
pretend that in this first experimental
voyage we shall be able to make a given
point on land, but we have an eye TO the
Gulf Stream, the great warm river in
the ocean, which forms above it, in the
ocean Of air, a corresponding erial river
that will float US to the coast Of Ireland,
It becomes physical correlative that
the air, on being warmed by the gull
stream heat, will rise and move forward
in the isobaric line of the last resistance
which must inevitably be in the direction
Of the gulf stream. Meteorologists will
take great interest in this part Of the
problem to be solved, or attempted to BE-
solved. These great but silent impon
derablc elements, the most potent of al
in the great cosmogony, are yet so little
understood by science, that a lifetime'i
devotion to the elucidation Of n single
feature in them will be spent. and that il
the animating principle that moves us Il
the experiment We are not scientific
ally'presumptuous, but we know what
We do know, and that is, that the at
mosphere above us moves eastward; th,
heavens above attest the fact in lis fleecy
messengers constantly to be seen in thi
,erial highway. What we don't know i
the actual condition Of this force Of ma
ture over and above the sea, and as I
method Of exploration, we intend Il
make this erial voyage, and in our hum
bic way endeavor to mark out an un
trodden path for men and mails. w,
have a living faith in It's success, and /
belief that We shall aid the too little cul
tivated science of meteorology, and il
that we look for our reward-the salts
faction Of that little honorable ambition
without the which man is but poo
thing.


We crave the public patience unit
our embarkation. In due course Of tint
we will announce the day of departure
since it is impossible for US to depart il
an unobserved and unostentatious man
ner, because we are compelled to leave
from the midst of a dense population, OF
account of gas supply, although we woulc
prefer to start in the presence of few
friends only, who have faith in the sin
cerity of our design and in the ways ano
means we have designated for its success
full accomplishment.


This is all l have to say at present il
reply TO your very kind and polite not
as TO the true intent Of our project.
would not have penned this, but fee
bound to make respectful reply to thu
party who has aided us so much, ant
without whose aid our project would
probably have gone to sleep again, anC
slumbered for another decade or tive II
the strong arms of unbelief, that right
eous tyrant that makes skeptics of us all


New York, July 2. JOHN WISE.
DESCRIPTION OF THE CAR AND ITS con


TENTs-scIENTIFIC AND HOUSEHOLD


ARRANGEMENTS.


The Graphic in a recent publication
says: The car of the balloon, ''ThC
Daily Graphic, as designed by Prof.
Wise and Donaldson, is now being care
fully constructed under the direction and
supervision Of the latter, and when com
pleted viii be a marvel of lightness,
strength and convenience. 1t will nee
essarily be combination of stOre-house,
dormitory, workshop aud observatory.
1t will be supported at one point only
its apex-and. besides its own weight
and that of the passengers and ballast,
will have 20 bear the strain Of the life
boat below.


II may be described in brief as to con-
sist, in outline, Of twelve stout ropes
looped, with their twenty-iour ends tied
in the supporting ring above. These
loops will be distended into bell-like
shape by three great hoops of stout ash,
the lower Of which. eight feet in diane
ter, will support flooring strong enough
to hold most of the ballast. This floor.
ing will be laid of two layers Of narrow
ash boards, the direction of one layer
being at right angles to that Of the sther.
This arrangement is designed to aid in
resisting the pressure on the hoops from
the ropes, which will pass around under
the bottom of the car. -Four and half
feet above this floor is another, resting
on hoop ten feet in diameter. This
will consist of one layer of light pine
boards, 10 be removed and thrown out Il
necessary. but which, nevertheless, viii
be the "main floor" ofthe airy tenement.
Between these two Hoors, and extending