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diff --git a/old/54799-0.txt b/old/54799-0.txt deleted file mode 100644 index 89cf3bd..0000000 --- a/old/54799-0.txt +++ /dev/null @@ -1,2857 +0,0 @@ -The Project Gutenberg EBook of Balloons, Airships, and Flying Machines, by -Gertrude Bacon - -This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere in the United States and most -other parts of the world at no cost and with almost no restrictions -whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of -the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at -www.gutenberg.org. If you are not located in the United States, you'll have -to check the laws of the country where you are located before using this ebook. - -Title: Balloons, Airships, and Flying Machines - -Author: Gertrude Bacon - -Release Date: May 27, 2017 [EBook #54799] - -Language: English - -Character set encoding: UTF-8 - -*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BALLOONS, AIRSHIPS, FLYING MACHINES *** - - - - -Produced by deaurider, Charlie Howard, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - - - - - - - - - -THE PRACTICAL SCIENCE SERIES - - -_The following Vols. are now ready or in the Press_:-- - - BALLOONS, AIRSHIPS, AND FLYING MACHINES. By - GERTRUDE BACON. - - MOTORS AND MOTORING. By Professor HARRY SPOONER. - - RADIUM. By Dr. HAMPSON. - - METEOROLOGY; or, WEATHER EXPLAINED. By J. GORDON - M‘PHERSON, M.A., LL.D. - - _Others in Preparation_ - - - - -[Illustration: THE AUTHORESS, HER FATHER, AND MR. SPENCER MAKING AN -ASCENT. - - _Frontispiece._ -] - - - - - BALLOONS - AIRSHIPS AND FLYING - MACHINES - - - BY - GERTRUDE BACON - - - NEW YORK - DODD, MEAD & COMPANY - LONDON: T. C. & E. C. JACK - 1905 - - - - -CONTENTS - - - CHAP. PAGE - I. THE ORIGIN OF BALLOONING 9 - - II. THE COMING OF THE GAS BALLOON 23 - - III. FAMOUS BALLOON VOYAGES OF THE PAST 38 - - IV. THE BALLOON AS A SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT 57 - - V. THE BALLOON IN WARFARE 69 - - VI. THE AIRSHIP 84 - - VII. THE FLYING MACHINE 105 - - VIII. CONCLUSION 119 - - - - -BALLOONS, AIRSHIPS, AND FLYING MACHINES - - - - -CHAPTER I - -THE ORIGIN OF BALLOONING - - -One November night in the year 1782, so the story runs, two brothers -sat over their winter fire in the little French town of Annonay, -watching the grey smoke-wreaths from the hearth curl up the wide -chimney. Their names were Stephen and Joseph Montgolfier, they were -papermakers by trade, and were noted as possessing thoughtful minds and -a deep interest in all scientific knowledge and new discovery. Before -that night--a memorable night, as it was to prove--hundreds of millions -of people had watched the rising smoke-wreaths of their fires without -drawing any special inspiration from the fact; but on this particular -occasion, as Stephen, the younger of the brothers, sat and gazed at -the familiar sight, the question flashed across his mind, “What is the -hidden power that makes those curling smoke-wreaths rise upwards, and -could I not employ it to make other things rise also?” - -[Illustration: MEDALLION SHOWING BROTHERS MONTGOLFIER.] - -Then and there the brothers resolved on an experiment. They made -themselves a small fire of some light fuel in a little tin tray or -chafing-dish, and over the smoke of it they held a large paper-bag. And -to their delight they saw the bag fill out and make a feeble attempt -to rise. They were surely on the eve of some great invention; and yet, -try as they would, their experiment would not quite succeed, because -the smoke in the bag always became too cool before there was enough -in it to raise it from the table. But presently, while they were thus -engaged, a neighbour of theirs, a widow lady, alarmed by seeing smoke -issuing from their window, entered the room, and after watching their -fruitless efforts for some while, suggested that they should fasten the -tray on to the bottom of the bag. This was done, with the happy result -that the bag immediately rose up to the ceiling; and in this humble -fashion the first of all balloons sailed aloft. - -That night of 1782, therefore, marks the first great step ever made -towards the conquest of the sky. But to better understand the history -of “Aeronautics”--a word that means “the sailing of the air”--we must -go back far beyond the days of the Montgolfier brothers. For in all -times and in all ages men have wanted to fly. David wished for the -wings of a dove to fly away and be at rest, and since his time, and -before it, how many have not longed to take flight and sail away in the -boundless, glorious realms above, to explore the fleecy clouds, and to -float free in the blue vault of heaven. - -And since birds achieve this feat by means of wings, man’s first idea -was to provide himself with wings also. But here he was at once doomed -to disappointment. It is very certain that by his own natural strength -alone a man will never propel himself through the air with wings like -a bird, because he is made quite differently. A bird’s body is very -light compared with its size. The largest birds in existence weigh -under thirty pounds. A man’s body, on the contrary, is very heavy and -solid. The muscles that work a bird’s wing are wonderfully powerful and -strong, far stronger in proportion than the muscles of a man’s arm. -To sustain his great weight in the air, a man of eleven stone would -require a pair of wings nearly twenty feet in span. But the possession -of such mighty wings alone is not enough. He must also possess bodily -strength to keep them in sufficient motion to prevent him from falling, -and for this he would require at least the strength of a horse. - -Such strength a man has never possessed, or can ever hope to; but -even as it is, by long practice and great effort, men have succeeded -at different times, not exactly in flying, but in helping themselves -along considerably by means of wings. A man is said to have flown in -this way in Rome in the days of Nero. A monk in the Middle Ages, named -Elmerus, it is stated, flew about a furlong from the top of a tower -in Spain, another from St. Mark’s steeple in Venice, and another from -Nuremburg. But the most successful attempt ever made in this direction -was accomplished about 200 years ago by a French locksmith of the name -of Besnier. He had made for himself a pair of light wooden oars, shaped -like the double paddle of a canoe, with cup-like blades at either -end. These he placed over his shoulders, and attached also to his -feet, and then casting himself off from some high place, and violently -working his arms and legs so as to buffet the air downwards with his -paddles, he was able to raise himself by short stages from one height -to another, or skim lightly over a field or river. It is said that -subsequently Besnier sold his oars to a mountebank, who performed most -successfully with them at fairs and festivals. - -[Illustration: BESNIER AND HIS OARS.] - -But it was soon clear that the art of human flight was not to be -achieved by such means; and when men found that they were unable -to soar upwards by their own bodily strength alone, they set about -devising some apparatus or machine which should carry them aloft. Many -ancient philosophers bent their minds to the inventing of a machine for -this purpose. One suggested that strong flying birds, such as eagles or -vultures, might be harnessed to a car, and trained to carry it into the -sky. Another gravely proposed the employment of “a little imp”--for in -those days the existence of imps and demons was most firmly believed -in. A third even went so far as to give an actual _recipe_ for flying, -declaring that “if the eggs of the larger description of swans, or -leather balls stitched with fine thongs, be filled with nitre, the -purest sulphur, quicksilver, or kindred materials which rarefy by their -caloric energy, and if they externally resemble pigeons, they will -easily be mistaken for flying animals.” (!) - -The first man who appeared to have any inkling of the real way of -solving the problem of a “flying chariot,” and who in dim fashion seems -to have foreshadowed the invention of the balloon, was that wonderful -genius, Roger Bacon, the Learned Friar of Ilchester, the inventor or -re-inventor of gunpowder, who lived in the thirteenth century. He had -an idea--an idea which was far ahead of his times, and only proved to -be true hundreds of years after--that the earth’s atmosphere was an -actual substance or “true fluid,” and as such he supposed it to have -an upper surface as the sea has, and on this upper surface he thought -an airship might float, even as a boat floats on the top of the water. -And to make his airship rise upwards to reach this upper sea, he said -one must employ “a large hollow globe of copper or other similar metal -wrought extremely thin, to have it as light as possible, and filled -with _ethereal air_ or liquid fire.” - -It is doubtful whether Bacon had very clear ideas of what he meant by -“ethereal air.” But, whether by accident or insight, he had in these -words hit upon the true principle of the balloon--a principle only -put into practice five centuries later. He saw that a body would rise -upwards through the air if it were filled with something lighter than -air, even as a body will rise upwards through the water if it is made -of, or filled with, something lighter than water. We know that if we -throw an empty bottle tightly corked into the sea it does not sink, but -rises upwards, because it is filled with air, which is lighter than -water. In the same way exactly a light bag or balloon which is filled -with some gas which is lighter than air will not stay on the surface -of the ground, but will rise upwards into the sky to a height which -depends upon its weight and buoyancy. - -Later philosophers than Bacon came to the same conclusion, though they -do not seem to have seen matters more clearly. As recently as 1755 a -certain learned French priest actually suggested that since the air -on the top of high mountains is known to be lighter than that at an -ordinary level, men might ascend to these great heights and bring down -the light air “in constructions of canvas or cotton.” By means of -this air he then proposed to fly a great machine, which he describes, -and which seems to have been as large and cumbersome as Noah’s Ark. -Needless to say, the worthy Father’s proposal has never yet been put -into practice. - -But it is time now that we return to the two brothers Montgolfier and -their paper-bag of smoke. Their experiments proved at once that in -smoke they had found something which was lighter than air, and which -would, therefore, carry a light weight upwards. But of what this -something was they had, at the time, but a confused idea. They imagined -that the burning fuel they had used had given off some special light -gas, with the exact nature of which they were unacquainted. The very -word gas, be it here said, was in those days almost unknown, and of -different gases, their nature and properties, most people had but the -very vaguest notions. - -And so for some time the Montgolfiers and their followers supposed -that the presence of this mysterious gas was necessary to the success -of their experiments, and they were very careful about always using -special kinds of fuel, which they supposed gave off this gas, to -inflate their bags. Later experiments proved, however, what every one -now knows, that the paper-bag rose, not because of the gases given off -by the fire, but by reason of the hot air with which it became filled. -Nearly all substances, no matter how solid, expand more or less under -the influence of heat, and air expands very greatly indeed. By thus -expanding heated air becomes lighter than the surrounding air, and, -because it is lighter, rises upwards in the atmosphere, and continues -to rise until it has once more regained the average temperature. - -[Illustration: MONTGOLFIER’S BALLOON.] - -Encouraged by the success of their first humble experiment, the -Montgolfiers next tried their paper-bag in the open air, when to their -delight it sailed upwards to a height of 70 feet. The next step was -to make a much larger craft of 600 cubic feet capacity and spherical -in shape, which they called a “Balloon,” because it was in appearance -like a large, round, short-necked vessel used in chemistry which was -technically known by that name. This great bag, after being inflated, -became so powerful that it broke loose from its moorings, and floated -proudly upwards 600 feet and more, and came down in an adjoining -field. After a few more successful trials the brothers thought that -the time had come to make known their new invention. Accordingly -they constructed a great balloon of 35 feet in diameter, and issued -invitations to the public to come and see the inflation. This was -successfully made over a fire of chopped straw and wool, and the giant -rose up into the sky amid the deafening applause of a huge multitude, -and after attaining a height of 7000 feet, fell to the ground a mile -and a half away. - -The news of this marvellous event spread like wild-fire throughout the -kingdom, and soon not only all France, but all Europe also, was ringing -with the tidings. The French Royal Academy of Sciences immediately -invited Stephen Montgolfier to Paris, and provided him with money to -repeat his experiment. He accordingly constructed a yet larger machine, -which stood no less than 72 feet high, had it most magnificently -painted and decorated and hung with flags, and sent it up at Versailles -in the presence of the King and all his court. - -This particular balloon is noteworthy as having been the first of all -balloons to carry living passengers into the air. They were three -in number, a sheep, a cock, and a duck. Breathlessly the assembled -multitude watched these innocent victims placed in the basket and soar -calmly and majestically above their heads; and eagerly they followed -the balloon to where it fell half a mile away to learn their fate. -Would they have been suffocated in those upper regions of the air which -no human being had yet explored, or would they be dashed to pieces in -the descent? But they found the trio quite uninjured; the unimaginative -sheep grazing quietly, and the duck cheerfully quacking. Forthwith -the cry then arose that it was time for a man to hazard the ascent, -and King Louis, who, like every one else, was vastly excited over the -wonder, suggested that two criminals then lying under sentence of death -should be sent aloft. - -But now a brave French gentleman--M. Pilâtre de Rozier, a name ever -to be remembered in the history of the conquest of the air--uprose in -indignation. “Shall vile criminals have the first glory of rising into -the sky!” he cried, and then and there he proudly claimed for himself -the honour of being first among mortals in the history of the world -to sail the air. His courageous resolve was wildly applauded, and -forthwith preparations were commenced for the new venture. A yet larger -balloon was made, in height as tall as a church tower, with a mouth 15 -feet across. Around the mouth was fastened a gallery of wicker-work, -three feet wide, to hold the passengers, and below all was slung with -chains an iron brazier of burning fuel. - -By way of precaution, when all was complete De Rozier made a few short -captive excursions, the balloon being fastened to earth by a rope. But -all proving satisfactory, he decided to hazard a “right away” trip on -the 21st of November 1783, when he was also to be accompanied by an -equally courageous fellow-countryman, the Marquis d’Arlandes. It would -be difficult to conceive a more daring and perilous enterprise than -these two brave Frenchmen set themselves. They were to venture, by -an untried way, into unknown realms where no mortal had been before; -they were to entrust their lives to a frail craft whose capabilities -had never yet been tested, and at a giddy height they were to soar -aloft with an open fire, which at any moment might set light to the -inflammable balloon and hurl them to destruction. - -Wild indeed was the applause of the crowd as the mighty craft, after -due inflation, rose majestically into the sky, carrying with it its two -brave voyagers-- - - the first that ever burst - Into that silent sea; - -and with what anxiety was its course followed as, rising rapidly to a -height of 3000 feet, it drifted away on an upper current which bore it -right over the city of Paris. The travellers themselves experienced -various excitements during their adventurous trip. They had constantly -to stir the fire and feed it with fresh fuel; they had also with wet -sponges continually to extinguish the flames when the light fabric -from time to time ignited. At one period they feared descending into -the river or on the house-tops, at another a sharp shock gave them the -impression that their balloon had burst. But they came safely in the -end through all perils and alarms, descending quietly, after a voyage -of twenty-five minutes’ duration, five miles from their starting-place. - -[Illustration: AN EARLY HYDROGEN BALLOON.] - -Thus was invented and perfected in the course of less than a year -the first of all craft which carried man into the sky--the Hot-Air -or Montgolfier Balloon. To this day large hot-air balloons inflated -by the same methods employed a hundred years ago occasionally take -passengers aloft. Indeed, there now seems a likelihood that the use of -the Montgolfier balloon will be largely revived for military purposes, -since, with modern improvements, it would appear to be more quickly and -easily inflated than a gas balloon in time of warfare. With miniature -hot-air balloons we are all familiar, for every schoolboy has made -them for himself of coloured papers, and watched them float away on -the breeze with as much admiration and delight as the two brothers of -Annonay watched their bag first float upwards to the ceiling. - -But almost before the invention of the hot-air balloon had been -completed, and before Pilâtre de Rozier had made his ascent, a rival -craft had appeared upon the scene, to which we must more specially -refer in the next chapter. - - - - -CHAPTER II - -THE COMING OF THE GAS BALLOON - - -During the time of which we are speaking there was living in London a -famous chemist named Henry Cavendish. He was the son of a nobleman, -and a very rich man; but he shut himself up entirely from the world, -and devoted his whole time and energies to the study of science. So -afraid was he of being interrupted in his work that he lived the life -of a hermit, commanding his servants to keep out of his sight on pain -of dismissal, and ordering his dinner daily by means of a note placed -on the hall table. In the year 1760--twenty-two years before the -Montgolfier brothers began their experiments--this eccentric man had -discovered what was then known as “inflammable air,” but what we now -call hydrogen gas. - -Cavendish’s experiments proved that hydrogen is the lightest of all -known substances, being about fourteen times lighter than atmospheric -air; and soon after he had made known his researches, it occurred to a -certain Dr. Black of Edinburgh that if a sufficiently thin and light -bladder were filled with this “inflammable air” it would rise upwards. -Dr. Black even went so far as to order a special bladder to be prepared -for the purpose; but by the time it was ready he was busy with other -work, and the experiment was never made; otherwise it is extremely -probable that the honour of inventing the balloon would have been won -for this country, and not for France. - -A little later Tiberius Cavallo, an Italian chemist living in England, -came yet nearer to the great invention, for he filled a number -of soap-bubbles with the newly discovered gas, and saw them float -high into the air. He did not, however, think at the time that his -experiments would lead to any practical result, and so the matter -dropped entirely, until the world was suddenly electrified by the -tidings of the wonderful hot-air balloon invented by the brothers -Montgolfier at Annonay. - -The news of this discovery recalled to the minds of many the almost -forgotten experiments of the past, and it was forthwith suggested -that balloons might be inflated with hydrogen gas more successfully -than with hot air. It was resolved immediately to put this theory to -the test. A large subscription to defray expenses was raised in Paris -without difficulty, for men’s minds were keen on the new-found art of -sailing the sky; and M. Charles, Professor of Experimental Philosophy, -and two brothers, the Messrs. Roberts, well-known mechanicians, were -appointed to construct a suitable balloon and inflate it by the new -method. - -But they were immediately confronted with a difficulty. Hydrogen -being the lightest and most subtle of gases, they were at a loss -to know of what material to make their balloon, to prevent the gas -escaping. After several failures they eventually constructed a bag of -a special kind of silk, and coated it all over with a varnish made of -indiarubber dissolved in turpentine. As they found great difficulty in -manufacturing large quantities of hydrogen, they were forced to make -their bag a comparatively small one, about thirteen feet in diameter. -On the 25th of August 1783 the bag was successfully filled, and the -ascent was made in Paris in the presence of an enormous crowd. The -little balloon rose upwards with immense rapidity, until it was lost -to sight in the clouds. Ascending yet higher, it presently burst, and -came to the earth in a village, fifteen miles away, after a voyage of -three-quarters of an hour. - -[Illustration: ATTACK ON THE FIRST CHARLIER BALLOON.] - -In the field where the balloon fell a party of peasants were at work; -at its approach they fled in abject terror. From a safe distance they -watched the strange new monster settle to earth and lie prone, and -then they cautiously drew nearer to inspect it. The silk still heaved -with the escaping gas, and the countrymen were fully convinced that -an actual living creature of mysterious nature lay before them. One -man seized his gun and fired full at it, and then supposing it to be -mortally wounded, they all rushed in with flails and pitchforks to -complete its destruction, finally tying it to the tail of a horse, who -galloped with it all over the country, tearing it to shreds. It was -small wonder that after such an occurrence the French Government issued -a proclamation to the people, telling them that these aeronautical -experiments were to be repeated, and warning them not to be alarmed -if they saw a balloon in the air, since it was a perfectly harmless -machine filled with gas, and incapable of injuring any one. - -This event took place about three months after the first public -ascent of the hot-air balloon. The new craft was immediately called -a “Charlier,” after its inventor, and to distinguish it from the -“Montgolfier.” There followed various exhibitions of the rival -airships, and after the voyage of Pilâtre de Rozier and the Marquis -D’Arlandes, Messrs. Charles and Roberts resolved also to hazard an -ascent in a balloon inflated with hydrogen. - -A new machine was therefore constructed, which differed in many -important details from all others which had previously been made. It -was twenty-seven feet in diameter, of varnished silk, and over it was -spread a net of cordage. Instead of a gallery to carry the passengers, -as in the “Montgolfier,” a car shaped like a boat was suspended from -the net with ropes and hung a few feet below the balloon. A valve to -let out the gas was also provided, and the voyagers carried in their -car ballast and a barometer to indicate their height. It will thus be -seen that this new balloon was in all practical details the same as the -balloon of the present day. - -The ascent took place on the 17th of December in Paris. Stephen -Montgolfier was present, and launched a small hot-air balloon, which -amused the onlookers and indicated the direction of the wind. Then -MM. Charles and Roberts stepped into the car, and the balloon being -liberated, they were immediately carried up to a height of 6000 feet, -where a glorious panorama of Paris and the adjacent country was spread -out before their delighted vision. After staying aloft about a couple -of hours they descended to earth again, and Roberts got out of the -car. Charles decided to continue the voyage awhile by himself, and, -lightened of his companion’s weight, the balloon this time rose to -10,500 feet. The sun had by this time set upon the earth, but at -this height Charles saw it rise once more and set a second time. The -thermometer fell far below freezing-point, and he was benumbed with -cold and felt violent pains in his ears. When at his greatest elevation -he was obliged to pull the valve to prevent the balloon from bursting, -and eventually descended without mischance about seven miles from where -Roberts had left him. - -It would be well now to describe a little more fully the way in which -the “Montgolfier” and “Charlier” balloons were inflated. Each of -the rival methods had its advantages and also its disadvantages. In -the case of the hot-air balloon a shallow pit was dug, in which a -quick-burning fire of chopped wool and straw was lighted, and the bag -simply suspended over it. The inflation was thus rapid, and its cost -comparatively small; the great drawback being that as the bag was of -very light material, it ran considerable risk of being ignited by the -fire; and all the while it was filling it was the uncomfortable duty -of an unfortunate attendant to stand actually inside, roasted with the -heat and choked with the smoke, armed with a paddle with which to beat -out the flames whenever the bag caught alight. - -[Illustration: FILLING A HOT-AIR BALLOON.] - -This danger of fire was done away with in the method of filling -with hydrogen gas. The balloon, suspended from aloft as before, was -connected by hose-pipes with a number of casks containing iron or zinc -filings upon which dilute sulphuric acid was poured. The effect of -mixing these substances together is to set up a brisk chemical action, -in the course of which hydrogen gas is given off. In this case the -hydrogen thus liberated came through the pipes and filled the balloon. -The great disadvantages of this method of filling--which, it may here -be mentioned, is occasionally employed at the present day--are the long -time it occupies, the great labour entailed, and the enormous expense. - -[Illustration: FILLING A HYDROGEN GAS BALLOON.] - -It is said that when Roberts and Charles returned from their -adventurous voyage they were immediately arrested and thrown into -prison by order of the King, who considered it his duty to put a stop -to his subjects risking their lives in such dangerous enterprises. -Public opinion was too strong for him, however, and the two heroes were -quickly released, and Charles was rewarded by a pension of £200 a year -for life. This newly discovered art of sailing the heavens had indeed -fired popular imagination to an extraordinary degree. Probably no -invention has ever aroused greater enthusiasm. Not only all France but -all the civilised world went wild with excitement for the time. Most -extravagant statements were made and written. A new kingdom, it was -declared, had been given to mankind to conquer; voyages might be made -to the moon and stars, and now it would even be possible to take Heaven -itself by storm! - -Ascent after ascent took place with the “Montgolfier” and the -“Charlier,” both in France and in other countries; nor was it long -before the balloon made its appearance in England. In August of the -next summer (1784) a Mr Tytler of Edinburgh made some short voyages in -a hot-air balloon of his own manufacture, and in the following month a -much more adventurous attempt was successfully carried out in London by -a young Italian of the name of Vincent Lunardi. - -Lunardi was at this time secretary to the Neapolitan Ambassador. He was -keenly interested in the subject of ballooning, and presently became -fired with a desire to repeat in England those aerial experiments -which were creating such a sensation on the Continent. He was only a -poor man, and great difficulties stood in the way of accomplishing his -object. He had to excite public interest in his venture, to collect -subscriptions to defray the cost of his balloon, which was to be a -“Charlier,” and to find a suitable site in London for the inflation and -ascent. He met with disappointments and disasters enough to discourage -a less enthusiastic man, but at length, after many troubles, on the -15th of September his balloon was ready and in process of filling in -the grounds of the Honourable Artillery Company, in the city, where -150,000 people had assembled to witness the new wonder. - -[Illustration: VINCENT LUNARDI.] - -Still Lunardi’s trials were not at an end. The balloon was advertised -to ascend at a certain hour; but the supply of gas was insufficient, -so that when the time came it was only partially filled, and a long -delay ensued. The vast crowd--more than half inclined to believe the -whole thing an imposture--began to grow very impatient and unruly, and -it was only the presence of the Prince of Wales, afterwards George the -Fourth, which kept them in restraint for another hour while the filling -continued. - -Even then the balloon was not full; but Lunardi felt he could wait no -longer. He left behind him the companion who was to have accompanied -him, substituted a smaller and lighter car, jumped inside and severed -the ropes. Instantly the balloon rose high over the delighted city, as -the crowd, led by the Prince himself, rent the air with their cheers. -Wild was the excitement in every quarter. At Westminster King George -the Third was in conference with Mr. Pitt and his other chief Ministers -of State, but when it was known that Lunardi was in the sky the King -exclaimed, “Gentlemen, we may resume our deliberations at pleasure, -but we may never see poor Lunardi again!” and with one accord they -adjourned to watch his progress through telescopes. Tradesmen rushed -out of their shops, business men from their offices, even judge and -jury from their courts. - -[Illustration: LUNARDI’S BALLOON.] - -Lunardi continued his voyage over the town into the country beyond. His -balloon apparently attained a considerable height, for he found that -the condensed moisture round the neck had frozen, and the gas, which to -begin with had only two-thirds filled the balloon, presently expanded -so much that he was obliged to untie the mouth to relieve the strain. -He had taken up with him as companions a dog and a cat. The cat was -very ill at ease in the cold of the upper regions, and he resolved to -put her out; so, coming down to the ground, he handed her to a country -woman standing in a field. Throwing out ballast, he then rose again -and continued his voyage for some distance, eventually descending in -a meadow near Ware. Some labourers were at work on the spot, but they -at first refused to come near him, and a young woman was the first -whom he could induce to help him out of his car. A stone with a long -inscription, set up in a meadow in the parish of Standon, near Ware, -marks to this day the place where the first of all English balloons -touched ground. - -The following year witnessed a yet bolder enterprise. Blanchard, a -French aeronaut, and Dr. Jeffries, an American, determined on an -attempt to cross the Channel. On a winter’s day, early in 1785, they -had their balloon inflated with hydrogen at Dover and boldly cast off -to sea. The cold air appeared to chill the gas more than they had -foreseen, and long before they were across the Channel their balloon -began settling down upon the water. They threw out all their ballast, -then a number of books they were carrying, then their anchor, extra -ropes, and other gear. Still it seemed very doubtful whether they would -reach the French coast, and as a last resort they began even to throw -away their clothes to lighten the balloon. Fortunately at this moment -the balloon shot up into the air again, and eventually brought them -down in safety near the forest of Guiennes. - -So far, although several hundred ascents had been made, and in spite of -the many and great dangers of the new-found art and the inexperience -of the early voyagers, no fatal accident had marred the delight of -sailing the skies. Disasters, however, were soon to come. It is sad -to relate that the earliest to fall a victim was the brave Pilâtre de -Rozier himself, the first of all men to go aloft in a balloon. Fired -with a desire to emulate Blanchard and Jeffries, he decided that he -himself would cross the Channel, this time from France to England; and -to avoid, as he imagined, the cooling of the gas, which had so nearly -proved disastrous on the previous occasion, he hit on the extraordinary -idea of combining the principles of both the “Montgolfier” and -“Charlier” balloons, and suspending a fire balloon beneath another -filled with hydrogen gas. It seems a remarkable thing to us now that -no one in those days saw the awful danger of such a combination. The -inevitable happened. When the balloon was high in the air the furnace -of the hot-air machine set fire to the highly inflammable hydrogen, a -fearful explosion followed, and De Rozier and his companion were dashed -to pieces. - - - - -CHAPTER III - -FAMOUS BALLOON VOYAGES OF THE PAST - - -Unfortunately the death of Pilâtre de Rozier was but the first of a -series of fatal accidents which marred the early years of the history -of ballooning. Shortly afterwards another French aeronaut, going up -in too shallow a car, fell overboard when at a great height and was -killed. A little later Count Zambeccari, an Italian, ascended in a -hot-air balloon, which, on coming near the earth, became entangled in -a tree. The furnace it carried set fire to the silk. To escape from -the flames, the Count leapt to the ground and was killed on the spot. -A few years after, Madame Blanchard, wife of the man who first crossed -the English Channel, made a night ascent from Paris with a number of -fireworks hung from the car. These, in some way, ignited the balloon, -which fell to the ground, killing the unfortunate lady in its fall. - -On the other hand, many miraculous escapes are on record. One of the -earliest balloonists spent the night alone aloft in the midst of a -terrific thunder-storm, with the lightning flashing all around him, -and yet descended in safety when morning broke. M. Garnerin, a famous -French aeronaut of this date, also was lost in a storm. His balloon -became unmanageable, and borne to earth was dashed against a mountain -side, the occupant losing consciousness, until the balloon, which had -ascended again, brought him safely down once more many miles away. - -A marvellous escape took place in 1808, when two Italians ascended in -a gas balloon from Padua and attained a great height, estimated as -approaching 30,000 feet. Here the balloon burst, and came precipitately -to the ground; and yet, despite the terrific fall, the aeronauts -escaped with their lives. The explanation of this seeming impossibility -was, no doubt, the tendency which a balloon, emptied of its gas, -possesses to form a natural parachute. During a rapid fall the lower -part of the silk will, if loose, collapse into the upper portion to -form a kind of open umbrella, and thus very effectually break the -descent. Many balloonists have owed their safety in similar accidents -to this fortunate fact. - -The bursting of balloons when at high altitudes has already been -referred to as happening on several previous occasions. It is a danger -which is always present when a balloon is aloft, unless due precautions -are taken, and the neglect of these precautions has probably led -to more ballooning accidents than any other cause. The explanation -is simply the varying pressure exerted upon the bag of gas by the -weight of the atmosphere. When an inflated balloon is resting upon -the ground, the vast ocean of air above it is pressing upon it with a -weight of approximately fifteen pounds to the square inch, and it is -this pressure which prevents the enclosed gas from expanding beyond -a certain limit. The balloon then rises high into the air, where the -weight of atmosphere pressing upon it is much diminished. The higher it -rises the less the pressure becomes, and the gas it holds soon expands -so much that, unless a vent is provided for it, the balloon will burst. -At the present day the neck of a balloon is always left wide open when -the balloon is in the air, to allow of the escape of the gas during the -ascent. - -A perilous adventure befell Mr. Sadler, an English aeronaut, in 1812, -whilst attempting to cross the Irish Channel. He started from Dublin -with a wind which he hoped would carry him to Liverpool, but had gone -only a short distance when he discovered a rent, which seemed to be -increasing, in the silk of his balloon. Climbing the rigging with -difficulty, he contrived to tie up the hole with his neckcloth. He was -by this time over the sea, and having passed near the Isle of Man, -found himself, as evening was approaching, close to the coast of North -Wales. Here he endeavoured to seek a landing, but just at the critical -moment the wind shifted, as it frequently does in this treacherous -Channel, and he was quickly blown out to sea again. There he remained -for another hour vainly endeavouring to make the land, and then, -despairing of the attempt and seeing five ships beneath him, he came -boldly down on the water, trusting they would come to his assistance. - -But he came down too far away from them, and one and all continued -their course and took no notice. He was obliged, therefore, to throw -out ballast and to rise into the air once more. The sun was now -set upon the level of the water, but as the brave aeronaut rose he -beheld it once more above the horizon, and was cheered by its beams. -Presently he saw beneath him three more vessels, which signalled their -willingness to help him, and he immediately came down on the sea again -as close to them as he could. But the wind, now rising fast, caught the -half empty silk of the balloon as it touched the waves, and bore it -along over the surface of the water at a terrific pace; and although -the vessels came after in full pursuit, they were unable to overtake it. - -Mr. Sadler then dropped his grappling-iron to act as a drag, and this -not proving sufficient, took off his clothes and tied them to the iron -as a further expedient. Still the vessels failed to overhaul him as he -sped over the waves, and he was at length forced to let out a quantity -of the gas still remaining, and so cripple the balloon. But this was -a dangerous move, for the car now instantly sank; and the unfortunate -man had to clutch the hoop and then the netting, to keep himself above -water. Chilled and exhausted, and frequently plunged beneath the waves, -he was soon at the point of death; for the nearest ship, though now -close at hand, fearful of becoming entangled in the netting, still held -off. Fainting as he was, Mr. Sadler yet managed to summon strength to -call to the sailors to run their bowsprit through the balloon to stop -its course, and this being done, he was hauled on board more dead than -alive. - -Five years passed, and no more attempts were made to cross the -treacherous Irish Sea, until Mr. Sadler’s own son, Mr. Windham Sadler, -determined himself to make the attempt which had so nearly cost his -father his life. Choosing the same starting-ground for his venture, he -left Dublin on the longest day of 1817, and, fortune favouring him, -reached the Welsh coast not far from Holyhead, after a voyage of 70 -miles, lasting five hours. This was the last attempt to cross the -Irish Channel, until November 1902, when the Rev. J. M. Bacon and Mr. -Percival Spencer, starting from Douglas, in the Isle of Man, landed in -a rocky glen 15 miles beyond Dumfries, after a journey of 80 miles, -accomplished in three hours. Brave Mr. Windham Sadler unhappily lost -his life in a terrible balloon accident in 1824. - -But a more celebrated balloonist, perhaps the most famous of all, had -by this time come to the fore--Charles Green, fitly called “The Father -of English Aeronautics.” It was he who first introduced a new method -of balloon-filling, which quickly revolutionised the whole art and -practice. This was nothing more or less than the employment of ordinary -household or coal gas for inflation, in place of the costly and -dangerous hydrogen. - -While balloons were inflated only with pure hydrogen--for the uncertain -and dangerous method of filling with hot air was soon almost entirely -abandoned--no great strides could be made in the art of sailing the -skies. The filling of a large balloon eighty years ago cost no less -than £250, and few people could be found willing to provide so much -money for such a purpose. Coal gas, however, was by then to be found -in every town of any consequence; and it was Green’s suggestion that -though this gas might be greatly inferior to pure hydrogen in buoyancy -or “lifting power,” it yet contained a sufficient quantity of hydrogen -in it for all ordinary aeronautical purposes. - -The coronation of King George the Fourth was the occasion chosen -by Green to put his new scheme to the test and fill a balloon with -coal gas. The experiment was entirely successful, and henceforward -balloon ascents became much commoner throughout the world, for Green’s -discovery reduced the cost of filling tenfold, and the trouble and -anxiety a hundredfold. Green himself became one of the most famous men -of his day, and lived to make a thousand ascents, some of them of the -most daring and exciting description. - -[Illustration: THE GREAT NASSAU BALLOON.] - -The most celebrated event in all his career, however, was the voyage -of the Great Nassau Balloon, in November 1836. This voyage created a -tremendous sensation at the time, and has always been considered one of -the most adventurous enterprises in the whole history of aeronautics. -How it came about was as follows:-- - -The managers of the Vauxhall Gardens, London, had made, with Mr. -Green’s assistance, a very large and fine balloon of crimson silk, -which stood eighty feet high and held 90,000 cubic feet of gas, and -which would carry, if needed, more than twenty persons. After it was -made the proprietors proposed exhibiting it in Paris, and there was -some question of how this valuable and fragile property had best be -conveyed so far. Mr. Hollond, a young gentleman of considerable wealth, -and a great lover of adventure, at once came forward, and proposed -to take the balloon to the Continent by sky. His offer was accepted, -and to make the ascent more noteworthy, it was decided to start from -London and cross the sea by night, making as long a voyage as possible, -although it was already winter time, and such a venture had never -before been made. - -Preparations were at once commenced. The passengers were limited to -three--Mr. Green, who was to manage the balloon, Mr. Hollond, and his -friend Mr. Monck Mason. A ton of ballast was to be carried, provisions -for a whole fortnight were laid in, and, since none could tell to -within a thousand miles or more where they might be drifted, passports -to every kingdom in Europe were obtained. - -They left London late one November day, and, rising under a north-west -wind, skirted the north of Kent. Passing presently over Canterbury, -they wrote a courteous message to the mayor, and dropped it in a -parachute. Some time later, when the short autumn twilight was -beginning to wane, they saw beneath them the gleam of white waves, and -knew they had reached the boundary of the hitherto much-dreaded sea. -Immediately afterwards they entered a heavy sea fog, which hid all -things from their sight, and darkness and dead silence reigned around. - -[Illustration: THE VOYAGE ACROSS THE CHANNEL.] - -This lasted for fifty minutes, when they emerged from the cloud and -found the bright lights of Calais beneath them. It was then quite dark, -and they sped on through the night over unknown towns and villages -whose lights gleamed fainter and fewer as the time went on. Then once -again they entered the fog-bank, and for long hours no sign or sound of -earth reached them more. - -As the night wore on they suddenly had a startling and alarming -experience. Their balloon, which had been flying near the earth, was -presently lightened by the discharge of ballast, and rose to a height -of 12,000 feet into the air. Immediately afterwards, when all around -was wrapped in the deepest silence and the blackest darkness, there -came the sound of a sharp explosion from over their heads, followed -by a rustling of the silk, and immediately the car received a violent -jerk. The same thing was repeated again and yet again, and it is small -wonder that the awful conviction then seized the party that there, -in the darkness, in the dead of night, at that fearful height, their -balloon had burst, and they were falling headlong to the ground. Great -indeed must have been their relief when they found this was not the -case, and discovered the real reason of their alarm. - -It is the tendency of a balloon when flying near the ground to assume -an elongated or pear shape; and while their balloon was in this -position the netting, which was wet with dew, had frozen hard and -tight around it. Immediately they rose to great heights the gas had -expanded, and the balloon had become globular in shape, with a result -that the stiffened ropes sprang to their new position with the crack -and jerk which had so startled the party. When day broke next morning -they found themselves over long tracts of desolate forest land, and -fearing they were approaching the wild, inhospitable steppes of Russia, -they descended with all speed, and discovered they were in the Duchy -of Nassau, in Germany, near Weilburg, where they were received with -the wildest enthusiasm and delight. From start to finish they had -accomplished a voyage of 500 miles in eighteen hours. - -After this event Green made many other voyages in the great Nassau -balloon, and met with many exciting adventures. On one occasion, -ascending in a violent gale of wind, he and a passenger covered twenty -miles in a quarter of an hour, and, on descending near Rainham, in -Essex, were blown along across the fields at a furious pace, until the -anchor caught, and brought them up with such a wrench that it broke the -ring and jerked the car completely upside down. Green and his friend -only escaped from being thrown out by holding on to the ropes, and -they were afterwards dragged wildly through fences and hedges until the -balloon collapsed and came to a stand, though not before they had both -been severely hurt. - -On another voyage the famous balloon met with serious injury, for -having been some time above the clouds, during an ascent, Green found -himself carried out to sea, and was obliged to come down in the water -two miles north of Sheerness. As in the accident which befell Mr. -Sadler in his attempt to cross the Irish Channel, the wind caught the -silk and bore it along across the water too rapidly for a pursuing -vessel to overtake it. Green then lowered his anchor, which by happy -chance soon became entangled in a sunken wreck, and so brought the -balloon up. A boat immediately put out to his assistance, and he and a -companion were speedily rescued; but the balloon was so restive in the -wind that it was dangerous to approach it. Green himself then suggested -that a volley of musketry should be fired into the silk to expel the -gas, and this was accordingly done and the balloon secured, though it -afterwards took Green a fortnight’s hard labour to repair the damage -done to the fabric. - -But the saddest event connected with the Nassau balloon was the fatal -accident which befell Mr. Cocking in 1837, the year after the great -Nassau voyage. Before relating this, however, it will be necessary -to refer briefly to the history of a most important accessory of the -balloon, hitherto unmentioned--the parachute. - -The name parachute comes from two French words, _parer_, to parry and -_chute_, a fall, and it signifies a contrivance, made more or less in -the form of an enormous umbrella, to break the fall from a balloon -or other great height. The principle of the parachute was understood -even before the invention of the balloon. In Eastern countries, in -particular, where the umbrella or parasol has been in familiar use -from earliest ages, parachutes were frequently employed by acrobats -to enable them to jump safely from great elevations. In France also, -at the end of the eighteenth century, a captive officer attempted to -escape from a lofty prison by similar means. - -The aeronaut Blanchard was the first to construct a parachute for use -from a balloon, his idea being that it might prove of service in the -event of an accident while aloft. In 1785 he let down from a great -height a parachute to which was attached a dog in a basket, which -reached the ground gently and safely. After this M. Garnerin, the -famous balloonist already referred to, hazarded a parachute descent -in person, and his attempt being eminently satisfactory, parachute -descents became fairly common. - -In August 1814 Mr. Cocking, an English gentleman of scientific -tastes, read a paper on parachutes, suggesting an amendment in their -shape and construction, before the Society of Arts, for which he was -awarded a medal. His theory was never put into practice, however, till -twenty-three years later, when, fired no doubt by the interest aroused -by the famous Nassau voyage, he resolved to put his invention to the -test. - -He accordingly constructed his parachute, which was of enormous size, -of unwieldy weight, and in shape rather resembling an umbrella turned -inside out. Despite the warning of friends that the untried machine was -unwisely built, he insisted on making a descent with it, and succeeded -in persuading Mr. Green to take him and his craft aloft attached to the -Nassau balloon. - -[Illustration: COCKING’S PARACHUTE.] - -On the 27th of July 1837 they started from the Vauxhall Gardens, Mr. -Green in the car accompanied by Mr. Edward Spencer (grandfather of -the present well-known firm of aeronauts), his friend and frequent -companion; Mr. Cocking seated in his machine slung below. A height of -5000 feet was attained, and then Mr. Cocking, after bidding a hearty -farewell to the others, pulled the rope which liberated his parachute -from the balloon. Relieved from the enormous weight, the latter -rushed upwards into the sky with terrific velocity, the gas pouring -in volumes from the valves and almost suffocating the occupants of -the car. Their position, indeed, for the time was one of the greatest -danger, and they were thankful to reach the earth unharmed, which -they eventually did. But their fate was happier far than that of the -luckless Cocking, whose parachute, after swaying fearfully from side to -side, at length utterly collapsed, and falling headlong, was, with its -inventor, dashed to pieces. - -While Charles Green was making his famous ascents in England, an -equally celebrated aeronaut, John Wise, was pursuing the same art in -America. During a long and successful career, unhappily terminated -by an accident, Wise made many experiments in the construction of -balloons, their shape, size, varnish, material, and so forth. His -results, which he carefully put together, have been of the greatest -value to balloon manufacturers until the present time. In the course -of his many voyages he met with various exciting adventures. On -one occasion while aloft he saw before him a huge black cloud of -particularly forbidding aspect. Entering this, he found himself in -the heart of a terrific storm. His balloon was caught in a whirlwind, -and set so violently spinning and swinging that he was sea-sick with -the motion, while, at the same time, he felt himself half-suffocated -and scarce able to breathe. Within the cloud the cold was intense; -the ropes of the balloon became glazed with ice and snow till they -resembled glass rods; hail fell around, and the gloom was so great that -from the car the silk above became invisible. “A noise resembling the -rushing of a thousand mill-dams, intermingled with a dismal moaning -sound of wind, surrounded me in this terrible flight.” Wise adds, -“Bright sunshine was just above the clouds;” but though he endeavoured -to reach it by throwing out ballast, the balloon had no sooner begun -to rise upwards than it was caught afresh by the storm and whirled -down again. Neither was he able, by letting out gas, to escape this -furious vortex from beneath; and for twenty minutes he was swept to and -fro, and up and down in the cloud, before he could get clear of it, or -regain any control over his balloon. - -On another occasion Wise made an exceedingly daring and bold -experiment. Convinced of the power which, as has before been said, -an empty balloon has of turning itself into a natural parachute, he -determined to put the matter to the test, and deliberately to burst -his balloon when at a great height. For this purpose he made a special -balloon of very thin material, and fastened up the neck so that there -was no vent for the gas. He then ascended fearlessly to a height of -13,000 feet, where, through the expansion of the hydrogen with which it -was filled, his balloon exploded. The gas escaped instantly, so that in -ten seconds not a trace remained. The empty balloon at first descended -with fearful rapidity, with a strange moaning sound as the air rushed -through the network. Then the silk assuming parachute shape, the fall -became less rapid, and finally the car, coming down in zigzags, turned -upside down when close to the ground, and tossed Wise out into a field -unhurt. - -It was John Wise’s great desire at one time to sail a balloon right -across the Atlantic from America to Europe. Long study of the upper -winds had convinced him that a regular current of air is always blowing -steadily high aloft from west to east, and he believed that if an -aeronaut could only keep his balloon in this upper current he might -be carried across the ocean quicker, and with more ease and safety, -than in the fastest steamship. Wise went so far as to work out all the -details for this plan, the size of the balloon required, the ballast, -provisions, and number of passengers; and only the want of sufficient -money prevented him from actually making the attempt. Curiously -enough, about the same time, Charles Green, in England, was, quite -independently, working at the same idea, which he also believed, with -proper equipment, to be quite feasible. - - - - -CHAPTER IV - -THE BALLOON AS A SCIENTIFIC INSTRUMENT - - -So far, in our history of aeronautics, we have referred to ballooning -only as a sport or pastime for the amusement of spectators, and for -the gratifying of a love of adventure. It is now time to speak of -the practical uses of the balloon, and how it has been employed as a -most valuable scientific instrument to teach us facts about the upper -atmosphere, its nature and extent, the clouds, the winds and their -ways, the travel of sounds, and many other things of which we should -otherwise be ignorant. - -Before the invention of the balloon men were quite unaware of the -nature of the air even a short distance above their heads. In those -days high mountain climbing had not come into fashion, and when Pilâtre -de Rozier made the first ascent, it was considered very doubtful -whether he might be able to exist in the strange atmosphere aloft. -Charles and Roberts were the first to make scientific observations -from a balloon, for they took up a thermometer and barometer, and made -certain rough records, as also did other early aeronauts. The most -interesting purely scientific ascents of early days, however, were -made in the autumn of 1804, from Paris, by Gay Lussac, a famous French -philosopher. He took up with him all manner of instruments, among them -a compass (to see if the needle behaved the same as on earth), an -apparatus to test the electricity of the air, thermometers, barometers, -and hygrometers, carefully exhausted flasks in which to bring down -samples of the upper air, birds, and even insects and frogs, to see -how great heights affected them. In his second voyage his balloon -attained the enormous altitude of 23,000 feet, or more than four miles -and a quarter, and nearly 2000 feet higher than the highest peaks -of the Andes. At this tremendous height the temperature fell to far -below freezing-point, and the aeronaut became extremely cold, though -warmly clad; he also felt headache, a difficulty in breathing, and his -throat became so parched that he could hardly swallow. Nevertheless, -undismayed by the awfulness of his position, he continued making his -observations, and eventually reached the ground in safety, and none the -worse for his experience. - -Gay Lussac’s experiments at least proved that though the air becomes -less and less dense as we ascend into it, it remains of the same nature -and constitution. His second voyage also showed that the limit to which -man could ascend aloft into the sky and yet live had not yet been -reached. Almost sixty years later other scientific ascents threw fresh -light on this point, and also continued the other investigations that -Gay Lussac had commenced. - -Towards the close of Charles Green’s famous career, scientific men in -England woke up to the fact that the use of a balloon as an important -means for obtaining observations on meteorology and other matters had -of late been very much neglected. The British Association took the -matter up, and provided the money for four scientific ascents, which -were made by Mr. Welsh of Kew Observatory, a trained observer. Green -was the aeronaut chosen to accompany him, and the balloon used was -none other than the great Nassau balloon, of whose many and wonderful -adventures we have already spoken. Green was then nearly seventy years -of age, but his skill as an aeronaut was as great as ever, and Welsh -was able to obtain many valuable records. During the last voyage a -height was attained almost as great as that reached by Gay Lussac, and -both men found much difficulty in breathing. While at this elevation -they suddenly noticed they were rapidly approaching the sea, and -so were forced to make a very hasty descent, in which many of the -instruments were broken. - -The veteran Green lived to a ripe old age, dying in 1870, aged -eighty-five. When a very old man he still delighted in taking visitors -to an outhouse where he kept the old Nassau balloon, now worn out and -useless, and, handling it affectionately, would talk of its famous -adventures and his own thousand ascents, during which he had never once -met with serious accident or failure. After his death the old balloon -passed into the hands of another equally famous man, who, after Green’s -retirement, took his place as the most celebrated English aeronaut of -the day. - -This was Henry Coxwell. He was the son of a naval officer, and was -brought up to the profession of a dentist. But when a boy of only nine -years old he watched, through his father’s telescope, a balloon ascent -by Green, which so fired his imagination that henceforward balloons -filled all his thoughts. As he grew older the fascination increased -upon him. He would go long distances to see ascents or catch glimpses -of balloons in the air, and he was fortunate enough to be present at -the first launching of the great Nassau balloon. He did not get the -chance of a voyage aloft, however, till he was twenty-five; but after -this nothing could restrain his ardour, and, throwing his profession to -the winds, he made ascent after ascent on all possible occasions. - -In one of his early voyages he met with what he describes as one of the -most perilous descents in the whole history of ballooning. The occasion -was an evening ascent made from the Vauxhall Gardens one autumn night -of 1848. The aeronaut was a Mr. Gypson, and besides Mr. Coxwell there -were two other passengers, one of whom was the well-known mountaineer -and lecturer, Albert Smith. A number of fireworks which were to be -displayed when aloft were slung on a framework forty feet below the car. - -[Illustration: - - COXWELL. GLAISHER. -] - -The balloon rose high above London, and the party were amazed and -delighted with the strange and lovely view of the great city by night, -all sight of the houses being lost in the darkness, and the thousands -of gas lamps, outlining the invisible streets and bridges, twinkling -like stars in a blue-black sky. Coxwell was sitting, not in the car, -but in the ring of the balloon, and presently, when they were about -7000 feet above the town, he noticed that the silk, the mouth of which -appears to have been fastened, was growing dangerously distended with -the expanding gas. By his advice the valve was immediately pulled, but -it was already too late; the balloon burst, the gas escaped with a -noise like the escape of steam from an engine, the silk collapsed, and -the balloon began to descend with appalling speed, the immense mass -of loose silk surging and rustling frightfully overhead. Everything -was immediately thrown out of the car to break the fall; but the wind -still seemed to be rushing past at a fearful rate, and, to add to the -horror of the aeronauts, they now came down through the remains of the -discharged fireworks floating in the air. Little bits of burning cases -and still smouldering touch-paper blew about them, and were caught in -the rigging. These kindled into sparks, and there seemed every chance -of the whole balloon catching alight. They were still a whole mile from -the ground, and this distance they appear to have covered in less than -two minutes. The house-tops seemed advancing up towards them with awful -speed as they neared earth. In the end they were tossed out of the car -along the ground, and it appeared a perfect marvel to them all that -they escaped with only a severe shaking. This adventure did not in the -least abate Coxwell’s ardour for ballooning, and exactly a week later -he and Gypson successfully made the same ascent from the same place, -and in the same balloon--and loaded with twice the number of fireworks! - -But Coxwell’s most celebrated voyage of all took place some years -later, on the occasion of a scientific voyage made in company with Mr. -James Glaisher. In 1862 the British Association determined to continue -the balloon observations which Mr. Welsh had so successfully commenced, -but this time on a larger scale. The observer was to be Mr. Glaisher -of Greenwich Observatory, and Mr. Coxwell, who by this time had become -a recognised aeronaut, undertook the management of the balloon. The -first ascents were made in July and August. Mr. Glaisher took up a -most elaborate and costly outfit of instruments, which, however, were -badly damaged at the outset during a very rapid descent, made perforce -to avoid falling in the “Wash.” On each occasion a height of over four -miles was attained; but on the third voyage, which was in September, it -was decided to try and reach yet greater altitudes. - -The balloon with its two passengers left Wolverhampton at 1 P.M.--the -temperature on the ground being 59°. At about a mile high a dense cloud -was entered, and the thermometer fell to 36°. In nineteen minutes a -height of two miles was reached, and the air was at freezing-point. -Six minutes later they were three miles aloft, with the thermometer -still falling; and by the time four miles high was attained the mercury -registered only 8°. - -In forty-seven minutes from the start five miles had been passed; -and now the temperature was 2° below zero. Mr. Coxwell, who was up -in the ring of the balloon and exerting himself over the management -of it, found he was beginning to breathe with great difficulty. Mr. -Glaisher, sitting quietly in the car watching his instruments, felt no -inconvenience. More ballast was thrown out, and the balloon continued -to rise apace; and soon Mr. Glaisher found his eyes growing strangely -dim. He could not see to read his thermometer, or distinguish the hands -of his watch. He noticed the mercury of the barometer, however, and -saw that a height of 29,000 feet had been reached, and the balloon was -still rising. What followed next had best be told in Mr. Glaisher’s own -words:-- - -“Shortly after I laid my arm upon the table, possessed of its full -vigour, but on being desirous of using it, I found it useless. Trying -to move the other arm, I found it powerless also. Then I tried to -shake myself and succeeded, but I seemed to have no limbs. In looking -at the barometer my head fell over my left shoulder. I struggled and -shook my body again, but could not move my arms. Getting my head -upright for an instant only, it fell on my right shoulder; then I -fell backwards, my body resting against the side of the car, and my -head on the edge. I dimly saw Mr. Coxwell and endeavoured to speak, -but could not. In an instant intense darkness overcame me; but I was -still conscious, with as active a brain as at the present moment while -writing this. I thought I had been seized with asphyxia, and believed I -should experience nothing more, as death would come unless we speedily -descended. Other thoughts were entering my mind, when I suddenly became -unconscious as on going to sleep.” Mr. Glaisher adds: “I cannot tell -anything of the sense of hearing, as no sound reaches the ear to break -the perfect stillness and silence of the regions between six and seven -miles above the earth.” - -Meanwhile, as stated, Mr. Coxwell was up in the ring, trying to secure -the valve-line, which had become twisted. To do this he had taken off -a pair of thick gloves he had been wearing, and in the tremendous cold -of that awful region the moment his bare hands rested on the metal -of the ring they became frost-bitten and useless. Looking down, he -saw Mr. Glaisher in a fainting condition, and called out to him, but -received no answer. Thoroughly alarmed by this time, he tried to come -down to his companion’s assistance; but now _his_ hands also had become -lifeless, and he felt unconsciousness rapidly stealing over him. - -Quickly realising that death to both of them would speedily follow if -the balloon continued to ascend, Mr. Coxwell now endeavoured to pull -the valve-line; but he found it impossible to do so with his disabled -hands. Fortunately he was a man of great bodily strength, as well as -of iron nerve, and by a great effort he succeeded in catching the -valve-line _in his teeth_. Then, putting his whole weight upon it, he -managed to pull open the valve, and hold it until the balloon took a -decided turn downwards. This saved them. As lower regions were reached, -where the air was denser, Mr. Glaisher began to recover, and by the -time they came to the ground neither of these two brave men were any -the worse for their extraordinary experience. - -Neither Mr. Glaisher or Mr. Coxwell were able to note the exact -elevation when they were at their greatest height; but from several -circumstances they were convinced that it must have been 36,000 or -37,000 feet, or fully _seven miles high_. Later aeronauts have been -inclined to doubt if this surmise can be quite correct; but whether it -is so or not is of no great moment, for this great balloon ascent will -always stand unrivalled in the history of ballooning. Since that day -nearly as great, or perhaps even greater, heights have been reached in -balloons; but nowadays those who attempt to ascend to great elevations -always provide themselves, before they start, with cylinders of -compressed oxygen gas. Then when the atmosphere aloft becomes so thin -and rare as to make breathing difficult, they begin to fill their lungs -with the life-giving gas from the cylinders, and at once recover. - -After this perilous voyage Glaisher and Coxwell made several other -scientific balloon ascents. They met with various experiences. On one -occasion, during a lofty ascent, they lost sight of the earth above -the clouds for a while, but, the mist suddenly breaking, they found -themselves on the point of drifting out to sea. Not a moment was to be -lost, and both men hung on to the valve-line until it cut their hands. -The result was a tremendously rapid descent. The balloon fell four and -a quarter miles in less than a quarter of an hour, covering the last -two miles in only four minutes. They reached earth close to the shore, -and were fortunate to escape with only a few bruises, though all the -instruments were once more broken in the shock. - -Mr. Glaisher was able to make many interesting notes of the condition -of the winds and clouds at high levels. He observed how frequently -different currents of air are blowing aloft in different directions at -the same time. These differing winds affect the shape of the clouds -among which they blow. High above the ground he frequently met with a -warm wind blowing constantly from the south-west; and he believed that -it is largely due to this mild air-stream passing always overhead that -England enjoys such much less rigorous winters than other countries -that lie as far north of the equator. This mildness of our climate has -long been attributed to the Gulf Stream, that warm current of the sea -which sweeps up from the tropics past our shores. But it may well be -that there is besides an “Aerial Gulf Stream,” as Mr. Glaisher calls -it, blowing constantly above our heads, which also serves to warm the -air, and make our winter climate mild and moist. - -One fact these experiments seemed to establish was, that when rain is -falling from an overcast sky, there is always a higher layer of clouds -overhanging the lower stratum. Nothing surprised Mr. Glaisher more than -the extreme rapidity with which the whole sky, up to a vast height, -could fill up entirely with clouds at the approach of a storm. Another -point noted was that, when a wind is blowing, the upper portion of the -current always travels faster than that next the ground. This is due, -of course, to the obstacles the wind meets as it sweeps over the earth, -and which check its onward progress. - -These, and very many other facts of the greatest interest to the -meteorologist, were the outcome of Mr. Glaisher’s experiments. Later -voyages of a similar kind have added greatly to our knowledge of the -condition of the air, and it seems certain that in the future the -balloon will be much more used by scientific men, and by its means they -will be able to predict the weather more accurately and further ahead -than at present, and learn many other things of which we are now in -ignorance. - - - - -CHAPTER V - -THE BALLOON IN WARFARE - - -But there is another practical use for the balloon to which we must -now refer, and that a most important one--its employment in war-time. -It was not long after the invention of this ship of the skies that -soldiers began to realise what a valuable aid it might be to them -in times of battle, enabling them to see inside a camp, fort, or -beleaguered city, or watch the enemy’s movements from afar off. The -opportunity for first putting the matter to the test very soon arose. -Within a very few years of the earliest balloon experiments in France -there commenced in that very country the dreadful French Revolution, -and soon the nation found itself at war with all the world, and forced -to hold its own, alone, against the armies of Europe. This danger -quickened the minds of all to the importance of making use of every -possible means of defence in their power. It was suggested that the -newly discovered balloon might be turned to account, and immediately a -school for military ballooning was established near Paris. Fifty young -military students were trained in the new art, and suitable balloons -were provided. The value of their work was soon apparent. In June 1794 -was fought the battle of Fleurus, between the French and Austrians. -Before the fight a balloon party had carefully observed the position of -the Austrian forces, and, through the information they gave, the French -were able to gain a speedy and decisive victory. In this way, and at -this early stage, the value of the war balloon was at once established. - -Curiously enough, Napoleon would make no use of balloons in his -campaigns, and even did away with the balloon school at Paris. The -reason given for his prejudice is a curious one. At the time of his -coronation a large, unmanned balloon, gaily decorated, and carrying -thousands of lights, was sent up from Paris during the evening’s -illuminations. It was a very beautiful object, and behaved splendidly, -sailing away into the night, amidst great popular rejoicing, until it -was lost to sight in the darkness. But at daybreak next morning it was -seen approaching the city of Rome, where it presently arrived, actually -hovering over St. Peter’s and the Vatican. Then, as if its mission were -fulfilled, it settled to earth, and finally fell in Lake Bracciano. But -as it fell it rent itself, and left a portion of the crown with which -it was ornamented on the tomb of the Roman Emperor Nero. Napoleon, -who was always a superstitious man, saw in this extraordinary voyage -some dreadful forecast of his own fate. He was much disturbed, and -forebade the matter ever to be mentioned in his presence; nor would he -henceforward have any more to do with balloons. - -[Illustration: AMERICAN WAR BALLOON.] - -Military balloons were used by the French again, however, during -their war in Africa in 1830. The Austrians also used them in 1849, -and it is said the Russians had them at the siege of Sebastopol in -the Crimean War. A Montgolfier balloon was made use of by the French -in 1862 at the battle of Solferino; and the Americans also employed -balloons during the Civil War a year later. The American war balloons -were comparatively small ones, inflated with hydrogen. The hydrogen -was manufactured in the way already described, by pouring dilute -sulphuric acid upon scrap-iron. For making the gas upon the field -two large tanks of wood called “generators” were used. In these the -water and scrap-iron were placed and the acid poured upon them, the -gas produced being carried to the balloon through pipes, passing first -through vessels filled with lime-water to cool and purify it. When on -the march four waggons were sufficient to carry the whole apparatus. -The inflation, which took some time, was made as close to the scene of -action as was considered safe, and when the balloon was once full a -party of men could easily tow it about to where it was needed. - -But the time when the balloon was most largely and most usefully used -in time of war was during the Siege of Paris. In the month of September -1870, during the Franco-Prussian War, Paris was closely invested by -the Prussian forces, and for eighteen long weeks lay besieged and cut -off from all the rest of the world. No communication with the city -was possible either by road, river, rail, or telegraph, nor could the -inhabitants convey tidings of their plight save by one means alone. -Only the passage of the air was open to them. - -Quite at the beginning of the siege it occurred to the Parisians that -they might use balloons to escape from the beleaguered town, and pass -over the heads of the enemy to safety beyond; and inquiry was at once -made to discover what aeronautical resources were at their command. - -It was soon found that with only one or two exceptions the balloons -actually in existence within the walls were unserviceable or unsuitable -for the work on hand, being mostly old ones which had been laid aside -as worthless. One lucky discovery was, however, made. Two professional -aeronauts, of well-proved experience and skill, were in Paris at the -time. These were MM. Godard and Yon, both of whom had been in London -only a short time before in connection with a huge captive balloon -which was then being exhibited there. They at once received orders to -establish two balloon factories, and begin making a large number of -balloons as quickly as possible. For their workshops they were given -the use of two great railway stations, then standing idle and deserted. -No better places for the purpose could be imagined, for under the great -glass roofs there was plenty of space, and the work went on apace. - -As the balloons were intended to make only one journey each, plain -white or coloured calico (of which there was plenty in the city), -covered with quick-drying varnish, was considered good enough for their -material. Hundreds of men and women were employed at the two factories; -and altogether some sixty balloons were turned out during the siege. -Their management was entrusted to sailors, who, of all men, seemed -most fitted for the work. The only previous training that could be -given them was to sling them up to the roof of the railway stations in -a balloon car, and there make them go through the actions of throwing -out ballast, dropping the anchor, and pulling the valve-line. This was, -of course, very like learning to swim on dry land; nevertheless, these -amateurs made, on the whole, very fair aeronauts. - -But before the first of the new balloons was ready experiments were -already being made with the few old balloons then in Paris. Two were -moored captive at different ends of the town to act as observation -stations from whence the enemy’s movements could be watched. Captive -ascents were made in them every few hours. Meanwhile M. Duruof, a -professional aeronaut, made his escape from the city in an old and -unskyworthy balloon called “Le Neptune,” descending safely outside the -enemy’s lines, while another equally successful voyage was made with -two small balloons fastened together. - -And then, as soon as the possibility of leaving Paris by this means was -fully proved, an important new development arose. So far, as was shown, -tidings of the besieged city could be conveyed to the outside world; -but how was news from without to reach those imprisoned within? The -problem was presently solved in a most ingenious way. - -There was in Paris, when the siege commenced, a society or club of -pigeon-fanciers who were specially interested in the breeding and -training of “carrier” or “homing” pigeons. The leaders of this club -now came forward and suggested to the authorities that, with the aid -of the balloons, their birds might be turned to practical account -as letter-carriers. The idea was at once taken up, and henceforward -every balloon that sailed out of Paris contained not only letters and -despatches, but also a number of properly trained pigeons, which, when -liberated, would find their way back to their homes within the walls of -the besieged city. - -When the pigeons had been safely brought out of Paris, and fallen -into friendly hands beyond the Prussian forces, there were attached -to the tail feathers of each of them goose quills, about two inches -long, fastened on by a silken thread or thin wire. Inside these -were tiny scraps of photographic film, not much larger than postage -stamps, upon which a large number of messages had been photographed by -microscopic photography. So skilfully was this done that each scrap of -film could contain 2500 messages of twenty words each. A bird might -easily carry a dozen of these films, for the weight was always less -than one gramme, or 15½ grains. One bird, in fact, arrived in Paris -on the 3rd of February carrying eighteen films, containing altogether -40,000 messages. To avoid accidents, several copies of the same film -were made, and attached to different birds. When any of the pigeons -arrived in Paris their despatches were enlarged and thrown on a screen -by a magic-lantern, then copied and sent to those for whom they were -intended. - -This system of balloon and pigeon post went on during the whole siege. -Between sixty and seventy balloons left the city, carrying altogether -nearly 200 people, and two and a half million letters, weighing in -all about ten tons. The greater number of these arrived in safety, -while the return journeys, accomplished by the birds, were scarcely -less successful. The weather was very unfavourable during most of the -time, and cold and fogs prevented many pigeons from making their way -back to Paris. Of 360 birds brought safely out of the city by balloon -only about 60 returned, but these had carried between them some 100,000 -messages. - -Of the balloons themselves two, each with its luckless aeronaut, were -blown out to sea and never heard of more. Two sailed into Germany and -were captured by the enemy, three more came down too soon and fell into -the hands of the besieging army near Paris, and one did not even get -as far as the Prussian lines. Others experienced accidents and rough -landings in which their passengers were more or less injured. Moreover, -each balloon which sailed by day from the city became at once a mark -for the enemy’s fire; so much so that before long it became necessary -to make all the ascents by night, under cover of darkness. - -They were brave men indeed who dared face the perils of a night voyage -in an untried balloon, manned by an unskilled pilot, and exposed to -the fire of the enemy, into whose hands they ran the greatest risk -of falling. It is small wonder there was much excitement in Paris -when it became known that the first of the new balloons made during -the siege was to take away no less a personage than M. Gambetta, the -great statesman, who was at the time, and for long after, the leading -man in France. He made his escape by balloon on the 7th of October, -accompanied by his secretary and an aeronaut, and managed to reach a -safe haven, though not before they had been vigorously fired at by shot -and shell, and M. Gambetta himself had actually been grazed on the hand -by a bullet. - -Another distinguished man who hazarded the same perilous feat, though -for a very different reason, was M. Janssen, a famous astronomer. On -the 22nd of December of that year there was to take place an important -total eclipse of the sun, which would be visible in Spain and Algeria. -It had long been M. Janssen’s intention to observe this eclipse, and -for this purpose he had prepared a special telescope and apparatus; but -when the time drew near he found himself and his instruments shut up in -besieged Paris, with no possible means of escape except the dangerous -and desperate hazard of a voyage by sky. - -But so great was the astronomer’s enthusiasm for his work, that he -resolved to brave even this risk. Taking the essential parts of his -telescope with him, and, as aeronaut, an active young sailor, he set -sail in the darkness of a winter’s morning, long before dawn, passed -safely over the enemy’s lines, and continued the voyage till nearly -mid-day, when they sighted the sea, and came down near the mouth of the -river Loire, having travelled 300 miles in little more than five hours. -Neither Janssen or his telescope were injured in the descent, though -the wind was high at the time; and both reached Algeria in time for the -eclipse. It must have been a most bitter disappointment to the ardent -astronomer, after all his exertions, that when the great day arrived -the sun was hidden by clouds, and he was unable to observe the sight -for which he had risked so much. - -Since the Franco-Prussian war, military ballooning has been largely -developed, and now all great armies possess their properly equipped -and trained balloon corps. The balloons in use in the British Army at -the present day are made, not of silk, but of gold-beater’s skin, a -very thin, but extremely tough membrane prepared from the insides of -oxen. This is, of course, much stronger and more durable than ordinary -balloon fabric, but much more expensive. The balloons are comparatively -small ones, of 10,000 feet capacity, and are inflated with hydrogen. -The hydrogen is now no longer made upon the field, but is manufactured -in special factories, and carried compressed in large steel cylinders. -By this means the time occupied in filling the balloon is much reduced, -but the weight of the cylinders is very great. As will be remembered, -balloons were made of considerable use during the late Boer War. At the -siege of Ladysmith they were thought of much value in directing the -fire of the British Artillery, and again at Spion Kop and Magersfontein -are said to have done good service. - -So far we have shown of what use balloons may be in times of peace and -war. Every year sees fresh improvements and developments in balloons -for military purposes and in those employed for making meteorological -and other similar observations; and there is no doubt that great -advances may shortly be expected in both these directions. But there -is yet another and totally different science to which the balloon may -lend its aid, and help greatly to add to our knowledge; and this is the -science of geography, or the study of the earth’s surface. - -One of the earliest ideas suggested by Montgolfier’s invention was that -the balloon might be turned to practical account in the exploring of -unknown and inaccessible tracts of the world. It was suggested that -in a balloon men might sail over and survey country that they were -not able to reach in any other way. Deserts could be crossed in this -fashion, forests and mountain ranges, and even the desolate ice-tracts -of the North and South Poles. - -All this is, in truth, perfectly possible, and another day may be -accomplished; but at present great difficulties and dangers stand in -the way of exploring by balloon, and up to the present time, with one -great exception, no special attempt has been made. It has already been -mentioned that both Wise and Green wished to cross the Atlantic by sky, -and indeed at the present moment plans are actually being made on the -Continent for a similar voyage. This, however, can scarcely be called -exploring. Other suggestions which may presently be put to the test are -the crossing of the Sahara, and also of another great desert in Central -Arabia, into which no white man has ever succeeded in penetrating. -Recent expeditions both to the North and South Poles have also taken -with them balloons to be used captive for the observation of the state -of the ice ahead, and for obtaining wide views around. - -The one great attempt at exploring by balloon which has so far been -made has, unfortunately, met with hopeless and terrible disaster--this -was the ill-fated voyage to the North Pole of Andrée and his -companions. The idea of reaching the Pole by balloon was first proposed -many years ago, and both French and English aeronauts at different -times have made suggestions as to the best way in which it might be -accomplished. Nothing, however, was attempted until about the year -1894, when M. S. A. Andrée, a well-known Swedish balloonist, who had -already met with exciting experiences in the air, made up his mind -actually to risk the venture. - -His plan was to take a suitable balloon, and the apparatus for -inflating it, to a place as far north as a ship could safely go, then -to fill the balloon and wait for a favourable wind which should carry -him right over the Pole and beyond until inhabited country was reached. -By the summer of 1896 all his preparations were complete. His balloon -was an enormous one, capable of holding 162,000 cubic feet of gas, and -was fitted with a rudder sail and a long trail-rope, by means of which -Andrée hoped to be able to some extent to steer his course across the -ice. Two companions were to accompany him on his voyage, and on June -7th the party embarked with all their apparatus, and were conveyed to -Spitzbergen. - -They landed at Dane’s Island, where their first work was to build -themselves a shed. They then got their gas-making apparatus into order, -and filled the balloon, and by the 27th of July were all ready for a -start. But the wind was contrary, and day after day they waited in vain -for a change, until at last the captain of the ship which had brought -them warned them they would be frozen in for the winter unless they -returned without delay. Very reluctantly, therefore, they abandoned -their venture for that year, and went home, leaving behind them the -shed and gas-generator for another occasion. - -The winter passed, and by the end of next May they were back again at -Dane’s Island. Their shed and apparatus had suffered damage during -their absence, and had to be repaired, and their preparations were -not complete until the end of June. But again the wind was contrary, -and for three weeks more they waited impatiently. All this while the -balloon remained inflated, and by the long delay must have lost a -considerable amount of its buoyancy. At last the wind changed, and -though it was not exactly in the direction they wished, being a little -west of south, instead of due south, Andrée felt he could wait no -longer, and at half-past two in the afternoon of July 11th set sail, -with his two friends, on his daring voyage. - -What followed is soon told. Eleven days later one of the carrier -pigeons taken by Andrée in his balloon was picked up by a fishing-boat -off Spitzbergen. Fastened to it was the following message:--“July 13th, -12.30 P.M. 82° 2´ north lat., 15° 5´ east long. Good journey eastward. -All goes well on board.--ANDRÉE.” - -This was the latest news ever heard of the ill-fated voyagers. Later on -two of Andrée’s buoys, thrown out from the balloon, were found; but the -messages these contained were dated on the evening of July 11th, only -a few hours after the start. If the date of the first found message -can be relied on, it would seem that after forty-eight hours Andrée’s -balloon was still sailing well, and he had already accomplished the -longest voyage aloft ever made. - -Of his subsequent fate, and that of his companions, nothing is known. -Search expeditions have failed to find any trace of them or of the -balloon, and the many rumours received have been proved to be false. -There can be no possible reason to doubt that these brave men perished -in their daring attempt, and that their bones lie in the Arctic Sea or -in the waste of ice and snow that surrounds the Pole. - - - - -CHAPTER VI - -THE AIRSHIP - - -So far in our story we have traced the origin and progress of the -balloon, showing how from small beginnings it has grown to be an -important invention, of great use to the scientific observer, the -soldier, and the explorer, and the means of teaching us much fresh -knowledge. - -But in spite of the high hopes of early aeronauts, and the extravagant -prophecies made when the first balloons ascended into the sky, it has -long been evident that the balloon alone has not solved the problem -of human flight or accomplished the conquest of the air. An ordinary -balloon is, in fact, nothing more than a mere lifting machine, no more -capable of sailing the sky, in the proper sense of the word, than a -cork floating in the water is capable of sailing the sea. It has no -movement of its own, but drifts simply at the mercy of the wind, and -quite beyond control. By the discharge of ballast, or by the letting -out of gas, the aeronaut can indeed cause it to rise or sink at -pleasure, and sometimes when two currents of air are blowing aloft in -different directions at the same time he may, by passing from one to -the other, “tack” his balloon to some extent across the sky. Otherwise -he has no power of guiding or directing it in the least degree, and -should he lose sight of the earth above the clouds, has even no method -of telling in which direction he is travelling. - -Early inventors thought they would be able to steer balloons by means -of sails, like a boat, but they soon found that this was impossible. -The effect of hoisting a sail at the side of a balloon was merely to -swing the balloon round until the sail was in front, while meantime it -continued its course unaltered. The use of a rudder and other means -were also tried, but without success; nor can such methods ever hope to -succeed so long as a balloon floats in the air at the same pace as the -wind that carries it forward. A balloon travelling with the wind may be -compared to a boat drifting idly with the tide. As long as she drifts -she refuses to answer her rudder, which swings idly. But presently the -boatman hoists a sail, and the wind carries the boat onwards faster -than the tide, and then immediately the rudder comes into action. Or -should there be no wind, he may accomplish the same thing by dragging -an anchor or other weight in the water, and so slowing his boat down -until it moves slower than the current; he will then again find that -his boat will answer her helm. - -To steer his course in a balloon, therefore, the aeronaut must so -arrange that he is travelling faster or slower than the wind in which -he finds himself. To travel faster, he must employ some sort of engine -or motor to drive his craft onwards. To travel slower, he must trail -something along the ground beneath to act as a drag. - -Part of the equipment of every balloon is a long trail-rope, which, -when the balloon is aloft, hangs some 300 feet below the car. The -object of this rope is to break the force of the fall when the balloon -comes down to the earth at the end of the voyage. In the greater number -of cases a balloon, in its final swoop to the ground, falls the last -few hundred feet with considerable, and often uncomfortable, speed. But -when provided with a trail-rope, as it descends more and more of the -heavy rope will lie along the ground, and so lighten the weight of the -balloon, and lessen the shock of falling. - -If then a trail-rope were used of such length that it would sweep along -the ground while the balloon was flying in the air, the effect would -be to put a drag or brake on the balloon, and so render it capable of -being steered to some extent with a sail; and this is what has actually -been done in all attempts of the kind. But since a long rope dragging -rapidly across the country is a very dangerous object, capable of doing -great damage, and also liable to catch in trees and other obstacles, -such experiments can only be tried with safety over the sea, or, as in -the case of Andrée’s voyage, over desert or uninhabited country. - -The best way of steering a balloon, therefore, is to provide it with -some mechanical power which shall urge it onwards at a greater speed -than the wind; and when this is done, it has ceased to be a balloon in -the popular sense of the word, and has become an “airship.” - -There is a great deal of confusion between the terms “airship,” and -“flying machine,” and the two words are often considered as meaning -the same thing. But while, strictly speaking, neither word in itself -has any very definite meaning, it is gradually becoming more general -to apply them to two widely different objects. According to this plan, -although both names stand for an aerial vessel capable of travelling -in the sky by its own motion, an airship is a machine supported in the -air by reason of its buoyancy, while a flying machine is kept aloft -only by virtue of its onward movement. - -In other words, part of the construction of an airship consists of a -bag or balloon, filled with gas or hot air, which causes the whole to -rise and maintain its position in the air. This balloon part is quite -independent of the machinery which drives the airship forward, and -indeed if the engine ceases working, the vessel becomes nothing more -than an ordinary balloon in its nature, and will behave like one. An -airship, therefore, is in principle an apparatus lighter than air. - -A flying machine, on the contrary, is heavier than air, and maintains -its position aloft merely by the power it obtains from its engines, -assisted by its special construction. The inventors of flying machines -take as their analogy the flight of birds. Birds are creatures -heavier than air, which yet manage to rise and fly by reason of the -strength and construction of their wings. In the same way the heavy -flying machine essays to fly by the power of its machinery. And, as -a bird aloft, if its wings became disabled, would instantly drop -towards earth, so a flying machine would immediately commence to fall -if its engine stopped or ceased to move with sufficient power. The -airship and the flying machine, therefore, may be regarded as rival -aerial vessels, and their inventors and advocates, sometimes known -as “lighter-than-air-ites” and “heavier-than-air-ites,” though both -working for the same end, are endeavouring to accomplish their aim by -widely different methods. - -Up to the present day the airship--to which we will first turn our -attention--has been much more largely and successfully experimented -with than the flying machine. It is, however, the opinion of many, -including the great authority Sir Hiram Maxim, that in the future the -flying machine will become the more important invention of the two. -“In all Nature,” says Sir Hiram, “we do not find a single balloon. All -Nature’s flying machines are heavier than air.” And from this he argues -that, as Nature is ever our best guide and example, a flying machine -heavier than air will be in the end most likely to succeed. - -One of the earliest airships which achieved any success was invented -by a Frenchman, M. Giffard, about the year 1852. He made his balloon -of an elongated or cigar shape, a form adopted by airship inventors -as offering less resistance to the air than the ordinary globular or -pear shape. To this balloon, which was 104 feet long and 39 feet in -diameter, he attached a steam-engine of three-horse power, weighing 462 -lbs. and working a screw-propeller, which, by its rapid revolutions, -urged the balloon onwards through the air, even as the screw of a -steamship urges the vessel through the water. With this apparatus he -succeeded on one occasion, for a very short while, in obtaining a speed -of six and a half miles an hour. Twenty years later another Frenchman, -M. Dupuy de Lôme, constructed another airship; but fearing to place an -engine so near the gas of his balloon, he used the strength of eight -men to work his screw. This was a very wasteful mode of supplying -energy, for the weight of the men was very great in proportion to -their strength, and this machine, during its trial, did not attain as -great a speed as Giffard’s. Twelve years after a third Frenchman, M. -Tissandier, took up the same experiments. His elongated balloon was -smaller than the two previous, and his engine was an electric motor of -one and a half horse-power. On one occasion a speed of nearly eight -miles an hour was attained. - -By this time the French Government had become interested in the work, -and provided money to continue investigations. The result of this was -that in 1885 two officers of the French army, Captains Renard and -Krebs, brought out by far the most successful airship yet constructed. -It was 165 feet long, 27 feet in diameter, and was driven by an -electric motor of nine horse-power. That this machine proved itself -perfectly capable of being guided in the air is amply shown by the -fact that it returned to its shed five times out of the seven on which -it was publicly taken out. It also attained a speed of fourteen miles -an hour, and indeed it would seem that Renard and Krebs, although their -names are now almost forgotten, accomplished nearly as great things -twenty years ago as the popular airship inventors of the present day. - -One of the greatest difficulties with which early inventors had to -contend was the enormous weight of their engines. The machinery they -were obliged to use to drive their airships through the air weighed -more than their balloons, unless made of unwieldy size, had power -to lift. The same difficulty indeed exists at the present time, -though to a much less degree. Of late years, and especially since -the introduction of the motor-car, great progress has been made in -the construction of light but powerful engines, or motors, and the -employment of petrol vapour instead of coal or oil has very greatly -lessened the weight of the fuel which has to be carried. - -In consequence of this improvement many airships have recently been -made which have met with varying success, and many more are at the -present moment in process of construction. Among the host of inventors, -whose names it would here be impossible even to mention, three stand -out from the rest in special prominence--Zeppelin, Santos Dumont, and -Stanley Spencer--all three the inventors of airships which have, by -actual experience, proved their power of steering a course across the -sky. - -Of these rival airships, by far the largest and most elaborate was -that built by the first named, Count Zeppelin, a distinguished veteran -soldier of the German army. For many years he had spent his time and -fortune in making experiments in aerial navigation, and at length in -1900, having formed a company and collected a large sum of money for -the purpose, he produced an enormous airship, which, from its size, -has been compared to a man-of-war. In shape Count Zeppelin’s invention -resembled a gigantic cigar, 420 feet in length, pointed at both ends. -The framework was made of the specially light metal aluminium, covered -over with silk, and though from outside it looked all in one piece, -within it was divided into seventeen compartments, each holding a -separate balloon made of oiled silk and absolutely gas-tight. The -object of this was to prevent the tendency the gas has to collect all -at one end as the ship forces its way through the air. These balloons -were filled with pure hydrogen, the cost of the inflation alone being -£500. Beneath was slung a long gangway, 346 feet in length, with two -cars, also made of aluminium, attached to it. In these cars were placed -two motor-engines of sixteen horse power each, driven by benzine, and -working a pair of screw-propellers attached to the balloon. A steering -apparatus was placed at each end, and the whole machine, with five -passengers, weighed about eleven tons. - -[Illustration: ZEPPELIN’S AIRSHIP OVER LAKE CONSTANCE.] - -To lessen the effects of a possible fall, the experiments were carried -out over water, and the great airship was housed in a shed built on -Lake Constance. The cost of this shed alone was enormous, for it was -elaborately constructed on pontoons, and anchored in such a way that -it could be turned round to allow the airship to be liberated from it -in the best direction to suit the wind. The trial trip was made one -evening in June 1900, when a very light wind was blowing. The great -machine rose into the air, carrying Zeppelin and four companions to a -height of 800 feet. The steering apparatus then being put into action, -it circled round and faced the wind, remained stationary for a short -while, and then sank gracefully and gently upon the water. A few days -later another and more successful trial was made. The wind at the time -was blowing at sixteen miles an hour, but in spite of this the airship -slowly steered its course against the wind for three and a half miles, -when, one of the rudders breaking, it was obliged to come down. On -one or two other occasions also it made successful voyages, proving -itself to be perfectly manageable and capable of being steered on an -absolutely calm day. The expense of the experiments was, however, -tremendous; money fell short, and the great machine, the result of many -years’ labour and thought, has since been abandoned and broken up. - -[Illustration: SANTOS DUMONT’S AIRSHIP.] - -A far happier fate has so far attended the efforts of the brave young -Brazilian, Albert Santos Dumont. The wealthy son of a successful -coffee-planter, he had always from his boyhood been keenly interested -in aeronautics, and, coming to Paris, he constructed in 1898 an -airship of a somewhat novel kind. His balloon was cigar-shaped, 83 -feet long, and holding 6500 feet of pure hydrogen. Attached to the -balloon, and working a propeller, was a small motor like those used -for motor cycles, and astride of this Santos Dumont rode, bicycle -fashion, steering his course with a rudder. In this ingenious machine -he ascended from the Botanical Gardens in Paris and circled several -times round the large captive balloon then moored there, after which -he made a number of bold sweeps in the air, until an accident occurred -to his engine and he came precipitately to the ground. Though shaken he -was by no means discouraged, and declared his intention of continuing -his experiments until he should have invented an airship which, in his -own words, should be “not a mere plaything, but a practical invention, -capable of being applied in a thoroughly useful fashion.” - -Accordingly he constructed one machine after another, gaining fresh -knowledge by each new experience, and profiting by the accidents and -failures which continually beset him in his dangerous and daring work. -Before long also he received an additional incentive to his labours. -Early in the year of 1900 it was announced by the Paris Aero Club, a -society of Frenchmen interested in aeronautical matters, that one of -its members, M. Deutsch, had offered a prize of 100,000 francs--about -£4000--to the man who, starting from the Aero Club grounds at -Longchamps in a balloon or flying machine, should steer his course -right round the Eiffel Tower and back to the starting-place--a distance -of three and a half miles--within half an hour. If the prize were not -won within a certain time, his offer was to be withdrawn, and meanwhile -he promised a certain sum of money every year for the encouragement of -aeronautical experiments. - -The offer of this reward set many inventors to work upon the -construction of various aerial vessels of all kinds, but from the -beginning Santos Dumont was well to the fore. By the middle of 1901 -he had completed what was his sixth airship--a cigar-shaped balloon, -100 feet long, its propeller worked by a motor-car engine of fifteen -horse-power--and with it, on July 15th, he made a splendid attempt -for the prize. Starting from the Club grounds, he reached the Eiffel -Tower in thirteen minutes, and, circling round it, started back on -his homeward journey. But this time his voyage was against the wind, -which was really too strong for the success of his experiment; part -of his engine broke down, and the balance of the vessel became upset; -and although he managed to fight his way back to the starting point, -he arrived eleven minutes behind time, and so failed to fulfil M. -Deutsch’s conditions. - -Again, on the 9th of August, having in the meantime made further -trials with his machine, he embarked on another attempt to carry off -the prize. He chose the early hours of the morning, starting shortly -after six from the Club grounds, where only a few friends, among them -the keenly interested M. Deutsch, were present. The day was apparently -perfect, and when, after the lapse of five minutes only, he had reached -the Tower and swung gracefully round it, every one was convinced that -this time the prize was certain to be won. But the homeward journey -was all against the wind, which was blowing more powerfully aloft than -on the ground, and suddenly the onlookers were horrified to see the -fore part of the balloon double right back. By so doing the silken -envelope became torn and the gas began escaping. Rapidly the balloon -appeared to wither up and shrink together. The engine was seen still -to be working, though no progress was now being made. Then the whole -apparatus collapsed utterly, and fell with sickening speed upon the -house-tops. - -Deutsch and his companions watched the fall horror-struck, and jumping -into their motorcars hurried to the spot, convinced that a fatal -accident must have occurred. But they found that, although the airship -was smashed to pieces, its plucky inventor had almost miraculously -escaped unhurt. The wrecked machine had fallen upon the roof of a house -in such a way that the keel had caught upon a corner, and the car, -which was fastened to it, hung at a perilous angle down the side of -a wall. Fortunately Dumont was secured to his car by a leather belt, -and he managed to hold on, though in considerable danger lest the keel -should break and let him fall, until rescued by a fireman with a rope. -His machine was hopelessly ruined; but when asked what he intended to -do next he merely answered: “Begin again. Only a little patience is -necessary.” - -A new machine, “Santos Dumont VII.,” was ready in less than a month, -and tested on the 6th of September. It behaved beautifully, and all -went well until the trail-rope caught in a tree. In liberating it the -framework became bent, and the airship was being towed back to its -shed when a sudden gust of wind tore it away from those who held it. -It immediately rose into the air, and on Dumont opening the valve the -whole collapsed and fell to earth with a great shock. Again the lucky -inventor escaped unhurt, though owning this time that he had “felt -really frightened.” Ten days later, in another trial, the airship came -in contact with some trees, which pierced the silk and let out the gas, -so that it fell precipitately twenty feet. But the aeronaut appeared to -bear a charmed life, for once more he was none the worse for the fall. -Several other unsuccessful trials followed, and then, on the 19th of -October, Santos Dumont made another grand attempt for the prize. - -Starting with the wind in his favour, his machine travelled at the -rate of thirty miles an hour, and rounded the Eiffel Tower in nine -minutes. But in the journey homewards the airship had to struggle with -a wind blowing at thirteen miles an hour. In endeavouring to “tack” -the machinery became upset, and Dumont, leaving his car, crawled -along the framework to the motor, which he succeeded in putting in -order again. But this naturally occasioned some delay, and though he -accomplished the rest of his journey in eight minutes, the Committee at -first decided he had exceeded the allotted time by forty seconds, and -so had lost the prize. Great popular indignation was excited by this -decision, for public sympathy was all with the daring and persistent -young Brazilian, and M. Deutsch himself was most anxious he should -receive the award. Finally, he was considered to have fairly won it, -and the money, which he afterwards divided among the poor, was formally -presented to him. - -Early in the next year Santos Dumont continued his experiments at -Monaco, and on one occasion came down in the sea, and had to be rescued -in the Prince of Monaco’s own steam yacht. After this there was a talk -of further voyages being made in England, but the project came to -nothing, and although Dumont made other ascents in Paris in the summer -of 1903, he does not appear to have eclipsed his previous record. - -But although Santos Dumont came through all his accidents and perils -so happily, his example led to terrible disaster on the part of a -luckless imitator. In 1902 M. Severo, also a Brazilian, was fired with -a desire to share his fellow-countryman’s fame, and he also constructed -an airship with which he proposed to do great things. But while Dumont -was a skilled aeronaut of large experience, as well as a mechanician, -Severo knew scarcely anything about the subject, and had only been -aloft once or twice. Proof of his ignorance is shown by the fact that -his motor-engine was placed only a few feet away from the valve through -which the gas from the balloon would escape. - -The ascent took place in Paris early in the morning of the 12th of May, -and was witnessed, unhappily, by Severo’s wife and son. Bidding them -good-bye, he stepped into the car, and, accompanied by an assistant, -rose above the town. The balloon rose steadily, and appeared to steer -well. Then Severo commenced to throw out ballast, and when the airship -had risen 2000 feet it was suddenly seen to burst into a sheet of -flame. A terrible explosion followed, and then the whole fell to the -ground a hopeless wreck, and the two men were dashed to pieces in -the fall. It is believed that this dreadful disaster, which recalls -the fate of Pilâtre de Rozier, was caused by the hydrogen gas, which -escaped from the valve during the rapid rise, becoming ignited by the -engine, which, as has been said, was placed dangerously close. - -Nor was this, unhappily, the only accident of the kind in Paris during -the year. Only five months later, on the 13th of October, Baron Bradsky -ascended with an assistant in a large airship of his own invention. -Through faulty construction, the steel wires which fastened the car to -the balloon broke, the two became separated, the car fell, and its -occupants were killed on the spot. - -So far, the credit of the only English airship which has yet flown -rests with Mr. Stanley Spencer, the well-known aeronaut. Mr. Spencer -comes of a race of aeronauts. His grandfather, Edward Spencer, was the -great friend and colleague of Charles Green, and shared with him some -of his chief ballooning adventures, notably the terrible voyage when -Cocking lost his life. Green stood godfather to Edward Spencer’s son, -who was christened Charles Green after him. He also grew up to be an -aeronaut, and made several inventions and improvements relating to -balloons and flying machines. His love of ballooning, inherited from -his father, has been passed on to his children, and his three eldest -sons, Percival, Arthur, and Stanley, are chief among British aeronauts, -and indeed have practically the monopoly of professional ballooning -and balloon manufacture in Great Britain. Nor have they confined -themselves to this country. All three have taken their balloons and -parachutes to distant parts of the world, and among their many hundreds -of ascents, both abroad and at home, have met with all manner of -exciting and perilous adventures, though never yet with serious mishap. -Their knowledge of practical aeronautics, then, is unrivalled, and Mr. -Stanley Spencer had the experience of three generations to guide him -when, in 1902, he set to work to build an airship which he had long -been devising. - -His first machine was a comparatively small one, capable only of -lifting a light man. It took the usual form of a cigar-shaped balloon, -the framework of which was built of bamboo, driven forward by a -screw-propeller worked by a small petrol engine. Warned by the fate of -the unfortunate Severo, Mr. Spencer placed his engine far away from the -valve. Profiting also by Santos Dumont’s experience, he constructed -his balloon in such a manner that, should it become torn and the gas -escape, the empty silk would collapse into the form of a parachute and -break the fall. Furthermore, there was an arrangement by which, while -aloft, ordinary air could be forced into the balloon to replace any -loss of gas, and so keep the silk always fully inflated and “taut”--a -very important factor in a machine that has to be driven forward -through the atmosphere. - -With this airship Mr. Spencer, as also his equally daring wife, made -several highly successful trials at the Crystal Palace, when it was -found to steer well and answer its helm most satisfactorily. Mr. -Spencer also made two long voyages, from London and from Blackpool, on -both of which occasions he found he could manœuvre his airship with -considerable success, make circular flights, and sail against the -wind, provided it was blowing only at moderate speed. - -Encouraged by his success, he next built a similar but much larger -machine, nearly a hundred feet long, holding 30,000 cubic feet of gas, -and driven by a petrol motor of twenty-four horse-power. In this case -the propeller, instead of being placed at the rear, as in general, is -at the front of the airship, thereby pulling it forward through the -air instead of pushing it from behind. By this arrangement Mr. Spencer -thinks his balloon would have less tendency to double up when urged -against a strong wind. The steering is done by a rudder sail at the -stern, and to cause his machine to sail higher or lower, the aeronaut -points its head up or down by means of a heavy balance-rope. - -This new airship was ready by the summer of 1903, but the unfavourable -weather of that stormy season again and again interfered with the -experiments. On the 17th of September Mr. Spencer announced his -intention of sailing from the Crystal Palace round the dome of St. -Paul’s, and returning to his starting-place. The Cathedral was indeed -safely reached, but the increasing breeze, now blowing half a gale, -baffled all his attempts to circle round. Again and again, till his -hands were cut and bleeding with the strain of the ropes, he brought -his machine up, quivering, to the wind, but all to no purpose, until at -length, abandoning the attempt, he sailed with the current to Barnet. -More favourable results may doubtless be looked for with better weather -conditions. - -In France during 1903 the brothers Lebaudy made some successful trips -with an airship of their own construction. Many other airships are -now being built in all parts of the world, in preparation for the -aeronautical competitions to take place in America on the occasion of -the St. Louis Exhibition of this year. - - - - -CHAPTER VII - -THE FLYING MACHINE - - -It is now time we turn our attention from the airship to its important -rival, the flying machine. - -At first sight it may perhaps appear that so far the flying machine has -accomplished less than the airship, and gives less promise of success, -since up to the present time no flying machine has taken a man any -distance into the air, or indeed done much more than just lift itself -off the ground. Nevertheless those who have made a study of the matter -are full of hope for the future. Many experts declare that already the -limits of what can be done with the airship, which depends upon the -lifting power of its gas to raise it and to sustain it in the air, -are being reached. It has indeed been proved that on a calm day, or -with only a light breeze, this form of sky vessel can be steered safely -about the heavens, and doubtless as engines are constructed yet lighter -and more powerful in proportion to their weight, more successful -voyages still will be accomplished. But it is extremely doubtful -whether an airship can ever be constructed which shall be able to stand -against a gale of wind. - -So long as a balloon sails only with the breeze it offers no resistance -to the force of the wind, and can be made of the lightest and thinnest -material. But directly it has to face the wind, and fight its way -against it as an airship must do, then it has to be made of sufficient -strength and rigidity to withstand the wind’s power, or it will be -blown to pieces. To make so large a thing as an airship withstand -a rough wind, it must be built of very strong and rigid materials. -To do this means to add to the weight of the machine. To lift the -increased weight, a larger machine which can hold more gas is needed. -The larger the machine the more surface it offers to the wind, and -the stronger therefore must be its construction. It will now be seen -that we are arguing in a circle, and we can understand that a point -must be reached in the making of airships when, with our present -materials, the advantage gained by increase of strength will be more -than counterbalanced by increased weight. On this point Sir Hiram Maxim -says: “It is not possible to make a balloon, strong enough to be driven -through the air at any considerable speed, at the same time light -enough to rise in the air; therefore balloons must always be at the -mercy of a wind no greater than that which prevails at least 300 days -in the year;” adding, “Those who seek to navigate the air by machines -lighter than air have, I think, come practically to the end of their -tether.” - -With the flying machine, on the contrary, the same difficulty does -not arise. Since it is at all times heavier than air, and is kept -aloft simply by its motive power and mechanism, its weight is of no -consequence, provided only its engine is sufficiently powerful. It may, -therefore, be built as rigidly as need be, while, from its size--which -is much smaller in proportion to its lifting power than in the case of -the airship--and also from its construction, it is much less liable to -be affected by the wind. - -In constructing a flying machine which is heavier than air the inventor -has before him two examples of bodies which, though heavier than the -atmosphere, yet contrive to rise upwards into the sky; these are, -firstly, birds, and secondly, the familiar schoolboy toys, kites. To -imitate the flying powers of birds and kites, he must first understand -the means by which their flight is accomplished; and he will find, -on examination, that to a large extent the same principle underlies -each--the principle of what is termed the “aeroplane.” - -[Illustration: KESTREL.] - -As we watch birds--especially large birds, as hawks and gulls--winging -their way about the sky, we may notice that their flight is -accomplished in two ways; either they are moving through the air by -flapping their wings up and down, or else with wings wide outstretched -they are soaring or sailing in the air for long times together -without apparently moving their wings at all. Certain birds, such as -vultures and albatrosses, possess this power of soaring flight to an -extraordinary degree, and the exact way in which they keep themselves -poised aloft is indeed still a mystery. We cannot, however, as we -watch, say, a hawk, hovering in the air with motionless wing, help -being struck by its resemblance to the schoolboy’s kite, kept afloat -high in the sky by the action of the wind properly applied to its -surface, and we can at once see that the bird makes use of the same -principle as the kite in its soaring or hovering flight. Indeed, just -as a kite sinks to earth when the wind drops, so in a dead calm even an -albatross has to flap its wings to keep afloat. - -It is to the principle of the kite, therefore, that the inventor of -the flying machine must turn. He must adapt the same principle to his -apparatus, and this he does in his aeroplane, which, as will be seen, -is an all-important part of his machine, and which, in its simplest -form, is nothing more or less than a kite. - -We know that if a light flat body, such as a kite, is lying upon the -ground, and the wind gets under it so as to tilt it, it will be lifted -by the wind into the air. The string of a kite is so adjusted that as -the kite rises it is still held at an angle to the wind’s force, and so -long as the kite remains tilted at the necessary angle so long it will -continue to rise or poise itself in the air while the wind blows. When -schoolboys fly their kites they choose an exposed spot, and a day when -the wind is blowing freshly and steadily. One boy throws the kite into -the air, while another, holding the string to which it is fastened, -draws it tight by running with it against the wind. By this means the -kite, if rightly adjusted, is held at the proper angle to the wind, and -started without dragging along the ground to begin with. As soon as the -wind has fairly caught the kite and carried it up into the air, the boy -who holds the string need run no longer, but if the breeze suddenly -fails, and the kite begins to drop, he may still keep his toy aloft by -running quickly along and dragging the kite after him; the artificial -wind he thus creates making up for the lack of the other. - -Now let us suppose that there is no string to hold the kite in proper -position, and no boy to run with it; but that their places are supplied -by a motor and propeller to drive it through the air; while at the same -time it is so balanced as to preserve a fitting angle against a wind of -its own making. We should then have a true flying machine, heavier than -air, and yet capable of sailing through the sky. - -This is the kind of flying machine that inventors at the present moment -are trying to produce. They have, in their machines, to reproduce -artificially two essential conditions that cause a kite to fly. They -have to provide a substitute for the strength of the wind, and also a -substitute for the pull of the string which keeps the kite at the best -angle to profit by that strength. The first they achieve by using a -suitable engine or motor, and the second by supplying it with what are -called “aeroplanes”--large flat surfaces, light but rigid, inclined at -a suitable angle to the horizon. By the use of these the power of the -engine is employed to best advantage in causing the machine to sail -through the sky. - -The great advantage of the aeroplane over any other mode of flying -is thus described by Major Baden-Powell, one of our greatest living -authorities on aeronautical matters: “When people realise that in the -case of the aeroplane a contrivance like the awning of a small steam -launch is capable of supporting the man and the engines, and that in -the case of the balloon a mass like a big ship is necessary to lift -the same weight, one can readily understand the advantages of the -aeroplane, especially when to the drawbacks of the bulky balloon are -added the great difficulties inherent in the retention of a large -volume of expensive, inflammable, and subtle gas, ever varying in its -density.” - -The most successful inventors of flying machines at the present day -are all Americans, though one of them has made his experiments on this -side of the Atlantic. They are Sir Hiram Maxim, inventor of the famous -gun, and one of the greatest mechanicians living; Professor Langley, -Secretary of the Smithsonian Institute, Washington; and the brothers -Wright. - -Mr. Maxim, as he then was, commenced his experiments in the early -nineties. As we have already shown, he went to Nature for his guide, -and in constructing his flying machine took as his analogy the flight -of birds. Birds urge their way onwards in the air by reason of the -strength of their wings. A flying machine must do the same by the power -of its engine; and as a bird’s wings must be strong in proportion to -the bird’s weight, so the strength or horse-power of the engine must -stand in a certain proportion to the number of pounds it weighs. Mr. -Maxim’s first task, therefore, was to discover what proportion this -must be, and by his experiments he arrived at a conclusion which -Professor Langley in America, working at the same task at the same -time, but quite independently, had also proved to be true, namely, -that the faster a machine travels through the air the greater weight -it may carry; or, in other words, the quicker a body moves through -the atmosphere the less tendency will it have to fall to the ground. -A quick-flying bird like an albatross, therefore, flies with less -exertion, and so could carry a greater weight, than a slow-moving bird -like a goose. It must therefore be to the advantage of the flying -machine that its engines should attain as great a speed as possible. - -Maxim’s next task was to construct a suitable engine. Light but -powerful engines had not then reached the pitch of perfection they have -now, and his results proved at the time a perfect revelation of what -could be done in this direction, and led to great advances being made. - -[Illustration: THE MAXIM AIRSHIP.] - -Next came the designing of the great machine itself. It was an enormous -apparatus, weighing over three tons, capable of carrying three men, and -supported by no less than 4000 square feet of aeroplanes, placed one -above the other. Its steam-engine was of 363 horse-power, and worked -two screws of nearly 18 feet in diameter. Before such a machine could -rise from the ground it must first have attained a very great forward -impetus, and this it was to receive by running at a great speed on -wheels along a railway track specially laid down for it. To prevent the -apparatus rising unduly, a reversed rail was erected a short distance -above, on which the machine would begin to run as soon as it lifted -itself off the lower track. Along this railway the flying machine was -tested, and it was found that as soon as a speed of thirty-six miles -an hour was reached the wheels were lifted clear off the ground, and -were running only upon the upper rail. On the last occasion a speed of -forty-two miles an hour was attained, when the lifting power became so -great that the restraining rail broke away altogether, and the great -flying machine actually floated in the air for a few moments, “giving -those on board the sensation of being in a boat,” until, steam being -shut off, it fell to the ground and was broken. - -The enormous expense of his experiments has not prevented Sir Hiram -Maxim from repeating them, and he hopes soon to have a much improved -machine. Nevertheless his experience and calculations have been of -great value to those who would follow in his footsteps, and have proved -the possibility of constructing a flying machine which shall fly by -virtue of its own motion. - -Meanwhile in America Professor Langley was experimenting, -independently, almost on the same lines. He also was bent on producing -a flying machine, but instead of starting to work upon a large -apparatus like Maxim, he began by making models, and gradually worked -his way up to bigger things. For many months he studied to understand -the principle of those ingenious little toys sometimes seen, which, by -means of the tension of a twisted india-rubber band, will keep afloat -in the air for a few seconds. Next he constructed small models driven -by steam, in which he found his great difficulty was in keeping down -the weight. For years he persevered in his work without any great -success, until in 1896 he produced a model machine which he called -an “aerodrome.” It was quite small, weighing with its engine only 25 -lbs., and measuring but 14 feet from tip to tip of its aeroplanes. -The experiments were made over water, and the necessary momentum was -given by dropping it from a platform 20 feet high. On more than one -occasion this little flying machine rose with great steadiness in the -face of the wind to a height of 100 feet, moving so smoothly that it -might have carried a glass of water without spilling a drop; and then, -the steam of its engine being exhausted, sank down gracefully upon the -water, having flown about half a mile in a minute and a half. This -success encouraged Professor Langley next to construct a full-sized -flying machine on the same lines; but this on its first voyage plunged -headlong into the water and was hopelessly damaged. The United States -Government have since granted him a sum of money to continue his -experiments. - -Latest of all the airship inventors, and perhaps so far the most -successful, are the brothers Wright. Up to the date of writing this the -full details of their work are not yet made public, but it is known -that on the 17th of December 1903, their machine, which consists of two -large aeroplanes driven forward by an engine of sixteen horse-power, -after being started along a short track on level ground, rose into the -air and flew for about half a mile. - -It remains for us now to make brief mention of how men have tried, -and are still trying, to imitate the soaring or gliding flight of -birds without the use of machinery to assist them. We have seen how an -albatross can, when the wind is blowing, convert itself, as it were, -into a kite, and keep aloft in the air for a while without moving its -wings. Similarly many people have attempted, by attaching themselves -to a large supporting surface or aeroplane, and casting themselves off -from a height, to glide with the wind across wide stretches of country. -In this mode of soaring flight some have made considerable progress. -Herr Lilienthal, a German, was perhaps for a time the most successful. -He started from small beginnings, jumping off a spring board a few feet -high, and gradually increasing the height as he became more accustomed -to his apparatus. Later he had a large artificial mound made specially -for him, and from the top of this he would throw himself into the -air, and with a favourable wind sail a distance of four hundred yards -at a considerable height above the ground. Lilienthal’s experiments, -however, came to a sad end. On August the 11th, 1896, after he had -glided along in the air for about two hundred yards, a sudden gust -of wind caught the wide-spread wings of his apparatus, and tilted it -upwards. This caused him to lose his balance, and he fell from a height -of sixty feet and broke his spine. A similar accident also caused the -death, a few years later, of a young Englishman, Mr. Percy S. Pilcher, -who had been following up Lilienthal’s experiments. - -The greatest difficulty now to be overcome in solving the problem of -human flight, whether with soaring apparatus or flying machine, may be -summed up in one word--“balance.” Every schoolboy knows that the great -art of kite-flying consists in so adjusting the point of attachment -of the string and the length of the tail that his kite is properly -balanced, and is not liable to turn over or “dip” when in the air. -Every observer of birds, too, has noticed how largely the question of -balance enters into their flying. A bird in the air is continually and -instinctively adjusting its wings to its position, and to every puff of -wind, even as a man on a bicycle is continually, though unconsciously, -adjusting his handle-bar to the inequalities of the road; and as a -cyclist requires practice before he can ride his machine, or a skater -before he can keep his feet on the ice, so even a bird has to learn how -to balance itself before it can use its wings. - -Dwellers in the country are familiar with the way in which the parent -birds teach their fledglings to fly, instructing them by example, -and encouraging them in their first short flights until they have -become familiar with their powers and can balance themselves aright -in the air. And if even birds, with whom flying is an instinct, have -to learn the art of balancing themselves in the air by practice, how -much more so must such a clumsy creature as a man, to whom flying is -entirely unnatural. Only by long and painful efforts can he ever hope -to succeed at all, and unfortunately all such efforts are necessarily -very dangerous. Many disastrous accidents have already occurred, and -although great progress has been made, and the time may not now be far -distant when, by means of improved machines, men will actually fly, it -will be at the cost of much labour, and, it is to be feared, at the -sacrifice of many more brave lives. - - - - -CHAPTER VIII - -CONCLUSION - - -In our last chapters we have, in some measure, brought our aeronautical -history up to the present day, though of necessity many important -points and notable voyages have been passed over unnoticed. It now -remains to us but to gather up the loose ends of the story, and then -briefly to indicate the direction in which we may expect new advances -in the future. - -And, first of all, it may be well to mention a few ballooning -“records.” The largest balloon ever known was used as a captive at the -Paris Exhibition of 1878. It was of 883,000 cubic feet capacity, and -capable of lifting more than fifty passengers at a time. Other mammoth -balloons of almost as great dimensions have also been employed for -captive work; but the largest balloon intended specially for “right -away” ascents was the “Giant,” built in Paris in 1863 by M. Nadar. It -held 215,000 cubic feet of gas, and was made of 22,000 yards of best -white silk, at 5s. 4d. a yard. The car was particularly elaborate, -almost as big as a small cottage, being of two stories, and divided -into several rooms. It proved, however, to be a very dangerous adjunct, -for on the two occasions it was used those within received very serious -injury during rough landings, and it was soon put aside and replaced by -an ordinary basket. None of these monster sky craft appear to have been -very successful, and at the present day the largest balloons in general -use do not exceed 50,000 or 60,000 cubic feet capacity. - -The honour of the longest aerial voyage ever made rests with the -unfortunate Andrée, who, if his dates are to be relied upon, had -been forty-eight hours aloft in his balloon when he despatched his -last found message. Not far behind in point of time, however, was -Count de la Vaulx, who in the summer of 1901 attempted to cross the -Mediterranean by balloon. Contrary winds in the end baffled his -venture, and he was forced to descend on the deck of a steamer which -was following his course, but not before he had spent forty-one hours -in the sky. The year previous the Count had also achieved a record -long-distance voyage in connection with some balloon competitions -held during the French “Exposition” of 1900. Starting from Paris, he -descended in Russia, 1193 miles away, having been aloft thirty-six -hours all but fifteen minutes. - -For lofty ascents the palm still rests with Glaisher and Coxwell, -whose famous voyage of 1862, when, as related, a height of 37,000 -feet (or seven miles) is said to have been reached, has never been -equalled. The exact altitude attained on this occasion is, however, -as we have explained, only conjectural, neither being capable at the -last of taking observations, and no height being _registered_ over -29,000 feet. On July 31st, 1901, two German scientists, Dr. Berson and -Dr. Suring, ascended from Berlin to a _registered_ altitude of 34,400 -feet, or well over six miles. They were provided with compressed oxygen -to breathe, but even then became unconscious during the last 800 feet -of the ascent. Three years before Dr. Berson had made a very lofty -ascent in England, accompanied by Mr. Stanley Spencer, when a height -of 27,500 feet was reached. A terrible accident occurred in connection -with a lofty scientific ascent made from Paris in 1875 by Tissandier, -inventor of the airship already mentioned, and two companions. Their -object was to attain a record height, in which they indeed succeeded, -reaching 28,000 feet. But despite the artificial air they took with -them to breathe, they all three became unconscious in the extreme upper -regions, and when, after one of the most awful voyages in the whole -history of ballooning, Tissandier came to himself, it was to find the -bodies of his two friends stiff and cold beside him in the car. - -Coming to the aeronautical work of the present day, it is humiliating -to have to confess that, through lack of public support, England has -somewhat fallen behind other nations. In America and on the Continent -large sums of money are subscribed for experiments with balloons, -airships, and flying machines; but in our own country all efforts in -these directions are due to private enterprise alone. Among those -most keenly interested in aeronautical progress may be mentioned Mr. -P. Alexander, of Bath; Major Baden-Powell, President of the English -Aeronautical Society; and the Rev. J. M. Bacon. The latter has -made many scientific balloon ascents for the study of meteorology, -acoustics, and other kindred sciences, and his observations have proved -of much interest and value. During his voyages he has met with several -adventures, though no serious mishaps. On one occasion, when the writer -accompanied him, during a night ascent made to observe the great shower -of Leonid shooting stars foretold for the 16th of November 1899, the -balloon became unmanageable while lost above the clouds. For ten hours -it refused to come down, during much of which time the sea was heard -beneath, and the voyagers believed themselves blown out over the -Atlantic. A very stormy landing, in which the writer broke her arm, was -eventually made near the coast in South Wales as before mentioned. - -In November 1902, Mr. Bacon, accompanied by Mr. Percival Spencer, -crossed the Irish Channel by balloon, the second time only this -dangerous passage has been made, the first occasion being the voyage -of Mr. Windham Sadler, eighty-five years before. Mr. Bacon’s voyage -was partly undertaken for the Admiralty, who lent the services of a -gunboat to follow the balloon’s course over the sea. One of the special -objects of investigation was to test a theory, long held, that from a -considerable height aloft the bottom of the sea becomes visible, even -in rough weather when the surface is troubled with waves. This point -was very successfully settled, for although the sea was very rough, Mr. -Bacon not only saw, but succeeded in photographing, from a height of -600 feet, the beds of sand and rock lying in ten fathoms at the bottom -of the Irish Channel--a feat never before accomplished. - -In scientific observations of the upper atmosphere a valuable ally to -the balloon has been found in the kite. The making of kites has now -reached a high pitch of perfection, and by their means self-recording -scientific instruments can be raised to vast heights in the air, and -even men carried aloft with safety. A kite which latterly has excited -much attention is the Cody kite. With this, during the autumn of 1903, -its inventor, a Mexican, hazarded a bold venture. Harnessing it to a -light boat, and waiting for a favourable wind, he started from Calais -at eight o’clock one November evening, and was safely towed all night -across the Channel, reaching Dover at five the next morning. - -The aeronautical competitions at the St. Louis Exhibition, in America, -have given a great impetus to one branch at least of aeronautics, -while the labour of many scientific workers throughout the whole world -is directed to the improvement of our present modes of exploring the -heavens, and the turning to best account of the means already at our -disposal. Never since the days when the Montgolfier brothers floated -their first frail craft has so much interest as now been manifested in -the conquest of the sky, and never has progress been more rapid and -sure. Whether the day will ever come when man will rule the atmosphere -as he now does the sea is, as yet, uncertain, but there are many who -hope and believe not only that he will, but that the day is not far -distant when the birds will no longer hold undisputed sway over the -empire of the air. - - - Printed by BALLANTYNE, HANSON & CO. - Edinburgh & London - - - - -Transcriber’s Notes - - -Punctuation, hyphenation, and spelling were made consistent when a -predominant preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not -changed. - -Simple typographical errors were corrected; occasional unbalanced -quotation marks retained. - -Ambiguous hyphens at the ends of lines were retained. - - - - - -End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Balloons, Airships, and Flying Machines, by -Gertrude Bacon - -*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK BALLOONS, AIRSHIPS, FLYING MACHINES *** - -***** This file should be named 54799-0.txt or 54799-0.zip ***** -This and all associated files of various formats will be found in: - http://www.gutenberg.org/5/4/7/9/54799/ - -Produced by deaurider, Charlie Howard, and the Online -Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This -file was produced from images generously made available -by The Internet Archive) - -Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions will -be renamed. - -Creating the works from print editions not protected by U.S. copyright -law means that no one owns a United States copyright in these works, -so the Foundation (and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United -States without permission and without paying copyright -royalties. 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