400 MILES ISM A BALLOON.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5861, 1 May 1897, Page 6

400 MILES ISM A BALLOON.

« [By M. Besancon.] We threw off at a few minutes to ten from La Villette. We had intended to start some hours earlier, indeed, before night fell, but the conditions were too unfavourable. At the chiming of the bells for the hour we were poised over illuminated Paris. The closing-in of the lines of light beneath us, and the softly diminishing volume of the noises of the city were the more striking inindications of the fact that, although no swift upward rush had marked our departure, wo were nevertheless steadily leaving the earth. The balloon soared upwards with an imperceptible motion, as though its dusky bulk- were sustained by the wings of some gigantic night-bird. At a height of 200 yards wo had a view of the city as magnificent as it was strange. The principal streets were clearly, discernible with their rows of brilliant lights, until they gradually closed in and formed one gleaming mass ; then, as the balloon gained velocity from the impulse of the rising wind, we left the city far behind, a mere spot in the great cavern of night, as insignificant as the weak ray of a glowworm.' Although the moon was obscured by clouds, as yet above us, the air became drier and clearer. There was a crisp coldness in the atmosphere which freshened us. A buoyant, thrilling sense of exultation sprang into life — an exquisite sense of adventurous mystery. Alone we clove the waves of shadow. No shape or cry of bird betokened the existence of animate life, even of the proper denizens of the air. It was a time to fill the mind with strange fancies, and the ear Avith wild carolling. There were none to follow us. We pursued, but were unpursued. Twenty-four hours in the air, one turn of the earth upon its axis, that was our task.- It was M. Tissandier's record we meant to beat, and twenty-four hours would achieve tho feat. We -had an eye to distance*' too. The aeronaut named traversed 350 miles ; wo hoped to do more. We sped through the blackness at a speed of thirty miles an hour, devouring distance insensibly. There was nothing to afford a comparison of speed, however, and so far as personal sensations go we were motionless. The air grew clearer 'still. A serene and pulseless immobility rested upon the face of Nature. The hot, burning excitement of a contest in which each competitor has the other in view, was, of course, no part of our feelings. We were alone; that was the most potent thought that passed through our minds, solitary in the strange immensity which stretched around us. But we had a goal in view all the same, a goal which we determined to reach. A singular echo of earth reached us in the profound stillness. We had long passed Corbeil,- and dark between us stretched the forest of Orleans, its sombre shadows casting.a deeper gloom upon the earth's surface. Danger lurked in its impenetrable glades — danger for us, safe as we seemed to be. A gleam of red light suddenly showed, followed by a sharp report. The idea of connecting" it with ourselves appeared absurd, ■ but the whistle of a bullet proved that we were not so high above the earth as to debar a solitary watcher in the forest from trying his luck at us with a shot. As a matter of fact, we had contrived with management to keep thojballoon about 600 yards high for some hours. For what strange quarry did he take us ! While we were speculating as to the motives which impelled the shot, a second spit of red flame spurted up and the whistle of a second bullet was heard. It was poor sport for us, however, pleasant as it might bo to him who : gratified his instincts of destruction in the recesses of the wood. The night had grown much lighter and doubtless the huge balloon was plainly visible to a lurker in the umbrageous windings of the dark forest ; but we could see nothing but the gaunt, swaying shadows of felie branches. The bullets, happily, found no billet in the vulnerable sides of the balloon, which soared majestically on, as though the lofty and calm dignity of the starry wastes had imparted its spirit to her. The early hours of morning found us floating in a limp::! Sfc a of light, the clouds which had obscured the moon having passed away. The gleam of- the swimming luminary was reflected in the waters of the Loire, as well as in the inland lakes caused by inundations in the plains. The cold was growing keener and with it came a drowsiness which was only overpowered with considerable difficulty. We had provided ourselves with creature comforts of various kinds, including wine, coffee, bread, and meat. Tho first and last wo had no taste for, but strong doses of coffee enabled us to resist the tendency to sleep, while a little bread satisfied pxxr lmnger. We should- have been moro comfortable if drier. As a matter of fact our clothing was wringing wet, and of necessity tho saturated state of the atmosphere had had its effect upon the balloon. The necessity of parting with a considerable portion of our ballast to counteract tho effects of tho heavy moisture had an important bearing on tho ultimate result of our aerial race. With tho break of morning we found that wo had made encouraging progress, but, alas ! oxir stock of ballast had run very low. The notes and observations which wo had constantly made throughout tho night could now bo supplemented with visual scrutiny of tho country through which wo were passing. Our investigations as to our exact whereabouts were not materially assisted by tho peasantry. Wo were near ono\igh to tho ground to hear their voices, but wo cither failed to make ours reach them or else they could not imderstaud what wo said. However, we discovered subsequently that wo wore above the Department of tho Indre. A passing shower enabled us to make the interesting observation that the rain was produced by a singlo layer of cloud, whereas tho general impression is that two layers are necessary to produce rain. Wo began shortly to ascend, autl for tho next two or three hours pursued an uninterrupted upward flight, eventually reaching an altitude of 3350 metres. Clondland stretched below "-us, and its wonderfully beautiful and varied aspects drew our attention. Tho time had come to bring the photographic apparatus into play. Photography in the high heavens reveals some reniarkablo and moving pictures of cloud beauty. One might imagine ones {self gazing through a powerful telescope upon the desolate and sterile wastes of planetary extinction. Eugged folds of cumuli stretched beneath us, broad, billowy, cavernous, crested. There were hoaped-up dunes and jagged declivities. With tho commencement of a gentle descent wo had a thought for our record, almost forgotten in the absorbing interest of a stellar survey of terrestrial dimness. Whore were wo? We had made out Corbeil, Orleans, Viorzon, but in tho long hours of our midnight flight we had sped over innumerable towns and villages, not one of which we knew. Slowly we neared the earth, eagerly straining our gaze for ' a familiar object in tho opening landscape beneath. Our onward progress was maintained, but at diminished speed. Our physical sensations troubled us a little. Hands and feet were, of course, numb. A continuous drowsiness held us. We had some . coffee left, happily, but at our greatest altitude the cork, which had been inserted in a halffull bottle at 200 metres, flew out like the cork of a champagne bottle. Our pulsations had greatly increased ; that of M. Besancon gtood at 96, mine at 100. There was, however, no discomfort to overbalance the intense exaltation of our feeling. We floated down almost imperceptibly. For nearly four hours a continuous descent only took us to within 1350 metres ; our ballast, however, was now almost exhausted, and a return to the earth became compulsory. It was a much regrettod necessity or we were still several hours short of the nil diurnal round. Reluctantly we had to faco defeat, at all events as to time. So far as distance was concerned, wo were more hopeful. True, our exact where- [ abouts were not yete&tablished, but wo had.

made rapid progress, and were prepared to find that we had got farther south in the time than any aeronauts had done before. Joyfully did we at length succeed in satisfying ourselves that this was really so. The recognition of Villeneuvo was the first step, and it was speedily followed by a settled conviction consequent on the sight of Garonne. Our hopes were already moro than realised. We were almost under the shadow of the Pyrenees, 400 miles away from our starting-point. This fact established, we contemplated our inevitable descent with a greater equanimity. We were falling with an ever-increasing speed, for our ballast had now all gone. At Layrac we were only 200 metres above the ground. With dragging guide-ropes M. Besancon threw an anchor successfully; we were.fast.