From America to Europe by Balloon.

Cromwell Argus, Volume IV, Issue 207, 28 October 1873, Page 7

From America to Europe by Balloon.

i , Our English telegrams of the 17th, convey, vp the brief announcement that “a newlyconstructed balloon left America on October 6, on a voyage across the Atlantic to Europe, intelligence of the commencement of one of the most daring enterprises ever known. The man who has undertaken this bold and novel venture is Professor Wise of Philadelphia, one of_ the oldest and most experienced aeronauts in the world; and his journey is made to realise and demonstrate practically, theories he has held, and preached, and fought for during a large portion of his lifetime. The balloon in which he journeys is constructed, and fitted out at the expense of the Ncvj York Illustrated Graphic. In a recent number of the Philadelphia Bulletin there appears an account of a conversation between the Professor and the newspaper’s editor, from which we extract such passages as have reference to the voyage ; Wise: I propose to start from "Boston Common, and shall have with me Washington H. Donaldson, aeronaut, and t\>o scientific gentlemen. Editor : You cannot guide your balloon ; how then do you know it will not sail westward 1 ■■ Yvise : —I have for years believed that the entire upper atmosphere. surrounding the earth constantly, moves eastward with the reoolulion of the earth. More than this, it actually moves faster than the earth, just as water is spurted forward from a rapidly-revolving grindstone. It is thrown ahead by the movement of the terrestrial ball at the rate, say, I of ICO miles an hour. If I rise into this vast

'.' air-tide with my balloon, the ship will be swept eastward with tremendous velocity. , We cannot control the direction of the bal--3 loon in any way, and that will not be neces- , sary. All we need do is to lot it drift, and sooner or later, if no accident happen, we | shall reach Europe. Professor Henry and other learned men entertain the same concerning the eastward tendency of the . upper air, and I am assured of it, not only ) because it is reasonable and natural, but bef cause all balloons, after reaching the heightj say, of a mile and a half, go in an easterly ( direction, i Editor: Have you observed that phenoi motion often? i Wise : 1 have made 446 balloon ascensions, i and ninety-six times out of every hundred the air ship shot rapidly towards the east. I have preached the theory for thirty years. 3 Editor : How long do you suppose it will take to cross the ocean ? ' Wise : Not more than seventy hours, and ! probably only sixty. It will depend upon . the force of the air current. I may as well [ remark here that this current moves more i rapidly after sunset, for the heated air presses . toward the shadow, where the atmosphere is • cooler. We shall probably land either in • Great Britain or France—in the latter if we '| do not reach a great altitude. I have always | thought, however, that there is an air-cur- \ rent following the course of the Gulf Stream, 1 for that heats the atmosphere to the height ; of 8000 or 10,000 feet, and makes, I conjec- , ture, a sort of gulf stream in the air. If this ' is correct, and our balloon strikes that cur- . rent, we shall go directly to England. Of i course, I cannot say absolutely that we shall succeed. This voyage is merely experimental. • I wish to test the matter; that is all. If the • trip can be made now it will be made many times again, and with practice, ability may ■ be acquired to reach London, Paris, or Mad- ' rid with unerring certainty. We are merely going to try whether it really can be done or not. I shall leave Boston Common and , strike at once for an altitude of about two , miles, and stay up there if possible until wc get across. Editor : Will you return in the balloon ? Wise : I think not. We might, though, by dropping into the local trade winds and surface currents, but they are not so reliable. I only claim the ability to go with certainty to the eastward. Editor : You speak of a speed of 100 miles an hour. Will not that seem alarming ) Wise : Not at all. In a balloon, no mat- j tar how rapid the motion, the voyager is, not conscious of it. He seems to stand still. If there is no object by which to mark the progress, he is impressed with the conviction that the balloon is at rest. He is no more conscious of a speed of 100 miles an hour than you are of the revolution of the earth as you sit in that chair. Moreover, there is j no fluttering of the rigging of a balloon when |in equilibrium. A cobweb hanging from the j car will seem as free from agitation as if it I were suspended in a vacuum. We cannot leventull when we are ascending except by j hanging a ribbon over the side and observ- j j ing it fly upward a3 we descend and downward as we mount into the air. You can j [hardly call balloon riding "the poetry of! j motiou," for there appears to be no motion. | A blind man in such a ship would be ready | j to bo sworn he was in a condition of perfect j I rest. Editor : And now for a description of the balloon in which you will make your voyage. ; Wise : We propose to construct three bal- J loons, one nearly three times the size of the ; others, the latter of which will be used to j supply the large one with gas as it gradually j loses its lifting power. The balloons will hold some 325,000 feet of gas, and will have j a lifting capacity of 11,000 pounds, besides ! the weight of the gas chambers themselves, j nettings, baskets, life-boat, &g. It will take j about 2700 yards of drilling for the large j balloon, but with the aid of sewing machines we think we can get it ready in a month's time. The basket in which we propose to! ride is a comfortably covered room, with a J cellar in which to store water and food for the trip. The room will have windows on j all sides ; a lime stove will give abundant! '. heat for warmth and to cook with, while at j night a vacuum tube with platinum wire at j each end will furnish abundant light by sending a current of electricity along the wire. Editor : Suppose the balloon falls' into the I sea ? j Wise : We have to provide for such an; emergency. Beneath the chamber there will j bo an open platform or balcony, and beneath \ ' that one of the Francis metal lifeboats, pro- j vided with oars, sails, instruments, food and ! I water, will be suspended at any instant to re- {' ceive us, should a near approach to the water |! take place for any reason. This lifeboat will j : have four large air chambers, and will be pro-!! vided with a cabin in which we can be pro- j tected from the weather. By means of an ingenious contrivance the centre of gravity j n can be made beneath the bottom of the boat, j, thus rendering it impossible to upset it. We j shall take provisions for thirty days, in order j ) to be ready for the worst, and will have it placed in water-tight bags, which may serve ; as life-preservers also. ] ' [A late cablegram reports the attempt to ( have been a failure, a storm in Connecticut I' having brought the balloon to earth. The I ) occupants were unharmed.] j j