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Show ACROSS THE ATLANTIC BY BALLOON ' Tli; b.dl'.'tn pnjjeet of rrof'-.-or Wise, whi'-h roiit.-lni.hitt a voyagn j -M-vn tho Atl.ntir in sixty huiir, I in hiili undergoing liely li-i or-iMii ihroughoiit tin- i ountry, and tin- pr-flit pr-flit pn.-pi'i-t in tii.it tin.' gentleman1 will tii;d no ditlieiilty in rai-ing t! j i'i iin.-t.; eapital Lo carry it out, '. I having transf- rrd his ba-e fr-.m B.(-t.-,u jj) X'w Vnrk. With hi- im- I rticuw liah.jii, me hundred f.-.-t in ': diameter, capable of taking t- n liioU-j liioU-j -anil tiniU of balla-t, 1 1 Ls, two -tory, 1 n-.f"l. wi'-k-T cur, the itpp r p-hu ! for hi- parlor and the lower utie t'-v ' his Lileheu, and a gall' r b.-uea'ii tl-r : the eUgi.nt i"! ij A 1 1 1- 1 1 1 of ', j ,h,t,l.,t the IVof.-si.r is -anguine , enough tu !utik iiijn the jntirney nf ' , thiv.- thunwiml mile-, W l: made' b.-i b.-i ttvei-n heaven and earth, with nni'-h I gi'eat. r hope and nuini b.s fi-ar than 1 any une of our readers, would think of a palace-e;,r ride to New "oik. A man of etperienrc in nawgatiug tlie aerial ocean, having made home five hundretl ballcKm n.-cen-ions, vary-ing vary-ing in length from a hundred . to a thou,-and miles, .n rose the i great lakes, and all over the country, ho speaks of his propo-rd trip with an entlio-ia-mi tliat Is contagion.-. '"By tho tbani tin the water, . can tell in which direction I am traveling. My experience on the lakes has taught me this, and I can alwnvH see the water except when clouds intervene, which never w ill la.-t long. I can find out the direction of the currents of air below mc without coming down to seek them, by suspending sus-pending a light line of two miles, in length from the balloon, having on it at regular distances, indices which will register the direction of the wind. Should the balloon encounter the 'bravo west winds' on the ocean, with the nid of a ding line wc could go right along without la-s of gas or ballast," says Mr. Wise. The "brave west wind" referred to is the current of nir, which all students stu-dents of aerostatics claim exists, at a distance of a milu to a mile and a half alovo the earth, moving in an easterly direction with unvarying certainty, cer-tainty, at a velocity of from forty to one hundred miles an hour, a continual con-tinual flow like that of a mighty river. This stream oneo entered, all did'n iilty disappears, ami the navigator naviga-tor w i n gs 1 i k e a b i rtl to a i iv portion ot the world hi.s will directs. This is an enchanting theory to bnl-loonisls, bnl-loonisls, as firmly believed in by Professor Pro-fessor Wise as the Gulf Stream can possibly he by navigators of tho Atlantic. Atlan-tic. Because, in in such an air-current, he himself traveled from St. Louis to Xew York State over the great lakes; and indeed it is .in accepted ac-cepted scientific fact, accounted forby the motion of tho earth from west to east. The ordinary clangers of balloon I traveling the gentlennui has no fears for. (lis gas supply Ids-rued, and lhs , air ship binks; his ballast thrown overboard, and he rises. The nir-, nir-, current is his guide, his steering apparatus, ap-paratus, his rudder. Beneath the - """S3 .Hls.JJVl.lH.-U a metallic life-boat, built after the moot approved model; ho that, in the unexpected event of a descent to the water, he will still be provided for. The enterprise is as legitimate as. j the search for the north pole. It is I scarcely within the limits of prohabil- I ity that there can be such danger at- ; tending it ; not alone those of shipwreck and starvation are to be faced ffl the explorations of Arctic regions, but years of wandering wan-dering in that dread, unknown land, in an atmosphere almost ice itself, must be endured, and hardships encountered en-countered that well may daunt the firmest will and cow the bravest heart. No one believed in tho success suc-cess of the bold enterprise of Christopher Christo-pher Columbus. Few, even in tbig age of enlightenment and science, had faith in the possibility of successful Atlantic cable telegraphy. Who shall say the proposed balloon voyage of Professor Wise is more, visionary tlian either of these? It is full time that the world knew more of a'rial navigation, ami now that the man appears who dare attempt a trip across the Atlantic, and whose experience expe-rience wan-ants hope of his success, public spirit will not allow him to fail for lack of means. Rival balloonists may claim the feat impossible. But what of that? All similarly wild ; schemes have at first been hooted at, and scientifically demonstrated to be impossible. Even if we are skeptical enough to doubt the practicability of the experiment, we all want to have it tested. Therefore, alt encouragement encourage-ment to Vrofessor Wise, and if he sleep in the ocean wo will mourn his folly! This, is human: And if he succeed .' |