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THE DAILY GRAPHIC, NEW YORK, MONDAY, JANUARY 5. I874.
429
A IALLOON VOYAGE OF 5,000 MILES.
Imli IARIB To iron HATAL-THE nos! 0!
Tu unolun or Tiia nciunn WAL-
ucl.
Ublhltitlarvfhd D0431 GvVlDMd.l
l>on-r NATAL, oeioher 2a.-You have on
doubted! received newrot the ilndiog oi a
wrecked halloon eonre ten milee irern thin piece,
and it you have not heard oilhe ntinir nlrerdy
you win hur oi it heiorn thin letter reechee
you.
when I nld good-by to you nix mnnihn
ago, an I rtarted tor the ninuioud digginge. i
carelutlly promised to send you 1 letter in case
writing in not my strong point, and as nothing
reniarknhie hla hnppr.-ued to me. I did not ex.
pect to he required to keep my pruurire. now-
ever, soon after I relched Port Natal-lroin
ich
lhenrd oi the dnding oi the hrlioon. 1 had
ed irom a twodnyei journeyliito
the interior in reercho a Boer w'th cheep
oxen ior rule, and the moment 1 henrd oi the
hnlloon 1 reid, "This In the tort oi thing to
Un-
town, and he I knew it would carry the new-
to the English pnpere I gave up the idee oi
writing to you.
utyeeierdny a pmy oi Bechulmu cum: to
town, hrlnging with them a white man, worn
to a rheleton with lever and ruirering. and
clothed in nothing but a Becliuirnl hreech-
cl th Thir nr
mine two hundred in ice
treat of this place, In the nelghhorhood oi the
rpct where ha had leaped lrom his hnlloon.
He had ehout given up all hope or ever moh-
‘ ‘ n when the attack or e hoetiie
trihe drove the Bechunnne with iihonl he were
prmtictiily a prisoner inr south or their iororer
hauuta, e d n i , o his eircumetnnce he
succeeded in inducing them to lead him to
Port Natal nnderpronrloe oi n lxrge rewnrd.
I have eeen thin man and henrd hlx story,
own worde- y x steam
touched here an her wily to Llnzihiir, whence
the will prohehly go to Aden ior conl. and
thus intercept the Red sen lilezirrrr.
e In II who hit! travelled
l
During the liege ufPlil'la, when balloons were
rent every iew dnye with lettere to the Born
delux Govcrnnleiit, there was naturally 5 ill:
at‘ lPI‘OtlrtlltE. .arLii:e volunteered (or the
eervioe-heing a hold young ft-llow oi twenty-
eornpetent to lalir rtihrgeuf nn eerirrlmeil,
end on the 27th or Jnnnery, 1B'l‘I,he etnrted
in the helloon Ricinrd wnlinec, at nine
o'clock in the evening. e
tended to Illuut 4.000 leettliaii Iwiiscolinciuul
that the balloon was in I r-lmng l.‘IIl'I'!lIL
clouds hid the light: of the oily lroni nie, alid
I could form no idea 0 the direction in which
r.-
or
iwee go ng At dewrrl iound nryreli price
ing with tremendoue rnpiriiry in a eoruherly
lion, hut irorli oeresi glimpses
which I ohteined oi the enrlh through the rifle
iorm no idea oi the dietnnce
iully ghty mil P91’
oi herng over the centn oi F ce 1
who a la so irru at, driving
rapidly toward. the Mediierrrmun. in igrro
ail evenie, i tell
iound thnt the run wu high up in the heaven.
the eloude dupereed, end that below me n
he an i coultl tee stretched the deer .
N The horror oi the moment i an never tor.
get. I heliuvod mynelieeruln to he drowned,
a mode or denth to w ev nlrreuch roldler
who line a right to expect an honoruhle death
on the hnttieileld, Iltmngiyohjwtcd. There
was nothing to he one, however. To dercen
we. only to hnrten the lnevitnhle ceurelrophe.
ii.
dolll height, but u it allowed no Iigntofidllfttln
in and remained nearly at the uitnle level.
lihouglitit beet not to waste the g y
ascending nearer the nrlh. My balloon was
well tiupplitd with hailuit, of which than were
I, Ktnd-blglgvrhile the cur, the
deepntrhee. the load. end everything detnch.
no with the military exception ot the aero-
nnut, weighed in the xi-gregnln nhout i.lioo
kilos more. Tile hlilloon was of 2,049 cubic
nrctrer in mtuourenrent, and you will at once
undt.-rtitllndthlt the liicvilnhle leakage at the
a.
o
dnyr, provided 1 did not meet with n henvy
ml
in
-- It hnd not occurred to me that lhnd reached
the iiedilorrnnean, hut poeed that n
chnnge oi wind hnd cnrrird me out over the
Atlentle. I thererore iewlved to my hy the
hnlloon on long or it reruainerlin the elr until
I ehould meet a veeeel, whore crew might rave
Inc If I descendod nut’ to than. Before noon
l pnneed over 1
German nrnn.oi.wnr. oi rouree 1 did not
propane to give my deepatchea to the enemy’
or to no mercy roln lhelnvndere ot France.
The vee ever, glire me a iixed point
ironr which to tnke my depnrtnre,nnd I inund
thlit 1 was elill moving wuth, and er a very
rapid rate.
"1 uw no more veeeeln that dny. At about
eeven o'clock in the aiternoon I new in
the iur tcutlrwnrd the dim line or
For the first time
the
how
renllzrd my eituntion. lugging
out the hook oi chart: which belonged to the
hniloon, l ioiiowe with my eye a course nzar-
ly due soutll irom Prrir. end perceived thati
he nppronchingthe cnaht oIAti-Eu. The
.3
he
.nnoi night would
he upon me teiore 1 reached the enlist. There
wee nothing to he done hut to wait iordaye
light, Ed tn.ISt that the wind would (Ill so
an not to enrry me too tar into the interior.
H The night, you may well holieve, wee an
anxious one, end I reld my prayere more the
once with an earnestness that greatly com-
toned me. I could see no light! below me, and
could furiii no idea of the rule at which I was
trnveiling. The morning came at last, and
when the blessed sunlight permitted me to
perceive anything helow me 1 round myeolt
slili dolitiiig wiithvurd, though It a slow rate.
and at In elevation of nut more than three
hundredieet, over e Viist and boundless ex.
was the Desert of Sahara.
rue, and held a council oi wnr with nryeeli.
The helloon contain two entire loxvre oi
hr.-ed, ahotilerndehnlt oi wine, a hox oi
rerdlner,riew ounce. oi cheere, n piece oi
exnenge, more screen oi will meet, and two
gniionroiwrier. I ad neither unis nor em.
munition, -nd only the clothes in which I
stood ul ere were provleione which, upon
rhort ralionl, would lut nearly a week,
together with plemy oi wrter. lily hallnet was
rlmoet untouched-than e to the cere with
which the halloon was vnrni.-hed, end the not
ilind with any hope of esca i with my life.
There was clearly nothlnglett but to go for.
-nrd.
“I mnrle up my mind, and. its my pipe went
oul,1 rore up and rhrew out hcillast. The
hniloon ehot upwards. At 2,200 ieet ii elrnck
the current lhnt had hrought me so tar on my
-n , einrle once more at more than
mllroad epeed iownrde the eouih.
“Now that I hnd decided upon the coul-cto
he purnued rny epiriie roee with the hitllnori.
I Wu embarked upon
ever undertaken.
enthusiastic student at Africa
thought, might, perhaps, re
and emnlnh the Governor hy newn irnm
Purl: oi only two days’ due. a conilort-
Ihle hreaklast and felt full ol ronddeiice.
even lung patriotic conga. and shouted to the
rt the cry ‘law or more.‘
“The lent became intense and the aun rose,
and the expxnelon oi the gr: ohvinted the
necessity of dlitchnrging blllimt. I law no
wild bent or any living thing in the deter:
exeept e rereven rlowly prooeedin rout
word, and e iew part ier oi wnndorlng Bedouiliu.
The unuu halted u I
ted me with
Thu bnll.I could
rd eunrei I approeehed the eouthern
e l eon-
the cooling oi the etruoephere,
elowiy deeoended A-1 driited Iwny iron the
region oi the um‘! I found myself ailing di.
reelly towards a large lake, rurrounded hy ex.
tenrrve morereee. w h. the rnnp told me,
mnrt he Lake Telred But even l-suropeane
hnd ever heiore ganed on the lnlre, end in
tho excitement or the moment I tornily iorgot
my dnnger, and ielt nil the divine enthuninnrn
oi the explorer.
" on the ho
drove oi huge elephentr. end gnzellen and
V is
5'
e
- .=.
S‘
-1 doubtless keeping the
negroei away from it. except when on tiidllng
or hulliing excureicne. Al clghitfvlock i won
directly over the lake, the balloon having
eunk until her out iiity ieet
train the water, where it remained nictioiiltso
in x prolound cnim. During the night
the moon shone brightly, and Willie lmni the
lake onme the rtrange ht-llowing oi the hippo-
poihuluu i 9 ions: was made ilide0Ill with
purpose the wild
, and i tell nrithor fatigue nor
rleepinerr unliiihe morning dnwne end the
noise of the midnight laded into the illllil ot
the tropical] day.
“ I threw out ballast II with as it was light,
and, er he day hetore. iound the narae
current oi wind hlowing roulhwnrd utabout
e ennre heigh
o
2
-
2
‘E.
a
a
1
=r
7:
u
=
o
3
rr
2
4
E
3
E
n
cl
ever seen. Immediately south of Luke Tchld
it-d and cultivated to I
. with
lghiing e h.nd.ur-hnud hrulie. uiulti ihrrve
rprrred It i would hnvo dropped . hurt oi hal-
hut nmong them; but my hnlllutl I running
rhort and i hnd juiil previoudy til.-r urged ell
titer was lrrurredinleiy in-emery to onuhle me
to rnninlnln my nilllutle.
“ About noon I cnuiglil xiighl iv! III lilimrline
heltelylug ehout eoulh-rouliroenr oi my ap.
parent mum. in mire up
- il l rlerecied r t
inh. it and ilowed uni ngurrr in . nortln-rly tile
rerllnll. nenr the northerly end oi the hike.
he ti.ivAlh--l1
uruoun w... l to
conilrnr thin hellei thnti WIII4 guilty oi the ex-
tnvagaum oi wmting e helirut hnp. Them
ltult, however, wire to give rm ah nltitr e irvi r
which loould dirtlnetly pen-rive the vie-tori.
Lake, while tar a xy lathe untwnnl the Iitlnt
ourlinee oi inuji-title Kllirlllillj-iril, with it.
enowy rurnruit. were virlhle.
“Descending alowly,i prove-d re-r-no the
them nu oi tie Ab
lmmedintely heluw me who the
Albert. Lake. I-‘uritler Iouth end a little to
the euetwnrd lny Txnganyike, wlrlclr I reedily
letter, . river, interru by n y rep
wu euoily vinlhle, and the third lake, to
which i lneiently gave the rurrne oi Latte
roehu. wee rimlierly coniierlrd on the weer
u ith enother end romewhnt arnnlier luiui, iron.
i went Al I Milli.-d onwxrd,
rtill alwxyr routherly, I proved a conruint
mi n oi other lllkt-I. xii oi
I ‘ rornnnrnir
c
:7
E
.3.
9.
>
5
9
5
7
i
5
.
The Nile. which 1 our tlowinz
irom the Albert Lake. and the Congo-[or it
could Inrdly have heen any other river. the
Benuwe having heen pieced and recognized
hy me rome houre heiorhwinch 1 law tlewlmr
wenrwnrdirom hke Trochu, drain on e d
the name eyrlem oi lalree, ior lem tuetitied
in neeuming that the iew leeeerlniree whore
knowing thxtthe equator ran through the AI-
p it-wee covered hy a luxuriant fol-eaL
llere end there were rmxll enrod place:
in which were ilinnee. The
pleoeethni inrn iurtiiied in drawing the con.
elueion thnt n po ulntion ni rnillianlvn oon.
ccaled iron. my view hy the eprenilng tree
In S.
"A: night cnnre on I had reached r point
which Iutiliiued to he
. it-d hnd
that I hnd lost all ieeru to the reeult oi m
ll EilUI'(‘d me it
nuiio I
at‘ sand-inure leit. and that the balloon hnd lost
nearly inrli lie grut it wan evident that I
multl uot nttt-mp: to remx eletlonary during
the night. but that I must continue the jour-
ney wutiiwnrri without any unnecmnry
lny. OI mlunw I had long since ehrnrioned
the hope oi rrnching a colon
clnoir, and my onlychanee now lay in L>ep<
in; the balloon liloat until it ahauld reach
the English eet:lc-rnehi at the Capo.
“II Mali with great reluctance thati
which but seven or el lit wen now lett, and
0 .
reached. At thin height the were reyn rliii
warmed the hriloon. and kept me lrorn Iinkr
ing. on 1 ewepi until daikiieu cloeed around
are. and nothing out the euro were
vlhlble, During that night I fancied that
heard the grend nruele oi the Alrli-an sing
an discovered by the brave Llviuivilone: but
it may hxve heed nothing more than the noine
oi the wind in the ioreet heiow. Feeriul that
the balloon would rink unknown to me and
wreekm among the treevlopml dllchlrgvd
iiily pound. or halim every two honre untu
three o'clock in the morning. suddenly mine
gloom
4',
’'’’'v'”. f.
, ,a'y’Wv%7IIv'Vl
Ind clutched my buktt with I hold that
Inutlntiy checked the halloon. It was a tree.
top: but before I could decidewllnt to do
the niaclllnl tore itreii loou, with the Inn! oi
All the rtlnninln bnlluit and everything
poruiblo in Ilia clir except the dellplihchoo,
which Kl‘!!! too nrinly lulled to be lotit ily the
tilting oi the our
“ 'I It‘ lull]-wit rlllll-t. hiivr allot up to an int
llIl‘llM' licligiit After Ihlu lIldtIPlI lighli-ning, for
it grew lrrtenneiy cold, and the gee Howed
dtrlvnwaril out at the mouth at the tsurlt. I
n d with inunlc nnxlely tor dayliglrt,
And. wlnnr ll enrue, iound my-roll over the in
dt-itolule and drill region which I irevo ever
own, with the wliuiry exrwptiun or ii
--i we. now own tiourh Africa, nud would
luv. hnd rrroug lloprl oi reeehlug cape
colony had not the ion or ancennlve power on
the purl of Ille balloon become very nlurming.
uendlly pr. ere we nothing in the
rwhitlr 1 could throw out except tho do
lilati-lien 'l"lrtr.e-hnd imh comnrilmi to my
my to throw myttel! uu
deepntrher. The dnnger nudereil In
ilvioue oi the (wt thnt I had nothing
in cut or drink, x d an whole
energiee W016 oerupied Until the prohlem how
takeepthe
oi lnltmvrit In-AM. be adopted
no longer, but Iueiiing the deaplwhu to (II!
netviorii oi the halloou climbed up to the con.
nentrutlng-ring and cut “my tho cur. I hit
at once to I
bammewr helng Ion. with the one I could only
gum at the height. The hext oi Lhe run dun
helped me, and hnd the wind held I might
have reached (‘I Town in ukt .
-- iiui the wind either riled nwny or i could
not mend to merit leg n gun to rink,
and er iour o'clock in the aiieruoon l quietly
elioped irorn the hailoon. and committed ii
and the delipltchu to the guardierrrhlp oi the
h rein
“ i had landed i-ieua cu-iipnt neehnenne.
who made a prleoner oi me x iew rnomt-rite
alter my lending. Theywerv not unkind to
ma in their w
8
1
E-
a
..
n
the Vrlidrrnent until one dly thechlel Ind‘
deialy Iakiid me what I would giva him were
here two dlya enrlier. so Ihat 1 might rnyeelr
heve taken urern lo hi. Gambem."
Thir re the einrplc, elralghliorwnrd no
liich he le now inclined lo tlrinlr
he ought to hire kept with
the balloon. Two lhinge are eettled hyihh
voyIgu:F‘irst, thn ehelloon no travel much
I both the Nile and tho
rtanca oi ihm facts uh
lo ill-id that lit. Lamin bu nnilclpnled hi:
rnooi vnluehle dierovrry.
, Inn had a relapse oi lever noon Iftn
reaching Port Natal. or else he would have
kc thin
1 lm thus not without elrong hopu thllt you
will he the hrst Io puhlleh the new: that
Afrlizl has been crossed in I balloon. Ind mag
her eccrein have been luxpriud by thin brew.
Frenizhinnla. J. L Eran