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Up in a Balloon

city, with its girdle of encampments, pre- | of his apartment, in November, 1782. sents a superb scene. I have great plea- Certain, then, of the new principle, he sure in sending you this despatch-the made a Balloon of considerable size, confirst that has been telegraphed from an taining upwards of sixty-five feet of heated aërial station." air. This machine likewise rose, tore In the month of September, 1861, one away the cords by which it was at first of the most hardy aëronauts furnished held down, and, mounting in the air to the important information to General Mc- height of from two to three hundred feet, Clellan. The Balloon of La Mountain, fell upon the neighboring hills after a which arose from the northern camp upon considerable flight. The brothers Montthe Potomac, passed above Washington. golfier then made a very large and strong La Mountain then cut the cord that con- Balloon, with which they wished to bring nected his Balloon with the earth, and their discovery before the public. rising rapidly to the height of a mile and On the appointed day, the nobility of a half, he found himself directly above the vicinity were invited to be present at the enemy's lines. There he was able to the experiment. What was the general observe perfectly their position and their astonishment when the inventors of the movements. He then threw over ballast, machine announced that immediately it and ascended to the height of three miles. should be full of gas, which they had the At this height he encountered a current means of producing at will by the most which carried him in the direction of simple process, it would raise itself to the Maryland, where he descended in safety. clouds!

General McClellan was so much satisfied But the machine-which at first seemed with the observations taken in the Bal- only a covering of cloth, lined with paper, loon, that, at his request, the order was a sort of sack thirty-five feet high-begiven to the War Department to construct came inflated, and grew large even under four new Balloons, to be used in conduct- the eyes of the spectator, took consistence, ing military campaigns. assumed a beautiful form, stretched itself The first Balloon of Montgolfier, the on all sides, and struggled to escape. discoverer of Ballooning, was small, con- Meanwhile, strong arms were holding it taining less than seventy-eight cubic down until the signal was given, when it inches of air He made it rise to the roof rose to the height of three thousand feet..