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128
Wonderful Balloon Ascents; Or, The Conquest of the Skies
·
Fulgence Marion
120
Association,
succeed
in
gathering
much
valuable
meteorological
information,
but
they
reached
a
greater
height
than
that
ever
gained
on
any
previous
or
subsequent
occasion,
and
penetrated
into
that
distant
region
of
the
skies
in
which
it
has
been
satisfactorily
proved
that
no
life
can
be
long
maintained.
It
was
on
the
5th
of
September,
1862,
that
Mr.
Glaisher
and
Mr.
Coxwell
made
the
famous
ascent
in
which
they
reached
the
greatest
height
ever
attained
by
an
aeronaut,
and
were
so
nearly
sacrificed
to
their
unselfish
daring.
Mr.
Glaisher
has
given
an
admirable
account
of
this
ascent,
which
took
place
from
Wolverhampton.
He
says:--“Our
ascent
had
been
delayed,
owing
to
the
unfavourable
state
of
the
weather.
It
commenced
at
three
minutes
past
one
p.m.,
the
temperature
of
the
air
being
59
degrees,
and
the
dew-point
48
degrees.
At
the
height
of
one
mile
the
temperature
was
41
degrees
and
the
dew-point
38
degrees.
Shortly
after
wards
clouds
were
entered
of
about
1,100
feet
in
thickness.
Upon
emerging
from
them
at
seventeen
minutes
past
one,
I
tried
to
take
a
view
of
their
surface
with
the
camera,
but
the
balloon
was
ascending
too
rapidly
and
spiraling
too
quickly
to
allow
me
to
do
so.
The
height
of
two
miles
was
reached
at
twenty-one
minutes
past
one.
The
temperature
of
the
air
had
fallen
to
32
degrees
and
the
dew-point
to
26
degrees.
The
third
mile
was
passed
at
twenty-eight
minutes
past
one,
with
an
air
temperature
of
18
degrees,
and
a
dew-point
of
13
degrees.
The
fourth
mile
was
passed
at
thirty-nine
minutes
past
one,
with
an
air
temperature
of
8
degrees,
and
a
dew-point
of
minus
6
degrees
and
the
fifth
mile
about
ten
minutes
later,
with
an
air
temperature
minus
5
degrees,
and
a
dew-point
minus
36
degrees.
“Up
to
this
time
I
had
experienced
no
particular
inconvenience.
When
at
the
height
of
26,000
feet
I
could
not
see
the
fine
column
of
the
mercury
in
the
tube;
then
the
fine
divisions
on
the
scale
of
the
instrument
became
invisible.
At
that
time
I
asked
Mr.
Coxwell
to
help
me
to
read
the
instruments,
as
I
experienced
a
difficulty
in
seeing
them.
In
consequence
of
the
rotary
motion
of
the
balloon,
which
had
continued
without
ceasing
since
the
earth
was
left,
the
valve
line
had
become
twisted,
and
he
had
to
leave
the
car,
and
to
mount
into
the
ring
above
to
adjust
it.
At
that
time
I
had
no
suspicion
of
other
than
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