Jasper County Democrat, Volume 1, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 14 January 1899 — Balloons Will Soar. [ARTICLE]

Balloons Will Soar.

Time and again the plot of a story has hinged on the escape of the villain In n balloon, and his miserable ending when a well-aimed ballet from the hero’s rifle has pierced the gas bag and brought the whole concern smashing to the ground. Nothing could, however, be more false to fact. A simple bullet will no more bring down a balloon than a grain of sand an ostrict. The experiment has been tried, and by no less a person than the Brothers Spencer, the famous London balloonists. A captive balloon was sent np and anchored about TOO or 800 feet np. Then firing began with ordinary army rifles. Impossible as it may seem, over a thousand ballets pierced the silk, yet even then it was three hoars before enough gas escaped to bring the balloon once more to firm ground. One reason of this is that the elasticityyof the material to some extent automatically closes the rents in the material.