W«WVAN\S»N\>»»NS»NS!W«C^^ '■'\;'>\^" ^■''^^\<-;<:^ia-^^ / \ 3 1 \\S.\\\\\\\\\\\A\>,\VN\\\ssv\«,yV H?^ «#& sity of California thern Regional )rary Facility «# o^^ ^R'^ ,>|61 H^'^. of presented to the UNIVERSITY LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA SAN DIEGO by Mr. Richard B. Miller PQ ?469 C5 E55 1889 3 1822 01307 9553 The animal attempts, in vein, to cut himself loose. [Frontispiece^ fh'E weeks in a balloon: OB, JOUENEYS AND DISCOVERIES IN AFRICA BY THREE ENGLISHMEN. COMPILED IN FRENCH By JULES VERNE, FROM THE ORIGINAL lOTES Of DR. FERGUSOI. AND DONE INTO ENGLISH BY WILLIAM LACKLAND. WITH ILLUSTRATIONS. NEW YORK: HURST & CO., PUBLISHERS, NO. 122 NASSAU STREET, Bntzbub, according to Act of Congress, In the j isai 19©, bj D. APPI,ETON & CO., n tie Cltrk'a OfBce or tne District Court of the Uniled Statet tor Utt Southern DlsCrict of New York. ARGYLE PRESS, Printing and Bookqindino, 8« 4 >6 w008tbr st., n. y. PUBLISHERS' NOTE. " Five Weeks in a Balloon " is, in a itieasure, a satire on modern books of African travel. So far as the geography, the inhabitants, the animals, and the features of tlie coun- tries the travellers pass over are described, it is entirely accurate. It gives, in some particulars, a survey of nearly the whole field of African discovery, and in this way will often serve to refresh the memory of the reader. The mode of locomotion is, of course, purely imaginary, and the inci- dents and adventures fictitious. The latter are abundantly amusing, and, in view of the wonderful " travellers' tales " with which we have been entertained by African explorers, they can scarcely be considered extravagant ; while the inge- nuity and invention of the author will be sure to excite the surprise and the admiration of the reader, who will find M. Verne as much at home in voyaging through the air as in journeying " Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Seas." \ CONTENTS. CHAPTEB FIEST. nio End of a much-applauded Speech.— The Presentation of Dr. Samuel FcTjjtt' §on.— Excelsior.— Full-length Portrait of the Doctor.- A Fatalist convinced. —A Dinner at the Travellers' Club.- Several Toasts for the Occasion rA.ta 9 CHAPTEE SECOND. The Article in the Daily Telegraph.- War between the Scientific Journals.— Mr. Petermann backs his Friend Dr. Ferguson.— Reply of the Savant Koner. — Bets made.— Sundry Propositions offered to the Doctor . . 18 CHAPTEE THIED. The Doctor's Friend. — The Origin of their Friendship. — Dick Kennedy at Lon don. — An unexpected but not very consoling Proposal. — A Proverb by no means cheering. — A few Names from the African Martyrology.— The Advan tages of a Balloon.— Dr. Ferguson's Secret ..... 39 CHAPTEE FOUBTH. AMcan Explorations.- Barth, Richardson, Overweg, Weme, Bmn-Rollet, Pen- ney, Andrea, Debono, Miani, Guillaume Lejean, Bruce, Krapf and Rebmann, Maizan, Roscher, Burton and Speke ...... 81 CHAPTEB FIFTH. Kennedy's Dreams. — Articles and Pronouns in the Plural. — Dick's InsinuationB. —A Promenade over the Map of Africa. — What is contained between two Points of the Compass. — Expeditions now on foot. — Speke and Grant. — Krapf. Be Decken, and De Heuglin ....... 87 CHAPTEB SIXTH. A Servant — match n.m I — He can see tke Satellites of Jupiter. — Dick and Jo« hard at It.— Doubt and Faith.— The Weighing Ceremony. — Joe and Welling- ton. — He gets a Half-crown ... ... 44 A* 4 CK>NTEXn8. CHAPTEB SEVENTH. Geometrical Details.— Calculation of the Capacity of the Balloon.— The Double Receptacle.— The CoTering.— The Car.— The Mysterioufl ApparatUB.— Th«i ProTlilons and Stores.— The Final Somming up . . . FAei 60 CHAPTEB EIGHTH. Joe's Importance.— The Commander of the Resolute.— Kennedy's Arsenal.— Mt^ tual Amenities.— The Farewell Dinner.— Departure on the 2lBt of February .— The Doctor's Scientific Sessions.— Duveyrier.—Living8tone.—Detailfl of th« AJrlAl Voyage.— Kennedy silenced ...... 68 CHAPTEB NINTH. They double the Cape.— The Forecastle.— A Course of Cosmography by Pro- fessor Joe. — Concerning the Method of guiding Balloons. — ^How to seek out Atmospheric Currents.— Eureka ...... 68 CHAPTEB TENTH. Former Hiperiments.— The Doctor's Five Receptacles.— The Gas Cylinder.— TheCalorifere.-The System of Manoeuvring. —Success certain . 09 CHAPTEB ELEVENTH. The Arrival at Zanzibar.— The English ConsuL— Ill-will of the Inhabitints.— The Island of Konmbeni. — The Rain-Makers.— Inflation of the Balloon.— Depart- ure on the 18lh of April.— The last Qood-by.— The Victoria . . 7( CHAPTEB TWELFTH. Crossing the Strait.— The Mrima.— Dick's Remark and Joe's Proposition.- A Recipe for Coffee-making.— The Uzaramo.— The Unfortunate Maizan.— Mount DuUinmL— The Doctor's Cards.— Night under a Nopal . 81 CHAPTEB THIBTEENTH. Change of 'Weather.— Kennedy has the Fever.— The Doctor's Medicine.- Travel! on Land- -The Basin of Imeng6.— Mount Rubeho.— Six Thousand Feet Kle- TBtlon.— A Halt In the Daytime ...... (U ■CHAPTEB FOUETEENTH. The Forest of Gum-Trees.- The Blue Antelope.— The Rnllying-Slgn»' - -An Un- expected Attnck.— The Kanyerae.— A Night in the Open Air.— The Mab:ui- guru-— Jlhouela-Mkoa.- A Supply of Water.- Arrival at Kazeb . W CONTENTS. 9 CIIAPTEE FTFTEZNTH. Kareh.— The NolBy Market-place.— The Appearance of the Balloon. — The Wan- gaga.— The Sons of the Moon.— The Doctor's Walk.— The Population of the Place.- The Royal Temhe.— The Sultan's Wives.— A Royal Drunken-Bout.— Joe an Object of Worship.- How they Dance in the Moon.— A Reaction.— Two Moons In one Sky.— The Instability of Dlyine Honors . paqb 109 CHAPTEE SIXTEENTH. ^lymptomB of a Storm.- The Country of the Moon.— The Future of the African Continent.— The Last Machine of all.— A View of the Country at Sunset- Flora and Fauna.— The Tempest.— The Zone of Fire.- The Starry Heavens. 121 CHAPTEE SEVENTEENTH. The Mountains of the Moon.— An Ocean of Verdure.— They cast Anchor.— The Towing Elephant.— A Running Fire.— Death of the Monster.- The Field Oven.— A Meal on the Orass.— A Night on the Ground . . .181 CHAPTEE EIGHTEENTH. The Karagwah.— Lake Ukfir^oufi. — A Night on an Island. — The Equator. — Crossing the Lake.— The Cascades.- A View of the Country. — The Sourcea of the Nile.— The Island of Benga.— The Signature of Andrea Debono. — The Flag with the Arms of England ...... 141 CHAPTEE NINETEENTH. The NUe.— The Trembling Alountain.— A Remembrance of the Country.— The Narratives of the Arabs.- The Nyam-Nyams. — Joe's Shrewd Cogitations. — The Balloon runs the Gantlet. — Aerostatic Ascensions.— Madame Blanchard. 169 CHAPTEE TWENTIETH. rhe Celestial Bottle.— The Fig-Palms.— The Mammoth Trees.- The Tree of Wax. —The Winged Team.— Two Native Tribes in Battle.— A Massacre.- An In- tervention from above ....... 158 CHAPTEE TWENTT-FIE8T, Strange Sounds. —A Night Attack.— Kennedy and Joe in the Tree.— Two Shota. — " Help 1 help 1 "—Reply in French.— The Morning.— The Missionary.— The Plan of Rescue ........ 16S CHAPTEE TWENTY-SECOND. The Jet of Light.— The Missionary.— The Rescue In a Ray of Electricity.— A Lazarist Priest.- But little Hope.— The Docur'a Care.— A Life of Self D«- nlaL— Passing a Volcano ....... 174 CONTENTS. CHAPTSE TWENTY-THIED. Joe In a Fit of Rage.— The Dsath of a Good Man.— The Night of watchlnai by th« Body.— Barrenness and Drought.— The Burial.— The Quartz Rocks. — Joe'i Hallucinations. — A Precious Ballast. — A Survey of the Gold-bearing Monn- tains. — The Beginning of Joe's Despair .... paob 18S CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUETH. The Wind dies away. — The Vicinity of the Desert.— The Mistake In the Watei^ Supply.— The Nights of the Equator.- Dr. Ferguson's Anxieties.— The Sit- nation flatly eta'jscL— Energetic Replies of Kennedy and Joe. — One Night more ...... ... 193 CHAPTEE TWENTH-FIFTH. A Little Philosophy.— A Cloud on the Horizon.— In the Midst of a Fog.— The Strange Balloon.— An Exact View of the Victoria.— The Palm-Trees. —Traces of a Caravan.— The 'SVell in the Midst of the Desert . . . 801 CHAPTEE TWENTY-SIXTH. One Hundred and Thirteen Degrees. — The Doctor's Reflections.— A Desperate Search.— The Cylinder goes out.- One Hundred and Twenty-two Degrees. — Contemplation of the Desert. — A Night Walk. — Solitude. — Debility. — Joe's Prospects. —He gives himself One Day more .... 808 CHAPTEE TWENTY-SEVENTH. Terrific Heat.— Hallucinations. — The Last Drops of Water. — ^Nights of Despair. An Attempt at Suicide. — The Simoom.— The Oasis. — The Lion and Lioness. 211 CHAPTEE TWENTY-EIGHTH. An Evening of Delight. — Joe's Culinary Performances. — A Dissertation on Raw Meat. — The Narrative of James Brace. — Camping out. — Joe's Dreams. — The Barometer begins to fall.— The Barometer rises again. — Preparations for Departure.- The Tempest ....... 229 CHAPTEE TWENTY-NINTH. Blgns of Vegetation.— The Fantastic Notion of a French Author.— A Magnificent Country.- The Kingdom of Adamova. — The Explorations of Speke and Bur- ton connected with those of Dr. Barth.- The Atlantika Mountains.— The Biver Benoue.— The City of Yola.— The Bagel6.— Mount Mendif . 229 CHAPTEE THIRTIETH. ICoelbia.— The Sheik.— Denham, Clapperton, and Oudney.— VogeL— The Capital of Loggoum.— Toole.— Becalmed above Kemak —The Qovernorand hisConrt. — Tl e Attack.— The Incendiary Pigeons ..... 284 OOm'ENTS. 7 CHAPTER TmETY-FTRST. Depaitare In the Night-time.— All Three.— Kennedy's Instincts.— Precautions.— The Course of the Shari River.— Lake Tchad.— The Water of the Lake.— The Hippopotamus. — One Bullet thrown away .... faob 245 CHAPTER THIRTY-SECOND. The Capital of Bomou. — The Islands of the Biddiomahs.- The Condors. — The Doctor's Anxieties. — His Precautions. — An Attack in Mid-air. — The Balloon Covering torn, —The Fall.— Sublime Self-Sacrifice.— The Northern Coast ol the Lake ..... .... 261 CHAPTER THIRTY-THIRD. Conjecturps — Eeestablishment of the Victoria's Equilibrium.— Dr. Fergusot'i New Calculations.- Kennedy's Hunt.— A Complete Exploration of Lake Tchad.— Tangalia.— The Return.- Lari ..... 258 CHAPTER THIRTY-FOURTH. The Huixicane. — A Forced Departure. — Loss of an Anchor. — Melancholy Reflec- tions. — The Resolution adopted. — The Sand-Storm. — The Buried Caravan. — A Contrary yet Favorable Wind.— The Return southward.- Kennedy at hia Post 266 CHAPTER THIRTY-FIFTH. What happened to Joe.— The Island of the Biddiomahs.— The Adoration shown him.— The Island that sank.- The Shores of the Lake.— The Tree of the Ser pents.— The Foot-Tramp.— Terrible Suffering.— Mosquitoes and Ants.- Hunger.— The Victoria seen.— She disappears. — The Swamp. — One Last Despairing Cry ..,....., 873 CHAPTER THIRTY-SIXTH. A. Throng of People on the Horizon.- A Troop of Arabs.- The Pursuit.— It is He.— Fall from Horseback.- The Strangled Arab.— A Ball from Kennedy.— Adroit Manoeuvres.— Caught op flying. — Joe saved at last . . 288 CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVENTH. The Western Route.— Joe wakes up.- His Obstinacy.— End of Joe's Narrative. — Tagclel.— E^innedy's Anxieties.- The Route to the North.— A Night near Aghades . . ... ... 290 CHAPTER THIRTY- EIGHTH. A. Rapid Passage.— Prudent Resolves.— Caravans in Sight.— Incessant Rains.— Gtoa.— The Niger.— Qolberry, Qooffroy. and Gray.- Mnngo Park.— LaLng.— Ren6 CalllK^ — Clappertoa— John and Richard Lander . . . 891 8 coNTSarre. CHAPTER THIRTY-NINTH, The Ooniitry in the Elbow of the Ni{?er. — A Fantastic View of the Hombori Hooa- tains.— Kabra.—Timbuctoo.— The Chart of Dr. Barth.— A Decaying City.— Whither Heaveu wills ....... PxaE 806 CHAPTER FORTIETH. Dr. PergnBon's Anxletiee.— Persietent Movement southward.— A Clond of Grasshoppers.— A View of Jenn6.— A View of Sego.— Change of the Wind.— Jotj'B Regrets ...... . 813 CHAPTER FORTY-FIRST. The Approaches to Senegal- The Balloon sinks lower and lower.— They keep throwing out, throwing out. — The Marabout Al-Hadji. — Messrs. Pascal, Vin- cent, and Lambert. — A Rival of Mohammed. — The DiflBcult Mountains.— Ken- nedy's Weapons. — One of Joe's Manoeuvres. — A Elalt over a Forest . 817 CHAPTER FORTY-SECOND. A Struggle of Generosity.— The Last Sacriflce.— The Dilating Apparatus.— Joe's Adroitness. — Midnight.— The Doctor's Watch. — Kennedy's Watch.— The Lat- ter falls asleep at his Post.— The Fire.— The Bowlings of the Natives.- Out of Range . . S2fl CHAPTER FORTY-THIRD. The Talabae.- The Pursuit.- A Devastated Country.— The Wind begins to fifilL —The Victoria sinks.- The last of the Provisions.- The Leaps of the Bal- loon.— A Defence with Fire-arms.— The Wind freshens.- The Senegal River. —The Cataracts of Gouina.— The Hot Air.— The Passage of the River StS CHAPTER FORTY-FOURTH. OoncluBlon.- The Certificate.- The French Settlements.— The Post of Medina.— The Basilic— Saint Louie.— The English Prlg«te.~The Eetnm to London. sa I FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON CnAPTEU FIRST. The Bnd of a mnch-applauded Speech. — The Presentation of Dr. Samuel Ver^ Bon.— Excelsior.— Fall-length Portrait of the Doctor.— A Fatal'st conTlnced —A Dinner at the TrayellerB' Clab.— Several Toasts for the OccaBion. Thkek was a large audience assembled on the 14tli of January, 1862, at the session of the Royal Geographical Society, No. 3 Waterloo Place, London. The president. Sir Francis M , made an important communication to his colleagues, in an address that was frequently inter- rupted by applause. This rare specimen of eloquence terminated with the following sonorous phrases bubbling over with patriotism : " England has always marched at the head of nations " (for, the reader will observe, the nations always march at the head of each other), " by the intrepidity of her ex- plorers in the line of geographical discovery." (General assent). " Dr. Samuel Ferguson, one of her most glorious sons, will not reflect discredit on his origin." (" No, in- deed ! " from all parts of the hall.) " This attempt, should it succeed " (" It will succeed I "), " will complete and link together the notions, as yet dis- jointed, which the world entertains of African cartel 10 FIVE WEEKS m A BALLOOTJ. ogy" (vehement applause); "and, should it fail, it will, at least, remain on record as one of the most daring conceptions of human genius ! " (Tremendous cheering.) " Huzza 1 huzza ! " shouted the immense audience, completely electrified by these inspiring words. *' Huzza for the intrepid Ferguson ! " cried one of the most excitable of the enthusiastic crowd. The wildest cheering resounded on all sides ; the name of Ferguson was in every mouth, and we may safely be- lieve that it lost nothing in passing through English throats. Indeed, the Lall fairly shook with it. And there were present, also, those fearless travellers and explorers whose energetic temperaments had borne them through every quarter of the globe, many of them grown old and worn out in the service of science. AU had, in some degree, physically or morally, undergone the sorest trials. They had escaped shipwreck ; conflagration ; Indian tomahawks and war-clubs ; the fagot and the stake ; nay, even the cannibal maws of the South Sea Islanders. But still their hearts beat hisrh during: Sir Francis M 's address, which certainly was the finest oratorical success that the Royal Geographical Society of London had yet achieved. But, in England, enthusiasm does not stop short with mere words. It strikes ofi* money faster than the dies of the Royal Mint itself So a subscription to encourage Dr. Ferguson was voted there and tlien, and it at once at- tained the handsome amount of two thousand five hundrel pounds. The sum was made commensurate with the importance of the enterprise. A member of the Society then inquired of the presi- dent whether Dr. Ferguson was not to be officially intro« duced- " The doctor is at the disposition of the meeting," r* plied Sir Francis. DB. FKEGITBON. 11 " Let him come in, then 1 Bring him in ! " shouted the audience. " We'd like to see a man of such extraordinary daring, face to face ! " " Perhaps this incredible proposition of his is only Intended to mystify us," growled an apoplectic old ad- miraL "Suppose that there should turn out to be no such person as Dr. Ferguson ? " exclaimed another voice, with a malicious twang. "Why, then, we'd have to invent one!" replied a facetious member of this grave Society. " Ask Dr. Ferguson to come in," was the quiet remark of Sir Francis M . And come in the doctor did, and stood there, quite unmoved by the thunders of applause that greeted his appearance. He was a man of about forty years of age, of medium height and physique. His sanguine temperament was dis- closed in the deep color of his cheeks. His countenance was coldly expressive, with regular features, and a large nose — one of those noses that resemble the prow of a ship, and stamp the faces of men predestined to accomplish great discoveries. His eyes, which were gentle and intel- ligent, rather than bold, lent a peculiar charm to his phys- iognomy. His arms were long, and his feet were planted with that solidity which indicates a great pedes- trian. A calm gravity seemed to surround the doctor's entire person, and no one would dream that he could become the agent of any mystification, however harmless. Hence, the applause that greeted him at the outset continued until he, with a friendly gesture, clfdmed silence on his own belialf. He stepped toward the seat that had been prepared for him on his presentation, and then, atanding erect and motionless, he, with a determined B 12 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOOIT. glance, pointed his right forefinger upward, and pro- nounced aloud the single word — "Excelsior!" Never had one of Bright's or Cobden's sudden on- slaughts, never had one of Palraerston's abrupt demands for funds to plate the rocks of the English coast with iron, made such a sensation. Sir Fr.incis M 's address was completely overshadowed. The doctor had shown himself moderate, sublime, and self-contained, in one ; he had ut- tered the word of the situation — "Excelsior!" The gouty old admiral who had been finding fault, waa completely won over by the singular man before him, and mimediately moved the insertion of Dr. Ferguson's speech m " The Proceedings of the Royal Geographical Society of London." Who, then, was this person, and what was the enter- prise that he proposed ? Ferguson's father, a brave and worthy captain in the English Navy, had associated his son with him, from the young man's earliest years, in the perils and adventures of his profession. The fine little fellow, who seemed to have never known the meaning of fear, early revealed a keen and active mind, an investigating intelligence, and a re- markable turn for scientific study ; moreover, he disclosed uncommon address in extricating himself from difficulty ; he was never perplexed, not even in handling his fork for the first time — an exercise in which children generally have so little success. His fancy kindled early at the recitals he read of dar- ing enterprise and maritime adventure, and he followed with enthusLismthe discoveries that signalized the first part of the nineteenth century. He mused over tke glory of the Mungo Parks, the Bruces, the Caillies, the Levaillants, and to some extent, I verily believe, of Selkirk (Robinson iB3CT0H OF DB. FEEGTI80N. 13 Crusoe), whom he considered in no wise inferior to the rest. How many a well-employed hour he passed with that hero on his isle of Juan Fernandez ! Often he criti- cised the ideas of the shipwrecked sailor, and sometimes discussed his plans and projects. He would have done differently, in such and such a case, or quite as well at least — of that he felt assured. But of one thing he was satisfied, that he never should have left that pleasant isl- and, where he was as happy as a king without subjects — no, not if the inducement held out had been promotion to the first lordship in the admiralty ! It may readily be conjectured whether these tendencies were developed during a youth of adventure, spent in every nook and comer of the Globe. Moreover, his father, who was a man of thorough instruction, omitted no op- portunity to consolidate this keen intelligence by serious studies in hydrography, physics, and mechanics, along with a slight tincture of botany, medicine, and astronomy. Upon the death of the estimable captain, Samuel Fer- guson, then twenty-two years of age, had already made his voyage around the world. He had enlisted in the Bengalese Corps of Engineers, and distinguished himself in several affairs ; but this soldier's life had not exactly suited him ; caring but little for command, he had not been fond of obeying. He, therefore, sent in his resignation, and haK botanizing, half playing the hunter, he made his way toward the north of the Indian Peninsula, and crossed it from Calcutta to Surat — a mere amateur trip for him. From Surat we see him going over to Australia, and in 1845 participating in Captain Sturt's expedition, which had been sc^.t out to explore the new Caspian Sea, sup- posed to exist in the centre of New Holland. Samuel Ferguson returned to England about 1850, and, more than ever possessed by the demon of discovery, 14 FIVE WEEKS m A BALLOON. he spent the intervening time, until 1853, in accompany ing Captain McClm-e on the expedition that went around the American Continent from Behring's Straits to Cape Farewell. Notwithstanding fatigues of every description, and in all climates, Ferguson's constitution continued marvellous ly sound. He felt at ease in the midst of the most com- plete privations ; in fine, he was the very type of the thoroughly accomplished explorer whose stomach expands or contracts at will ; whose limbs grow longer or shorter according to the resting-place that each stage of a journey may bring ; who can fall asleep at any hour of the day or awake at any hour of the night. Nothing, then, was less surprising, after that, than to find our traveller, in the period from 1855 to 1857, visiting the whole region west of the Thibet, in company with the brothers Schlagintweit, and bringing back some curioua ethnographic observations from that expedition. During these different journeys, Ferguson had been the most active and interesting correspondent of the Daily Telegraphy the penny newspaper whose circulation amounts to 140,000 copies, and yet scarcely suffices for its many legions of readers. Thus, the doctor had become ivell known to the public, although he could not claim membership in either of the Royal Geographical Societies of London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna, or St. Petersburg, or yet with the Travellers' Club, or even the Royal Poly- technic Institute, where his friend the statistician Cock bum ruled in state. The latter savant had, one day, gone so far as to pro- pose to him the following problem : Given the number of milos travelled by the doctor in making the circuit of the Globe, how many more had his head described than hia feet, by reason of the different lengths of the radii ? — or, the number of miles traversed by the doctor's head and THE EKGLTSHMAN AT OE]S"EVA. 15 rV-et respectively being given, required the exact height of that gentleman ? This was done Tvith the idea of complimenting him, but the doctor had held himself aloof from all the learned bodies — belonging, as he did, to the church militant and net to the church polemical. He found his time better employed in seeking tlian in discussing, in discovering rather than discoursing. There is a storv told of an Englishman who came one day to Geneva, intending to \'isit the lake. He was placed in one of those odd vehicles in which the passengers sit side by side, as they do in an omnibus. Well, it so hap- pened that the Englishman got a seat that left him with his back turned toward the lake. The vehicle completed its circular trip without his thinking to turn around once, and he went back to London delighted with the Lake of Geneva. Doctor Ferguson, howev^er. had turned around to look about him on his journcying^, and turned to such good purpose that he haa seen a great deal. In doing so, he bad simply obeyed the laws of his nature, and we have good reason to believe that he was, to some extent, a fatal- ist, but of an orthodox school of fatalism withal, that led him to rely upon himself and even upon Providence. Ho claimed that he was impelled, rather than drawn by his own volition, to journey as he did, and that he traversed the world like the locomotive, which does not direct itself, but is guided and directed by the track it runs on. " I do not follow my route ; " he often said, " it is my route that follows me." The reader wnll not be surprised, then, at the calmness with which the doctor received the applause that wel- comed him in the Royal Society. He was above all such trifles, having no pride, and less vanity. He looked upon the proposition addressed to him by Sir Francis M as IC FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOOJS. the eimplost thing in the world, and scarcely notijea ..he immense efiect that it produced. When the session closed, the doctor was escorted to the rooms of the Travellers' Club, in Pall Mall. A superb entertainment had been prepared there in his honor. The dimensions of the dishes served were made to correspou with the importance of the personage entertained, and the boiled sturgeon that figured at this magnificent repast was not an inch shorter than Dr. Ferguson himself. Numerous toasts were ofiered and quafied, in the wines of France,.to the CL-lebrated travellers who had made their names illustrious by their explorations of African terri- tory. The guests drank to their health or to their memory, in alphabetical order, a good old English way of doing the thing. Among those remembered thus, were : Abbadie, Adams, Adamson, Anderson, Arnaud, Baikie, Baldwin, Barth, Batouda, Beke, Beltram, Du Berba, Bimbachi, Bolognesi, Bolwik, Belzoni, Bonnemain, Brisson, Browne, Bruce, Brun-Rollet, Burchell, Burckhardt, Burton, Cail- laud, Caillie, Campbell, Chapman, Clapperton, Clot-Bey, Colomieu, Courval, dimming, Cuny, Debono, Decken, Denham, Desavanchers, Dicksen, Dickson, Dochard, Du Chaillu, Duncan, Durand, Duroule, Duveyrier, D'Escay- ac, De Lauture, Erhardt, Ferret, Fresnsl, Galinier, Galton, Geo&oy, Golberry, Hahn, Halm, Harnier, Hecquart, Heuglin, Hornemann, Houghton, Imbert, KaufFmann, Knoblecher, Krapf, Kummer, Lafargue, Laing, Lafaille, Lambert, Larairal, Lampri6re, John Lander, Richard Lan- der, Lefebvre, Lejean, Levaillant, Livingstone, MacCarihy, Maggiar, Maizan, Malzac, Mofiat, Mollien, Monteiro, Mor rison, Muugo Park, Neimans, Overwey, Panet, Partarrieau, Pascal, Pearse, Peddie, Peney, Petlierick, Poncet, Prax. Raffenel, Rabh, Rebmaun, Richardson, Riley, Rilohey. Rochet d'Hericourt, Rongawi, Roscher, Ruppel, Sangnier, . Speke, Steidner, Thibaud, Thompson, Thornton, Toole, ATKIOAK EIPLOEEKS. 17 Tousny, Trotter, Tuckey, Tyrwhitt, Vaudey, Veyssi&re, Vincent, Vinco, Vogel, TVahlberg, "Warrington, Washing- ton, Werne, Wild, and last, but not least, Dr. Ferguson, who, by his incredible attempt, was to link together the achievements of all these explorers, and complete the series of African discovery. . CHAPTER SECOND. The Article In the DaUy Telegraph.— War hetween the Sdentiflc Jonmais.— Mr. Petermann hacks his Friend Dr. Fergmson.— Keply of the Savant Koner —Beta made.— Sundry Propositions offered to the Doctor. On the next day, in its number of January 15th, the Daily Telegraph published an article couched in the fol- lowing terms : "Africa is, at length, about to surrender the secret of her vast solitudes ; a modern QEdipus is to give us the key to that enigma which the learned men of sixty centu- ries have not been able to decipher. In other days, to «eek the sources of the Nile — -fontes JVili qucerere — was regarded as a mad endeavor, a chimera that could not be realized. " Dr. Barth, in following out to Soudan the track traced ^y Denham and Clapperton ; Dr. Livingstone, in multiply- mg his feariess explorations from the Cape of Good Hope to the basin of the Zambesi ; Captains Burton and Speke, in the discovery of the great interior lakes, have opened three highways to modern civilization. Their point of in- tersection, which no traveller has yet been able to reach, is the very heart of Africa, and it is thither that all efforts should now bo directed. "The labors of these hardy pioneers of science are now about to be knit together by the daring project of Dr. Samuel Ferguson, whose fine explorations our readers have frequently had the opportunity of appreciating, *■ ^'lis iutrepid discoverer proposes to traverse all NOTES OF FKEPARATIQJK 19 Africa from east to west in a haUoon. K we are well infonned, the point of departure for this surprising journey is^to be the island of Zanzibar, upon the eastern coast. As for the point of arrival, it is reserved for Providence alone to designate. " The proposal for this scientific undertaking was offi cially made, yesterday, at the rooms of the Royal Geo- graphical Society, and the sum of twenty-five hundred pounds was voted to defray the expenses of the enterprise. " We shall keep our readers informed as to the prog- ress of this enterprise, which has no precedent in the an- nals of exploration." As may be supposed, the foregoing article had an enormous echo among scientific people. At first, it stirred up a stonn of incredulity ; Dr. Ferguson passed for a Durely chimerical personage of the Barnum stamp, who, after having o-one through the United States, proposed to ** do " the British Isles. A humorous reply appeared in the February number Df the bulletins de la Societe Geographique of Geneva, which very ^v^ttily showed up the Royal Society of Lon- don and their phenomenal sturgeon. But Herr Petermann, in his Mitthcilungen, published at Gotha, reduced the Geneva journal to the most absolut silence. Herr Petermann knew Dr. Ferguson personally, and guaranteed the intrepidity of his dauntless friend. Besides, all manner of doubt was quickly put out of the question : preparations for the trip were set on foot at London ; the factories of Lyons received a heavy order for the silk required for the body of the balloon ; and, finally, the British Government placed the transport-ship Reso- lute^ Captain Bennett, at the disposal of the expedition. At onee, upon word of all this, a thousand encourage- ments were ofiered, and felicitations came pouring in from all quarters. The details of the undertaking were pub 20 FFTE WEEKS IN A BAJ^T^OOT. lislied in full in the bulletins of the Geographical Society of Paris ; a remarkable article appeared in the N'ouveVes Annales des Voyages, de la Geographie, de VHistoire, et de PArchceologie de M, V. A. Malte-Brun (" New Ainals of Travels, Geography, History, and' Archteology, by M. V. A. Malte-Brun") ; and a searching essay in the Zeit- schrift fur Allgemeine Erdkimde, by Dr. "W. Koner, tri- umphantly demonstrated the feasibility of the journey, its chances of success, the nature of the obstacles existing, the immense advantages of the aerial mode of locomotion, and found fault Avith nothing but the selected point of de- parture, which it contended should be Maasowah, a small port in Abyssinia, whence James Bruce, in 1768, started upon his explorations in search of the sources of the Nile. Apart from that, it mentioned, in terms of unreserved ad- miration, the energetic character of Dr. Ferguson, and the heart, thrice panoplied in bronze, that could conceive and undertake such an enterprise. The North American Review could not, without some lispleasure, contemplate so much glory monopolized by England. It therefore rather ridiculed the doctor's scheme, and urged him, by all means, to push his explorations as far as America, while he was about it. In a word, without going over all the journals in the ivorld, there was not a scientific publication, from the Tovrnal of Evangelical Missions to the lievtie Alghrienne » ) points ? " " Scarcely two." *• And do you know what that means, Dick ? " " Not the least in the world." " TVty, that makes scarcely one hundred and twenty miles — in other words, a nothing." " Almost nothing, Samuel" " Well, ds> you know what is taking place at this mo- ment ? " " No, upon tfiy honor, I do not." " Very well, \hen, I'll tell you. The Geographical So- ciety regard as veiy important the exploration of this lake of which Speke caught a glimpse. Under their auspices, Lieutenant (now Captain) Speke has associated with him Captain Grant, of the army in India ; they have put them selves at the head of a numerous and well-equipped expe- dition ; their mission is to ascend the lake and return to Gondokoro; they have received a subsidy of more than Sve thousand pounds, and the Governor of the Cape of Good Hope has placed Hottentot soldiers at their disposal ; they set out from Zanzibar at the close of October, 1860. In the mean while John Petherick, the English consul at the city of Karthoum, has received about seven hundred pounds from the foreign office ; he is to equip a steamer at Karthoum, stock it with sufficient provisions, and make liis way to Gondokoro ; there, he will await Captain Speke's caravan, and bo able to replenish its supplies to some ex- tent." " "Well planned," said Kennedy. " You can easily see, then, that time presses if we are to take part in these exploring labors. And that is not all, since, while some are thus advancing with sure steps to the discovery of the sources of the Nile, others aw penetrating to the very heart of Africa." 43 FTVE WEEKS OX A BALLOOH. " On foot ?" said Kennedy. " Yes, on foot," rejoined the doctor, without noticing ihe insinuation. " Doctor Krapf proposes to push forward, in the west, by way of the Djob, a river lying under the equator. Baron de Decken has already set out from Monbaz, has reconnoitred the mountains of Kenaia and Kilimandjaro, and is now plunging in toward the centre." " But all this time on foot ? " " On foot or on mules." "Exactly the same, so far as I am concerned," ejacn- lated Kennedy. " Lastly," resumed the doctor, " M. de Heuglin, the Austrian vice-consul at Karthoura, has just organized a very important expedition, the first aim of which is to search for the traveller Vogel, who, in 1853, was sent into the Soudan to associate himself with the labors of Dr. Barth. In 1856, he quitted Bornou, and determined to ex- plore the unknown country that lies between Lake Tchad and Darfiir. Nothing has been seen of him since that time. Letters that were received in Alexandria, in 1860, said that he was killed at the order of the King of Wadai ; but other letters, addressed by Dr. Hartmann to the travel ler's father, relate that, according to the recital of a fel- latah of Bomou, Vogel was merely held as a prisoner at Wara. All hope is not then lost. Hence, a committee has been organized under the presidency of the Regent of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ; my friend Petermann is its secre- tary ; a national subscription has provided, lol the ex- pense of the expedition, whose strength has been increased by the voluntary accession of several learned men, anc" M. de Heuglin set out from Massowah, in the month of June. While engaged in looking for Vogel, he is also tc explore all the country between the Nile and Lake Tchad, that is to say, to knit together the operations of Captais THB OANNT 8CK)T. 43 Speke and those of Dr. Barth, and then Africa will have been traversed from east to west." * " Well," said the canny Scot, " since every thing is getting on so well, what's the use of our going down there ? " Dr. Ferguson made no reply, but contented himself with a significant shrug of the shoulders. • After the departure of Dr. Ferguson, it was ascertained that M. (j« Heuglin, owing to some disagreement, took a route different from the on« assigned to his expedition, the command of the latter having been trana^ ferr«d to Mr. Muntzinger. CHAPTER SIXTH. A 8«r*ant— match him 1— Uo can eee the SateUites of Jnplter.— Dick and Jm hard at It.— Doubt and Faith— The Weighing Ceremony.-Joe and Welling. Ion.— He gets a Half-crown. Dr. Ferguson had a servant who answered with alao- nty to the name of Joe. lie was an excellent fellow, who testified the most absolute confidence in his master, and the most unlimited devotion to his interests, even antici- pating his wishes and orders, which were always intelli- gently executed. In fine, he was a Caleb without the growling, and a perfect pattern of constant good-humor. Had he been made on purpose for the place, it could not have been better done. Ferguson put himself entirely in his hands, so far as the ordinary details of existence were concerned, and he did well Incomparable, whole-souled Joe ! a servant who orders your dinner ; who likes what you like ; who packs your trunk, without forgetting youi socks or your linen ; who has charge of your keys and youi secrets, and takes no advantage of all this ! But then, what a man the doctor was in the eyes of this worthy Joe 1 With what respect and what confidence the latter received all his decisions I When Ferguson had spoken, he would be a fool who should attempt to question the matter. Every thing he thought was exactly right ; every thing he said, the perfection of wisdom ; every thing he ordered to be done, quite feasible ; all that he under- took, practicable; all that he accomplished, admirable. You might have out Joe to pieces — not an agreeabl« job's AccoMFLisHKEirra. 45 operation, to be sure — and yet he would not have altered his opinion of his master. So, when the doctor conceived the project of crossing Africa through the air, for Joe the thing was already done ; obstacles no longer existed ; from the moment when the doctor had maile up his mind to start, he had arrived — along with his faithful attendant, too, for the noble fel- low knew, without a word uttered about it, that he would be one of the party. Moreover, he was just the ma,n to render the greatest service by his intelligence and his wonderful agility. Had the occasion arisen to name a professor of gymnastics for the monkeys in the Zoological Garden (who are smart enough, by-the-way !), Joe would certainly have received the appointment. Leaping, climbing, almost flying — these were all sport to him. If Ferguson was the head and Kennedy the arm, Joe was to be the right hand of the expedition. He had, already, accompanied his master on several journeys, and had a smattering of science appropriate to his conditioD and style of mind, but he was especially remarkable for a sort of mild philosophy, a charming turn of optimism. Ic his sight every thing was easy, logical, natural, and, conse- quently, he could see no use in complaining or grumbling. Among other gifts, he possessed a strength and range of vision that were perfectly surprising. He enjoyed, in common with Moestlin, Kepler's professor, the rare faculty of distinguishing the satellites of Jupiter with the naked eye, and of counting fourteen of the stars in the group of Pleiades, the remotest of them being only of the ninth magnitude. He presumed none the more for that ; on the contrary, he made his bow to you, at a distance, and when occasion arose he bravely knew how to use his eyes. With such profound faith as Joe felt in the doctor, it if not to be wondered at that incessant discussions sprang 46 nVB WEEKS m a BAilOOBT. up between him and Kennedy, without any lack of respect to the latter, however. One doubted, the other believed ; one had a prudent foresight, the other blind confidence. The doctor, how- ever, vibrated between doubt and confidence ; that is to ■ay, he troubled his head with neither one nor the other. " Well, Mr. Kennedy," Joe would say. "Well, my boy?" " The moment's at hand. It seems that we are to sail for the moon." " You mean the Mountains of the Moon, which are not quite so far off. But, never mind, one trip is just as dan- gerous as the other ! " " Dangerous 1 What 1 with a man like Dr. Ferguson ? " " I don't want to spoil your illusions, my good Joe ; but this undertaking of his is nothing more nor less than the act of a madman. He won't go, though ! " " He won't go, eh ? Then you haven't seen his balloon at Mitchell's factory in the Borough?" " I'll take precious good care to keep away from it 1 " " Well, you'll lose a fine sight, sir. What a splendid thing it is ! What a pretty shape ! What a nice car 1 How snug we'll feel in it ! " " Then you really think of going with your master ? " "I?" answered Joe, with an accent of profound con- viction. " Why, I'd go with him wherever he pleases ! Who ever heard of such a thing ? Leave him to go off alone, after we've been all over the world together ! Who would help him, when he was tired ? Who would give him a hand in climbing over the rocks ? Who would at- tend him when he was sick ? No Mr. Kennedy, Joe wil' always stick to the doctor ! " " You're a fine fellow, Joe ! " " But, then, you're coming with us ! " "Ohl certainly," said Kennedy; "that i« to say, I •no; WEiQHiNa. 47 will go with you up to the last moment, to prevent Samuel even then from being guilty of such an act of folly ! I will follow him as far as Zanzibar so as to stop him there, if possible." " You'll stop nothing at all, Mr. Kennedy, with all re- spect to you, sir. My master is no hare-brained person ; he takes a long time to think over what he means to do, and then, when he once gets started, the Evil One himself couldn't make hira give it up." " Well, we'll see about that." '^ Don't flatter yourself, sir — but then, the main thing ifl, to have you with us. For a hunter like yon, sir, Africa's a great country. So, either way, you won't be sorry for the trip." " No, that's a fact, I shan't be sorry for it, if I can get this crazy man to give up his scheme." " By-the-way," said Joe, "you know that the weighing comes off to-day." "The wei{];hin£j — what weijrhinor ?" "Why, my master, and you, and I, are all to be \»eighed to-day 1" " What ! like horse-jockeys ? " "Yes, like jockeys. Only, never fear, you won't be expected to make yourself lean, if you're found to be heavy. You'll go as you are." " Well, I can tell you, I am not going to let myself be weighed," said Kennedy, firmly. " But, sir, it seems that the doctor's machine requires it." "Well, his machine will have to do without it" "Ilumph ! and suppose that it couldn't go up, then?** « Egad 1 that's all I want I " " Come ! come Mr. Kennedy I My master will be send mg for us directly. " " I slian't go.** S 48 FIYE WEEKS IN A BALLOOM. **0h ! now, you won't vex the doctor in that way I " " Aye 1 that I will" " Well ! " said Joe with a laugh, " you say that be- cause he's not here ; but when he says to your face, * Dick ! ' (with all respect to you, sir,) ' Dick, I want to know exactly how much you weigh,' you'll go, I warran it." " No, I will not go 1 " At this moment the doctor entered his study, where this discussion had been taking place ; and, as he came in, cast a glance at Kennedy, who did not feel altogether at his ease. " Dick," said the doctor, " come with Joe ; I want to know how much you both weigh." " But—" " You may keep your hat on. Come 1 " And Kennedy went. They repaired in company to the workshop of the Messrs. Mitchell, where one of those so-called " Roman " scales was in readiness. It was necessary, by the way, for the doctor to know the weight of his companions, so as to fix the equilibrium of his balloon ; so he made Dick get up on the platform of the scales. The latter, without making any resistance, said, in an undertone : " Oh ! well, that doesn't bind me to any thing." " One hundred and fifty-three pounds," said the doo tor, noting it down on his tablets. " Am I too heavy ? " " Why, no, Mr. Kennedy 1 " 'said Joe ; " and then, yon enow, 1 am light to make up for it." So saying, Joe, with enthusiasm, took his place on the scales, and very nearly upset them in his ready haste. He struck the attitude of Wellington where he is made to ape Achilles, at Hyde-Park entraace, and was superb ir It, without the shield. JOE GETS A HALF-OEOWN. 49 ** One hundred and twenty pounds," wrote the doctor. " Ah 1 ha 1 " said Joe, with a smile of satisfaction. And why did he smile ? He never could tell himselfl " It's my turn now," said Ferguson — and he put down one hundred and thirty-five pounds to his own account. " All three of us," said he, " do not weigh much more than four hundred pounds." " But, sir," said Joe, " if it was necessary for your ex- pedition, I could make myself thinner by twenty pounds, by not eating so much." " Useless, my boy ! " replied the doctor. " You may eat as much as you like, and here's half-a-crown to buj you the ballast." CHAPTER SEVENTH. Sflomatrical Details. — Calculation of the Capacity of the Balloon.— Tbe Doat»i« Receptacle.— The Covering.— The Car.— The Mysterioas Apparatas.— Th* PraTlBlonB and Stores.— The Final Summing up. Dr. Ferguson had long been engaged upon the details of his expedition. It is easy to comprehend that the bal- loon — that marvellous vehicle which was to convey him through the air — was the constant object of his solicitude. At the outset, in order not to give the balloon too ponderous dimensions, he had decided to fill it Avath hydrogen gas, which is fourteen and a half times lighter than common air. The production of this gas is easy, and it has given the greatest satisfaction hitherto in aerostatic experiments. The doctor, according to very accurate calculations, found that, including the articles indispensable to his jour- ney and his apparatus, he should have to carry a weight of 4,000 pounds ; therefore he had to find out what would be the ascensional force of a balloon capable of raising such a weight, and, consequently, what would be its capacity, A weight of four thousand pounds is represented by a displacement of the air amounting to forty-four tliou- sand eight hundred and forty-seven cubic feet ; or, in other words, forty-four thousand eight hundred and forty-seven cubic feet of air weigh about four thousand pounds. By giving the balloon these cubic dimensions, and fill- ing it with hydrogen gas, instead of common air — the for- mer being fourteen and a half times lighter and weighing GBOMETKIOAL DETAILS. 61 therefore only two hundred and seventy-six pounds — ^a difference of three thousand seven hundred and twenty- four pounds in equilibrium is produced; and it is this difference between the weight of the gas contamed in the balloon and the weight of the surrounding atmosphere that constitutes the ascensional force of the former. However, were the forty-four thousand eight hundred and forty-seven cubic feet of gas of which we speak, all introduced into the balloon, it would be entirely filled ; but that would not do, because, as the balloon continued to mount into the more rarefied layers of the atmosphere, the gas within would dilate, and soon burst the cover containing it. Balloons, then, are usually only two-thirds filled. But the doctor, in carrying out a project known only to himself, resolved to fill his balloon only one-half; and, since he had to carry forty-four thousand eight hundred and forty-seven cubic feet of gas, to give his balloon nearly double capacity he arranged it in that elongated, oval shape which has come to be preferred. The horizon- tal diameter was fifty feet, and the vertical diameter seventy-five feet. He thus obtained a spheroid, the capa- city of which amounted, in round numbers, to ninety thousand cubic feet. Could Dr. Ferguson have used two balloons, his chances of success would have been increased ; for, should one burst in the air, he could, by throwing out ballast, keep nimself up with the other. But the management of two Dalloons would, necessarily, be very difficult, in view of ihe problem how to keep them both at an equal ascen- donal force. After having pondered the matter carefully. Dr. Fer- guson, by an ingenious arrangement, combined the ad- vantages of two balloons, without incurring their incon- renienoes. He constructed two of different sizes, an4 W FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON. inclosed the smaller in the larger one. His external bal- loon, which had the dimensions given above, contained a less one of the same shape, which was only forty-five feet in horizontal, and sixty-eight feet in vertical diameter. The capacity of this interior balloon was only sixty-seven thousand cubic feet : it was to float in the fluid surround- ing it. A valve opened from one balloon into the other, and thus enabled the aeronaut to communicate with both. This arrangement offered the advantage, that if gas had to be let off, so as to descend, that which was in the outer balloon would go first; and, were it completely emptied, the smaller one would still remain intact. The outer envelope might then be cast off as a useless encimi- brance ; and the second balloon, left free to itself, would not offer the same hold to the currents of air as a half- inflated one must needs present. Moreover, in case of an accident happening to the out- side balloon, such as getting torn, for instance, the other would remain intact. The balloons were made of a strong but light Lyons Bilk, coated with gutta percha. This gummy, resinous sub- stance is absolutely water-proof, and also resists acids and gas perfectly. The silk was doubled, at the upper ex- tremity of the oval, where most of the strain would come. Such an envelope as this could retain the inflating fluid for any length of time. It weighed half a pound per nine square feet. Hence the surface of the outside balloon being about eleven thousand six hundred square feet, its envelope weighed six hundred and fifty pounds. The en- velope of the second or inner balloon, having nine thou- sand two hundred square feet of surface, weighed only about five hundred and ten pounds, or say eleven hundred and sixty pounds for both. The network that supported the car was made of very THB GAB. 5ft Strong hempen cord, and the two valves were the object of the most minute and carefal attention, as the rudder of a ship would be. The car, which was of a circular form and fifteen feet m diameter, was made of wicker-work, strengthened with a slight covering of iron, and protected below by a system of elastic springs, to deaden the shock of collision. Its weight, along with thaf of the network, did not exceed 1P3 i f^i^j^^d and fifty pounds. In aa*iL6vo»i 'cc the above, the doctor caused to be con- structed two sheet -iron chests two lines in thickness. These were connected by means of pipes furnished with stopcocks. He joined to these a spiral, two inches in diameter, which terminated in two branch pieces of un- equal length, the longer of which, however, was twenty- five feet in height and the shorter only fifteen feet. These sheet-iron chests were embedded in the car in such a way as to take up the least possible amount of space. The spiral, which was not to be adjusted until some future moment, was packed up, separately, along with a very strong Buntzen electric battery. This appa- ratus had been so ingeniously combined that it did not weigh more than seven hundred pounds, even including twenty-five gallons of water in another receptacle. The instruments provided for the journey consisted of two barometers, two thermometers, two compasses, a sex- tant, two chronometers, an artificial horizon, and an alta- zimuth, to throw out the height of distant and inaccessible objects. The Greenwich Observatory had placed itself at the doctor's disposal. The latter, l)owever, did not intend to make experiments in physics; he merely wanted to be able to know in what direction he was passing, and to de- termine the position of the principal rivers, mountains, and towns. 5i nVB WEEKS IN A BALLOON. He also provided himself with three thoroughly tested iron anchors, and a light but strong silk ladder fifty feet in length. lie at the same time carefully weighed his stores of provision, which consisted of tea, coifee, biscuit, salted meat, and pemmican^ a preparation which comprises many nutritive elements in a small space. Besides a sufficient stock of pure brandy, he arranged two water-tanks, each of which contained twenty-two gallons. The consumption of these articles would necessarily, little by little, diminish the weight to be sustained, for it must be remembered that the equilibrium of a balloon floating in the atmosphere is extremely sensitive. The loss of an almost insignificant weight suffices to produce a very noticeable displacement. Nor did the doctor forget an awning to shelter the car, nor the coverings and blankets that were to be the bedding of the journey, nor some fowling pieces and rifles, with their requisite supply of powder and ball. Here is the summing up of his various items, and their weight, as he computed it : Ferj^on 185 pounds. Kennedy 163 " Joe 120 " Weight of the outside balloon . . . 650 " Weiglit of the second balloon. . . 610 ** Car and network 280 " Anchors, instruments, awnings, and sundry utensils, guns, cov- erings, etc 190 " Meat, pemrnican, biscuits, tea, cof- fee, brandy, 886 • Water 400 ** Apparatus '700 ** Weight of the hydrogen 276 ** B*ll*8t 200 " 4,000 poo&da, WHGHT OARETKD. 65 Such were the items of the four thousand pounds that Dr. Ferguson proposed to carry up with him. He took only two hundred pounds of ballast for "unforeseen emer- gencies," as he remarked, since otherwise he did not ex- pect to use any, thanks to the peculiarity of his apparatn*. CHAPTER EIGHTa ,M i Importance.— The Commander of the Resolute.— Kennedy's Arsenal. — Mil ttia! Amenities.- The Farewell Dinner.— Departure on the Slst of February .— The Doctor's Scientific Seesions. — Duveyrier. — Livingstone.— Details of tht ASrial Voyage.— Kennedy silenced. About the 10th of February, the preparations were pretty well completed ; and the balloons, firmly secured, one within the other, were altogether finished. They had been subjected to a powerful pneumatic pressure in all parts, and the test gave excellent evidence of their solid- ity and of the care applied in their construction. Joe hardly knew what he was about, with delight. He trotted incessantly to and fro between his home in Greek Street, and the Mitchell establishment, always full of busi- ness, but always in the highest spirits, giving details o{ the afiair to people who did not even ask him, so proud was he, above all things, of being permitted to accompany his master. I have even a shrewd suspicion that what with showing the balloon, explaining the plans and views of the doctor, giving folks a glimpse of the latter, through a half- Dpened window, or pointing him out as he passed along the streets, the clever scamp earned a few half-crowns, but we must not find fault with him for that. He had as much right as anybody else to speculate upon the admira- tion and curiosity of his contemporaries. On the 16th of February, the Resolute cast anchor near Greenwich. She was a screw propeller of eight hundred *ons, a fast sailer, and the very vessel that had been sent THie OOMHiLNDER OF THE BESOLUTE. 57 oat to the polar regions, to revictual the last expedition of Sir James Ross. Her commander, Captain Bennet, had the name of being a very amiable person, and he took a particular interest in the doctor's expedition, having been one of that gentleman's admirers for a long time. Bennet was rather a man of science than a man of war, which did not, however, prevent his vessel from carrying four carronades, that had never hurt any body, to be sure, but had performed the most pacific duty in the world. The hold of the Resolute was so arranged as to find a etowing-place for the balloon. The latter was shipped with the greatest precaution on the 18 th of February, and was then carefully deposited at the bottom of the vessel in such a way as to prevent accident. The car and its ac- cessories, the anchors, the cords, the supplies, the water- tank«, which were to be filled on arriving, all were em- barked and put away under Ferguson's own eyes. Ten tons of sulphuric acid and ten tons of iron filings, were put on board for the future production of the hydro- gen gas. The quantity was more than enough, but it was well to be provided against accident. The apparatus to be <,mployed in manufacturing the gas, including some thirty empty casks, was also stowed away in the hold. These various preparations were terminated on the 1 8th of February, in the evening. Two state-rooms, com fortably fitted up, were ready for the reception of Dr. Ferguson and his friend Kennedy. The latter, all the while swearing that he would not go, went on board with a regular arsenal of hunting weapons, among which were two double-barrelled breech-loading fowling-pieces, and a rifle that had withstood every test, of the make of Pur- dey, Moore & Dickson, at Edinburgh. With such a weap- on a marksman would find no difficulty in lodging a bullet in the eye of a chamois at the distance of two thou- •and paces. Along with these implements, he had two 68 jnVJ£ WEEKS IS A BALLOOa'. of Colt's six-shooters, for unforeseen emergencies. Hia powder-case, his cartridge-pouch, his lead, and liis bul ets, i half long — a good thing for the lazy fellows — and the years, would you believe it — last twelve of ours, which is fine for folks who have only six months to live. They get off a little longer by that." " Twelve years ! " ejaculated the boy. " Yes, my youngster ; so that in that country you'd be toddling after your mammy yet, and that old chap yonder, who looks about fifty, would only be a little shaver of four and a half" " Blazes ! that's a good 'im 1 " shouted the whole fore- castle together. " Solemn truth ! " said Joe, stoutly. " But what can you expect ? When people will stay m this world, they learn nothing and keep as ignorant as bears. But just come along to Jupiter and you'll see. But they have to look out up there, for he's got satellite that are not just the easiest things to pass." All the men laughed, but they more than half believed hun. Then he went on to talk about Neptune, where sea- faring men get a jovial reception, and Mars, where the ^dlitary get the best of the sidewalk to such an extent that folks can hardly stand it. Finally, he drew them a Ltaveuly picture of the delights of Venus. " And when we get back fi'om that expedition," said Lht indefatigable narrator, " they'll decorate us with the Southern Cross that shines up there in the Creator's button bole. 66 ITTS WEEKS IN A BALLOOH. " Ay, and you'd have well earned it 1 " said the sailors. Thus passed the long evenings on the forecastle in merry chat, and during the same time the doctor went on with his instructive discourses. One day the conversation turned upon the means of directing balloons, and the doctor was asked his opinion about it. " I don't think," said he, " that we shall succeed in find- ing out a system of directing them. I am familiar with all the plans attempted and proposed, and not one has succeeded, not one is practicable. You may readily under- stand that I have occupied my mind with this subject, which was, necessarily, so interesting to me, but I have not been able to solve the problem with the appliances now known to mechanical science. "We would have to discover a motive power of extraordinary force, and al- most impossible lightness of machinery. And, even then, we could not resist atmospheric currents of any consider- able strength. Until now, the effort has been rather to direct the car than the balloon, and that has been one great error." " Still there are many points of resemblance between a ^alloon and a ship which is directed at will." " Not at all," retorted the doctor, " there is little or no similarity between the two cases. Air is infinitely less dense than water, in which the ship is only half submerged, while the whole bulk of a balloon is plunged in the atmos- phere, and remains motionless with reference to the element that surrounds it." " You think, then, that aerostatic science has said its last word?" " Not at all I not at all ! But we must look for another point in the case, and if we cannot manage to guide our balloon, we must, at least, try to keep it in favorable aSrial ABCENDINO LSTD DBSOENDIWa. 67 currents. In proportion as wc ascend, the latter become much more uuiform and How more constantly in one direo tion. They are no longer disturbed by the mountains and valleys that traverse the surface c^ the globe, and these, you know, are tlie chief cause of the variations of the wind and the inequality of their force. Therefore, these zones having been once determined, the balloon will merely have to be placed in the currents best adapted to its destina- tion." " But then," continued Captain Bennet, " in order to reach them, you must keep constantly ascending or de- scending. That is the ^eal difficulty, doctor." " And why, my dear captain ? " " Let us imderstand one another. It would be a diffi- culty and an obstacle only for long journeys, and not for short aerial excursions." " And why so, if you please ? " ** Because you can ascend only by throwing out ballast; you can descend only after letting off gas, and by these processes your ballast and your gas are soon exhausted." " My dear sir, that's the whole question. There is the only difficulty that science need now seek to overcome. The problem is not how to guide the balloon, but how to take it up and down without expending the gas which is its strength, its life-blood, its soul, if I may use the expres- sion." " You are right, my dear doctor ; but this problem is not yet solved ; this means has not yet been discovered." " I beg your pardon, it has been discovered." " By whom ? » " By me ! " "By you?" " You may readily believe that otherwise I should not have risked this expedition across Africa in a balloon. Id t"wenty-four hours I should have been without g^is I " 98 FIVS WEEKS m A BAJJLOOW. " But you said nothing about that in England ? " " No I I did not want to have myself overhauled in public. I saw no use in that. I made my preparatory ex- periments in secret and was satisfied. I have no occasion, then, to learn any thing more from them." " Well ! doctor, would it be proper to ask what is your secret ? " " Here it is, gentlemen — the simplest thing in the world 1" The attention of his auditory was now dii'ected to the doctor in the utmost degree as he quietly proceeded with his explanation. CHAPTER TENTa 'tmner Expe^fcents.— The Doctor's Five Receptadefl.— The Qas CjUndei.- The Calorifere.— The System of MancEUvring.— Success certain. " The attempt has often been made, gentlemen," said the doctor, " to rise and descend at will, without losing ballast or gas from the balloon. A French aeronaut, M. Meunier, tried to accomplish this by compressing air in an inner receptacle. A Belgian, Dr. Van Hecke, by means of wings and paddles, obtained a vertical power that would have sufficed in most cases, but the practical results se- cured from these experiments have been insignificant. " I therefore resolved to go about the thing more di- rectly ; so, at the start, I dispensed with ballast altogether excepting as a provision for cases of special emergency, such as the breakage of my apparatus, or the necessity oi ascending very suddenly, so as to avoid unforeseen ob- stacles. " My means of ascent and descent consist simply in di- lating or contracting the gas that is in the balloon by the application of different temperatures, and here is the metliod of obtaining that result. " You saw me bring on board with the car several cases or receptacles, the use of which you may not have understood. They are five in number. " The first contains about twenty-five gallons of water, to which I add a few drops of sulphuric acid, so as to aug- ment it! capacity as a conductor of electricity, and then 1 70 ITVB WEEJEL8 IN A BALLOON. decompose it by means of a powerful Buntzen battery Water, as you know, consists of two parts of hydrogen to one of oxygen gas. " The latter, through the action of the battery, passes at its positive pole into the second receptacle. A third receptacle, placed above the second one, and of double its capacity, receives the hydrogen passing into it by the negative pole. " Stopcocks, of which one has an orifice twice the size of the other, communicate between these receptacles and a fourth one, which is called the mixture reservoir^ since in it the two gases obtained by the decomposition of the water do really commingle. The capacity of this fourth tank is about forty-one cubic feet. " On the upper part of this tank is a platinum tube pro- vided with a stopcock. " You will now readily understand, gentlemen, the ap- paratus that I have described to you is really a gas cylin- der and blow-pipe for oxygen and hydrogen, the heat of which exceeds that of a forge fire. " This much established, I proceed to the second part of my apparatus. From the lowest part of my balloon, which is hermetically closed, issue two tubes a little dis- tance apart. The one starts among the upper layers of the hydrogen gas, the other amid the lower layers. " These two pipes are provided at intervals with strong jointings of india-rubber, which enable them to moye in harmony with the oscillations of the balloon. " Both of them run down as far as the car, and lose themselves in an iron receptacle of cylindrical form, which is called the heat-tank. The latter is closed at its two ends by two strong plates of the same metal " The pipe running from the lower part of the balloon runs into this cylindrical receptac'e through the lower plate ; it penetrates the Latter and then takes the form of THE CA1.0EIFEEB. 71 « helicoidal or screw-shaped spiral, the rings of which, 4sing one over the other, occupy nearly the whole of the height of the tank. Before again issuing from it, this spi- ral runs into a small cone with a concave base, that is turned downward in the shape of a spherical cap. \ " It is from the top of this cone that the second pipe issues, and it runs, as I have said, into tho upper beds of the balloon. " The spherical cap of the small cone is of platinum, so as not to melt by the action of the cylinder and blow-pipe, for the latter are placed upon the bottom of the iron tank in the midst of the helicoidal spiral, and the extremity of their flame will slightly touch the cap in question. " You all know, gentlemen, what a calorifere, to heat apartments, is. You know how it acts. The air of the apartments is forced to pass through its pipes, and is then released with a heightened temperature. Well, what I have just described to you is nothing more nor less than a calorifer. " In fact, what is it that takes place ? The cylinder once lighted, the hydrogen in the spiral and in the con- cave cone becomes heated, and rapidly ascends through the pipe that leads to the upper part of the balloon. A vacuum is created below, and it attracts the gas in the lower parts ; this becomes heated in its turn, and is con- tinually replaced ; thus, an extremely rapid current of gas ifl established in the pipes and in the spiral, which issues from the balloon and then returns to it, and is heated over again, incessantly. " Now, the gases increase ^^ of their volume for each degree of heat applied. If, then, I force the temperature 18 degrees, the hydrogen of the balloon will dilate -^ or 1614 cubic feet, and will, therefore, displace 1614 more cubic feet of air, which will increase its ascensional power by 160 pounds. This is equivalent to throwing out that 78 nvB WEEKS m a bau^oon. weight of ballast. If I augment the temperature by 180 degrees, the gas will dilate |-|^ and will displace 1 6,740 cubic feet more, and its ascensional force will be augmented by 1,600 pounds. "Thus, you see, gentlemen, that I can easily effect very considerable changes of equilibrium. The volume of the balloon has been calculated in such manner that, when half inflated, it displaces a weight of air exactly equal to that of the envelope containing the hydrogen gas, and of the car occupied by the passengers, and all its apparatus and accessories. At this point of inflation, it is in exact equilibrium with the air, and neither mounts nor descends. " In order, then, to efiect an ascent, I give the gas a temperature superior to the temj^erature of the surround- ing air by means of my cylinder. By this excess of heat it obtains a larger distention, and inflates the balloon more. The latter, then, ascends in proportion as I heat the hydrogen. " The descent, of course, is effected by lowering the heat of the cylinder, and letting the temperature abate. The ascent would be, usually, more rapid tlian the descent ; but that is a fortunate circumstance, since it is of no im- portance to me to descend rapidly, while, on the other hand, it is by a very rapid ascent that I avoid obstacles. The real danger lurks below, and not above. " Besides, as I have said, I have a certain quantity of ballast, which will enable me to ascend more rapidly still, when necessary. My valve, at the top of the balloon, is nothing more nor less than a safety-valve. The balloon always retains the same quantity of hydrogen, and the variations of temperature that I produce in the midst of this shut-up gas are, of themselves, sufiicient to provide for all these ascending and descending movements. " Now, gentlemen, as a practical detail, let me add this: Ferguson's seobet. 78 " The oombuAtion of the hydrogen aud of the oxygen at the point of the cylinder produces solely the vapor or Bteam of water. I have, therefore, provided the lower part of the cylindrical iron box with a scape-pipe, with a valve operating by means of a pressure of two atmos- pheres; consequently, so soon as this amount of pressure JB attained, the steam escapes of itsel£ "Here are the exact figures: 25 gallons of water, separated into its constituent elements, yield 2()0 pounds of oxygen and 25 pounds of hydrogen. This represents, at atmospheric tension, 1,890 cubic feet of the former and 3,780 cubic feet of the latter, or 5,670 cubic feet, in all, of the mixture. Hence, the stopcock of my cylinder, when fully open, expends 27 cubic feet per hour, with a flame at least six times as strong as that of the large lamps used for lighting streets. On an average, then, and in order to seep myself at a very moderate elevation, I should not bum more than nine cubic feet per hour, so that my twenty-five gallons of water represent six hundred and thirty-six hours of aerial navigation, or a little more than twenty-six days. " "Well, as I can descend when I please, to replenish my stock of water on the way, my trip might be indefinitely prolonged. "Such, gentlemen, is my secret. It is simple, and, like most simple things, it cannot fail to succeed. The dilation and contraction of the gas in the balloon is my means of locomotion, which calls for neither cumbersome wings, nor any other mechanical motor. A calorifere to produce the changes of temperature, and a cylinder to generate the heat, are neither inconvenient nor heavy. I think, therefore, that I have combined all the elements of •uccess." Dr. Ferguson here terminated his discourse, and wai 74 FIVE WEEKS m A BA^LLOON. most heartily applauded. There was not an objection to make to it ; all had been foreseen and decided, " However," said the captain, "the thmg may prove dangerous." "What matters that," replied the iloctor, " provided that it be practicabla ? " CHAPTER ELEVENTH. rh« Arrival at Zanzibar.— The English Consul.— ri-wlll of the nhabitants.- TIm Island of Konmbeni.— The Rain-Makers,- Inflation of the Balloon.— Depart- ure on the 18th of April.— The last Qood-by.— The Victoria. An invariably favorable wind had accelerated the progress of the Resolute toward the place of her destina- tion. The navigation of the Mozambique Channel was especially calm and pleasant. The agreeable character of the trip by sea was regarded as a good omen of the prob- able issue of the trip through the air. Every one looked forward to the hour of arrival, and sought to give the last touch to the doctor's preparations. At length the vessel hove in sight of the town of Zan- ribar, upon the island of the same name, and, on the 15th of April, at 1 1 o'clock in the morning, she anchored in the port. The island of Zanzibar belongs to the Imaum of Mus- cat, an ally of France and England, and is, undoubtedly, his finest settlement. The port is frequented by a great many vessels from the neighboring countries. The island is separated from the African coast only by a channel, the greatest width of which is but thirty miles. It has a large trade in gums, ivory, and, above all, in '* ebony," for Zanzibar is the great slave-market. Thither converges all the booty captured in the battles which the chiefs ol the interior are continually fighting. This traffic extends along the whole eastern coast, and as far as the 76 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOOK. Nile latitudes. Mr. G. Lejean even reports that he hai Been it carried on, openly, under the French flag. Upon the arrival of the Hesolute, the English consul at Zanzibar came on board to offer his services to the doctor, of whose projects the European newspapers had made him aware for a month past. But, up to that moment, he had remained with the numerous phalanx of the incredulous. " I doubted," said he, holding out his hand to Dr. Fer- guson, " but now I doubt no longer." He m\'ited the doctor, Kennedy, and the faithful Joe, of course, to his own dwelling. Through his courtesy, the doctor was enabled to have knowledge of the various letters that he had received from Captain Speke. The captain and his companions had suffered dreadfully from hunger and bad weather before reaching the Ugogo coun- t)y. They could advance only with extreme difficulty, and did not expect to be able to communicate again for a long time. " Those are perils and privations which we shall man- age to avoid," said the doctor. The baggage of the three travellers was conveyed to the consul's residence. Arrangements were made for dis- embarking the balloon upon the beach at Zanzibar. There was a convenient spot, near the signal-mast, close by an unmense building, that would serve to shelter it from the east winds. This huge tower, resembling a tun standing on one end, beside which the famous Heidelberg tun would have seemed but a very ordinary barrel, served as a fortification, and on its platform were stationed Be- lootchees, armed with lances. These Belootchees are a kind of brawling, good-for-nothing Janizaries. But, when about to land the balloon, the consul wa? informed that the population of the island would oppose their doing so by force. Nothing is so blind as fanatical passion. The news of the arrival of a Christian, who was PEBOAUnONS. 77 to ascecd into the air, was received with rage. The negroes, more exasperated than the Arabs, saw in this project an attack upon their religion. They took it into their heads that some mischief was meant to the sun and the moon. Now, these two luminaries are objects of veneration to the African tribes, and they determined to oppose so sacrilegious an enterprise. The consul, informed of their intentions, conferred with Dr. Ferguson and Captain Bennet on the subject. The latter was unwilling to yield to threats, but his friend dissuaded him from any idea of violent retaliation. " We shall certainly come out winners," he said. " Even the imaum's soldiers will lend us a hand, if we need it. But, my deai captain, an accident may happen in a moment, and it would require but one unlucky blow to do the balloon an irreparable injury, so that the trip would be totally defeated; therefore we must act with the greatest caution." " But what are we to do ? If we land on the coast of Africa, we shall encounter the same difficulties. What are we to do ? " " Nothing is more simple," replied the consul^ " You observe those small islands outside of the port ; land your balloon on one of them; surround it with a guard of sailors, and you will have no risk to run." " Just the thing ! " said the doctor, " and we shall be 3ntirely at our ease in completing our preparations." The captain yielded to these suggestions, and the Resolute was headed for the island of Koumbeni. During the morning of the 16th April, the balloon was placed in safety in the middle of a clearing in the great woods, with which the soil is studded. TSvo masts, eighty feet in height, were raised at the same distance from each other. Blocks and tackle, placed at their extremitieE ifforded the means of elevating the 78 FIVE WEEKS IN A BAULOOH. balloon, by the aid of a transverse rope. It was then en« tirely uninflatei The interior balloon was fastened to the exterior one, in such manner as to be lifted up in the same way. To the lower end of each balloon were fixed the pipes that served to introduce the hydrogen gas. The whole day, on the IVth, was spent in arranging the apparatus destined to produce the gas ; it consisted of some tliirty casks, in which the decomposition of water was efiected by means of iron-filings and sulphuric acid placed together in a large quantity of the first-named fluid. The hydrogen passed into a huge central cask, after having been washed on the way, and thence into each balloon by tlie conduit-pipes. In this manner each of them received a certain accurately-ascertained quantity of gas. For this purpose, there had to be employed eighteen hundred and sixty-six pounds of siilphuric acid, sixteen thousand and fifty pounds of iron, and nine thou- sand one hundred and sixty-six gallons of water. This operation commenced on the following night, about three A.M., and lasted nearly eight hours. The next day, the balloon, covered with its network, undulated gracefully above its car, which was held to the ground by niunerous sacks of earth. The inflating apparatus was put together nth extreme care, and the pipes issuing from the balloon were securely fitted to the cylindrical case. The anchors, the cordage, the instruments, the travel- ling-wraps, the awning, the provisions, and the arms, were put in the place assigned to them in the car. The supply of water was procured at Zanzibar. The two hundred pounds of ballast were distributed in fifty bags placed at the bottom of the car, but within arm's-reach. These preparations were concluded about five o'clock in the evening, while sentinels kept close watch around the bland, and the boats of the Resolute patrolled the (Channel. TKB FAEEWELL REPAST. 79 The blacks continued to show their displeasure by grimaces and contortions. Their obi-men^ or wizards, went up and down among the angry throngs, pouring fuel on the flame of their fanaticism; and some of the excited wretches, more furious and daring than the rest, attempted to get to the island by swimming, but they were easily driven off Thereupon the sorceries and incantations commenced ; the " rain-makers," who pretend to have control over the clouds, invoked the storms and the "stone-showers," as the blacks call hail, to their aid. To compel them to do 80, they plucked leaves of all the different trees that grow in that country, and boiled them over a slow fire, while, at the same time, a sheep was killed by thrusting a long needle into its heart. But, in spite of all their ceremonies, the sky remained clear and beautiful, and they profited nothing by their slaughtered sheep and their ugly grimaces. The blacks then abandoned themselves to the most furious orgies, and got fearfully drunk on " tembo," a kind of ardent spirits drawn from the cocoa-nut tree, and an extremely heady sort of beer called "togwa," Their chants, which were destitute of all melody, but were sung in excellent time, continued until far into the night. About six o'clock in the evening, the captain assem- bled the travellers and the officers of the ship at a farewell repast in his cabin. Kennedy, whom nobody ventured to question now, sat with his eyes riveted on Dr. Ferguson, murmuring indistinguishable words. In other respects, the dinner was a gloomy one. The approach of the final moment filled everybody with the most serious reflections. Wliat had fate in store for these darinsx adventurers? Should they ever again find themselves in the midst of their friends, or seated at the domestic hearth? Were their travelling apparatus to fail, what would become of them, among those ferocious savage tribes, in regions that 80 FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON. had never been explored, and in the midst of boundless deserts ? Such thoughts as these, which had been dim and vague until then, or but slightly regarded when they came up returned upon their excited fancies with intense force a this parting moment. Dr. Ferguson, still cold and impas Bible, talked of this, that, and the other; but he strove in vain to overcome this infectious gloominess. He ut- terly failed. As some demonstration against the personal safety of the doctor and his companions was feared, all three slept that mght on board the JResolute. At six o'clock in the morning they left their cabin, and landed on the island of Koimibeni. The balloon was swaying gently to and fro in the morning breeze; the sand-bags that had held it down were now replaced by rfome twenty strong-armed sailors, and Captain Bennet and ?iis officers were present to wit- ness the solemn departure of their friends. At this moment Kenued> went right up to the doctor, grasped his hand, and said : " Samuel, have you absoluiely determined to go ? " " Solemnly determined, mv dear Dick." "I have done every thing that I could to prevent this expedition, have I not ? " " Every thing ! " " "Well, then, my conscience is clear on that score, and 1 will go with you." " I was sure you would ! " said the doctor, betraying in his features swift traces of emotion. At last the moment of final leave-taking arrived. The captain and his officers embraced their daimtless friends with great feeling, not excepting even Joe, who, worthy fellow, was as proud and happy as a prince. Every one in the party insisted upon having a final shake of the doctor's hand. OBTEISTEifma THE BALLOON. 81 At nine o'clock the three travellers got into their car. The doctor lit the combustible in his cylinder and turned the flame so as to produce a rapid heat, and the balloon, which had rested on the ground in perfect equipoise, began to rise in a few minutes, so that the seamen had to slacken the ropes they held it by. The car then rose about twenty feet above their heads. " My friends ! " exclaimed the doctor, standing up be- tween his two companions, and taking off his hat, " let us give our aerial ship a name that will bring her good luck ! let us christen her Yictoria I " This speech was answered with stentorian cheers of " Huzza for the Queen ! Huzza for Old England I " At this moment the ascensional force of the balloon increased prodigiously, and Ferguson, Kennedy, and Joe, waved a last good-by to their friends. " Let go all ! " shouted the doctor, and at the word the Victoria shot rapidly up into the sky, while the four car- ronades on board the Resolute thundered forth a partinjj salute in her honor. CHAPTER TWELFTR CroBstng the Strait.— The Mrima.— Dick's Remark and Joe's Proposition.— A Recipe for Coffee-making.— The Uzaramo.— The Unfortunate MaLzan.— Mount DuthumL — The Doctor's Cards. — Night under a NopaL The air was pure, the wind moderate, and the balloon ascended almost perpendicularly to a height of fifteen hundred feet, as indicated by a depression of two inches in the barometric column. At this heiccht a more decided current carried the balloon toward the southwest. "What a magnificent spec- tacle was then outspread beneath the gaze of the travellers ! The island of Zanzibar could be seen in its entire extent, marked out by its deeper color upon a vast planisphere ; the fields had the appearance of patterns of different col- ors, and thick clumps of green indicated the groves and thickets. The inhabitants of the island looked no larger than insects. The huzzaing and shouting were little by little lost in the distance, and only the discharge of the ship's gims could be heard in the concavity beneath the balloon, as the latter sped on its flight. " IIow fine that is ! " said Joe, breaking silence for the first time. lie got no reply. The doctor was busy observing the variations of the barometer and noting down the details of his ascent. Kennedy looked on, and had not eyes enough to take in all that he saw. THS mBEFSESSIBLE J9E. 83 rhft rays of the sun coming to the aid of the heating cylinder, the tension of the gas increased, and the Victcyria attained the height of twenty-five hundred feet. The Resolute looked like a mere cockle-shell, and the African coast could be distinctly seen in the west marked out by a fringe of foam. " You don't talk ? " said Joe, again. " "We are looking 1 " said the doctor, directing his spy- glass toward the mainland. " For my part, I must talk ! " " As much as you please, Joe ; talk as much as you like 1 " And Joe went on alone with a tremendous volley of exclamations. The " ohs ! " and the " ahs I " exploded one after the other, incessantly, from his lips. During his passage over the sea the doctor deemed it best to keep at his present elevation. He could thus reconnoitre a greater stretch of the coast. The thermom- eter and the barometer, hanging up inside of the half- opened awning, were always within sight, and a second barometer suspended outside was to serve during the night watches. At the end of about two hours the Victoria, driven along at a speed of a little more than eight miles, very visibly neared the coast of the mainland. The doctor, thereupon, determined to descend a little nearer to the ground. So he moderated the flame of his cylinder, and the balloon, in a few moments, had descended to an alti tude only three hundred feet above the soil It was then found to be passing just over the Mrima country, the name of this part of the eastern coast of Africa. Dense borders of mango-trees protected its mar- gin, and the ebb-tide disclosed to view their thick roots, chafed and gnawed by the teeth of the Indian Ocean. The sands which, at an earlier period, formed the coast-line, 84 FIVE WEEKS m A BALLOON. rounded away along the distant horizon, and Mount Nguru 1 eared aloft its sharp summit in the northwest. The Victoria passed near to a village which the doctor found marked upon his chart as Kaole. Its entire popula- tion had assembled in crowds, and were yelling with anger and fear, at the same time vainly directing their arrows against this monster of the air that swept along so majes- tically away above all their powerless fury. The wind was setting to the southward, but the doctor felt no concern on that score, since it enabled him the better to follow the route traced by Captains Burton and Speke. Kennedy had, at length, become as talkative as Joe, and the two kept up a continual interchange of admiring interjections and exclamations. " Out upon stage-coaches ! " said one. " Steamers indeed ! " said the other. " Railroads ! eh ? rubbish ! " put in Kennedy, " that you travel on, without seeing the country I " " Balloons ! they're the sort for me ! " Joe would add. " Why, you don't feel yourself going, and Nature takes the trouble to spread herself out before one's eyes ! '* " What a splendid sight ! What a spectacle 1 What a delight ! a dream in a hammock ! " " Suppose we take our breakfast ? " was Joe's unpoeti- cal change of tune, at last, for the keen, open air had mightily sharpened his appetite. " Good idea, my boy I " " Oh I it won't take us long to do the cooking — biscuit and potted meat ? " " And as much coffee as you like," said the doctor. " 1 give you leave to borrow a little heat from my cylinder. There's enough and to spare, for that matter, and so we shall avoid the risk of a conflagrration." "That wou d be a dreadful misfortune 1 " ejaculated THE riR8T BEEAETAST. 85 Kennedy. "It's the same as a powder-magazine sus- pended over our heads." " Not precisely," said Ferguson, " but still if the gas were to take fire it would burn up gradually, and we should settle down on the ground, which would be dis- agreeable ; but never fear — our balloon is hermetically sealed." " Let us eat a bite, then," replied Kennedy. " Now, gentlemen," put in Joe, " while doing the same as you, I'm going to get you up a cup of cofiee that ] think you'll have something to say about." " The fact is," added the doctor, " that Joe, along with a thousand other virtues, has a remarkable talent for the preparation of that delicious beverage : he compoimds it of a mixture of various origin, but he never would reveal to me the ingredients." " Well, master, since we are so far above-ground, I can teU you the secret. It is just to mix equal quantities of Mocha, of Bourbon cofiee, and of Rio Nunez." A few moments later, three steaming cups of cofiee were served, and topped ofi'a substantial breakfast, which was additionally seasoned by the jokes and repartees of the guests. Each one then resumed his post of observa- tion. The country over which they were passing was re- markable for its fertility. Narrow, winding paths plimged in beneath the overarching verdure. They swept along above cultivated fields of tobacco, maize, and barley, a full maturity, and here and there immense rice-fields full of straight stalks and purple blossoms. They could distinguish sheep and goats too, confined in larg* cages, set up on piles to keep them out of reach of thf leopards' fangs. Luxuriant v^egetation spread in wild profuseness over this prodigal soiL ViUage after village rang witli yells of terror and 86 FIVE WEEKS m A BAX,LO0H. astonishraeiit at the sight of the Victoria, and Dr. Fergn son prudently kept her above the reach of the barbarian arrows. The savages below, thus baffied, ran together from their huddle of huts and followed the travellers with their vaiu imprecations while they remained in sight. At noon, the doctor, upon consulting his map, calcu- lated that they were passing over the Uzaramo * country. The soil was thickly studded with cocoa-nut, papaw, and cotton-wood trees, above which the balloon seemed to dis- port itself like a bird. Joe found this splendid vegetation a matter of course, seeing that they were in Africa. Ken- nedy descried some hares and quails that asked nothing better than to get a good shot from his fowling-piece, but it would have been powder wasted, since there was no time to pick up the game. The aeronauts swept on with the speed of twelve miles per hour, and soon were passing in thirty-eight degrees twenty minutes east longitude, over the village of Toimda. " It was there," said the doctor, " that Burton and Speke were seized with violent fevers, and for a moment thought their expedition ruined. And yet they were only a short distance from the coast, but fatigue and privation were beginning to tell upon them severely." In fact, there is a perpetual malaria reigning through- out the country in question. Even the doctor could hope to escape its cifects only by rising above the range of the miasma that exhales from this damp region whence the blazing rays of the sun pump up its poisonous vapors. Once in a while they could descry a caravan resting in a " kraal,''^ awaiting the freshness and cool of the evening to resume its route. These kraals are wide patches of cleared land, smTounded by hedges and jungles, where traders take shelter against not only the wild beasts, but also the ' U and Ou signify country m xae langnage of that re^on. AyoromG the native8. 87 robber tribes of the country. They could see the natives rnnnirijr and scattering in all directions at the sight of the Victona. Kennedy was keen to get a closer look at them, but the doctor invariably held out against the idea. " The chiefs are armed with muskets," he said, " and our balloon would be too conspicuous a mark for their bullets." " Would a bullet-hole bring us down ? " asked Joe. " Not immediately ; but such a liole would soon be- come a large torn orifice through which our gas would escape." " Then, let us keep at a respectful distance from yon miscreants. What must they think as they see us sailing in the air? I'm sure they must feel like worsliij)ping us !" "Let them worship away, then," replied tlie doctor, "but at a distance. Tliore is no harm done in getting as far away from them as possible. See ! the country is already changing its aspect : the villages are fewer an