Mussamed. “We recognised by your arms that it is Allah that has sent you—the Delta and all the neighbouring countries are full of thy miracles. But would you be a conqueror if Allah did not permit you?”
Bonaparte. “A celestial body will point by my orders to the dwelling of the clouds, and lightning will descend towards the earth, along a rod of metal from which I can call it forth.”
Napoleon did not favour the use of balloons in war. Perhaps it was because he himself had such a splendid genius for war that he depended alone upon himself, and scorned assistance. Perhaps it was because if balloons were discovered to be of real utility, his enemies might make use of them as well as himself, and France retain no special advantage in them. But however this may be, on his return from Egypt he sold the balloon of Fleurus to Robertson. The company of ballooneers was dissolved, and the balloons themselves disappeared in smoke.
During the war in America, the role which the balloon played was a more important one. The Government of the United States conferred the title of aeronautic engineer upon Mr. Allan, of Rhode Island, who originated the idea of communicating by a telegraphic wire from the balloon to the camp. The first telegraphic message which was transmitted from the aerial regions is that of Professor Love, at Washington, to the President of the United States. The following is this despatch:—
“WASHINGTON, Balloon the ‘Enterprise.’
“SIR,—The point of observation commands an extent of nearly fifty miles in diameter. The city, with its girdle of encampments, presents a superb scene. I have great pleasure in sending you this despatch—the first that has been telegraphed from an aerial station—and to know that I should be so much encouraged, from having given the first proof that the aeronautic science can render great assistance in these countries.”
In the month of September, 1861, one of the most hardy aeronauts (La Mountain) furnished important information to General M’Clellan. The balloon of La Mountain, which arose from the northern camp upon the Potomac, passed above Washington. La Mountain then cut the cord that connected his balloon with the earth, and rising rapidly to the height of a mile and a half, he found himself directly above his enemies’ lines. There he was able to observe perfectly their position and their movements. He then threw over ballast, and ascended to the height of three miles. At this height he encountered a current which carried him in the direction of Maryland, where he descended in safety. General M’Clellan was so much satisfied with the observations taken in the balloon, that, at his request, the order was given to the War Department to construct four new balloons.
If this volume of “The Library of Wonders” had not had for its single object “balloons and their history,” we would have devoted a chapter to the numerous attempts made to steer balloons. We shall only say here that aerial navigation should be divided into two kinds with balloons, and without balloons. In the first case, it is limited to the study of aerial currents, and to the art of rising to those currents which suit the direction of the voyage undertaken. The balloon is not the master of the atmosphere; on the contrary, it is its powerless slave. In the second case, the discovery of Montgolfier is useless; and the question is, to find out a new machine capable of flying in the air, and at the same time heavier than the air. Birds are, without doubt, the best models to study. But with what force shall we replace LIFE? The air-boat of M. Pline seems to us one of the best ideas; but the working of it presents many difficulties. Let us find a motive power at once light and powerful (aluminium and electricity, for example), and we will have definitively conquered the empire of the air.