NAVIGATING THE AIR 



an order was sent at once by his Majesty, bidding the 

 brothers bring their balloon to the city. 



In the meantime, however, a savant named Charles 

 had started the construction of a balloon that was to be 

 filled with hydrogen gas instead of heated air. This 

 was a much more expensive undertaking, as a thousand 

 pounds of iron filings and five hundred pounds of sul- 

 phuric acid were necessary to manufacture a sufficient 

 quantity of gas to fill the varnished silk bag. But by 

 the 23rd of August everything was in readiness for the 

 filling process, and the following day this first gas- 

 balloon rose from the Champs de Mars to a distance of 

 three thousand feet and disappeared into the clouds. 

 Three-quarters of an hour later it descended in a field 

 near the little village of Gonesse, to the great consterna- 

 tion of the inhabitants of the neighborhood, who sup- 

 posed it to be some monster bird, animal, or flying 

 dragon. Arming themselves with scythes and pitch- 

 forks, therefore, but keeping at a safe distance, the 

 boldest of the peasants sallied out and surrounded the 

 field in which the creature had alighted. As it made 

 no ofiFensive movement, however, one bold huntsman 

 armed with his trusty fowling-piece, crept cautiously 

 within range and fired, tearing a hole in the monster's 

 side and causing it to writhe and collapse, giving off 

 what appeared to be a foul-smelling, poisonous gas in 

 its death-struggles. When finally it lay flat and still the 

 villagers became emboldened, and rushing upon it cut 

 and tore it to shreds, ending the performance by tying 

 the fragments to a horse's tail and sending the animal 

 scurrying across the fields. 



[m] 



