THE CONQUEST OF TIME AND SPACE 



against it, and with the wind on either quarter at every 

 possible angle at various times during the journey. And 

 yet there were few scientists, indeed, if any, who con- 

 sidered that the problem of aerial navigation was 

 solved; and to a large number Santos-Dumont's per- 

 formance seemed little more than an extension of 

 Giffard's idea, made possible by improved machinery 

 not available half a century ago. To them it was the 

 triumph of the energy, skill, and courage of an individ- 

 ual, not the triumph of a principle — which, after all, 

 is the absolute essential. 



Since the successful performance of Santos-Dumont 

 in rounding the Eiffel Tower many other dirigible bal- 

 loons have been constructed, not only in America and 

 in Europe by various inventors, but by the Brazilian 

 aeronaut himself. The most remarkable of these is 

 the Zeppelin II, the fifth creation of the indomitable 

 Count Zeppelin. In principle and general lines of 

 construction this balloon closely resembles the one 

 described a few pages back. Its best performance, 

 however, is more remarkable. Starting from Lake 

 Constance on the night of May 29th, 1909, and sailing 

 almost directly northward regardless of air currents, the 

 balloon reached Bitterfield, a few miles beyond Leipzig, 

 four hundred and sixty-five miles from the starting- 

 point, the following evening. Turning back at this 

 point, without alighting, it haa almost completed its 

 return trip, when on coming to the ground for a supply 

 of fuel it was injured by collision with the branches of a 

 tree. The injury sustained, while delaying and marring 

 the voyage, did not prevent the balloon from complet- 



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