88 KANSAS CITY REVIEW OF SCIENCE. 



poles. This rudder is attached near one end to the under side of the body of 

 the balloon, and so arranged that it is perfectly under the control of the operator. 



The screw consists of two spirally curved paddles made of silk and bamboo 

 poles, the deformation of which is guarded against by the action of coils of steel 

 wire. Four batteries are so constructed and placed in the car that this screw_ 

 can be given four different motions, -varying from sixty to one hundred and 

 eighty revolutions per minute. 



The summer of 1883 was almost gone when the balloon was completed; 

 therefore, it was given but one trial last year. This trial was made by Tissander 

 and his brother. They began inflating it with hydrogen gas about eight o'clock 

 in the morning and continued till half past two in the afternoon. At twenty 

 minutes past three they made the ascent. On the ground there was almost no 

 wind; but, as frequently happens, it increased with the altitude. On this ac 

 count they did not let it rise more than four or five hundred metres. About four 

 o'clock in the afternoon they made a very successful descent. The balloon was 

 left inflated over night, as they expected to make another trial the next day, but 

 on account of the coldness of the night the bicromate of potassium in the tanks 

 had crystallized and the battery, which was by no means exhausted, was on this 

 account, however, incapable of action. They were able in their last year's as- 

 cent, by the use of the screw, to stand still against a strong wind, and when 

 drifting with the wind by a slow motion of the screw a much greater speed could 

 be obtained than that caused by the wind. They could also maintain any desired 

 angle with the direction of the wind by the use of the rudder. However, they 

 found that when holding the balloon in a position at right angles to the direction 

 of the wind the rudder became inflated like a sail and a series of gyratory mo- 

 tions before noticed became more violent. From this they conclude that the 

 balloon should not be held in a position at right angles to the direction of the 

 wind. 



These brothers, as well as many others, feel sure that successful aerial nav- 

 igation will soon be no more a thing of the future, but of the present. They 

 consider this first ascent as merely a preliminary trial which will soon be repeat- 

 ed with the alterations which their experience commands. 



HISTORY, 



THE CONSPIRACY OF BARRERA— A REMINISCENCE OF THE EAR- 

 LY HISTORY OF MISSOURI. 



OSCAR W. COLLfcTT, CUSTODIAN MUSEUM, MISSOURI HISTOKICAL SOCIETY. 



In 1 761 the king of France made a gift of Louisiana to Spain. The gift was 

 accepted with reluctance, as its advantages were questionable, indirect at best, 



