CHAPTER XXIX.
Make a Balloon and Flying Machine, in which I make a Successful Ascension.
My thoughts turned wholly now upon means of defending my vast treasuresin case of invasion, and devising ways of escape from the island. Asto the former, I overhauled all my artillery at the different points,increased my stock of gunpowder, and had each cannon well supplied withammunition. I also perfected my battery at Stillwater Cove, and keptthe armament on the walls of the Hermitage in excellent order. Notcontent with this, I went to work in the foundry and turned out severalcylinders, similar to the one I had exploded the sunken wreck with,which I fitted with flint and steel, ready to be filled with powder; inshort, a species of torpedo, which I had fully determined to take intothe submarine boat and explode beneath the bottom of any hostile vesselthat should dare to attack me, so much had the acquisition of vastriches changed my disposition. I felt that any vessel approaching andanchoring would be at my mercy; for in the night-time I could approachher, wherever she might be anchored, unknown to anyone, and, attachingone of my infernal machines, send her to the bottom with all on board.I do not say that I should have done this, but I was prepared for allemergencies, and determined to defend my treasure to the last. Formeans of escape I turned my attention to ballooning,--a subject whichI had thought much about, but heretofore had done nothing in thatdirection. For several years I had been quietly gathering in all thedried pods of milkweed, floss, or silk that I could find,--and largespaces of the island were covered with it,--determined at some time toweave me some kind of cloth or silk from its fibre. I now commencedseriously upon this work, and took hold of it in earnest. It would taketoo long to relate how many changes I had to make in my loom, whichI built of cast-iron, to be moved by water-power, before I could getit to work at all; but I had the theory all correct, and it was onlypractice that I needed to make cloth. The machine for spinning thefloss into threads took me the longest time, but I finally accomplishedit. After a while, and with many failures, I commenced to turn out frommy loom a sort of cloth, about a yard wide, which was very strong,flexible, and light, but of an uneven surface, on account of theirregularity in the size of my threads, and fuzzy, like coarse flannel;but for strength and practical use I found the material all that couldbe desired; and, having tested it, I set carding and spinning wheelsto work daily to procure thread for my loom. After making some hundredyards of this cloth, I stopped all the operations to experiment inanother direction. In my boyhood I had seen balloon-ascensions made byfilling the bag with a gas, created by pouring sulphuric acid upon ironor steel filings in this manner: Several old hogsheads were broughtupon the field where the ascension was to take place, and into eachof them was poured a quantity of iron filings, scraps, etc., and uponthis was poured sulphuric acid; the casks were then headed up, andthrough a small orifice the gas engendered was led by a pipe from eachto the balloon, which was thus inflated. If I could make this gas andsuccessfully inflate a small balloon, it would then be time enough forme to advance with my clothmaking for a large one. I easily ascertainedfrom my book how to make sulphuric acid. And this is how I did it: Igot together a quantity of sulphur or brimstone, and setting fire toit in a closed vessel, with just enough draught for it to burn, I ledthe fumes into a closed vessel of water through a short funnel, where,combining with the water, I had at once sulphuric acid. To test thisI tackled my friends the dog-sharks, in Stillwater Cove, and obtainedseveral bladders, very thin and light, just suited for my purpose,which I blew up with atmospheric air, and allowed to dry perfectlyin the sun. When they were in proper condition I placed in one of myporcelain jars a few handfuls of iron and steel filings, and pouredupon it some of the sulphuric acid that I had made, and then lashed theneck of the bladder to the orifice of the jar. I watched my experimentwith subdued excitement. I felt sure that I was right in theory; wouldthe thing work in practice? I had yet to see. After leaving the bladderon for a considerable time, I drew a string around it perfectly tightso that no gas could escape and released it from the jar. With fearand trepidation I loosed my hold upon it, and in one moment it shot upinto the sky like a rocket till it was nearly beyond my sight, when itdisappeared in a northeasterly direction before a strong wind that wasblowing. I was as pleased as a boy with his first toy-balloon, and,like a child, I let off several of these bladders as fast as filledwith gas, perfectly fascinated to see them ascend and then disappear inthe blue ether.
Here was a means at once of sending up daily messengers to all partsof the world, stating the latitude and longitude of the island, andasking for rescue. Aye, but there was the rub; without my treasure howgladly would I have seized upon this method of letting my captivity beknown, but with it I had become a coward. I wanted to escape, and didnot dare to ask anyone to aid me. The knowledge that I could ask was,of course, a satisfaction, but as yet I did not dare to risk it, andput the matter on one side for further meditation at some future day.Finding that my theory about the gas was correct, I went to work againupon my clothmaking, and worked hard at it nearly six months, when Ihad sufficient quantity for my purpose, which was to make a balloonof large enough size to make an ascension in myself. I did not haveany foolhardy idea of leaving the island in a balloon and landing Iknew not where, but I was determined to make a series of experimentsin several directions, that had been running through my head for yearsbefore, and to see what they were worth. In the first place I wentto work and made a balloon, in the shape of an immense cigar, of thecloth that I had manufactured, which was some thirty feet long, andten feet in diameter. My theory was this. In all balloon ascensionsnavigators heretofore had only been able to fill a sack with gas, andto ascend into the air, and descend by allowing the same to escape,in other words, to have but little control of the machine except toascend and descend, and this in a limited degree. I had often noticedthat, in the severest storms, seabirds would remain poised in the airwithout moving a wing, facing the wind, and yet not recede before it,but by a slight motion of the wings, not up and down or a stroke, buta sort of elevation of the body, dart dead to windward against it. Ihad also noticed that, if a tin plate was thrown into the air againsta strong wind, it would often, if at the right angle, increase itsspeed greatly after leaving the hand, and dart into the wind's eye withextreme velocity. Hence I thought that a balloon could be made to tackin the air exactly as a boat tacks in the water, except that the motionof tacking should be perpendicular instead of horizontal. Suppose thata balloon, cigar-shaped like mine, was poised in air at an altitudeof one thousand feet, and that at each end of the car was arrangeda light but large horizontal flat surface, exactly like a barn doorlaid upon the ground, with its hinges attached to the car. To advanceagainst the wind why not elevate the one in front and depress the onein rear to the right angle, or till they were filled as we should sayof sails, and then advance into the wind's eye, increasing at the sametime the elevation, as the tin plate is forced forward; and, havingmade a tack upward and forward, why not elevate the rear screen anddepress the front one, and descend towards the earth at an angle,still eating our way to windward, and when near the surface reversethe action and mount again heavenward, but still to windward. Besidesthis, why should not my balloon be filled with gas till it would liftmyself, the screens, the car, and all its apparatus _within one or twopounds_. That is to say, to have just enough gas in the balloon, not toraise the apparatus, but to so nearly raise it that another person, ifpresent, could lift the whole in his hand; practically to reduce theweight of my body to that of a good sized duck; then with small wings,not immense cumbersome ones, the same size that would raise a duck, Iought to be able to raise myself, and sail in the air. Could it be done?
After I had made my balloon bag I covered all the cloth and the seamswith a fine varnish that I made from the resinous trees of the island.This part of my task caused me little trouble. Having finished it Iwent to work upon my car and its appurtenances, which I made almostwholly of small cane, very strong but very light. I made also twoimmense screens or f
ans, which I fastened to either end, so that theycould be elevated or depressed, and covered the light framework withcloth. Underneath the centre of my car was hung vertically a propeller,also made of cane, and the blades covered with cloth, and on each sidea fan wheel some six feet in circumference and two wide. The shaftof these fan wheels and propeller was brought into the car, and, bya series of bevelled gear made of the lightest iron possible, wasconnected with a treadmill for one of my goats, motion upon which wouldgive over five hundred revolutions per minute to the fan wheels andpropeller. In this car I also fixed a jar of iron filings and a bottleof sulphuric acid to make gas, if necessary, to replace that whichwould in time leak out of the balloon if long inflated. I also providedthe machine with sand ballast in case I should need it to keep up theequilibrium in case the gas should escape faster than I expected,when I could keep my elevation by discharging it. After this was allarranged, the next thing was to make the experiment.
I have always thought that great advancement has been made in all thearts of navigating the ocean on account of the ease and safety withwhich experiments can be made, but to experiment in the air one mustgo into the air, and if the theory does not work in practice, down hecomes, perhaps a corpse, on to the hard earth, whilst a capsize in theocean in experimenting is nothing. Now I had made up my mind to go upin this machine, if possible, but I had also made up my mind that Iwould go over the water and not over the land, so that if anything didnot work, I should only take a cold bath and nothing more; besides,by my theory, I need not go high, and could keep a few feet above thesurface of the sea, and if disaster occurred I could swim ashore. I putmy goat daily upon his treadmill and worked my machine theoreticallytill I was satisfied with it. I then made myself a nice life preserverof fish bladders, and put into the car some few provisions and water.The next task was to launch myself properly into space without anydisaster. To enable me to do this I went to the mouth of StillwaterCove and erected a sort of wharf from the shore out into the waterat nearly high tide, about four feet wide, upon which I could restmy car with the fan wheels hanging over each side and the propellerclear underneath, the wharf not being planked, but consisting of a fewuprights and cross pieces only.
I carried here all my utensils for making gas and had everythingprepared for a start. I needed in the first place a day with but littlewind, but what there was to be from the southward so as to blow meoff into Perseverance Bay when I should start. After some waiting,such a day came and I hastened to take advantage of it. In the firstplace I took the canoe in tow of the yacht, and anchored it nearly amile from shore in the direction that the wind blew, so as to be able,perhaps, to reach it if I should find myself too far from land in caseof disaster. I then returned and went to work filling my balloon withgas. This I did on shore, till I had sufficient in the balloon to makeit steady, when I conveyed it over the car upon the wharf, where Iattached it by its numerous cords, and then connected it again with theorifice of the pipe that was supplying the gas. I had before in a rudebalance ascertained my own weight in sand-bags, and these I had in thecar to represent myself. I put the goat on the treadmill, all harnessedin, ready to start at a moment's notice, and in fact I did start himbefore the balloon was very buoyant, to see if everything was workingright. I walked about the car, lifting it once in a while to see howbuoyant it was. I should have said that the propeller had been changedfrom my first idea, as had the paddles. The former was so arranged asto work vertically, and motion from it ought to force me into the air,whilst the latter were arranged in the form of two lateral propellers,I having bethought myself in season that a revolving wheel in the airwould not force me in any direction, whilst a propeller would. The timefinally came when the car and all its appurtenances weighed only afew ounces in my hand, in fact nearly ready to take flight of itself.I then cut off the gas and placed myself in the car and commencedquietly emptying over the side the sand bags that represented my ownweight; and these being exhausted, I boldly threw over at once two bagsweighing nearly or fully twenty-five pounds each, as I was determinedto start clear and rapidly from my resting place, knowing that Icould easily descend by letting out a very little gas. The effect wasinstantaneous, and I arose rapidly and commenced floating slowly outover Perseverance Bay; but I had no desire to go high, and I openedthe throttle valve at the very moment the balloon started, and at theheight of about one hundred feet it was already commencing to slowlydescend, which I allowed it to do, till it was about twenty-five feetabove the water, when I threw out of gear the lateral propellers andstarted the goat; the effect was instantaneous in checking the descent,and the vertical propeller was forcing me upward with magnificentspeed, in fact I found myself quite too high for comfort before Ibethought myself of stopping the goat, which being done I commencedagain to descend, but quite leisurely, being very evenly balanced inthe air. When I came near the water, I set the vertical propeller againto work and arose heavenward. All this time I was drifting slowly outseaward over Perseverance Bay, and I thought it time to try my lateralpropellers; so, setting the gear at once by a handset, I put on allgoat power, being at a distance of some fifty feet above the water, asnear as I could judge. Everything worked admirably, and I saw that Iwas rapidly increasing my speed seaward. When I descended too near theocean I put on the vertical propeller, but I noticed that the lateralones sustained me as well as forced me forward. I soon ran past theplace where the "Fairy" was anchored, and I had now to try my lastexperiment. By this time I had become at ease in my car, and began tofeel as safe and secure as in the submarine boat. By stopping one ofthe lateral propellers I soon had my balloon turned round and facingthe wind, which was at this elevation and out to sea, rather morethan I had reckoned upon. As the point of the cigar-shaped ballooncame to the wind, I put on the vertical propeller and ascended higherthan I had ever yet been, and then, depressing the forward screen andelevating the rear one, I made a dive in a slanting direction towardsthe ocean; and here I had like to have been shipwrecked, for my carcommenced descending with such rapidity that I had scarcely time toreverse the action before I was in the ocean, but happily, by startingthe vertical propeller I saved myself, and found the car going just asrapidly upwards.
I had solved the problem. _I was tacking to windward in the air._ Iwas utilizing the action that causes a boomerang to take the seeminglyerratic course it does through space. Having tacked a few times Istopped in mid-air, and, as I had evidently lost some little gas,threw over a small amount of sand, till I sailed again almost inequilibrio. I then put on all the speed of my lateral propellers, andfound that I could stem the wind, and that I was approaching the shore.By the action of either one propeller or the other I could change thedirection of the car at will, and was enabled to hover over the verywharf whence I started, and to land upon it with a shock no greaterthan sitting down upon a hard chair.
I then let the gas escape from the balloon, and released my littlegoat, who had been my mainstay through all this perilous adventure. Ihad made a more successful ascension than had ever before been made inthe world, and if I could replace my goat-power by some other--such asa caloric engine, or some method of compressed air--I should have avehicle worthy of the nineteenth century. Of course it would not do tohave an engine, however small, fed with coal, or I should inevitablyhave an explosion. At the present I felt that the goat power must dome; and, even if he should fail, my weight was also so nearly thatof a few ounces or pounds that I could not fall hard, or with muchvelocity, even if he should from some reason refuse to work, or someof my machinery give way. The only thing that I feared was the tackingbusiness; this I considered dangerous, with the crude appliances thatI had, and I made up my mind not to be tipped out into the ocean, andtherefore took them off the car, making up my mind that I would notmake an ascension when there was more wind than I could head againstwith the lateral propellors, and, furthermore, now I had tested themachine, there was no need of my going off the island, over the sea,but I was free to sail all over the land, and if a storm of wind shoulda
rise, in which my crude car would be unmanageable, I had only todescend, and walk home.
I may as well say here, that I often afterwards enjoyed myself inthe air, floating over my own island, and that I never met with theslightest accident, of any kind; but I could not utilize my discoveryenough to dare to attempt an ocean voyage with it. It was a prettyplaything, and would make my fortune if amongst civilized people; but Ihave no objection to both my submarine boat and balloon becoming publicproperty, as far as I am concerned, I having enough actual wealth,in solid metal, to enable me to enjoy everything in this life worthenjoying.
If this manuscript ever comes to the hands of any one, they can goahead and manufacture without infringing upon my patent-rights; butshould they make an immense fortune, as they are sure to do, why thenthey can remember the inventor, if they choose; if God wills it that Ishould ever be where any of my fellow-men can help me, or I them. By myseries of experiments in ballooning I had exhausted all my inventionsfor escape, and I still returned to one of two things: To let theworld know of my distress by sending the news by balloons, or elseescape myself, in my steam yacht, or life raft, and run the risk offinding the island occupied upon my return, and myself debarred from mytreasures and ownership. Between these two I felt that it was time forme to choose, definitely and speedily.