Five Weeks in a Balloon | Page 5

Rocks.--Joe's Hallucinations.--A Precious Ballast.--A Survey of
the Gold-bearing Mountains. --The Beginning of Joe's Despair

CHAPTER TWENTY
-FOURTH.

The Wind dies away.--The Vicinity of the Desert.--The Mistake in the
WaterSupply.--The Nights of the Equator.--Dr. Ferguson's Anxieties.
--The Situation flatly stated.--Energetic Replies of Kennedy and Joe.
--One Night more

CHAPTER TWENTY
-FIFTH.
A Little Philosophy.--A Cloud on the Horizon.--In the Midst of a
Fog.--The Strange Balloon.--An Exact View of the Victoria.--The
Palm-Trees.--Traces of a Caravan.--The Well in the Midst of the Desert

CHAPTER TWENTY
-SIXTH.
One Hundred and Thirteen Degrees.--The Doctor's Reflections.--A
Desperate Search.--The Cylinder goes out.--One Hundred and
Twenty-two Degrees.-- Contemplation of the Desert.--A Night
Walk.--Solitude.--Debility.--Joe's Prospects.--He gives himself One
Day more

CHAPTER TWENTY
-SEVENTH.
Terrific Heat.--Hallucinations.--The Last Drops of Water.--Nights of
Despair. --An Attempt at Suicide.--The Simoom.--The Oasis.--The
Lion and Lioness.

CHAPTER TWENTY
-EIGHTH.
An Evening of Delight.--Joe's Culinary Performances.--A Dissertation
on Raw Meat.--The Narrative of James Bruce.--Camping out.--Joe's
Dreams.--The Barometer begins to fall.--The Barometer rises
again.--Preparations for Departure.--The Tempest

CHAPTER TWENTY
-NINTH.
Signs of Vegetation.--The Fantastic Notion of a French Author.--A
Magnificent Country.--The Kingdom of Adamova.--The Explorations
of Speke and Burton connected with those of Dr. Barth.--The Atlantika
Mountains.--The River Benoue.--The City of Yola.--The
Bagele.--Mount Mendif

CHAPTER THIRTIETH
.
Mosfeia.--The Sheik.--Denham, Clapperton, and Oudney.--Vogel.--The
Capital of Loggoum.--Toole.--Becalmed above Kernak.--The Governor
and his Court. --The Attack.--The Incendiary Pigeons

CHAPTER THIRTY
-FIRST.
Departure in the Night-time.--All Three.--Kennedy's
Instincts.--Precautions.-- The Course of the Shari River.--Lake
Tchad.--The Water of the Lake.--The Hippopotamus.--One Bullet
thrown away

CHAPTER THIRTY
-SECOND.
The Capital of Bornou.--The Islands of the Biddiomahs.--The
Condors.--The Doctor's Anxieties.--His Precautions.--An Attack in
Mid-air.--The Balloon Covering torn.--The Fall.--Sublime
Self-Sacrifice.--The Northern Coast of the Lake

CHAPTER THIRTY
-THIRD.
Conjectures.--Reestablishment of the Victoria's Equilibrium.--Dr.

Ferguson's New Calculations.--Kennedy's Hunt.--A Complete
Exploration of Lake Tchad.--Tangalia.--The Return.--Lari

CHAPTER THIRTY
-FOURTH.
The Hurricane.--A Forced Departure.--Loss of an Anchor.--Melancholy
Reflections.--The Resolution adopted.--The Sand-Storm.--The Buried
Caravan.-- A Contrary yet Favorable Wind.--The Return
southward.--Kennedy at his Post

CHAPTER THIRTY
-FIFTH.
What happened to Joe.--The Island of the Biddiomahs.--The Adoration
shown him.--The Island that sank.--The Shores of the Lake.--The Tree
of the Serpents.--The Foot-Tramp.--Terrible Suffering.--Mosquitoes
and Ants.-- Hunger.--The Victoria seen.--She disappears.--The
Swamp.--One Last Despairing Cry

CHAPTER THIRTY
-SIXTH.
A Throng of People on the Horizon.--A Troop of Arabs.--The
Pursuit.--It is He.--Fall from Horseback.--The Strangled Arab.--A Ball
from Kennedy.-- Adroit Manoeuvres.--Caught up flying.--Joe saved at
last

CHAPTER THIRTY
-SEVENTH.
The Western Route.--Joe wakes up.--His Obstinacy.--End of Joe's
Narrative. --Tagelei.--Kennedy's Anxieties.--The Route to the
North.--A Night near Aghades

CHAPTER THIRTY

-EIGHTH.
A Rapid Passage.--Prudent Resolves.--Caravans in Sight.--Incessant
Rains.-- Goa.--The Niger.--Golberry, Geoffroy, and Gray.--Mungo
Park.--Laing.-- Rene Caillie.--Clapperton.--John and Richard Lander

CHAPTER THIRTY
-NINTH.
The Country in the Elbow of the Niger.--A Fantastic View of the
Hombori Mountains.--Kabra.--Timbuctoo.--The Chart of Dr. Barth.--A
Decaying City.-- Whither Heaven wills

CHAPTER FORTIETH
.
Dr. Ferguson's Anxieties.--Persistent Movement southward.--A Cloud
of Grasshoppers.--A View of Jenne.--A View of Sego.--Change of the
Wind.-- Joe's Regrets

CHAPTER FORTY
-FIRST.
The Approaches to Senegal.--The Balloon sinks lower and
lower.--They keep throwing out, throwing out.--The Marabout
Al-Hadji.--Messrs. Pascal, Vincent, and Lambert.--A Rival of
Mohammed.--The Difficult Mountains. --Kennedy's Weapons.--One of
Joe's Manoeuvres.--A Halt over a Forest

CHAPTER FORTY
-SECOND.
A Struggle of Generosity.--The Last Sacrifice.--The Dilating
Apparatus.--Joe's Adroitness.--Midnight.--The Doctor's
Watch.--Kennedy's Watch.--The Latter falls asleep at his Post.--The
Fire.--The Howlings of the Natives.--Out of Range

CHAPTER FORTY
-THIRD.
The Talabas.--The Pursuit.--A Devastated Country.--The Wind begins
to fall.--The Victoria sinks.--The last of the Provisions.--The Leaps of
the Balloon.--A Defence with Fire-arms.--The Wind freshens.--The
Senegal River.--The Cataracts of Gouina.--The Hot Air.--The Passage
of the River

CHAPTER FORTY
-FOURTH.
Conclusion.--The Certificate.--The French Settlements.--The Post of
Medina.-- The Battle.--Saint Louis.--The English Frigate.--The Return
to London.

FIVE WEEKS IN A BALLOON.
------

CHAPTER FIRST
.
The End of a much-applauded Speech.--The Presentation of Dr. Samuel
Ferguson.--Excelsior.--Full-length Portrait of the Doctor.--A Fatalist
convinced.--A Dinner at the Travellers' Club.--Several Toasts for the
Occasion.
There was a large audience assembled on the 14th of January, 1862, at
the session of the Royal Geographical Society, No. 3 Waterloo Place,
London. The president, Sir Francis M----, made an important
communication to his colleagues, in an address that was frequently
interrupted by applause.
This rare specimen of eloquence terminated with the following
sonorous phrases bubbling over with patriotism:
"England has always marched at the head of nations" (for, the reader
will observe, the nations always march at the head of each other), "by
the intrepidity of her explorers in the line of geographical discovery."

(General assent). "Dr. Samuel Ferguson, one of her most glorious sons,
will not reflect discredit on his origin." ("No, indeed!" from all parts of
the hall.)
"This attempt, should it succeed" ("It will succeed!"), "will complete
and link together the notions, as yet disjointed, which the world
entertains of African cartology" (vehement applause); "and, should it
fail, it will, at least,