loss of nearly fifty
thousand, or a little less than forty per cent. This battle should never
have been fought. Rosecranz here lost his military prestige that he had
so splendidly won at Stone's River. Thomas alone achieved on this field
immortal glory, and was the one great hero of the occasion. The
Confederates claimed it as a victory, but they should daily thereafter
have asked a kind Providence to keep them from any more such victories.

"The next day Thomas followed us into Chattanooga, and Bragg and
Longstreet perched with their armies upon Lookout Mountain and
Missionary Ridge. From these elevations they watched us with Argus eyes.
Our supplies were completely cut off and we were soon reduced to the
point of star--But here, you fellows are getting tired, and so am I. I
will tell you about the siege of Chattanooga and battle of Missionary
Ridge some other time."

CHAPTER XVIII.

Woman Locates the North Pole.

Silver Cloud hastened on with the favoring gale from the balmy South. By
noon the coast of Franz Joseph Land could be seen. They were now near
the eightieth degree of latitude. During the afternoon they crossed that
land of eternal winter. Monotonous mountains, hills, and plains of
everlasting snow and ice wearied the eye, and caused a sense of
seasickness and vertigo if looked upon too long. The Doctor had treated
these symptoms in each as they occurred, and our friends had experienced
but little of the inconvenience due to this cause that is suffered by
most aeronauts. They had entirely lost their sense of insecurity and
fear, and nothing could be more comfortable and pleasant than were the
accommodations of the cabin of Silver Cloud, even in this exceedingly
high latitude. And oh! those walks about the balcony of Silver Cloud!
How invigorating and healthful! So vast were the proportions of the
globe that there was no swaying, shaking, nor trembling ever
perceptible. It was as if the splendid structure were a rock, and all
the world a swift flying panorama far beneath them. Very strange and
weird was the sight of the sun, traveling in one continuous circuit but
a few degrees above the horizon, never rising nor setting during six
months of the year. The atmosphere was particularly clear and frosty, so
that as they promenaded the balcony, or sat in the observatory, they
were obliged to don their beautiful sealskins, a complete outfit of
which Count Icanovich had presented to each member of the co