One of the balloons was burst at a height of 1,600 feet, and came down with a very quick run, but the staff officer in the car was unhurt. At Ladysmith, by means of the balloon, the British artillery fire was made decisive and accurate. With General Buller at Colenso, and up the Tugela River, Captain Philips’ balloon section was very useful. Splendid work was done at Spion Kop. There the whole position was located and made out to be impregnable. It has been said that the British Army was then saved from falling into a death trap by the aërial reconnaissance. Captain Jones’ section went up with Lord Methuen on Modder River. His observations continued every day. It was considered there was not a single day that they were not of the utmost importance. Again, Lord Kitchener and Lord Roberts used balloons. From the information they obtained from them they were enabled to march on to Paardeburg. At the latter place itself they were able to locate the whole position. Another section went to Kimberley and on to Mafeking. A very important observation was made at Fourteen Streams. There a balloon was used continuously for thirteen days without the gas being replenished. By its means the Boers were prevented from relieving Fourteen Streams. It has been pointed out by Colonel Templer that one of the great difficulties connected with the use of the comparatively small balloons in the South African War was the heights the armies went over. On the march to Pretoria there were hills 6,000 feet above the sea, and to make an observation from these hills it was necessary to go up 1,500 or 2,000 feet, so that the barometrical height was hard work on the buoyancy of the balloon, because the barometrical height then became 8,000 feet--the 6,000 feet altitude above the sea-level, and the 2,000 feet it was necessary to go over the hills--that was about all our balloons would do. That was a disadvantage of the captive balloons which would not have been felt if the observers had been on aëroplanes! Certainly, the excellent gas retaining power of gold-beaters’ skin was well put to the test in the South African War. The thirteen days’ work with one charge of gas mentioned above was a fair trial for a balloon of such comparatively small size; but Captain H. B. Jones gave a still more striking experience of the value of gold-beaters’ skin as a gas-holder. Speaking of the Bristol war balloon of 11,500 cubic feet capacity, he says:-- It was used at the engagements at Vet River and Land River, and arrived at Kroonstad on May 12th. The balloon was kept in a sheltered place near the river till we marched again, on May 22nd, and was not emptied till after we had crossed into the Transvaal at Vereeniging on May 27th. To keep a balloon going for thirteen days at one station is a good test; but in our case the Bristol was filled for twenty-two days, and did a march of 165 miles with the division.