In November of the same year A. E. Gaudron, Captain Maitland, and C. C. Turner, made the longest voyage on record from England. They landed at Mateki Derevni, in Russia, having travelled 1,117 miles in 31½ hours. They were driven down to the ground by a severe snowstorm. On December 31, 1908, M. Usuelli, in the balloon “Ruwenzori” left the Italian lakes and passed over the Alps at a height of 14,750 feet, landing in France. This feat was followed a few weeks later--February 9, 1909--by Oscar Erbslöh, who left St. Moritz with three passengers, crossing the Alps at an altitude of 19,000 feet, and landed at Budapest after a voyage of 33 hours. Many voyages over and among the Alps have been made by Captain Spelterini, the Swiss aeronaut, and he has secured some of the most remarkable photographs of the mountain scenery in passing. In these voyages at such great altitudes it is necessary to carry cylinders of oxygen to provide a suitable air mixture for breathing. In one of his recent voyages Captain Spelterini had the good fortune to be carried almost over the summit of Mont Blanc. He ascended with three passengers at Chamounix, and landed at Lake Maggiore seven hours later, having reached the altitude of 18,700 feet, and travelled 93 miles. [Illustration: Photograph of the Alps from a balloon by Captain Spelterini.] In the United States there were several balloon races during the year 1909, the most important being the St. Louis Centennial race, beginning on October 4th. Ten balloons started. The race was won by S. von Phul, who covered the distance of 550 miles in 40 hours 40 minutes. Clifford B. Harmon and Augustus Post in the balloon “New York” made a new duration record for America of 48 hours 26 minutes. They also reached the highest altitude attained by an American balloon--24,200 feet. On October 12th, in a race for the Lahm cup, A. Holland Forbes and Col. Max Fleischman won. They left St. Louis, Mo., and landed 19 hours and 15 minutes later at Beach, Va., near Richmond, having travelled 697 miles. In 1910, in the United States, a remarkable race, with thirteen competitors, started at Indianapolis. This was the elimination race for the International race on October 17th. It was won by Alan P. Hawley and Augustus Post in the balloon “America II.” They crossed the Alleghany Mountains at an elevation of about 20,000 feet, and landed at Warrenton, Va., after being 44 hours 30 minutes in the air; and descended only to escape being carried out over Chesapeake Bay.