Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1882-01-12
THROUGH AIR TO THE POLE.

How Com. Cheyne Proposes to Reach
the Arctic Goai---The Advantages o
the BaIooning Systematic Feast
biIity of the Scheme Demonstrated
Mail and Express
Commander Cheyne, r. N, F. r. G.
S., and Lieut. Schawatka, the former
representing England and the latter
America, propose, if $4,000 be raised
to defray expenses, to sail from New
York in June next for the purpose OF
penetrating to point in the extreme
North, and from there reach the pole
in balloons. The scheme is backed by a
party of English scientists who are in
terested in Arctic explorations, and it
is expected that the wealthy men of
the New World will be induced to pay
their share of the enterprise. Com
mander Cheyne has outlined the plans
of the sea and air voyagers, and it will
be best understood by his own language.
Whether the scheme be practical or
not, an account of it will be found as
entertaining as any Jules Verne has
ever written. 1--WE propose" said the
commander in speaking to reporter
from the Mail and Express, 'to 60 by
way of Davis strait, Baffin's bay and
Smiths sound to st. Patrick's bay,
where there is splendid bed Of coal.
This will be the destination of our ship,
which, by the by, will be called the
Grinnell. The Grinnell will be charter
ed to take party of seventeen men
and officers, beside three Esquimaux.
On arriving at st. Patrick's bay, which
is distant only 495 miles from the pole
and easy of access, the Grinnell will
land the complement of twenty persons,
Esquimaux dogs, steam launch, small
boats, sledges, three large and several
small balloons, stores, etc., beside a
portable house to be placed on the Goals.
Our winter quarters will be situated
in latitude 81.44 and longitude ga. The
Grinnell, after discharging her cargo,
will return to New York, leaving the
explorers with the appliances before
mentioned to reveal the mysteries of
the realms beyond them, and, after the
completion of that work, to return to
the Danish settlements of either Uper-
navik or Disco, from which places
whalers may frequently be found re-
turning southwark
HOW THE BALLOONS WILL BE USED.
"How do you propose using your
balloons?" asked the writer, to which
questions the commander responded
with alafyity. Perfect safeguards for
balloonink have been organized. A
permanent wooden observatory will be
erected at the winters headquarters.
Two snow observatories will be built
at distance of fifty feet from each
other-north and south. At each of
the three a party of three observers
will be stationed. The three observa-
tories will be connected by telegraph
wires. Simultaneous meteorological
hourly observations will be taken at
these three points, commanding range
of 1000 miles north and south. / shall
be at the central observatory project
ing the defections of the wind curves,
as they occur hourly. This practice
will be continued two months at least
before the intended time for starting
the balloons, which will be June, 1888
the mean temperature being the 80
deg. Fab. in the shade-the sun shin
ing night and day, giving extra warmth.
This warmth is increased at an eleva-
tion of from 500 to 1000 feet, which
will be the normal elevation of the
balloons during the passage"
"Will you kindly give partial de-
scription of your balloons?"
"The balloons will be made of dou-
BILE envelope of best silk interlined
with gold-beaters' skin. Each of the
three large air vessels will be capable
Of lifting two tons and will be pro-
vided with three persons, Esquimaux
dogs, small sledges and boat, with pro-
visions for fifty-one days. Each bal
loon will have trail-rope to keep it at
its organized elevation. The advant-
age of this trail-rope is the great saw
ing of gas, for when the gas is ex-
pended by a little extra heat from the
sun the balloon tries to rise but is pre-
vented by taking more weight of the
rope from the ice; and, contra, cloud
passing before the sun and condensing
the gas inclines the balloon to fall, but
as a consequence it deposits more of
the rope on the ice, thus lessening the
weight and tending to keep the balloon
in equilibrium. In case of accident to
the trail-rope the lower part may be
disconnected. A fine telegraph wire
$40 miles in length, weighing about
300 pounds, will rapidly roll off as the
balloon sails along, and we shall, 10y a
mechanical appliance, the construction
OF which is a secret, keep up constant
telegraphic communication with our
winter headquarters. Besides, the wire
can be used as log wire"
SHORT TRIP.
"How will you depend upon the wind
taking you to the pole?"
"The continued simultaneous obser-
vations taken at the three observator-
les will enable me to estimate the di-
ameters of the different wind circles,
and l shall have calculated with accu-
racy the course of the wind curve upon
which 1 start with my three balloons,
and confidently expect to arrive with
In ten miles of the pole in from eight
to twenty hours after leaving win
ter headquarters"
"How do you expect to make the re-
tui l trip"
Allowing for the escape of gas be-
yol-' what ought to be expected, two
balloons could be reinfiated from the
third, leaving the empty one behind.
The return will be made in the two
balloons, or the ice may be such that
we can return with our dog sledges
and boats. You will see the dangers
of Arctic explorations are greatly les
sened by the balloon system. There
are many things yet to be done. am
about to start for Canada, where ]
Il nhnlI COO Cir Iohn lInnonaId -