The Republican., 1896-10-29
A FLIGHT TO THE POLE.


My air-ship was a complete and per-
feet success. An extended trial trip
had demonstrated that the vertical
propeller was capable of raising the
ship to height far beyond that of the
highest mountains On the earth, while
the horizontal propeller could easily
drive it ahead at speed of 200 miles an
hour. 1t answered the helm more readi-
ly than any vessel that ever rode the
waves, and its course could be detected
up or down with equal readiness. In
fact, | at last had ready to my hand the
means of accomplishing my great pro-
ject. On the evening of the third day
after the trial trip, l drove up TO my
ranch, near Knights Landing, where
the air-ship had been built, unknown
TO all the world save James Auchincloss,
the Scotch machinist who had assisted
me in putting the parts together as
they arrived from the foundry in San
Francisco. He had shared with me
the perils and triumphs of the trial trip.
Now, as l drove my light wagon up to
the door, after a trip to the ferry, Au
load. Having handed out supplies of
bread, crackers and various kinds of
canned delicacies, together with some
wine and spirits, flung out six buffalo
robes, and the same number of heavy
blankets.
'Hallo, Mr.. Aitken!" exclaimed Au-
chincloss. you've got wraps enough
for the north pole"
Glad youthinl So" replied 1; that's
just where we're going"
''All right, boss said Auchincloss,
81 don't doubt you can do it. A man
that can build an air-ship can go to the
north pole in it. When 60 we start?"
''To-morrow morning, at daybreak
-half-past four"
"Then let's go to bed"
Day broke dim over the hills and
plains of Stanislaus county as, after
hasty breakfast, we slowed into the
vessel the things | had bought on the
previous night. We also carried in our
stove and clamped it securely to the
cabin floor, piling in at the same time
half cord of wood for fuel. Two ten
gallon kegs of water completed the
commissariat. | secured small but
beautifully fitted compass, with all
modern appliances, at the forward end
of the cabin, where it would be furthest
removed from the influence of the iron;
Gnd, beside it, very fine chronometer
This latter marked just - minutes to
five as AuchinclOss, standing by the
engine, turned on the air, and, under
the enormous draught of the horizontal
fans, our vessel with a singing noise
rose vertically into the air.
The moving panorama beneath us
now began to be beautiful in the eX-
treme. | purposed keeping roughly in
the region lying between the 12Oth and
122d merldans of longitude. deviatina
from strict northerly course where
necessary to avoid Il mountainous coun-
try. We therefore passed in a north
westerly direction over Pennington
and Linden; crossed the Calaveras
river at 5:04; the Mokelumne at $40:
the Costumes at 5:14; and were scour-
ing about five miles to the east of Sac
ramento at 500 BY six a. m. we had
passed Red Bluffs and Cottonwood, and
were abreast of the Black Buttes Of
Lassen; while far away to the north.
20 miles across the intervening country
of Shasta, and IN that of Siskiyou, the
white cone which gives its name to the
aforementioned district pierced the
cloudless ether. Still keeping up the
main watershed of the Sacramento. at
6:20, we skirted the western base of
above us. Ten minutes later we were
just crossing the Oregon line, having
passed over more than four degrees of
latitude, or 300 miles, in an hour and
half. The vessel was answering eXpec-
tation; the pressure in the receiver was
only so pounds, and the discharges of
cartridges in the condenser had been
kept to II minute. Auchincloss con-
tinued to smoke imperturbablv and
went methodically round with his oil
can.
We now and again made divergence
TO the northeast to avoid the Cascade
range of mountains. At 7:45 we sight |
ed the Columbia river. and crossed into
Washington territory at The Dalles.
Striking still eastward into the valley
of the Yakima, Mount Adams, Mount
Rainier and Mount Aiks were success
fully Mt behind us during the next
half hour Here, the mountains be-
comEg more broken, we had to rise TO
a height of nearly 5000 feet to avoid
thcir ridges. At $3.50 we crossed the
forty-ninth parallel and entered British
territory. The next three hours were
passed at great altitude, for we were
continually approaching the Rocky
mountains. These we crossed between
$3.50 and 1915, at an altitude of 5000
feet by the barometer, and entered |
upon region much colder than that
which we had left on the other side of
the range. l now lit the stove. as it |
was getting sharp and cold for the
sun was no higher in the heavens than
1t had been two hours earlier, though
1t had, of course, swung further to the |
south. | also spread out my charts
upon the table, and at 12 noon took |
seXtant observation and determined
the latitude to be 81 deUrepS an r,inutoe /