The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-12-22
PROF. ANDREE's FATE.
His Balloon Driven Eastward Into
Dreadful Arctic Cyclones.

PARIS, Dec. 21.-The following facts re-
garding the aeronaut, Andree, and his ex-
petition have not as yet been published
here. They are CLEANED from the Swedish
papers. 1t will be remembered that on the
morning of July IA last in latitude SO.44
north, to the westward Of Phipp's Island,
one of the most northern islands of Spitz-
bergen, a Norwegian seal fisher killed
homing pigeon that proved to have been
sent out by Andrea A month afterward the
news reached Sweden, but distorted by the
stupidity of the fishermen who had passed
the intelligence from to another. On
reaching Sweden the facts contained in the
pigeon message had been reduced 70 the
simple statement that Andree had crossed
the eighty-second degree of latitude. No
date was given. Thus the matter rested
until few days ago, when the fisherman
who shot the pigeon returned to civilization,
bringing with him his interesting dispatch.
1t reads as follows
July IS, 1890 p. M, latitude 1922; longi-
tude 1876 east. Good voyage toward the
east ten degrees to the south. All Well on
board. This is the third pigeon sent out.
ANDREE.'
The publication of this dispatch in Sweden
caused bitter disappointment and has
given rise to grave approximations. When
Professor Andree's balloon, the Eagle, sailed
away on her perilous mission, the wind bore
her in a northwesterly direction at the rate
of forty-four kilometerS an hour, according
to the estimate made by several ''old salts"
who had come to watch her departure.
Had this rate of speed been maintained,
and had she sailed continually in the same
direction. she would have reached the
North Pole twenty-five hours afterward or
on Monday, July u. But what news does
this dispatch bring? Simply this, that forty
eight hours after her departure the
Eagle had got no further than 230 kilome-
from SDitZberQen
a fifth of the distance that separates Spitz-
bergen from the Pole. and was no longer
sailing northward toward her destination,
but eastward away from it
AS to where she had spent the intervening
period and what had happened to her dur
ing these eventful forty eight hours. is sug-
geSted by the clever Swedish meteorological,
NJ. Ekhoim. In drawing his deductions Mr..
Ekholm has argued not only from NJ An
dree's message, but from certain facts
gathered from the Norwegian fishermen
learned in the direction and force of the
winds that blow on the north coast of
TO understand Mr. Ekholm's theory it is
necessary to recall the fact that about the
center of barOmetric depression the wind
travels in a direction opposite to that taken
by the hands of watch. Thus the south
wind that blew when Andree started was
caused by the presence of cyclone or GEN.
ter of barometric depression west of SpitZ-
bergen. Driven by this current the balloon
must in. few hours, have reached the
center of the cyclone. where, as is well
known, there is a region of calm or ftful
winds. Once engulfed in this zone she must
have remained there at least twenty-four
hours. like d ship becalmed.
During her sojourn in these aerial dol
drums the cyclone must have travelled from
the west of Spitzbergen eastwardly across
the Arctic Ocean. At noon on the 18th,
therefore. the center could not have been
far from Franz Josef's Land, and, conse-
quently. a westerly wind might have begun
to blow and carried Andree In a southeast
erly direction and ten degrees southwark
as he states in his dispatch. Admitting this
10 have been the case. what has become OF
the adventurous explorers? Ekholm is of