The evening tribune. (Pawtucket, R.I.) 189?-190?, 1897-04-12
TT FLIES BY ..lGAT.
evsRveO0v PuzzLING OVER THE
GREAT AlRSHiP MYSTERY.

The wonderful airship stories tba
have been kept in circulation for som,
tame past are exciting great deal Of
comment. Hundreds of people alleg,
that they have seen the aerial monster.
while the thousands who have not seen
1t are incredulous, but curious TO know
just what truth there is in all the ru.
mCrs.
The Kansas City Times announces the
discovery of man named Stover, who
ia the owner Of an airship, which The
binies believes TO be the one recently
observed sailing over Kansas City. The
ship is called the Great AUX.
1.-THE principle upon which the Great
Auk was built" says this paper, twas
that of the aeroplane, sufficiently
hackneyed theory in aerial navigation,
but tho principle upon which it was
propelled through the air was unique.
Mr.. Stoner obtained his idea from
watching sheet Of paper fall through
still atmosphere from great height.
He noticed that the tendency was TO de-
scribe Zigzag course as vessel takes
/.
fhat the shooting of the paper in one di-
rection tended to form in front Of il
slightly condensed cushion Of air, which
repelled the sheet, driving it toward the
rmer atmosphere.
$50 ne built the Great AUX to travel
an undulating or waving plane, as q
psrrow flies, depending upon the down
ward tack 20 compress cushion Of air
beneath and in front Of the craft. which
would hoist it upon the crest Of the
next wave, and SO On. 1t was propelled
by revolving fans, fore and aft, and
was raised and lowered by two twin
fans working horizontally upon the up
per deck. The undulating movement
was secured by a hinged plane Of canvas
In steel frame, worked automatically
The fans and canvas plane were worked
by small engine, in which steam was
generated by the burning Of crude OIL
The entire device was about 70 feet in
length by 25 feet in width.
THE sectional aspect Of the device is
that of cross, as there are really two
aeroplanes--one horizontal, the other
vertical. A side view suggests the hull
Of yacht with centerboard attached. "
A man In Minneapolis, who has great
faith III omens, says the airship mystery
means war, and that blood will be
spilled.
II have not seen the airship," said
he, "but know what it is. The red
light which those people have seen is
nothing but a red light, and wherever
such light Is to bo seen is suro sign
Of bloodshed that will take place in tho
near future. For God s sake let us avoid
war. Let no more blood be spilled Oh
Kansas soil or anywhere in the United
States. Iwrite this because feel that
/ should let the people take heed, and
let ps not have war. But as tho sign has
been seen by some very good people, !
am afraid that bloodshed cannot be
avoided. Some may laugh at this warn
ing, but let them not forget ii"
Tho Chicago Record refuses to put
faith in the Great AUX. 1t comments
on the situation in the following irrev-
erent vein:
Tho airship disease with which we
are at present struggling came suddenly
and without warning. Chicago started
1T nearly year ago with Mr. Chanute's
exhibition Of mechanical birds down in
northern Indiana. But Mr.. Chanute's
large pine and canvas backed ducks and
f1amirgoes NeIe simply sort Of mea-
sles or Group in comparison with the
terlible so0uree of flying mac!khes
which is now ravaging up and down the
country, attacking the very flower of
the land and driving truth back to the
bottom Of her well. One has but to read
the recent reports from Oklahoma, Mich
igan, Omaha, Everest, Kan, aud some
of the Indian reservations to be salts
fed Of this.
Starting from tho small and humble
beginning of the Indiana sand dunes
and the toboggan chute down which Mr..
Chanute used to slide his wooden birds,
the plague of airships has virtually COW
cred this country. No man is safe Ac-
cording to the dispatches, one may fee
from Grand Forks, N. D., in fear and
trembling, because of the apparition of
q large, brunette aeroplane with green
eyes and long, flowing name and tail,
and, 10, as he gets off the train ut Dal-
las, along toward the middle of tho
night, his uneasy eyes, soaring heaven
ward, are paralyzed by the spectacle Of
the red, white and blue air craft which
burns danger signals like an apotheca-
xy's shop and chops around here and
there In the upper ether. to the vast
danger Of the stars and church steeples.
Or he may go to Oklahoma, and tho
very first thing he knows after dele
CATION has taken him oot to show him
proudly whero the cyclone was he is
pouDcsd upon and held entranoed By q
double barreled skyship. 1897 model,
With largo spruckete ana detachable
name plate It's unfortunate, Of course.
hut what can be done about it? Moth.
ing. Absolutely nothing.
Just as the world has worried through
and has survived other great Affections,
% the airship lie must DO lived down.
IL in dreadful thing to be lied at in
20 many now and weird ways, but q sci.