San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1897-09-18
ANDRES BALLOON.
Reported In The Region OF
Siberia.
EXPERT TESTIMONY AS TO THE
PROBABILITIES OF THE
REPORT.
General Opinion Does Not Think II
Probable That Aniree Is There.
If So, He Has Missed The
POle-0pinionS Are About
Evenly Divided As To
His Being Dead,
New York, Sept. 1S.--A special to
the Herald from Washington says:

New York, Sept. 1S.-A special to
the Herald from Washington says:
Attic explorers and scientists here
are much interested in the report that
balloon, supposed to be that of An
dree, the Arctic explorer, has been
seen over the village of Antzifirowsko-
je in the province Of Yenisersk.
Prof. William Hardness, of the ma
val observatory, when asked as to the
location of the village and the signi-
ficance of the report, said that he had
not been able to locate the village ex-
actly on the maps at his command,
but he found on one of them a place
marked AniziferOvsk, which he as
sumed was different spelling of the
name of the village. This place is in
north latitude about 90 degrees, and is
about 200 miles west of north from
Krasnorarsk, the town from which
the telegraphic dispatch was sent an
nouncing that the balloon had been
seen.
Prof. darkness said that as Andrea
had started in his balloon from Danes
Island, to the north of Spitzbergen,
in latitude 10 degrees and 80 minutes,
it was clear that if his balloon was
now at Aniziferovsk, he did not sue
coed in his project of crossing the
polar region and coming out at some
point in the British territory of North
America.
Prof. Hardness said If Andree's bal
loon is anywhere in the province, it
is practically certain that his attempt
to cross the pole has been complete
failure, and that instead of going
north from his point of departure his
general direction since he left from
soc has been toward the east and
south.
Commander George w. Melville, u.
s. N, the Arctic explorer, said:
1T is possible that Andree's balloon
may have been seen and reported from
the Yenisersk district of Siberia, but
l am inclined to doubt if the explorer
ever reached that vicinity, or that the
news of his being there could be COM
municated at this time TO the outside
world. l am of the opinion that the
balloon never went very far from
SpitZbergen and have for some time
feared that Andree has already met
his death in the Arctic Ocean, though
even if he came down OH the land in
the far north he would never be heard
from. The region whence the sight
ing of the balloon comes is little tray-
elled from April to October, and it
would be difficult for the news to be
carried to the nearest telegraph sta
ton at this season and the natives
would not know what the balloon
was if they saw it in the air."
Concerning the latest tidings via
st. Petersburg, he said:
There is nothing improbable in the
story so far as the geographical po-
sition of the Siberian village is con-
cerned and the distance the balloon
must have travelled TO get there. The
distance which the balloon would
have travelled from northwestern
Spitzbergen to the Siberian village, as
Stunning 1t crossed Frans Josef Land,
thence over the Arctic sea is some
thing like 200 miles. This, it might
have easily done in less time than
nine weeks.
until further evidence comes to
hand this Siberian story must be dis
believed-not because of the distance,
but because of the time which has
elapsed. 1t would be a miracle if An
dree's balloon had retained the power
to float in the air sixty-four days. An |
dree, himself, did not reckon upon his |
ability to remain in the air more than |
forty days and twenty, or at the out |
side thirty days, is the estimate of |
others familiar both with aeronautics |
and the Arctic"