Kansas City journal. [volume] (Kansas City, Mo.) 1897-1928, 1897-07-28

pounds OF weight in this car when it left
| spitzbergen, 2,9'j pounds Of which WAS
| sand.
| girls playhouse that the three explorers
! were to live in IS a marvel Of abbreviated
! space Ia IL are stored provisions. 1--we
| pigeons, Instruments. ammunition ana
| what not. There Is also bedstead LOT
| one person. IL being Andrees plan tnat
! one shall sleep while two will be on the
watch with powerful telescopes anu III
| struments 10 tell civilization what there
| is at the pole. There are little Wiudo"s
| in the side and a small hole in the floor.
| The observers will stand on the roof
! Of the car, but will be protected by the
| network parapet. The tharmometer-
! barometers. seXtants. an altaZimuth. an
anemOmeter. an instrument for determiu-
| ing the direction and velocity OF the
clouds, one for recording the intensity OF Of
true horizon, cOmpasses a. -lISnntpmo ter.
"A theodolite and two photograph cameras
are suspended 10 ring just above their
heads From the larger ring hangs q con
/ fusing mesh Of rUpework Whcn contains
articles OF food and necessity.
Cooking Their Meals.
The explorers had arrangements for
warm meals three times day. For
cooking. an apparatus will be dropped
down fifteen feet through the hole in the
floor and a small oil lamp lighted from
above by a pull OF string. After the
string will put the fire out. Then the food
viii be pulled up and eaten. This pre-
caution is taken TO preclude any possibility
Of the balloon catching fire. The cooking
apparatus was invented by a Swedish en-
gineer purposely for Mr.. Andrec.
The explorers had with them a patent
collapsible boat so that. II they were
dropped into the water. they could i'm
mediately pull the boat out. accordion-lke,
and paddle to the nearest iceberg. The car
was also so arranged that If they care to,lt
could be detached from the balloon almost
Steering the Balloon.
fay 4f
any great height. He wanted to keep close
to the earth-500 feet if he cOuld-tO better
study the topography of the country. He
started with a south wind but, as General
Greely says. 1t can hardly be expected that
this wind will keep up straight for the 600
or 100 miles to get TO the pole. But the far
sighted and resourceful Andree provided
for this. He invented a steering apparatus.
which Is a wonderful thing. He took three
heavy hawsers of varied length, the short
est being 1.O00 feet long. or a fifth Of a mile,
and the longest !. 400 feet On the bottom
of these he placed a weight-just enough
to keep the rope close to the ground. These
ropes hang from the bearing ring that Is
just above the car, and drag along the Ice
or in the water. as the case may be. As
the voyagers as they will. so that their
weight and hold on the balloon would at
feet their course in one way or the other.
sails to Help the AIrship Along.
Rugged from the top Of the car TO the
mouth of the balloon inside the net are
two sails, which are stretched on bam-
boo poles. and which present an area OF
nnety-four square yards, or a quarter of
the cross section OF the hanging net. TO
the wind. The sails are attached by three
straps to the large iron ring. so that Mr..
Andree has not only combined the common
principle of being lifted into the air by
balloon and forced along with the air cur
rent, but by his sails obtains speed, and,
by his dragging ropes, steering.
From his experiments Andree said he
was confident that he could steer his bal
loon at an angle of q degrees. so that
with either a southwest or southeast wind
he could steer TO the pole. II was said IN
the cable dispatches describing Audree's
departure that these steering ropes had
been left behind in the hurry OF embark
alton. II was subsequently, learned that
he had plenty of other rope in his basket
which he could easily rig up.
In case one OF these ropes should catch
in an ice crevice and threaten to wreck
the balloon. or even TO hold IL stationary,
Mr.. Andree will clamp on TO the rope