Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1897-05-14
THE AIRSHIP NOT A MYTH.
It Rises From the Tennessee EX
hibition and Disappears.

May 9th at the strange looking
airship upon which the latest
greatest and least boastful of all
the army of air navigators SCARED
up from the Centennial Expo
sition grounds, and, rising high.
er and higher as the wondering
multitude watched him, vanish
ed out of sight and left them all
du,nbfounded.
The man who sailed away into
the blue is Prof. Arthur Barnard
He is physical instructor oI
Nashville Young Mems Christian
Association, and, besides having
a mastery faculty for mechan-
ical inventions, is as muscular as
a lion and as plucky as a bull
terrier.
There have been increditable
tales told about Nashville and
the surrounding country fo +
months concerning the flying
powers of Professor Barnard S
machine. Nobody believed them
fully. He had wrought in Sc
cret at the thing and experi~
mented in lonely spots far from
any human habitation.
But great as was the doubt of
his ability to make the thing fly
with him not a soul doubted
that he had the sand to try it.
The announcement that he
would make the ascent, brought
a multitude of people to the ex-
position grounds from all over
the surrounding country. The
officers were there in full force
and all the invited dignataries
clim bed with them into a spe-
cially constructed stand to watch
the flight of the modern Da-
edalus.
The machine was placed in
an inclosure which served to
keep out the curious crowd
that tried to examine it, and
with meddlesome h ands to
"make its wheels 60 round" In
the throng were half a dozen
rival inventors from Baltimore,
Philadelphia, Chicago and other
cities who have models of flying
machines of their own filed in
the Patent Office at Washington,
and who scoffed at Barnard's
quaint declaration that his ma
chine would 60 when and where
and how he wanted it to and
come back the same way.
The ship is made of aluminium
and is built On telescope lines.
The PROV, sharp as a needle. has
a steel cap, six giant fans, like
mighty wings, swing at the
sides of the monster. Their
frames are of steel and the webs
of filmy oiled silk.
On each side are three broad
hanged motors, and far astern
two similar but much larger
ones. From stem to stern un-
derneath the fabric, stretches a
steel-ribbed keel. 1t is with
this that the ship is baeanced as
it journeys through the air.
The airship rose to ar altitude
of 500 feet and started off in a
westerly direction at a rate of
about fifteen miles an hour,
passing over West Nashville,
three miles away, in twelve
minutes. To show that he had
the machine under control the
professor not only propelled it
against the wind, but reversed
his course after getting 500 feet
in the air, and turned completes
ly around.
The Exposition Company
made a contract with Professor
Barnard for the construction of
the airship some months ago.
Professor Barnard promised to
sail against the wind in rising,
and he did so. 1t was his inten-
ton to turn back and land at the
Exhibition grounds at night,
but he broke one blade of the
propeller after going twelve
miles from the city and was
compelled to land at that point.
The airship was brought back
in a wagon. The Professor is
thoroughly satisfied that he can
coutrol it in action. 1t will be
continued in use at the expo
sition.
Buckingham Dye for the Whiskers
is the best, handiest, safest, surest,
| cleaueSt most economical and salts