The San Francisco call., 1898-03-06

R +bo+ was found under it's wing was
 written by the intrepid explorer E who drifted into the unknown with
 his balloon five days previous
 Ever since the skin of the bird a,d the message were brought to c,vi1ization, over a month afterward, there has been a certain amount of doubt about the bird being genuine. There were some things lacking in the message and a few things were con- nected with the killing of the bird that looked a little suspicious, but all have been investigated, and there is no long CT any doubt but that the bird is one that was freed by AndFee from his ball loon.
 The Swedish Geographical Society has spent months in research and investi gation, and President Gustave Retzius has given forth the society's verdict that the bird and message were both genuine. The report has been published in "Ymer," the official organ of the so- ciety, and fully sets forth in detail the work that had to be done before any conclusion could be reached. This re- port is a long document, and contains statements from some of the greatest scientists in Europe.
 A careful perusal of the report dis closes the exact facts about the kill ing of the pigeon, to get at which it was necessary to interview many doz- ems of sea captains and send messen- gers to all accessible parts Of the northern part of Europe and Green land. But all this only proved that the man who killed the pigeon told the truth about it. incredible as it may seem. And yet incredulous people could not be blamed. for when the cap tain said he killed the bird, knocking 1t into the sea, where 1t remained many hours until he came back and picked it up, he certainly told a story that one could not help doubting.
 His story on the face of it does really seem too strange to be true.
 From the report of the Swedish Geo graphical Society, which must be ac- cepted as fact, it seems that when the captain of the Whaler Aiken killed the pigeon his ship was on the border of the drift ice, in so degrees A minutes north latitude, 20 degrees 20 minutes east longitude. Between 1 and 2 o'clock in the morning the helmsman called out to the captain, who was sleeping in his cabin: "A strange bird has lighted on the gaff. You must come and shoot him, it looks so queern'
 The captain, who had been sleeping soundly, gave a rather rough reply; but the next moment his curiosity brought him to his feet and up on deck. The bird resembled a ptarmigan; but as it was sitting close behind a block, the captain could not shoot without risk of injurng the block. So he climbed up the rigging, with his rifle, and shot it, the strange bird falling forthwith into the sea
 The captain commanded the man on the lookout. in a barrel fastened near the ton of the mast. to come down and lower . boat, and fetch the bird. The man objected to taking so much trouble for Q miserable little bird which prob ably was of nc use.
 So the captain went to bed again, and the bird was left in the water. Having sailed for some distance, following the ice, the Aiken met another whaler. On Rearing the story of the strange bird Fhe captain of the second whaler ex- claimed:
 Perhaps it is one of Andree's carrier pigeons"
 The captain of the Aiken, who did not know about Andree's ascension, at once returned to the region where the bird was shot, and sent out two boats for. a careful search. After while one of the boats returned, having been lucky enough to find the strange bird" which indeed proved to be one of the carrier pigeons carrying the dis patch.
 There can now be no doubt about the genuineness of the pigeon, for 1t has been proven as far as human afalrS can be proven, that the bird was killed at the time and place mentioned.
 The message, which was sealed in a paraffine tube, was as follows:
 July 13 12:3O o'clock noon.
 Latitude S0deg 2min, longitude
 15 deg. min. east Good speed
 eastward, 10 deg. to south. All
 well on board. This Is the third
 pigeon post ANDREE.
 This was written in Andree's hand on 70 the special blank which was furnished him by the Aftonbladet (Evening 70 -News) of Stockholm. The editors of the paper say that none of the blanks could have got into the possession of any one but Andree. Furthermore, the pigeon was recognized by people who had seen it before it was taken north. It was a young bird, and one of An dree's pets. lie had great confidence in it. and prophesied that it would come back. even if none of the others did.
 Making calculations from the dis 1 patch and the place where the bird was found, it is shown that it had flown about 120 miles from the balloon toward Stockholm, and some twenty four miles north again, from the near est land to the whaler, on the gan of which 1t sat down. so utterly tired that
 WIND CHART FROM JU
 From tbe Time Andree Left Spitzbe