The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-12-20

Discussion of His Chances Based Upon
the Latest Intelligence.

London Standard.
News of Andree may be expected when
ever 1t has been despaired of. At fairly
regular intervals we hear that either a
pigeon has been shot or balloon sighted
somewhere in the remotest parts or arctic
lands, or that the aerial travellers them
selves have alighted there. A discouraging
report is invariably capped by one bidding
hope revive. Only yesterday We published
q telegram from Herr Stadling in command
of the second expedition sent TO Siberia by
the Swedish Geographical Society, that his
party had been exploring since the mddle
of September along the coast between the
mouths OF the Rivers Lena and Yenesei.
but they had failed to hear anything OF An;
GREENS a 6 hayg 5o We're
southwark from the more arctic regions.
This means a rather extensive investiga-
ton, for it covers from east to west, some
forty degrees of longitude.
The result makes it fairly certain that
the adventures have not arrived IN west
ern Siberia-ndeed, unless they had de-
seconded in some very out-of-the-way place,
or were icebound on an island, as Herr
we@Ks tRe party we're re fG hs time to haye
been heard Of even if they had not reached
some comparatively civilized settlement
followed IN ne afternoon by cheering news,
just as IL there were an Andree rescue
stock like Tichborne bonds, which was be-
ing ''bulled" and 'beared." The latest story
Is that an engine driver named Johannes
Detke, resident at or writing from Villeskal,
near Wilma, had sent letter to the min
burg, informing him that the writer had
found near the Ural mountains Hungar-
ian wine bottle without us usual con-
tents, but inclosing something far more
precious-two scraps of paper. One, slightly
torn, bore an inscription in Russian-"Give
this letter to the consul or police. On
the other written in French, was this SEN
tence: 'Andree's balloon has crossed the
Ural mountains. Andree." What could be
more convincing? Yet. as we ponder on the
cheering news, the germ of skepticism is
sown in our breasts and rapidly develops.
Andree began his aerial journey on July
H. 1897, ard has not been heard or since
that month. We may reasonably suppose
that he must have been sailing over the
Urals within month or so of that date.
If this We're so, why (since he was lowering
over a compare lively civilized region) did
he not descend to terra firma? Unless he
was befogged, he might even have seen the
One would have thought that its track
would have acted Ike magnet and drawn
him from air to earth. But If, for some
the jewellers in cities what has become Of
him? Strange to say, the engine driver does
not state near what line IT was that he
fuond the bottle. Transuralian railways
however, are extremely few, and all lie we'll
away from the far north of Russia. So
Andree, II he chose, might have descended
to the vicinity of trains and telegraphs and
nave easily returned to his family before
cupants had come to grief shortly after they
had dropped the bottle, we may assume that
some discovery would have been made by
lIlS liIile, since lHey were ldF away rum
either sea whether White or Black Yet
another thing is strange. An air of verisi-
Multitude is lent to the report by the CIR
cumstantial detail that the missive was in
closed in a Hungarian wine bottle. We
should hardly have imagined that the
travellers would have fortified themselves
for polar exploration with Carlowitz or
Somlauer some more concentrated form of
alcohol would surely have been preferred
for an aerial voyage to the pole And how
came it about that the fortunate engine
driver kept the valuable secret locked up
in his breast? There is police in Russia
if consuls were not handy one would think
the discoverer. might have come across
trustworthy officials on his own railway. 1t
is some thirty-four degrees Of longitude-a
very far cry-from the Urals to Wilma. for
we presume the town between st. Peters
burg and Warsaw is intended. On this
journey the engine driver would have had
plenty of opportunities to tell the news.
And, lastly, what was Andree doing over
the Ura mountains? All things may be
possible to a. balloon. but that it should be
lowering over this range is about the last
thing we should have expected.