The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1899-02-12
Story of Siberian Natives Doubted by
Prof. Andree,e Rrnfher.

MALMO, Sweden, Feb. 1.-THE brother
of Professor Andree, the missing baIloonist.
who attempted to cross the Arctic regions
has informed local newspaper that he does
not believe the repor,. received by way Of
Krasnovarsk. Siberia, that the remains Of
Andree and his companions and the car of
the balloon In which he left Danes island
of the Spitzbergen group, on July II, 1897,
| have been found between Keno and Pit, in
the province of Yeniseisk He says that To-
cality Is cultivated and that it appears in
credible that the corpses and the car of the
balloon could have been there a year and
half without being seen before this. Fur
thermore. Andree's brother points out that,
in stormy weather the bodies would almost
certainly have been separated from the
wreck of the balloon.
The well-known polar explorer, Professor
Nathenist, has issued an appeal to the
Swedish people for funds TO equip an expe-
dition to East Greenland during the COM
ing summer to search for Professor An
dree and to engage in scientific explora-
tons. The party will consist Of twenty-five
persons. They will be absent four months
and the cost of the expedition is estimated
at 10000 crowns.
The balloon Eagle, with Professor An
dree and two companions, Strindeberge and
F'raenkel, in the car, left Danes island, of
the SpitZbergen group, on July II, 1897, in an
attempt to cross the north polar point. No
definite news of the aeronauts has been re-
ceiYed beyond the message attached to
carrier pigeon, found by the whaling ship
Falken, which arrived at Copenhagen on
Sept 2 The message read
July 13, 1890 p. M, latitude 22:02 north,
longitude, 12:O5 east. Good voyage eastward.
The party carried provisions for only four
months. The same inability to carry great
weight which limited their food supply also
made it impossible for them to take any
dogs They had, however, sledges which
would enable them to take supplies as far
as they were able to proceed on foot If
obliged to abandon the balloon, and a COL
lapsable boat twelve feet in length, which
would carry half ton of freight as well as
the three passengers.
The aeronautic exploits of Andree have
become known all over the world, and re
made a name for himself as one Of the most
audacious men who ever assembled in a bal
loon. Every one of his daring trips was
carefully planned, as if it had been the
browning journey northward. Once he went
up from Stockholm and crossed the Gulf of
Bothnia, landing on the shores Of Finland a
deed never before tried. Another time he
sailed in his balloon from the city Of Gothen-
berg, on the western coast of Sweden, to the
island of Cortland, in the Baltic, traVersing
the distance of go miles in five hours.
Andree took for the model of his balloon
the sailing vessel not the steamship. And
when he did this he had to deal with a nat
ural law which is exceedingly simple and yet
which is not always clearly understood. An
dree's first step toward steering his expert
mental balloon was to create a resistance.
This he did by trailing along the surface of
the sea, or land, the end of a heavy drag
rope, which was suspended from his balloon.
The friction created by the movement of the
rope over the earth or sea made the balloon
travel little more slowly than the wind.
Then he set a sail on the balloon, and the
wind bellied out the SAIL which would have
hung quit fiat if there had been no drag
rope to prevent the balloon from moving
freely with the wind
The difficulty of steering was overcome in
this way: The most vital part of the frame
OF a balloon is what Is called the suspension
ring, large iron hoop to which the network
envelope of the gas bag is fastened and from
which the car hangs. To this ring the spars
of Andree's sail were attached. When the
drag rope was hooked into the hoop at that
point of the ring, which corresponds to the
stern of a ship. the effect Of the wind on the
sail was to push the balloon straight ahead.
Andrees actual flights through the air,
undertaken for experiment, showed that he
could sail due north if the wind was blow
ing from any point from sOuth-southeast
and south-sOuthwest. This gave him 45 de-
grees, or an eighth of the whole circle, in
his favor He did not need a direct south
wind to blow him toward the pole. South
erly winds were all that ne asked for.
In northern Siberia thousands of circulars
printed at the expense of the Russian Geo
graphical Society were distributed through
the Russian government. The Russian CIR
culars were written for a people still in the
first stages of development, in the outskirts
of civilization, to whom modern terms and
scientific language would be like Chinese to
to us and who must be addressed like chill
dren.
copy of this interesting document sent
out by the Russian government is annexed,
and translation given below:
Three learned foreigners, Andree, Strinde-
berge and Fraenkel, Swedes have the inten-
ton of undertaking, imperillng their own
lives, an aerial voyage below the clouds, Tor
a scientific purpose, in a basket suspended
from an immense bladder, as shown in the
upper sketch. which represent such blad-
der, or balloon, soaring along high above
the earth
THE wind may drift This balloon to RS
STA or Siberia, and If this should rappen the
persons who are in he baske viii let this
balloon drop to the earth as shown in the
lower sketch, which represent TIC descent OF
a balloon in the VIci1'-y q IS. petersburg.
From the drawing can he seen both fun
grown people and children, men and women,
hurry forth TO the falling balloon TO assist
the occupants of the basket in getting safety
out of the latter.
1T is quite evident from the drawing that
the balloon can do no harm even to little
children: Nobody need be afraid or the pal
loon and less still ofthe persons IN the bas-
ket but these people should be rendered all
assistance possible in their descent. they
should be kindly received as dear guests and
everybody should do all in their power to
make matters easy for them in the strange
country and to bring them with honor to
the nearest authorities, as the learned Tor
eigners during their stay on Russia terri
tory will be under the most gracious pro-
lection of his Majesty the Emperor.
Should the strangers in the balloon for
the time being be unable to pay for the help
furnished them this should not restrain any
one from rendering them all the assistance
they may need, since all expense thus In
Cured will be refunded and the persons who
have furnished the help will be rewarded by
the King of Sweden.
ANY one who may sight the balloon, with
the persons in question, passing at dis
lance from the point of observation, should
inform everybody he meets Of the fact, so
as to spread the news of the passage of the
balloon to the authorities
In such case it would be we'll to state
the time when the balloon was observed, in
which direction it flew off and the direction
of the wind on the occasion. These partic-
ulars are needed In order that a successful
search for the persons in the balloon may be
made should no news be received of the lat
ter for some time. Do not fear the balloon,
but may everybody assist these people in
their descent with the balloon from the sky
to the earth, thus performing a good deed
acceptable to the Lord and to the great EN-
peror."