The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1900-03-25
MESSAGES FROM ANDREE.

|
Explorer Andree'' The person who made
the assertion was. James Mcdonald, OF
New York city, but more recently from
Alaska. He said he was a miner and his
| appearance did not belle his words. Nc
| Donald was poorly yet warmly dressed.
wearing heavy big black storm coat and
heavy wooden cap. His face was red and
| chapped, as were his large. hard bands.
He appeared to he about fifty years of
| age.
1t was upon day when the newspapers
were spreading columns in reporting the
| supposed finding of Andree and his party
| of Polar explorers in Siberia and the con-
1 versation of two men who were discussing
! with interest the report, occasioned Nc
| Donald's remark. as he unwound the
| string from the parchment roll
| The newspaper man. 10 whom Mcdonald
| directed his words, had been sitting at a
dining table in Pennsylvania Avenue
eating house some few minutes when the
miner entered and seated himself at the
same table. They said nothing to each
| ether until Mcdonald who had been lis
| tening to the Andree discussion behind
him. slowly pulled out an old wallet from
| an inside pocket saying as he did so that
| he'd heard tell of AIdree." Then he ex-
| hibited the small parchment package which
! he claimed was a message from the miss
ing Arctic explorer and naturally the
! newspaper man was much interested.
Il found this a long time ago." said Nc
| Donald. Found it up near Juneau and
| this is the second time have had the thing
| out of my pocket since the day | picked it
up. 1t was on day when l was returning
to the city after visiting a friend, who
| lived on the outskirts. | was on foot and
| within mile of the city when l saw pig
| con turned w in the snow. only few
| feet TO my left. The bird was frozen stiff
| but as l picked it uD l noticed this little
roll Under its tail feathers. I pulled it
| loose and left the pigeon where I had found
| it.
Presume Andree's folks would ike to
| see this message" Mcdonald continued.
| He was the felier that started out to look
for the North Pole, wasn't he? Wonder
where he lives? l tried to read it, but
wasn't able to make anything out OF it, for
| it's written in some foreign language
According to Lis own story Mcdonald
left New York about two years ago with
| the intention of going 10 the gold fields
| OF the Klondike to seek his fortune. But
things didn't go my way he explained,
land one day | found myself dead broke in
San Francisco. When | finally scraped to-
gether enough money to reach Juneau it
was too late in the fall to get passage fur
Their North and | was obliged to remain
there Until January when | became dis
couraged and decided to return to Ncw
York
Il was on my way to that city when l
struck Chicago, he continued but once
more | fell short of funds. SO | had to stag
there for while before coming to Wash
ington.''
When questioned closer about the find
ing of the message Mcdonald said that as
well as he could recall the bird which he
picked up was entirely white. except that
il had a dark greg spot either on its
breast or back. he could not remember
which, for he did net examine il closely.
| took the message merely as souvenir.
he said but l have no particular use for
it and you are welcome to it,
Then Mcdonald who. If truthful is tha
finder of a message that may prove of great
interest to the world which had watched
with great interest the departure of Elk
plorer Andree slung huge muller about
his neck and vent cut into the street. II
was then l O'Clock in the afternoon and
Mcdonald arranged to meet the neTspa-
per man two hours later, but the miner
did not appear at the appointed time to
fulfill his engagement.
The message. coming as it does at this
late day 20 the public, is of more interest
that Andree and his party have long since
been given up as lost by their friends and
the scientific world that waited SO pa
tiently for their return. There is little or
no doubt but that Andree is dead. The !
parchment was found to contain a message |
supposedly from Andree written on trans |
parent paper, and also one from Knut !
Fraenkel, Andree's assistant. The latter |
is of greater length and gives the details !
IL
over the name "Andree" is of less inter- |
est TO those who have made study of the |
fight Of the Andree balloon "Ornen." The |
message signed "Andree" is written in t
Swedish and reads, when translated. as
follows:
AT Berlin without doubt in summer.
1899. Salute old Sweden. Andree."
The Fraenkel message is written in /
French and reads: Latitude - degrees.
- minutes. longitude 1874 degrees, : min
Utes west. After last message 9TH north |
TO latitude SO degrees. longitude IS de-
grees. l6 minutes east. We lost car here.
Passed the Pole July "a, l:23 a. m. eight
kilometres south, on longitude IS west.
The "Ornen' fell August A. latitude 81 de-
grees. y minutes longitude 1872 degrees |
west. Winter camp, latitude 81 degrees
81 minutes. longitude 1872 degrees min
utes. South over ice by boat and sledge
meet with whalers in the spring All well.
Knut Frsenkel.''
Andree and his two mpsnions cut tie
guy ropes Of their balloon on July L. ]
1897. and sailed away to the northward in
a gale blowing twenty miles hS"r. That
was the last time they were seen. nearly
three years ago. While the aercnauts took
with them thirty-two pigeons. the only
one found and positively identified as gen
81
departure This message was found by a
Swedish whaling vessels, near SpitZbergsn
and read:
Latitude SO degrees. ) minutes: longi-
tude u degrees minutes east Good prog
ress eastward. All well on board. This is
the first pigeon despatch" The two pig
cons released previous to that time have
never been found.
Walter weIlman, who organized the
Welman polar expedition in 1884. and
went TO the latitude 81 degrees. 10 min
utes north of Spitzbergen. in magazine
article shortly after AHdree's departure
WIS of the opinion that the explorer had
failed in his attempt to cross the Pole.
'.Andree made his ascent said Mr..
Wellman at a distance of over six hun
bred miles from the North Pole. He sailed
aloft in a wind that was blowing from TWEEN
ty to twenty-five miles an hour and il he
had ira .oled in that wind little east OF
north at a speed of twenty miles an hour.
at noon of the second day he would have
found himself go miles on the other side
of the Pole which he would have passed
at a distance perhaps of 100 miles. The
conclusion was drawn, however, from the
message that instead OF being 800 Eliles to
the northward Andree was then only 1i5
miles north of the point of departure
That summer the Swedish Government