Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-02-20
DR.. Nitzsche to Try for 1t in
Balloon.
WILL TAKE AN AER0PLANE
University of Pennsylvania Attach'
Plans Start at Spitzbergen.
HE HOPES FOR GOOD WEATHER
Not Below Freezing During July
and August on His Previous
Trip There.

PHILADELPHIA, February 2O.-George
E. Nitzsche, head Of the department OF
publicity Of the University of PennsyI-
vania, is making preparations for d dash
to the north pole next July by means OF
balloons and aeroplanes.
Undeterred by the fate Of Andree and
the failure of Wellman, Mr.. Nitzsche
will make the attempt along novel lines.
He will carry to the Island Of Spitzbergen
three balloons and probably, in addition,
an aeroplane.
Spitzbergen is 1885 miles north Of the
arctic circle and several hundreds OF
miles east of the north coast of Green
land If the weather is good he will have
straight course to travel until he
reaches his goal.
Three Balloons and an Aeroplane.
Mr.. Nitzsche is reticent concerning his
proposed expedition. but it is under
stood that he considers airships to be the
only practical equipment for polar expe-
ditions. Three airships Of the dirigible
balloon type will be used, with possibly
small aeroplane as an auxiliary.
After closely following the experiments
Of Count Zeppelin and the Wright broth
ers Mr.. NitZsche is convinced that one
airship will carry two men and baggage
with ease, beside the operator. One other
of the remaining two airshipS will carry
a large quantity of gasoline. to be used
by the fleet for fuel, while the remaining
balloon will carry the provisions and the
scientific apparatus. The aeroplane will
be used as a scout, and probably will be
left at Spitzbergen when the expedition
makes its dash north.
Made Survey Of Spitzbergen.
The Island of Spitzbergen was carefully
inspected last summer by Mr.. Nitzsche,
who with party of thirty made a pre-
liminary trip on the steamship Konghar-
old The weather during the survey was
so mild that Mr.. Nitzsche was encouraged
to believe that with good fortune the COM
ing summer would be also a moderate
one, and he would not be compelled to
combat the elements at the very start.
Speaking of the remarkable mildness of
the weather last July and August, he
said:
THE open months in these regions are
July and August, and the only time the
thermometer was below freezing was
when we were about 100 miles beyond the
Wellman station. which was almost ~
degrees north and when it was impossi-
BILE, because of the ice pack ahead or us,
to go any farther.
"a famous old Norwegian captain. who
had been on many polar expeditions and
who had been cruising In the polar re-
gions for more than fifty years, stated
that this particular trip was the most
remarkable one he had ever taken In his
life, because of the extremely fine wealth
er. Only for a few hours. early In the
morning. was there any fog. He stated
that on many OF the expeditions it was
impossible to See anything because OF
fog
Andree's Starting Point.
The balloons and all equipment will be
carried I'm sections to Spitzbergen by a
special steamship and will be put together
on the island. The steamship will wait
at the island until the return of the ex-
ploring party.
Spitzbergen has been selected by the ex-
plorer owing to its far northern position
as the beginning of SpitZbergen is almost
II degrees north and extends to 70 or ~
degrees north. On the island are numer-
Gus high mountain peaks, ranging from
1000 to 5000 feet high. All are covered
with ice and snow.
There are innumerable glaciers upon the
island coming down to the sea between
mountains and forming enormous cliffs OF
ice as these glaciers break Off into the
sea- Some are from - to 100 feet above
the surface of the water, and several
extend along the edge of the sea for q
distance Of thirty or forty miles.
SpitZbergen has no permanent hablta
ton has no government and is not under
the control OF any government.
The trip last summer Of Mr.. Nitzsche
not only demonstrated the fitness of SptZ-
bergen, but had distinct scientific value
During the progress Of his researches on
the island he found what is said to be
the smallest tree In the world.
This tree is a poplar willow. is but one
and one-half inches tall and is perfect in
every detail. The tree is full grown. but
was stunted by the fierce blasts Of the
polar regions
Mr. Nitzsche regards the tree as one OF
his most valuable possessions. Few speci-
mems have been discovered.