Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-05-05
ANOTHER DASH
For the Pole to Be Made
By Walter weNman'
viii Again Try the Balloon or
Airship Proposition.
May Fl Will Mark the important
Date for WeIIman!

Washington, March 4.-Walter Well
man announced today that this sum-
mer he will renew his effort to reach
the North pole by means of a dirigible
balloon or airship All the preparations
have been made land Mr.. Wellman will
sail next week for Paris and Norway.
This expedition will be under Mr.
Wellman's individual ownership and
responsibility. The capital has been
supplied by Americans. solely on sci
entihc and patriotic grounds. The ball
loon will start from Danes island.
Spitzbergen, in August if the weather
conditions are favorable. The airship
will be the america" which had a
trial in a voyage of about 20 miles at
Spltzbergen a year ago last September.
The owners of the Chicago Record
Herald have turned over to Mr.. Well
man free of charge, the airship plant,
buildings ard machinery of Mr.. Well
mans former enterprise. The America
is the second largest airship, being
about three fifths the size of the Yep
pein. II has lifting capacity of near
ly' 10 tons.
If the America is able to start next
August upon her voyage of 700 miles
through the air to the pole she Will
carry crew of three men, 5000 pounds
of gasoline for the engines, food for a
year sledges. slcdge dogs. life boat
and all the requisites of a sledgine
party. One member of the crew will be
Chief Engineer Vanimum. an Amer-
can. who was in charge Of the ships
engines during her trial voyage in 1907.
Tho third member has not yet been Sc
lected.
The first section of the expedition for
Spitzbergen is scheduled to leave
Christiansand. Norway May D. in the
new motor ship Arctic launched this
spring.
She will carry to Danes island, in
addition to her crew of u men, 20 fore
men and mechanics and all the supplies
necessary for making gas and proper
~ euuipping the plant at headquarters.
When her cargo is discharged the Arc
tic will return to TromsO for the air.
ship and other machinery and sup
plies and before the end of June the
entire party should be assembled at
the base, ready for the short but siren
uous campaign of two months.
The difficulty of getting a fair
start with an airship designed to go to
the pole is of course very great said
Mr.. Welman today. "On account of ice
conditions it is impracticable to reach
the base and start effective work be-
fore the early days of June. The sea-
son is at an end in the last days of Au-
gust. Actually the period of effective
work is confined to about 10 weeks. If
delay or accident happens from any
cause, it may be necessary to postpone
the voyage till another year.
I'VE have no settled conviction as to
whether success is or is not waiting
us in case we are able to make a start
this year. If this were an easy thing
to dc it would have been done long ago
I'VE nave from the first fully real
lied the magnitude of the task and
have known that there We're more
chances for failure than for success in
any given year, which is true of all Po-
la: efforts. by any plan. We have had
and still have faith that our method is
practicable and more promising of re-
suits than any other"