Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1910-10-26
Balloon AMERICA I
NOT YET REPORTED.
May Be Lost in Wilderness Of Canad;
MANY RumorS but No Real EnCour-
agement-- fTheyL ndNorthof Trans
Continental R. R. They Are Lost.

ottawa, Ont. Oct 25.-The black
faStneSS of the north tonight still
hold the secret of the lost balloonists,
Alan r. Hawley and Augustus Post
of New York. and their sky ship, the
America ii, which left st. Louis eight
days ago with other competitors in
the international distance contest,
Various rumors have reached the bu
reau established here by Edmond p.
Startton. representing the Aero Club
OF America, but when sifted down
they produced nothing that would in
dictate with any degree of definiteness
the whereabouts of the aeronauts.
What appeared to be a promising
clue developed early in the day when
a dispatch from Huntsville stated
that a guide had seen a balloon on
Thursday, 20 miles north of Disco.
Ont. Later in the day, however, it
was learned from DR.. d. c. Meyers of
Toronto a member of a hunting party,
that the guide was mistaken in the
day. The balloon was seen on Wednes-
day, according to DR.. Meyers, and
might. therefore, have been either the
Isle De France or the Azure. both
of which landed in that neighborhood.
n second report that a balloon had
been seen on Thursday in the district
Immediately north Of Georgian Bay
reached here today from the PROVING
ial police at Toronto. Some doubt is
also cast upon this story 1t is fig
urcd that the America on Thursday
would have been either several hun
dred miles to the north or to the
northeast of Chapleau, thu place from
whence came the report today.
Louis Spinder of the st. Louis Aero
Club, who has been. gathering data from
friends in Toronto. today advised Mr..
Stratton that he would leave for the
North territory to make personal in
vcstigation of both stories and gather
further information on the ground y
third report came from Quebec but it is
regarded as the least promising. Peter
Brown, a constable of the provincial
force, sent word that he had seen a bal
loon over Lake kipaWa on Wednesday.
Both the Germania and the Dusseldorf ]
passed through this territory and it is
possible that it was either OF them that
Brown saw.
These three reports are the only one !;
that hold any promise of results and
when viewed from every angle they do
not contain much encouragement to the
searchers.
Opinion here is divided as to the posi-;
bility of reScuing the men even if they
passed safely over Lake Huron and
Georgian bay into the vast wilderness
of northern Ontario and Quebec or the
Ungava district. still further north.
Prof r w Rock dirprtnr of fine Cen
logical survey. who knows the rugged
and unpeopled country. is outspoken in
his opinion that the aeronauts will sure
" perish if they sailed into the far north
ern sections There are parts of it. he
said. where Indians and half-breed hun
tiers have gone and starved to death.
Other officials. including Sir Wifrid
Laurier, who is taking a keen interest
in the search for the lost men, believe
they will come out all right, especially
if they landed south of the new line
OF the Trans-Continental Railroad. IIx-
cept for a gap of ia miles, near the
borCer line between Quebec and New
ontario. and another of the same
size directly north of Lake Superior.
the entire line is in some stage of con-
StructiOn. South of it the woods are
traversed by scores of hunters. BUSH
whackers, prospectors. fire wardens
and Indians. any of whom would
readily aid the aeronauts. South of
this line there is chance for rescue.
North of it is regarded as death.
Despite the feeling among some Of
fcia's that the quest will be hopeless,
there is no hesitation on the part OF
any of them to act upon any sugges-
ton or to lend aid in any direction
that might lead to the right trail
The lack of means of communication
with government agents in the I'M
| settled regions of Quebec is making
it extremely difficult to follow the
original plan of plotting out the
courses of the Isle De France Ham
burg III Azure. Helvetia. Germanla
ard Dusseldorf III from miscellaneous
reports. AS substitute it has been
decided to work q map showing the
courses as remembered by the balloon
lists themselves.