The San Francisco call., 1910-10-17
"ALL'S WELL"
IS WELLMAN'S
LAST MESSAGE
Motors Shut Down and the Big
Airship Floats in Fog off <
Massachusetts
Explorer Sends Wireless Word
That Outlook for Trip Over
Ocean Is Not Favorable

sIASCoNSETT, Mass. oct. 1e.-
Somewhere east of. Nantucket island.
OF the coast of Massachusetts,. and ap-
proximately 800 miles from Atlantic
City, the starting point. Walter Well
mans airship. the America, signaled a
wireless "Alrs well' and a goodby at
l2:a5 O'Clock this afternoon and swung
up the coast through the fog. This
message, the last Of the days wireless
conversations. was received here by
A W. Gilman. the Marconi operator
At O'Clock this morning Siascon-
sett first came into touch with the
oirigible. Then. although the wireless
range Of the craft is comparatively
snort, owing to necessarily limited
power and antennae. the station was
surprised to hear its call. M c."
clear and strong, followed by W. the
code signature of the airship. Judg-
ing from the strength Of the signals
II was assumed that the America was
IN close proximity TO Nantucket, and
Immediately all the life saving stations
and lighthouses on the island were
notified by telephone to keep sharp
lookout.
FOG SHUTS OFF VIEW
But the fog, which had enshrouded
the America since its departure yes
terday morning, still hung over the
ocean, shutting off the view The
Marconi station, however. began a
rapid fire of interrogations. and learned
from Jack Irwin, the Americas oper-
ator, that the ships motors had been
stopped and that the dirigible was
heading east-northeast and making %
miles an hour with the wind Nam
with motors idle, the airship sailed
along S silently as a phantom in the
sky. where ordinarily the engines ex-
Aaust would have reverberated along
the coast.
However, the electric voice of the
Marconi station filled in at times that
the eye and ear were denied, and in
termittently the operators here ex.
changed greetings with their late as
sOciate, the man who received at this
station the dramatic &C Q d. from
the III fated steamship Republic At
1880 a. m signals from the dirigible
became suddenly stronger, and it was
momentarily expected that the America
would come in sight of the station
Irwin, in fact, flashed that he thought
ne could hear the sound of the break
ers, but the fog effectually shut the
craft from view, although she was
probably passing over the shoals sur
rounding the island.
SIGNALS GROW WEAKER
From that time on the signals from
the afrship grew steadily weaker. until
finally at 12:45 a message was flashed
from here asking if everything aboard
was o i. Family came the reply:
Yes. Then, fainter still, the two let
ters, &c B." meaning "Goodby."
Unable to take observations in the
fog, the Americas exact position re-
mained unknown through the day, as
has been the case since II set sail Its
course. however. has been along the
steamship lines and as no word TO the
contrary has been received, the as
sumption is that Wellman, with so
days fuel and so days provisions
aboard, is adhering to his plan of
crossing the Atlantic and landing on
the British isles. 1t is likely that no
further wireless word from the air
ship viii be received here, but dozen
or more liners fitted with wireless were
in its zone tonight.
HAD COVERED 300 MILES
When last heard from during the
day, 12;45 p. m, the America had been
in the air just IS minutes less than
% hours, and having covered approxi-
mately 300 miles. must have averaged
in forward progress between 10 and
il miles an hour. AT this rate the
craft would not pass Sable island (45O
miles distant from Nantucket until
O'Clock Tuesday morning. and Cane
Race, $40 miles farther, at o'clock
Wednesday evening
Brisk westerly winds aided the pass
sge today, and with engines stopped
while off Nantucket the wireless must
have been operated by storage bat
terry. This probably accounts for the
briefness Of IrHin's messages. for he
was doubtless boarding his limited
supply of energy for an emergency
With the motors in ODerariop 2 d1,rT- No
can be pressed into service but the
sparkling interferes with the receiving
and better results are obtained when
they are silent.
OUTLOOK NOT FAVORABLE
BOSTON Oct. 16.-"The outlook is
not so favorable. but we are keeping
up the fight" was one of the mes
ssges sent by Wellman and picked up
by wireless today. The message was
sent while the Americas operator was
in communication with the Siasconsett
station. 1t followed. another message
which, 5 picked up, read:
Have shut down motor and am
heading northeast, making 25 knots
an hour without engine. Saving Juice
for wireless. Dynamos not, working
Thick fog. No observation obtaina BILE"
These MESA ges were a portion of
wireless communication addressed to
the New York Times and the London
Daily Telegraph, under whose auspices
Wellman is making his remarkable
flight.