The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1910-02-09
one Who NEVER CAME BACH
No Trace Was Left by sweds Who A.
tempted tho Polo In Balloon.


tempted the Pole In Balloon.
The One Who Never Came Back"
was newspaper headline Of last
week in recountlng the various expedL
list OF those who have brsved the
frigid terroN Of the arctic seas In the
interest of science or to grasp the
will-o'-the-wisp of fAms there are end.
less tales to stir the souls OF men and
arouse sympathy. but IL ia the chapter
dealing with the one who never came
back" from which the world turns
with shudder. It is twelve years
now since 8. A. Andree made his dar-
ing and. as 1t has proved foolhardy
attempt to sail over the north pole
in a balloon. How be psrished. and
when and where. is one OF the secrets
locked in the Icy fastuesses Of the re-
sion OF everlasting cold. What terri
bic suffering, what horror OF loneli.
ness and despair beset him before he
perished. is dreadful to contemplate.
Andres was SWede. He was 4
member OF the Swedish international
polar expedition Of 1882 and 1888. and
an aeronaut OF considerable skill. He
had his own ideas about reaching the
goal OF the ages. He had observed
that at certain seasons OF the year
steady current OF air flowed toward
the north pole. What could be easier.
argued Andree. than for a we'll equip
ped balloon to set sail in this current
Of air. hoat over ths pole, descend,
take observations, and then float away
again to carry the word to waiting
world
Desperate as appeared the under.
taking. Andree found men who we're
willing to aid him in carrying il out.
Even more, he found two men who
were willing TO take the slender
chance with him and stake their lives
for fame and adventure.
Oscar. late King of Sweden. was
among those who gave their support
to the venture. It was in 1895 that
Andree went north to Danes Island.
Spitzbergen. and made preparations
OF the journey. A balloon house was
built, and the big bag was inflated. 1t
was found, however. that the gas es-
capped more rapidly than was expect
ed, and the trip was postponed year.
Two Swedish war vessels escorted the
expedition to Spit2bergen the follow
ing June. Experiments had shown
that the gas would keep the balloon
afoat thirty days. The plan was to
have the balloon drift along about 500
feet above the surface OF the ice. OF
men, freight, food. and ballast the
craft carried weight OF about FIVE
tons.
A favorable breeze was awaited. At
last. July II. 1897, 1t came. The
ropes were cut and the balloon shot
upward. Suddenly, for some reason
never known, it dropped rapidly al
most to the surface OF the sea. Bal
last was thrown out by the men on
board, and the balloon arose again and
sailed away over the mountainous ISL
and of Vogelsang, sn altitude Of 1850
feet being necessary 20 make the pas
sage.
When the watchers on shore and on
the war vessels lost sight of the bal
loon it was the worlds last glimpse Of
Andree and his two intrepid compan-
ions. Three message buoys dropped by
Andree the day the start was made
have been found. The latest was dat
ed at 10 o'clock that night. An alti-
tude Of 81 degrees, 8 degrees from the
pole, had been reached at that time.
The brave aeronaut reported that all
was well. But OF the ultimate fate of
the balloon and It's passengers search.
ers have found never a sign.