The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-10-17

New York, October 16.-Swept on
ward by sturdy westerly breeze,
Walter wellman great dlrigible
America, first of air craft to hazard
trans Atlantic passage, was following
the steamship lanes up the Atlantic
coast at midnight tonight, out OF Wire
less range from shore points, but pre-
sumably continuing her unbroken
course with all we'll on board.
The giant craft had passed Nantucket
Island early in the afternoon with pro-
pelers idle and had held brief WIRE
less communication with the Marconi
station at Siasconsett. In all the 9TH
er messages there was no hint of the
airship's location but a signaled good
by indicated that Wellman, whose
dream Is to be the first Columbus of
the air had on passing Nantucket,
turned the nose of his craft In more
no~therly direcston with the British
Isles as his goal
A wireless message amplifying those
of the day was relayed to Siasconsett
tonight thence to Sagaponack, L. I. 1t
was faint and hard to decipher, but as
patched together was as follows:
"All well. Machinery working well.
Have turned more northerly to reach
transatlantic steamer track. Exact
POSITION not sure; somewhere between
800 and 500 miles off shore
None of the messages received spoke
despairingly although one communica-
toin received by the New York Times
referred to the outlook as mot favor
able" In the same message, however.
was a cheerful I'VE are keeping up the
fight
At Atlantic City, where the Amer
lea left her moorings yesterday morn
ing, Mrs. William Wellman and Mrs.
Vaniman, the latter the wife of ->elyin
Vaniman, the airships chief engineer,
received word of the safety of heir
husbands but sent no messages in re-
ply. Several transatlantic liners were
supposed to be near enough to communi-
cate with the America by wireless to-
night and additional word from the
airship was momentarily expected.
Siasconset Mass, October 16.-Some-
where east of Nantucket Island off the
coast of Massachusetts, and approxi-
mately 800 miles from Atlantic City,
the starting point, Walter Wellman s
"Alrs WELL" and a good-by at 12:45
o'clock this afternoon and swung on up
the coast through the fog. This mes
sage was received here by A. H. Gin
man, the Marconi operator who had
been on the alert since dawn.
At this morning Siasconset first
came in touch with the giant balloon.
Then, although the wireless range of
the craft is comparatively short, owing
to the necessarily limited power and
attenae, the station was surprised to
hear its call, MISC" clear and strong,
followed by "W," the code signature
of the airship. Judging from the
strength of the signals 1t was as
sumed that the America was in prox-
unity to Nantucket and Immediately
all the life saving stations and light
houses on the island were notified by
telephone to keep sharp lookout. But
the fog which had enshrouded the
America since her departure yester-
day morning still hung over the ocean.
shutting out the view. The Marconi
station, however began a rapid fire
of interrogations and learned from
Jack" Irwin, the Amerca's operator,
that the ships motor had been stopped
and that the dirigible was heading
east-northeast, and making 25 miles
an hour with the wind. Nantucket's ex-
citement was acute but with motors
idle the airship sailed along silently
as a phantom in the sky where or
dinarily the engines exhaust could have
revirberated along the coast.
Communicated BY Wireless
However, the electric instruments of
the Marconi station filled in at times
what the eye and ear were denied
and intermittently the operators here
exchanged greetings with their late as
sistant who, 1t will be recalled, received
ut this station the dramatic GOD" OF
the Ill fated steamship Republic A
1890 a. m signals from the dirigible
became suddenly stronger and it was
momentarily expected that the America
would come in sight Of the station
j Irwin, In fact, flashed that he thought
! he could hear the sound of the break
ers but the fog effectually shut the
craft from view, alth ough she was
probably passing over the shoals sur
rounding the island. From that time
on the signals from the airship grew
steadily weaker until finally at 12:45 a
message was flashed from here asking
If everything aboard was O. X. Faint
came the reply, YES then, fainter
still, the. two letters, &c. B." (good-
by).
Unable to take observations In the fog,
the Americas exact position remained
unknown throughout the day as had been
the cafe since she set SAIL Her course.
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