Norwich bulletin., 1910-10-20

here this afternoon by the steamship
Trent, which picked them UP at sea
after they had abandoned their dirigi-
BILE balloon America and failed in the
first attempt ever made to cross the
Atlantic through the air. A bruised
right hand which Welman carried in
sling was the only physical injury that
resulted from their long voyage of ap-
proxima tely 900 miles and rescue the
like of which is unknown to all his
tory.
Ready to Renew the Attempt.
None of the aeronauts expressed re-
eret for the loss of tha America They
agreed that it had served its purpose
and taught its lesson. All stand ready
10 renew the attempt as soon as Well
man and his engineers find a way to
conquer the difficulties that brought
their first trip to its thrilling end on
Tuesday morning 400 miles southeast
Of Sandy Hook
WeIIman BIames the Equilibrator.
Standing on the deck of the Trent,
clad in the same suit of khaki he wore
when he and his crew launched the
America last Saturday at Atlantic
City. Wellman made this statement:
we thought we could not get along
without the equilibrator. Now we find
We couldn't get along with it. Our
plans for the future are indefinite until
We find something that will do what
The 'equilibrator, to which Well
man attributes the failure of his voy
age. was the series of tanks containing
gasoline which fioated in the water
attached to the airship by a long rope.
Its purpose in addition to storing gas
oline and serving as wireless
ground" was to keep the balloon |
steady compensating for the expan-
sion and contraction of gas due to the
changes in temperature, which would |
have made the America rise or sink |
erratically. The Americas experience |
proved that this floating tail, jerking !
at the delicately poised airship, made |
IL impossible TO steer or. make head |
way in the desired direction and Sc
verely weakened the structure. To
find another means of compensating
1or this unavoidable change in the
volume of gas is the problem to which
Welin1an and his engineer Melvin Van
imam. will now devote their attention
The direct cause of abandoning the
America was the exhaustion of the
supply Of gasoline which had to be
thrown out to saveHthe ship. until when
fhe crew abandoned the balloon only |
enough was left to last about twenty
four hours.
We!lman's Crew All Well.
This is wellman's description of how /
he hurt his hand: While we were
afioat I'm our Tfeboat trying to reach
the Trent l tried to grasp a rope I
thrown from the steamer. In some
way the rope got twisted about my
hand and before 1 could get loose it
nearly tore off my little finger and bad
is bruised the rest Of the hand"
The comparative unimportance of
the injury, however was demonstrated
by the fact that as Wellman said this
lie held a cigar in his bandaged hand
and was not obliged to let the member
rest in a sling.
The other members of the Americas
crew said they felt as well as ever. and
they looked it. They are: Melvin Van
navigator: J. X. Irwin. wireless oper-
atOr. and Albert L. Loud and John Au-
burt sir sailors
There was also the gray kitten i
which was so pampered by the women
passengers aboard the steamer that |
her sides buged with feeding She
had made the air voyage as a name-
less cat. but on board the liner was
promptly christened Trent" She left
the steamer on Mr.. Vaniman's shoul-
Cer Naniman's companions said that
even IN the haste Of preparing to leave
the America the chief engineer made
sure that there was enough air in the
compartment Of the lifeboat where the
cat was slowed TO make her comfort
able
Relatives Met the Rescued at Quaran-
tine.
\ thick gray curtain of fog hung
over New York bay this morning and
caused a postpouement of the last
scene of the drama in which Wellman
end his crew were the chief figures.
The Trent was forced to anchor off
Sandy Hook and there she remained
until early in the afternoon before the
fog lifted enough to make it safe for
her 70 come up tho harbor. Meanwhile
4 part or those n sarest and dearest to
the sripwrecked acronauts had taken
? tug and gone as far as the quaran
tine station 70 meet them. In this
PARTY were Mrs. WeIlman Mrs Vani-
man. Mrs. Leroy Chamberlain. We'll
mans married daughter. and his three
unmarried daughters and Mrs. Sarah
Loud. mother of Mrs. Naniman and of
Albert L. Loud. They had long wait
~ quarantine. and il was not until
t16 that Wellmau descended the COM
ranionway from the steamer to the
deck of the tug
With tears IN her eyes Mrs. WelIman
embraced her husband and kissed him |
on both cheeks. The aged Mrs Loud
stood weeping with one arm around the ]
neck of her son and the other about
her son-in-law. while Mrs. Vaniman,
also in tears of joy, hung on her hus-
bands other arm.
Cheers for the Wefin1an Crew and Res
cuers. ,
The Trent anchored off Quarantine.
awaiting inspection Of the health Of .
fcers. when the tugs Dalzelline with I
the aerouauts' relatives and the Bow !
ler. belonging To- SdndersOu < Son, I
? gents for the Royal Mail Steam Pack Z .
81 Line. .oWuers of the Trent, came
alongside. Weilman was standing close |
bN The rail with the members " his
crew beside him. When the pzssen- /
gerS crow ded about him caught light |
Of The wODen board the Dalzeline
they set up 4 cheer first for Welliman ,
end then for Mrs. Welimsn, then for .
Wellmans children. Then somebody
proposed three cheers for the cat, which I
viewed events serenely from Vanimans :
shoulder
After the Wellnsn party had board
cd the tug. Wellman stood with his
? rn1s about his wife sud one Of his |
daughters. and Joined those aboard the +