The citizen-Republican. (Scotland, Bon Homme County, S.D.) 1???-19??, 1910-10-20

balloon in case a return is made and,
wireless operators on pier stations are
being besieged with inquiries in the.
hope some word of the progress Of theI
America in case the trip to Europe is
attempted.
Colonel Potter'S small motor Yacht,
towed the airship the few hundred feet
necessary to reach the waters edge
Their are six men on he irship. Thew
are provided with provisions sufficient
to last a month. The only means Of
cooking is a small oil stove. but this
Mr.. Wellman says, will do all they re-
quire. When the airship had sailed
about 400 feet from shore it disap-.
peared in the fog. 1t was estimated
that the two engines, which were
working perfectly, We're pushing the
balloon through the air at the ate
of &c miles an" hour.
With Europe 5000 miles away It
can readily be calculated how long Il
will take to reach the other side of
the Atlantic ocean.
Crew of the DirigibIe.
The crew aboard the America when
she left the ground included Walter
Wellman, Melvin Vaniman. chief en-
gineer; f. Murray Simons, n%avigator
of the expedition; j. K. Irwin, wire
less operator, and Albert Louis Loud
and John ALBERT, assistant engineers.
~ 10 q q 1857 craft Imam
the one in which Wellman started for
the north pole. The airship's gas bag
is shaped like a cigar and is 22S feet
long. It's width is about SO feet and
Is said to be capable of lifting near
ly u tons.
The passenger car is 1876 feet long, the
floor of which is a fiat tank in which
the gasoline is stored. The America
carries three gasoline engines. One is
a donkey and the other two are for
motive power They are in the CEN
ter and are Of about SO horsepower.
Beneath the car hangs a life boat 27
feet long to be used if the balloon
is wrecked.
Strung beneath the car is a 330-foot
equilibrator, which takes the place Of
q drag rope used on balloons. The
equilibrator consists of a strong steel
cable to which is attached SO small
steel tanks, each carrying 76 pounds of
gasoline and 40 wooden blocks. Tho
blocks are about 20 inches long. The
eQuilibrator makes it necessary to carry
ballast. 1t is intended that the balloon
shall sail along at q height of about
200 feet.
If it settles close to the water the
wood blocks and the tanks would float
and relieve it of some of it's weight.
AS the gasoline is required the steel
cable will be pulled up into the car of
the balloon and a tank emptied. The
America carries 5000 pounds Of gaso-
line.
The America is as thoroughly
equipped with sextants, compasses and
other instruments for locating positions
or the big ocen liners.
Last Glimpse of Expedition.
The captain Of the yacht olive when
it returned to the inlet, said when he
had the last glimpse of the airship her
engineers We're not working. A mem
Der of the crew shouted hat the bal
loon would be kept in the air and every
effort would be made to keep the en-
gines in good shape for a trip across
the ocean The captain did not know
whether the engines had not yet been
started or whether there was difficulty
in making them run.
After the airship rose and went suit
of sight it developed that one member
of the crew had been left behind. He
is Jean Jacon. the French motor ex-
pert. 1t is not known whether he was
at the hanger when the balloon was
brought out. Jacon is said to have had
some differences with Mr.. Wellman
over wages.