Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1910-10-21

* x =
THE AMERICA.
Dirigible America $500 2g8 feet x
long, 50 feet beam; passenger car,
" 1856 feet long. Floor OF ear is
X huge fiat gasolene tank, carried
5000 pounds of gasolene in floor
* tank and "equilibrator," series
T. of steel tanks, .jointed and depend
Il ing from car as drag ropes.
Engines-Two big motors on
s propeller shaft, and one small
donkey engine.
" Provision-Canned meats and
* vegetables, calculated to last crew
= of six men a month. A small oil
stove is used for cooking.
The Crew-Walter Wellman, En-
gineer Melvin Vaniman, Navigat-
s. ing Officer F. Murray Simons,
= Wireless Telegrapher J. K, Irwin,
s. Assistant Engineer Albert Louis
Loud.
Duration of Voyage-Wellman,
n before starting, expected that the
Il American would land in Europe in
8 from six to eight days.
x x
Atlantic City, n. j., Oct. 14.-Iho
airship America, which has oeen pre-
naring for a flight across the Atlantic
ocean under the supervision or Waltef
Wellman. was taken out OF the huge
balloon house, and at sol a. M. the
great cigar-shaped craft went up In
the air and started seaward. IN TWO
minutes it had disappeared IN the
dense fog which prevailed
What little wind that was blowing
| at the time was from the west. AS
the balloon went into the air part
ing cheer was given by about l,ooO
persons.
The aeronauts waved their Good
| bv." climbed into the car OF the I'M
| mense gas bag, and fioated off III the
dense fog that enveloped the entire
island. while the crowd kept cheering.
Thousands Watch Start.
Dense fog with no wind made the
| conditions perfect, and the balloon was
out of sight almost Immediately. me
last reported sight of the America and
IFS crew was secured by volunteer
crew of the yacht Olive, belonging to
Colonel Thomas Potter of Phlladel-
phia. which guided the balloon out OF
| the inlet.
Just before starting Chief Engineer
Vaniman informed Mrs. Vaniman ana
friends that there is every reason 10
believe that the weather condluons
will warrant the trip being continued
in the effort to cross the ocean.
Twenty-six Miles an Hour.
Colonel Potter's small motor yacht
by means of rope, towed the alrshlp
the few hundred feet necessary to
reach the waters edge. Those gath
cred to see the start declare the sight
was a beautiful one. There are SIX
men on the airship, and they are pro-
yided with provisions, mostly OF the
canned variety, enough to last them
month. The only means OF cooking Is
with a small oil stove, but this MI.
| Wellman says will do all the COOKING
they require.
i Each man is provided with two uni
forms. one of khaki and much heaV-
Ter one for use in case extraordinary
cold weather is encountered
It was estimated that the two en-
gines, which were working perfectly
we're pushing the balloon through the
air at the rate of twenty-six miles an
hour.
Wireless messages were received
from Mr.. Wellman every hour and so
far he has had no accident.
END OF STORY.
The last word received from Well
man a message early Monday morn
ing: 'All well, machinery working
well. Have turned more northerly TO
reach transatlantic steamer TRACK
Exact position not sure; somewhere
between 300 and 800 miles on shore
Airship Crosses English Channel.
London, Oct. 17.-Another chapter
was added to the history OF aviation
when the French dirigible balloon
Clement Bayard made the voyage from
\ Compiegene to London in the remark
able time of six hours, a journey re-
curing seven hours by the fastest
express trains and boats. Complegene
/ is As miles northeast of Paris and
about 1876 miles by air route to Lon
! dom This is also the first occasion on
which a dirigible balloon has crosSdd
the English channel. The over-Water
route occupied 45 minutes.