Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-10-18


less to New York; Oct. 49,
The crew of the a1rship, Amer
lea, in abandoning their craft,
lowered themselves into the
hfeboat, which swung beneath
it. They then cast the ifeboat
off and were safe on the sea.
The airship shot high into the
air and was blown away. The
transfer from the lifeboat to
the Trent was effected with
much difficulty.
PICKED UP AT A. NJ.
New York, Oct. ia wireless mes
sage to the Times from Captain Down
of the Royal Mail steamer Trent. says
the Trent picked up WeIInan and the
crew of the America at this morn
ing. The airship had been abandoned.
The rescue was made in latitude 35.43;
longitude, 6s.1e.
OFF CAROLINA COAST.
The position reported by Down in
dicates Weilman and crew were picked
up al a point $50 miles due east of
Cape Hatteras on the North Carolina
coast.
TEXT OF MESSAGE.
The message from Down was:
"At 5 a. m. today sighted Well
mans airshIp, America, In dis
tress. signaled by Morse code
that she required assistance and
help. After three hours maneuV-
ering and fresh winds blowing, got
WeIman with entire crew and
cat. They were hauled safely on
board. All well. America aban-
doned in latitude 35.43 north, lon
gitude 6e.19 west"
Took Erratfc Course.
The course taken by the airship up
to the time it was wrecked shows to
what extent 1t was a prey to wind and
weather Sunday morning 1t was 200
to 300 miles northeast of Atlantic City,
off Nantucket light ship.
Met Adverse Winds.
Monday it must have encountered
strong winds from the northward, as
it was driven $50 miles southwark. f.
nally bringing up east of the North
Carolina coast. Here it was entirely
out of the range of transatlantic
steamers
Dispatches thus far give only the
essential facts of the rescue from the
water, but the preceding struggle in
getting from the airship to the water
remains to be told.
Travelled $50 Miles.
The total distance covered by the |
balloon America, while under control !
and drifting. a prey to the winds, ap-
pears to have been approximately $50 |
miles.
Broke a Record.
weIlman and his companions have +
broken all worlds records for airship |
voyages. At 5 a. IN. 6S hours had I
elapsed since they took flight from
Atlantic City. The record for continu-
GUS flight, which has been shattered.
was made by Zeppelin. The German
aeronaut remained aloft 81 hours. The
Zeppelin record for long distance flight
was $50 miles, but this was overland,
where the perils are not so great as in
sailing over the trackless ocean.
Mrs. weIIman Not Alarmed.
Atlantic City. n. j., Oct. Is. - No
tidings of the whereabouts of the air
ship America were received here up to
this morning. Mrs Wellman express
ed the belief the airship was out of
the track of steamers and she did not
expect TO hear from Wellman for a
day or two
Steamers Report Nothing.
Sable Island, off Nova Scotia, Oct.
1S.-At a. m. today the wireless sta
tion was in communication with the
steamer Lavernio, so miles out, but
had no tidings of Wellman. An hour
later the steamer President Grant, GO
miles out, reported no news of the
America
Search All Night.
All day and night yesterday wireless !
Stations along the seaboard tried to
pierce the ghostly fog and pick up in {
tellisence of the air craft With in I
visible fingers, the antennae at the
nasts of the wireless stations CROPPED |
in the mists, vainly trying to pick up