New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1910-10-19

Z
Trent He had had to drop most of his
reserve supply of gasolene and one of
his two motors had broken down. The
equilibriator, the big tail of gasolene
tanks. made all sorts of trouble, too. 1t
was dashed about by the winds and the
waves, and caused unlimited worry. The
America was blown far out of the course
she had planned. and when the Trent
picked up that wireless S o S Irwin
must have been sending il as a last re-
sort. The America was to have followed
the course OF the transatlantic liners,
where ships abound, and every wireless
operator had his ear TO his sounder.
striving night and day to pick up call
fro mthe aerial wanderer.
Down in the Southern sea II was diff
ferent Liners that carry wireless are
rare birds thereabout, for Wellman was
beyond the path of the coastwise liners.
Their wireless calls might have been
picked up by the Americas installation,
but the chances were that answering
! waves from Irwin's instruments would
have been too faint to reach the Savan-
nah. Galveston and New Orleans wireless
liners upon which he might have relied
for help. That is a fair assumption, 1t
/ would seem, from the fact that the mes
/ sages from the America in the first
twenty-four hours of her flight were
picked I'D by the shore stations with the
utmost difficulty.
1t Yves 4:30 a m. yesterday when Cap
tain Downs OF the British Royal Mail
| steamer Trent, on her way from Ber-
rnuda, was told that ]. * Irwin, the
wireless operator on the America, was
in touch with the Trent. BY wireless
/ Ginsburg, the Trent's operator, was told
that Wellrnan and his crew wanted to
leave the ship and the Trent was asked
to stand by TO take them Off Daylight
was rapidly approaching and the sea
was running fairly strong The airship
was being swept along by the wind at
rate of about twelve miles an hour
After an exchange of messages be-
tween the airship and the steamer IL
was announced that Wellman and his
crew would get down in their lifeboat
and break away from their balloon.
This mannuvre, however, was not &C
4 COrnDilSOtO mlLLlO0l a EOOu Nte~i Va
ficulty, and IL took more than two hours
10 carry it out.
The greatest menace TO the crew Of
the airship was the equilibrator, OF
string of thirty gasolene tanks, which
dragged behind the balloon as tall
If this tail had once struck the lifeboai
good blow the crew would have been
nd lyflleG r there
fore necessary to work with the great
est caution. Despite the care exercised
in making the transfer. Jack Irwin
the wireless operator, whose station was
in the hfeboat all the time. and Louis
Loud, Melvin Vaniman's first assistant
engineer, were injured and the lifeboat
was slightly damaged.
When the lifeboat was finally cut
, loose the airship rose 10 considerable
, height and continued it's course to the
south until it was out of sight of the
: crew Of the Trent and those in the life
boat. The sea running made il necessary
, to exercise some caution in taking the
airship crew aboard the liner, but this
was finally carried out without injury
to any one among those rescued, and al
40 a. m. the Trent once more set out
| to take up her interrupted trip toward
, this port.
\ Blown Far Out of Course.
weIlman told Captain Downs of the
Trent that the America had been blown
so far out OF the contemplated course
that he considered it foolhardy to con-
tinue the attempt to get over to Europe
All those from the America were loud in
their. praise of the efficacy Of wireless
telegraphy, and also of the Morse lamp
signals which Jack Irwin used in sig
mailing the Trent in arranging for the
| transfer of Wellman and his party 20 the
steamship.
The first intelligence of the ending of
the -Vaniman airship expedi-
ton to Europe reached the city by the
following United Wireless dispatch to
Sanderson g. Co., agents Of the Royal
Mail Steamship Company. from Captain
Downs:
AT , a. m sighted Wellman's airship
America in distress. Signal by Morse
code that she req1ired assistance and
help. After three hours man@uVring
and fresh wind blowing got Weiiman
with entire crew and cat. They are all
safely on board; are all well. The Amer
ica was abandoned in latitude "o;4d
north. longitude CHS
Immediately following came dls-
!, match to The Associated Press giving
, further details Of the rescue. The hrst
roouest to the Trent was TO follow the
. America, then Wellman decided after
consultation To abandon his airship.
Meantime every ship reporting along
. the coast from Sable Island to New
York WAS being eagerly questioned. but
naturally none had any news OF the
missing airship. President Taft while
at Ellis Island, telegraphed TO both the
Treasury and Navy Departments u
ask whether IL would be possible to SEND
out revenue cutters or war vessels Il
try 70 find the America and take aid
to the crew, if needed.
President Anxious 10 Help.
The Presidents telegram TO the Treas.
, ury Department read: is there any
: reasonable hope Of sending out a revenue