Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-10-19
RY WALTER wELLMAN.

By WALTER WELLMAN.
By United Wireless to the New York Times.
downright 1910 by the New York Times Com
pany. All rights reserved,
ON BOARD THE ROYAL NAIL IS.
TRENT AT SEA, October 1S-The he
roic Vaniman and all my brave and loyal
crew OF the dirigible balloon America,
who set sail with me from Atlantic City
at 3 O'Clock last Saturday morning In an
attempt to reach Europe through the arr
are safe on board the steamship Trent,
having been rescued from the crippled
balloon this morning and taken on the
shin at o'clock after two hours of diff
cult maneuvering.
When the America passed Nantucket
Sunday mbrning. as we reported at the
time. conditions seemed favorable for the
completion of the journey across the At
lantic. 1t was after we had gone well
ma st that point that the conditions arose
which finally compelled the abandonment
of the balloon this morning and the trans
fer of the men to the Trent.
After passing Nantucket Island we went
east-northeast for an estimated distance
of $40 miles. Our motors were not in use.
az tho fresh westerly breeze we had at
Nantucket was still driving US forward.
Our only anxiety as | said in message
at the time, lay in the acting OF the equll-
ibrator, which had begun to jerk on the
ship as it jumped over the waves
We iourneyed before the westerly breeze
all the afternoon.
At . o'clock Sunday night our approx
mate position was latitude AZ degrees
north and longitude 81 west. here came
the serious change in the wlnd. II shiiteo
into the northwest and freshened TO apout
nd
America drifted at the rate or about
twenty-five miles an hour II was I'M
possible for us under these condltlonS 10
continue on our northeasterly course:
which would have kept US in the lane OF
the European liners.
Crew Cheerful During Trying Night.
Furthermore, the equilibrator was pull
ing hard AS the lower end of it rode the
heavy seas, which had been kicked up by
the stiff breeze, it jerked shockingly on
the lines which held 1t to the America
Under this stress the ship set up rolling
motion, which added to the strain and
threatened the entire destruction or the
craft if long continued.
1t was d dreadful night Tor the men
aboard the ship. There was much to
be done to ease the strain, and all did
everything possible.
and one by one the men would sleep for
a time. They went to their hammocks
expecting that they would awake to find
themselves in the ocean. but all they
wanted was to sleep. and they did SO.
At no time. however. was there any
sign of faltering on their part. At the
worst moments they were calm. and even
| cheerful
AS the seas grew in power and pulled
harder on the equilibrator the America
was drawn down almost to the level of
the line of whitecaps Some of the waves
even struck the lifeboat, in which lay
our only hope of saving ourselves, and
| threatened at times to carry it away.
Decided to Stick to the Ship.
At this point consultation was held
| to decide whether We should abandon the
| ship and take to the lifeboat All hands
agreed that we should stick to the ship
| and try to take her to land, and, If posi-
BILE, on the other side of the ocean. We
threw over gasoline to tighten her, and
| she rose above the dangerous waves
At O'Clock Monday morning orders
| were given to start the motors again,
| and We set our course in the hope of
] reaching the Azores or Europe, which