WELLMAN AFTER THE POLE
News Gatherer Thinks the Airship May Land on the
Coast of Alaska.
Spitzbergen, July 13.—The Wellman
party will leave here July 20 for a trip
to the north pole. In a test of twenty
five trial trips the air machine gave en
tire satisfaction. The members feel
certain of being able to make the trip.
Seattle, July 13.—George Hastings,
representative of the Ueutters News
Agency, has left here for l’oint Harrow
to meet the Wellman party when it re
turns from its attempted trip to the
north pole, lie figures that the party
will touch at that point when it returns
to civilization and that he w ill be ena
bled to get the story ahead of all com
petitors.
Before leaving for Spitsbergen Well
man said of his preparations for the
undertaking:
One of the most important changes
we have effected is the enlargement of
the balloon of the airship. It has been
made 18 feet longer and its lifting power
increased 3,000 pounds, giving a total
lifting force of 19,500 pounds. The bal
loon is 184 feet long and 52 feet in its
greatest diameter, its cubic volume be
ing 265,000 feet. The next important
change in our last year’s equipment is
that we have built an entirely new car
and mechanical equipment. The new
car consists of a framework of steel tub
ing 115 feet long, 10 feet high and 8 feet
broad. This is suspended close under
the balloon at such distance that those
standing on the top of the car can easily
reach the balloon. The keel or back
bone of the airship consists of a steel
tank 18 inches in diameter and 115 feet
in length capable of holding 1,200 gal
lons of petrol. The top of this tank
will be really the deck of our ship. By
this disposition we make the weight of
the tank, which is about 1,000 pounds,
do double duty, for it is not only a safe
reservoir for our i*etrol, but at the same
time gives rigidity to the structure of
the ship. The car is enclosed with
tightly stretched silk, the two sides
forming a vertical plane and the wide
roof a horizontal plane, all constructed
for giving stability to the ship in the
air. At the stern of the vessel is a rud
der of some tHH) square feet in the form
of a bicycle wheel, which despite its
great size only weighs 30 |H>unds. The
total weight of the steel car and tank is
2,2no |m >onds.
It is our intention during our voyage
to the |n»le to I** always in contact with
the earth by means of a guide nq**. We
shall nevur ascend more than 3no 11* 500
feet, and our guide rope will trail over
the surface of the earth. The guide
rope is absolutely es-ential to the safety
of >>ur navigation and i* of considerable
weight. Instead of eni|4*»y ing a steer
line we have made what I rail a leath« r
seris'tit 15 tie he- iii diameter and 140
feet lottg, weighing al»oilt I,list |M>Utid*,
which is *ii!*|«‘iided from the airship by
means of a steal rojie. It is covered
W itll *tcel scales to pr-Uert the leather
ami to iiiake the whole guide travel
smoothly over ire ami snow. It will also
flout on the sen. By means of the en
largement of the airship and food con
tained in the guide rope we are ahle to
carry with us a total of 3,000 pounds of
food, or enough to enable the crew of
the airship to subsist on its own stores
fora period of ten months without hav
ing recourse to game or outside supplies.
We carry in our tank 0,800 pounds of
petrol, capable of running the motor
150 hours at a normal speed of 14 knots
per hour, giving a total radius of action
from the liquid fuel of 2,HR) knots. The
weight nt the cargo diminishes on an
average of 600 pounds per day by the
consumption of petrol for the motor,
while the loss of lifting power by leak
age of gas through the skin of the bal
loon will probably not exceed 150
pounds per day. The net result of this
is that we have on an average day 400
to 500 pounds of lifting force no longer
required, representing just so much gas
to be disposed of to maintain the equi
librium of the ship. Ordinarily the
surplus gas would he allowed to escape
through the valves, but inasmuch as
hydrogen has a very high calorific
power we have thought it a pity to
waste ..1 fuel and have found that we
can burn the surplus hydrogen in our
motor, with the result that we have a
further 30 hours of motoring from waste
gas, giving a total of 180 hours at 14
knots per hour. That is to say, we have
a total radius of action of 2,500 miles, or
double the distance from our base to
the pole and hack again. If we can get
hut two thirds of the value of these lig
ures we shall still have 50 per cent,
margin over our needs for our journey
from Spitsbergen to the pole and back.
HOT SPRINGS ECHOES
Tlif first number of G. H. Henry's
Hot Springs Kelio ami Tanana Citizen
was issued last Saturday. The follow*
ing items are copied from it:
From Charles Smith, the foreman of
the government road work, we learn
that frost in the ground is delaying
them, but be says before the snow Hies
we shall have a fine graded road be
tween Hot Springs and Fort Gibbon.
Our noble friend John the Hear Hun
ter is leaving for the wilds of the Innoko
and kuskokwim to trap the wary mar
ten and hunt the glaeier Isar. We all
wish John the best of lin k.
The saw mill keeps busy all the time
and budding is going on all the time.
When- two years ago there were only
two rabins, now there is a gi««l-sized
town that is still growing. The launch
Z aliak is kept busy hauling rafts from
the mouth of Hot Springs river to the
saw: mill. Altogether she is a hustling
town, and we think the outhaik for her
future justifies the large sum of money
Mr. Manley has s|«-nt on her.
Louis Seyler arrived from Thanksgiv
ing on Tuesday and joined the I*. S.
survey parly under l.•*,uling F.ngineer
John Ib-rnard. From Mr Iternard, who
arrived here on tbe 12th, we leartt that
he has I sen 1-satmg the winter trail
between Hot "prings ami Fairbanks.
He left for Tolovano on the 15th to
complete work at that point, after
which he will proceed to Fairbanks.
Swamps and water have made great
difficulties for him on the flats.
Jack Coleman arrived safe and sound
from the Chandlar after an extended
prospecting trip. When lie had sam
pled several of the Hot-Springs brands
of fighting water he immediately liegan
to talk of the days when the Colt’s 45
was monarch of all.
GUGS. STICK TO CARIBOU
The Guggenheims have by no means
abandoned their active operations in the
Caribou country, says the Vancouver
World Some little time ago it was re
ported that this company had practi
cally abandoned all operations in that
section owing to their dissatisfaction
with the placer mining laws and other
kindred troubles. From recent reports,
however, it appears that the company,
so far from having quit, are preparing
to carry out their extensive plans on a
scale even larger than before.
Special stages are being run to the
lake for the purpose of carrying in the
large number of men required for the
various operations, and these men are
being employed at a rate that will mean
at least a thousand workmen on the job ;
w ithin the next two months. Work on
the big ditch has been resumed, and the
many lateral ditches are being taken
out as fast as the working force will
permit.
_LOST._
Garden rake; lost at the Old Ceme
tery while the improvements were being
made.June 8; reward. Robt. Schaber.
l-adies’ nugget pin. Finder please leave
at Valley News office.
Gold-rimmed specs in black leather
case. Valley News office.
l’urse containing |5 bill, $1 bill and 2
small keys; monev immaterial; want
the keys. Valley News office.
| JULIUS RAHMSTORF,
i GENERAL
I MERCHANDISE
S FULL LINE
» Tin, Granite and CrocKeryware
ZsLJULJLSULSISlJLSIJIJLSIJLJLSLSLSLJLQJUlJlJLi
Large sorrows come from small sins.
'Tnnrimns' btty mm TrrrwTnnrBTrinr'ir
S. E. HEETER, |
Freighter and Packer \
Kquipmontn and ®
Service rnexeelletl c
ooooooonnnnnnnnnnnn
8 9JLSL ftlSISLSLiSLSLiJLJLZSt l 9JJUUUUUULXJUl)
Northern Commercial Co. I
OUTFITTING A SPECIALTY
ORANGES, POTATOES AND ONIONS
NOBBY SPRING SUITS
Northern Commercial Co.
utmmmuummmiiiim tiiim nm » m m*
Tsrrrvrrvxrm