Show POLE SOUGHT IN 1897 BY SWEDISH AIRMEN fate of balloonists still remains mystery new york whichever of the flying men bound for unknown polar regions this summer Is the first to reach the pole he probably never will be maln that be actually was the first man to fly there twenty nine years ago with lar cruder equipment than any of the adventurers this summer are taking three viking airmen tried to sail through the sky to the end of the earth there Is some evidence that aliey passed over the pole or very near it although what finally happened must be relegated to esilma legend the leader of the party was prof salamon august andree a swedish scientist and civil engineer interested in ballooning his companions were two other swedes nils and knut II Jalmar ferdinand araen kel professor andree was con vinced there were trade winds blow ing through the upper atmosphere from across the pole to north america which would carry his balloon in safety over the polar ice cap carried many bottles he carried the last word in eclen apparatus tor bis day only a gen ago in place of radio ap he carried a large quantity of bottles that he could drop over doard with messages and a few car aler pigeons professor andree s bal loon measured 97 feet from top to bottom the bag alone being 75 feet from summit to opening it consisted of three of silk glued together and covered with five coats of varnish on july 6 1897 the party left norway on july 8 it passed the north cape and on sun day july 11 at 2 30 in the afternoon it took off from danes island spitz bergen with the pole miles to the north the day was clear and a strong wind was blowing As the bal loon started it narrowly escaped stalk ing a rock in the Swe erenburg sound As it rose out of the varying under currents of air it swung about like a carrier pigeon getting its bearings and then meeting the upper currents which professor andree predicted it started away at the rate of about 22 miles an hour for an hour the balloon could be seen from shore it was equipped to stay in the air 50 dais and carried provisions tor four months one carrier pigeon returned a few days later with this message july 13 12 30 p m 82 2 degrees north latitude degrees east longitude good progress toward the north all goes well on board this mes cage Is the third by carrier pigeon ANDREE in september 1899 a buoy which professor andree was to have dropped overboard when be passed over the pole was picked up on the shore of king charles island and identified by the inscription andree polar elpe found year later A year later a bottle containing note no was found near bardoe in the most northeasterly part of nor way that was all years went by with out another trace of the expedition liberal rewards were offered bv the king of sweden tor genuine relics of the expedition many parties were or and spent thousands of dol lars searching the arctic regions for remains at last in december 1009 a friend ty catholic priest who had won the confidence of the imo tribes near reindeer lake miles north of prince albert in the province of has kitchegan kitch ewan canada brought back an uncertain tale bishop pascal of the diocese of prince albert saw an ei J almo carrying a revolver and noticed that other members of the tribe seemed to have an unusual quantity of rope when he inquired they told him that a great white house had come down from the sky that the men in it had starved to death n nd that the rope had come from the house top A month later oathir another priest brought back adal news the eskimos admitted he said that the white men had hunted game this angered them and they killed the white men one other subsequent report with the stamp of authenticity was ande christian ledar a norwegian explorer said eskimos told they saw the bal loon come from the sky aud saw smoke and thunder come from strange sticks which two devils carried one of the devils they killed with their arrows but when the other made signs that he was not hostile that he was hunting birds only the tribesmen realized eliat they had killed a human being and fled in tear they saw no more of the other man |