Ballooning to the North Pole.

Feilding Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 23, 27 July 1896, Page 2

Ballooning to the North Pole.

Within the next day or so we may expect the cable to inform us of the three adventurous Swedes— M. Andree, Dr Ackholm, and Herr Nils Strindberg— on their daring balloon expedition to the North Pole. The steamer with all their paraphernalia arrived at Spitzbergen at the end of June, and they expected to put out from the northernmost poiat of that island about the 20th or 21st July. M. Andree is the leader of the expedition, and his balloon, which has been specially constructed for the voyage, is described as being composed of three thicknesses of silk firmly glued together, and having fine coatings of varnish on the outside. Outside this is the netting which supports the suspension ring from which depends the oar. The apparatus connected with this car is said to be a perfect wonder of ingenuity and contrivance for the storage of provisions, instruments, ammunition, &c. It is about five feet deep, quite round, with a wicker cover. In it is a bedstead for one person, the arrangement being that one person shall sleep while two watch and make observations. These observations will be made from the top of the basket. Tho travellers will stand on the hd of it, and will hare around them, in a ring breast-high, all the instruments which they will require for thsir observation. For cooking, an apparatus will be dropped down 15 feet below the basket by means of a rope. It will be lighted by pulling a string, and when the cooking is done the fire will be put out by another string. Then the food will be brought up to the basket and eaten. These precautions are taken to obviate the danger of having a fire too near the gas of the balloon. Tb is cooking apparatus is the invention of a Swedish engineer, devised purposely to meet M. Andree's requirements. The total weight of the balloon and all it will carry ie 5200 kilogrammes.