CHAPTER XXI. 

 > 



TWO BALLOONISTS WHO FAILED. 



The North Pole madness has so invaded the blood of mankind that almost 

 every mode of transportation, short of ox-teams and railroad trains, has been 

 thought of for reaching- the goal. Even automobiles have been suggested, 

 though laughed to scorn by those who have experienced the woe of hauling a 

 sledge over an ice-hummock. It was this very difficulty of progress over land 

 and sea that led two men of daring to consider an aerial trip. This, they ar- 

 gued, would necessarily avoid the delay and despair of combating ice-bergs 

 and mountains and be a short, swift, easy route. 



To these men the fact that aerial travel itself possesses perils sufficient to 

 daunt most human beings was as nothing. They were enthusiasts in balloon- 

 ing; and to the enthusiast in that sport it is said even racing through a thun- 

 derstorm a mile in air is a joy. But bold as they were, neither came within 

 miles of reaching the north pole. One was a Swede, S. A. Andree ; the other, 

 Walter Wellman, an American. 



Andree was an engineer in the patent office at Stockohlm. He had become 

 an experienced aeronaut, though he had never "set the world on fire," and 

 when he proposed crossing the Atlantic Ocean, from Africa to South America, 

 there were many who approved the scheme — so long as they did not have to 

 join the party. One who approved was Nordenskjold, a well known Arctic 

 traveler, and he it was who gave Andree the idea of trying for the north pole. 

 Andree at once began making definite plans, and securing the necessary money. 

 In 1895 he obtained it, through the aid of King Oscar of Sweden. The sum 

 of $36,000 was subscribed, of which the king himself gave $8,000. Andree 

 passed the following winter in France, where a balloon was specially con- 

 structed for him. Following is a description of the craft, published just before 

 the expedition got started : 



"It is a double balloon, or rather a balloon in a balloon. The first or inner 

 balloon is made of a specially made silk cloth of three folds and covered with 

 a two-proof varnish. Over this, covering two-thirds of the balloon, comes a 



221 



