Part 10
It is 11 o’clock in the morning. Andrée is standing before the shed, observing everything. His orders follow one another, brief and rapid; his voice resounds, rendered still stronger by a speaking trumpet. Nothing is heard but the crackling of the wood as it is broken away, and the wooden beams as they come crashing to the ground. A detachment of men clear away the rubbish as it falls.
On the south side, at the top of the shed, sailors are stretching the canvas between the masts, thus increasing by 13 feet the height of the roof.
Everywhere is feverish activity; the preparations go on rapidly.
We now turn our attention to the balloon, which slowly rises, as the bags of ballast are slowly let down from mesh to mesh until they stop at the hoop.
The wind becomes more and more violent. Puffs reach the balloon, which sways greatly from side to side; the equatorial straps support it well, and restrain its movements.
The cords are then arranged which work the valves and the rending flap. These delicate parts require constant inspection during these last operations, in order to prevent their working badly. Stadling hangs over the circle, on to a horizontal rope, a series of baskets in which were the carrier pigeons. This preliminary part of the preparations being concluded, the ballast bags are withdrawn until the balloon is properly balanced. The hoop remains firmly held to the ground by three cables long enough to enable it to rise sufficiently high for the car to be fixed in position. The rest of the ballast bags are collected into three groups, hung to the hoop by three ropes.
The car, which, with all its contents, weighs nearly 1,102 lbs., is brought under. It is slipped into its place, and quickly fastened to the hoop by the six cables supporting it.
Andrée walks round the balloon and round the shed, giving a last glance at every detail, satisfying himself that everything is ready and in good working order.
The solemn hour has arrived.
Strindberg, who has always been a great friend of mine, as we have a mutual sympathy with one another, begs me to send his _fiancée_ proofs of the last photographs that I shall succeed in developing, and which would interest her. He shows great emotion while speaking to me; it is not fear of the perils that he is about to face, but other sentiments that are agitating him at this moment. It is easy for me to guess what they are.
When will he see again that charming Swedish girl, whose photograph which he has so often shown me, and carries next his heart?
How many days, how many months, will she be anxiously waiting, and receiving no news?
What anxiety, what suspense, await that poor young girl?
But what joy will follow the glorious return of her beloved! What firm bonds of affection will bind them together after this long, hard separation!
Oh! how I wish them this happiness with all my heart!
Greatly affected myself, I shake convulsively the hand of my friend, who is leaving all that he holds dearest in the world for the glorious accomplishment of a scientific enterprise, and with a final clasp I promise him once again that his wish will be a sacred duty to me!
He gives me a last letter for his _fiancée_; then, controlling the emotion which was overcoming him, he rejoins Andrée and Fraenkel, who are also taking leave of their friends.
Andrée is thanking all the members of the expedition for the help they have rendered him in his enterprise. He gives the captain several telegrams written in haste at the last minute; one, addressed to the King of Sweden, is worded thus:—
“SPITZBERGEN, _July 11th_, 2.25 p.m.
“At the moment of their departure, the members of the expedition to the North Pole beg Your Majesty to accept their very humble salutations, and the assurance of their deepest gratitude.
“ANDRÉE.”
Another telegram, addressed to the _Aftonbladet_, Stockholm, said:—
“In accordance with our decision previously arrived at, we commenced on Sunday, at 10.45, the preparations for our ascent, and at this moment, 2.30 p.m., we are ready to start.
“We shall probably be driven in a north-north-easterly direction. We hope gradually to reach regions where the winds will be more favourable to us.
“In the name of all our comrades, I send our warmest regards to our friends, and to our country!
“ANDRÉE.”
The last farewells are brief and touching; few words are exchanged, but hearty handclasps between those whose hearts are in sympathy say more than words.
Suddenly Andrée snatches himself away from the embraces of his friends, and takes his place on the wicker bridge of the car, from whence he calls in a firm voice:—
“Strindberg,—Fraenkel,—let us go!”
His two companions at once take their places beside him. They are all three armed with a knife for cutting the ropes supporting the groups of ballast bags.
This being done, Captain Ehrensvärd and Lieutenants Norselius and Celsing give their sailors orders which are at once put into execution.
The equatorial straps fall at one stroke.
The balloon, freed from this restraint, moves slightly; it quits the state of torpor in which it seemed to be plunged; it now seems to have come to life, and, notwithstanding its shelter, it rolls greatly on its lower moorings, from which it tries to free itself.
We wait a few seconds, in order to seize a moment of calm, before the order is given to start.
Three of the most adroit sailors, armed with knives, hold themselves in readiness, at a given signal, to cut the three cables by which alone the balloon is now held captive.
The entire crew of the _Svensksund_ are present, and also the crews of the three Norwegian whaling vessels anchored in Virgo Bay.
There is profound silence at this minute; we only hear the whistling of the wind through the woodwork of the shed, and the flapping of the canvas, which hangs over the upper part of the south side.
Amongst the cordage of the car are seen the three heroes, standing admirably cool and calm.
Andrée is always calm, cold, and impassible. Not a trace of emotion is visible on his countenance; nothing but an expression of firm resolution and an indomitable will.
He is just the man for such an enterprise; and he is well seconded by his two companions.
At length the decisive moment arrives.
“One! Two! Cut!” cries Andrée in Swedish.
The three sailors obey the order simultaneously, and in one second the aerial ship, free and unfettered, rises majestically into space, saluted with our heartiest cheers.
We rush to the doors to get out of the shed. I have the chance of getting out first through a secret opening I have made in the woodwork, so as to be able to rush to my photographic apparatus and have time to take a few snapshots at this stupendous moment.
Being encumbered with the heavy cordage that it takes with it, the balloon does not rise to a height of 328 feet.
It is dragged by the wind.
Behind the mountain that is sheltering us stormy winds are raging, and a current of air sweeps down from the summit and attacks the balloon, which for a moment descends rapidly towards the sea. This incident, which we had foreseen before the departure, but the natural cause of which struck few of the spectators at the moment, produces great excitement amongst some of us. The sailors rush to the boats to be ready to lend assistance to the explorers, whom they expect to see engulfed in the waves. Their alarm was of short duration; the descending movement soon becomes slower, and the car just touches the water and ascends again immediately.
Unfortunately, the lower parts of the guide-ropes, which were made so as to become detached if they should be caught in the ground, have remained on the shore. At the start the ropes were caught in some rocks on the shore, and the screws for separating the parts worked. But Andrée is well provided against this loss, so that this accident is not likely to have serious consequences.
At the edge of the water, on the beach studded with rocks and large stones, we all stand, breathlessly watching the various phases, rapidly following one upon another, of the commencement of this stirring and unprecedented aerial journey.
The balloon, which has now righted itself at about 164 feet above the sea, is rapidly speeding away; the guide-ropes glide over the water, making a very perceptible wake, which is visible from its starting point, like the track made by a ship. The state of affairs seems to us on the shore to be the best that could be hoped for. We exchange last signals of farewell with our friends; hats and handkerchiefs are waved frantically.
Soon we can no longer distinguish the aeronauts; but we can see that they are arranging their sails, as these latter are displayed in succession on their bamboo mast; then we observe a change of direction. The balloon is now travelling straight to the north; it goes along swiftly, notwithstanding the resistance that must be offered by the dragging ropes; we estimate its speed at from 18 to 22 miles an hour. If it keeps up this initial speed and the same direction, it will reach the Pole in less than two days.
The aerial globe seems now no bigger than an egg. On the horizon an obstacle appears in the route; this is the continuation of a chain of mountains about 328 feet high right in the path of the balloon, which seems very close to the obstacle, and some of the sailors round me, who have never before seen a balloon start on its trip, seem in great terror; they think the balloon will be hopelessly wrecked. I reassure them, telling them that the balloon is still far away from the hills, which will be easily surmounted, without there even being any necessity to throw out ballast.
The balloon travels on, maintained at the same altitude by the guide-ropes. In the neighbourhood of the hills there is an upward current of air; the balloon will follow this; it would only risk striking against the obstacle if the movement were downwards, which is not the case. Moreover, the guide-ropes first rest upon the rocks and thus lighten the balloon, which gradually rises.
We see it clear the top of the hill, and stand out clearly for a few minutes against the blue sky, and then slowly disappear from our view behind the hill.
Scattered along the shore, we stand motionless, with hearts full, and anxious eyes, gazing at the silent horizon.
For one moment then, between two hills, we perceive a grey speck over the sea, very, very far away, and then it finally disappears.
The way to the Pole is clear, no more obstacles to encounter; the sea, the ice-field, and the Unknown!
We look at one another for a moment, stupefied. Instinctively we draw together without saying a word. There is nothing, nothing whatever in the distance to tell us where our friends are; they are now shrouded in mystery.
“Farewell! Farewell! Our most fervent prayers go with you. May God help you! Honour and glory to your names!”
ALEXIS MACHURON.
The Last Message from Andrée
The following message from Andrée shows the progress made by the hardy explorer. We reproduce it in facsimile.
(1)—_The Andrée Polar Expedition to the “Aftonbladet” Stockholm._
_July 13th, 12.30 p.m., 82°2´ north latitude, 15°5´ east longitude. Good journey eastwards, 10° south. All goes well on board. This is the third message sent by pigeon._
ANDRÉE.
Butler & Tanner, The Selwood Printing Works, Frome, and London.
The Pupils of Peter the Great
A History of the Russian Court and Empire from 1697 to 1740
By R. NISBET BAIN
Author of “Gustavus III. and His Contemporaries,” “Charles XII.” “Hans Christian Andersen: A Biography”
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Highland Dress and Ornament
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Andrée and his Balloon
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Through China with a Camera
By JOHN THOMSON, F.R.G.S.
With about 100 Illustrations. Foolscap 4to. _One Guinea net._ This work contains probably the finest series of pictures of China ever published.
_CONTENTS._
CHAPTER I. A BRIEF SKETCH OF THE CONDITION OF CHINA, PAST AND PRESENT.
” II. THE CHINAMAN ABROAD AND AT HOME. Chinese Guilds—Hong-kong—Native Boats—Shopkeepers—Artists—Music Halls.
” III. THE CHINAMAN ABROAD AND AT HOME (_continued_). Gambling—Typhoons—The floating population of Hong-kong—North branch of the Pearl River.
” IV. CANTON AND KWANG-TUNG PROVINCE. Tea—Foreign Hongs and Houses—Schroffing.
” V. CANTON (_continued_). Its general appearance—Its population—Streets—Mode of transacting business—Signboards—Work and Wages—The willow-pattern bridge—Juilin, Governor-General of the two Kwang—Clan fights—Hak-kas—The mystic pills—Dwellings of the poor—The Lohang-tang—Buddhist monastic life—On board a junk.
” VI. CANTON (_continued_). MACAO. SWATOW. CHAO-CHOW-FU—AMOY. The charitable institutions of China—Macao—Description of the town—Its inhabitants—Swatow—Foreign settlement—Chao-chow-fu—Swatow fan-painters—Modellers—Chinese art—Village warfare—Amoy—The native quarter—Abodes of the poor—Infanticide—Manure-pits—Human remains in jars—Lekin—Romantic scenery—Ku-lang-su—The foreign settlement.
” VII. FORMOSA. Takow harbour, Formosa—La-mah-kai—Difficulties of navigation—Tai-wan-fu—The Taotai—His yamen—How to cancel a state debt—The Dutch in 1661—Sylvan lanes—Medical Missions—A journey to the interior—Old watercourses—Broken land—Hak-ka settlers—Poahbe—Pepohoan village—Baksa valley—The name ”Isla Formosa“—A long march—The central mountains—Bamboo Bridges—”Pau-ah-liau“ village—The physician at work—Ka-san-po village—A wine-feast—interior of a hut—Pepohoan dwellings—A savage dance—Savage hunting-grounds—La-lung village—Return journey.
” VIII. FOOCHOW AND THE RIVER MIN. The Japanese in Formosa—Cause of the invasion—The River Min—Foochow Arsenal—Chinese gunboats—Foochow city and great bridge—A City of the dead—Its inhabitants—Beggars—Thieves—Lepers—Ku-shan Monastery—The hermit—Tea plantation on Paeling hills—Voyage up the Min—Shui-kow—An up-country farm—Captain Sheng and his spouse—Yen-ping city—Sacrificing to the dead—Shooting the Yen-ping rapids—A Native passenger-boat.
” IX. SHANGHAI. NINPO. HANKOW. THE YANGTSZE. Steam traffic in the China Sea—In the wake of a typhoon—Shanghai—Notes of its early history—Japanese raids—Shanghai foreign settlement—Paul Sü, or ”Su-kwang-ki“—Shanghai city—Ningpo—Native soldiers—Snowy valley—The Mountains—Azaleas—The monastery of the Snowy Crevice—The thousand-fathom precipice—Buddhist Monks—The Yangtsze, Kiang—Hankow—The Upper Yangtsze, Ichang—The Gorges—The great Tsing-tan rapid—Mystic fountain lights—A dangerous disaster—Kwei-fu—Our return—Kiukiang—Nanking; its arsenal—The death of Tsing-kwo-fan—Chinese superstition.
” X. CHEFOO. PEKIN. TIENTSIN. THE GREAT WALL. The foreign settlement—The Yellow River—Silk—Its production—Taku forts—The Peiho River—Chinese progress—Floods in Pei-chil-li—Their effects—Tientsin—The Sisters’ chapel—Condition of the people—A midnight storm—Tung-Chow—Peking—The Tartar and Chinese divisions of the metropolis—Its roads, shops and people—The foreign hotel—Temple and domestic architecture—The Tsungli Yamen—Prince Kung and the high officers of the empire—Literary championship—The Confucian Temple—The Observatory—Ancient Chinese instruments—Yang’s house—Habits of the ladies—Peking enamelling—Yuen-Ming-Yuen—Remarkable cenotaph—A Chinese army—Li-Hung-Chang—The inn of ”Patriotic Perfection“—The Great Wall—The Ming tombs.
* * * * *
Problems of the Far East
JAPAN—COREA—CHINA