North Pole

Confidence in the Shenandoah is now supreme.

The Test. At 7.30 p. m. in a 70-mile gale, the Shenandoah was torn from her mooring mast at Lakehurst, N. J., and blown violently inland through the darkness and rain. In the first seconds she nosed down, her blunt bow was smashed, the duralumin structure near the nose was partially ripped away, one gas bag was torn away, another was torn, the top of the steering rudder was rent. Only a skeleton crew of 21 men was on board, with Lieutenant Commander Maurice G. Pearce in command, and Anton Heinen at the wheel. To prevent nosing to the ground, 1,200 pounds of water ballast and three fuel tanks containing 40 gallons of gasoline each were instantaneously dropped. The engines were started. After the first wild five minutes, Captain Heinen had the ship under perfect control, engines all out, altitude 1,500 feet--ample for safety--running with the gale in the general direction of Manhattan. When the Shenandoah reached the metropolitan district the storm had lessened somewhat, and it was thought safe to fight the wind instead of flying with it. The ship cruised over Staten Island, made steady progress down the coast against a 25-mile wind, passed over Perth Amboy, Keyport, Freehold, reached Lakehurst shortly after 2 a. m. Throughout the wild trip the dirigible had been in radio communication with its home station. When finally sighted over Lakehurst she was rapidly hauled down by 300 Navy men and towed into the safety of the huge hangar. The damage, including the loss of a large quantity of valuable helium gas, is estimated at $80,000.

There is not a shadow of doubt in all technical circles that any dirigible other than the Shenandoah would have perished in similar circumstances. In the Shenandoah the Navy constructors had probed even more deeply than the Germans into the minutest points of strength analysis. Their patient efforts were fully rewarded. There remains almost no condition in the air that the Shenandoah cannot meet with confidence as far as structural strength goes. Her helium prevents fire and explosion. A reinforcement (Continued on Page 29) of the steering gear, a false nose, which could tear away, leaving the rest of the structure uninjured in case of a similar loosening from the mooring mast, and the Shenandoah should be able to face any and all of the hazards of the Polar flight.

Beyond Alaska. Beyond Alaska are 1,000,000 square miles, some of which may be valuable, all of which is coveted by other nations. Secretary of the Navy Denby insists upon annexation of this territory this Summer, "before it is too late."

The theory of land in the large unknown basin of the Arctic rests on more than mere legend, though it had its origin in Eskimo traditions of a warm area of hot springs surrounded by volcanoes and a curtain of steam, and inhabited by white descendants of the lost Norsemen from the ruined settlements of Greenland. Various explorers and scientists believe there may be land there. Oceanographers have traced certain currents, explicable, they say, by a large land area. Meteorologists believe it the source of aerial currents which govern much of our continental climate.

The American plans have temporarily balked Captain Roald Amundsen's projected airplane flight. The Norwegian had planned to finance his trip by the sale of motion pictures. The Pathe Company, when the Shenandoah announcement was made, stopped negotiations with Amundsen. Emil Henne, Amundsen's manager, resigned. Amundsen hopes to start for Spitzbergen in May with three Dornier hydroplanes now under construction at Friedrichshafen. If a landing place can be found at the Pole, he will establish a gasoline and supply base, hop back to the ship at Spitzbergen, and start out again with more supplies for the long flight to Alaska, picking up the others on the way. The Shenandoah plan is to fly by easy stages to Nome, where the Ramapo, a vessel with a mooring mast, will be stationed.

All of this aerial activity has disheartened Vilhjalmur Stefansson, the apostle of the "friendly Arctic." Polar exploration is not what it used to be, he laments, and he is going to quit. Modern inventions, safety and comfort have lessened the joy of the venturesome explorer and it is now a humdrum sort of job. Stefansson believes the Shenandoah will attain her goal without mishap.

The cost of the Shenandoah trip will be about $183,000.