The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 23, 1896, Page 2

2 THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 1896. and came to the house of O. W. Davis, who aroused the neighbors and hastened to the scene of the wreck after sending a man to the town of Point Arens, seven miles distant, for help. George Christopher, a fireman, jumped overboard immediately after the ship struck, and after a hard struggle reached shore and started for the lighthouse, whose light he could see as the storm had suddenly ceased. He had been told a life-saving crew was stationed there, but when he came to Garcia River, which was swolleh by rain, he could not pass, He went to the ranch of Thomas Kenney, who at once hitched up a team and started for town, with Christopher and another survivor, Narciso Lavva, who had also reached the house. Everybody in Point Arena was aroused, and soon.after day- light the beach was covered with men anxious to help. The boat that was swamped came ashore in good condition and the men on the beach tried to reach the stranded steamer in it, but faled. Meanw!iile the steamer Point Arena came into portat Point Arena and landed its passengers, and then steamed to the wreck to render assistance. A boat was put off from her and after two hours’ hard work and many narrow es- capes, it succeeded in getting Chief Engi- neer Wood and five others off the rigging and putting them aboard the Point Arena. They tried a number of times to reach the wreck again, but failed. About 10 o'clock one of the sailors was washed from the rigging into the sea, and after a hard battle of twenty minutes the men from shore waded in and pulled him ashore, more dead tban alive. Dr. Galli- son, from Point Arena, was on hand and took charge of him. The water along the beach is very muddy from the current out of Garcia River and Brush Creek, which makes it difficult to keep afloat. At 2 o’clock the steamer Weeott came up and after trying to assist found sbe could do nothing, so steamed back to the port at Point Arena and landed her gun for throwing life-lines, whnich was started overland at once to the scene of the disas- ter. The watcher on shore tried to send a line over the wreck by shooting from shot- guns and rifles, but without success. About 4 ». M. a very large wave washed over the wreck, and it is believed that three men were washed overboard. One was pulled back onto the wreck, but the other sank. Ths scene was heartrending. Men, women and children remained on the beach since daylight without eating. Kind-hearted farmers Lrought provisions and milk for all, though none cared to touch & morsel. Men were shouting, women wrin ‘ing their bands and crying, every one trying to do or suggest some- thing, but all of no avail. The men who have been rescued can give no definite cause for the ship's get- ting so far out of her course, and ail ques- tioning will only bring the same answer: “I don’t know.” Captain Bmith and his officers, except the chief engineer, who is on the Point Arena, are still on the wreck, and until they can beseen nothing definite can be learned. CAPTAIN SMITH of the Wrecked Steamship San Benito. ance, as its rays could not pierce the atraos phere that surrounded the doomed ship. Leaving Tacoma last Wednesday night or Thursday morning, the steamer probably had fair weather for twenty-four hours and then ran into the southeaster that swept over the City on Saturday night. Just how Captain 8mith managed to get out of his course and allow his vessel to go ashore above Point Arena remains to be told. The following is a list of the crew of the collier on the last payroll, October 20. The officers and the mer of the engineering de- partment are the same now as then, with the possible exception of one or two fire- men and seamen: Cavptain, William Smith. Chief officer, R. Zolling. Second officer, J. Swan. Third officer, C. Zile. Seamen—A. White, G. Johnson, C. Blan- berg, C. Jansen, J. Perry, J. Benson, J. A. Barclay, O. S8emens, N. Nilson, H. Fehm, T. E. Foster. Chief cook, J. W. Wilson. Second cook, J. J. Wilson. Messboy, M. Sheridan. Waiters—C. Meyers, J. Sheeran, F. Dean. Engine Department—Chief engineer, L W. Wood. First assistant engineer, 0. W.Scott. Second assistant engineer, C.Condon. Third assistant engineer, T. Cleary. ‘Water-tenders—W. H. Jeffs, ;. McKeon, J. Ward. Storekeeper—W. Sloan. Firemen—J. McDavid, B. Fahey, M. Pen- Farmers who heard the steamer whistling for help say they plainly saw the headlight of the steamer and the light from the lighthouse. One of the firemen says the first officer was on the bridge and that Captain Smith was below when the steamer struck, but until the excitement is over nothing can be definitely known. Tue steamer Weott's gun for throwing lifelines arrived at sundown, but it proved no better than the shotguns and rifles, and no line has reached the unfortunates yet. Great indignation is expressed by those on shore at the seeming indifference of the owners, as they could have had a tug here by dark with everything necessary to rescue the poor fellows. So far not a body has been washed ashore. The town of Point Arena is de- seried, and there are at least 300 people at the scene of the wreck, who will watchall night, ready to risk their lives to succor the men in the rigging. The crew of the boat from Point Arena who risked their lives to-day are all beroes, and Messrs. Caughey, Lazarus, Cunningham ®and Lighthouse-keeper Brownhead and an In- dian, who launched the boat in the surf, although they were unsuccessful deserve medals for their bravery, for few life-sav- ing crews would have risked their lives as they did to-day. The steamers Point Arena, Weott and Alcazar are still lying as close to the wreck as possible, waiting until it will not be positive suicide to send their boats in to the doomed vessel. The survivors who are on shore will not leave the beach, and have hardly tasted food since being rescued, as they say the food would choke %them should they eat while. their com- rades are suffering within speaking dis- tance. Another party just arrived says the land wsatchers are wide-awake and the poor fel- 16ws still in the rigging. They do mot think any one has been washed off since dark, as the tide has gone out and the spray does not dash as high, but a heavy sea is still running. The rescued men still refuse to talk or give any opinion. It 1s apparent that they do not intend to injure any one by saying anything until they can see some-of their superior officers. POINT ARENA, CaL., Nov. 23.—A man just come from the wreck (at 1:30 o’clock) says the men have all zoge from the rig- ging into the pilot-house. The sea is still very rough. He heard a cry of *“Man overboard I just before he left, but could see nothing. All three steamers are on duty yet outside. The men are now working here ina blacksmith shop making bolts to shoot from agun to take line across the wreck. They think they can get a line across be- fore daylight. Big fires are kept going at the wreck. —_———— HISTORY OF THE SAN BENITO. Went Ashore Once Before in Almost the Same FPlace. The long-predicted southeaster got in its work yesterday. Reportsfrom various points between Cape Flattery and the Golden Gsate have been one continuous tale of disaster, but never before has it struck so near home. Wreckage has @rifted ashore at Astoria, and the general @pinion is that some big American ship Bes gone down. - An immepse amount of Jember has been jassed through, ana smong it was the remains of a fore-and- oft schooner. Neither vessel has been fdentified, and the chances are that their wnames will not be known until they are so long overdue as to be given up as lost. The Umatilla went onto the rocks near Port Townsend, the Arago was lost at Coos Bay, and now the Ban Benito is a total loss on the rocks two miles from the Point Arena light. The San Benito went ashore while a hur- ricane from the southeast was blowing; there was a thick fog and the rain ponred down in torrents. The moon was at its full, but neyertheless was of very little assist- dergast, G. Christopher, J. Reilly, F. Fa- hey, H. Jackson, J. Walsh. Coal-passers—C. Brown, N. Leyvs, W. Bheehan, N. Fitzgerald, M. Ferzandez, M. Kelly. This makes a crew of forty-three men. Many of them are married. The San Benito carried a cargo of 5000 tons of Carbon Hili coal consigued to the Southern Pacific Railroad Company. She was bound from Tacoma to San Francisco, and usually made three trips a month be- tween these ports. The Carbon Hill Coal Company is one of the smaliler wheels witbin the large wheel of the Southern Pacific Company. The San Benito usu- ally made the down trip in three days, and according to this reckoning she left Tacoma some time last Thursday. The San Benito makes the fourth ship losy in the last few" years by the Pacific Imyprovement Company. The others were the Tacoma, built by the Cramps, which wen!, ashore on her first round trip after rour;ding the Horn; the San Pedro, which werf ashore in November, 1891, on Brotchey Ledge, Vancouver Island, while in charge of an English pilot, and the San Pablo, which went down while chartered on tae China run. THe San Benito was rigzed as a three- masjed schooner and was of 3789 tons gross burden. She was built in Scotland in 1484, and when Jaunched was called the Kimberly. For some time she ran in the South African trade, and later was sent across the Atlantic with a general cargo OREGON Chart of the Coast Line Showing Where Threz Steamships of the Pacific Improvement Com- pany Have Been Lost in the Last Thirteen Years. for Philadelph'a. She went ashore in a burricane and C. P. Huntington bought the wreck for $500. The Kimberly was taken to Newport News and there was renamed the San Bepito, and when launched again the American flag flew at her mizzen. She came around the Horn in 1889 with a cargo of cement and oil, and ever since has been carrying coal from Puget Sound for the Southern Pacific Railroad Company. Once before the San Benito was ashore in almost precisely the same position and in the same place as she is now. On that occasion she got off, but Captain Colville, who was then in command, failed to re- port the matter to the Inspectors of Hulls and Builers. In consequence, when the annual inspection took place, the dents in the bottom plates were found awd the story came out. As a result Captain Col- ville was suspended and Captain William Smith took his place. Captain Smith has been connected with several unlucky ships, but this is the first time he has ever had an accident scored against bim. In the old days he was mas- ter of the British ship Barnard Cestle. Soon after he left that vessel she crashed onto Ruce Rock and became a total loss. Next Captain Smith went as third officer of the steamer Wellington, and later was made master of the San Mateo. From that steamer he was transferred to the San Benito, and had been captain of her up to the time of the disaster. Chief Engineer 1. W. Wood has had a really remarkable experience while in the employ of the Pacific Improvement Com- pany. He came arouna the Horn in the Tacoma, and was in the engineer’s depart- ment when that vessel was lost. He was first assistant engineer of the San Pablo when that vessel went ashore, and was chief engineer of the San Pedro when it was wrecked on the rocks at the entrance to the harbor of Victoria, B. C. Now he is chief of the San Benito when she is being dashed to pieces on the rocks near Point Arena. Chief Engineer Wood is a nephew of Captain Cuarles Goodall of Goodall, Perkins & Co, First Assistant Scott and Second Assist- ant Condon are both well known in ma- rine circles, but this will be their first ex- perience in a shipwreck. Chief Officer Zolling and Becond Officer Swan have been with the San Benito for years and are two of the most careful officers who sail out of the Golden Gate. The San Benito was 340 feet long, 41 feet 2inches broad and 17 feet 7 inches deep. The managing owner was F. S. Douty, secretary of the Pacific Improve- ment Company. The wrecker Whitelaw lelt for the scene of the wreck last night and Manager Schwerin of the Southern Pacific went along to see what could be done to salve the doomed steamer. The Condon family have been very un- fortunate, as among the drowned is Sec- ond Assistant Condon, whose father was chief engineer of the Bertha. Last year, when the steamer was on her way to Alaska, Condon Sr. was washed overboard aad drowned. The brother of the two men who lost their lives at sea is chief en- gineer of the 8preckels tug Reliance. —_— PLEASED WITH THE PLAY. Bryan Glad to Rest After His Campaign Y of Talksng. LINCOLN, NgsR., Nov. 22.—W. J. Bryan reached Lincoln from his Missouri hunt- ing trip to-night. He came alone and was driven directly to his home. Mr. Bryan said his outing was a thoroughly enjoyable one, and being the first genuine play speil since his nomination for the Presidency at Chicago, he felt greatly re. freshed for having taken it. He meta number of warm friends in the cities visited who belped to make his visit pleas- uradie. Mr. Bryan’s presence on the in- coming train wes not generally known in the towns through which he passed to- day, and it was a matter of some satisfac- tion to him that such was the case, as he did not care to make any addresses on the Sabbath. His homeward journey was un- eventinl. To-morrow evening he will leave for Denver, reaching there eerly Tuesday morning. Mrs. Bryan will not accompany him, as stated in a dispatch from Springfield, Mo. He expects to be back oy Thursda; e R Home of the Polish Alliance. CHICAGO, Iin, Nov. 22.—The new home of the Polish National Alliance at Division and Noble streets was formally dedicated to the use of the alliance this afternoon. Impressive ceremonies were beld under the auspices of the local alliance, and were participated in by dis- tinguished Polish citizens from all parts of the country. Chicago is said to have more Poles among its residents than re- main in Poland, and is the beadquarters of the National Alliance, which was or- ganized in 1880. b e 2o Keepers of a * Fenon’? Caught. CHICAGO, IrL., Nov. 22.—Louis Harter and his wife were arrested at their home, 991 Seminary avenue, this evening, and the police found about $800 worth of stolen property concealed in the house. Most of it bad been taken from the big depart- ment stores on Buate sireet, and the police believe that the prisoners bave been con- ducting a “‘fence’’ for other thieves. S Attempt to Burn a Hotel. CRIPPLE CREEK, Coro., Nov, 22.—An attempt was made early yesterday to burn the Travelers’ Home, a hotel in Old Town. That the fire was of lne-nnlufi origin was proven by the fact that the o haa been scattered about the building. The hotel was not badly damaged, as the flames were quickly extinguished, There were between fifteen and twenty people asleep in the hotel at the time. A WIRGED SHP INTHE K Continved from First Page. He said: “Mr, Coltins, I have known you for a long time to be a reputable man, and one who has a character to sustain. Now, on your homor as a professional man, do you profess to believe all that you have said and to put confidence in the scheme of this inventor?'’ “From what I have seen of the man and his invention,” said Mr. Collins; “I bave no alternative but to belicve im- plicitly all I bave said.” fi General W..H. H. Hart met Mr. Collins in San Francisco to-day and talked with him about the discovery. “I bave no doubt,” said the general, “that this affair is bona fide. I have seen the thing in the air myself, and believe the ideas of this Oroville inventor have proved to be prac- ticable.” Mr. Tyler, assistant librarian of the Sar Francisco Law Library, was in company with his sister and Mrs. Philbrook on Friday evening ana distinctly saw the airship a little later than it was seen in Oakland. This evidence fully bears out the statement of the passengers and motorman of - the Fieamont car, who asserted that after it had passed over St. Mary’s College it was headed for.San Francisco. It was reported to-night that a newspaper which has up to this time ap- parently been unaware that an airship has been flying around the State was in- tending to credit the discovery to a young dentist at Oroville. Mr. Collins was asked about this and said that it was absolutely without foundation, that the inventor is not a aentist and is nearly 50 years of age. ’ Nautical men who have paid particular attention to the various descriptions of eye-witnesses of this airship declare that the inventor has carefully followed out the principle of flying exemplified by the albatross. The machiue itself closely re- sembles a bird, and when all the facts connected with its construction are made known it will doubtless be learned that the Oroville man took a seabird for his model and drew from it his inspiration. Rl SACRAMENTANS STARTLED Thousands View the Great Alrship With Wonder. SACRAMENTO, CAL., Nov. 22.—The en- tire city is in a fever of excitement, and all that can be heard on every side’is air- ship, airship, airship. The mysterious aerial traveler paid this city another visit this evening, and this time it passed directly over the downtown portion of the city and exnibited to wondering thousands of the citizens its magnificent searchlight. There could be no possible mistake, tor there in plain view of all, moving slowly along with a slight wavering motion, was a large electric light, fully twice the candle-power of an ordinary are light. The light was at an enormous height and still plainly visible, as the heavens were entirely obscured by a mass of dark clouds, which every moment threatened to burst into a drenching rain, and in consequence the mysterious light was thrown into in- tense relief against their dark background. The hght first made its appearance over the lower portion of the city, and was moving slowly into the wind in a south- westerly direction. One of the first to see it was Isaac Gough on Becond and K streets. As soon as he became fully satis- tied that it was the much-talked-of aerial visitant he gave notice to all in the sur- rounding stores and hotels, and within a few minutes the streets were black with masses of excited people, all gazing heavenward. As the news spread the housetops be- came black with people, and frantic men rushed wildly into telephonic communi- cation with their homes in order to in- form their wives and families that high up in the heavens human beings were gayly sailing through the air toward San Fran- cisco. The streetcars were an important factor also in spreading the information as the motormen shouted the news to the bystanders as their cars rapidly threaded their way through the crowded thorough- fares, and it needed but a wave cf the Lhand skyward to draw the attention of all to the heavens. Jacob Zemansky, the well-known down- town cigar man, obtained a powerful tele- scope and watcbed the light until it faded into npothingness in the distance. In speaking of il he said: ‘It simply passes my understanding. If that was not an electric arc light of intense power then I never saw one. Looking at it with the naked eye it seemed to move in a straighti line, but seen through the glass it rose and fell like a boat on a gently swelling tide, Icould not distinguish any posi- tive shape, only a dark mass of mistlike substance to which the light seemed to be attached.” Mr. Carraghar of the Saddlerock Restau- rant also gives a similar description of the light and its movements, and states that in his opinion it was attached to an air- vessel of some description, and after being 1n plain sight for over twenty minutes it faded away in the distance. Of the thousands who viewed the mys- terious visitant this evening, the vast ma- jority had been among the ranks of the most pronounced skeptics ever since the first publication of the subject in Tues- day’s CALL, for the reason that they are living in the lower part of the city and had failed to catch a glimpse of the light on its previous appearance, and in conse- quence its reappearance descended upon them like a clap of thunder out of & clear sky. For over a week they had laughed and jeered and treated the subject with scorn and aerision, but here before their very eyes was the self-same vision which had greeted their friends and neighbors in the eastern portion of the city, and they were forced by the evidence of their own eyes to abandon their unbelief. As soon as it became fully evident to all that the light was no meteor or atar, a thousand stories were reiated of what people hea heard and seen on its previous visitation. Mr. Johnson, foreman of the Haegin ranch, in company with another gentle man, was driving across the bare plains adjacent to the city last Tuesday night when they plainly heard a merry choras of human voices. The thing was un- canny and unreal. They were entirely alone; on all sides stretched bare fields without a bush or fence, no human being was visible, nor was there a possibility of secretion, and yet the merry chorus rang out distinet, but faint, They stopped. their team and listened and looked, saw the clear bright iight high over their heads, but did not dream that but a short distance above them human beings were floating along on the night wind and fear- ing the riaicule of their acquaintances, held their peace. Another story which has come to light is thatan employe of the paint shop of the Southern Pacific Railroad Company ATTORNEY GEORGE D. COLLINS, Who Knows the Inventor of the Great Airship, has received a letter from one of the in- mates of the aerial ship, who was an old acquaintance. This letter, postmarked Osakland, stated that the writer had made one of the crew of an airship which made a most successful vovage last Tues- day night, and had arrived in the vicinity of Oakland about 12 o'clock. He stated that the ship had worked beautifully with the exception that the motion was very disagreeable. He also stated that after making altera- tions and receiving patent rights the vesse! would be placed on exhibition, and that this would occur before the first of the coming month. It is claimed that the painter’sshopmates laughed the letter to scorn, and that he was go thoroughly convinced that his friend was not mis- leading him that he wagered $20 that what his friend had written would come to pass. This story was related by sev- eral, but is not authenticated, as they would not betray the writer’s name with- out his permission. Colvin Brown, local representative of the Chronicle, was an eye witness of the mys- terious light this evening. He has been a skeptic of the most pronounced type and was loth to believe the evidence of his own eyes. Center of a group.of the corner of Seventh and K streets, he produced an almanac to evdeavor to prove that the planet Venus had left her orbit and was coquetting with Sacramento. As his ex- planation was not received with favor he started off in search of Sergeant Barwick of weather fame to endeavor to prove the mysterious light to be a meteor on the warpath. Of all the onlookers this evening the employes of the streetcar system are the most jubilant. They have been held up to derision for over a week; their lives made miserable by jocular inquiries as to the nature of the stimulants they mostly imbibe and various_inquiries as to when they intended to take a trip, etc. . “I am heartily delighted that the entire city has seen this mysterious light to- night,’”” said one of the motormen. ‘‘Now this eternal joshinz will cease. My life has been a misery for the past week, but now all can see for themselves that we were not stretching the long bow. It is particularly aggravating, when one plainly sees a phenomenal occurrence and relates it, that he is treated as a gigantic liar.” Assistant Superintendent Ross of the streetcar system is also jubilant. “I was simply positive,”’ said be, *‘that this light was of an electrical nature. I have made a close study of this mysterious agent for years, Isaw this moving light for upward of thirty minutes Tuesday night and was positive that it was electrical. Also I noticed its swaying and rising and falling movement and was convinced in my own mind that it was attached to a vehicle of some nature. At first I thought it might bein a balloon, but knowing that machinery requisite to produce a light of that volume and intensity would weigh upward of a ton, I concluded that it might possibly be that some one had solved the problem of aerial navigation, and this be- lief was strengthened by observing that the light was moving south against the wind. Iam now almost convinced that the great problem has been solved and that within a short time the air will by peopled with ships.” [ This seems to be the public belief in this city to-night among all who have wit- nessed the reappearance of this myster- ious light and never hes there been wit- nessed such an overwhelming and sndden change in public opinfon as its Teappear- ance has caused. In the corridors of the hotels groups of excited people clustered discussing all the possibilities of this won- derful discovery. In the saloons healths are being drunk to the successful discov- erer, and on all sides universal belief has taken the piace of skepticism. Since the reappearance of this mysterious light this evening there has been a general search made for copies of Wednesday's Cary which gave an exclusive account of the first appearance of the aerial visitant and a copy cannot be purchased forlove or money. Those possessing them brought them out toread to their friends but re- fused to part with them. —_— OTHERS WHO SAW IT. Storles That Corroborate the Fact of the Invention. The following letter from San Rafael explains a phase of the story that has not yet come to light: BAN RAFAEL, Nov. 22, 1896. Editor Call: The mysterious light mentioned in your valuable paper this morning as seen by several citizens in different perts of the Btate, and which seems to mystify yourself as well as your readers, is nothing more than an airship, and of this fact I am perfectly cogni- zant. Ithink now thatI am released of my obligation of secrecy, which I have kept for nearly three months, as the experiment in aerial navigation is a fixed fact and the public or & few of the public atleast have seen its workings in the sir. In the latter part of last August I was hunt- ing in the Tamalpais range of mountains, be- tween the hijR peak and Bolinas Bay. I wounded & deer, and in chasing it I ran ornto & circular brushpile about ten feet in neight in & part of the mountain seldom visited even by hunters. . 1 was somewhat astonished, and my curi- osity prompted me to approach it, when I en- countered a man who sang out: “What are you doing here and what do you want?’ I re- plied that “I had wounded a deer and was chasing it.” He said “that they had been camping here for a month or s0 and had not seen a deer, but if you think your deer is in the neighborhood I will assist you in finding 1t as we need s little meat in camp.” This man went With me and in less than 500 yards found my deer. We carried itinto the brush corral. And what a sight—a perfect machine shop and an almost completed ship. I was sworn to secrecy and have kept it till this mo- ment. Six men were at work on the “aerfal ghip.” It is this ship that a few people have seen at night on its trial trip. It returns to its home before daylight and will continne to do so until pertected. Yours, WILLIAM JORDON. E. A. Lamkin of 305 Larkin street says he saw the airship at an’ early hour last night making its way toward Sacramento and soon fading away in the distance like a falling meteor. ‘Walter Malloy, deputy sheriff and com- missary at the County Jail, says the light of the airship was seen in San Francisco Tuesday evening. His statement is as follows: “When I left the jail on Tuesday night I happened to look in the direction of Berkeley and I saw an unusual sight. It was a strong white light, seemingly moving. I thought at first it was a bal- loon with a lantern attached, but ona closer observation I thought I recognized a dark body immediately over the light, somewhat of a different shape from s balloon. The more I observed it the more puzzled I became as to what it was. Finally I dismissed it from my mind until next morning, when reading THE Cary I saw that others had noticed the strange light. Now I am fully convinced that what I saw was the airship seen by others who were nearer to it than I was. Yet from my position on Kearny and Broad- way I had a good view of it and Iam ready to indorse what others have said re- garding its appearance.”’ Max Roberts, an employe of the West- ern Union. Telegraph Company, engaged in the capacity of a night watchman, says he saw the airship about 11:50 o’clock Wednesday night. AN EXPERT’S OPINION. Lieutenant George N. Chase, U. S. A, Talks of the Won- derful Discovery. Lieutenant George N. Chase, U. 8. A., the inveator of an ‘‘aerodromic system of transportation,” was seen yesterday on the subject at his residence ir Oakland. Mr. Chase has spent many years in in- vestigating the subject of aerial naviga- tion, and is thoroughly conversant with the practical and theoretical difficulties in its way. He has written a pamphlet setting forth his ideas, and outlining a sort of compromise between aerial navi- gation and the present system of trans- portation, which many engineers have accepted as in the highest sense practical. He said yesterday: ‘I have read some of the accounts of the alleged ‘airship.’ One in a morning paper yesterday was rather confusing. The attorney for the inventor in his statement says thatitis 150 feet Jong, and that the inventor ‘moved some of the mechanism,’ and thereafter he saw it rise, the wings flap- ping to a height of about 90 fe t, making a series of circles, and descend, etc. He says also: ‘There was no motive power, so far as I could see.” For a pstent attor- ney who made the application for the patent and drew up the specifizations this is a remarkable statement. He says that his.client has ‘forsaken the ideas of Maxim and Langley,’ and yet atates that ‘it is built on the aeroplane system,’ the only system ever advocated by either—a system which I showed in my nionograph published in St. Louis in 1894 was the only possibie one. As I said then: Experiment has demonstrated the fact that 1t is possible to construct a vehicle possessing the abllity to arisein the air, carrying a con- siderable load, and capable of being propelled. The obstacles that have so far befled man’s ingenuity are his ability to control the ma- chine even under the most favorable circum- stances and his failure to provide energy enough to propelit to any considerable dis- tance. This latter difficulty eannot be over- come by any known method of storing up po- tential energy in & structure which is desiened tosever all connection with terra firma and in which levity becomes of primal import- ance. * * * Flight {s not a function of levity but of weight and power. Man if he ever fly must closely imitate the flight of birds. The fledgeling, after one or two abor- tive attempts, adjusts its motions successfully and naturally to the accomplishment of per- fect flight. The rate of vibration of its wings and the inclination of their surfaces to the varying direction of the wind to the line of flight are instinctively changed with the ra- pidity of lightning. Giuen a machine which is capable of performing all the essential functions of a birdin flight it is extremely doubtful if the coolest human intellect could ever be trained to control it safely under all the conditions and circumsiances which2it must inevitably encounter. wWhile I said,” confinued Mr. Chsse, “that the conditions seem too meny, or, rather the unknown quantities are at present too few, for a satisfactory solution of this problem pure and simpte, still it must be conceded that considerable progress has been made since that was Much Distress is caused by tbat disagreeable disease, catarrh in the head, which can be cured only by purifying the bicod. Remember 4 Hood’s Sarsaparilla 1s the pest—in fact the One True Biood Purifier. Hood’s Pills gz ‘eission written toward the scientific solution of this great problem by Professor Langley, Maxim in England, Chanute in Chicaga and Herr Lilienthal. I must say, how- ever, that 1f it has quietly peen solved upon 2 commercial basis in one of our back counties it is very surprising, and the secret has been remarkably well kept. “‘One thing is certain—he is a rash man who in these days asserts the impossibility of anything in engineering.* e PASSED OVER SAN JOSE. The Air Craft Sald to Have Been Seen Salling Toward Mount Hamilton. SAN JOSE, Can, Nov. 22 — Frank Everett, a young man residing in this city, claims to have seen the mysterious airship seen by the residents of Sacra- mento and elsewhere pass over the eastern portion of this city abdut 11 o’clock to- night. Everett said he was standing on Santa Clara street, near East San Jose, when he distinctly saw the airship high upin the heavens. He claims that several persons who were in that vicinity also saw the ship, and that others whose attention was called to 1t saw the flashlight of the craft rapidly disappear. The ship was said to be going in a southeasterly direction, to- ward Mount Hamilton. H. Erlich drove up while the crowd was standing gazing skyward and saw the light disappearing. To him some of the people said they distinctly saw the ship. Neither he nor Everett knew the names of any persons in the crowd, most of whom were in carriages. Experimenters Near Oroville. OROVILLE, CaL., Nov. 22.—There seerns to pbe some foundation that the airship which recently passed over Sacramento 'was built in this neighborhded, but no in- formation can be obtained as to who the builder could be. Rumor has it that two parties were recently experimenting with new and light gas which they expected would outdo anything yet introduced for balloon purposes. It isalso asserted by others that three or four comparatively unknown parties of wealth have been for several weeks experimenting with various gases and feel confident of solving aerial navigation. NEW TO-DAY! 5 &t o ot Dollars and sense accomplish wonders at Roos Bros. this week. Closing sale of Men’s All- wool Suits at $7—never before sold at any such price. Men’s Chinchilla Overcoats, black and blue, worth $6 and $7, our price this week $4. Boys’ Reefer and Zouave Suits, for ages 3 to 10, $1.50. Boys’ Long Pants Suits, for ages 12 to 19, neat patterns, $4.50. Boys’ Ulsters, with storm col- lars, good styles and well made, for ages 12 to 19, $5. French and Domestic Cardi- gan Jackets, Bath Robes, House Coats and Gowns. Latest styles in Ladies’ Hats. hen Others Fail Conssl DOCTOR SWEANY, A Physician whose reputation fs established by ien years of succesaful practice in this clty. 787 Market st., onp. Examiner Office. NERVOUS DEBILITY and all of its aitending ailments, both of YOUNG, MIDDLE-AGED and OLD MEN. Indis- cretions of Youth, Excesses of Mature Years, causing drains which sap the vital- ity, night losses, failing strength, aching back, diseased kidneys, inflamed glands, varicocele, nydrocele, dizziness of the head, glcominess and despondency, poor memory and a wandering mind, HEART, BRAIN, NERVES— Palpitations of the heart, difficult breathing, suffocating feeling, fullness of head, fear of impending danger or death, a dread of being alone. You have no time to lose. BLOODand SKIN DISEASES —ALL BLOOD TAINT from any cause whatever, Eczema, etc. BLADDER — Irritability, Cystitis, Stricture, elc. EYE, EAR, NOSE, THROA'T scientifically treated and prompt.y cured. DISEASES OF WOMEN-AI of their many ailmenis cured. WRITE if away from the city. Book, “Guide to Health,” a treatise on all the organs and their diseases, free on applica- tion. Call or address DOCTOR SWEANY, 737 Market Street, San Fra Opposite £ xaminer Ofea > Cales