The Wortham Journal (Wortham, Tex.), Vol. 36, No. 10, Ed. 1 Friday, July 6, 1934 Page: 3 of 4
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* too much
the moil
i5ctlL
k
oon.
ere
Gonaola^or Stratosphere ^Flight.
NicoIetS Meetinq with the Winnebaqoes at Green Baq
(Af ber the Paintmq by L.W.Deming in tWe Witconsin Hi storied I Society)
Ko
mm
&
w
— **
are exoe ted toatten^^
Prepared b r Natlon-al Geographic Society.
Washington. D. G.-WNU Service,
f | \HE huge Balloon, which will be
I used in the stratosphere flight
I sponsored Jointly by the Nation-
al Geographic society and the
United States army air corps, is the
largest ever constructed. It will take
the air from a protected spot in the
Black Hills near Itapid City, Soutli
Dakota.
The balloon was made In a vast
room in an Akron, Ohio, factory, whose
windows were sealed, whose air was
strained through canton flannel, and
where men and women employees wore
grit-free "slumbfer shoes” of cloth as
they walked over rubber-impregnated
fabric. The bag is capable of holding
three million cubic feet of hydrogen
gas. This capacity Is nearly three and
a half times that of the largest free
balloon hitherto built. ■*
The finished bag which Was rushed
westward to the point of takeoff by
truck, will lift two intrepid officers.and
a cargo of specially designed scientific
instruments near fifteen miles above
sea level.
Not a stitch was taken in putting
together more than two and a third
acres of cloth. Instead of being a job
for a seamstress or a sail-maker, the
task was closest to that of a news ed-
itor pasting together pages of "copy"
or a librarian mending a torn page.
Everyone of the 11,520 major pieces in-
to which the fabric was eut, and each
of tlie scores of smaller fragments,
was cemented with the greatest care
a good all
■you If yoa
Imaj really
rers
Jv that one
|be attacked
nd the rest
|same house-
air, never
Is definite
|thing about
something
Jtlon of hi*
Its body, tha*
1 towards at
unleh, states
from plants
-inal persons
Unchanged,
ratleut senst
[>e of pollen,
ne of It hav-
inucous Uii-
mucous (the
ie nose) dlf-
person.
fever patient
jtlon of the
nchial tubes,
many school
i It, as It not
* them very
he symptoms
I chest. In a
re skin erup-
icarla, Intes-
symptoms.
t proof and
e now quite
use of these
fever symp-
ileeplng room,
these devices,
|uld have to be
( the patient
Ig the hours of
ble him to be
it of the time,
fever continues
tions of serum,
i months before
nltely helped *
it helped others,
are; found nec-
a district where
ollen In the air.
rooma a number
of which la kept
■i ' -1
of eufiTerera the
lcdleS containing
eriib'c rclicl.
MU ic-v1-*
'
yx roicKi
on the wHill©f Histonj</
By ELMO 8COTT WATSON
BRING the last Presidential campaign
we heard a great deal about "the
Forgotten Man," even though no one
seems to have known exactly who
lie was and why he was forgotten.
This summer tardy honors are to be
paid to a real “forgotten man." one
whose name and whose rlfcht to fame
have been allowed to remain in
obscurity for a mattpr of .100 years!
He was Jean Nlcolet, a French
courier de tails, Indian Interpreter
/ and explorer, the discoverer of I,ake
Michigan and the first white man to visit the
present states of Michigan and Wisconsin. In
view of the latter fact. It would seem appro-
priate if either or both of these states had
chosen to perpetuate his name In at least ene
of Its towns, counties or rivers. But you will
search the gazetteer in vain for such a name.
It , is true that a Nicolet tablet was dedicated
on Mackinac island In Michigan by the Mackinac
Island State Park commission and the Michigan
Historical commission on July 11, 1915. and that
In the Wisconsin State Historical society at Mad-
ison hangs a painting by F.dwln Willard Denilng
depicting Nlcolet's meeting with the Winneba-
goes on the shores of Green Bay. But aside from
these memorials he has been neglected by two
commonwealths who had the beet reason for
remembering him.
However, July 1 of this year marks the begin-
ning of the tercentennial celebration of the state
of Michigan and the week of July 1 to 8 will be
observed as “Nicolet Week" on XIackinnc Island
where a pageant sponsored by the Michigan
Daughters of the American Revolution. Daugh-
ters of 1812 and the Michigan Historical com-
mission, will help bring his name out of the
obscurity Into which It has been lost for three
centuries and make It better known not only to
citizens of that state but to all Americans as
well.
Nicolet was born In Cherbourg, France, about
1598, and as a young man he Is described as
being “full of religious zeal and enthusiasm, and
possessed of a consuming desire for adventure."
This naturally led him to seek his fortune In
France's dominions across the Atlantic and in
1018 he cast his lot with Champlain, the
“Founder of New France."
Champlain already had Instituted a policy of
•ending promising young followers to the Indians
•o that they conld gain a knowledge of the lan-
guages, customs, country and woodlore of the
red man.
Nldolet was sent to the Algonquins on the Isle
'• des Allumettes in the Ottawa river. Here he
l lived among the Indians as one of them and for
two years did not see a fellow countryman. Be-
coming a trusted friend, he was made one of an
embassy of some 400 Algonquins who journeyed
to the Iroquois and negotiated a temporary peace
with that traditional enemy.
After his two years with the Algonquins, Mco-
tet next took up residence with the Nipissings,
\ .near the Jake which hears their name. He re-
mained there for eight or nine yenrs. He was
recaliM b* Champlain In 1038 and Instructed to
prepare tot- the trip into the western wilderness
"to learn of those dl'tant Western people, who
bnd neither hair nor beards, and who Journeyed
In gjreut ennofs,"' . U J
r people tn’^l t j»e the Oil-
Mvxnnuitu; * ItcVmpmii ktr
©a&c.
NAVIGATION CO,
entals Marco Polo had written about several
ceuturies before and that In finding them, the
long-sought new route to China might be dlscov
ered. That was why Nicolet carried with him "a '[VlClJ All Helped Make Historil
superb robe of Chinese damask, embroidered all MackiflAC ~
over with flowers and birds.” He was prepared
to make a proper appearance on meeting the
Chinese mandarins.
I was cemented with the greatest care ^
its attachments and load, It will weigh'
nearly eight tons.
The gondola is a huge hollow ball
8 feet 4 inches iu diameter, that has
been built up by welding together
eight sections shaped like pieces of
orange peel. The shell made of dow-
metal is slightly less than three-six-
teenths of an inch thick. At first
glance the big metal ball seems to be
built of steel; and It is almost as
strong as though it were. But the
shell, as it stands, without its various
fittings, weighs only 450 pounds. If it
were made of steel, it would weigh
practically a ton.
The two largest openings in the gon-
dola, just above the “equator line,"
are manholes—one each for Maj. Wil-
liam E. Kepner and Capt. Albert W.
Stevens, t lie “crew.” The manholes
are fitted with covers, which will bo
el import" down until air-tight by a
heavy holt, easily tightened and loos-
ened by hand from within.
On the way down from the strat-
osphere, when breathable air has been
reached, these manhole covers will be
lifted from their hinges and thrown
overboard—attached to parachutes—as
ballast.
Numerous small portholes have been
provided in the shell of the ball. Some
are covered with glass and will serve
as observation windows; In some the
lenser of cameras are mounted with
air-tight fittings; and in others scien-
tific instruments have been elaced.
One glass-covered port is ‘'mated In
Nicolet left Three Rivers, Que., July 1, 1634.
in company with three Jesuits, Fathers Brebeuf,
Daniel and Davost, who were accompanying a
band of Hurons on their way home from their
annual trading visit to Quebec. He traveled with
them to the Isles des Allumettes where he lin-
gered for a time with his friends, the Aigon-
qtiins. I,ater he Joined the Jesuits at Ihonatiria,
where he assembled a party of seven Hurons
and embarked in a frail canoe for his Journey
into the West.
Grossing Lake Huron, the party Journeyed up
St. Mary’s river to what is now Sault Ste. Marie,
returned south, then proceeded west through the
Straits of Mackinac and paddled out into Ixke
Michigan, which was known then and for many
years afterward as the Lake of the Illinois, Con-
tinuing southward Nicolet and his Indian friends
entered Green hay and near the head of that
body of water he found tlie people he had been
sent to find—the Winnebagoes who had come to
blows with the Hurons, allies of the French, and
with whom he had been charged to negotiate a
peace.
“When he neared the Winnebago town, he sent
a messenger ahead to announce his coming, and,
having put on his gorgeous robe, followed him
on the scene," writes WHIiam Henry Johnson In
“French Pathfinders in North America." “Never
did a circus, making its grand entry Into a vil-
lage In all the glory of gilded chariots and brass
band, Inspire deeper awe than this primitive am-
bassador, with hla flaming robe and a pair of
pistols, which he fired continually. His pale face,
the first the Winnebngoes had ever seen, gave
them a sense of something unearthly. The squaws
nnd children fled Into the woods, shrieking that
it was a manitou (spirit) armed with thunder
and lightning. The warriors, however, stood their
ground bravely and later entertained him with
a feast of one hundred and twenty beaver.
“But If Nicolet did not succeed In opening
relations with Cathay and Clpango (China and
Japan), he did something else that entitles him
to be commemorated among the Pathfinders. He
ascended Fox river to its headwaters, crossed
the little divide that separates the waters flowing
into the Bakes from those that empty Into the
Gulf of Mexico, and launched his canoe on the
Wisconsin, first white man, so far as we know,
who floated on one of the upper tributaries of
the mighty river.”
Nicolet made such a favorable impression on
the Winnebagoes that be was able to negotiate
a treaty with them by which they agreed to take
their furs to the French posts on the SL 1-aw-
“rence. He also won the friendship of the Mas-
coutlns, spent the winter with them and returned
to Quebec In 1^5 to report to Champlain of his i
adventures In^the west.
Eight years after this historic Journey, Nico-
let met a tragic death In the SL I-awrenoe river.
By thla time he was the chief official of the
trading company at Quebec and his Influence
among the Indians was perhaps greater man
that of any other man of his time.
In 1042 word reached Quebec that a Sokokt
1
T
Indiau was about to be put to death by tne
Algonquins. The Soknkis were allies of the Iro-
quois and Nicolet knew that if the Algonquins
killed the captive that It meant a renewal of the
bloody strife between the Algonquins and the
Iroquois.
It was then late In October and Ice was
forming in-the-river. Nicolet hastened aboard
a shallop, making for Sillery. A squall struck
the boat, overturning it and throwing Nicolet. a
friend and the crew Into the ^cy water. One by
one they went down. Only Nicolet and one other
were left.
Then, chilled by the bitter cold and exhausted
in his vain attempt to reach shore, Nicolet called
to his friend: “Make for the shore, DeChnvigny;
you can swim. Bid good-hy to my wife and chil-
dren ; 1 am going to God.” ,
A moment later he disappeared forever.
“Nicolet was not a great explorer like ( ham-
plain,” declared Father Campbell, who spoke at
the dedication of the Nicolet tablet on the island
in 1915, “not a picturesque governor like Fronte-
nac; or even a successful discoverer like Mar-
quette; nor a martyr like the devoted Jesuit
missionaries who followed the Nicolet train Into
the Northwest, Brebeuf, Jogues. Daniel and Gar-
reau, since canonized by the Church of Rome.
“He was simply an Indian Interpreter and ex-
plorer, unspoiled by selfish ambition or surround-
ings calculated to destroy every noble ambition,
who proved beneath so plain an exterior to be
a man whose virtues may be proposed to the
youth of our country as an example and an In-
spiration.”
In his tribute to Nicolet another great church-
man, Right Rev. Bishop Frank A. O’Brien, has
said: “Under the banner of the Cross he went
forward. He led his chosen hands through wilds
unknown. Nicolet was intrepid, unafraid, majes-
tic and courageous.”
Certainly such a person deserves a better fate
than to be a “forgotten man" In American his-
tory and one of the purposes of the pageant
that Is being given In northern Michigan is to
pay him a richly deserved, though belated, trib-
ute. But he is not the only historic figure who
Is to be memorialized during the week, for the
whole thrilling story of the Straits settlements—
Mackinac, Sault Ste. Marie and St. Ignace-*-ls to
be depicted by 800 costumed performers.
Included tn the episodes of the pageant, be-
sides the arrival of Nicolet, are the coming of
the Jesuit missionaries; the era of the explorers
—Joliet, La Salle and Tonti; the rule of Cadil-
lac at Mlchllllmacklnac (the original name of
the place) { the British regime and the famous
massacre there during Pontiac's war; the con-
test between the British and the Americans for
possession of this strategic spot during the
Revolution and again during the War of "1812;
and the beginning of the American fur trade
under John Jacob Astor.
■tor all Of these are links in the chain of
Mackin'aCa history which began on a July day
900 years Sgo with the coming of that “forgot-
ten man” who ts now being honored—Jean
Nicolet, the Frenchman, “Intrepid, majestic, un-
afraid.” i
• by Wwtn N«w.p»p*r Onion.
| cemetfL The next step was to cover
j the cemented seams of this jigsaw puz-
zle with fabric-backed rubber tape on
both sides. When these operations
were completed the seams were actual
ly stronger than the neighboring fabric.
More than 100 gallons of cement—
the purest rubber dissolved In gaso-
line and benzol—were required to put
the balloon together.
Immensity of the Balloon.
Although the balloon room in which
the great balloon was made Is three
hundred feel long and in places more
than a hundred feet wide, that area
was not a large enough one in which
to spread out the completed bag. Por
tions of the hag as large us racing
yacht mainsails, assembled on the
floor during construction, represented
relatively small fragments of the bal-
loon area. Half of three “orange-
peel" sections, or “gores," cemented
together and spread out, covered near-
ly half the floor of the balloon room.
Yet twenty-live sections equally as
large had to he cemented on t i this
piece before the bag was finished.
Owing to tlie huge size of the bal-
loon segments, final construction oper-
ations required piling them iir long
windrows of pleats with only the
edges exposed for cementing. After
large sections of the balloon were put
together, thousands of cubic feet of
air was pumped under the fabric to
float it off the floor for inspection.
Men under the cloth looked through
it to strong light, finding any thin
spots. These were reinforced with
rubber patches.
Cloth for the balloon was made from
specially selected cotton of unusually
long, strong fibers. It was woven In
strips 42% Inches wide and 100 feet
long. One hundred and thirty of these
massive rolls were used In cutting out
the balloon—19,000 running feet or
more than seven and a third miles of
cloth. Every square foot of the amaz-
ing acreage of cloth passed through a
rubberizing machine thirty times, each
time receiving a very thin coat of rub-
ber.
More than 80 employees worked on
the balloon under a balloon-building
expert, who, daring the past twenty
years, has supervised the construction
of more than a thousand balloons and
airships for the army and navy.
Packing the completed balloon for
Its westward trip was no small prob-
lem. It was probably the largest unit
of fabric that was ever transported.
It required folding with extreme csre
and Its surfaces, and folds had to be
protected so that there would be no
rubbing.
Gondola 1s, of Dowmetal.
Without a single rdpe, and without
Its valves, the bag weighs approxi-
mately 4,700 pounds. With' ropes and
valves, but without the gondola and
Its trappings, the balloon's weight Is
slightly over 5,000 ponnda When the-
balloon rises from the earth with all
\y& 5 j,-
5
epner, the ball
look up through It and through the
open bottom of the balloon appendix,
and can read a large thermometer dial
near the top of the bag which will tell
him at all times the temperature of the
hydrogen gas.
The opening in the bottom of the
metal ball was reserved for a large
aerial camera which will make fre-
quent photographs of the earth,
straight downward. Part way up the
curved side of the gondola is another
camera opening for the taking of
oblique photographs.
Shelve* for Apparatus.
A series of shelves have been pro-
vided inside the ball between upright
posts and the shell; and on them will
he stored the dozens of pieces of scien-
tific apparatus, batteries, oxygen
flasks, and other paraphernalia needed
for twelve hours of scientific “house-
keeping’’ In the stratosphere. Around
the edge of the floor will he piled
forty-pound sacks of lead dust for bal-
last.
The most unusual assortment of sci-
entific instruments that lias ever been
brought together to fathom the secrets
of the upper air—many of them pro-
vided with “electric brains’’ and “pho-
tographic eyes"—were built and as-
sembled at Wright field in the huge
machine shop and laboratory of the
United States army air corps.
In this “pay load" of nearly a ton
of apparatus lies the reason for the
most ambitious stratosphere expedi-
tion yet planned.
All of the woriN at Dayton on the
devices to gather scientific data was
done under the personal supervision
of Captain Stevens, famous aerial pho-
tographer and observer, who has him-
self designed some of the instruments.
Probably the most Important Instru-
ment invented by Captain Stevens Is
a balloon valve of unique design. Here-
tofore It has been necessary to oper-
ate a valve in the top of a balloon
bag by means of a rope tugged from
the gondola far below. As balloons
have Increased In size, this type of
valve has become less and less satis-
factory. Captain Stevens’ valve will
be opened by means of a long rubbei
hose Into which compressed gas will
be admitted. When the air pressure
is released, the valve closes. The
principle Is like that used for operating
air brakes. The valve has been tested
through 400 feet of rubber hose In
a cold chamber whose temperature was
minus 45 degrees centigrade. It worked
perfectly.
Bnracn and Philathea
Baraca is a name applied to Sun-
day school classes of men, and Is de-
rived from the Hebrew word, Beracah,
meaning blessjng. Philathea is a com-
bination of two Greek words, philoa
and alathea, which signifies lover or
seeker of truth. The name ts used by
Sunday school classes of women or
girls. ■■■■/’ *
NNfSPi
Jean Nicolet
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Satterwhite, Ed. The Wortham Journal (Wortham, Tex.), Vol. 36, No. 10, Ed. 1 Friday, July 6, 1934, newspaper, July 6, 1934; Wortham, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1126892/m1/3/: accessed July 13, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Fairfield Library.