The Athabasca “oil sands” or “tar sands” are large deposits of bitumen or extremely heavy crude oil, located in northeastern Alberta.
In early 1848 the oil sands expeditions expanded to northern Alberta at a rate no one expected. The oil boom was coming for Alberta. The Boylston Oil company had sent explorers up north to the farthest reaches of the Alberta borders. Some suggest that perhaps they crossed the line into the Northwest Territories breaking federal and provincial laws. The company’s denies this. One such exposition led to the discovery of the Franssen, a hot air ship.
An Airship or Dirigible Balloon is a type of Aerostat or lighter-than-air aircraft that can navigate through the air under its own power. Aerostats gain their lift from large gas bags filled with a lifting gas that is less dense than the surrounding air.
The Franssen departed from its base in Edmonton and had flown many trips mostly test in the region.
In Dec 1847, the airship went missing.
The 1848 expedition discovered the airship during their expedition up north, or at least what remained of it.
The cargo was noticeably missing.
The crew appeared to have survived the crash but died soon after. Initially, it was believed they were attacked and eaten by wolves.
But further examination of the Franssen removed the wolves as expected culprits. Claw marks were much deeper then wolves can produce and there were also no actual bite marks found on the bodies.
It is believed that the airship often moved items for the military, but no cargo logs were ever found.
