The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1884-06-19
FLYING MACHINES.
Bnl Nye Chances Critically at these
Mechanical Birds.


of the history of dying machines ena-
bles me to give briefly some Of the
main points of few for the benefit of
those who may be interested in this
science.
A Frenchman invented flying ma
chine, or dofunny, as we scientists
1t, in 1000 and something, whereby he
could sail down from the woodshed
and not break his neck. He could not
rise from the ground like lark and
trill few notes as he SKINNED
through the sky, but he could fall off
an ordinary haystack like a setting
hen, with the aid of his wings. His
name was Besnier.
One hundred and twenty-five years
after that prisoner at Vienna named
Jacob Dagen, told the jailer that he
could fly The jailer seemed incredu-
lous, and so Jake constructed pair Of
double-barrel umbrellas, that worked
by hand, and iluttered with this ma
chine into the air fifty feet, He came
down in direct line and in so doing
ran one Of the umbrellas through his
thoraX, am glad it is not the GUS
tom now to wear an umbrella in the
thorax.
In England during the present cen
tury several inventors produced flying
machines, but in an evil hour agreed
to rise on them themselves, and so
they died from their injuries. Some
came down on top of the machines,
while others preceded their inventions
by few feet, but the result was the
same. The invention of flying ma
chimes has always been handicapped,
as it were, by this fact Men invent
a flying machine and then try to ride
1t and show it off, and thus they are
prevented by death from perfecting
their rolling stock, and securing their
right of way.
In 1912 Mr.. William Henderson got
out "two-propeller' machine, and
tried to incorporate company to util-
ize it for the purpose of carrying let
tiers, running errands, driving home
the COWS, lighting the northern lights,
and skimming the cream off the milky
way, but it didn't seem to compete
very successfully with other moles of
travel. and so Mr.. Henderson wrapped
it up in an old tent and put it away
in the haymow.
In 1858 Mr.. J. II. Johnson patented
a balloon and parachute dingus, which
worked on the principle of ducks
foot in the mud. l use scientific terms
because am unable to express myself
in the common language of the vulgar
herd. This machine had a tail which,
under great excitement, it would
throw over the dashboard, as it bound
ed through the air.
Probably the biggest thing in it,
way under this head was the revival o.
flying under the presidency of theDuk'
of Argyle, the society being called thu
Great Britain aronautical society
This society made some valuable cal
culations adding much to our scien
tifc knowledge, and filing Londor
with cripples.
In 1869 Mr.. Joseph I. Kaufman in
vented and turned loose upon the peo
pie of Glasgow an Internal machine in
tended oscar considerably in a quie
kind of way, and to be propelled b.
steam. 1t looked like the bird know
in ornithology as the "Ayupthecrick,
and had an air-brake, patent coupler
buffer and platform. 1t was intended
to hold two men on ice and rosewood
casket with silver handles. 1t wa
mounted on wheels, and as it did no
seem to skim through the air yer,
much, the people of Glasgow hitchet
clothes-line to it and used it for
band wagon.
Rufus Porter invented an aerial dew
dad ten years ago in Connecticut
where so many crimes have been com
mitted since Mark Twain moved there
This was called the "aroport," and wa
worked by springs connected witt
propellers. A saloon was suspende
beneath it, presume, on the princi
pie that when man is intoxicated h
weighs pound less. This machin
, floated around the rotunda of til
, Merchants exchange, in New Yor
, city, eleven times, like hen with hi
, head cut off, but has not been on tt
) wing much since then.
Other flying machines have been il
" vented, but the air is not peopled wit
, them as 1 write. Most of them ha,
folded their pinions and sought tt
t seclusion of the hen-house. 1t is
be hoped that very soon some such nj
chine will be perfected whereby me-
) may fit from the fifth story windo
0 of the Grand Pacific hotel in Chicas
to Montreal before breakfast, leavi1
nothing in the room but the furnitu
n and his kind regards. Such an inve
/ ton would be hailed with much 10
II and the sale wonld be enormous. No'
J however, the matter is still in its i
l. fancy. The mechanical birds inven
y ed for the purpose of skimmiI
- through the ether blue, have not skul
The machines were built with hi!
homes and a throbbing heart, but Il