St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1896-08-28

such victims were dismissed with a con-
temptuous indifference, as crack-brained
idiots. The courage required is fully as
great as that needed for Arctic explora-
ton, and the stake is infinitely greater,
The advantages to be gained for the
human race by the successful navigation
OF the air are such as to justify the sacri-
flee of many lives, and the recent develop
meut OF light machinery has amply
demonstrated that it is not inherently
impossible. The chief obstacle Just now
is precisely at the point to which
Lilienthal devoted himself We have
flying machines aready-if one could
only use them. They are as worthless
as a bicycle would be if one had to learn
to ride it on a ledge six inches wide and
thousand feet high. There would not
be many expert whecmcn under those
circumstances, and it will be long time
before there are any expert navigators Of
the air.
Herr Lilienthal saw this weak spot in
the progress of the flying machine, and
with great personal courage gave up the
attractive field OF mechanical invention,
to devote himself to the hazardous task
OF actual experiment. Starting, as most
scientists who have studied the matter
do, from the problem Of the fight Of
great soaring birds, which fly for hours
without moving a wing, and therefore
exert but little strength, he set to work
to build him a pair Of huge wings
modelled after those OF great birds, and
as large in proportion to the weight to
be sustained. Selecting suitable hill
he would run down it against the wind
till he was lifted off his feet, soaring
hundreds of feet in this way with ease
That he undertook his experiments with
full knowledge of their danger may be
seen from this statement by him made in
1892
"Dexterity alone, in my opinion, invests
the native inhabitants Of the air with
superiority over man in that element.
. lnasmuch as continuous soaring
with large wings in high winds can
terminate in scarcely anything but the
destruction of the foolhardy fellow who
may first attempt the experiment with
out previous practice, first undertook
last year to gain some experiences with
a smaller apparatus and in moderate
winds. In spite OF my caution, the wind
several times played the mischief with
me. Even with only sc square feet Of
sustaining surface, was several times
tossed up into the air by unexpected
gusts of wind, and but for the circum-
stance that was able TO release myself
from the apparatus, might have had
a broken neck instead of the sprains in
feet or arms which always healed in a
few weeks"
His premonitions came only too true,
though he has Jared better than most
fiying-machine men in staving off the
catastrophe for almost five years.
1t is long list which he has Joined,
and when mans conquest of the air is
finally accomplished their names will be
honored equally with those of the
explorers who have sacrificed their lives
to give us new lands. In 1860 French
man named Allard succeeded in flying
considerable distances in the same man.
ner, and gave an exhibition in the
presence Of Louis XIV, in which he was
grievousy hurt. 1t is noticeable that
the French, light-hearted and light
headed race, have taken foremost place
in trying to learn to fly. In 1742 the
marquis de Bacquevile gave notice that
he would fly across the Seine and alight
in the TuiIerieS, 600 feet away. He
started WELL but got ratified, and fell on
a barge aud broke his leg. This was the
means of saving his life, for he never
tried to fly again. In 1913, Degen,
Vienna clock-makcr, tried to hy with
wings in Paris, and although his machine
did not injure him. he was martyr in
the cause. nevertheless, for he was blown
away with the wind, and the crowd,
disappointed at the failure of the show,
beat him numerically. In 1852, Letur
tried to use wings in cooperation with
balloon above, but was carried among
some trees at Tottenham, Eng, and
fatally injured In 1874, DeGroof tried
the same plan, and came down like
stone as soon as he cut loose from the
balloon, and was killed on the spot. The
same fate be'ell Cooking in 1896.
The name Of the balloonists who have
persisted is of course kgion, but they
belong in another category. In general
it may be said that those who have tried
to fly have died with great suddenness,
and the results achieved have been prac-
tically nil. OF late years a more cautious
spirit has been shown and inventors
have used models instead of risking their
own limbs. This has resulted in much
mechanical progress, but, after all, it
lodged the great difficulty of practical
management, which cannot be solved
without a certain amount of danger,