The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-10-06

The day is almost at hand when man
will dispute with the bird for suprem-
acy in the air. For hundreds of years
his ambition has been at work with
such persistency of effort that he now
begins to see the end He has grap-
pied with the invisible forces of the
atmosphere, sometimes blindly, but
always courageously; generally to
meet with disappointment, but happily
with enough success to keep alive his
determination to master the most diff
fcult of all problems in physics. Lives
have been lost and fortunes have been
expended in the pursuit of this battling
question of man-dight. Ridicule has
been heaped upon the heads of those
who sought to cope with the feathered
messengers of the air, and their sanity
questioned by the world at large.
The advancement made toward the
full solution of the problem of man
flight during the year 1896 was greater
than that of any previous year, and
attracted the widest attention among
scientists. Probably more interest
centered in the experiments conducted
thirty miles southeast of Chicago on
the shore of Lake Michigan by Octave
Chanute, of Chicago, than anywhere
else. The prominent position occu-
pied by Mr.. Chanute in the scientific
world was accepted as guarantee that
he had faith in his experiments, and
that he had.no other purpose in view
but to demonstrate certain principles
involved in the problem.
At the time he was thus engaged MIR.
Chanute observed much caution in his
utterances concerning the results OBJ
tained. Fearful lest his conclusions
might not be properly formed, or that
he might be misunderstood, he re-
Trained as far as possible from commit
ing himself on the subject further than
to say his experiments were very salts
factory. Since then he has gained
courage, so to speak, and has become
enthusiastic over what has been ac-.
complished. He is now confident that
the way is clear for the solution of the
problem, and modestly takes to HIM
self goodly share of the credit for
pointing the way. He claims that his
experiments have marked out the best
lines for Investigators to follow, and
numbers them as follows in the order
of their Importance:
l. The developm snt of the self-pro-
PEELED aerodrome.
2. The development of the motor
less air sailer.
8. The development of the motor.
During the past week the expert
ments of last year have been renewed
zpear Dune Park, Ind, and MIR.
: Chanute has been almost a daily
visitor to the scene of action. His in
q terest in the result will not let him
c stay away longer than one day for sew
\ eral reasons. One reason is that the
machine being used is one of his own
invention in its most important details,
and another is that the experiments
are following the second line of in
vestigation, which he laid down as
necessary for the solution of the
prODlem OF man-HlSnt. IL Is salo lhaI
Mr.. Chanute is the real one who is
conducting the experiments, but this
he denies in favor of A. NJ. Herring,
young man of considerable scientific
knowledge, who was associated with
Mr.. Chanute last year in his extensive
experiments at the same place.
The machine with which Mr.. Her
ring is now experimenting daily repre-
sents the ideas of both himself and
Mr.. Chanute. 1t belongs to the same
class as the machine which the late
Otto Lilienthal, of Berlin, brought out
in 1894 and in the use of which he met
his death last year. 1t might we'll be
termed flying machine, and yet this