The Billings gazette. [volume] (Billings, Mont.) 1896-1919, 1902-07-25
BENBOW CHALLENGES SANTOS.
DUMoNT TO RACE HIM.
WANTS MIDAIR HURDLE FLY
Regards New York Sky Line Just the
Thing-UnfeeIing Papers
Comments.

Thomas C.! Benbow, the man who
sprang into prominence in this part
of the world by reason of his inven-
ton Of an air ship, is receiving all
kinds Of advertising in the east, where
he went some weeks ago to further
perfect his flying apparatus.
Benbow was a struggling ranchman
up in the neighborhood OF A~bsorakee.
His neighbors there regarded him a
little on the freak order, but others
there were who lived at some distance
that were willing to stake their all
on his ingenuity. They studied we'll
Benbow's air ship plans and finally
concluded to organize the American
Aerial Ship company.
A sufficient amount of cash was
raised to land Benbow in New York,
where he could further exploit his
aerial navigation device. When the
scheme became known the horny-hand-
ed tillers of the soil in the Saltwater
valley again wondered if the organic
ers of the New York trip had not be-
come affected with an upper story
~looseness to the same extent to which
they had credited Benbow. But the
latter went and he also conquered
the east as far as gaining an audience
in scientific circles was concerned and
Immediately gained notoriety, espec-
tally with the newspapers.
The New York Tribune. usually
alert in getting all there is to a sub
ject, has this to say Of the Benbow
scheme to- fly through space:
Thomas G. Benbow, who is said to
be contemplating changing his name
to Rainbow. has challenged Santos
Dumont to a hurdle ace with flying
machines. Mr.. Benbow considers
mere flying on what might be termed
a fiat track as altogether too simple,
and for this reason. if no other, he
wants steeplechase in mid air.
The model of Mr.. Benbow's machine
q UCCl1 oCCA I'LL Ny lin
of the company formed to exploit the
invention. 1t is not known. therefore,
just how Mr.. Benbow intends to take
the hurdles, but he is confident that
his machine is perfectly dirigible. Mr..
Benbow lives in Carbon county, Mon
tana, and the men who he says are
backing him financially are all Mon
tana men. The model of the airship
is being built at Frankfort, N. Y.
Mr.. Benbow is said to regard the
! skyline of this city as admirably
! adapted to his hurdle race, with the
| Statue of Liberty and Grants tomb
as the termini. A straight flight be-
tween these two points, he says, would
not bring III the peculiar excellence
of his airship. Then, too it would not
be exciting enough for the spectators.
A series of swoops and plunges, from
the roof Of the st. Paul building into
the subway excavation, and then a
backward loop over and under the
Brooklyn bridge would naturally ex-
cite. considerable interest at first on
the part OF the public, and temporal
lily afford the people Of this city a
moments relaxation from the other
wise constant strain Of business.
But Mr.. Benbow should remember
that in this loop the loop age it is be-
coming extremely hard to keep the
public from getting blase. T%oboggan-
ing used to- be considered thrilling
| sport, and our grandfathers tell of
how the downward sweep made their
hair stand on end for the instant. But
the present age goes tobogganing as
it goes walking. Should Mr.. Benbow
perfect his machine as he plans, and
after Mr.. Santos-Dumont's arrival next
month, steeple air races be held over
the skyline of this city. it is most like
" that, if neither n meets instant
death, the public would soon go about
it's business, to all appearances more
bored by the spectacle than ever.
And then what next?
Montana Cattle.
Union Stockyards, Chicago, July %.
The first of the F1oweree cattle,
L.-. euo-, Dol+io Mont uynro IN