Cañon City record., 1907-10-31

Lahm make eight preparatory balloon
journeys, but he. made them in the
light of his fathers shrewd instruc-
tions, going over the details of each
attempt point by point, studying his
barometric charts, learning many diff
ficult tricks of ballast-handling, profit
ing always by mistakes, and in each
ascension coming nearer to the great
art of keeping balloon in equilibrium,
not too high, not too low, SO that its
flight may be in straight line. with
the least possible number of wasteful
up and down zigzags. That skill must
be possessed by the pilot who expects
to win races, and the result proved
that the elder Lahm was wise to dwell
upon it.
Some men, 1t appears, are born aer-
onauts. They have no agitating nerves;
they keep cool in trying emergencies;
and they seem to possess a delicate
sense of balance by which they know
intuitively how much sand to throw
over to hold a balloon steady-whether
small handful or large one, or
two handfuls. or a whole scoopful, or
even two scoopfuls. This instinct of
balance in the air is one of the most
precious qualifications of a pilot, and
it soon developed that young Lahm
possessed 1t in high degree.
AS to his coolness, the father had
proof of it the very first time he took
his son up in a balloon-which was
some years earlier. They had left
Paris about half-past nine one night.
and soon rose into a drenching rain
storm and utter blackness. At one
O'Clock the next morning they were
nearly two miles above the earth.
soaked to the skin, and utterly out OF
their bearings. The elder Lahm admits
that this was one of the rare occa-
sions when he was badly rattled;"
but the son, beginner that he was, re-
manned perfectly calm, quite indiffer-
ent, apparently, to danger and discom- |
fort. Furthermore, Lahm had the ply
sical endurance that a man must get
who spends hours every day in the
saddle with break-neck jumps over
fences and bitches as part OF his regu-
lar routine.
A Race to an Unknown Country.
Such was Lieutenant Frank p.
Lahm, pilot of the United States"
one of the youngest contestants in the
race: by now eagerly studying the
map of northwestern France with a
small electric lamp, and from time to
time, glancing down at the moving
panorama Of Normandy as the west
wind drove them toward the Atlantic.
The race was fairly on. Sixteen bal
looms, a mile or two apart, were
speeding down the Seine valley. and
the hearts OF thlrty-two brave fellows
aboard were full Of hopes and Jealous
purposes. This, indeed. was strug-
gle worth making. There was a glory
| in 1t, for the eyes of the world we're on
them; there was the Gordon Bennett
cup-valued at twenty-five hundred
dollars-to be won; there was also
the Gaulois cup for the most success
| full French aeronaut and the Gould cup
for the most successful British con-
testant; there was a money prize OF
twenty-five hundred dollars offered by
Mr.. Bennett to the winner; and there
was a share in the Tuileries gate re-
ceipts. All this for the pilot who
should drive his balloon over the
greatest distance from the starting
point And there. straight ahead. was
the beating sea!
That is the great trouble with a bal
loon race: one may know the date
months in advance, and make great
preparations. without any idea in
which direction the wind will take
him. Thus here we're thirty-two men
starting on a long and dangerous
journey, and not knowing, up to the
very hour OF departure, whether II
| would end In the sun-kissed vineyards