The Washington times., 1908-09-18


other days have dawned 20 Orville
Wright, the master aviator Of the world.
and to Lieut.. Thomas r. Selfridge,
of the signal corps.
They went just as peacefully about
those little duties which make up the
routine Of a mans life Breakfast, the
newspaper, the reading Of letters from
friends or business acquaintance, and
then, for the army officer, brief trip
TO Fort Myer TO begin the days work
and for the inventor a morning OF more
or less ease
The day was just one Of those Of
Indian summer The same world old
blue haze IN the morning, hanging thick
over the city, the river, and the green
Virginia hills. The hustle in the men
who make the life of the Capital, the
tang in the air that told Of coming
winter, and the same leap Of the blood
in answer
And when the afternoon came and
both went out once again 10 Fort
Nyer. the lieutenant smiling and happy
and full OF all the JOY Of life and Of his
twenty-six years, the inventor over
most Of his nervousness, confident now
that his ship was the best, it was a
quiet land. a country Of peace ana
smiles and happiness that greeted them
both.
Talk to Newspaper Men
Roth found nfe good and liked it. Both
talked to the newspapermen' the OF
fcers. the crowd that early surrounded
tho shed or stood far away up IN the
,or+b,-est corner where the starting
anDarat,1s stands, . spider-like struc-
tire AGAINST the light hazy blue Of the
afternoon.
When the wind died down. the officer
straight and tall, clean, dark eyed, with
the true set-up Of the Point, with MS
soft spoken California accent; the ava
tor. quiet and modest calm and comb
dent, walked slowly up the field from
the headquarters tent TO the white
thing living poised on the monoraii.
\ little conversation; an adjustment
here and there, and then the two me-
chanics started the propellers, swinging
them IN opposite directions. The quick
baIf-cboked .'phruur' or the engine
making, its thousand revolutions q min
ute came drifting down over a field
through the lazy air, the inventor and
the officer took their seats and the last
flight Of the Wright aeroplane began.
Starting Weight Drops.
The weight, a dark blur in between
the slender brown sticks, black lnky
spot against the sky, started down on
its drop. It gathered speed slowly, and
fell at last into the soft, green earth
with a thud.
The .aeroplane, its masters hand upon
those levers which give It life and d.
rection, swan briskly down the starting
track. out onto the grass, skipping here
and there Just as a stone from a boy
hand skips over the water. Slowly and
gracefully, but steadily and surely. II
/ rose into the air. and by the time It
| had rraversed the length Of the field il
was a hundred feet above the news
irapermen AID others gathered there.
With scarcely a dip, except at the
turns. when II seems that Mr. Wright
always dips a bit. the machine SCARED
around the parade groUnd-once, twice,
three times-and the crowd. grown to
| great proportions, cried out with that
queer half cheer, half sob, heard when
men approve Of something great, but
| something unexpected.
/ No one saw any change in the work
/ ing of that powerful man-made engine
/ when il drove the aeroplane around the
! last turn IN the tnlru lap 10 the crown
I a. seemed and 10 most Of the newspaper
/ mon and officers it seemed that he was
/ fvinE with the utmost ease.
Something Snaps.
But somewhere IN the good spruce OF
one Of those long gray propeller blades
revolving so fast that it takes the quick
est exposure of a camera shutter to
snap" them in motion, there was
, trouble. and when the aviator start ed
to turn at the southwestern corner
almost over the heads Of the newspaper
| men, something snapped.
In an instant. instead Of giving the
whole machine life and motion, this
thing OF wood became a mad agent: q
| wild threshing thing that tore at the
rest of the machine about It. In iCw
I | seconds. il had wrecked the other blade
and while the spectators behind the
/ tents could not see. they knew by tbs
| stopping Of the engine that something
| was wrong.
| ITS gone, boys" yelled one news
/ paper man, and the little group split
men running for the telephone, to the
] swiftly falling machine; for help; foI