Los Angeles herald., 1908-12-13

yours Saturdays"
SaIutlng the Crowd
Il was getting confident now and,
sure of the stability of the apparatus
and of its perfect poise, I ventured to
unbend and move a little. I even
risked leaning over so as to peer down
among the spectators, among whom L
could see Jean de Reszke, Maj, Baden
Powell the naval engineer, Bernheim,
NJ. and Nine. Darracque, the Comte
de Dampierre and then, standing at
the foot of the pylon, my son, who
pitched his cap into the air as we
went by And such q waving of hand
kerchiefs! I tried to respond, but 1t
was a pretty stiff salute 1 managed
to execute.
1T looked at Wright. He was steady.
Nose in air, nostrils dilated, he wit
messed the realization of his widest
dream. He gripped the tillers with
the hands that had built the machine.
He was splendid. He felt that [ was
looking at him and turned his head,
took in my enthusiasm and smiled
4" rs it all sight2' he shouted, for he
had to s>>out to be heard. Itried to
answer, but there was whirlwind
going down my throat. Diable! | let
go the rod I had chung to. 1 let my
left hand drop from my thigh. found
I didn't have to sit so still. I begun
10 tdNe LlShS vi NCI0 lllCy Aioho
The aeroplane was marvelously ODE
dent to it's pilots will 1t sailed close
to the ground or high above it or
SKINNED the trees, turning sharply or
in broad curves as he babe it, and
was kept always perfectly balanced by
the manipulation of levers that seemed
to work like a bicycles handlebars
Night Coming On
1.-THE sun went down and we. flew in
the twilight. A light mist rose from
the ground and here and there spread
a vaporous blanket over the shrubbery
beneath us. We could get only con-
fused glimpses of the crowd, and soon
it seemed to me all that Wright had
to guide his course by was the line of
the forests edge. Night fell. The
moon came up. A great silence brood
ed over wood and field, a silence brok-
en- only by the throbbing of the huge
the sensation and so complete the feel
ing of security that 1 wanted to go on
flying thus for hours and hours. And
those turnings-oh, but they were
thrillingl I began to understand the
joys of the fitting bird. But the birds
they fly because they are BIRDS it's
no marvel to them, To me, flight was
a wondrous thing-a thing made pos
sible only by the genius of the man
beside me.
How long had We been flying? I
couldn't guess. I didn't dare take out
my watch. I wanted to tell Wright,
who seemed bent on breaking the rec
ord. He was afraid of firing me and
suggested a descent after one more
turning. I yelled a reply and he kept
on his course through the air. 1t was
now completely dark Cyclists, peas
ants and chauffeurs lighted their Ian
terms or their torches, which cleaned
IL III N116xr or
like so many wondering eyes staring
up at US.
How many loops had we made? If
I had been able / should have taken
out a pencil at the start and kept tally.
Indeed | should have had a notebook
in hand all the while and jotted down
my Impressions AS it is [ have only
memory to go by, and a thousand i'm
pressions escape me. And observes; one
might write easier in an aeroplane
than in a train or an auto. The most
intoxicating means of locomotion, 1t is
at the same time the most perfect.
wright leaned over and peered
down through the darkness. Below on
the farther side of the camp rose the
shed Wright made a quick turning,
made straight for the shed and brought
us lightly to the ground within fifty
feet of it.
Terra Firma
ut was the end. I could no longer
resist. 1 heard cheers and nand-clap-
ping all around us. Excited, crazed,
wild with joy and gratitude, I threw
myself upon Wilbur Wright's neck and
clio, clac!-kissed him squarely.
Bravo bravo!' cried the spectators.
All records are broken!' And people
congratulated mel I, who had done
nothing. got perfect windfall of COM
pliments.
I'VE had been in the air So minutes
and 80 SIS seconds-a two-man flight
and had travelled eighty kilometers.
beating the worlds record established
by Wright on September rs, a record
of II minutes 35 2-5 seconds
whenever Wright is willing I am
prepared to cross the channel with
him from Calais to Dover or from