Coeur d'Alene evening press. (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho) 1907-1929, 1908-11-14
ROSS COUNTRY
IN BALLOONS
reat TranscOntinental Race Starts
Tomorrow From Los Angeles

/ Los ANGELES. CAL, Nov. a.
Tomorrow afternoon at . o'clock. the
trans-continental race of "Dick" Fer
ris's two gigantic balloons begins
the most daring feat Of the century.
this battle with the winds, and the
first Of its kind. Thirty hours
hence we will be hurting through
the gloom Of the night thousands
of feet above the earth with New
York our destination. From ocean
to ocean in 20 hours. faster time
than limited express"
This Is the plan. Single, and with
no moment to presage their struggle
of tomorrow the giant racers Amer
lea" and United States are located
in Schutes park, half inflated for
their fight from the Pacific to the
Atlantic seaboard. While the eyes
Of the aeronautic world are turned
toward California, the ropes OF the
aerial ships win be cut, and the air
craft given to the fortunes OF the
winds and the races, and If success
full, will shatter all records of dis
lance and perils known.
To Dick Ferris, millionaire actor
and theatrical manager, OF Los An
geIes and Minneapolis, belongs the
credit of making the greatest CONT
mental balloon race of the present.
A successful man in the dramatic
field, he has adopted as his fad the
part of Mercury, and at a great cost
OF both time and money, has brought
his balloons to this coast and fitted
them for their journey over Uncle
Sans republic.
Pilot Horace B. Wilds, Of the A.
r. e. club, of Chicago, and a news
paper man, will occupy the basket Of
the Omitted States" Captain Aug
ust NJ. Muller, veteran of the score
record breaking ascension, with Fer
ris as his assistant pilot will COM
promise the crew Of the American"
Neither balloon Is a dirigable. Their
course will be the course of the air
currents, which experts in the en-
ploye of Farris have been closely
studying for months past. In brief
this is the result of their observa-
tions:
That all winds sweep from the Pa
ciflc inlands, and that il the balloons
retain their gas long enough to sur
mount the peaks OF the sierras and
the Rockies, they will inevitably be
carried to the eastern coast OF Amer
lea.
This covers the wind in a general
way. There are several Pacific arr
currents from the west to east. and
each balloon captain has selected
from these the routes which seems
to him most practicable. Captain
Miller win trust to the winds to car
~ the American southwardly from
Los Angeles into northern Mexico.
then far above the mountain stretch
es over the Gulf Of Mexi"o, to Flori-
da Then skirting the Atlantic coast
into the vicinity of New York. the
objective point. This route holds
the terrors Of many hours above the
water. Wild on the other hand con-
siders best route a. the
eagle flies from southern Cali
fornia to the basin Of the
St. Lawrence river. Here even
barring an aerial mishap, and an en-
forced landing in the frozen waters
of the northern straits Of Canada,
means suffering, probably death from
exhaustion, but Wild says Il con-
slider this route the best. We viii
at least die lighting and in the open"
When discussing probable routes.
however, both pilots made reserVA-
tons. Winds may change; storms
may be encountered that win force
the navigators Of the clouds to rise
from their chosen current into other
and a differently distined course.
should their picking air lines prove
impossible. the voyage most likely
win swing the racers through the
skies Of the southern states into the
arms of the Applachians- The one
objection to this seemingly direct
route to New York Is the sluggish-
ness Of the winds that prevail.
In case that the descent may
Be made anywhere from Grant Slave
ITake 20 Yueatnn, the crews Of the