The Irish standard., 1909-10-09
MIX WINS. AIR RACE
AMERICANS" IS VICTOR IN INTER.
NATIONAL BALLOON
CONTEST.
GRABBED BY RUSSIAN POLICE
Aeronaut from Columbus, O., Is Last
Of Seventeen That strated in Race
for Gordon Bennett cup-Lands
In Pine Tree.

Zurich, Oct. 1.-THE international
balloon race for the Gordon Bennett
cup has been won by Edgar w. Mix.
the American aeronaut of Columbus.
o., who will take the cup back to the
United States.
Mr.. Mix landed north of Warsaw, in
Russian Poland, at three o'clock Tues
day morning. He has won with plenty
Of time to spare from Alfred LIE Blanc,
the French pilot, his companion in the
St. Louis race of 1907, who came down
at Kubin, Hungary, Monday afternoon.
The first news Of Mr.. Mix's landing
was conveyed in personal dispatch
dated Ostrolenka. The aeronaut said:
Il landed in the midst of a large
pine tree in the forest of Gutova, west
of Ostrolenka and north of Warsaw at
three o'clock Tuesday morning. en-
countered heavy rain. My ballast
was exhausted when came down. At
present am in the hands of the po-
lice, but all is going WELL
Il had bad weather, Sunday night
1t was cloudy and rain fell, and
ooSu A1eIAA AlJ UClOlc IOIIluS.
The weather was so thick that it was
impossible to locate my position, ex-
cept for one hour south of Prague,
and star observation I took at lati.
tude 51.45.1 and longitude. 10.0.3S."
Braves Fog, Rain and Storms.
1t is evident from Mr. Mix's mes
sage that in spite of the discourage
ment of drifting onward without know
ing his location, the American aero
naut husbanded his ballast and kept
his balloon atioat until the last ounce
of sand was gone. He made his jour-
ney through fog and binding rain
storms, which compelled all the other
pilots to descend. After crossing the
Swiss and the Austrian Alps, Capt
Messner, one of the Swiss pilots, re-
ported that his clothes were covered
with ice to thickness of half an
inch. Messner reached an altitude of
$4,000 feet. u...
were carried more to the southwark,
LIE Blanc, one of the Belgian pilots.
reached the farthermost point. He
descended in the foothills. Of the Carp
athian mountains, being forced to
abandon his balloon owing to an &C.
cident upon landing. LIE Blanc COW
cred distance estimated at LOIS kill
oneters (630.31 miles). Messner's dis
lance was about the same as LIE
Blancs' and Col. Schaeck, Swiss en-
trant, covered 795 kilometers (49369
miles). The others covered lesser dis
tances.
St. Louis Record Stands.
Erbsloh covered 1,403 kilometers
(871.26 miles) from st. Louis in 1907,
which is the longest flight made in an
international race, although behind
Count De La Vaulx's record "trip to
southern Russia.
It is possible that Mr.. Mix, by joe
keying was able to catch more north
erly current of air, and that after he
passed to the south of Prague he con-
tinued to the point where he landed
north Of Warsaw. He is the only con-
testant to cross the Russian frontier.
1t is impossible to explain why Mr..
Mix should have been molested by the
Russian police, as in anticipation of q
landing in Russia each of the pilots
was provided at Zurich before start
ing with special Russian passport
guaranteed by the Russian minister to
Switzerland to protect them against
annoyance.