Los Angeles herald., 1909-10-07
tBy Associated Press.l

ZURICH, Switzerland, Oct. 6.-The
international balloon race for the Cor
don Bennett cup was won by Edgar
W. Mix, the American aeronaut, of
Columbus, o.
Mr.. Mix landed north of Warsaw,
in Russian Poland, at o'clock Tues
day morning. He has won with plen-
ty of time to spare from Alfred Lee
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 Mix's landing was
contained in a personal dispatch to
the Associated Press, dated Ostrolen-
ka. 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 o'clock Tuesday morning. 1 en-
countered heavy rain. My ballast
was exhausted when | came down.
AT present 1 am in the hands of
the police but all is going well. l had
bad weather Sunday night. 1t was
cloudy and rain fell, and 1 used half
my ballast before morning.
The weather. was so thick that it
was impossible to locate my position
except for one hour south of Prague" !"
Travels Through Fog
Mix made his journey through fog
and binding rain storms which COM
PEELED all the other pilots to descend.
After crossing the Swiss and Austrian
Alps, Capt. Messner, one of the Swiss
pilots, reported that his clothing was
covered with ice to thickness of a
half inch. Messner reached an alti-
tude of $4,000 feet.
OF the division of b.. looms which
were carried more to the southwark,
lie Blanc reached the farthermost
point. He descended in the foothills
of the Carpathian mountains, being
forced to abandon his balloon because
of an accident upon landing. LIE Blanc
covered a distance estimated at LOIS
kilometers (630.31 miles,.
MesSners distance was about the
same as LIE Blanc's. and Col Schaack
a Swiss entrant, covered 1875 kilome-
ters (493.69 miles). The others COW
| cred lesser distances.
Record Stands
| Erbslops' record of 14O3 kilometers
| (S71. .26 miles), made from st. Louis in
1907, is the longest flight made in an
| international race, although behind
Count de la Vaulx's record trip to
southern Russia.
II IS lIlDOSSlDlG " b~AIltllil why MIA
should have been molested by the Rus
sian police, as in expectation of
landing in Russia each of the pilots
was provided at Zurich with special
Russian passport guaranteed by the
Russian minister to Switzerland to
protect him against annoyance.
The American embassy at st. Pc
tersburg has been advised of MAx's
predicament and asked to take up the
OF with the Russian ALL
thorities.
The distance from Zurich to the
point where Mix landed has been given
as 110o kilometers (6S3.1 miles).
Edgar w. Mix was the only Amer
lean contestant in the international
balloon race for the Gordon Bennett
cup. in which seventeen balloons
started from Zurich on October 9.
Mr.. Mix used in this contest the bal
loon America" built in Paris last
wear for J. c. Mccoy, and used by Mr..
Mccoy in the Berlin race.
Maximum Capacity
II has a gas capacity of 10000 cubic
feet, the maximum allowed for the
race.
An exact classification Of the per-
formances of the contestants will be
impossible until their log books are
received, but Mr.. Mix is an easy
winner.
Alfred lie Blanc. representing
France, and Capt. Messner, represent
ing Switzerland, each of whom made
slightly more than 496 miles, are
named for second place, but this prob
ably will not be determined until the
official announcement is made.
Col. Setback, also of Switzerland
last years winner, is fourth with
about 775 kilometers Ga little more
than 4S1 miles) Capt. Won Abercrom,
representing Germany, is fifth, and V.
de Beauclair, another Swiss, is sixth.
The distance covered by Mix is va
.ao,,r1.. nstlr,a atad from 622 to A21 miles