The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-06-24
From the Louisville Courier-Journal.

From the Louisville Courier-Journal.
TOWACO Is a village in New Jersey,
In the shadow of Wauk Haw Noun
1 tain, and little known to fame. Tn
less there is Towaco liar who is a TEL
low-worker of the Winsted correspondent
and the once famous liar at Chefu, an
unprecedented occurrence upon the sum-
NIT of Wauk Haw Mountain thrilled the
village of Towaco and almost gave the
Abergasty family nervous prostration, all
of the Abergastys save little Len, aged
4 years and a few weeks, who prodigious-
Nv enioyed a Joy ride alone in an. aero
plane. Little Len" landed head first, but
had a perfectly corking time just the
same.
ION Walk Haw did Abergasty, Dan,
stately aeroplane~ decree,
While Len" little shaver ran
About and rubbered the old man,
And laughed with childish glee.
Here twice five miles of treeless ground,
With walls of forest were girdled round;
And here the Abergastys worked, with
many thrills.
Where bossomed many an incense-bear-
ing tree; -,
And here were forests ancient as the hills,
Enfolding sunny spots of greenery.
But, oh, that Curtiss-eclipsing aeroplane
that slanted
Down the green hill athvart a cedarn
y cover.
4 new device, as sure record-breaker,
AS e'er at misty dawn was worked out
BY jockey working for long odds lover.
When the great day for the test of the
b,ovancv and noncapsizableness of the
Abergasty aeroplane rolled around 5oOo
feet of light, strong rope was wound
around the well windass and Mr. and
Mrs. Abergasty and the workmen VINO
had toiled secretly to build the machine
took 1t to a rock promontory upon the
mountain farm and let 1t go.
To the unspeakable horror of Mrs. Aber-
easty and her husband. the laughing face
of little Lien" was seen peering over the
edge of the machine as 1t bucked the
breezes for a. moment near the earth and
shot inward. the windlass singing like
fishing reel as 1t paid out the line. Little
Len had crawled, unobserved, aboard
the aeroplane to have a joy ride. The
Abergastys and the hired men yelled at
him to hold on, but their voices were
horne down the wind. Little Len" hun
dreds of feet in the air, just grlnned
The 6ying capacity of the machine was
all that Abergasty had prophesied. 1t cut
the figure eight in the sky. it skated
along above the surrounding forest, giving
n rxcellent imitation of the Dutch roll;
It swooped toward the earth like hun
CRY hawk after a green gosling; it scared
| like an eagle: It zigzagged like a jack
snipe; it paused and hung suspended in
the air like a fish hawk looking for its
prey: It SKINNED near the treetops like a
swallow bug hunting along the surface of
| a peaceful stream Each particular hair
| of the heads of Mr.. and Mrs. Abergasty
stood on end like the quilts of the fretful
porcupine Their blood froze! But little
Len was as happy as country-bred
ant enjoying his first dip into the delights
Of picnic Jelly cake. When the machine
shot near enough to the Abergastys they
could see the front teeth of little Len,
who wore an expression similar to that OF
| Colonel Roosevelt greeting a well-remem-
bered Rough Rider.
Job Van Wrinkle and Perogrine 1nrI-
grass, and son,c reighbors who had seen
the flying machine, and climbed Wauk
| Haw mountain II get a closer view
Joined the unhappy father and mother
and all hands worked at the MINDLESS
For three hours the aeroplane pirouet-
ted, cavorted danced cancan in mid
air, executed maneuvers that would have
made bud" Mars green with envy. Little
Len gurgled joyously. but only the
passing turkey buzzards could hear him
Aftertthe whole afternoon had been spent
IN fr1iltless efforts to haul the aeroplans
to the earth the wind died down and Il
was brought within 80 feet of the ground
by the almost tuckered-out Abergastyi
and the hired men and neighbors. who