Los Angeles herald., 1910-11-18

the instructive poise of the trick bicy-
Gle rider helped him in high winds.
He was full of zeal and pride, and
his daily rivalries with his teammate,
Arch Hoxsey, in their duels for att
tude were one of the delights Of the
recent international aviation meet at
Belmont Park.
How high do you think you went?"
the crowd asked him one night when
he alighted on the field after sunset,
numbed and shivering.
81 don't know" he answered, "but
If 1 did not go higher than Hoxsey
I'll never trust a Paragraph again"
It happened that Johnstone was de-
feated on that occasion, but by daily
striving he got a little higher each
time, until on the last day of the meet
he brought back the worlds record
9714 feet-which he carried with him
in death.
He had already taken the American
record from Walter Brookins of the
Wright team, and when j. Armstrong
Drexel went him a little better, he
came back again with still another
American record.
WON WORLDS RECORD
Nothing remained for him then but
the worlds record, and in the end he
got that.
The feat brought him $4,000 in cash
and more fame than anything else he
ever did, but 1t was not really his
most remarkable airmanShip. In one
flight at Belmont-the day he defeated
Drexel--he and Hoxsey went up in
a gale so stiff that for a time they
hung above the field immobile in lati-
tude, though they were steadily gain
ing in altitude, and then began to drift
backward. They were blown off the
course, out of sight, and TOMBSTONE
landed fifty miles down on Long
Island, but 1t was characteristic of his
pluck that he kept on climbing until
his last drop of gasoline was ex-
hausted.
1T guess" said Wilbur Wright at
the time, that's the first cross-coun-
try flight ever made tail end first"
Major Samuel Reberp U. S. A, signal
corps, added that nothing in aviation
had gone so far to prove the worth OF
the aeroplane in stiff wind. He es-
timated the strength of the wind john
stone then fought at forty-hVe niles
an hour and upward.
Johnstone liked applause, but he
seldom tried tricks to. gain it. When
it came to beam turns and pirou-
cites, Hoxsey and Brookins could al
ways have their own way.
Johnstone had only one thriller. Be
ginning with a gradual DETECTION, he
would dip more and more steeply until
his descent became the swoop of a
hawk.
"He's falling!" the crowd would cry.
And today he did.
Seemingly dazed by the death OF
their teammate, neither Walter BrooK-
ins nor Arch Hoxsey could be induced
to talk of the sad affair Hoxsey hid
himself away and could not be found
tonight. Brookins was seen by rep
resentative Of the Associated Press
and begged not to be asked to discuss
Johnstone's death.
Johnstone's exceptional caution i'm
pressed everybody who saw him here.
He seemed to love his machine and
watched over it as If itswer a child.
The impression prevails that john
stones desire to outdo Hoxsey after
the latter had made his wonderful
flight for endurance and altitude
partly overcame his habit Of extreme
care and caused him to take unusual
chances with the air.
Robert Emmet Harvey, promoter OF
the Denver meet, scouts any sugges-
ton that the rarified air of Denver
had anything to do with overturning
Johnstone's machine.
All three of the aviators-Johnstone
Hoxsey and Brookins-had told Him,
he stated, that maneuvering here was
no more dangerous than elsewhere,
although a little more difficult because
of the necessity for more engine
power.
The continuation of the meet, he
said, depended upon instructions from
Roy Knabenshue, the Wright repre-
sentative, who has been wired for in
structions.
''Bud' Mars, the Curtiss aviator, en-
gagged to compete against the Wright
representatives Monday next in alti-
tude contests, arrived In Dever to-
night and reported to aviation officials.
Mr.. Harvey said Mars would fly Sun
day and Monday.
No word has come from Mrs. john
stone, who was communicated with at
the Hotel Chamberlain, New York,
Johnstones last known address. 1t is
understood Mrs. Johnstone and her
daughter are still in New York, but
the son is in Berlin.