The gold leaf., 1910-09-29
FLIES OVER THE ALPS.

dossoIi, on the ItaIisn Side of the
AIps-1ade WorId-Record But Met
With Serious Accident In Making
! Descent.
Domodossola, Italy, Sept. 23-TO
| George Chavez, the Peruvian avia-
| tor. belongs the honor OF being the
| first to fly across the Alps.
The feat was accomplished today
| in attempt to win the prize OF $40, 900
offered by the Italian Aviation So
ciety, OF Milan, for flight from Brig,
| Switzerland, to Milan.
Chavez, however, was unable to
complete the trip, having sustained
painful injuries when he alighted
| here. His machine was overturned
and he was buried in the wreckage
Both his legs were broken. his left
thigh is fractured and his body is
badly confused, but his physicians
are OF the opinion that these injuries
will not prove fatal.
After treatment in the hospital
Chavez regained consciousness. He
suffered terribly from his hurts. The
generally accepted opinion is that
the accident was due to a slight shift
in the rudder while the machine was
going at high rate OF speed.
AS the air man was seen slowly de-
scending a great crowd gathered.
Slowly and gracefully he neared the
surface and was but 30 feet above
the ground when a gust OF wind
caught and overturned the mono
plane. 1t fell heavily, carrying the
aviator beneath it. Chavez was
pinned under the motor and pain
fully hurt. He had tainted on strlk-
ing the ground and was bleeding
prOfusely when released from the
wrpckage. The machine was ruined.
AMERICAN DESCENDS.
The American aviator, Harry Wey
mann, also attempted the flight,
leaving the table land at Brig,
at 1:10 o'clock this afternoon.
Later word was received here that he
had descended after being in the air
only a short while.
The weather for the competition
was excellent. The morning opened
clear on the surface and the haze
that had gathered on the mountain
tops was early blown away. By
noon the wind had died out.
Chavez believed that the final op-
portunity which he had waited since
Monday had come aud he decided to
make the start. He got away at
l: 30 o'clock and rose to height es-
timated to be nearly 1000 feet. He
passed swiftly over the mountain
tops, clearing the summit of Simplon
pass at LAC p. IN. At that time his
monoplane was moving as steadily
AS a railroad train. Chavez followed
the route over GOndrOagOa, one OF
the grandest and at the same time
one of the savagest parts Of the
Alps.
With the exception of Chavez and
Weymann, the aviatOrs abandoned
the competition this morning. The
time limit of the contest will expire
tomorrow.
DETAILS OF DARING TRIP.
Chavez crossed the Simplonpass at
1:4S p. IN. and thus accomplished
what has been regarded as one OF the
most daring feats proposed for the
air men. He had waited patiently
for favorable weather along the
route, where strong winds are the
rule. This morning both sides ofthe
Alps reported clear weather, but the
top of the Simplon pass was obscured
in a haze.
Chavez determined to make the
attempt and rose to a height esti-
mated nearly 1000 feet. 1t was
known that it would be necessary for
him to attain to nearly this altitude
to clear the pass, the summit OF
which rises 6, ,592 feet.
He maintained apparently this al
| titude for at least half hour and
followed over the road built by Ma
poleon in 1900. He accomplished
the eight miles that brought him
over the top OF Simplon and then
sailed gracefully over the Is miles
down to Domodossola.
Arriving at Domodossola, he had
left the hardest part of his journey
behind him having escaped the high
peaks and the iumble ofrocky gorges
on this side OF the summit The re-
naming distance to this city offers
less difficulty, but takes the aviator
over Lake Maggiore and a succession
OF plains to the goal.
DISTANCE WAS rs MILES.
The distance from Brig, Switzer-
land, to Milan is 10 miles and the
prize was for the aviator who should
make the first flight starting from
q table land 200 feet above sea
level at the head of the Rhine valley,
near Brig, Switzerland. In addition
to this a height that would bring him
over the Simplon summit, and in doing
which he may have suffered from
the cold, the aviator was required to
guide his frail craft over wide chasms,
notably the Gorge of Ysetten, where
d safe descent would be impossible
and an accident must mean almost
certain death. Aviation experts had
predicted freely that the only alter
native to a successful flight across
the A ps was the death of the aviator.
Signal fires along the Napoleon
road marked the way as far al
Domodossola and the rest of the
course was indicated by flags and
buoys anchored on Lake Maggiore.
The summit of the pass at Monscera
was illuminated with oxhydrique
lights and captive balloon showed
the finish line at the aerodrome.
But for the mishap there is little
doubt Chavez would have reached his
goal, as the remainder of the
course offers little difficulty. His
most notable previous feat was es-
tablishing height record Sept. 3,
OF 5, S,27 feet.
! WEIMANN SENDS SYMPATHY.
Harry Weymann, the American
aviator, who made two unsuccessful
attempts in the Brig Milan race to-
day, sent telegram OF sympathy to
q YTns 1al,