Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-09-24
NEAR THE COAL
WHEN He FELL
Chavez Had Crossed Alps and
Seemed Certain to Finish
Flight to Milan.
DESCENDING, HIT BY GUST
Travels in 40 Minutes Route That
Held NapOIeon's Army Two Weeks
Expected to Recover.

Domodossola, italy, Sept. 24.-The
great feat of crossing the snow-capped
Alpine barrier between Switzerland
and Italy in a heavier-than-air machine
was accomplished yesterday by George
Chavez, the young Peruvian aviator.
The plucky hero of the exploit, how
ever, now lies in the Domodossola hos
pital badly injured as the result of an
accident that occurred just as he had
completed the most arduous and nerve
racking portion of a task he had set
out to accomplish flight from Brig
in Switzerland across the Alps to Mi
Ian in Italy, in all a distance of about
IS miles.
Both Legs Are Broken.
Both his legs are broken, his left
thigh is fractured and his body is bad
ly confused, but the physicians in at
tendance are of the opinion that these
hurts will not prove fatal and that un-
less unlooked-for complications ensue
Chavez will be about in two months.
The accident occurred as Chavez was
endeavoring to make a landing here
The Alps had been crossed success
fully and the aviator was descending
! BE- OF = -e4fe
When about 80 feet above the ground a
sudden gust of wind seemed to catch
the monoplane, which turned over and
fell. When the crowds that had been
watching the descent ran up they
found Chavez bleeding and unconscious
beneath the twisted wreckage. Willing
hands lifted the aviator from the
ground and bore him to the hospital
Fifty miles away. and over country
that has none of the hazards of the
Alps, lay Milan, the goal Chavez was
seeking in an endeavor to win a prize
Of $4,000 offered by the italian Avia-
tion society for the flight. Chavez had
lost the race.
May Have Broken Record.
Some of the spectators of the flight
say that Chavez, after crossing the Sim
plon pass, followed the short cut route
over the Monsera pass, which is 5000
feet above the sea. If this be so, 1t is
possible that the Peruvian beat his
own worlds record for height of S,271
feet.
The % miles between Brig and Do
modossola, which it took the armies Of
Napoleon a fortnight to negotiate,
Chavez accomplished by the route of
the eagle in exactly 40 minutes. From
the high point at Monsera he descend
ed 1000 feet in 13 miles, his machine
gaining in momentum as it flew over
the tumble of tower peaks, gulleys and
hills beyond until the speed was ter
rife as it approached the aerodrome
here. This doubtless caused the acct
dent, which turned the cheers of ad-
mfration of the waiting crowd into
cries of horror as the machine came
hurtling to the ground just as it seem
ed that Chavez was about to alight in
safety.
Sympathy for American.
Much sympathy is expressed here for
Weymann. Although his motor had
repeatedly given demonstrations of its
inability to reach high attitudes, Wey-
mann made last and desperate effort
to win the race after hearing that Cha
vez had met with an accident. He
managed to climb over the Resti
shoulder. but. finding that the aero
plane was incapable of flying higher,
he returned to Brig and alighted. The
time limit of the contest expired today.