The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1910-11-01

heaven is fretted by thousands OF
roaring propellers and shifting planes
The bird men" are dreaming dreams
of cross-continent flights. The more
imaginative of them catch glimpsef OF
visions of transatlantic trips, faster
than the flight of the frigate bird.
1t may happen the hour of trial
comes in the very midst Of an appar-
ent success. Engines may be working
perfectly and with even beat. Inc
roar OF the spinning propellers may
be droning a song of coincidence and
security. Then something snaps;
guy wire parts like stretched fiddle
string, the roar of the engine breaks
and sputters, or the big planes
crumple because of some unguessed
weakness. Then comes that terrible
rush of air as the machine, engine,
rent planes and tangle of bent and
broken framework bears the aviator
to terrible death
When wireless telegraphy was in
vented it was but year or so until
the country was filled with amateurs,
all busily working on new theories OF
transferring messages. AS soon as
the Wrights, Farman. Bleriot, Paulhan
and Curtiss and others had demon
strated that a heavier-than- ma
chine could actually remain in the air
in a thousand barns, warehouses anc
backyard woodsheds all over the civ
ilized world men and boys began Il
try to build for themselves machine:
in which to spurn the solid earth
Historically, the science of aviation
has been taken up. and with a few
more improvements the death roll vii
grow to even greater proportions. s.
far most of the men who have me
| death have been veteran aviators
Delagrange, lie Blon. Ferber, Lefebvr
and Rolls were all well-knovn and il
: ternationally famous in the air field:
= But the moment came that found ther
, helpless despite their skill
D.. With the multiplying of factorie
: where the cheap fiiers can be col
t structed will come a rush of amateur
into the ranks of the aviators. Nor
S deaths are bound to follow when thes
= would-be nan birds have bought fc
: themselves machines and start in
:. perfect themselves in the art of fligh
t The list of deaths is bound to gro
e as soon as the means of fight
e brought within reach of the averas
/ purse. shower of would-be aviator
e from the clouds to the too sol
e earth will further demonstrate tn;
n the mastery OF the air must be bougl
e with human life.
e IN analysis of the accidents of Il
r past two years shows that deaf
e comes in a dozen shapes to the darir
e aviator. The aeroplane is pitiful
/ new thing, and even the veterans
a. the air are not always able to dete
s in their machines the lurking wea
r nesses. The first of the aeroplane a
g cidents that resulted fatally WI
5. caused by the guy wire of one of Il
1t planes being placed too near the pr
W peller blades. Selfridge died in til
Of accident and Orville Wright was t.
ribly injured. 1t was months befe
e he again took up the problem of aeri
IL flights.
to 1t was a year later before dea
Is took his toll again from the ranks
Il the air workers. On the seventh
W September, 1909, two men. the fol
of most aviatsrs in their respective cot
tries. met their deaths. Rossi was {
~ gagged in testing a machine of his OK
d. invention near Rome, and after fl
X short and successful flights at Il
H. altitude he tilted his planes upwa
ly at a considerable angle and shot in
ne the air for an ambitious trial. He h
n barely reached height of 60 feet
lie some of the intricate machinery ga
IS. way and he was dashed to death.
,c- Lefebvre, a well-known aeronaut
Id France. was killed on the same d
nd while soaring above Juvissy in
Wright biplane. Two weeks later [
ed pride of the Frenchmen in aeroni
re- tics, Capt Louis Ferdinand Ferber
m pioneer in the art of flying. was xii
m in a peculiar accident. one of
of many unexplainable ones that ms
he the chronology of fight. He was so
I'M ing over field near Boulogne, WI
OF mis- machine turned turtle in the