The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-08-18
BRILLIANT RACE ACROSS COUNTRY Frenchmen Finish Long Dis- tanCe Flight in Air LEBLANC ARRIVES FIRST Hundreds of Thousands Gather in Paris Before Daylight to Watch for the
 Arrival of the Daring
 Bfrd-men

Paris, August 17-Half Paris forsook their beds last night and remained in the streets until morning to watch the conclusion of the great cross-country avia- tion race, which was won by Leblanc in a Bleriot monoplane. Auburn, also in d Bleriot, took second prize, finishing go minutes behind the winner, although his time In completing the course was some what longer.
 LeBlanc's flight from Amiens, some 60 miles, was made in the same superb style as the previous laps in the race. He left Amiens at 5:o3 and descended at Issy in the suburbs of Paris one hour and 2S minutes later, making the total time for the 4S5 miles of the entire flight Il hours, 55 minutes and 59 seconds, an average of nearly 40 miles an hour as the crow flies, without making any all lowance for detours or for the time spent in battling with the storm in the flight from Mezieres to Douai last Friday.
 Auburn, whose time from Amiens was one hour and minutes, completed the circuit in 13 hours, 27 minutes, IA sec onds. None of the other competitors com pleted the course, though Legagneux, who was forced to retire in the early stages of the race, finished with Leblanc and Auburn.
 TumultuOus Cheering
 There was a moment of tumultuous cheering as LeBlanc appeared above Issy in the early dawn and from the height of nearly a quarter of a mile planed down toward the earth and swooped across the line like a giant hawk, alighting with the ease and grace of big bird. The authorities in view of the large crowd had cordoned the alighting place at Issy with hundreds of police, backed by reg iment of culrrassiers of long experience in handling the Parisian crowds. Never theless, the spectators in an irresistible rush, broke through the line of cuiras- siers and police and bore the victor on their shoulders to General Brun, the minister of war, who, with his stan and other high officials had appeared at the finish to welcome the victor. General Brun congratulated Leblanc heartily in the name of the government A mili= tary band struck up the Marseillaise, but the music could scarcely be heard above the cheering of the crowd, which was echoed from the housetops through out the vast city.
 Before the cheering for Leblanc had commenced to die down, Auburn, in his monoplane, shot into sight at the very point in the sky where Leblanc had first been seen and following the viotor's wake crossed the line and made an equally graceful landing, giving fresh impetus to the cheering.
 Legagneux Arrives
 In close succession to Leblanc and Aubrun came Legagneux and five army officers, who had acted as escorts to the contestants in the last stage of flight the successful trip of eight aer- oplanes across the country simultan- eously and under prearranged condi- tions demonstrating to what extent the contest of the air had been carried Such a gallery of spectators had never before been seen In Paris nor has the scene been duplicated at any other place. EiffeI tower was chosen as point of vantage by crowds of spec tators and the towering steel struc- ture like the housetops and other ele- vated points In the city was black with people watching the finish through field glasses or with strainfng eyes.
 On the field at Issy where the avia- tors finished 100000 spectators had gathered the crowd including Prince hOlanO BOnapafte, teneral DelSteln, the military governor of Paris. and hund- reds of distin guished men and wom- en, who when LeBlanc's monoplane was first sighted as a black speck high above the city were seized with a per sfect delirium.
 Forced to Land
 Lagagneux and the military aviators were forced to make landings on the trip from Amiens, interfering with their plans to convoy in the winning aero planes. Legagneux, in landing at Issy, broke wing of his bi-plane.
 Leblanc and Aubrun agree that the chief difficulty in flying across coun- rty is furnish ed by the strong air cur rents and eddies over valleys and ra- vines along the course. which often suck down the areoplanes from 200 to 800 feet without warning in an ab- rupt drop.
 During such experience the aviators were able to keep their places in the machines only by clinging to the levers.
 Issy was also the goal for the big dirigible balloon Bayard- Clement, which arrived from Criel short time after the beyv of heavier-t -than-air machines had alignred Its arrival caused a fur ther burst of cheering.