The Marion daily mirror. (Marion, Ohio) 1892-1912, 1910-08-11
REMARKABLE
INTEREST IN
The Noted Cross County
Aerial Race in France
WITH FLYERS STRIKING STORM
lie Blanc Races With the
Winds and Although
Driven
Out of His Course Yet
Reaches the Goal
Mezieres
And was Greeted by Fifty Thousand
People-Aubrun Also Reaches the
City.
BY United Press Wire.

By united Press wire.
Mezierrs, France, Aug 1t-With an
average speed of more than sixty
miles an hour, Aviator lie Blanc to-
day flew from Nancy to Mezicres,
leading the field of cross country fly
ers for the third days run in the
six-day program in which $4,000 in
prizes are to be awarded. The direct
distance between Nancy and Mezieres
Is 100 miles, but lie Blanc raced with
q storm most of the way and was
driven far out of his course. He left
Nancy at $3.50 this morning and ar
rived at Mezieres at 1885. In the two
hours and five minutes that he was
aloft, Leblanc estimated that he
travelled at least 1870 miles.
The storm was encountered before
reaching Arnavelle 1t swept down
from the east and forced Lindpainter.
one of tire contestants, to alight. lie
Blanc and Aubrun, however, drove
their machines ahead of the storm,
escaping the center of il but getting
badly mixed up" in the edges
"rhe wind tore my map away" lie
Blanc said "a few minutes after we
started. At first we encountered n
heavy fog but the rising storm soon
dispelled this The struggle was the
hardest have ever experienced Ere
quently I had actually TO circle the
storm, which greatly increased the
distance. We should have gone from
Toul to Mezieres in a straight line but
the storm forced a zig-zag course at
times ana again a circle route. After
losing my map picked my way to the
river Meuz and the towns of Mouzon
and Dorsey"
A crowd of $4,000 greeted Leblanc
on his arrival here and the enthusiasm
was the greatest that has yet marked
the race. La Blanc was carried to his
home on the shoulders of frantic ad-
mirers.
Auburn, who also finished second to
lie Blanc in the flight from Troyes
TO Nancy, reached MeZieres at 9:27
and was the second to arrive. lie
Blanc's official time for the three
three stages of the race. from Issy to
Troyes, Troyes to Nancy end Nancy
to Mezieres 2s5 miles, is five hours
and fifty-eight minutes. This dis
tance. however, is as the crow flies,
and lie Blanc has actually gone much
farther than this. The three remaining
stages of the race are to Douai, eigh-
ty-seven miles; thence TO Amiens for
ty-nine miles and back to Paris
seventy miles.
Aubrun was forced by the storm
to descend at Chalons, sixty miles
from Mezieres. He also lost his map.
After forty minutes stop at Chal-
ons, army officers supplied him with
other maps and he continued TO this
city without further mishap. The
others who started from Nancy were
Lieutenant Fequant in n Farman BIZ
plane; Lieutenant Cammerman and
Legagneux. CammeTman was accom-
panied Ly Lieutenant Vuillerme. At
st. Mlhlcl the storm drr-e them to
the ground. The planes of their aero
planes were split by the wind and II
Is considered miraculous that they
Were not dashed to death. Lindpain-
ter gave up the lap as his biplane was
in bad shape after its battle with
the storm. Legagneux had trouble
with his motor at the start and af-
ter II had baked twice he began over
hauling 1t. He expected TO complete
the trip this afternoon.
Lieutenants Cammerman. and VAL
lierme. who were forced by the gale
TO alight at Saint Mihiel, later ascend
ed again and reached Meziercs at
1905. Lieutenant Fequant, in FAR
man biplane, reached Verdun. mid
way between Nancy and Mezieres, at
$50.