The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1911-09-14

uy luS CatH IuipUSc SFeut pUlSlCIl strain
without reference to nerves or mind.
Those who go in for endurance rec
ords are subject to this, and those of
US who have made climbing for height
q speciality know the terrors Of physl-
cal fatigue which is purely muscular.
but which has the mental and nerv.
GUS element added to it.
Strain of Endurance Flights.
l have seen men crawl down from
their aeroplanes after long flight and
have seer their friends rush M to
them to shake hands in congratula.
ton for noteworthy feat. And have
seen the hand dropped at once, for 1t
could not respond to the grasp that
was given it. There was no life in
IT. 1t hung limp. inert. pcwerless and
feelingless from the fatigue Of grip
ping lever with little or no change
OF position for so long time
Yet endurance flights such as those
made for the Michelin trophy and
prize are flown over good courses
clearly marked by pylons or posts. and
almost invariably over good grounds
that provide safe landing places at
any time. In this way there is as lit
tie as possible Of nervous and mental
strain. Otherwise such flights as that
of Henri Farman. who stayed up over
eight hours. would be impossible.
When these long flights are made
across country the nerve and mind Ell
ter into the equation against the man.
He faces uneven and probably broken
land untitled for a quick decent If any
thing goes wrong, and he frequently
dies across country that Is unfamiliar
to him. and that keeps him in a mental
uncertainty that adds q great deal to
the physical fatigue he has to suffer.
The Greatest Strain Of All.
Those of us who are foolish enough
to climb for height have all Of these
torments infinitely multiplied. and.
added to them. we face conditions that
are not met with in the ordinary
work closer to the ground.
To most people the strain OF altitvllc
climbing appears to be only a matter
Of enduring the rarefied air met with
q couple of miles above the earth, but
the big torture comes with tho sudden
descent-with the rapid change Of
pressures as we drop a thousand feet
minute or more-and this is indeed
torture long to be remembered.
In the early days of my altitude
climbing, when set the worlds rec
ord at Lanark. Scotland. / kept fight
ing for each extra inch as long as
there was any strength or endurance
left in me. l struggled at the top IN
til 1t was useless to struggle any long
er, and then, with all my strength
gone. there was nothing for it but to
fall back to earth with my aeroplanc
pointed as sharply toward the earth az
safety would allow.
When the Head Feels Like Bursting.
l came down like thunderboIt. A.
the descent began the pressure began
to change rapidly with my entering
into heavier and heavier strata Of air.
and began to feel pains in my head
and ears. These pains got worse with
every second of the descent. and when
l was within hailing distance Of the
earth I felt as though something In
side my head would surely burst with
the awful Tightening about my ears
and temples. can appreciate now
the tortures suffered by medieval mar
tyrs who had bands Of iron gradually
frightened about their heads. The rec
objection of that descent at Lanark
makes me sympathize with them prr
foundly.
At Philadelphia last November rose
more than 5000 feet higher than at
I.anark and l fell faster on my de
scent to earth, but while my su;Terinrs
were intense they were not SO great a>
in Scotland for I had been told of
method of counteracting the increaSin"
pressure and used 1t with great sue
cess. I had shortly before this been
talking to Clifford r. Harmon about
some of his ballooning experiences and
had asked him If he had ever suffered
during rapid descents as l did at Ian
ark
II did quite frequently in my early
days." said Harmon. "hut Captain
Baldwin told me way to avoid 1t"
~What is that?" I asked.
"Swallow-swallow constantly" said
Harmon.
So on this plunge from the clouds
above Philadelphia. when my nerves
were racked to pieces and my physi-
cal faculties were utterly worn out.
suddenly thought Of this scheme when
the pressure became painful on my
ears. and the relief was immense
Effect Of an Hour In the Air.
An altitude fight Of this kind does
not last long according to the time If
the watch. 1t seems ages. but my
barograph record for my highest climb
0,S97 feet. showed that 1t took me jus,
about fifty minutes to reach the maxi
mum altitude 1t could not have taken
more than four or five minutes to de
scend. but my plunge was SO rapid
that the ink could not flow fast en- ugh
from the stylo Of the instrument to re
cord. so l cannot tell exactly.
Assuming that the total fight from
the time of starting to the time Of
landing occupied one hour. the physical
strain of such work can be imagined
when say that started in fine condi
ton, fresh and feeling strong and equ !
to anything, yet when ! landed in tina:
empty field at Oreland, fourteen mile.
away from my starting point. was So
utterly worn out and helpless that l
could not climb out OF my machine ~,