The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1911-01-01
MOISANT, The DARING FLIER
WON TUE LIHER7l PRIZE AT
THE IiST NOUENT.
Flew \cross the british Channel the
sixth Time lie Had Tried to Hun an
NcrupIanc chicago Horn. He'd Iiccn
u Central American Rev iOnist.

made hu; five previous flights when i'm
August of last year he flew from Paris
to London in a Blcriot monoplane. carry
ing passenger
His only previous flight of consequence
was from Etampcs to the 1ssy military
grounds, when he took Garros. another
airman. az passenger II was the fourth
nc he had left the ground and the first
lime that he had flown outside the aero
drome II was less han four weeks since
he had first taken a seat in an aeroplane.
One remarkable feature of the Paris
TO London flight was that Mofsant had
never been north of Paris and steered by
compass something that had never been
done before
When he told his friends Of his Intention
of making the flight he was told that it
was impossible.
Moisaut said: Il will make not only |
he trip but will make il still more difficult |
by carrying n passenger. ON account |
of n series of accidents Moisant was mere
than two weeks completing the journey.
Hd was in the air only about eight hours. |
just before leaving New York for the
last time Moisant told a SUN reporter that !
high flying is safer than low flying. He |
called attention TO the fact that in nearly |
every case of a serious accident the
await or had been flying from twenty-five
to 300 feet above ground
Near the earth, he said. "the navigator
| OF an aeroplanc is at the mercy of meteor
illogical phenomena which do not beset
him AZ great attitudes. Men who 90 down
to he sea in ships fight shy of the coast
| in time Of storm and steer boldly for and
| find safety in the wide reaches and stu
pendous depths of the wind whipped
ocean What the coast is to the navi-
! ga' or of he sea he cart h is to the naviga
tor of he air. and the furt her he can get
away from it the safer he is"
| Moisan''s : theories were demonst rat ed
by he fact that only few days ago he
made a safe glide back 10 earth from an
altitude of 9.Vn feet. and vest erday when
he fell 10 death his machine dropped from
"A height of 100 feet
Moisant also made it clear in his dis.
cusson that the compass il an instrument
that il a. importan in aerial H. in sea
navigation He thought that to the
magnetic needle he owed largely his sue
cess no, only in his Paris to London fight.
but also in winning the $4,000 Statue OF
Liberty prize He thought the $4,000
prize came TO him because he steercd his
so horse power machine largely by COM
pass. whereas his chief competitor Ora
ham White, who piloted 100 horse
power machine. scorned the aid of the
compass and relied solely up on land
marks.
Moisant was born in Chicago 81 years
ago and was a grandson of French ana
dian immigrants He was one of a fam
ly of five. two sisters and two brother
With the brothers he went to California
several years ago. where he was an archi-
tect From there the brothers went to
Central America.
He and his brothers conducted n bank
ing business in Honduras, Salvador and
Nicaragua IL was not too strenuous
and they had a lot of time for playing
They also had time for adventures, mostly
in flibust ering, John Mosant once took
! possession of "A wrecked ship and in the
hope of big salvage stayed aboard her
, until sha was about all under II cam.
; about this way:
| tramp freight steamship had been
blown on yhe rocks of the Honduras
coast she had siOU,Ory aboard and John
, Moisant know it The crew had all got
ashore somehow. Moi~ant pu, forth
= from shore in little dugout when the
gale had abatsd, but he waves were Il III
running high He was swamped sey
] oral times but the dugouI foated, and was
easy 20 rlgh, I'M. hi- fashion, constantly
= spilled out and a. constantly showing
: his wav toward IN" wrecked tramp,
Moisant reached IN" steamship and got
aboard her
!, Next morning the sea had gone down,
The tramps captain and crew and the
:. agent Of the lin" row"d out to the wreck
. Tncy We're dumfoundcd to see John
MoiSant leaning on the bulwarks with
n revolver pointed at them. When they
', didn't re-' oa-- at his hail he fired "A shot
q They stopped and parleyed with this wild
American Nothing came of IL. Aioisant
- was aboard and tn" ship and cargo were
e, h:, 10y the law OF the sea so long as he
. could hold possession. The captain crew
and agent of tn" line rowed back and com
II plained to th. American Consul that
Moisant had Threatened to blow their
=, head. of il they drew near.
" The American Consul. attended by a
troop Of Hondurdi soldiers, went with
the captain and agent on IA second visit.
Tne Consul argu"d with Mosant that the
. contain and crew should be allowed
-, aboard and Mplslnt's claim could b"
" settled later tn" American did not
trust tins arrangement. and said So In
At a moment of impdtl"ncc the command
"a ante of the Hondllran troop ordered his
-, men 10 row forward, There was a pistol
crack and bull"s pierced two holes in the
Commandant"' somhrero. The rowors
backed water in haste. CapsiZing the boa,
j. and drenChlng Tia" native uniforms
That upset III" whol" discussion and thcr,
was a general retreat.
II was arranged to resume the argu
m.nt with Moisaut backed by Who'll,
Y, battalion Of nativ" artillery but that nigh
re- there came a gal" worse than the on,
,o which had pIt the tramp ashore, Mois
" ant stayed on tn" old freighter while he
back brok" and she labored down into tn
H. sea The American Consul went out tn
is next morning and took Moisant out of tn
to vessels top rigging, which was all tina
remained ahov" water, He had lashc
o. himself there.
,d In 1870, the three Mosant brothers %
in mess for helping along "A reyulutio
~ in salvador George and Alfred Moisan
lis We're caught and imprisoned John Mo
SAINT they didn't lay their hands ON. II
y was in the field at the head Of -ina
On band Of NiCaragrian convict- whom ia
m leaders of the revolution had promise
= their freedom if the revolution was
,s success Several thousand Salvadc
troops marched forth against John Mo
"A. sant and his feeble army. The America
~, knew he could not face such odds in ope
90 battle. SO he cut his way through tn
~ lIaIOr army = lines "A nd led his lii le ba n