The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1911-08-22
Atwood Got Lost in the Air and Could
No, Get Bearings Until He
Saw the Prison
Walls.
HE LOST MUCH TIME
Gasoline Ran Low and Forced to
AiIeht, Marking the First
Disappointment Of
His Trip.

SYRACUSE, N T., Aug. 22.-Lost !
with his aeroplane in attempting to
fly twenty-five miles from Lyons, N I
Y, to Auburn, Harry n. Atwood, the I
Boston aviator, who is flying from
ST Louis to New York, wandered"
about in the air almost an hour and
was forced by darkness to land five
miles west of Syracuse.
The delay caused serious set
back in his attempt to break the
worlds record in cross-country aero
plane flying.
Atwood ascended at Lyons with the
purpose of flying in an airline ninety
eight miles to Utica before night. Just
after he started he decided to detour
from the tracks of the New York Cen
tral and cut across country to give
the crowds In Auburn view Of him,
but he lost his bearings, and, not
wishing to alight, kept circling about
hoping to find Auburn. Over villages
and farmhouses he wandered without
avail
Anxious messages were sent over
the telegraph wires, but word came
back that after leaving Lyons he had
yentured off his course to the south
ward and nothing had been seen of
him.
The usual ten minute reports of his
progress were lacking NO telegram
or telephone communication could be
had with the farmhouses in the coun-
try over which he had disappeared. It
was 4.24 when Atwood left Lyons and
at $40 D. M he suddenly appeared
over Auburn and landed there Fear
full of again being lost, Atwood did not
venture away from Auburn until 6:45
D. M, when he ascended, uncertain as
to his destination
Then began another exciting search
for him, extending all the way to
Utica. All telegraph wires were
hurdened with the query, Where's
Atwood?" Ten thousand people IN
Utica awaited him until sundown
Syracuse also was kept anxious unit
at T:17 word arrived that he had
landed at Belle Island, five miles
west of Syracuse.
Atwood said that in his wan
derings'' he had flown at least seven
ty-five miles, but could claim for rec
ord only the forty miles betweer
Lyons and Belle Island. His lyins
time was one hour and twenty-eigh
minutes.
"It was the most exciting experi
ence in the air / ever had" said AT
wood. After ascending at Lyons
looked at the map and concluded
could find my way to Auburn, wher
/ knew lot of people would be dis
appointed If they did not see the aero
plane. I had gone ten miles perhap
when. sway from the railroad tracks
was at a loss to know wner
Auburn was.
ssThere was not sign Or roa
or anything to indicate the direction
/ kept going, sometimes rising TO
high altitude in the hope OF seeing th
town from afar. The farther | wer
the more confused I became.
"Soon the gasoline began to run 10
and I knew If | landed out there
might be miles from new suppl,
So / shot off in a tangent southWar
and in a short time, to my great 1o
I beheld what I took to be the Duii
ings of the Auburn penitentlary-
few minutes later landed there.
'"The reason didn't leave Aupui
sooner was that there we're sue
crowds there, without sufficient polk
protection, that had to fight u
people back. got into the air aga
as soon as possible, determined
make Utica without stopping. Ju
west of Syracuse darkness overtoe
me and had to land.
To-day / will disregard all sche
uled landing places and will attem
to fly as far as Albany, 16S mlies'
way of Syracuse and Utica