El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-10-30

round top. At first it was nothing more
] than speck Of black against the blue
| OF the turquoise horizon. Slowly il
shlIted toward the south and Mexico
I until 1t was lost In the haze Of a bit
] Of vagrant cloud which lowered over
I the ridge Of the mountain.
straight from this clOud-screen shot
the thing Of flimsy wood and vibrating
steel with the master mind in con
troll The planes warped and the BIZ
plane responded instantly with a roll
ing rocking motion like the swell OF
the SURF IN a calm. SilhOuetted against
I the afternoon sky, the long expected
and long delayed cross continent flyer
sped along like great sea gull hunt
1 the darker clouds Of the lower bench
land threatened
Gradually the lines Of the duaI-pIaned
AIRCRAFT became visible until the out
Inc or the driver could be seen crouch
ing low under the upper plane, twist
ing mis- controls and varying leavers
IKE the captain Of a ship at sea. The
inevitable birds which are to be seen
whenever the air IS encrOached by the
man rivals, pigeons, hawks and little
held cleaners, Guttered from the
ground and tapped away panic strick-
en-, as II surrendering their primeval
supremacy of the upper air to the Gre
atOrs OF the earth
As the wind puffed and billoWed over
the mountain ridge the aerOplane
Qlpped and caromed like surf boat
Each puff Of wind brought the faint
Whlrr Of the motor as the thin metallic
blades cut the air with a sucking
sound like the rush Of the night wind
through cave. Louder and louder this
uutter grew until it was a distinct
sound as the perspective of the machine
gradually increased as 1t came near
and nearer. Neering from the south to
WestWardly course the aviator swung
his perfectly controlled car around and
seemed to head straight for the white
skeleton SparS of the wireless towers
&
viii beat its life out against the lighted
windows of the lighthouse tower The
controls shifted, the sun glistened
against the prOpellers and the planes
rose slowly until they skinned over
the tops of the gaunt white towers.
The Graceful Landing.
Dropping to the lower level again the
biplane swung lazily around In the in
ltial arc Of great oval which followed
In outline the replica Of the race track
below Once around and to the east be
yond the wireless station and the
whirring ceased of a sudden, the planes
tiled, the controls shifted and the TOle-
plane to earth began.
Straight as an arrow the craft float
ed down on the wings Of the wind until
the little wheels which looked so utter
~ useless while the big machine was
leaping along through the air. started [
spinning Of their own accord the ma
chine shuddered as If at the thought Of /
descending to sOrdid earth, then skid
ded along on the OverWOrked little BIZ
C1 l4t Mlte4S anu came 10 a SLOD IN the I
center OF deSOIate waste Of a cracked [
adobe with a cemetery on one side and
a waste Of mesa and mesquite on the 1
other.
Goes Quickly to Special Train.
Tall, CARRIED in q strange armOr of l
leather oil battered and slightly
stopped from his constant crOuching DO [
sitiOn in the biplane, the cross country |
flyer stalked stiffly to where his spe-
cial train was waiting, gave the signal
and was taken away before the enthu- 4
siasm- maddened crowd could reach the !
scene of his landing.
Coast to coast aviator Cal P. Rodgers |
had arrived in FL Pasu.
Yuma Sees Fowler Resume
Yuma, AriZ-, Oct. 30.-BefOre the en-
tire population of Yuma valley. in /
Guiding several hundred indians who I
came down from their reservatfO and
homes to get their first sight of an
aer0plane, aviator Robert c. Fowler re-
stunned his ocean TO ocean flight here
sunday Wet grounds prevented Fowler
from getting of the ground in his first
two attempts. His aeroplane was
wheeled onto a graded street and
third attempt was successful Some of
the indians came from the CocODa
Mexico, more than so miles
away.
Remains Long AIOft
AIaricopa AriZ. Oct 3O-In an at [
tempt to set a new American record for
sustained flight, aviator Robert q |
Fowler, transcontinental flyer. remained
llOft yesterday for four hours and 26
minutes. Fowler flew from Yuma here [
a distance Of 165 miles, by the South
7rn Pacific railroad tracks