The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1911-01-08
note$ and I1ew$
of Interest
1855 BY m. +. ". 1888

For years and years men have been
trying to navigate the air-now it is sue
Icessfully accomplished, but in many
cases paid for with the precious price of
human life. The tragedies of the air,
will they, through mans daring, con-
tinue and make sad the fact that this
great achievement of aerial navigation
takes toll of human life Among the
famous pioneers in aeronautics was
Captain Beaufry. His ascent with Gra-
ham, June 10, 1924, is mentioned by Tur-
ner as an instance of remarkable rap
idity in ascending the highest point.
There are contemporary accounts of
the ascents of Montgolfer, Lamardi,
Baldwin, Blanchard, the two Sudless,
Barrett and Green; descriptions and old
prints of the aerial machine which looks
so strangely like the airship of the pres
emf day. There are also advertisements
for lost ballons, for the sale of the great
Nassau balloon, licenses for letting
them off, company hotations for build
ing them, large offers of money for as
cents, betting transactions, experiments
and ascents in Russia and Constntino-
pie and in America, in India and in Per-
STA
The conquest of the air has always
fascinated, men of science, from Archy
ates, who flew pigeon-shaped machine,
partly by mechanism, partly with the aid
of aura, or gas spirit, when Xenophen
was leading his warriors to the shores
of the Black Sea. There was a flying
man i'll the days of Nero who flew
across river, there were folks in medi-
eval times who St. Renigius tells us,
created clouds which rose to heaven by
means of pot with little imp inclosed.
Mrs. F. Nevill Jackson says that most
authorities agree in attributing the dis
covery of the true principles of aerosta-
ton to the Englishman, Roger Bacon,
who in the thirteenth century wrote of
the possibilities of both a lighter than
air and heavier than air machine. Here
is his conception of the aeroplane of
the future: There may be made some
flying machine SO that man sitting in
the middle of thes instrument and turn
ing some mechanism may put in motion
some artificial wings which may beat the
air like flying bird.
TWO AVIATION TROPHIES
The Gordon Bennett cups for air craft
are of solid silver and were presented
by James Gordon Bennett to the Inter
national Aeoronautic Federation for
competition The aeroplane trophy shows
a model figure of Victory with out
stretched wings, standing on the top of
a mountain, upon the front of which ap-
pears a group representing parts of the
machine, and clusters of oak leaves en-
blematic of strength. Above the head of
Victory is a carefully nodded biplane
with the aviator in his seat. The in
scription in French reads Coupe Cor
don Bennett" It was presented for
annual competition and the first winning
was in Rheims, France. by Glenn H.
Curtis representing the Aero Club of
America. The second competition was
held at Belmont Park, Long Island, on
October 1910, and was won by Claude
Graham White.
The trophy for the dirigibles repre-
sents a dirigible balloon above the
clouds led BY the figure of Victory. Lau-
rel leaves emblernatic of success are
twir1ed about the base. A biplane and
several balloons are shown on the sur
face of the dirigible The first competi-
ton for this cup was held at Paris in
1906 and won by the Aero Club of
America, the second held at St. Louis
was won by the Deutsche Luftschiffer
Verbund The third; held at Berlin, was
won by the Swiss Aero Club. The fourth
held at Zurich was won by the Aero
Club of America. The fifth, held at St.
Louis, was won by the Americans, Al
len r. Hawley and Augustus Post.