The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1912-08-16
WARD WILL SAIL .KYGH
THRILLS IN HN>STUN7'

! Ward cannot be beaten. He has
achieved a name among the bird.
men of this country. He will cut
capers in the air next Saturday and
Sunday afternoon. The fair ground
is the place. The ascensions will
be made at about three o'clock in
the afternoon. There will be a mum.
Der of thrilling stunts. Speaking
of the flights made by Ward at Win
nipeg, The Free Press of that city
contained the following story:
Four successful flights, the last of
which carried him over the heart of
Winnipeg and directly along Main
Johns Park, marked the activities
of Jimmy" Ward and his Curtiss
biplane yesterday. Wards evening
flight, which was viewed by thous-
ands of people, from down town
streets and homes as well as by the
crowds at the exhibition grounds,
was much the most spectacular ex-
hibition of aerial navigation that
Winnipeg has yet seen, and created
great enthusiasm.
The intrepid little aviator left the
exhibition grounds shortly after
| eight o'clock and after a long circular
swoop over the prairie to the west
of the grounds, he headed back dir
ectly over the grandstand and shot
over the city as far as the city hall,
where he turned north and continued
above Main street past the Canadian
Pacific railroad tracks. He then
| headed east to Elmwood and re-
crossed the river near st. Johns
Park, continuing west past the ex-
hibition grounds and landing after
a beautiful dip from an altitude of
1000 feet. He was in the air for
! twenty-five minutes.
Watched by Thousands.
Wards flight was closely watched
by tens of thousands of eager eyes
in all parts of the city. The hum of
his propellers and steady roar of his
engine attracted attention when he
was not expected, but the news
spread quickly and the movement of
traffic on all the downtown streets
was halted for several minutes as
interested spectators craned for a
better sight of the bird man flying
over their heads. Ward handled his
plane beautifully and had climbed
the sky ladders to a height of well
over 1000 feet before he started
back to earth. He passed over the
city hall at an altitude of about g.
900 feet and was climbing steadily
as he worked north, but all the time
the hum and roar from his machine
was plainly audible on the streets.
F. w. Drewry, ex-president of the
exhibition board and one of the
hardest working of the directors,
was among the first to greet Ward
when he alighted in the centre of
the field opposite the grand stand.
He thanked Ward heartily for his
spectacular contribution to the ex-
hibition attractions.
l. "Looks Like Fine Town."
at was nice riding tonight and
she looks fine town from up
there" was Wards succinct summing
up of the flight which he said was
made under weather conditions as
nearly perfect as could be asked.
The aviator was presented to the
crowd in the grand stand immediate
ly after he had descended and was
greeted with a roar of cheering when
he appeared on the platform. 1t was
announced that he will fly twice
daily, afternoon and evening, through
out the course of the exhibition.
Earlier in the day, Ward took to
the sky three times and made short
flights over the prairie to the west
of the grounds. He went up twice
shortly after the noon hour, when
there were but few visitors in the
exhibition grounds. Ward did this
simply to keep within his contract