The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1913-11-16
MADE ASCENT IN U. S.
His First Trip skyward In a Balloon
Took Place In America
During Civil
War.

A.
BERLIN, Nov. 15.-Crushed and
broken as never before by the series
of tragic disasters to his gigantic
ships of the air, Count Zeppelin, whom
the kaiser not long ago characterized
as the greatest German of the CEN
tury," is undaunted in the evening of
his life and mistaken in his conf
dence in his aircraft by the destluc-
ton Of the navy's two aerial cruisers
81 1" and ~ q. 1t Is the sad loss
of life in these two disasters that for
the first time has bowed the white
haired old man. Never easy of APP
| proach, he is almost inaccessible now
| in his home at Stuttgart or at the
Zeppelin works in Friederickshafen.
! Count Zeppelin's unbroken spirit
/ challenges the worlds admiration. He
lis rs years of age. Few inventors
have encountered such relentless OBJ
stacles and overcome them by 80 in
domitable spirit. To none has fame
4 come more tardily and reluctantly.
For years he has wrestled and strug-
/; gled increasingly with the air Of
which he desired to be master. Once
| more, in his old age, he is down"
/ VIII be stay down" Those who
know him best, say not
4 Over confidence begets weakness. It
is the irony of fate that as Zepps lin
1 was at the very height Of his fame,
and the world was almost convinced
of the success of his system for aerial
navigation and England trembled at
the growing German aerial fleet when
the severest blows of his career were
; struck. Higher elements sent the IA
/" into the North sea near Heligoland.
I The backfiring of carbureter, an
accident, that has robbed many an en-
thusiastic automobilist of his car.
sent the majestic Il 2" and twenty
eight lives to their doom.
Zeppelin has buckled down to work
again With every accident he pores
over drawings and specifications,
seeking to find and eliminate the
: weak point. One after another he has
: found and conquered.
His friends say he will not admits,
that the loss of the navy's two aerial
: cruisers was due to any inherent
weakness in the system. They uues-
: ton the Judgment of those who sent
: the 81 II out over the North sea on
that stormy day They declare that
Zeppelin cannot be held responsible
for the proper working and adjust
! ment of carbureter They point out
that all the recent disasters were to
q military or navy cruisers manned by
: army or navy crews and not by his
own men They point to the fact
a that the passenger aerial fleet oper-
! ated by the Hamburg American
# steamship company, has carried APP
!. proximately 5000 passengers without
- injury to single one.
nj 1t is not generally known that Count
# Ferdinand Won Zeppelin made his
IL first flight in the United States. At
a. % years of age, Zeppelin as lieuten-
ant of cavalry, was Wurtemburg's
y military attache and observer with
n the union army in the American civil
s. war. Joining the army Of the Mis-
Of sissippi, he was attached to General
is Carl Schurz's brigade Zeppelin with
D. the daring that has Characterized him
Up all his life, was never content TO play
lg the part OF an observer. He had a
ii habit Of getting into the fray where
in sparks danced like fire flies, when
i'll sabres met sabres. Near Fredericks
burg, daring horsemanship capturing
and escaping on a confederate mount
is all that saved him from a southern
j prison.
lie 1t was during the civil war tina
I'd Zeppelin had his first taste of aero
ne nautics" He went up in halleoi
Is sent UP by the federal troops to So,
out the position of the confederates
Zeppelin not only volunteered bu
begged to be allowed to go up. A
1t everybody at headquarters was ION,
rs. of the young German. he was permii
ne ted to GO. And as writer puts 1t
: