The interior journal. [volume] (Stanford, Ky.) 1912-1984, 1916-06-13

justified in every way the confidence
which the department heads had
vested in him. He devoted all of
the wonderful energy and talent of
his trained mind, and indomitable
courage, to mastery of the new sci
ence of flying, and became very pro-
ficient and expert, yet very cautious.
All with whom he ever conversed of
the work of his profession were i'm
pressed with the manifest enthusi-
asm he felt for his work, and yet
with his realization of its extreme
| hazards, and of the need for con-
slant vigilance and caution. When
here on a short furlough during the
Christmas holidays, only few
months ago, he told the writer-his
cousin-that ninety per cent of the
accidents to aeroplanes and aviA1ors
were caused by recklessness on the
part of the pilot, ambitious to per-
form some daredevil deed, or taking
foolish and needless chances; and
that if ever he was the victim of
such, it would be from fault of the
machine he was flying and not
through the taking of any such
chances on his part. The dispatches
from Pensacola, bear out the state
ment that he was considered most
cautious and most reliable, and his
death was undoubtedly caused by
the fault of the machine and none
of his own.
Made Record In Mexico.
When Uncle Sam first took hand
actively in Mexican affairs and We
ra Cruz was occupied by American
soldiers in 1914, the flying machines
were sent down into that troubled
land, and Lieut.. Saufey with them.
There he gained quick distinction by
being the first American aviator to
fly over hostile camps, and the first
to draw a map of foreign territory
from the air, high up in flying ma
chine. He was fired upon number
of times by the Mexicans, but was
not deferred from his duty and steer
ing and controlling his machine with
his right hand, with his left hand,
he mapped the territory and shifted
his sheets with his teeth. The first
moving pictures of Uncle Sans aer-
oplanes were taken there, and friends
of Sauf1ey over the country, here
and elsewhere, saw him in action on
the screens.
Promoted to Instructor.
Returning to Pensacola, Florida,
where the permanent aviation base
was soon afterward established,
Lieut.. Sauf1ey was placed in charge
of its instruction department, and in
this work he was engaged at the time
of his death. Dispatches quoted
above tell of the records he had
made and the great work he had
done. He stood at the head of his
profession. He wrote several works
relating to it which were adopted as
standards of the service by the navy
department. Further honors, higher
rank and greater recognition were
all before him; his ambition was linn
itless; he thought big thoughts; he
planned deeds of high emprise, and
saw before the branch of the service
with which he was identified, the all
important part it is to play in the
military affairs of this country just
as the aeroplane service has done
with the nations of Europe.
But he was the true soldier and
realized the hazards of his life and
work and was ready and unafraid
to die when the call came-as so
soon and suddenly it did. How the
heart chords tighten and culver and
ache when one thinks of the great
and losing fight which this splendid
young man fought up there in the