The log cabin Democrat., 1916-04-25

flight and had to return to the lines. There remained consequently only three. Besides the captain there were Lieutenant D. and Corporal P.
 The three started off together and followed the Swiss frontier to the Rhine and then entered the Black forest and penetrated in the direction of the Wuerttemberg plant. All had gone well until they were within few miles of the latter when several Ger man chaser machines came out of the fog and spread themselves ill fan shape to bar the way to the French men. The latter were carrying ten hour supply of gasoline and load of bombs and their machines conse- quentlv were slow and not easily man. ageable
 An Easy Target
 They offered d relatively easy target and could not defend themselves very satisfactorily. Mir Jacques Montane, who describes the incident, says the first to withstand the shock was the captain himself, who was attacked by a large monoplane of the type of Lath- ans Antoinette. Two men were on board and the machine was well known by the pilots who operated on the AL satian side The French officer replied with so much valor that the aggres- sor judged it prudent not to insist and abandoned him in order to attack the machine of Corporal P.
 The captain endeavored at once to go to the aid of his subordinate, but the adversary was much more rapid and after a short fight succeeded in bringing down the unfortunate cor poral. During this time the captain was turning and swerving and did not lose a single point of the painful drama of which he was a powerful wit ness. But he decided to avenge him. self.
 After the fall of P. he started of on the way to the powder factory with the determined purpose of making the Germans pay dearly for the loss of his fellow aviator He flew calmly, SCOTIA ing the enemy who had gone above him in the hope of cutting him off and of attacking him, for the first success had encouraged the occupants of the big German machine.
 Lieutenant D., who had continued his way without stopping, now saw himself surrounded by enemy ma chimes. One of them brought him down, to the northeast of the town near the factory.
 This death was considered sad loss to the French aviation service. D. had distinguished himself several times in bombarding expeditions, often by night, and had been of boldness worthy of his chief
 The captain remained alone to ac- complish his mission. Instead of turn ing back, as prudence might have die tated, for he still had considerable distance to go before reaching his ob- jective, he persevered all alone against the German machines and went and cast his eight shells slowly and with great care on the powder factory. All of them struck true.
 His Sad Return. | A thick black smoke at once arose | to the sky, the black smoke which this same bold pilot saw for the third time at the same place within year He remained, according to his custom. | for ten minutes over the establish | ment, in order to make notes of the result Of his shelling. and then he started for home, along the same route | by which he had come, not bothering to make a single detour to avoid ene- my machines.
 The alarm, however, had been given, and when he arrived over the Black forest he perceived veritable curtain of aeroplanes waiting for him. They all swooped toward him in the hope of bringing him down.
 By clever maneuvering he avoided half dozen of them, and then he was obliged to engage in close combat with two, the second of which awaited him above L. The duel with the latter was particularly bitter and the captain ended it by forcing his adversary to take to flight
 Quietly he resumed his way toward the French trenches. mourning the death of his comrades. Near the lines he perceived French chaser machines which were awaiting the return of his squadron.
 One or them approached and made signs to inquire if the other aero planes were coming. The captain with a gesture of desolation indicated that there was no one to wait for. as he was the sole survivor of the exnedi. tion. And miraculous survivor he was, for when his machine was ex- amined it was found that the top and nacelle were riddled with bullets; some of them had even passed be- tween the captains legs. The SUD- ports were cut, the Joints broken and the wings torn by shell fragments.
 When they spoke to the captain about these numerous injuries he re- piled simply: