Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1916-07-06

like hellee." I've also seen ma.
chimes so small they could be put ia
small room; when in flight they
looked like big bats. Talk about
romance. 1t is no idle talk this sug-
gestion that aerial navies will one
day "darken the sky" OF course,
Germany is keeping pace; directly
we get something new, she shoots
it down, examines it and improves
on 1t and so the game goes on
while the lawyers talk and the vest
ed interests grow fat and the men
of all nations go out to die. You
remember Kiplin's Queen Elizabeth
-GIoriana-says "But when my
tall young men, my fantastical tall
young men, come to me on their
Bonded knees and ask my permission
that they may go out to die for me.
All, that shakes me to the very mar
row Of my bones" The empire has
the same old stock. Thank God,
you'll find EN- all over here. l
never cease to wonder at EN-. saw
four deaths from flying accidents in
ten days between Paris and our
base.
One of the machines I saw crash
ed - was big experimental biplane
with two 225 hip. engines in her.
One OF the best known pilots in
France drove her slap into a tree
when getting off the gound; no one
could explain it. The tree was about
IS inches in diameter and it came
ND by the roots, leaving a hole 10
by 4 feet When you've helped to
pull the mangled remains out Of a
crash like that on a quiet starry
night with automobile headlights il
Eliminating the CORY wreckage, well
you don't sleep any too soundly for
night or two But Mars does not
stop in his stride for paltry little
thing like that; next day students
under instruction fly over the gang
of men carting away the wreckage
and the day after you start with
new machine you don't know for
200-mile trip in doubtful weather.
The first 20 miles are over wooded
hills in which you would not have
the slightest chance should engine
failure come to you; your course is
for 80 miles almost parallel to the
trenches and a deviation of 20
miles would bring you under fire
or within sight of enemy scouts and
you are alone and unarmed-and
these tall, fantastical young men
do this and never lose a feather
But then, there's no accounting for
fellows tastes.
Well, these youngsters can go on
doing that sort of thing after the
war If they want to, but for me,
I'm going to fly on machines
know, in weather l like, from aero
dromes that appeal to me, over
country l know, and darn this game
of taking fool chances.
l could make your hair curl with
true stories of the work these chaps
do at night, over sea, on land ma
chimes, looking for Count Zeppe-
Inns masterpieces, and it is all con-
sidered "in the days work" One of
my chums wrote me the other day
he had just returned from Verdun
where we had been giving friendly
wing in the air to participate in the
big Zeebrugge raid.
Well 1 haven't said much about
myself, for there isn't much to say.
I've been over to Ireland-rest cure
for five weeks; go back tomorrow
for medical survey, expect to go
back to France or to Mesopotamia
in few weeks time.
Cheer oh, write me when you
can; | dreamt last night l was pi-
loting my little single scatter fight
ing scout down Fifth Avenue in the
wee sma' hours to see what the
cross currents were like. III do that
when I come back to dear old New
York. Yours till the last kick.