Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1918-06-20
AvIATORS Tell. or
PERIL0US FLIGHT
After Disastrous Landing They
Had a Long and Dangerous
Tramp Through Wilderness.

Honolulu I. H., Ny maiD.-Radlv
burned by gasoline which flowed over
him from head to foot while he was
imprisoned in his fallen ana collapsed
seaplane Maj. Harold Clark. military
aviator, returned this week from The
Island OF Hawaii, to which he flew
from Honolulu or the first inter-is!and
iiisl' ever made and ended in disaster.
MAYOR Clark and his m~echanician.
Serst. Robert u. Gray, told a thrilling
STORY OF their adventures and of how
Gear they We're to death after being
'ost III the clouds and fog that hung
over the island of Hawaii.
They said that after starting from
Pearl harbcr. they reached Waiinku,
Maui about noon, remaining there
Intil 8 O'clock. They left Wailuku. ex-
pcctins 10 reach iIilo about $50. But
after they mad crossed the channel be-
.wcvn two islands, they ran INTO heavy
clouds, which generally gather on the
Tanks OF Mama Kea mountain every
afternoon. Hoping to escape these,
Major Clarke rose sharply. but only
IAN INTO denser cloud masses ana was
unaole TO see the ground. This decided
MIN to seek a lower altitude. and he
descended rapidly out of the clouds,
but only to run into q heavy fog that
clothed the earth. BY this time he had
lost his sense OF direction and he did
not know where he was. He almost
ram INTO the side. of the mountain, he
says, and had several narrow escapes
from crashing into trees. The motor
was acting slussishly. the major says.
and this continued with his loss; of
direction. decided to take IL chance on
!andlng. He was flying in a seaplane
equipped with %pontoons, not With land
ing wheels.
In order to save the life Of his COM
pa'lon, Major Clarke. wnen the ma
chime neared the dimly aeen ground.
tilted its nose sharply up. allowing
II to settle tail down, which jmperiled
his own life.
hung there Il shot time, then crashed
through and fell so feet to the ground.
Sergeant Gray was %uniniured and
easily eNtricated himself, but the caul
OF the machine collapsed around
Clark's neck, holding him fast. The
poured out over the imprisoned man.
Fortunately, he had shut off the spark
OF his motor and the gasoline did not
catch fire, but continued to pour over
his head and body, severely burning |
him. He was swathed in bandages |
when he returned to Honolulu.
Sergeant Gray, after long effort, was
able to free Major Clark from the
wrecked plane. Then they set fire to
the aircraft i'll the hope of attracting
dttellioT, luf t1eN round themselves
in the midst of a formidable jungle.
Leaving the burning machine, the
men started to fight their way through
the Gungle. They found it a tremen- |
dous task. the growth in that part of
the country being almost impenetrable
and the ground lnarshy under foot,
while the trees tower to great heights.
Finally they found u stream and pro-
ceeded to follow it down. In doing this.
however, they were compelled to make
their way down the sides of many
waterfalls. clinging precariously to
yielding shrubs and grasses which con-
stantly gave away in their hands and
threatened to precipitate them TO death.
For As hours the two men
fought their way through the jungle
without food. Finally they came out
into Il clearing surrounding a Portu-
guese homesteader'S cabin. They found
the homesteader engaged in reading a
newspaper account of the disappear
aMce and probable loss of the two avia-
tors.
Hope for Clark and his companion
had nearly been given up when they |
.telephoned to Hilo. A big delegation
in automobiles came out to meet them |
escort them to the city.
Major Clark says he will attempt an
other flight to Hilo in another and
better machine. The one used in his
last flight cannot be recovered, he says.
as it would be impossible to bring it
through the jungle even if taken
to pieces.
at- L