The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1919-02-12
TELLS OF HIS
FIRST AIR RIDE
Telegraph Operator Describes
His Sensations.
ASKS ANTICS Be CUT OUT

NM hNICN Be CUI UUI
Says Outlet camped on Roof Of His
Mouth While Enjoying His First
Trip Aioft-Nose Dive Seemed to
Last Two Months-Earth Seems Like
Relief Map or Mechanical Drawing
Of Some Kind.
George 7. Secrist, telegraph operator
OF Bucyrus, o., and before the war
student at the Ohio State university,
well known among the telegraph ope-
rators Of the state, now with the sig
nal corps at American post office No.
D02, somewhere In France, writes as
follows to his parents concerning his
experience In riding in an airplane for
the nrst time:
II happened to meet one of the
fellows / had known In the States
who had just returned from the front.
licensed aviator. He promised to
take me for a ride and, having always
had q longing for q little joy ride
through the clouds, / decided TO take a
chance. At q set time / met him at
m aviation camp. where he invited M
to get into his red devil bombing
plane. I could see nothing red about
Il excepting the stripes on the bottom
Of the plane. / jumped into the seat,
from which / could see the top Of
Arches head from his eyes up, so |
couldn't tell whether he was laughing
or not, or wore a serious smile, but
HE eyes twinkled merrily as we arose
from the meadow into the unknown
etAer.
Sublime Sensation.
''The earth seemed to be dropping
away from US. rather than that we
were moving. I had previously told
the old kid that 1t was my first trip
aloft. and because of that / would
rather not have him try any antics
with his steed for fear Of upsetting
my digestive apparatus; so, without
mlshap we climbed, coasted and re-
mained motionless. then climbed
axtin.
II one can call a sensation beau
tif4l' this would be the place to use
that word. A more beautiful, serene
or sublime sensation cannot be found
on land or sea. 1t makes q fellow fee
N though he were suspended from
heaven by q manila rope and that one
Of the angels were swinging hin
around.
sOnce In a while the top of som
church steeple would be caught In thu
suns rays and reflect back a sharI
ray Of light, which only added to tht
novelty Of the event. / was thu,
amusing myself by taking a glance
downward once In a while. but never
for very long at a time. The eartl
seemed like a relief map or a me
chanical drawing of some sort. l wa'
rudely awakened just about that TIM
By Archie sticking up his index fnge
and glanclng at the 'ometer.' l forge
Just what kind of an 'ometer' 1t was
but / read on 1t, to my amazement
that we were up In the air 5000 feet
Z mile In the air and I felt as safe a
though ! had been riding first class Il
some French 'chemin de fer (railwa,
train).
I'VE were gliding along at the rat
Of Just 100 miles an hour. but tn
earth didn't seem to be retreating tina
fast.
Prepares for Worst.
ssn,< hs-<t tho c1o< +h;oLonu Jrnn
commencing the downward glide i nc
ttced I peculiar twinkle In the optic
Of Archie, and / prepared for tn
worst. ! knew he was going to tr
something. and sure enough he pointe
the nose of the ccnsarned chariot c
his right down toward terra firm,
and II I hadn't been buckled /
tighter'n q clam In that ~gum-foozle
bucket I'D have been left far benin,
probably hanging on to one orner {
the new moon or landed on one of tn
race tracks Of Saturn.
AT any rate, the sensation you 81
when you come down on a fast ell,
vator has absolutely nothing on tn
sensation. My entrails, including m
gullet, were camped right on the roc
Of my mouth, and, although this nos
dive Of his only lasted a minute or tw
Il seemed as though 1t must have bee
at least two months. But the tobo
gan finally righted itself and we coas
ed Z rood ten miles before the pr
p&ller started Its monotonous hummir
again.
"0h. It was a gay life, but he didn
try any o tactics, but yolplaned
the earth as beautifully as a chickt
takes dust bath, and 1T was on
IN hour after we had started until v
landed again In almost the identic
spot from which the ascent had be.
made"
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