The Ward County independent. [volume] (Minot, Ward County, N.D.) 1902-1965, 1919-08-14
RIDE IN CLOUDS WITH
DAREDEVIL JACOBSON
Independent Man Musters Up Courage
and Gets His BrOgans OF the
Earth for 25 Minutes.

TEe writer drove out to "Daredevil'
JacObson's hangar Saturday evening
to enjoy watching the other fellow get
"a thrill, but did not have the least idea
that we would ever muster up courage
tOpermit any power on earth to pull
our 225 pounds Of avoirdupois more
than ten feet away from terra firma,
but before we left, had enjoyed the
very novel and altogether pleasing
sensation of riding for 25 minutes up
among the clouds, sometimes flying at
a speed of nearly three miles minute.
Jieut. Jacobson had just come down
from flight and we walked over to
the machine to see what it looked like
at close range.
Here, get off that old straw hat
take Off your coat, put on these Cog
giles and leather helmet and step in,
forya'm going to give you the ride of
YOUR life, ;" Daredevil" said to US. Now
we have known Chet Jacobson for
nearly 20 years, ever since he was a
little boy riding his dads, Matin ia
cobson's horses on the race track at
the Gtourth of July celebration. We
watched Chet grow up here and often
wondered why he never got killed
driving that old Rambler automobile
at top speed. We were proud of him
when he enlisted in the aviation ser
vice. and have always admired his
ability, but we want to say we never
had SO much confidence in him before
and never were we SO proud of his
ability as an airman, until after he
Rad hauled us up in the clouds, pro.
ducing a thrill that can be secured in
no other way.
We stepped into the machine, for
we didn't want to be bluffed out. "Here
be careful and don't step on the plane
you'll break it." We got into the seat
as carefully and as gracefully as pos
sible. The seat creaked. Would some
thing give away under the strain
Would those wires hold and what
, would happen if they didn't? These
thots flashed across our mind.
"Don't touch those wires with your
,, feet. They are my control wires," the
aviator cautioned us. We didn't.
"Gee, don't know whether l car
get this strap around you or not. We'll
sure have to strap you in for Pm go.
ing to give you few turns he said
The belt had been made to fit Majo1
Person, who by the way says he is
going to take ride in the plane, but
by strenuous tugging the belt was ad
justed and to say that the writer was
tucked into the seat is putting it mild
ly. We admit that we were a gooc
deal like the Irishman who said he
didn't care how high he would go pro
vided one foot touched the ground, but
after few simple twists of the pro
peller, we were off. And when we say
"off" we mean "OFF," for in an in.
stant the earth began to drop away
the hangar began to diminish in size
apparently and everything below look,
ed just little queer.
For about the first five minutes, We
, were little nervous and as we looked
down from height of couple thous
and feet, we wondered just how il
would seem to fall. And then we be-
came interested in the landscape ant
forgot all about being nervous. II
makes US nervous to crawl up onto E
ten-foot chicken coop, but as we sal
in the plane and looked down nearly
/. nalf mile below, there was not tn,
| slightest fear We had gone up in {
fierce wind and jacobson states that il
is easier to rise in the face of stiff
wind than on a calm day. A gust Of
wind would catch the machine and fo1
an instant, we would be out Of bal
ance, which was noticeable, but under
the master hand of the aviator, the