Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1921-06-10
UP In The CLOUDS
Newspaper Reporters Get Away Up
And Into The Skies.
WILL BUY AEROPLANES CONDITIONALLY

Representatives of YorkvilIe Enquirer
and Evening Herald Start on Trip to
Mars-Get up Couple of Thouaand
Feet and Decide to Explore Rock
Hill and Vicinity lnstead-Story of
the Trip.
BY Jas. d. Grist
Rock Hill, June 9-From TO 10
about 1872 Wednesday night 1 was all
up in the air. Not completely flqbber-
gasted, understands; but maybe higher
than will ever get again, although
hope not. A couple Of thousand feet
up is away up yonder, I'll tell you.
BuzZards can't get that high and some
folks say that very few people of this
sinful world will ever get that high.
Personally. though as 1 said' nave
ambition and am very. very hopeful OF
getting much higher than that.
Jim Benton, who is city editor OF the
Evening Herald, Rock Hills evening
newspaper, was with me. He said he
was higher than he had ever been be-
fore. Like me- he wants to go all the
way; but he said while the wlnd
whistled through his teeth that IL ne
never did why he would have the
satisfaction of knowing that he was
once considerably off the ground, any
how.
Company on Trip.
Jim Benton who is married and mas
five children said he asked his wife IL
he could go before he left terra cotta.
Not having any wife nor any children
and an idea that it wouldn't matter
much If I did get bumped against the
ground sudden like, I didn't ask any
body. Besides, had been up before
and liked it. 1t was Jim Benton's first
trip But he acted as If he were as
accustomed to the air as Capt Eddle
Rickenbac acker or Capt. Elliott Springs
of Lancaster.
II all came about this way:
rjeutenants Roscoe Turner and
Harry !. Runser. former army airmeh
who own q powerful British aeroplane,
the only one Of it's kind in America
have been in Rock Hill with their
plane for several days giving cHhiol-
tion flights. They are also underLaN-
inr to educate people in Rock ELL ana
in other towns and cisies IN Soulh
Carolina in regard TO aeronautics ana
have rlans fnr an air mail Scr''''
icxtcnding over this section oil inc
country.
Miss Marie Fcwcll secretary ol inc
Rocl, Hill chamber Of commerce ar
ranged with them that Mr.. Benton ana
I should take hop as sort OF ol-
fetal representatives of the chamber.
She said something about going ur
hcrselr Eut there wasn't enough wlno
tn suit her or too much wind TO suit
bcr IT forget which, and besides IL was
"Wednesday and IL lot Of other things
and she didn't go
Ready For Flight.
So she ordered Benton and me up To-
ucther. Lieut.. Turner strapped one ol
those airman's caps about my he'"
and neck so tight that ! was remind
cd of the last time saw them put one
of those black caps on criminal theE
wore about tn hang. Then they put
ono nm Benton and he hollcrcd moro
air" and they loosencd it i bit. Then
VIC hopSped in the plane behind Lieut.
Runser. I got in first and then Benton
c,lddlcd UP tu me. The scat WAS very
norrnw for two. although W"ul"h
say ANYTHING about it if il had been u
good looking girl know instead "t "i'
Ecnton who was in there with me.
Tic nut his arm around my neck ana
cuddl"d UP close like some fellows !
! know used to do before the advent OF
u, nhihitiun, when there was a DIG con-
vcntinn in session somewhere. linen
If 7 20 the big ship left the ground ana
mt my arm around Icnton'S neck
and sort Of wrapped my foot around
his.
Then we started up--up-up in tho
air.
We weren't long in getting up there
either. I'll say VIC were not! In less
Than a. pair of minutes we were down
Ito Catawba river, which looked about
as big as Turkey creek looks when
itbcre has been q month of drnutll. Be-
fore we got to tho river we passed the
Country Club and we lmHglned VIC
could see the identical spot where '"hn
r.. Hoddcy. Ira r. Dunlap, w. NJ. Dun
lap. G. L. Cobb. Doug Tompkins ana
!othrr we'll known Rock HillanS have
lost a lot Of golf balls and Il lnt OF pa
ticncc in trying to learn To play goli.
Looking at it from an altitude OF
1000 feet. the golf course looked ike IL
was the most perfect one in the world
and maybe il is. Tho plowcd ground
along tho way looked like it WASH {
plowed. If any Of those people VINO
are said to live on Mars nr some OF the
other planctS. would come down To
within 1000 feet of this Vale nr Tears
and not come any closer. they could 20
hack home with a wonderful story for
thc folks about what earth is. we
didn't quite go to Mars. 50 I can't hand