Douglas daily dispatch., 1927-07-02
l9 HOURS
(Continued from page One)

1&~ ~ANS
Continued from Page One)
-Four hours we searched for a
landing place and watched carefully
our gasoline consumption, OF course
getting nearer all the time to the
moment when we would have to land
"It was too dark to tell the nature
of the ground on which to land,
A Slight roughness of the ground
would have meant tragedy / felt
most keenly the responsibility for
the three gallant men with me.
II didn't feel that we could fly
on until the gas was entirely out
There would have been danger OF
killing people who might have been
beneath, for when it gets out you've
got no choice of a place to land
You've got to land right away
"That'S another reason why we de-
cided to land in the water. We saw
the revolving light and know there
was a beach, but the light was weak;
/ We dropped a navigation flare, but
| it gave little light.
I'VE circled around. It is hard
enough to land in the water during
daytime, but we had to land ct night
and could not see at all.
There was a sudden hard jolt and.
the water filled everything imrnedi
ately. Of course, the boys thought
only of getting to each other.
"None Of us could hear after the
| long hours OF the engines roaring
We were quite appalled, when we
could not hear the answers to ohr
calls. yelled and Acosta didn't
hear me at all nor Balchen
"There was nothing worse than
bruises and SHOCKS however.
1--WE got out our little boat after
quickly clearing out OF the cabinet.
We had some trouble pumping up
the trubber) boat, but rowed ashore
4 all right.
"It was almost high tide. We
were about 200 yards OUT.
CAEN, France! July i aP.-Com-
/ mander Byrd and his flight COM
panions, coming 'd1ere from Ver-Sur-
Mer, were the guests of honor tonight
at a dinner in the prefectoral place,
rendered by Maurice Helitas rrefect OF
the department of Calvados.
It was their second meal In three
! days and they did full justice TO the
toothsome French cookery. Among the
other guests were. the mayor of Caen,
H. Adams Gibbons, representative OF
Rodman Wanamaker, backer OF the
/ flight, and Captain Richard D. White,
naval attache of the American en-
! bassy in Paris.
The proceedings were enlivened by
! the clamorouS cheers of about a
thousand persons standing outside in
the drenching cold rain, eager to catch
a glimpse of the heroes.
I Their desire was fulfilled, for as soon
| as the dinner was over the flierS
stepped out on the balcony and we're
introduced separately to the crowd.
There were shouts for a speech, and
Commander Byrd readily complied
In a few words he told of his joy
at arriving in France. He explained
that the plane had carried enough fuel
to take it beyond into other countries
but that it always had been his desire
to set foot on French soil first.
While his words were being trans
lated, Lieutenant Neville held up the
Stars and Stripes and the French Tri
color intertwined, which brought a
tremendous burst of cheering. The
airmen then stood while corps OF
cameramen blazed away with flash
! lights.
Having satisfied everybody, the fliers
went to bed at the prefecture, tAes pre-
feet insisting that they spend theil
first night in France as the guests o1
the government.
/ His graceful invitation was strongly
backed by others, who strongly opposed
their original plan Of setting of
straightaway by automobile Sc as tC
arrive in Paris early tomorrow morn
4 ing
The other fliers also kept UP their
4 good humor The interest of all four
seemed to center in what could be done
to save the magnificent air machine
that had brought them across tie At
lantic.
All their clothing and everything else
they had with them was drenched, and
most of it ruined They had 70 borrow
clothes in which to attend a ceremony
4 in their honor staged in the villages
little hall usually reserved for feteS.
The weather was atrocious all day,
rain pouring from a cold gray sky 1t
was weather to make disappointed
| man feel even bluer than he might
otherwise.
One of Commander Byrd's bitterest
disappointments is that he lost much
of his scientific data in the sudden
flooding of the plane. The aviators
saved some of their precious records
however, and one of their first
thoughts was the sack of United States
mail which they carried. The mail was
soaked, but it was saved, and will be
delivered.
In their wanderings over France
Commander Byrd and his companions
think they may have been near Paris
but are not sure. The faulty compass
wobbled so badly that it kept them
flying in circles The compass failed
them some time after they had
| T1.,. scAo