Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1930-07-13
LONELINESS MARKS.
HOP OVER EQUATOR.
Flight From French Guiana to
Brazil Almost Devoid of
Human Habitation.

For a lonesome airplane trip one
need not seek out the North or South
Poles. A flight across the Equator,
from Cayenne, in French Guiana, to
Para, in Brazil, was almost as devoid
of any sight of human habitation, &C
cording to a dispatch from Frederick
Simpich, in charge of the National
Geographic Society's aerial survey of
seaplane paths from New York to
Buenos Aires.
I'VE zoomed across the Equator one
afternoon at 2:15 o'clock" Mr.. Simpich
writes. On an 8-hour flight from Cay
enne to Para we hit the Big Mark in
the Amazon delta, just east of the north
end OF Mexiana Island, on our 169-nlile
hop across the mouth of the worlds
mlghtiest river.
No Habitations for Two Hours.
"For more than an hour we were out
of sight of land. Even before that, in
the huge northeast shoulder of Brazil,
what an empty land! For more than
two hours, after flying over the Oya-
pock. near the Guiana border, we saw
no human habitation.
Flying thus into Brazil from the
north, one wonders where its $4,000, 600
people keep themselves. It was not till
after We turned inland, half way down
the inside coast of Maraca Island, in
search of lonely gas station on Lake
Monte Negro, that we again caught sight
of human beings. Now ar-separated,
straw-roofed huts appeared and finally
a tiny settlement. Then little known
Lake Monte Negro, a mere puddle of
fresh water in an infinite waste OF salt
marshes.
"'I flew around for two hours hunting
It, the first time brought a plane down
this way said Pilot Hawkins. To get
hnr frNyI Do TfToh ay RI
q steam launch, then canoes and on the
last lap the Indians carry the cases on
their backs. Gas delivered here costs q
dollar gallon
Landing in Jungle Puddle"
'This jungle puddle, from high above,
seemed too small to land in. But, after
many turns and careful calculations,
Hawkins set the big Argentina safely
down: although at the last minute ne
had to jump a floating log which would
have smashed our hull had he not seen
it in the nick of time. Our Indian
helpers with bows, arrows, and spears,
and some fish and turtles they had
killed, were waiting to man the gas
pumps. A storm blew up while we
worked, ruff1ing the little lake and aid
ing US with its strong wind to get our
heavy craft off the water.
Heading into the binding rain. US
Ing all our l,0UU horsepower, 6dWk1IlS
raced the big boat the full length of
the pond and jumped into the air. With
only seconds to spare We cleared the
tree tops and headed south. A purga-
tory, indeed, watery wilderness OF
empty islands, dismal swamps and dead
trees stretches for weary miles till you
reach the River Araguary. Crossing it,
We came soon to the muddy banks Of
the Incompatible Amazon itseh-a vast,
yellow, sinister sea before which puny
man can only marvel at the majesty Of
nature You sense the colossal power
and magnitude of its mighty, moving
bulk when you fly its far-flung delta
banks and see its mud flats covered
with countless thousands of giant forest
trees, wrenched by the roots and scat
tered like matches.
Snakes, CrocOdiles, Cattle.
Bearing southeast, we skirted the
channel islands of Caviana and Mex
lana, split by the Equator, crossed the
east end of the great wooded isle of
Marajo with reed fish traps in its
estuaries, countless herds of cattle, giant
snakes. crocodiles, jaguars and wild
river pigs, and turned south Tor Para,
or Belem as it is also called. .
ct crawled up into the pilot house to
get a full view of the city from high
above Wheeling over its busy docks,
coal barges and many visiting steamers,
we landed, completing the first great
lap of the long aerial survey Of sea-
plane paths to Argentina"