Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1932-07-17

date from the time when, youth
of IL. he sailed before the mast in
"Windjammer" and this month will
see former Lieut.. Comdr George r. Pond at
the head of the first commercial aerial ore
transport system.
Pond, who left the for the more glamor-
Gus calling of the air when the aviation in
duStry was an infant, has become one of avia-
tons pioneers. and Is an authority on heavy
load transporting endurance flying. aerial ex-
ploration and design. With this background
he will che may be in operation by this time.
for news travels slowly from the undeveloped
North) apply the principles, savings and IA
cilities of the air to the prosaic field of
hauling confined to mule SINNERS, barge
captains and freight maulers.
It was Pond who trained the famous Floyd
Bennett for Admiral (then commander) Byrd,
in the worlds first tri-motor ship, the jose
phine Ford, in which he himself had just
completed about $4,000 miles Of trail-bazing
flight fer subsequently established airlines to
South America At the time he was lieu
tenant commander in the Naval Reserve.
1t was he who instructed Sir Hubert wilkins
Arctic pilots-Lieut. Ben Eelson and Maj.
Thomas Lanphier-in tri-motor flying and
who, later. from the remains Of wilkins two
unsuccessful planes, built the Southern Cross,
in which wing Comdr. Charles Kingsford-
Smith made his historic fight to Australia and
around the world. He taught Kingsford-Smitn
blind flying" navigation and heavy-load pilot
ing for 10 months previous to the flight.
Tales of the new-found riches of the North
are already beginning to seep back-and the
season has barely begun. The problem is COR
waS) to get the ore out.
And when adventure presented itself again
in the offer of the Detroit capitalists who are
backing the Canadian project-Pond accepted
From Echo Bay on Great Bear Lake, only
a few miles south Of the Arctic Circle Ponds
ore-trucking transports will begin in July, their
shuttle flights to waterways, Alberta, the near
est railhead each carrying about two and
half tons of precious silver and pitchblende
Oadium) ore. On the return trips the planes
VIII carry supplies for the men inside"
wen more men to work what has been
called "the most highly mineralized area yet
discovered on the face Of the earth
The mineral area is almost 1000 miles from
waterways, from which point the ores will be
carried to refineries by rail- The airplane is
the only available means of carrying the
minerals from their Arctic bed to be refined
for civilizations use.
At only two of the year planes
60 In to the lake country and return. Between
December and April aircraft equipped with
skis make the flight, landing on the soft
snow that covers the frozen lake. Prom July
on the lake itself.
Under contract to the Radium Corporation
Of Canada Ltd, Pond plans to be ready to get
the line into operation the lake
opens up the first part of this month, and the
flashing wings Of his sky-going ore-trucks will
probably precede the army of bonanza seekers
expected to invade the Arctic hunting its new
found riches this Summer
Ponds life of adventure began when he left
his home in the Coast Range Mountains OF
California at the age of IL, and shipped be
fore the mast in, a sailing ship Later he
transferred to steamships as q cabin boy,
apprentice seaman, and still later went on up
tho ladder an officer. He now holds an
unlimited license navigator or chief officer
Of ships on any sea.
In 1913 the newborn aviation industry in
trigued him, and he made his first flights at
Sqdantrum, Mass. Later, he continued at Long
Beach Calf. where he flew with Earl Dough-
erty. Returning East, he continued to fly in
termittently while attending school and work.
ing Boston newspaper man-writing q
few short stories and special articles the
side.
The World War called the Harvard student
and newspaper man back to the sea as an
officer in the United States Navy.
night encounter in the North Sea laid up
teNant betook himself to the Gosp0rt School
Of Special Flying. in England, where he learned,
with members of the Royal Flying Corps. tech
nieal and flight training. After three months
he returned to the United States for aviation