The Daily Alaska empire. [volume] (Juneau, Alaska) 1926-1964, 1934-01-15
Chapter Four
ABOUT LANGTON

THE world remembered with a
sense of shock and grief the
vanishing OF the flyer Langton. A
contemporary and friend of the al
most equally famous Grahame,
Langton had disappeared at some
point on his course during that flight
that was to have taken him from
Valparaiso on a wide arc along the
Andes and up through Central Amer
lea to New York.
That mystery was quite recent in
the public mind. 1t grieved sincerely
for the loss of it's beloved idol in
the wake Of the Caribbean hurricane.
The Gulf and Caribbean coasts
were 'combed from New Orleans to
the mouth Of the Amazon. During
the first frenzied search it was ex-
pected o find Langton encamped on
some forgotten beach like a modern
Crusoe. Later, after weeks of sys.
tematic and painstaking beachcomb.
ing-in the literal sense of the word
with no trace of airplane wreck
age found, the searchers were forced
to subscribe to the popular theory
that Langtoh and his land plane had
gone down at sea. ises
1t had been demanded that Frank
Grahame be recalled from the Grin
oco headwaters country to assist in
the search. but this was manifestly
impossible as Grahame's portable
radio set was no longer communi-
eating with civilization.
When finally Grahame emerged
from the jungle with the remnants
of the Cadwallader party. it was
natural that he be asked for his
theory as to Langton's disappear
ance. His theory. however. was not
accepted with much credence.
It was little incredible. The odds,
certainly were against his being
right. For one thing. while there
were thousands OF miles of coast.
any part OF which might have been
the scene of Langton's crash.
Grahame's misty theory localized it
as having happened along only a
certain few hundred miles of it
the east coast of Yucatan: more
over. he believed that Langton had
gone down not on the coast or the
sea nearby. but in the country west
of that particular strip of coast line
"VOU see." he told the board of in
4 vestigation. "Langton had made
shorter hops over that route" He
put his inger on large map on the
table. "Langton would have swung
up the east coast of Nicaragua and
Honduras. crossed the Gulf of Hon
duras and then flown straight over
Yucatan toward the Mexican Gulf.
1t is probable that the storm caught
him near Yucatan.
But" the board objected,
Granting that such might have been
the case. he would have been flying
into a wind from the north. which
according to the laws of hurricanes
would bear more toward the east
as the storm progressed. That.
Grahame. would cause him to drift
out into the Caribbean"
"True." replied Grahame, "that is,
II we were talking about almost any
body except Langton. Langton was
a good flyer. and knew his storms.
Seems to me he could have pulled
out of most any blow (. . Another
point while that wind would have
shifted toward the east. as you say.
nevertheless the hurricane itself
would travel on westward sweep.
"Langton's ground speed was
close to two hundred. Just what 1t
actually was or what his course was
with the various elements OF wind
currents buffeting him. is impracti-
cal to figure with any accuracy. 1t
was an off-season hurricane too.
which may not have acted like a
usual one.
"Cail 1t a hunch. gentlemen. but
believe Langton crashed on land
within reasonable distance of the
east coast of Yucatan."
Ordinances theory received fits
share OF publicity but 1t was not
generally accepted.
His Questioners left the subject at
that point and asked him about his
own deeds. For Grahame was some
thing Of hero himself.
There were few who had not |
heard Of Grahame. F. A. Grahame.
The newspapers had made much OF |
his initials when he had returned
from Venezuela some months after
z