Evening star., 1936-09-06

HtS Us puTL OJ LHS UT.CO
Bureau of Investigation. A orc
silence, broken suddenly by the tele-
phone call from Louisburg.
News that she had cleared the ocean
that had seemed too vast" on hel
map, as she expressed it before TAX
ing of, was greeted joyfully in Eng
land.
Weather conditions off the New
foundland coast early today were such
that the New York Weather Bureau
commented:
If Mrs. Markham has got through
such weather, it is almost incrde:
ible"
Even after first reports indicated
she had sighted land from her little
monoplane, there was grave doubt
that her gasoline supply would carry
her more than 300 miles farther te
her goal. New York.
The flight from Abingdon Airport
near London, to Floyd Bennett Field
New York, called for . total journey
of $3.50 miles. She had hoped to set
her plane down at journeys end with
in "a hours of the time she took of.
Nervous Before Take-Off.
Mrs. Markham, whose adventure;
have carried her to many countries
including Africa for big game hunt.
ing, had waited nearly a week fol
favorable weather reports. She wa;
noticeably nervous just before the
take-off yesterday. striding up AM
down beside her plane and smoking
many cigarettes.
Harry Richman and Dick Merrill
who flew the Atlantic earlier this week
and are awaiting favorable weather
reports pending a return flight, ex.
pressed surprise when they learned
the 33-year-old matron had hoped
II would have liked to have seer
her before she took off," Richmar
said. for I could have warned hel
of foul weather of the American
coast"
Thirty-mile headwinds met her al.
most at the outset. and she was buck
ing stubborn winds even before she
left the Irish mainland and pointed
out over the challenging Atlantic.
The Messenger carried what seemed
like pitifully scant gasoline supply
260 imperial gallons. Her plane, how
ever, is much smaller than those
usually used in transatlantic at
tempts, and the fuel supply was con-
sidered adequate.
Relied on Own Skill.
The fact that she was without radio
added to the hazards she faced. With
out the advantage of receiving bear
ings, she was obliged to rely entirely
on her own skill as navigator.
Mrs. Markham launched her flight
with the knowledge that no woman
ever had succeeded in an East-West
flight of the Atlantic to New York,
although Amy Mollison, flying with
her husband James on his second
flight, got as far as Connecticut in
1898.
Amelia Earhart Putnam, the Amer
ican flyer, crossed from West to East
alone. Several women have taken
part in attempted transatlantic
flights, all of which failed to reach
their objectives.
Mrs. Markham has been flying five
years. Once she few from Africa to
England and was forced down in the
jungle.
The Messenger is the same plane
Mrs. Markham few when she crashed
in Germany in 1882 while touring Eu-
rope by air. She had a narrow escape
from death then, even as she had to-
day.
Her only food when she started her
flight yesterday was q package OF
fruits and nuts, and jug of coffee.
The flyers 7-year-old son Gervis,
waiting excitedly behind at their home
in Hurst Green, England, clapped his
hands and danced when told tonight
his mother had succeeded tn crossing
the Atlantic by air.
PLAN PARIS JAUNT.