Evening star., 1937-07-18
Bv Violet Sweef Haven


tween two points on the map
is up.
i Not long ago I returned to
washington, having flown from our
own airport to the n-Amerlcan Ash
attic terminal at Hongkong and back,
q distance of 26000 miles, in some
thing like 200 hours of flying time.
This jaunt. longer than circling the
globe, l accomplished-or rather it
was managed exceedingly skillfully for
me-without getting so much as a
scratch on my fngernall polish.
l had gone to sleep miles in the
Dir, with the hum of powerful motors
supplying cradle song.
On an isolated isle of the Pacific,
even yet never seen by any but a hand
full of persons, l have been driven from
the clipper ship anchorage by a uni
formed chauffeur and listened to San
Francisco orchestra over the radio
Uhile taking a shower bath in lux
urious hotel.
On still7smaller dot of sand, 1000
miles from any place, have returned
from watching bright-hued fish play
ing in coral gardens to dress for din
ner.
The trans-Pacific five-day air cruise
Is becoming such an accepted means
of transportation that since the inau-
guration of passenger service last
October the China clipper has been
used to transport Boy Scouts from the
Philippines to the jamboree in Wash
lngton, to bring stricken patients to
Eastern hospitals and to figure in we'd
ding trips. Even tiny babies are flown
across the Pacific now with parents
seeking an outing from the tropics.
But to begin at the beginning
The fight from the Capital to Los
Angeles exceeded all expectations. 1t
kas exciting taking off in the Mercury
flagship in early afternoon, clrcllng
pver the Potomac and heading across
The Shenandoah Valley to Memphis.
En- route we passed over Norris Dam
And hundreds of small Tennessee fires
Iet bv mountaineerS. From Memphis
ve didn't come down out of the skies
until we reached Dallas after mid
night. From there flying throuh
flouds and blackest night made one
of the strangest adventures OF my lie,
I felt perfectly safe and couldn't 60
To sleep for watching the clouds roll
over our wings Ind occasional stars
peeping down from the higher heavens.
Once nestled in my berth I was as
comfortable as if burroWing into moth
. .r's feather bed and certainly was
much more contented and comfortable
khan if l had been on train. Ihere
vas no pulling and tugging, no Whls-
cling, no stopping at stations, no Veno-
hg of apples, ice cream, newspapers
and kilograms.
DEFORE dawn awakened and
- looked out OF my big, square VIM
dow into the night. The red light on
lhe far tip of the monoplane wing
Ahone bright and clipper as red
robin. The sky was cloudy, and we
{ seemed to be riding on bed OF taupe
feathers I wondered how high we
/, Nere flying. Everybody but the pilots
was asleep, and it was obvious that
rode through the night with hardly a
nuiver.
NV bed seemed to rest on giant
hammock with an overseeing spirit
gently rocking me to and fro. 1t
Has as if / we're a babe whose mother S
fingers fondly touched the edge of
Its crib. 1 went back to sleep as
peacefully as child after hearing
a lullaby tune.
Before I dozed off there ran through
the loose ends of my thoughts the
child's lullaby: "Rock-a-bye baby, on
tree top - But somehow the
bough- breaking stanza failed to stir
even a tremor of fear. I was rock
Ing ever so gently, but I knew I was
not going to fall.
Writing about an airplane trip has
Its difficulties. If I had not taken
shorthand notes and kept notebook
constantly before me, all could have
night fight to Los Angeles was that
II had a nice time" 1t is remark
able how fleeting the memory is.
Harry Frantz, veteran correspond
ent of the United Press in Washing
ton, who few to Manila on the press
hight last Autumn, gave me bit
Of sound advice when he said, Write
fcverishly when you come to some
thing that looks interesting. You may
think you will remember it later, bu
you won't"
What gospel! I found you cam
write in the evening what happened
In the morning, because so much ha!
happened in the afternoon, and tn,
memory is tickle. To have photo
graphic eye, unless you have an unus
ual mind, you almost have to have {
pencil in hand.
SHORTLY after breakfast the mex
morning we passed over the Saltor
Sea, that body of water below ses
level which has in its floor a factor,
= Of salt, could it be procured Aloni
, the edge of this strange sea are muc
spots, mud baths and highly miner
allied hot water
Next was Palm Springs, the MAN