davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Evening star., 1938-08-14

340-horsepower engines. 1t has wing
span Of 70 feet is 81 in length and
carries a crew of only two; pilot and
radio operator.
AS normal airplane, the Mercury
can take of with gross weight Of
only $4,000 pounds and its estimated
range at this loading is 2,400 miles.
Launched from the Maia, its gross
weight can be increased to 20.500
pounds and its range to $500 miles
For this range. however, 1t must carry
1.180 gallons of gasoline and 81 gallons
of oil, leaving only 1000 pounds for
useful payload, regarded as wholly
insufficient for commercially econom-
ical operation. Its estimated cruising
speed is about ITS miles per hour.
THE Albatross, a landplane type,
was developed for Imperial Air
ways by the DeHaviland Aircraft Co.
especially for transatlantic service.
Made Of wood and plasaic composition.
it is low wing monoplane powered
by four 5l0-horsepower engines. 1t
has wing span of l05 feet. an over
all length of II feet inches and
carries a crew of four. It has gross
weight of $4,000 pounds and an esti-
mated craising speed of 2l2 miles per
Evening star., 1938-08-14

hour. Over range Of $500 miles
however. its estimated payload Is 1000
pounds-exactly the same as the
smaller Mercury in air-launched con-
dition.
The improved Empire flying boat,
Cabot, Is the first Of . series of the
same design and IS based upon the
flying boats used last year for the
transatlantic survey flights The gross
weight of the Cabot is $4,000 pounds,
approximately 10000 pounds greater
than the original Empire type. It
is a high wing monoplane powered
with four horsepower sleeve value
engines. giving 1t q cruising speed
Of approximately 160 miles per hour
1t carries crew Of four.
Seperate routes have been laid out
for these three types Of aircraft. The
Mercury westbound. is to fly from
Southampton to Foynes and there
will be air-launched for Montreal.
From Montreal she will fly to Port
Washington, N. Y. Eastbound her
route Is from Port Washington to Bot
wood. Newfoundland. l.07l miles; to
Horta. Azores. 1907 miles: to Lisbon,
1850 miles. and home to Southhamp-
ton, 922 miles.
Evening star., 1938-08-14

RY BREAKING up the return flight
into relatively short hops. it is
possible for the Mercury to make the
trip as normal seaplane without
the benefit of air launching, as Is
necessary for the 2,7l5-mile hop from
Foynes to Montreal westbound. Her
total distance westbound is 1898 miles;
eastbound, 1850 miles.
The Albatross is scheduled to fly
from Hatfield Airport, London. to
Dublin. $50 miles; to Hattie's Camp.
Botwood. 2,o25 miles: to Montreal,
$50 miles and to New York, $50 miles,
total Of $3.50 miles westbound.
Return flights will be over the same
route.
For the Cabot the route will be
Southampton to Foynes, 35l miles: to
Botwood. 1895 miles; to Montreal,
800 miles; to New York. 327 miles.
The same route will be followed east
bound.
The second flight Of the Mercury
westbound is scheduled for about
August IS and return from Port Wash
ington about August 81.
Early in September the Albatross
Is to make its first flight from London
to New York and return. During the
Evening star., 1938-08-14

latter part Of September the Cabot
is to make her first trip. Early in
October the second flight Of the Albat-
ross Is scheduled from London to New
York and return and during the latter
part Of the month the Cabot is sched-
uled to make a second flight. Early in
October . second Albatross type land
plane is to be flown from London to
Hattie's Camp, Newfoundland, where
it will remain for special research
flying. The Mercury Is to leave for
Port Washington again during the
latter part OF October.
THE German program on the Allan
tic for 1898, marking the third
successive year Of experimental oper-
ations looking toward establishment
Of a German commercial air service
across the North Atlantic, calls fol-
28 survey flights, or IA round trips
by airplanes Of the Deutsche Luf-
thansa between Berlin and New York
The first of these flights began July
81. with the catapulting of Diesel
engined flying boat from the Azores.
The same techique employed In
previous survey flights in 1896 and
1897 Is to be continued through this
Evening star., 1938-08-14

bones. for Key West lies smack in the
center of the finest fishing grounds in
the world Around it at all seasons OF
the year may be found the leaping,
sporty tarpon, king of shallow-water
game fish. The passes and cuts
abound with barracuda, the tiger of
Southern seas. with grouper. amber
jack, kingflsh lin season., jackfish and
shark. Out in the Gulf Stream, which,
Strangely enough, lies south Of Key
West instead of east. as it is OF Miami.
anglers find sailfish. marlin OF the
white and blue varieties and dolphin
and wahoo Anywhere you 60 around
Key West and through the keys area
you will find unsurpassed fishing,
even on the tide-flats where the sporty
bone-fish comes in with the tide and
blisters anglers reel-scorched fingers
with the ferocity and speed of his
initial run.
TWENTY-THREE years Of rail trans
portation from Miami to Key
West ended on September 2, 1895,
when the worst hurricane in the his
tory of the Florida keys struck north
Of Key West, centering around Mate
cumbe, Islamorada and Tavernier, to
kill hundreds Of people, including sew
eral hundred war veterans working on
the keys road. and completely wiped
out more than 40 miles of the rail-
road tracks and trestles. Those tres
ties stick up there today out in the
middle of the watery waste, still liv-
ing testimonials to the courage and
engineering ability Of Col. Flagler and
his men. But the rails never again
will feel the quiver of onrushing
locomotive. The automobile has sup
planted the rails as the connecting
link between Key West and the North.
Soon after the 1885 hurricane a
ferry was put into operation between
Upper Matecumbe Key and No Name
Key, a distance of about 40 miles
over the shallow waters of Florida
Bay. It took matter OF six hours
to make the trip on the chugging. slow
ferry at q rate Of about miles an
hour. and ferry space was at a
premium Arrangements had to be
made in advance and 1t was a labori-
Gus, all-day trip. Now. on the Over
seas highway. you can make the same
run in five hourse or less, for the
Florida speed cops are lenient and
don't raise too much fuss II you kick
the. old bus up around so and let her
roll. And there's plenty Of temptation
to do just that. They've done fine
job of building 20-foot highway down
through Homestead and Key Largo
and out over the keys to Key West.
THAT hurricane must have been
an awesome thing. The keys
around Matecumbe stand only five or
six feet above the high-water mark,
and the storm, coming out Of the east
at 00-mile-an-hour speed, lifted the
vast waters Of the ocean right up over
those low-lying keys Persons on the
keys, unless they could get north before
the ocean came over, had little chance
! although some uairaeulouS escapes were
Evening star., 1938-08-14
Key West, Spanish City of
South, Is Built Amid
Tropic Scenery.
Bv Walter McCallum.

40 TO sea In your automobile.
4 Travel 100 miles into the
I T ocean behind the wheel Of
~ your motor car and visit
Evening star., 1938-08-14

from Miami Beach north. Another
small stretch OF beach lies at Luther
Pindar's fishing camp at Boca Chica
Key. The reefs run in close to shore
and the water is shallow for hundreds
OF yards out from the beach.
At A casual glance you'd think the
main industry in Key West was
gambling. Almost anywhere you turn on
Duvall street, the main drag" OF this
town of 10000 persons. you will hno
a spinning roulette wheel or the click
ing dice in operation. But Key Vests
main drawback is the water supply.
They are talking now Of running
main down along the Overseas High
way to supply the city and the places
along the keys with Miami water.
But that's a problem for the future.
You'll notice every house in Key west
has oversize water spouts and cistern
located somewhere off the galvanized
roof. That's to catch all the water
that falls from the sky. and they don't
have much of that, barring the rainy
season in September and October,
which also is the hurricane season.
Nor is Key West place for rank
vegetation. The water supply enters
into 1t. but the soil problem is harder
to solve. Scratch the scanty topsoil
and you'll find. only few inches down,
the hard rock of the keys. A garden
where common northern flowers grow,
and where a few vegetables are raised,
is one of the show spots of the town.
So is the Rose Garden" a combina-
tion bar and casino where few roses
bloom the year round. Coconut plans
there are in profusion, with the rare
umbrella palms, and some vegetation
not found anywhere else in the United
States. but nowhere is the rank jungle
of tree-covered Cuba, 80 miles away,
apparent. The United States Govern
ment maintains a naval hospital and
a naval base at Key West and used
rs garrison a regiment Of soldiers in
an old Spanish fort, whose archaic
cannons still frown from puny en-
brasures. But the military aspects OF
the city don't amount to much. They
would in time Of war, for then Key
West would become the southern out
post to protect the cities Of the lower
Gulf Coast from naval invasion.
IVES, we have tarpon every month
of the year. OF course there
are more Of them in the spring ane
summer, but they're here all the time.
So spoke an old fisherman to me, aftel
he had torn of his forward running
light trying to get his boat under the
low, wooden highway bridge at Bocs
Chica Key to SAKE a 15-mile rur
around through Jack Channel ant
Key West to the best tarpon grounds
West Of Boca Chica lie the numerous
mangrove islands and wide channels o
Jewish Key, really collection o
islands rather than one. You cal
find man-sized tarpon rolling II
those channels any, time. And righ
In Boca Chica channel, which tn
highway crosses, there are plenty o
them. I've seen hundreds Of then
Evening star., 1938-08-14
EUROPE IN A NIGHT
Four Great Nations Move to Completion
of Scheduled Service by Air as
Heroes Receive Acclaim.

world. now in progress at Seattle, indi-
cate that these great flying boats will
exceed every specification set for them
by the operating company. They are
believed by American aviation en-
gineers to be several years ahead of
any European aircraft in production
for the highly competitive trans-At-
lantic service
The 1888 Atlantic program of Great
Britain's Imperial Airways, according
to announcements relayed from Lon
don. is:
ITO extend the considerable research
accomplished by the 10 trans Atlantic
survey flights made last year. and to
advance preparations toward early es-
tablishment of scheduled British
transatlantic service. Imperial Air
ways will undertake a second series of
is experimental flights across the At
lantic through the next 80 days.
THE purpose of the flights will be:
Cd To test the performance of various
types Of flying equipment for ocean
service. 90 To train flight personnel
in the problems of transoceanic air op-
GRAFTON. 90 To familiarize the opera
tions staff with the co-ordinated
meteorological .and radio guidance
services arranged through the CO.
ordination of facilities of the air min
istry of Imperial Airwavs and those of
Pan-American Airways."
THE current British program in
cludes the use of three types of
aircraft designed several years ago for
transatlantic experimental operation.
These are the ''pick-a-pack" combi-
nation, the Mara Mercury, Short
Mayo composite aircraft; the Alba
tross four-engined wood and plastic
composition landplane, and an en-
larged version of the successful En-
pire type flying boat, the first of
which is the Cabot.
1t was the Mercury, catapulted from
its mothership. the Maia, in flight
which made the first crossing of the
1888 season, from Foynes, Ireland, to
the st. Lawrence River at Montreal,
Canada. The Mercury. designed by
Maj. Robert H. Mayo. chief technical
director of Imperial Airways. is an ex-
perimental airplane intended to have,
as result OF its air launching from
larger aircraft a far greater flying
range than would be possible If it had
to take off under its own power.
The flying carrier. Maia, is modi-
fled Empire flying boat which has the
sole function of carrying the Mercury
into the air. fully loaded, and launch
ing it at full flying speed. The Mer-
curry is a high-wing monoplane sea-
plane on twin floats, powered by four
Evening star., 1938-08-14
ROUTES AWAIT SHIPS
Pan.American Has II Complete Ocean Flight
Crews Available-55 Crossings to
Be Made This Summer.

year. The Diesel-engined seaplanes
Nordwind, Nordmeer and Nordstern
are to be catapulted in turn from
the mothership Schwabenland on
Horta, in the Azores, for Port WASH
ington. They will be catapulted from
the mother ship Friesenland, posted
of City Island, across Long Island
Sound from Port Washington, for the
eastbound flights to the Azores.
The route followed on all flights
Is to be from Berlin to Frankfort, 26S
miles; to Marseilles, 504 miles; to
Lisbon. 891 miles; to the Azores, 1850
miles, and to New York, 1897 miles,
. total Of 5,110 miles.
The German seaplanes are low-wing
types built by the Hamburger Flug-
zeugbau G. m. b. H., q subsidiary OF
the Glohm and Voss shipyards at
Hamburg. They have a wing span
of 80 feet, length Of "a feet, gross
weight of 37,47s pounds, including
4 useful load of 1892 pounds, but
q pay load of only $50 pounds. Each
Of the four Deisel engines develops
500 horsepower. Cruising speed is
157 miles per hour. The range, when
catapulted. is 3.l07 miles, the fuel
capacity under these conditions being
1880 gallons OF heavy oil.
THE Nordwind and Nordmeer were
used on last years survey pro-
gram. The Nordstern Is new addition
to the German Atlantic fleet and has
a higher cruising speed Of ITS miles
per hour. Each Of these airplanes
carries a crew Of four.
Beginning with the July 81 flight
of the Nordmeer, the Germans have
scheduled one flight In each direction
each week for IL consecutive weeks.
Connections are to be made in both
directions at Horta with q twin Diesel
engined Dornier flying boat operating
on the Azores-Lisbon sector and at
Lisbon, with a mail plane for the over
land Lisbon -Marseilles-F s-Frankfort-Ber-
lin route.
Air France, the French national
airline, has completed plans for at
least six survey flights between Bis
carosse, the marine base near Bor-
deaux, and Port Washington by flying
boats of Air France Transatlantique,
its ocean subsidiary.
The first flight has been scheduled
tentatively to begin between August
IS and 20. 1t will be made by the
huge six-engined. Acton 1t. de Vais-
seau Paris flying boat which previously
visited the United States after flight
across the South Atlantic. This air.
craft will carry a crew Of six; no COM
mercial Cargo Of any kind.
In anticipation of the start of survey
flights, the special meteorological base
Evening star., 1938-08-14

Fishing Grounds Finest in
World and Invite to
Sport Luxury.

mind would have devised cheap way
to convert sea water into fresh water.
I asked one Of the leading lights Of
Key West about this. TOO expensive
an operation" he said. But we'll have
city water piped down here from
Miami" He was optimistic, for that's
a job that will take years to complete.
And you still pay 2 cents . gallon
for the water in which you bathe and
which you drink. Notice. Don't use
tap water for drinking. Telephone the
desk If you want drinking water" read
a sign on the bathroom door OF one
of the larger hotels in Key West. That
was the tipoff.
But to Offset that you can find some
of the quaintest restaurants In the
town. And one Of them, II you are
somewhat OF q gourmet, serves the
most delicious turtle soup you ever
dropped q spoon into. Doctored with
a soupcon Of sherry it's dish fit for
a king. The big sea turtles supply
the meat. They catch 'em there up
to 500 pounds.
Some funny yarns are told OF the
several million dollars poured into Key
West by the Federal Government in
1886 and 1887. One of them has 1t
that bright soul thought it would be
q great idea to have . bridle-path
around the island. It was put in,
through mangrove swamp and over
shoals, at cost around $4,000. Then
some one thought about finding out
whether there were any horses on the
island. They found there were two
both Of them draft animals.
They have an outdoor swimming pool
fronting on the pitifully grand and
wide Roosevelt Boulevard. main high
way into the city. Carved out Of the
coral rocks, it provides swimming for
the virtually beachless population OF
the city. But, so the rumor has it, the
pool is out Of commission part of the
time. 1t nils up with sand at high
tide. But whatever Key Vests short
comings, it is glamorous place to visit,
in every sense of that overworked
world. It's part Of the United States
but walk down Duvall street and you'd
fancy yourself on the Prada in Havana
Indolent, straight-backed, slim Cubans
lounge down the street and parade
under the shaded store fronts. Sloe-
eyed senoritas carry umbrellas to keer
of the hot sun, and bare footed colorec
men sit on doorsteps. It's America and
yet not America. It's the one city
in the United States which is largely
Latin. and wholly unwilling to work ur
q lather by hard work. But the sur
shines hot IN Key West.
Evening star., 1938-08-14

~ y 10 sea III your autOmOOlle.
Travel 100 miles into the
7 ocean behind the wheel Of
~ your motor car and visit
Americas quaintest and one OF its
oldest cities without stirring from the
wheel of your car. See Key West.
most Spanish city in the United States
and most American of Spanish cities
north of Havana. Travel comfortably
on a fine highway over the swirling
cross currents of Florida Bay through
tropical scenery unmatched anywhere
in this country. Watch tarpon leap
and porpoise roll without stretching
your legs. Fantastic? 1t can all be
done now with minimum of effort
and at very small cost.
One hundred and seventy miles
below Miami lies the one-third Span
ish, one third white American and one
third colored lin population) city OF
Key West. It's the city where the
cigars used to be made. and the ma
tives of South Florida say it is the
only city ever to have been ruined
by a railroad.
The story goes that when Col. Henry
M. Flagler, South Florida pioneer,
and the courageous and far-seeing
man who flung railroad down the
spindly peninsula from Jacksonville
to Miami and later to Key West,
finally stretched the steel rails to
Americas southernmost city, the ma
tives found they could get out with
out taking to boats. Great masses
of them left, among them some 10000
cigarmakers, who Travelled north to
Tampa and settled there. That's the
main reason you see few Key West
made cigars nowadays and why so
many of your favorite stogies come
from Tampa 1t all happened around
1912 and 1918. for Col. Flagler's rail-
road was completed in the former
year.
EOR % years luxurious coaches ran
= down the ITO miles from Miami.
straight south and shade west over
the Florida keys, linked together by
the bands of steel that spelled ruin
to the cigar industry of Key West
The Spaniards called it "Cayo de
Huesos," or key of the bones," be-
cause Of the quantities of human
bones they found there when they
landed in the 10th century.
Legend has 1t that the Caribs made
the isolated key, only miles long and
~ miles wide, their battle-ground.
. The only bones there now are fish
Evening star., 1938-08-14

lying in the swift waters Of the cham
mel, and shone the flashlight on them
as they lay ip wait for their shrimp
and crab food to come down with the
tide. It's ar eery sight, too. to shine
q flashlight on the massive pink eyes
Of big tarpon only q few feet below
you. They are night feeders, and the
best fishing Is at night. Hook one
from rowboat in one of the wide
channels. if you want some man-sized
sport. And if the tarpon jumps in
the boat get away from him fast. His
tail is a powerful weapon and can
break leg or an arm. He's no runty
little hardhead or even a bluefish.
Worlds finest bonenshing," reads
a sign near Rock Harbor. And it's
probably true. Only the tide flats
near Bimini can touch the bone-flsh-
ing along the keys anywhere from
Rock Harbor down to Key West. The
bonefish generally is rated the fastest
thing that swims His first run-with
light tackles like the getadsy Of
greyhound. But he doesn't run large.
An 8-pounder is good fish. About
40 miles above Key West is the world
famed Pirates Cove Fishing Camp,
one of the better places for tarpon
and other finny battlers. The Long
Key camp, famous for a score Of years,
was wiped out in the 1885 hurricane.
FROM Miami straight into Key
West you won't leave fine, hard
surfaced road. Toll is $125 each way,
cheap enough for the run down that
good road. All in all. it cost the
builders around $1,000. 900 to complete.
They paid the Florida East Coast
Railway around $685. 900 for what was
left Of its right of way after the
hurricane. You'll travel, If you want
little variation, on route "A through
scenic Coconut Grove. past the es-
tates Of the wealthy. and run on down
to Homestead, passing the little town
where a doleful kidnap-murder case
recently was solved by the G-men.
From Homestead the road lies straight
out over barren country, with wide
bitches flanking on either side, then
over a mile-long wooden bridge divid-
ing Barnes and Card Sounds. both
fine fishing spots. Then on down Is
mile-long Key Largo through the lime
raising country.
You'll notice along the way on Key
Largo some new concrete houses. They
are building them sturdier now. The
old ones didn't stand the wind and
the ocean 20 well. About IS miles
below Miami there used to be q pretty
little camp called "Caribee Colony.
That. too, Is gone, but other camps
are springing up along the keys, ane
soon you will be able to find an at.
tractive stopping place anywhere OF
the route. You will marvel at tn,
vistas Of ocean and bay. and you'll
shout with Joy over the gorgeous
coloring of the watery shadows OF
every side. The colors alone are wortt
the trip.
IN A city 70 completely surrounded
By, water you'd think some brish