This was one of the few places where some difficulty was experienced on the United States Tour. When landing at the Minneapolis airport Colonel Lindbergh was forced to taxi hastily into a hangar at one side to avoid the huge crowd, which had broken through the police lines and was rushing out on to the field. Because of this the period which would have been available for the program at Minneapolis was reduced to half an hour, so that it was necessary to make a rapid passage through the city instead of a more leisurely parade, which had been planned (see text, page 16). moving rapidly and the horses would A MESSAGE DROPPED AT THE SUMMER We took off from Pierre early the next morning and followed a straight course to the President's summer home, near Rapid City. Colonel Lindbergh came down low and dropped a message which we found later was delivered to Mrs. Coolidge. There were several people grouped on the steps, but he could not recognize them because of the speed in passing. The advance plane was forced to stay at a higher altitude because of its heavy load. We could not gain altitude quickly and might have had trouble in getting out of the pass. From the Summer White House we went on past the Black Hills, Sheep Moun tain, Harney Peak, Rapid City, and Deadwood. From Custer, near Wind Cave National Park, we crossed over the border into Wyoming. From here we followed a fairly straight course past Fort Laramie into Cheyenne. WHEN A MAP BECOMES ALIVE Reading the map on such a flight as this is an interesting game. There was always something to be seen. The cross-country pilot becomes used to seeing his map take life in the country that passes below him. Only from the air can a traveler get this feeling of having the earth moved by for his inspection. He glances at the map and sees a mountain range indicated at a point eighty miles ahead. At the moment there is only a level prairie beneath him, but within a few minutes a bluish haze shows on the horizon. This is the mountain range, still more than 50 miles away. To check his location he looks again at From an altitude of 2,000 feet or higher, farming lands present a huge checkerboard appearance. Sometimes the units are irregular in shape, but in many places, as in the Middle West, they are extremely uniform. In this picture Colonel Lindbergh had just surprised the occupants of the advance plane by shooting by at high speed when they did not know that he was within miles of them. He had deviated to fly over a city and caught up with them unexpectedly. His ability to do this demonstrates his accurate knowledge of air navigation, for in each case he had to figure a problem considering both the ships' speed and the location at the last time they were together. The slight tilt of the wings was caused by the right turn in which the Spirit of St. Louis was swinging. The white triangle at the upper left of the picture is a highway which formed one of the many landmarks used in flying cross-country. the map. There should be a river running diagonally across the course 15 miles farther on. Ten minutes elapse and the river is directly below. It twists through the foothills just as the black line twists across the map in his hand. Cruising back and forth in this way, the flight to Cheyenne seemed short, although it took more than six hours. We were soon down on the ground again, meeting the reception committee and starting upon another program. Several desired deviations from the course to Salt Lake City made us start THE STATE CAPITOL AT DENVER, COLORADO After circling over the dome on leaving Denver, Colonel Lindbergh climbed up higher for a close view of Longs Peak. From here he went on past the Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park. early. We did not fly the air-mail route, but headed south over Clarks Peak, Steamboat Springs, and Craig, Colorado. Farther on, we flew over Strawberry Peak and Provo, Utah. GREAT SALT LAKE APPEARS IN MINIATURE We came over the mountain range at a high altitude, from which Great Salt Lake and Salt Lake City seemed to have been constructed in miniature. We descended slowly and watched the old city of the Mormons take form beneath us. The great Tabernacle stood out distinctly. Several miles to the west we saw a terraced ledge and came down to look at it. We found that this was the Bingham Copper Mine. A dozen trains moved back and forth on these ledges with their loads of ore. The trip from Salt Lake City to Boise, Idaho, took us over Great Salt Lake, with its railroad causeway extending completely across from east to west. We flew at a low altitude, but saw only a solitary boat off to one side. Our course for Butte lay over the Sawtooth Range and the Salmon River. The Sawtooth Mountains live up to their name, as they rise to very sharp peaks for miles and miles. There were many picturesque scenes along this range. At one spot we saw a deep hollow in the side of a mountain, rounded as if it had been turned out in a huge lathe, except where it had been broken at one side. The bottom was constantly in shadow because of the overhanging rim. There was a layer of snow at one side, though this was below the point where snow would usually be found (see illustration, page 25). EMERGENCY RATIONS CARRIED ON FLIGHTS OVER MOUNTAINS In all our flights over mountainous or sparsely settled country we carried emergency rations and canteens of water. We did not expect any trouble from our engines, but we were prepared for forced landings. Even in the worst of the mountainous country, we saw many places RANGE HORSES IN SOUTH DAKOTA GET THEIR FIRST VIEW OF A PLANE Far out, near the Bad Lands of South Dakota, the two planes came across a herd of range horses. Apparently they had never seen an airplane, for they showed the greatest fright as the aviators swooped down for a close view. The few domestic horses seen on the tour in the eastern part of the country did not display such terror as these range horses showed. where we probably could have landed without injury to ourselves. We did not carry parachutes, for there was no need for them. Parachutes are valuable for experimental, military, and air-mail flying. In such operations, pilots work under all kinds of conditions. In commercial flying, of which our tour was an example, parachutes would have been a detriment as added weight. "DAYS OF REST" SPENT IN FLYING Our arrival at Butte was to have been the beginning of a vacation, but we decided to take one day of this period for a visit to Helena. We also decided to make long deviations on the flights to and from Helena, but we did not announce this. Glacier National Park was the reason for the first change of course. We reached the park after flying over Swan Lake, Mission Range, and Flathead Range. This journey over Glacier Park was well worth the effort of the entire tour. One snow-capped peak after another sent us circling about it in admiration. Once we broke through a patchy layer of clouds and flew above it in the sunlight. Here and there a higher mountain projected through like an island at sea (see illustration, page 26). Cruising leisurely, we saw practically all of Glacier Park in a few hours. It would take months, and perhaps years, to cover it, using any other method of transportation. Even then it would not be so satisfactory, for if we wished a better view we had only to climb higher or to fly around at a different angle. Regretfully, we left the park and flew back over Mount Slyen and Mount Cleveland. We also saw the Black feet Reservation and circled over Great Falls. A strong wind was blowing as we turned toward Helena. We had to run our engines at nearly full throttle to arrive on time. There were several inquiries as to what had happened to us between Butte and. Helena. The distance is only about 80 miles and we had taken six and a half hours to get there. We explained vaguely that we had been circling around. We FLYING OVER THE BLACK HILLS OF SOUTH DAKOTA On the way from Pierre, South Dakota, to Cheyenne, Colonel Lindbergh deviated from his course in order to fly over President Coolidge's Summer White House, near Rapid City. This took him over the heavily wooded slopes of the Black Hills. Over territory of this kind the modern aircraft engine proves its worth, for pilots now have little fear of forced landings. were afraid some one might try to dis- A VISIT TO THE WONDERS OF YELLOW- The next morning we again took off early, with the famous Yellowstone National Park as our objective. On the way across the Montana plains we saw herds of sheep and came down rather low to wave at the herdsman. The effect was not what we had expected. The sheep became alarmed and closed in from all sides. In a few seconds they had wound themselves into a huge spiral, which became tighter as each one tried to get near the center (see illustrations, page 29). The herdsman stood shaking his fist at us. We did not seem to be welcome visitors, so we zoomed up from the milling sheep and went on. On the way to Yellowstone Park we passed by the Big Belt Mountains, Crazy Mountains, and the Cayuse Hills. We also circled Billings before heading westward again. While still in the plain country we saw a group of curious formations. They were |