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Show Says Will Rogers BEVERLY HILLS Well all I know is just what I read in the papers, pa-pers, or what I run into here and there. Not Ions ago when I was back in Chicago to see the West clean the East at polo, I run onto Jimmy Mattern. had met him before he made this last round the world flight, but this was the first time I had met him eince he got back from of his plane, he took her up off the ground again and then brought her down with no wheels to hinder him. In that way when he landed he did-ent did-ent nose over. Now I claim that was pretty hot aviating. Spraining his ankle in landing was his worst injury. in-jury. Its about two miles down to a river and he went down there and built him a kind of brush hut. He stayed there 14 days, on three chocolate choco-late bars, not only quite an accomplishment accom-plishment but the best add I ever heard o for chocolate. I suppose along with Jimmy and his other bad luck It was some Russian brand chocolate, and he cant get anything out of the add. Well then some Esquimoes came floating down the river, picked him up and dident seem the least interested inter-ested in how he got there, what he was or anything. They spent the next two weeks doing nothing day and night but playing with the "Zippers" "Zip-pers" on his flying suit. Laying in the hut, or igloo at night, they would be zipping em up and down his legs and arms. In fact it looked like they had saved him entirely for his zippers. zip-pers. They would have preferred saving the zippers and letting him go. Then he had some rubber bande around some maps. Well when they saw those bands, what little interest t. ously showed in him was off. They snapped bands and pulled zippere for two weeks steady. Sounds silly dont it? Just about as silly as spending the same time on bridge and golf. Then they took him down, the just about the greatest adventure that any aviator ever had. They have all had some pretty queer ones and are a great gang these aviators. Just about the most interesting fellows fel-lows to talk too of any bunch of men I ever saw. Lindberg, Post, Hawkes, Doolittle, Al Williams, Roscoe Turner Tur-ner and dozens of others that have really done things. Well this Mattern, now boy if he dident have some time when he set that old Lockhead down in Siberia. Just about a drive and two niblick shots from the North Pole. Thats twice he has started on a round the world trip and been grounded in Russia. Rus-sia. If I was Jimmy the next time I made a trip around the World I would go round Russia, but Russia is just about as tough to go round as it i3 to go through. Well ht said one of the things that got him off to a bad start was the rough weather crossing the Atlantic. The first trip crossing the Atlantic, he and his pardner had a joy ride, so he just figured fig-ured the old Atlantic was duck soup, and thats just what it was this trip, duck soup.' Just as thick all the way' across, he couldent see the sky and he couldent see the ocean. His alt-meter alt-meter showed nothing so he must have been flying right on the water. But he never saw it when he went up, his wings coated with ice. So he had to stay low. But the best part of Jimmys trip was after he landed and joined the Esquimoes. His oil feed line froze on him. His plane, he said wae never going better and he had plenty oil and gas but here wa3 this oil stopped stop-ped coming and he had the Behring Sea to cross to make Nome, Alaeka. Well for thousands of miles it was this "Tundra," bumpy, mossy growth. So he did quite a stunt I clasn, be put on full power and brought it close to the ground and knocked his undercarriage off. That is he did that purposely. When he felt the crash back against the body river to Anadir, (thate the only town in Russia with a short name). Sixty white people there, that Is if you want to be lienient and call Russians Rus-sians white. According to their constitution con-stitution now they are supposed to be "Red." None could talk English, so they started playing with the zippers. zip-pers. So Siberia is just a zipping and snapping, and having the time of their lives. Nobody ever asked how he got there, or why, or when, they ju6t figured he was an advance agent for zippers and rubber bands. So if you go to see the Esquimoes dont take gum drops, thats old stuff. Take zippers and rubber bands and you can come back with all the while fox skins in the Behring Sea area. J5ii McNaugkl Svdlcnu. Inc. |