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578 FAMOUS LIVING AMERICANS operator assumed a sitting position, instead of lying prone, and a seat was added for another passenger. A larger motor replaced those previously used. Mr. Augustus Post, secretary of the Aero Club of America, gives an account of the final test made at Ft, Meyer, Va. The test was to be made over a measured course of five miles from Ft. Meyer to Alexandria, Va., and return, making a total of ten miles over trees, railroads, and rough and unbroken coun- try — a feat never before attempted and much more difficult than crossing the English Channel. The difficulty of main- taining a level course, when the valleys and gullies sometimes drop one hundred and more feet, can hardly be realized. The price to be paid for the machine depended upon its speed, which was calculated at forty miles an hour. The government had agreed to pay $25,000 for the machine, and for every mile above this speed they were to pay a bonus of $2,500 ; and for every mile per hour less, to the minimum of thirty-six miles an hour, they would deduct the same amount. If the flyer should get very low and have to climb higher it would retard the speed, just as an automobile would go slower uphill ; and the danger of landing among the trees if the motor should stop added one more serious element to be taken into considera- tion. A vast number of people were assembled. At least five hundred automobiles were parked back of the President's enclosure, and trolley cars and wagons stood on the Arlington side. The whole government was represented : senators, con- gressmen, officers of the army, chiefs of bureaus, and many of the clerks were there. Orville Wright calmly adjusted his goggles, which are fitted with shades to protect his eyes from the sun, changed his coat, put on a cap, which he pulled down over his eyes, and took his seat in the aeroplane. Lieutenant Benjamin D. Foulois, who had been chosen to accompany the aviator upon the speed test, took his place. Everything being ready, the machine was released, and they rose steadily and slowly, circling the field twice to get up speed and to attain sufficient elevation. They turned sharply by the starting tower and passed be- tween the flags which marked the starting line. Amid the