BY AIR TO LABRADOR.

Feilding Star, Volume XVIII, Issue 4593, 19 May 1922, Page 4

BY AIR TO LABRADOR.

FLIGHT fN A SNOWSTORM. < News has reached London from a . lonely outpost of the Empire describing how Major Cotton, a Brtiish air- > man, landed in tho middle of a group 1 of scared Eskimos after a daring and record flight from St. John's Newfoundland. . Major Cotton carried important letters and newspapers for -tho handful of lonely settlers at C'artwrigbt, Battle Harbour, and several snowed up ■ settlements and barren little islands off Labrador Coast. In the opinion of the British Air Ministry this feat has always been considered impossible. Major Cotton, rccompanied by a mechanic and a trapper left Botwood, Newfoundland; to fly to Cartwright Island, Labrador, on March 3. at 10.15 a.m. Flyin- was made difficult by great masses of clouds, but they reached St. Anthony, 200 miles away, two and a 1alt" hours later. They landed, delivered the mails, and took more aboard for Battle Harbour. They left St. Anthony and reached the Labrador coast during a big snowstorm, but Major Cotton decided to carry on and when he arrived at Battle Harbour he found great difficulty in picking out the station. Tho inhabitants,' about 100, were amazed to see him. The wireless operator there, who heard his engine, could not imagine whore tho noise came from. He hastened from his station with alarm. Major Cotton made a safe landing dospito a strong east wind. After repairing a damaged skid he left for Cartwright, about 100 miles away. Here he came down in the midst of Eskimos, who had never seen an aeroplane before. The settlers at Cartwright were greatly surprised to receive letters from - Newfoundland, which had beon written only the previous day. Major Cotton did tho return journey from Cartwright to St. John's in five hours. "This aeroplane service," said Lord Morris, a former Prim? Minister of Newfoundland, "is likely to be made permanent, as Major Cotton has shown that winter flying between Newfoundland and Labrador is not only practicable but also much easier than it appears "A few days ago 50,000 seals wore caught because Major Cotton was able to locate them from his machine and flash a wireless message to a land sia- ; tion."