BY AIR TO LABRADOR.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 18090, 15 May 1922, Page 10

BY AIR TO LABRADOR.

FLIGHT IN SNOWSTORM.

ASTONISHED ESKIMOS. News has reached London from a lonely outpost of Empire describing how Major Cotton, a British airman, landed in the middle of a groui) of scared Eskimos in the wilds of Labrador after a daring and rccord flight through blinding snowstorms from St.. John's, Nevrfoundland. Major Cotton carried important letters and newspapers for the handful of lonely settlers at Cartwright, Battlo Harbour, and several small snowed-up settlements and barren little islands off the Labrador coast. In the opinion of the British Air Ministry this foat has always been considered impossible. Major Cotton, accompanied D-y a mechanic and a trapper, left Botwood, Newfoundland, to fly to Cartwright, Labrador, on March 3 at 10.15 a.m. Flying was made difficult by great masses of cloud, but they reached St. Anthony, 200 miles away, 2£ 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 ex-

perienced great difficulty in picking out, the station. The inhabitants, £*iout 100, were amazed to see him. The wireless operator there, who heard his engine, could nob imagine where the noise came from. He hastened from his station with alarm.

Major Cotton made a safe landing despite 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 been written only the previous dayV Major" Cotton did the return journey from Cartwright to St. John's in five hours.

"This aeroplane service," said Lord Morris, a former Prime 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 were caught because Maior Cotton was able to locate them from his machine and flash a wireless message to a land station."