as practically the same as its
predecessor--the triangular keel was retained, but an eighteen
horse-power gasoline motor was substituted for the sixteen horse-power
used previously. The propeller, made of silk stretched over a bamboo
frame, was hung at the after end of the keel; the motor was a little aft
of the centre, while the basket to which led the steering-gear, the
emergency valve to the balloon, and the motor-controlling gear was
suspended farther forward. To control the upward or downward pointing of
the new air-ship, shifting ballast was used which ran along a wire under
the keel from one end to the other; the cords controlling this ran to
the basket also.

The new air-ship worked well, and the experimental flights were
successful with one exception--when the balloon came in contact with a
tree.

It was in October, 1901 (the 19th), when the Deutsch Prize Committee was
asked to meet again and see a man try to drive a balloon against the
wind, round the Eiffel Tower, and return.

The start took place at 2:42 P.M. of October 19, 1901, with a beam wind
blowing. Straight as a bullet the air-ship sped for the steel shaft of
the tower, rising as she flew. On and on she sped, while the spectators,
remembering the finish of the last trial, watched almost breathlessly.
With the air of a cup-racer turning the stake-boat she rounded the steel
spire, a run of three and three-fifth miles, in nine minutes (at the
rate of more than twenty-two miles an hour), and started on the
home-stretch.

For a few moments all went well, then those who watched were horrified
to see the propeller slow down and nearly stop, while the wind carried
the air-ship toward the Tower. Just in time the motor was speeded up and
the course was resumed. As the group of men watched the speck grow
larger and larger until things began to take definite shape, the white
blur of the whirling propeller could be seen and the small figure in the
basket could be at last distinguished. Again the motor failed, the speed
slackened, and the ship began to sink. Santos-Dumont threw out enough
ballast to recover his equilibrium and adjusted the motor. With but
three minutes left and some distance to go, the great dirigible balloon
got up speed and rushed for the goal. At eleven and a half minutes past
three, twenty-nine minutes and thirty-one seconds after starting,
Santos-Dumont crossed the line, the winner of the Deutsch Prize. And so
the young Brazilian accompli