Haralft anil
KLAMATH FALLS, OREGON, SUNDAY, JANUARY 27, 1963
Klamath Doctor Spanned Motion
By Air In Historic Army 'First'
By RUTH KING
Three thousand miles across the
American continent in an airplane
in 30 hours was a feat 44 years
ago that newspapers across the
nation heralded as "man's great
est conquest of the air." It was
as thrilling an accomplishment for
those who participated as has been
the 20th Century exploration by
man of outer space.
A former Klamath Falls physi
cian and surgeon, the late Dr.
Charles V. Rugh, who practiced
here for many years, played an
important part not only in the
first planned coast to coast flight
by the United States Army but
in the first trip that man and
plane took down the canyon of
tlie Colorado, the colorful, awe
some rift in the earth's surface in
Arizona, the Grand Canyon.
Dr. Charles Rugh loved the air,
so much so. that in the service
of his country during World War
I. he recorded, day by day in
handwriting, in ink. in a lined
ledger and by other references,
the happenings of that period of
his life ... the disappointments,
the successes, the thrill of flight
as a pilot ... his passion for
the DH4s he flew ... his respect
for his fellow aviators ... his
misfortunes . . . the joy of just
being aloft, above earth, unfet
tered . . . the air trails he helped
to blaze, many of tnem flown to
day ... his hopes for insuring
safety for fliers to come.
It is an inspiring tecord of ac
complishments and hopes and
youthful eagerness, written by Lt.
Charles Rugh, who loved to fly
when he was returned to civilian
status. In flight he left earthbound
everything that was earthy . . .
he said so in his carefully kept
chronicle.
The first entry was in Novem
ber, 1918, from Ellington Field,
Tex., of a flight to Detroit, Mich,
when flying above fog as one in
a squadron of four Dellaviland's
he fell behind because of a brok
en shutter wire and. "landing by
instinct," he crashed at 200-foot
altitude into trees. Neither he
nor his photographer - passenger
were injured. With a new ship they
continued.
The fog persisted, he was fly
ing by compass, spotted a town
and pulled a "brodie," he writes.
The field that he saw was not the
field he expected and a headon
with a ditch tumbled him turtle
fashion upside down. Again no
injuries.
While he evaluated the damage
to his craft, his photographer
crawled, unharmed from t h e
wreck, pulling a suitcase loaded
with 75 pounds of Hershey bars,
bullion cubes, malted milk tablets
and other forms of condensed food
with him, food to be used in event
of a "desert crash."
The suitcase contained also,
recorded the future Dr. Rugh,
"a small bottle of w im and wig
or." also to be used only in a
desert crash.
The "cream of the crop," wrote
a newspaper reporter in San Fran
cisco on a day in 1918. would take
part in the first cross country
flight, a flight, planned to stimu
late recruiting in World War I,
to map the best air routes for
possible mail flights in future
years and to interest the public
in the possibilities of air travel.
Deadline for the famous effort
was set for July 10. There would
be four DeHaviland battleplanes
manned by expert aviators who
would visit most of the great cit
ies of America, starting on the
West Coast, headed for Washing
ton. D.C.. with photographers and
a role of film from Mary Pick
lord, Hollywood motion picture
star, destined for President Wood-
row Wilson aboard.
The film was Liberty Loan prop
aganda for the fifth Liberty Loan
Drive, now forgotten, even by
most of those who lived during
those desperate years.
A newspaper clipping revealed
that the flight was to race a train
eastward, "if the film arrives in
Washington, by air, sooner than
the train, then a new brand of
postman will have been created."
The planes would return to
home base in October.
The DeHavilands were motored
with 425 horsepower Liberty en
gines. They had a cruising speed
of 100 102 miles per hour.
Lt. Charles V. Rugh was at
the controls on one of the planes,
a pilot at 22. He was accompa
nied by Lt. Eric Nelson who had
flown with him in acrobatic ap
pearances when they flew so low
they scored pigeons from the roof
tops.
Flight orders were for a maxi
mum altitude of 12.000 feet and
"plenty of topographic maps,"
that would give the government
"reliable data on how the mail
should go."
There would be a side trip to
the Grand Canyon.
In his legible, firm hand, Lt.
Rugh wrote, "I made an exhibi
tion flight for them at Kingman,
doing some fall-offs and two tail
spins. They were delighted w ith it
and I was glad to do it for them.
I flew Lewyn, who came from
Los Angeles, over the Grand Can
yon for some movies of it. On the
wav back I gave him a little ride
and he was pretty sick, but due
most to the 'bumps' than the
stunts I think.
"We flew from Kingman to Tuc
son, in 128 minutes, a distance of
265 miles."
The depths of the Grand Canyon
were a fascinating adventure to
the young airman Charles Rugh,
who made the historic flight, the
first ever attempted, to explore
the air currents, 2.000 feet below
the rim, along a stretch north of
the Hualapai Indian Reservation
where "air bumps in the canyon
not far above the water wore
encountered, but were met with
out difficulty."
Wonderful moving pictures
were secured by Lt. Lewyn. Un
chartered places in the canyon
were recorded.
"The river was like a pencil
lt was magnificent," wrote the
fliers.
"We spiraled down inside the
walls and turned around. There
were no landing places inside the
walls and the Colorado River
would be no place to float, even
with a hydroplane."
The DeHaviland with Lt
Rugh at the controls, "flew so;
steadily, 2,000 feet down inside
tiie walls," according to a King
man reporter, that the photog
TP
FAMOUS AIRCRAFT This is the DeHaviland that adventurous Lt.
Charles V. Rugh, who helped pioneer the airways, flew on the barn
storming tour of thousands of miles, planned by the Army to stir up
interest in the Fifth Liberty Loan campaign, to enlist new recruits for
the services and to map the ground below. Its ultimate end is not known.
He flew it inside the Grand Canyon, defying danger, and came out
without a scratch. It took him 105 minutes to fly 287 miles from King
man, Ariz., near the canyon rim to Tucson. In Rugh's diaries, he
never mentioned fear of failure, only his belief in success. He never
lost his love of streaking across the skies.
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THESE TOO WERE FIRSTS Astronaut John Glenn
was no more a hero when he circled the earth in space
than were the men who made the first flight across the
United States from West to East and who first coursed
the winding way of the Grand Canyon of the Colorado.
Among them was a former Klamath Falls man, young
and eager for adventure, the late Dr. Charles V. Rugh,
They flew the Great Divide, the
first time in history ... by then
rapher removed his strap, stood
upright in the rear seat and took
many views, me time was one
hour and 50 minutes. The first
trip ever made by man in a plane
inside the canyon walls had been
successful.
The four DeHavilands and their
crews thrilled spectators at city
after city . . . they flew over the
Rockies, close enough to get a
good look at the snow , . . saw
Carlsbad Caverns, swooped down
over Salt Lake," gradually drop
ping down until the purr and
throb of their great motors, a
newspaper man's description!
sent thousands of eyes skyward."
They picked up a small ship
ment ot gold ($108,981) at Den
ver, the first shipment of money
by airplane in the regular course
of business west of the Mississip
pi .. . they earned passengers
over Salt Lake City and "scared
the wits" out of the populace by
dropping like a rock from 2,000
lo 2(10 feet above the si i oris.
they were the "army flying
circus. . . . Lt. Hugh had won
the nickname "Jazz" as the most
daring acrobat of the flying dare
devils ... he played tag with
death between city skyscrapers
he was Jazz King of the
Air recognized as the most daring
and spectacular stunt (Iyer ever
trained at Ellington Field."
Straight as an arrow he flew
for tall buildings, and then there
was a veer to the side, at more
than 100 miles an hour, and the
structure would swoosh by," this
from a passenger who "would
be forever proud, 1 rode with
Lt. Rugh."
The film from the movie center
of the world, Los Angeles, was
delivered, Lt. Jtugh'j record docs
not reveal how. The fliers of
those four DeHavilands won ap
plause and fame. Two months
from starting time in July they
were relumed to Ellingson Field.
center rear, then a lieutenant in the United States Air
Force. The crew flew a Los Angeles meSe film, across
the continent to Washington, D.C., from Los Angeles to
help promote the Fifth Liberty Loan drive during World
War I. Motion picture actress Mary Pickford bade them
bon voyage.
Here is what they had accom
plished.
They had traveled 6.000 miles
without a single loss. They went to
places where no airplane had
ever been seen before, performed
tasks that aviators had never at
tempted . . . they were the first
hers to cross the Continental Di
vide in the Rocky Mountains,
they carried the first Pacific aer
ial mail from San Francisco to
Sacramento . . . they "pounded
out" the first newspaper story
ever written in a flying plane
. . . they carried the first bank
clearings from one city to anoth
er, more than $108,000 from Og-
den to Salt Lake City, Utah .
they carried the first shipment ol
gold dust out of Colorado in an
airplane . . . they covered more
mileage without an accident than
had ever been covered before
they had made an average (lying
showing of 100 miles an hour for
6,0110 miles.
The tour DeHavilands and their
crews never reached the Atlantic.
They had enlisted an average of
eight men a day during their
barnstorming tour of two months.
They found the people everywhere
"wild about airplanes. They
picked out sites for good fields.
They mapped the ground below
and covered the major cities of
the West, the Southwest and some
of the Central states. They had
beaten an electrical storm to
safety, tried out every maneuver
that a winged, motored craft
could accomplish.
Before they completed the cycle
originally planned, the federal
government ended recruitment
and the crews of the famous
planes returned to home base in
Texas.
They knew to the man, that they
had pioneered a new era but it
took an aged Arizona Indian to
sum up what many thought and
didn't say," "Humph! Roads
muddy. Automobile fly."
m
rant
to
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Bv GKORGK Al.OTRICO cation
Wlien I write my angler friends way
in Wisconsin and commiserate
with them about the artic blasts
they've been having lately I men-
it's going to stay that
1 expect these stories don't1
warm'" the marrow of their
tones and that if 1 ever pet back
tion hesitatingly that I've been to the Dairy State they'll hang
catching trout in the Klamath Ri-ime in efligy.
vcr in the middle of January. Be that as it may, we in Ore
Taking another unkind cut at gon do enjoy a unique experience
their Irosty hearts I add that, in having the rare combination of
tlie mercury here is in the mid-;mild weather, an open trout sea
50s and that there is every indi- son and rainbows just aching lo
he netted. All not 15 miles from
Klamath Falls,
lt was hard for an old Eskimo
like me to believe in the mysti
cal art of catching trout in mid
winter, but it only tnok one trip
lo the Klamath to make me a be
liever. i was told by local anglers that
trout could be caught all winter
in the river if the water condi
tions were "right." I called tlie
Copco suh-station Friday, Jan. 19.
and was told the water was down
and the fishing should be prime.
I didn't need much encouragement.
The worms were already in the
can and my spinning outfit
was ready to go. These stories
about catching trout in the win
ter had to be verified or dispelled
once and for all and Saturday
looked like the day to do it.
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THOSE HAZARDOUS ROCKS Care is the watchword
on fhoie trout fishing trips down in the Klamath River
gorije. Rock-hopping along the river can cause nejty
fali er a sp'elned ankle and the climb up and down the
steep hill isn't a snap. A mitttep could send you plum.
meting down fht hill barrel fashion. The rocks, however,
are a good source of bait I'm told. Hellgra mmitei abound
under the rocks in the river and as most trout anglers
know, these Dobson fly larva are dynamite en the big
ones.
It is just a little nippy down
in the gorge in the morning so I
decided to wait for the mid aflcr-
noon sun before I started down
over the hill below the Big Bend
Dam.
When the time came I rigged up
with two BB size split shot and
two small striped worms (from
California I believe!. I've had
equal success with night crawlers!
and both types can be purchased
in the local sporting goods stores.
Tlie water was low and quite
clear, and it was hard to believe
this wasn't just a normal fishing
nuting in the middle of the spring.
Tlie river at the point I entered.
is just about half the size as it is
at Kcno or a couple of miles be
low the Big Bend Dam where the
re routed water is piped down
the hill into the generators.
I could cover more water
at this point (along the lower road
on the west side of the river) and
giving the winter fishing exper
iment a more adequate test.
My first cast netted a largo
rock. Struggle as I did lo land
it, the only result was a lost rig.
1 was warned about losing a lot
of rigs and lures and had come
prepared.
The night before I rigged up a
dozen six-pound test leaders with
hooks and sinkers atlached and
just stuck the hooks in a large
cork so I wouldn't waste a lot
of time after I lost a rig on that
rock infested bottom. It worked
fine and I estimated just right!
because at nightfall I found the
cork was empty. It would have
been a little expensive if I had
been losing 95 cent lures.
I fished several pools hard with
out a nibble and I was rapidly
becoming a doubter, but at 3:30
"soup's on" down in the deep
because the fur started to fly. 1
found out in a hurry that what
1 thought were a week's supply
of worms weren't going to last:
me the day.
I fished no more than 100 yards
after they began to bite and
caught four fish before it start
ed to get dark. I was so aston
ished by the fast action that 1
missed no less than a dozen fish
in a half hour.
The Klamath rainbows weren't
as big as I'd expected (I took
home a pair of 13 inchers and
a pair of 10 inchers), but I was
well satisfied with tlie results.)
Most of the fishermen I know
fish the big water near Keno and
below the generators down to the
California state line. Tlie pools
there arc much larger and appar
ently so are the fish.
Now that I'm a believer I'll be,
heading for the bigger water my-
self. On the next trip I'll fish
exclusively with spoons to see il
I can raise one of those 20-inchers
I hear so much about.
The best method, whether It's
with lures or worms, is to keep
tlie bait close to the bottom. If
you don't lose a couple of rigs
you're probably not fishing right.
Some of tho local boys buy doz
ens of the less expensive spoons
and put their own treble hooks
on them. The original hooks on
the cheap lures apparently
aren't adequate enough to hold
the larger fish.
Catching fish so big that they
straighten out the hooks! This is a
problem? I'm sure most fisher
men wish it were their problem.
I know I woukln t tind it hard
to live with.
Maybe it Isn't just a fish tale
though. I thought mid-January
trout fishing was a myth a few
weeks ago. Maybe I'll become a
big fish believer soon too.
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ACROBATIC RAINBOWS The rainbows between the Big Bend Dam and the gen.
erators seem to spend more time out of the water than in it after they feel the barb
of the hook. Fish over 12 inches can be real sporty on light equipment when they have
the get up and go theie fish displayed. The Klamaih River is said to be one of the
most fertile rivers in the country and these fiih really proved they were healthy
specimens.
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NET REVEALS OPTIMISM I was expecting larger fish
after the tales I'd been hearing from local anglers. It
was a little embarrassing netting a 10-incher in a net
that could handle 10-pound trout. Next time I'll head
for the big water in hopes of bigger fish. This was the
first fiih of the mid-winter experiment and small er not,
I was quite pleased.