Will Rogers: ambassador of good will, prince of wit and wisdom (1935)

TRAGEDY OF THE TUNDRA 21 Joe Crosson, hero of many an Arctic flight, advised the two vacationists to remain at Fairbanks until the weather cleared before hopping off for Point Barrow, but Post and Rogers were long accustomed to flying as a matter of everyday business and they faced the hazards in a spirit of fun. "If we meet bad weather/' said Rogers, "we'll just set down, open a can of chili, and throw a party until it clears." And so their red ship roared into the mist at Fairbanks and disappeared to the north. Crosson watched them depart, and as a flier his thought was of the plane. "There's a ship to go places with," he said. "With that engine, Wiley could lift her out of a frog pond." The thermometer registered 45 degrees at the time of their start and there were reports of dense fog along the way. But Crosson felt no concern, for he felt that the plane, as well made and as powerfully engined as it was, in the hands of a flier like Wiley Post could get through regardless of fog. Before leaving for Point Barrow, Rogers had told friends in Alaska that after going to Siberia, they planned to go to strange places and eventually come back to America by way of Iceland and Greenland. Their longest water jump by the indefinite route they had outlined was about 1,000 miles, but Rogers seemed to think little of that. Crosson did not agree with them. He was of the opinion that such a long flight over water was a grave hazard.