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an hour in the air he was back at Colfax, stopped again by dangerous winds near the mountains. September 24th he tried for the third time and this attempt was more fortunate, but after flying about 40 miles he was forced down with an overheated engine at Emigrants Gap. Landing in a small pasture he damaged the plane again and repairs took two days. On September 28th he took off and climbed to 7,000 feet trying to get across the mountains, but again he was forced down by overheating, and damaged a wheel in landing. This time he had also damaged the engine, and it was apparent the radiator was inadequate for altitude flying.

By this time Fowler was convinced he would not be able to fly over the lofty Sierra Nevada Mountains, so decided to ship his plane to Los Angeles and attempt to fly the southern route around the mountains. At Los Angeles they gave the plane and engine a thorough overhaul, and on October 18th he started again from Fremont Park at 4:55 p.m. For the trip he had fitted the machine with a sort of body-windshield to protect him somewhat from the cold. This time he got under way and his start was successful. The course of his flight was as follows:

[[4-column table]]
|[[Destination]]|[[Date]]|[[Destination]]|[[Date]]|
|---|---|---|---|
|Left Los Angeles, Cal.|October 19, 1911|Ar. Beaumont, Tex.|December 7, 1911|
|Ar. Pasadena, Cal.|October 19, 1911|Ar. Lake Charles, La.|December 17, 1911|
|Ar. Riverside, Cal.|October 21, 1911|Ar. New Orleans, La.|December 31, 1911|
|Ar. Yuma, Ariz.|October 25, 1911|Ar. Mobile, Ala.|January 11, 1912|
|Ar. Tucson, Ariz.|October 30, 1911|Ar Brantley, Ala.|January 20, 1912|
|Ar. Douglass, Ariz.|November 3, 1911|Ar. Bainbridge, Ga.|February 6, 1912|
|Ar. El Paso, Tex.|November 13, 1911|Ar. Jacksonville, Fla.|February 8, 1912|
|Ar. Fort Worth, Tex.|November 27, 1911|Ar. Pablo Beach, Fla.|February 15, 1912|
|Ar. Houston, Tex.|December 2, 1911|---|---|

Fowler broke the American duration record, unofficially, when he was in the air four hours and twenty-six minutes between Yuma and Maricopa, Arizona. Cameraman Ed. R. Shaw rode with him in the flight and made some remarkable pictures with his "moving [[crossed-out]]"[/crossed-out]] picture machine [[crossed-out]]"[/crossed-out]] throughout the trip. Four times Fowler was forced down in areas where he could not possibly get out except by taking the plane to the nearest railroad and loading it onto a flat handcar to make the takeoff run down the tracks. On one of these occasions he saw a train coming just as he was ready to takeoff. The engineer saw a queer sight ahead and applied the brakes. Fowler hurried to takeoff, 

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