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another Mills aviator. Smith had another smashup on this date and had to take his plane back to the Mills shop for repairs. He was troubled consistently with loss of power after takeoff, which caused accidents. His next date was Mattoon, Illinois, then to Muncie, Indiana, where he refused to fly out of the small grounds furnished. When an angry mob threatened him, he tried to take off and smashed up again, requiring more repairs in Chicago. His next exhibition was at Beresford, South Dakota, where he found an excellent field and made three good flights despite a troublesome engine, and collected $750.00. He was over-joyed after so much bad luck. Smith returned to Chicago and took his engine apart for inspection and found the crankshaft and bearings were worn out. While there he sent for his father to come and arranged for him to see a good eye specialist, only to learn that nothing could be done to restore his sight.

The Mills Company loaned Smith a new Kirkham 6-cylinder engine for his next date at Elkhart, Indiana, and there, with a good engine, he really began to fly. Following this he flew at Hillsdale, Michigan, for two days and did so well that they coaxed him to stay over one more day. From there Smith flew cross-country to Adrian, Michigan, for exhibitions where he put on a good show and went up to 5,500 feet. He then flew to Deadwood, South Dakota, and was presented with a special medal made from local gold. At this time he bought the Kirkham engine from Mills for his plane. From there Smith exhibited at Wellman, Iowa, then Overland Park, Kansas City, Missouri. On August 12th he made several excellent flights at Fort Wayne and entertained huge crowds of his own townspeople. On August 15th he was at Bogard, Missouri; at Havelock, Nebraska, on August 18th; Clifton, Kansas, August 21st and 22nd, and Rush Center, Kansas, August 27th to 29th.

By this time Smith was really making money, and doing most of his flying at carnivals and fairs. During September he flew at Clinton, Iowa; Table Rock, Nebraska, and Middleburn, West Virginia. On October 18th to 20th he again flew

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