140 - MERMOZ, Jean

MERMOZ, Jean L.A.S. “Jean,” Saint-Louis [mid-October 1927], to his “Beloved Mother”; 2 pages, in-4 format, on letterhead from the Hôtel-Café Restaurant de la Poste, M.-E. Audic. Nonstop flight between Toulouse and Saint-Louis, Senegal (October 10–11, aboard the Spirit of Montaudran). “As you must have seen in the newspapers, our flight was a complete success, and we were fortunate enough to arrive two hours before Costes and Le Brix, making us the first to fly nonstop from France to Senegal. The trip went well. It was a somewhat tiring night due to the intense heat between Agadir and Saint-Louis. Over the course of our twenty-four hours, we consumed only half a liter of coffee and twelve bananas. As for me, I arrived in good shape. My companion [Élisée Negrin] was a bit tired. He lacks training because he never does stage races. But in the end, he did well too, and Costes and Le Brix weren’t very pleased to find us there when they arrived. We were received by the Governor quite decently, even though we hadn’t been announced at all. But in the end, we were given to understand that we were unofficial rather than official, and therefore less interesting. Anyway, as for us, we’re happy, and Latécoère is beaming. If we hadn’t had propeller damage, we were supposed to set off again today in two legs: Dakar to Casablanca and Casablanca to Toulouse, carrying the mail. But because of this, we have to wait for a replacement propeller, and we won’t be taking off with the mail for another eight days”… Correspondence, No. 125. Source: - Jean Mermoz (1901–1936); - Gabrielle Gillet-Mermoz (1880–1955); - Then passed down through the family