Dreams Come True: The Story of the Wright Brothers’
First Flight
by Mary Maden
Illustrated by Vicki Wallace
© 2000 by Mary Maden. All rights reserved.
Mary Maden is an award-winning author. Visit her on the web at: www.marymaden.com!
The Story So Far…
Wilbur and Orville travel to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. There they experiment with a gliderstyle flying machine. At one point, the machine crashes. After repairing the machine, a fierce
storm complicates matters. The Wrights dig the machine out of the sand and resume their
experiments. Wilbur even makes some free glides in the machine. Finally, the Wright Brothers
have to return home to Dayton, but they are satisfied that the trip has been a success.
Chapter Ten:
The Wright Brothers vs. the Mosquitoes
As soon as the Wrights returned home to Dayton late in October 1900, they began working on a
new glider. This one was to be even bigger and better! The design for the glider was ready in
mid-May 1901.
Wilbur and Orville were anxious to return to Kitty Hawk. Experimenting with flying machines
was no longer just a hobby for them––it was an obsession!
They could leave for Kitty Hawk earlier than the year before because they had hired Charlie
Taylor to run the bicycle shop. Charlie was a capable mechanic and would even be able to help
them make parts for the new machine.
Meanwhile, the Wrights were becoming friends with Octave Chanute. Chanute, considered an
expert in the field of flying or “aeronautics,” shared the Wrights’ passion. Wilbur and Chanute
had written to each other, and their friendship grew with each new letter.
Chanute visited the Wrights in Dayton before they left for Kitty Hawk. He asked if two of his
assistants, Edward Huffaker and George Spratt, could join them at their camp. Chanute also had
a glider of his own he wanted the Wright Brothers to test. Not wanting to be rude to their good
friend, they reluctantly agreed.
Wilbur and Orville returned to Kitty Hawk on July 11, 1901. They planned to move their camp
four miles south to Kill Devil Hills and build a wooden shed to house the new glider.
Wilbur and Orville spent their first night back at the Tate’s house. It turned out to be a very
uncomfortable night! They shared a bed that had an old, sagging mattress. Wilbur spent the night
in some comfort sleeping in the bottom dip of the sagging bed. Orville, on the other hand, ended
up hanging on for dear life to the mattress’s sloping sides!
The Wright Brothers’ restless night was only the beginning of their miseries. They would face
drenching rains. They would be attacked by hordes of hungry mosquitoes and other pests. And
one of those “pests” came in the person of Edward Huffaker!
Edward Huffaker, from Chuckey, Tennessee, arrived on July 18. That same day, “a mighty
cloud” of hungry mosquitoes descended on the Wright Brothers’ camp! The Wrights quickly
took a dislike to both the mosquitoes and Huffaker. The Wrights found Huffaker’s habits
irritating, and he was lazy to boot!
The mosquitoes were so thick that they almost darkened the sun. They covered everything,
including the Wright Brothers and their guest! The men tried to avoid the swarm of mosquitoes
by going to bed early. They wrapped themselves in blankets with only the tips of their noses
sticking out. But it was very hot in the blankets. After all, it was July! The men would fling their
blankets off to escape the heat, only to be attacked by the mosquitoes. It was a miserable night!
The next day, the mosquitoes were so bad that the Wrights couldn’t work on their glider. So
that night they draped mosquito netting over their cots, and everyone crawled in under the
netting. There were so many mosquitoes that they covered the top of the netting until there was
hardly room for one more!
The mosquitoes buzzed loudly overhead. The Wright Brothers lay on their backs and smiled.
They had gotten the best of the mosquitoes––or so they thought!
“The mosquitoes’ buzzing sounds like the buzzing of a mighty buzz saw!” Orville said.
Suddenly, Huffaker cried out. His cry was followed by a terrific slap. The mosquitoes had
broken through the netting. They were on the attack! Wilbur, Orville and Huffaker jumped up
and tried to escape, tearing down the frames and netting as they ran. They were a funny sight
scrambling over the sand dunes trying to hide from the horde of hungry mosquitoes. But, there
was no escape!
The campers were still battling the mosquitoes when George Spratt arrived on July 25.
“We may have to abandon camp,” Orville commented, swatting a mosquito, “or perish in the
attempt to maintain it.”
The desperate men decided to try a different tactic against the enemy. They would smoke them
out! They dragged stumps into the middle of camp and set them on fire. Soon thick smoke filled
the air. It worked!
But for Spratt, the smoke was even worse than the mosquitoes. He dragged his cot away from
the smoke. In a few minutes, he was back. It seemed that the mosquitoes were worse than the
smoke! Spratt spent the rest of the night running between the smoke and the mosquitoes.
“Last night was the most miserable night of my life!” said Spratt.
“They chewed clear through my underwear and socks!” commented Orville. “I have lumps as
big as hen’s eggs.”
Fortunately, the mosquitoes finally disappeared.
The little beasts had nearly eaten them alive!
Next… Chapter Eleven: Down in the Dumps and Back Up Again!