Après 112 ans exactement

Je reproduis ci-dessous la traduction d'une lettre adressée le 25 septembre 1893 par l'ingénieur Octave Chanute à Louis-Pierre Mouillard. (Si quelqu'un trouve les sources d'archives françaises, qu'il me fasse signe...)

Dear Sir:

I received from the Cosmopolitan magazine the money for your article. Instead of $60 promised they sent me $100 which I remit, converted into 515 francs, by draft. I shall send you several copies as soon as the article is published.

The day after I mailed my letter of Aug. 13, I received yours of July 21 and waited from day to day for the money from the Cosmopolitan so I could mail it with my reply. I also wanted the financial crises to pass which hit the United States.

I am happy to know that your health is so much improved and that you have decided to make experiments with your machine by yourself. I would like very much to pay you a visit in Cairo but due to the events I cannot even think of doing so this winter.

We had a terrible financial crisis in this country due to a monetary depression. A large part of my savings was invested in a silver mine which lost 580,000 francs through the depression, which has decreased my income by 28,000 francs

On the other hand my partner in the wood-preservation plant is seriously sick of an incurable disease and I cannot absent myself at this time.

It is with deep regret that I have to give in to this necessity because, as you so well put it, "we could make more progress in one afternoon's conversation than in years of correspondence."

Write me therefore what your plans are, where you think it would be best to make the tests, and how much you believe will be necessary for expenses.

In my opinion you are wrong by intending to withdraw the patent application. We have started, had expenses, and we ought to persevere. Therefore send me the affidavit of your experiment with Machine No. 3, and I myself shall make a small demonstration airplane which will takeoff for the examiner. Only it will take off backward and cannot be controlled. The examiner simply said that an airplane could not take off without a balloon.

Very truly yours, O. Chanute