Off to the right stood Mount McLoughlin, thrusting its head well above any of its neighbors. Later on, during the patrol, many times Bill was to welcome the sight of that peak. It was ninety-five hundred feet high and its top was almost always covered with a snow cap.
Suddenly Bill became aware of the fact that he could not see very far ahead. There did not seem to be any clouds in the sky, but the visibility became extremely limited. Gradually the haze grew thicker around them. It had the distinct odor of burning timber. The Flight had entered the dense smoke pall which covers the Northwest section of our country during the forest fire season. It has not the appearance of clouds, but is just as impenetrable to the eye. Clouds vary in color from white, through gray to black. At times they have a distinctive greenish tinge which always is indicative of hail being present. The smoke pall has a dirty, grayish brown color which tends toward a golden hue when the sun shines on it.
By this time Bill had led his Flight quite some distance from the railroad. He had not seen any possible landing fields since leaving the Medford Valley. The smoke pall had taken away some of his self-confidence. He wanted to get back closer to civilization. Bill changed his course so that he would soon meet the railroad again.
The Flight had now been in the air for over three hours. The tanks held gasoline for a trifle over four hours. Bill knew that they would soon have to land for gasoline. He looked to his left for the railroad, but could see no signs of the usual open country which bordered the tracks. As the country beneath them was wild and thickly wooded, Bill headed the Flight still farther toward the west to reach those tracks.
The smoke pall did not have a definite lower surface as clouds have, but gradually changed into a haze and thinned out close to the ground. Bill was gradually losing altitude and suddenly, through the haze, he saw a small town. He flew towards it and then circled around to pick up the landing field. He studied his map and knew from the configuration of the town, the river flowing by, that he had reached Roseburg. Another circle and he saw the landing field. Bill gave the signal for breaking formation and landed.