Evening capital and Maryland gazette., 1912-10-14
ENSIGN DROWNED
BESIDE BATTLESHIP
A. H. Butler of the Rhode Island
Pitched From Passenger Launch.
ENSIGN MANNOcK'S ESCAPE.
Dives for Fellow Officer But is Nearly
Swept Out by Tide.

Andes HALEY Butler. U. S. N, an
ensign attached to the battleship
Rhode Island since last July, was re-
turning to his ship in the harbor of
North River, New York, in shore
launch at O'Clock yesterday morning
accompanied by E.isign Paul Speicher,
of the Rhode Island and Ensign Frark
ID. Mannock, of the Virginia, and was
just about to step from the guhwale
of the launch onto the starboard gang
way of the Rhode Island off West
147th street, when sharp roll Of the
launch threw him into the water. He
was drowned.
Ensign Mannock, who had been at
tending the officers smoker at the
Hotel Astor with Ensign Butler and
Speichel, and therefore, like his two
friends, was in uniform, dived into
the black ebb tide to save Butler,
while Speicher threw life preservers
to both and then jumped to the wheel
of the launch to swing the boat out so
chat they might be picked up. But
the swift tide had carried Butler away
so quickly that he could not be saved
and it was only by hard work that
Mr. Mannock was safely pulled aboard
again.
The three young officers after a
night ashore had gone to the West
l5sth street landing and had engaged
William M. Heating of al West
Fiyty-sixth street, New York, to
take them to their ships in his gaso.
lene launch, the Helen d. Aboard
the launch also were about a dozen
bluejackets.
AS the Helen d. swung around off
the starboard gangway of the Rhode
Island and was nosing her way against
the tide to the ships side, Butler and
Speicher stepped to the rail of the
launch, Butler in the lead. They
were to step aboard and the launch
was then to proceed south to the Vir-
giAia with Manaock.
Ensign Butler suddenly splashed
into the river between the launch and
the ships gangway. Heating, the
owner and operator of the launch,
jerked off his coat and shoes while
others aboard were throwing out life
preservers and yelling encouragement
to the struggling man. Mannock dived
in.
The tide caught Mannock. who is a
strong swimm ,r, and was getting the
better of him when wave slapped
him back against the side of the
launch. The sailors aboard the little
boat reached and grabbed Mannock and
despite his protests pulled him back.
Already the electric semaphone
signals were telling the feet that a
man was overheard Immediately
the white glare of the searchlights of
a mile of battleships to che south
began to flash back and forth across
the waves and electric bunch lights
aboard the Nebraska, Virginia, New
Hampshire, Vermont, South Carolina
and Michigan were flashed on the
waters in the hope that all this flood
of light in the coming dawn would
CLINT on the gold adornments of the
young ensign's uniform if he were
still struggling on the surface of the
ebb tide running south.
But from the time he had first
splashed beneath the surface of the
river he was not seen again. After a
fruitless search to the south of the
Rhode Island the Helen d. proceeded
to the Virginia with Ensign Mannock.
He YVES well enough last night to
go ashore again.
The harbor police aided the sailors
after daylight in trying to find the
body and were still on the lookout
for it last night A story also reach
e9 the police that sailor had been
drowned at the same time from a
launch, but as no official report of a
sailor being lost was received aboard
the flagship Connecticut it is sup
posed that the drowning OF Ensign
Butler had caused the rumor
Ensign Butler was appointed to the
Naval Academy from Louisiana on
July 2, 1907, and was graduated from
the Academy with the class Of 1911.
He then served on the army cruiser
Washington and in July last was
transferred to the Rhode Island.