New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1912-10-14
Night Spent Ashore Ends in
First Fatality to Mar MobI-
Iization of Fleet in
Hudson.
COMPANION DIVES IN VAIN
Receivers Nothing but Cap At
ter Clumsiness of Boat from
Which officer Had Been
Thrown initiates
Against Rescue.

Against Rescue.
The first fatality to mar the festivi-
ties of the naval mobilization in the
Hudson occurred early yesterday
morning in the opaque darkness that
precedes the dawn. A party of ensigns
was returning from a night spent
ashore, merry but by no means dis
orderly night. to the various battle
ships and cruisers which have been
using West 15Sth street as their land
ing point.
As the launch they had hired at loStn
street. after visiting FIVE or six other
warships and dropping passengers,
headed for the starboard gangway II
the Lattleship Rhode Island, Ensign
Andres II. Butler squirmed out from
under the canopy covering the cockpit
and poised himself on the beading OF
the launch to be the first one upon the
gangway. AS he did so the launch
gave a Iurch and threw him into the
water. The tide swept him away AMI
he was drowned.
Young Buffers companions ana
classmates in the launch forgot for the
moment that he was a poor swimmer
hardly a swimmer at all, in fact.
They threw life preservers, and eX-
pectcd him TO buoy himself up with
these until they could bring the launch
about and pull him out Of the water.
In the mean time they busted them
selves stripping off their clothes, 10
plunge in after him should that prove
necessary. But two things initiated
against the success of their programme
the strength Of the tide and the
clumsiness Of the boat.
Officers Replace Skipper.
The young officers. accustomed to the
responsive navy launches and steam
ers, soon realized that the boat they
were in would not respond to the tlller
with anything like the alacrity Of the
navy boats. The skipper of the launch
took so long maneuvring her to go to
the rescue that finally they pushed him
off the seat and took charge them
selves. BY this time, however, the boat
had swung some fifty yards below the
ensign struggling in the water.
1t was at this juncture that Ensign
Butler gave a cry for help, the first In
dication he had given that he was in
distress. With the strong tide against
them, the officers I'm the boat figured
they could reach him much more
quickly in the boat than by jumping
overheard. Furthermore, a lifebuoy was
floating within ten yards of him and
in the direction the tide was taking
Why he did not make for this life
belt his companions could not under
stand, but yesterday. In telling OF the
tragedy, they thought young Butler
must have been panicstricken He cried
for help again, and went down before
they got to him. Ensign Frank ID.
Manock, also Of the Rhode Island, dived
after him, but all he could recover was
his hat, which was floating where he
had last been seen.
Train SearchIights on Water.
Immediately word of the accident was
yelled TO the deck Of the Rhode Island.
and the battleship broke from her
masthead the vertical string of four
white lights, denoting the letter u,
which, when used alone, means man
overheard" The other battleships and
cruisers all along the line for several
miles broke the same signal from their
lnasts, showing they had seen and com
pretended the message Then all OF
them, as quickly as they could, trained
their searchlights on the water all about
and put out together myriad of small
boats 10 search for the lost man.
For an hour, while the city few
yards away slept peacefully,
obliyious of their ominous activity. the
men of the fleet combed the waters of
the Hudson for the body OF the drowned,
officer The Rhode Island with the
semaphore arms which she uses for de-
tailed messages at night, wigwagged
The story Of the tragedy 10 her sister
ships. Every officer Of the deck in the
feet practically knew from the rapid
spAlIing of those illuminated arms that