Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1917-01-24
AVIATORS FOUND AT LAST,
Two Sandwiches and Two Oranges
Their Food for Ten Days.

A. Robertson, Jr., missing army avi-
ators, exhausted from walking four
days in the wilds OF Sonora Mexico,
without food or water. were found
yesterday more than 32 miles south
OF the border by civilian searching
party from Wellton.
Lieut.. Robertson was brought
back bere to-day by the searchers.
Lieut.. Col. Bishop. too weak to walk,
was loft in charge of four searchers
in tho Rosario mountains, where he
was found last night at 10 o'clock.
Two sandwiches and two oranges
each was all the food the men had
tasted since they left the North Is
land aviation base at San Diego on
January 10 on their flight, Robert
son told the searchers. The only wa
ter they had was taken from the ra-
hator Of the airplane, Robertson
said. and it. was exhausted four days
ago.
On Autos Trail.
Robertson was found yesterday
and was following the tracks Of the
automobile Of the searching party.
He was trailing the base Of the Gila
mountains. 200 miles south OF the
border. He directed the searching
party to the Rosario mountains, 80
miles farther south. where he said
he left Bishop the day before. Bishop
had become exhausted and was una
Die 10 walk.
Leaving Robertson IN charge Of
Two og the searchers, other mombeIs
0E the party pressed southwark ana
rouTN BISHOP tying on he ground in
4 mountain pass. He was unable to
searchers.
Robertson said the members of
the searching party were the first hu-
mans he had seen since he landed.
Ho was unable to give definite infor-
nation as to the district wherein
they landed. but thought i. was $50
miles or more south of the Arizona
border. The searchers said neither
Of the men was delirious when
found
Propeller Broke.
The propeller Of their airplane was
broken, Robertson said. when they
nrade landing about 1890 p. m.
Wednesday. January 10. Enough
gasoline for 30 minutes flight re-
manned in the tank.
The aviators remained with the
airplane until 4.30 that afternoon
and then abandoned 1t, starting
across the desert toward the noun
tains and heading north. They
drained a gallon oil can and filled it
with water from the radiator OF their
afrplane. This they carried with
them.
Lieut., Robertson gave his story in
detail tonight, as follows:
We left San Diego at $50 a. m.
January 10, intending to go across
the mountains east to Calexico. In
sufficient maps made it necessary to
rely largely on compass readings.
For this reason to keep north of the
Mexican border we sailed course
25 degrees north OF east counted
On this course putting me into the
Imperial Valley we'll north Of the
border and then having to sail south
for about SO miles.
Flew Very High.
I'm order to cross the high noun
tains it was necessary to travel high,
averaging more than 1000 feet.
From this altitude it was impossible
to detect a very strong north wind
which ! encountered in the noun
tainS.
81 t'Inn turned southeas: After
about - minutes on tn ,urse
could sec distinctly througi. haze a
large body Of water we thought to
be the Salton Sea. The only map of
this section had showed Salton
Sea much too far south so this con-
firmed my belief that I was right.
AS my gas was running low my
only course was to keep goiug far
Lher south in order to strike Calex-
leo. Col. Bishop thought this body
OF water to be the Salton Sea. so
both Of us we're satisfied we were fol-
lowing the correct course.
Conldn't Figure on Drift.
Neither Col. Bishop nor myself
could possibly figure on the drift OF
tho machine. AS |; was hay, 1t was