Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1922-03-25
TELLS HOW ) DIED
!. ON miss MIAMI
Two Women Passed Away in
Pilots Arms; Man and Wife
leaped Overheard
SURVIVOR MAY NOT LIVE

Miami. Fla. March 25.-All five
Miami drowned at sea, according to
The story told. between intervals of
delirium, by its pilot. who was picked
MP last night by the steamship Will
Ham Green.
! The pilot. Robert Moore, was found
roped to the overturned craft fifty
miles at sea and 100 miles north Of this
port, more than fifty. hours after n
broken propeller had forced the flying
boat down shortly after starting last
Wednesday morning from this port to
the Island Of Bimini in the British
Bahamas. ordinarily trip by air of
only 4J minutes.
Moore was transferred TO the sub
chaser 154 and brought back to this
port today. He was rushed to a hos
pital. where 1t is feared the exposure
will result in his death.
Women Die In His Arms
According to the disconnected story
which the exhausted. and delrious pilot
told during intervals when he was ra-
tional. two women died in his arms
from exhaustion. two of the passcn-
gers became panic stricken and jumped
overheard to their deaths. and the re-
naming male passenger finally slipped
quietly into the watery grave Friday
morning as result Of sheer exhaus-
tion.
Shortly after the Miss Miami left
this port last Wednesday morning. n
broken propeller forced her down and
she rode the waves in safety, drifting
nortbward in the Gulf Stream:
Nothing happened until Thursday
morning. when the hull of the flier
began to leak as result OF striking
something. Men and women paSsen-
gers took turns using the pumps unit!
oil became exhausted and one of the
women. Thursday night-which one.
Pilot Moore could not say-Jumped
overheard. A man, whom he thought
was her husband leaped after her and
both disappeared, never to be seen
again. The fate of the man and wom-
an depressed the other two women and
they tainted away.
Last Passenger browns
After seven and a half hours. the
two women died in the arms of the pilot
and he gently dropped their bodies into
the water, which had now claimed four
passengers.
This left only Pilot Moore and
August Butte, vice president of the
Larabee Flour Mills Corporation. of
, Kansas City, who took turns manning
the pump in an effort to keep the
flying boat ahoat. They kept this up
until Friday morning. when they were
% exhausted they could no longer man
the pump. About this time huge
wave came along and overturned the
Aier.
Butte and Moore scrambled over the
stde Of the boat and Moore fastened a
. rope around himself to support him in
case he became unconscious. Standing
"a his feet, he waved a white handker :
chief. keeping this up all day long.
Z After praying for help. Butte, realiz-
I, ing his condition and that death was
not far away. took a roll of money con
tanning $4,000 from his pocket and
handed it to Moore. saying: 'iou are a
younger man and>may be able to come
Through. but I cannot hold out any
;longer." Then he, too. dropped to his
grave beneath the waters Of the At.
lantic.
According to Moore, nine boats
passed the Miss Miami after she was
down, one SO closely that he could read
her name. but they did not see the
Wrecked craft. He said that on We'd
nesday and Friday he saw planes flying
overhead. but saw none on Thursday.
In his delirium Moore fancied he saw
his mother and kept repeating ::
''Mother, you made me give up the au-
tomobile- racing game, but don take
my plane away from me.