, 1922-03-25
boats PASS BY
.AS VICTIMS OE
WRECK CLING To
.CRAFT, HE SAYS
People on Flying Boat
Forced Down at Sea
Slip Into Water From
Sheer Exhaustion

MIAMI, ria, March 25.-
Two of the women passengers
of the flying boat Miss Miami
which left here Wednesday
for the island of Bimini and
was forced down in the open
sea by a browen propeller. died Of ex.
poseure and two other passengers
crazed by exposure jumped overheard
into the sea- according to the story
told by Robert Moore. pilot of the
craft to members OF the crew of tho
steamer William Green which res
cued him last night from the wrecked
hull Of the boat
The fifth passenger, a mar whose
name as well as those Of tho others
Moore could not give. slipped quietly
into the sea early yesterday after hay-
ing become exhausted from clingtng
to the craft Passengers aboard the
Miss Miami when sho left here were
Mr.. and Mrs. August Butte and Mr..
and Mrs. Lawrence Smith, all OF Kan
sas City, and Mrs. J. ii. Dickson Of
Memphis.
The ~sub-chaser 1854 arrived in port
shortly after 10 o'clock today after
having transferred the deiirious pilot
from the steamer William Green
which picked him ~. lie was rushed
to II hospital.
According to his disconnected story
told during intervals when he was ra-
tional, two women died in his arms
from exhaustion, two of the passeng-
ers become panic stricken and jumped
overheard to their deaths. and the
remaining male passengers finally
slipped quietly into h watery grave
Friday morning as n result of sheer
exhaustion.
The ~incoherent story CT the acct.
dent rs told to the members OF the
crew by the pilot before he lapsed the
Miss Miami left this port last wednes-
day morning. a broken propeller fore
| ed her down and she rode the waves
in safety. drifting northward in the
| gulf stream.
Nothing happened NTH Thursday
morning when the Jul of the flyer be-
| gan to leak. Men and women passeng-
| ers took turns at the pumps until oil
became exhausted and one of the
women on Thursday night jumped
overheard. A man whom he thought
vas her husband, leaped after her
and both disappeared. never to be
seen again The fate of the man and
woman depressed the other two wom-
Ell and they tainted away but were
supported ~ Pilot Moore for seven
and n half hours. when they died in
the arms of the pilot and he gently
dropped their bodies into the water
which had nov claimed four passeng-
ers.
This left only Pilot Moore and Au-
gust Butte. vice president of the
Larabee Flour Mills corporation OF
Kansas City. who took turns man
ming the pumping efforts to keep the
flying out afloat-
They kept this UP until Friday
morning when they were SO exhaust
ed they could no longer man the
pump About this time a huge wave
came along and overturned the flyer.
Butte and Moor scrambled over the
side of the boat and Moore fastened
a rope around himself to supper him
in case ne became unconscious. Stand
ing on his feet he waved a white
handkerchief. keeping this up all day
long.
After praying for help, Butte, real
izing his condition, Dol a roll OF
money containing $1,000 from his
pocket and handed It to Moore say
ing:
You are a younger man and may
be able to come through but 1 cannot
hold out any longer"
Then he. too, dropped into the
waters
Moore said nine boats passed the
Miss Miami after She was down. one
so close that he could read her name
but they did not see h wrecked
craft. He said that on "Wednesday
and Friday he saw planes flying over
head but saw one on Thursday.
Mrs. ]. Stewart Williams, wife OF n
consulting engineer of the Pan Am
erican Petroleum company. was
aboard the William Green and took
= Continued on Page -