Evening star., 1924-08-24
Message From Smith Rouses
Apprehension That Loca.
tell Has Lost Life.
ESKIM0S MAKE FUTILE
SEARCH FOR AVIATOR
Two q. S. Ships and Four Planes
Also Are Engaged in
Intensive Hunt.

Searching parties, organized among
the Eskimos of southern Greenland,
have combed the east and west coasts
Of that country in vain for some
trace of Lieut.. Locatelli. and Army
and Navy officials in the north now
are convinced that the italian aviator,
who hoped off from Reykjavik with
the American und-the-worid flyers,
dropped into the sea, according to
dispatches received by the War De-
partment late last night.
The latest message came from the
American cruiser Milwaukee, on
patrol duty off Greenland for the next
hop of the Americans-from Fred
ericksdal to Ivigtut. 1t had been
relayed by wireless from Lieut..
Lowell Smith. commanding the fight.
and was addressed to the Army Air
Service. After detailing that dense
fog had prevented the flyers from
taking off again yesterday. Lieut..
Smith added the following significant
sentence:
Natives sent out off islands re-
turned with information leading US
believe Locatelli failed to get through
dense fog on 21st, and that he never
passed Cape Farewell"
Eskimos Best Hope.
Earlier information has been re-
ceived to the effect that rescue par
ties had been formed among the
Eskimos in desperate hope that
they the only people in Greenland
sufficiently familiar with existing
conditions there, might find some clue
as to whether the Italian aviator had
reached the continent and become
lost somewhere in its unfamiliar in
terror. Capt. West, one of the naval
officers attached to the patrol feet,
commanded them.
Fast motor boats from units of the
patrol feet were placed at the dis
posal Of the natives, and these rode
up and down~the coast lines search
ing every bay and inlet possible for
news of the lost flyer. Additional
native searching parties poked their
way far up costal streams In Eskimo
kayaks, but none of the native VIII
lagos reported hearing or sighting
the Italian plane. All returned to
Fredericksdal at night with the same
message.
Fear Italian Perixhed.
dense fog curtained the sea sew
eral hundred miles off the coast of
Greenland when Lieut.. Locatelli ac-
companied Smith and Nelson from
Ivigtut. The three fliers became sep
arated and it is now feared that the
Italian was lost and dropped help
less into the ocean. Although Ameri-
can patrol ships secured Greenland
waters for the lost aviator without
cessation, they, too, failed to md
trace of him and the fears that he
may have perished are gaining
among Army and Navy officers.
Last nights message from Lieut.
Smith was the first comprehensive
statement from him concerning Lieut..
Locatelli. the Air Service had re-
ceived. It also served to clear doubt
as to the delay at Fredericksdal.
previous message had described, after
long delay, the flight from Reyk-
javik.
Lieut.. Smith explained in the latest
dispatch that the proposed hop from
Fredericksdal to Ivigtut yesterday
was made impossible by the dense
fog He added, however. that he and
his comrades were ready to leave
on the first opportunity and this
was accepted as meaning that the
broken pontoon strut on Lieut. Nell
sons ship, which had been smashed
when he landed in rough sea at
| been repaired.
MaKruder Tells of Search.
Although press dispatches had
long before announced the safe ar
rival of the Americans at Fredericks-
dal, tension had been tremendous at
i the Air Service in the absence. of any
official dispatches from the flyers
themselves. In the meantime, Rear
Admiral Magruder, commander of the
light cruiser squadron, reported to
the Navy Department that he was
employing two ships-the Raleigh
and the Richmond-and four planes
in the search for Lieut.. Locatelli at
sea. ..a
In this connection. Admiral Ma
gruder requested that the Army Air
Service and Canadian" government
be asked to provide necessary funds
for conducting the search for the
Italian aviator. Naval officers here
were inclined to accept this request
as meaning that the funds needed for
| this purpose would be provided by
the Army Air Service and the Italian
government, since 1t was to finance
the expedition for the Italian flyer,
and that the reference to the Canad-
ian government had been due to an
error in transmitting the dispatch
here.
Steps taken by the Navy Depart
ment at tne request OF AuHifdl MA
gruder, included the dispatch OF the
cruiser Detroit from Newport. r.. l..
to St. John, New Brunswick, to take
station in the Bay of Fundy, while
the flight from the Labrador Coast
to Boston is in progress. as well as
orders for the fuel ship Brazos TO
proceed at once from Boston to Bay
Island on the West Coast of New
foundland with needed fuel oil for
the ships on patrol duty under
Admiral Magruder's command.
ICELAND HAS NO WORD.
Ar,,nu Airnaan RAliAves HowAvef>