Evening star., 1925-09-04
SURVIVORS, ACCOUNTS.

SURVIVORS, ACCOUNTS.
Eighteen Saved 'Frem Wreck OF Shea-
sndesh Tell Heroic Stories.
BY shs Associated Pres.-
PHILADELPHIA September A.
The breaking Of gas bss over
power car No. 3. the aft starboard
car of the dirigibie Shenandoah, was
blamed by some ef the survivors %
the wreck for the tragedy yesterday
In Ohio.
When the Is survivors who came
by special car from the scene of the
wreck. en- route to their home station.
arrived al Philadslphis at 7:50 am.
today some of them agreed that this
accident, in conjunction with the
terrific storm, was responsible for
the wreck and Its ensuing loss of
life.
The storm was described by the
survivors as a Western twister." q
miniature cyclone. Some of the men
said they had been able to see the
storm coming, but that the ship had
been powerless TO get out Of its way.
Garry Comrades Effects.
AS the men trooped fresm the train
the Pennsylvania Railroad TO take
another train to I.skehurst. all OF
them were carrying heavy bags.
Are they your effects" some one
asked one OF the men, pointing TO the
bags.
mo" he said. They are the
things that belonged TO our comrades
who are dead"
Richardson Wilson Of Louisville.
Ky, a seaman, second class. listed
yesterday as injured, was among the
survivors, unhurt,
The rs men came on the train in
charge of Lieut., Hendley. They
were stiff and sore frem the leaps
they had made from the siDship as
it neared the ground. They were
grimy and very tired. Few slept
either last night or at anytime yes
terday. A number OF them described
how they clung to the outer envelope
and the framework and worked their
way from the top of the airship-al-
most q hundred feet-to a hand hold
near the bottom, where they were able
when the broken sections of the air.
ship dropped near the ground to let
go and drop 10 or IL feet TO safety.
We had 10 run for cur lives,
Wilson said. because the portion of
the bag in which we were the upper
portion, was rolling, sagging and
twisting from side to side"
Dropped s,0sa Feet.
Several members of the party said
that not only did the control car fall
but that Nos. and power cars
fell also q few minutes later. Wilson
said the control car must have drop
ped off when the dirigible was 2080
feet in the air. He could not hgure
how high they were when the power
cars fell away.
Wilson added that he was awakened
by the rolling of the Shena ndoa h.
1T was rolling tsfrihcally fere and
aft. up and down. he said The
ship seemed to plunge down o thou
sand feet or so. 1t was a swift, long
descent.
Then instantly Il was jerked up
ward at an angle OF AZ degrees to
about 5000 feet or perhaps 1000 feet.
That was when 1 heard the crash.
! knew that we were going down, and
looked below. | could see that we
were dropping fast.
Il made a fiying leap for the scaling
ladder that goes from the cat-wa Tx.
to the top of the bag. Other men all
around me, up and down the ship
were climbing the ladders to get away
from the dangerous bottom of the bag,
for they all knew that when she
struck the tendency, would be for the
frame to buckle and kill any one who
was near.
! After We got up to the top of the
bag we began a terribly diffieult job
of climbing over the outside of the
frame. tearing away portions of the
covering to get a hand-grip, and work
Ing our way downward and around
underneath or nearly underneath
Then we watched for our chance and
jumped
Searched fer Cabin,
WILSON, said that his duty on the
ship was to do the clerical work, and
almost the minute he fell to the
ground he ran into Lieut. Bosch. who
ordered him mmediately to start a
sea rcif for the control esr. 1t lay quite
a dists nee off across little valley, he
said. .. !. ~
TT was Q splintered wreck, said
Wilson, with .mangied bodies Inside
and lying around outside. We identi-
fed 1s of the dead There. Later we
found Lieut.. Sheppard and Cullina n,
who had fallen separately when the
Shenandoah was stiil well up in the
air. !. No men fell In the two power
ars, that followed the control ear TO
the ground, SO fareassI know. The
men were In the ears because avery
body in.the ship had heen ordered to
stand by about. Ave minutes before.
but clsmored ont and elung to the
framework before the two power cars
were ripped away
John j. Hahn the~dirigihle' cook.
"a Id. he was getting breakfast ready
when the crash occurred. 1T was
preceded by 2. spinning around Of the
ship from one of these Western twist
srs. IT was awful. " eeuldnf held
my feet. Then fekbt dropping ]