, 1925-01-23

Into the wind. and gliding for a
landing on the ocean.
I'VE. OF course. turned Immediate
~, circled as close as We dared. and
watched them land. In spite OF a
long swell and mountainous waves,
Leigh brought her down perfectly.
fFlying low to get their signals. we
saw oil on the water and all over the
plane.
Seek Help for. Wade.
Leigh signaled frantically for us
not to land. Because of the swell he
figured that II We came down beside
him we would never get off again.
and then we would both be help
less in the middle OF the ocean. But
we did <hate TO leave them sitting
out thefe In that remote part OF
the North Atlantic. However. after
oircling around a time or two we
headed off on our course and flew
with the throttle wide open. The
nearest destroyer was the Billings.
by. But she was over a hundred
miles away. near the Farce islands
AS we passed over the Fnroes
we say a telegraph line, which we
followed around Sybero island until
| We came to q village. where We
dropped a message. A bit north OF
the Faroes we picked up the Bill.
ingsby. But before we reached her
Lowell had written two notes. each
Identical. describing wade's mis-
hap. the peril he and Ogden were In,
| their oxact location, time of landing,
and the condition OF both sea and
| wind so that the naval officers could
estimate how far the wind might
blow them in tho interval before a
rescue could be effected.
1.-THE first motto we put in a mes
sage bag, but tho destroyer happen
| ed to be under way, making fully
20 knots, so I missed her deck by
several yards. We had only one
motto left and every moment was
| precious. 1t was imperative that
this ono should get to the captain OF
| tho Billingsby. So 1 tied It to my
ono and only life preserver, and
whom I dropped It this time again
| missed the deck, but a sailor dove
overheard and fished It out OF the
sea-.
Sea Greybounds to Rescue.
"The note ended with II request
| that II they understood and would
at once start to the rescue. to give
III three blasts from tho whistle,
We circied around, saw tho captain
| seize thu message, read II. run
across the deck, and shout his
commands. A moment later we saw
three long white streaks Of steam
coming from tho whistle, and al.
most at tho same moment clouds Of
smoke poured from the tunnels. and
tho destroyer shot ahead and was
off like n flash. It seemed 10 jump
Just like a greyhound. Never have
1 seen a vessel leap ahead like
that. Later we learned that she
had Travelled SO fast she had burnt
all tho paint off one OF her stacks
"As she raced through the sea
Mt 81 knots the captain wirelessed
to the cruiser, Richmond and the
latter Immediately started TO the
rescue at a speed OF 80 knots.
I'VE now returned &c our course,
and from here on to Iceland flew
through light rain and fog. In or.
der to see the water we had to fly
so feet off II for over 500 miles. But
the wind was still with US and we
continued to average O hundred
miles an hour. Through mist and
rain we flew over tho cruiser. Ra-
leigh. and although he had no way
OF checking our compass course.
Lowell piloted US right In 10 Horna-
ford. After mooring alongside the
New Orleans. Erik and Jack pitch.
ed in and helped us service up,
while crowds OF Icelanders, dc.
seendants OF tho Danes. came out in
rowboats propelled by funny shaped
oars.
There on the shore. In a large
fishermnn's hut, with a ring OF grim
mountains. a smoking volcano. and
five glaciers for a background. we
anxiously awaited word from Wade
and Ogden"
No Warning Of Trouble.
Lieut.. Wade In describing the mis-,
fortune that befell the Boston de.
clarod that everything had seem
~ fAIat - AAANh tAP ~ AN~stAAa
right up until the moment when the
accident occurred. Their trouble
came without warming.
IAN OF a sudden | noticed the oil
pressure going down. Wade eaid.
In a few seconds II dropped ali the
way to zero. SO there was nothing
to do but land at once and take no
chances on the motor freezing and
our falling lpto a spin. our nlt!.
tude was approximately 900 feet,
30 / had no difficulty IN turning
and leading into the wind.
When We reached tho water ]
discovered how deceiving the sen IL
when you are above It. From 500
feet It hac looked fairly smooth,
But when We landed we found II
SO rough that the left pontoon
wrapped itself completely around
the lower wing ard snapped two OF
the vertical wires.
AT first ! thought the oil tank
had burst and let the entire supply
drop out. But II was still full. so
we know that our trouble was slmp.
~ due to the failure OF tho oil pump
This meant that our repairs could
not be made at sea.
. Smith and Les were circlina
around us. and l was fearful that
they might land and crack up also.
That was why we aignalled so fran.
ticaily Tor them to stay In the air.
We indicated to them that our en-.