Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-09
DEFECTIVE COMPASS BLAMED
FOR COLUMBIA LOSING WAY

We flashed our searchlight, putting it
on and off several times, and we knew
they recognized it, because they &C.
knOwledged 1t in the same way. We
dropped down rather close TO them
trying to read their name.
BY that time we were wondering
whether we were going to hit Ire.
land, England, France or Spain, which
shows to what extent we were lost I'D
there in the storm, fog and clouds.
And then came our next big thrill
the Mauretania. Suddenly she
doomed up at us from down below
about 10 miles distant, and we GER.
tainly made a Decline for her. We
circled several times over her and we
clearly read her name. We also
waved our hands to the passengers on
her decks.
Signaled to Steamer.
Levine signaled with his hand like
a telegraphist working a telegra oh
key and an officer on the deck of the
Mauretania saluted and Immediately
went off, showing he understood-we
think it was the captain. We came
within SO to 100 feet of the Mature.
tania, flying along right beside her.
the New York Times which we were
carrying in the back of our plane.
We turned over the pages until we
found the steamship news and learned
what day the Mauritania had sailed
from Southampton.
Having found it; we started com.
putting what her position would be
roughly when we sighted her, and
from that we computed our position
and saw we were somewhere near
Ireland or England.
The next big thrill was our first
glimpse of land. We don't know just
what place it was. Levine was sure
it must be Ireland because he was
born on the 18th of March-St. Pat
rick's day. Anyhow, it was Ireland or
England. We knew then we were in
sight of success and we began to get.
excited.
Over the North Sea the plane be-
came unmanageable.
Chamberlin said: "I can't do a
thing with it, you take the stick"
Levine laughed and Chamberlin won
dered why.
Levine said it was because it was
like riding a bucking broncho when
they shout, ride him. cowboy, ride
him."
Forced Up 20,0W Feet.
After that we thought things would
be comparatively smooth. Now that
the really dangerous part of the trip
was over, the thrills we thought
would get less frequent, but there was
one mighty big one. After we had
gone over quite a strip Of the Eu-
ropean continent and we were we'll
on our way toward Berlin there came
a thrill which we figured out was the
biggest of the whole trip.
We found ourselves forced to go up
to an altitude of something like
10000 feet above the ground and stay
there the whole night. For all we
knew we might have been even higher
because the altitude recorder we were
carrying only registered as far as
that height-aS soon as you get TO
10000 feet 1t become all guesswork
how much higher you may be.
Our thermometer registered IS de-
grees above the freezing point. 1t
certainly was cold.
We stuck up there at that altitude
right through the night before we
could venture down further. Those
hours were not at all pleasant.
After that there We're not any really
big thrills--not even when we were
forced to land for the first time in
Germany because our gasoline was
running out and not even when the
plane came down on its nose near
Kottbus.
Copyright. 1927, IN the United States; Can
ada. Mexico, Cuba. South America, Japan,
Europe and the British Empire BY the New
ofE terSiddsa sO TisScas per n S
All riea reseryedsb ,st