The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1935-08-15
ORPHIR CREWS
HOPES BUOYED
BY DISCOVERY
Two Projections on Ocean
Floor Not LJsitania, Cap
tain Decides.
BY GILBERT MALLISTER
TiEss Special Writer.

tCopYriEht 1885. by United Fsstur.
Syndicate. Inc Reproduction ir whole
or part prohibited. All rights reserved
ABOARD SALVAGE SHIP Or
PHIR, Aug. 15-Hopes were buoyed
up yesterday as the Orphirs uner-
ring echo sounder recorded two new
projections on the ocean floor. Capt.
Henry Russell Immediately ordered
a fifth marker TO be dropped. The
crew at the steam winch laboriously
lowered the Changing steam anchor
Tor dragging, in an effort TO hook
one of them and possibly detach a
telltale bit Of wTeckage. The steam
anchor Is small auxiliary anchor
usually used for temporarily holding
a ship IN stream or river
As the anchor was being lowered
I stood on the forecastle head not
at all conscious OF any imminent
danger. -Four deck boys. and six
able-b bodied seamen under Boat
swain MacLaren directed by Chief
Officer Bestlc carried out the task
II looked simple enough as fifty
fathoms Of cable started to slip over
the port bow of the ship
But I realized shortly that such
was not the case. As the men played
out the cable some suffered severe
Isoersuons to their hands. While
that was bad enough. 1t did not
seem that there was any risk TO life
Warns of Dangers
Suddenly shouted warning from
Chief Officer Bestic and q sharp cry
from BoatsWain MacLaren made me
Jump. The steel cable had become
taut, and little extra strain on the
rope would have snapped it. IN
der the tremendous pull eXerted by
the falling anchor any one in the
way of the kissing cable would have
been cut through as a wire cleaves
cheese.
Boatswain MacLaren called out:
You keep well back, Mac. It's
all right for me to run such risks be-
cause I know where the danger lies
and can avoid it. That cable would
have cut your head of before you
had time to duck"
For hours the Orphir Combed the
vicinity of the newly placed buoy.
keeping well clear Of it IN order that
the mooring chain might not be
caught by the propellers. To cruise
too near the buoy would result in a
fatal shearing of the propeller
blades.
Crew Still Confident
1t was only after carefully drag
glng over the newly located spot for
two hours that Capt Russell became
firmly convinced that the protub-
erances. whatever they we're, could
not be the lost Lusitania With
Sherlock Holmes-like persistency, he
will continue to comb this entire
area, eXhaustively. inch by inch Not
until this is done. can he see any
reason for reversing his fixed con-
ASAAOAA AAAoN AAAN 6AOhA snip We SNIh
lies somewhere in these waters.
William Stephens, echo sounder
expert, remains unchanged in his
belief that there will be no shadow
of doubt when We finally do come
over the Lusitania wreckage."
Marks on the chart, he claims, will
be so we'll defined that 1t will be i'm
possible to be misled.
The Orphir has now completed
more than thousand miles, steam
ing endlessly forward and back
ward in criSS-cross fashion over
the tiny area II miles square in its
relentless search for the liners hulk.
AS the area is closed and charted.
there is not the slightest diminution
of optimism that the giant Gu
harder will shortly be located.