of the disaster to Point Barrow, fifteen miles away, northernmost point on the continent, where the United States Army Signal Corps maintains a radio station. Over the dry hummocks, through little streams wending their way into the Arctic Ocean and around tiny lakes, where nested the white, whistling swans and the black-necked geese, the Eskimo walked and raced until three hours later he reached the settlement. Exhausted, he stopped near the radio shack to gasp out to a group of natives: "Bird men dead. Red bird blow up." Staff Sergeant Stanley R. Morgan, of the Signal Corps, the only representative of the Government north of Latitude 71°, heard the native's story, and from his pidgin English the soldier knew that the plane was that of Post and that the passenger was Will Rogers. Out into the Arctic night went Sergeant Morgan to round up a crew of Eskimo seal hunters to go to the scene. In a whaleboat kicked along by an outboard motor, they churned their way south- ward through the little streams and across the tiny ponds. It was several hours later before they came upon the wreckage. The plane lay on its back in two feet of water, its right wing was crumpled, its engine jammed back into the cockpit. HIS DAUGHTER'S PICTURE In Rogers' pocket was his Ingersoll watch, still ticking, showing the time at 3.30 A.M. On Post's wrist was a smashed watch showing the time at 8.18 P.M.--the time of the crash on August 15, -14- |