GERMAN AIRMEN

Hokitika Guardian, 5 July 1932, Page 5

GERMAN AIRMEN

FOUND ALIVE BOTH IN VERY WEAK CONDITION (Australian Press Associ/xtion.) PERTH, July 4. Wireless message from the , Di'ysdale Catholic Mission in North West .Australia, skates;—“Th e two missing German airmen, Beltram .and K-'.ause-mann, who landed in the Junkers seaplane and made, for the bush oil ,15th May have been found alive. - ’ The German 'aviators Belt-ram and Klausemann, who have been missing since the 15th of May, were found on June' 22.

Th© place where they were _di"cov ered -is six miles west of Cape Birner.

They were found by the Dry Mission. Natives, who were going ahead of Constable Marshall’s police party. Constable Marshall contacted with the Germans on June 29.

A launch left Wyndhani to-day for the Germans, and it ,is expected to return with the airmen on Wednesday to Wyndham.

The men are reported to be well but weak.

It is under,pood that they were at on© period temporarily deranged in mind owing to their hard*h-ipa . The German aviators could just walk when they were discovered. Bertram particularly, was In a bad way. The- airmen had a piece of ’half-cook; ed kangaroo in a towel. Th e spot where- they were discovered by the Drysdale Mission Natives is about two’ve miles from their abandoned seaplane.

As anticipated, the seaplarie’s float, whereon the. two men had left ,/to, search for as-hstunco did not cany them 'far. The float was cast up, on. the shore in a damaged condition seme distance from where the men wpre found. ,

They met friendly natives who.,-;’’o- - them with nourishment, pending, the .arrival of the party froni -he Dry.v dale Mission on June 22.

TERRIBLE TALE OF PRIVATION

REACTION AFTER BEING RESCUED

(Received this day at 9.25 a.m)

.WYNDHAM. July 5. “Bread, bread, bread ! - Have you any. bread?” cried th e German fliers, Bertram and Klausemann, when Constnb e Marshall found -them. They had kc-pt themselves alive for days on lizards and un-ails,.,and-.the. joy at being rescued after 'their dreadful experiences unhmg-' ed their minds, for a- few hours: after they were found*-' and«'Be r trftm t-.vwepti almost ‘the whole day. They .are expected to recover with careful treatment. Bertram’s account of their’ sufferings, written down by Marshall, is a moving document. The story was told -briefly, but, reading between the lines one gains the picture of nights spent in agony, through swollen limbs, .ofiGstarving men grubbing in the . dirt ; for snails, and searching.; the rock crevices for lizards- in order to keep alive,.and, finally, of two men, too exhausted to fight any longer, lying down behind some rocks, waiting for death to relieve ’their sufferings. /

FIVE DAYS AFLOAT AT SEA

STEADIER PASSED CLOSE BY

(Received th ; « <’ •’ WYDNHAM, July 5.

Bertram, in a statement, said that at seven o’clock on the morning of May 15 they landed with their last drop of petrol, and -thought they were on Melvii'le Island. They walked east [or three dnvs and saw no- game,# or natives and lost all their clothes and belongings They swam a big bay, and had to cat gum leaves. They then returned to the- piano and made a boat of'one of the flouts. They had no food or water, but caught herrings in the bay, * and, when it, mined, tliev drank' the water from the wings of the plane, while they had previously drunk tliei engine water. They left the plane and drifted ip the boat made from a. float, spending five days on the- open sea without food or water. On. May 29 a steamer passed within a mile of them. They returned to the lipid near Cap©'Bernierand still thought that they were at Melville Island.

After two days’ rest they explored further and discovered that they worn between* Wyndham and Cape London tlerry. They lived on lizards till June 90 when they saw a native >and ''called to him.

He came at once and said that he wits from Drvsdnle und gave them a hig fish.. They then saw another party of Drysdalc natives who brought lood from the mission- Further help a>rivod when Marshall -and Smith reached them on the following day.

WELCOME NEWS FOR PAR-ENT-S. BERLIN, July 4.

Bertram’s prvents, win/ -are innkeepers •at Remseheid, near Solingeu, received a cable “Rescued, well, greetings to everybody. God lives, -Hans. The anxiety so affected Bertram s M-other, that, her Lack hair turned •white. The father was also affected with tile s' ■ tin, and is now suffering from heart trouble. The grandmother was -so much affected when Bertram was reported Missing that -she died a lortniglit ago. ________