sent down to attach a line. Propeller Blade Found      Aided only by the light of the stars a squad of twenty-five blue-jackets form the cruiser San Diego, under the command of Lieut. S. H. Lawton, continued drag operations throughout the night.      One of the first persons to reach the scene of the accident was Barry Kelly, member of the San Diego Rowing Club, who was rowing on the bay in a shell. Barry picked up a part of the propeller blade, which he found floating in the water over the spot where the tractor went down. Later in the day he turned it over to Capt. Arthur Cowan, head of the signal corps aviation school. The piece evidently was

the one that was sheared off when the biplane first struck the water.      E. R. Watson, a member of the board of education and his nephew Miles Strafton, were eyewitnesses of the fatal accident. "We had been following the movements of the aeroplane for several minutes," said Watson. Accident Cause, Mystery      "It seemed to be flying along nicely until it suddenly pitched forward and plunged toward the bay, striking near beacon No. 10. When the aeroplane struck, a sharp sound like the firing of a gun occurred. If Lieutenant Taliaferro was not killed by the fall, I believe he might have been saved, if a fast motor boat had started from the station camp as soon

as the machine hit the water."      Officer Harold Reams of the San Diego police department was aboard the cruiser San Diego and saw Lieutenant Taliaferro fall. He bore out the statements of other witnesses that a speedy motorboat probably would have saved Lieutenant Taliaferro or at any rate prevented him from going into a watery grave.      "I can give no explanation of the accident until the machine is recovered," said Captain Cowan, head of the signal corps aviation school. "Lieutenant Taliaferro was one of the most skilled aviators in the army while No. 30 was one of the best aeroplanes we had on the school." Native of Kentucky

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