Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-11-21
HAZEN QUESTIONS WILDES
THE IMPUTATIoNs ON THE SIG
NAL SERVICE RESENTED.

The Captains Bad Impression of the
Crew the Result of His Personal Obser-
vation-Lieut ColweII Again Tells of
the Inexperienee of Capt. Pike and
Himself.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 20.-Commander
Wildes' examination before the Proteus
court ofinquiry was resumed to-day. Gen.
HaZen was present and asked leave toput
some questions to the witness. The wit
ness asked the court if it was permissible
for any one outside of the court to ask
him any questions they might choose.
He was informed that questions might be
proposed to the court, and would become
the questions of the court. Gen. Hazen
asked what positive knowledge the
witness had that the or ew of the Proteus
was made up OF "beach-cOmbers
and lOngshoremen, and not seamen.
A contract was made with the owners of
the Proteus, a firm of long standing and
high respectability, and ne believed every
possible means had been taken to secure
good crew. The witness said that the
PrOteus was engaged too late to secure
good crew. He had also received infor-
nation on the subject from Lieut. Colwell.
and had moreover caused the crew of the
PrOteus to be mustered every morning
while they were on the Yantic, and thus
an opportunity had been afforded to form
an opinion by personal observation. The
majority were not such men as would
have been enlisted on the Yantic as
seamen. Gen. HaZen asked what evil
dence Capt. Wildes had that the crew Of
the Proteus were mutinously inclined.
The witness said his information was all
derived from Lieut.. COlwell. Gen. Hazen
asked whether the witness yesterday in
tended to include the Chief Signal Officer
and the officers of the Signal Service in
stating that the authors of the expedition
had not, to his knowledge, studied author
tiles in regard to arctic navigation before
Lieut.. Darlington was sent out.
The Witness-I have nothing to add to
the answer there, sir.
Gen. HaZen-Then l would like to ask
what he the witness) knows about the
study or experience of the Chief Signal
Officer and the officers of the bureau in
regard to that expedition.
The witness-I said that ] did not
know that any reference was made to
former eXperience-that is, not to my
knowledge. l only judged by what is
patent to everybody-what everybody can
see for themselves of the progress and
results last year and this year. That is
the only reason.
Gen. Hazen-Then l would like to ask
wherein the expedition of either last year
or this year failed to get as far north or
do as much as any ships could do up to
the time that the ship last year came to
the solid pack, which no ships could pass,
and this year until she, by false seaman
ship or the acts Of God, was nipped and
sunk?
The witness Probably they did as
much as they could do last year and this
year, fitted and equipped as they were.
Lieut.. COlWell was recalled and in
reply to inquiries said that Capt. Pike
''cOnned" his ships from the bridge under
the direction of one of his mates in the
crow nest. Capt. Pike was without eXpe-
rience in the arctic ice. The witness
also was without experience. Looking
back at the events of the voyage he
thought that the Proteus should have
been taken out of the pack and
was stopped the night previous TO the dis
aster. The officers of the PrOteus had no
control over the crew. At the time of the
disaster the witness heard one Of the
crew defy one of the officers, telling him
that the PrOteus was lost, and that they
were no more officers. Several times he
had heard Capt. Pike give orders which
were not Obeyed by his crew. The wit.
ness had received private information
from a member of the crew that led him
to keep an armed watch over Lieut.. Gar
lingtOn's boats, the crew having formed
plot 10 seize them as being better than
the Proteus' boats, and make their way
to the west coast. The witness being
relieved Gen. IIaZen asked leave to make
a statement. Permission beieg given,
Gen. Hazen said that the PrOteus and her
Captain were hired after very deliberate
and careful consideration. Capt. Pike
brought to the owners Of the ship from
Lieut.. Greely, in 1881, a letter highly i'll
dorsing him. The owners of the PrOteus
were firm of very long standing, over
hundred years, and of the highest re-
spectability, who considered their prObity
in business as high as 1t was possible for
any firm to be. They made a contract TO
furnish a ship, thoroughly equipped,
manned and prOvisiOned in the
best possible way. They now claim
that they did so. If they did not
they were very much at fault. 1t was in
the evidence that they did not do it. He
would, therefore, ask that Capt. Pike, Mr..
Symes, the agent of the owners of the
Proteus, and United States Consul NAL
10y, of st. Johns, through whom the
contract was made, be called as witnesses.
Without wishing to cast any reflection
upon the gentlemen who had testified, it
would seem that the other side should be
heard. These gentlemen had expressed a
desire TO be heard. 1t had also been SAID
that the OriginatOrs of the expedition did
not give the subject proper study,
did not properly plan it, and
that the means We're inadequate.
He would like to have Capt. Clapp, of the
Sixteenth Infantry, who knew more of
that than anybody else except himself),
| brought before the court to testify to the
! character of the study. He would further
more like to have Gen. John b. Hawkins,
who bought the stores, called to testify
with regard to their quality.
Without passing upon Gen. HaZen's
last request for witnesses, the court adj
iOurned