Daily Kennebec journal., 1883-02-19

rHE JEANETTE.
The Report Of the board Of Inqniry
Made Public.

uS IcROGb Vi Tic OCoouCssC ASc@sN - -,
quiry is made public. The condition Of the
vessel on her departure from San Francisco.
the report SAYS, was good, and satisfactory to
the off ..rs and crew. except that she was
unavoidably deeply loaded. q defect which
corrected itself by the consumption of coal.
provisions and stores. As to her manage
ment the report says: Arrangements to
abandon the ship NJ a moments warning and
to guard against fire were all that could be
desired. and evidence shows that the man
sgement of the Jeannette up to the time OF
her destruction Lieut.. Commander DE Long
by his furesight and prudence provided meas
ures tn meet emergencies and enforced wise
regulations to maintain discipline, 10 preserve
health. and to encourage cheerfuiness among
those under his command. The fact of the
ship having passed n second winter in the ice
without anv appearance of scurvy on board
sufficiently attests the excellence of sanitary
arrangements adopted and Reflects great Credit
upon her medical officer, Passed Assistant
Surgeon James NJ. Amber. OF the circum
stances attending the loss of the Jeannette Re-
port says: Any vessel in a like position.
no matter what her model might have been,
or however strongly constructed SUBJECT
ed to the same pressure as that incurred by
the Jeanette would have been annihlated.
manner on the evening of June 18th and
founded about A. NJ. the day following.
and the court attaches no blame to any Of
fic-r or man for her loss. Also, ''the pro-
visions made and plans adopted for the sew
eral boats crews upon their leaving the
wreck" The report says: The contingency
of the loss of the vessel has been foreseen
and provided for, and when the emergency
srOse everything was prepared to meet 1t;
also, 1.-THE efforts made by various officers to
insure the safety of the parties urder their
immediate charge, and for the reliet of other
parties" The board SAYS: For three months
after the retreat began the entire ships COM
pany remained together under the command
er. struggling against obstacles which re-
Quired indOmitab.e pluck and perseverance
to overcome. There seem to have been nc
precaution neglected which would tend to
insure the safety of the company. Dur
ing this time. AS well as upon other occasions
the conduct of ice pilot Dunbar. Boatswain
Cole and Freeman Bartlett elected well de-
| served commentators.
On September II. the three boats were sep
arated in gale when approaching the Sibe-
rjan Coast, and no further record exists OF
the second cutters party but as Lieut.. Chipp
was noted for his seamanlike qualities, il
NAV safely be assumed that he did all that a
brave andcapable man could do to weather
te hRale. NOros and Ninderman, of DeLong's
party. who were sent forward for assistance,
are held blameless for the loss of their COM
rades.
The report saws that these two men unsuc.
cessfully did their utmost to make the natives
understand the condition of the commander
party, and induce them to go to its relief
There was some confusion in the minds OF
these people between the commanders party
and Melville's, at Geromavialocke, but the
two sexmen knew nothing of the whale
boats ate, and cOull not, therefore. guess
at the mistake, nor is it probable that if they
had returned. they would have found any OF
the commanders party alive. OF Melville's
effort to save the DeLong and Chipp parties
the report SAYS that it was not until October
20 that Melville learned that the fir,t cutter
had survived the gale, when he at once did
all in his power to succor his missing com.
rades. He succeeded in recovering portion
of the records. but after nearly sacrificing
his life, and being fully assured that the re-
mainder uf the first cutters party had per.
ished, he returned to Yakutsk, where he at
at once commenced preparations for a more
extended search, which finally resulted in
finding the remainder of the records, and the
bodies OF belongs party. The coast and
upper portion of the Lena Delta was then
thoroughly searched for the second cutters
party but without success.
Melville, with all but FIVE men then pro.
ceeded home. by order of the navy depart.
ment. Considering the condition of the sur
vivors, the unfavorable season, the limited
knowledge OF the country, want of facilities
for prosecuting the search and great difficulty
in communicating with the natives, every
thing was done for the relief of the p rites.
OF general conduct and merits of the officers
and men, the report says that it is conclusive
evidence that aside from trivial difficulties
which had no pernicious effect upon the gen.
eral conduct of the expedition, every officer
and man so conducted himself that the court
finds no occasion to impute censure to any
member of the party.
In view then of the long and dreary mo-
notony Of the cruise, the labors and priva-
tions encountered, the disappointment conse.
quent upon want of important results and
uncertainty Of their fate (apart from natu
raj desire to tread lightly on the graves OF
the dead). the general conduct OF the per-
sOnnel of the exhibition seems to have been
marvel of cheerulness and good fellow.
ship and mutual forbearance, while the con.
stancy and endurance with whi:h they met
hardships and dangers that beset them, en-.
| title them to great praise. Beside tine men.
| tion already made, however, a special com
mendation is due to Lieut.. Commander De
Long for the high qualities displayed by hin
ia the conduct OF the exhibition; to the
Chief Engineer Melville for the Zeal, ener
gv and professional aptitude which elected
high encomiums from his commander for his
subsequent efforts on the Lena Delta, and 4
seamen Ninderman and Noros for service,
which induced their commander to recon
mend them for medals of honor; finally i
| should be stated that there are several sur.
vivors of the Jeanette who have not re
| turned from Siberia and whose testimony
might or might not modify the conclusion.
set forth in this report.