The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1883-10-24

The Secretary of the Navy Addresses some
Pertinent Questions to Commander
Wildes, of the Arctic Relief steamer
Mantle, and j. Fully Answered.
WASH.NGTOS, Oct. 2l.-Secretary Chandler
has written a letter to Commander Wildes.
OF the steamship Yantic. with respect to the
failure OF the expedition for the relief of
Greedy and party, in which, after compli
mentiHg Commander Wildes and his officers
for the zeal and energy displayed. says:
The posi- ion in which Greedy is left arouses rea-
SouaDie inquiry: Did every member Of the relief
expedition. whether officer, seaman, soldier or
CIVILIAN. DO his utmost TO accomplish the success
ers Tor whom be went in search? Your instruc-
ton. under date of June g. were to proceed north
steamer Ftoteus If practicable out not TO 90 be-
You'd LlttletOn Island. T1e Proteus pas cd Little
ton island July -, and was crushed in the ice
Island until August 3. brtwe-n July y and
August 3 namely, On July 70 and -.
Lieutenant Darlington aud the whole party OF the
Protems had Ia some to Litteton Island and Pan
dora HaroOT. and not finding the Iantic had con-
hueo 20 TOE sonth IN open boats IN search OF her.
Notwithstanding orders OF the War Department
were given for such contingency TO land with
their stores az near the life boat IN Little
next year Had the YsnIic, howeyer bee at Lit
tletOu Island July IS instead of being twelve days
behind the i'rOfeus Lieutenant Garlington's re-
lief party would have remained ut that point with
ample supplies. keeping their telescopes on Cape
Sabine aad the land 10 the north ward and waiting
or Lieutenant Greedy, whose orders Tequir him
endesvOr 10 reach that vicinity not later
than september. 1855. and who would not
II he has ceSsfully obey ed his ORDERS neither
house nor provisions, but only record of the
complete failure OF the PrOieus and Yantie IL
not. therefore, in the present aspect OF fact
seem 60 the Department that the Gantic properly
fulfilled her duty as tender 10 the PrOteus, With
which she had been ordered TO proceed in con-
Whereby defeating the ObiecI of the expedition.
You viii make Slch full eXplana Ion on this point
aS.you are able Your attention is also called 70
sofic OF IL fnstf1etionS 70 ssH MI
ton aud were aware that lie was ordered
IN TIE event OF the failure OF
The Proie:l' TO reach Lady franklin
and that Lieutenant Greeley would endeavor /,
reach that p0iEt in September. expecting there 10
ind the ie.ief ariy. hOnse, food aud provisions
You IitIIeiou Island ON A ugilst 3 ami
learned that the T'rOteus ilad been crushed aud
thai Lieutenant Darlington and his whole party
haC gOue s0uth leaving nothing for Greedy az
Iittieton Island You could have readily landed
there PROVISIONS and supplies, but omittei to do
20. You Will please explain this omission.
lnCiOS6d you viii also find a cOoy OF the memo
randgn marSed Enclosure 4, containing the in
and the PrOjeus, and you will inform the Depart
ment whether. during your voyage there. any
suCh instructions were seen by you. or were orally
WILLIAM F. CHANDLER.
Secretary OF the Navy
wILDEs' RESPONSE.
10 ti,is Commander Wildes replies that the
boilers OF the Yantic were i'm unreliable
condition when ordered to fit up for north
erncruise- The repair, were pushed night
and dsy 70 hasten the departure but not
being finished on the sailing day, material
for completing the work was put on board,
ar d the repairs ontinued from time to time
until the ar iyal at God Haven. Knowing
that from thence northward the main de-
pendence would be on the engines, deter
mined to get the boilers i'm a fair condition
before leaving. This took six days. One
was then taken to get coal from the brig
Peru, which had Just arrived; then thick
heavy weather set in, which delayed the de
parture two days. He arrived at God Haven
with but 40 tons of coal, and more time was
lost. so that it was July p before she could
leave. Six more days were lost by the
dense fog and on the 3lSt she cleared
from from Uppernavick tor sea
no time was lost and no unnecessary delay
made at any point Had he sailed from
God Haven ut the same time as the Proteus,
besides being unable to keep up with her he
would have arrived at LettletOn Island with
the coal supply reduced TO seventy-five tons
and the boilers in a leaky. precarious cond-
ton. Commander Wildes describes the dan
gers connected with the passage through
Melville Bay, and saws he did not DELAY one
moment after he considered the ship re-
paireu, Dnt p0Sheu anead anu only reached
Pandora HarbOr to find tile boats had gone
south six days before. He considered it his
inst aud paramount duty on learning of the
loss Of TIE Proteus to pick up the boats
which con tanned thirty seven men. and hay
ing done that it would be time TO consider
what TO do next. Having made long and
unsuccessful search for the boats heavy
pack OF ice moved down behind the Nantic,
preventing return northward and leaving
no alternative but to proceed TO Upernayick.
The letter concludes as follows:
The memorandum marked Enclosure L."
with no date Z signature which esume are the
supplementary instructions 50 often spoken OF.
was never heard OF by me until our arrival in -.
Johns. nor seen until now. | am prepHed TO
shoulder all rcspons. bility which belongs 10 me
and il this statement is not satisfactory, and there
still remains doubts in the Department. that have
not done my duty officer of the United States
Navy, I respectfully request That Court of In
Quiry may be ordered on my conduct, as do not
wish to rest under the impu alton that | have
heedlessly aud unnecessarily left Lieutenant
Greedy aud party To a possibility OF Pcrishing by
starvation.
i am, sir, your obedient servant,
FRANK WHDEs. Commander L. ;. y.
LAND GRANTS.