Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-11-15


matters over at great length with Capt.
Wildes on the way from New York to 1t.
John. The written agreement was a
correct embodiment of the understanding
thus arrived at. 1t was the only arrange
ment that Lieut.. Darlington thought could
be carried out.
The COurt-''Nr Darlington. by your
instructions you considered it your duty
not to stop on your way, but go as far as
you could and make the depot Of supplies
if you didn't get up to Lieut.. Greely's.
to make a depot of supplies as YOU came
back, not as you went up?"
''That is what l understood in my i'll
structiOns."
''Then you say that you went south in
your boats, hoping to meet the Yantic,
I and came back in order to make the de
pot there, and leave yourself and some
of your men to spend the winter"
"'Yes, SIR
GLOW near did you expect to meet the
Yantic?'
81 always had in view the chance of her
getting through Melville Bay. and if she
had got through the Melville Bay ice and
entered the north water she would have
had no difficulty in getting to LittletOn
Island'
Lieut.. Darlington said that he expected
the Gantic to furnish the provisions upon
hearing the circumstances of the loss of
the PrOteus and her supplies, and to carry
them, with himself and men, back to Lit
tletOn Island.
When questioned about his understand
ing OF Lieut.. Greely's letter of August ,,
1881, as to whether depOts should be eS-
tablished on the way north or on the re-
turn, he said that the Neptune, going un-
der the same instructions, established her
depot at Cape Sabine only after her COM
mander had determined that it was i'm
possible to go further north. The idea
was that the expedition Of 1882 was to es-
tablish a depot as far north as possible.
The letter Of Lieut.. Greelv saws that no
southing should be permitted, but that the
depot had been established really about the
point that Lieut.. Greely recommended
for the depot of the expedition of 1888
| The depOts that the expedition of 1888
had to establish were to be, one as far
north as possible, the extreme point
reached by the expedition, and the other
at some point on the coast. In addition
to these, Lieut.. Darlington said that he
! had made preparations at Disco to estab-
| lish two other depOts along the coast of
| Grinnell Land. He intended on his way
| up to make a depot at Cape Prescott or
| Franklin Pierce Bay, those points being
! where the party returning from the north
| would be most likely to meet with
| the greatest obstacles and DELAYS. He
| Island. His orders reqHired him to 90
! into winter quarters at Life Boat Cove,
| which was near LittletOn Island. In re-
] ply to his counsel Lieutenant Darlington
( said that he understood his instructions
as requiring him only to deposit his party
| and stores at or near Life Boat Cove
| when it became apparently clear that the
| vessel could not be pushed through to
| Discovery harbOr. Nothing had ever oc-
/ h.
| fore his departure which cOntem-
| plated or suggested, so far as
he knew, the leaving of any stores at Lit
| Teton Island upon his way north. TO
| land his stores at LittletOn Island on his
way north would have consumed sixty or
! seventy hours. The weather was good
! during such delay, however. The entire
| conditions might change. The move
ments of the ice pack could not be fore
seen. The delay might have been dis
| aStrOus, and 1t was considered best to
push northward while the conditions
/ were favorable. The instructions were 10
| take advantage of every favorable
| lead. The witness considered that
branch of his instructions paramount.
| The examination of Lieut.. Darlington
| being concluded, the Recorder laid before
the court a package of papers from the
| Chief Signal officer, which proved to be
/
| Greeley relief expedition, and letter OF
| the Chief Signal Officer requesting the de-
| tail of a naval vessel to accompany the
! PrOteus.
Gen. w. b. Hazen, the Chief Signal
| Officer, was called to the witness chair at
O'Clock. The oath was administered,
and he was asked by the Recorder to state
in narrative form the circumstances and
conditions under which the Greely eXpe-
ditIOn and relief expedition were
fitted out and dispatched. He then
! gave detailed account of the fitting out
| of these expeditions. In reply to in
/ quiries about the memorandum enclosure
number l, Gen. HaZen said: "Immediately
after my return from st. John | was in
formed that the Navy Department had
| asked for Il plan of what we wished done
in the Arctic seas. / don't think l saw
that memorandum. l don't remember
| seeing it at that time, but was told what
| it contained, and that it contained a con-
| ditiOn to land stores on going up. l i'm.
| mediately went to the Navy Department
and had an interview with whoever was in
| charge, either the Secretary or Commodore
| Walker, and told personally what
wanted: that a tender proceed nOrthward
as far as LittletOn Island with the Pro-
teus, do such things as were usual for an
escort or tender; such things as the de
! Velopment of the facts as found upon the
| spot might make necessary and agreed
upon. l also prepared, in place of the
memorandum, orders of my own, These
/ carried or sent to the Secretary of War.
/ also sent with them letter which Lieut..
! Greely had sent back, on which Lieut.
Garlington's orders were based. l thought
they were better adapted to
the purpose of the Secretary
of the Navy thans the memorandum.
and they took the place of the memoran-
| dun, as | remember it. A day or two
after, perhaps the next day, Lieut.. Gar
lingtOn brought me his packet, and in
that was this same memorandum. He
expressed some surprise at finding il
| there, and asked me how it got there.
told him that didn't know. | told him
that was no part of the orders, and then
l gave him the history of the paper
as [ have given it here. Lieut.. Darlington
1 then showed ne all his orders. and told
him that he must be controlled by the
orders that | had given, and also by the
direction of, Lieut.. Greely on which they
were founded That letter of Lieut..
Greedy, written as it was after he had
| arrived on the spot, was law to me, and !
didn't feel that | was authorized to change
that order by giving him any orders that
would conflict. | told him also that when
| on the spot he must exercise his own dis
| cretiOn in al matters which were imposed
| on him by virtue of his position.
Lieut.. Darlington had been selected for
his known high qualities, and the Gree
ly letter was of that nature and charac-
/ ter, written as it was after he had arrived
| there and knowing all the facts, that
! telt that | was excluded from giving
Lieut.. Darlington any orders that would
in any manner conflict with that letter
After Congress last winter had passed a
| law requiring that the Greely expedition
should be brought back, but before
the second ship or convoy was thought of,
it seemed to me that it would be neces-
sary for the expedition going up to vary
Lieutenant Greely's instructions so far
as to land at Littleton Island. That plan
was thought of great deal and discussed.
as was the plan also of making
| depot on the west side. but
after it was arranged to send a
| tender that would of itself
be a depot. There being also several
smaller depots on that coast determined
to return strictly to Lieut.. Greely's memo.
randum. 1t seemed that the sending of a
tender obviated the necessity of varying
from Lieut.. Greely's directions i'm any
way. l was. however, very anxiQSs to
order Lieut.. Darlington TO stop at Little.
| ton Island, but it seemed to me under the