Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1883-09-15
THE ARCTIC IDIoCY.

ports have been received at the navy de-
partment from the officer of the returned
Greedy relief expedition at st. Johns, N. F.
It seems to be conceded by those who have
given the most attention to the subject that
the complete and disastrous failure of the
telief expedition was mainly due TO the
omission of Lieut.. Darlington to land his
stores and house at Littletou Island or
some other iceberg point north of Smiths
Sound before attempting the hazardous
navigation beyond. If he had done
this the destruction of the Proteus
would have been comparatively trifing
misfortune, or would not necessarily have
imperiled the lives either of her crew or
the party they we're sent north to rescue.
Darlington and his men could then, after
the destruction of their ship, have returned
to rescue the base of supplies thus estab-
lished aud could have carried out the re-
mainder of their plan for relief of the Lady
Franklin Bay party by means of sledge
expedition up the coast of Grinnell Land.
As it is now there is no
party at the mouth of Smith
Sound to cooperate with the Greedy
party and no considerable supply of food
take, it is said, which Darlington made,
was in plunging into the extremely dan
gerous ice of Smith Sound, without having
established at the mouth of that sound
provision depot and house upon which he
could fall back in case of disaster. There
would seem to be some justification for the
by Gen. Hazen on the 9TH of June, just
L L. III
orders were in part as follows: If it
should become clearly apparent that a
vessel can't be pushed through, you will
rrtreat from your advanced position and
land your party and stores at Or near
Lifeboat cave. These orders clearly i'm
ply the direction not to land his house
and stores until he should have run all the
risks of Smith sound, and have found it
impossible to get through. They virtually
direct him to land his stores late in the
season on his retreat and not early in the
season on his way up as would seem to
havebeen the more provident course.
The attention of the acting chief signal
officer was called to-day by an Associated
Press reporter to this part of Gen. Hazen's
original order, and he was asked whether
this particular instruction in the question
had ever been revoked or modified. He
replied it had by supplemental orders sent
Darlington just before the departure of
the relief expedition from St. John last
summer.
DUNDEE, Sept. 14.-The captain of an
arctic whaling ship, which has just re-
turned here from a cruise in Davis straits,
reports that he made searching inquiries
from the natives along the coast, but
learned nothing relating to the Greedy
expedition.
These supplemental orders which have
never been made public were as follows:
sThe naval tender is to join the Proteus at
st. Johns, N. F., to proceed with her to the
neighborhood Of Littleton Island. The
Proteus is to land her stores, except sup
plies for more northerly depots at Little
ton Island, on her way north. If she sue
ceeds in reaching Lady Franklin bay she
is to pick up the stores, excepting the
house, and depots, if possible on her re-
turn. The naval tender will await the
| return of the Proteus at the neighborhood
Of Littleton Island and on her return
steam to the south in her company until
she reaches the southern limits of the ice
pack, when the vessels may separate
Should the Proteus be crushed in the ice,
her crew will retire on Littleton Island, and
the tender will bring to st, Johns,
N. F., the officers and crew of the Proteu5.
The rest of the party to remain at Littleton
island until the Proteus returns or her
crew and the expeditionary force succeed
in reaching there. The tender may go to
the south, leaving full particulars at Lit
tleton island. Signals by flags, Photograph
and guns should be preconcerted, and
communication by this means should be
maintained between the two vessels as long
as possible after they are separated by the
passage north of the Proteus. Nothing in
the northward movement must be allow ed
to retard the progress of the Proteus. II
is of the utmost Importance that she take
advantage of every lead to get up to Lady
Franklin bay.'
| From all the information thus far re,
ceived, it would appear that Lieut.. Gar
lington either disregarded or found it i'm
practicable to obey these supplemental
orders with regard to landing the house
and stores on his way north, since the Pro
teus was crushed with all the stores on
board after she had passed the point where
the stores should have been landed, and
while she was engaged in the extra hazard
GUS navigation of Smiths sound. In the
absence of any definite information from
Lieut.. Darlington as to the reasons for
adoption of the course he pursued and
which led to the total failure of the plans
for Lieut. Greely's relief, officers of the
signal service here decline to express any
opinion or make any statement for publ
cation at present. The secretary of war,
the acting secretary of the navy and the
acting chief signal officers are in consulta-
| ton this afternoon upon the situation of
affairs but have not yet devised any
practical plan for relief of the Lady
Franklin bay party.
Officers of the signal service here freely
admit that the present situation of affairs
is serious one, but DO not regard il in
any sense hopeless. In the first place they
say Lieut.. Greely's party had originally a
supply of provisions calculated to last
three years or until the summer of 1884.
This supply they think must have been
very considerably augmented by fish and
game procurable in the immediate vicinity
of the Lady franklin bay station. So if
the party remains there it will not be in
danger of starvation before next summer.
General Hazen'5 orders to Lieut.. CARING
ton, it is true, stated that the food supply
of Lieut.. Greely's party would all be ex-
hausted the present fall, but it is said
at the signal Office this was an extreme