Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-06-09
THE GREEDY EXPEDITION.
Jeanette Survivor Thinks the Party
Dead, if Orders were Obeyed

Cincinnati TSnes-S Star.
''What do you think of the prospects of
this Greedy relief party % your cores
pendent asked recently of Mr.. Bartlett,
one of the survivors Of the Jeanette ex-
| petition.
81 am very much afraid" said he,
| "that the result will not be all that some
people hope for it. It does not seem to me
that the expeditions have been properly
| planned managed, either in the beginning
or now. The fact is there is not a single ex-
| perienced man in position to be of any
| service to the party now en- route for the
| Arctic regions.''
"But is not Melville, who was with
your own Jeanette party, with one of
| these vessels? ~
Eyes, but purely in his subordinate po-
| sitiOn as engineer. The duty of the en-
| gineer is simply to take care of the en-
| gines, and with the constant fight which
| there is between line and staff in the navy,
| the word or opinion or suggestion of an
| engineer is of no consequence, and will
| not be accepted by commanding officers"
"Then the men who are in command
are not men Of experience in the Arctic re-
| gionsp
''No, not at all. None of them have
| had any experience there, as anyone
might see who had an opportunity to in
| spect their preparations for departure. |
| visited the ships and looked over the arti-
| cles which they were taking with them to
prepare for their Arctic cruise, and Twas
SURPRISED to see how little judgment was
used in so important an undertaking.
| Dog sleds, for instance, which it is ex-
| pected they may have to use after reaching
certain point in the north. They are so
heavy as to be in themselves load. Our
| greatest trouble after leaving the jean
nette was that our sledges were too
hAQUUs fhnEn M hoo 81
| less suitable for the work than they
WERE"
"Why did not these people who were fit
| ting out these expeditions take some adj
vice from those who had been in the north
and prepare accOrdinglyP
THAT is pretty hard to answer" he
! said, with laugh; Everybody thinks he
| knows little better than anybody else.
| They did call upon Melville for some
| views in this line, and he gave them some.
| He furnished them with drawings of
| sleds, and gave them instructions, and
| had they followed his plans the sleds
would have been admIrable-much better
| than those we had and perhaps much bet
| ter than any that had ever gone north.
| But they took his plans and Incorporated
| others OF their own with them until they
| spoiled the whole. That is only a sample
Of the absurd manner in which these ex-
| petitions have been fitted up. / hope the
result may be better than that suggested
| by my fears, but it seems to me a very
strange thing to send men to that inhos-
| pitable climate so provided as to increase
the dangers, which at the best are very
| great"
''Do you think they will find Greedy and
| his menu"
| probably they will find them, but
whether living or dead is hard to say. If
| Greedy obeyed his instructions-and of
| course the chances are that he did do
not think a single man will be found alive.
You see his orders were imperative, that
if he were not relieved by the 1st Of Sep
| TENDER he should march southwark to-
ward LittletOn Island. Of course his
anxiety and that of his men to reach
home was very great, and that with the
/ fact his orders were imperative make it
very probable that he Obeyed these orders
and started south. If he did, do not see
how it is possible that he and his men can
now be alive. If they reached Littleton
Island, they did so only to find little pro-
vision there instead of plenty as they ex-
| pected, and while a man can stand the
| rigors of that northern climate if he has
| plenty of food, he cannot unless he has.
/ You see ne would be without shelter the
moment he left his quarters at Lady
| Franklin Bay. II he stayed there and
disobeyed orders, he may be found alive
with his party"