Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1884-07-23
WHO rs RESPONSIBLE?


Darlington before the Proteus Court of In
qury, has written the following letter to
Gen. w. B. Hazen, chief signal officer:
"WAsHINGToN, July %, 1884.
"Gea. ". B. Ha=en
Dear Sir-My professional relation 10
Lieutenant Darlington in the late investi-
CATION of the failure of the Proteus expedi-
ton, under his command, will signify to
YOU the occasion for this letter. His alb
sence, and your published comments on his
fiure to leave more store at Cape Sabine,
suggest to me the propriety of addressing it
to you.
'Your sole object, l must assume, is to
Il the responsibility for the loss of eighteen
brave men where it properly belongs. In
the shadow of this great calamity I will not
believe that you can have less pure motive.
We have been through this investigation
| together, General, and as the source of our
intelligence is the same, feel that you will
the more readily accept the aid that |
cheerfuly tender to the common cause of
truth. The world now knows that the sad
fate of the eighteen victims was due to the
| failure to deposit proper quantity of stores
at Cape Sabine. You say that the rations
which Lieutenant Darlington left at Cape
| Sabine were in accordance with Lieutenant
| Greey's instructions. OF course if more
stores had been left, more lives would have
been saved The legitimate inference from
this is that while the few stores left by
Darlington saved the lives of six of Greely's
party, the loss of the others was due to his
failure to leave larger supply. Whose
| fault was it that there was not a sufficient
deposit of stores at Cape Sabine? If Gar.
Ington's, let, him answer for it; if not, you
| would not wish that he should remain
longer under such suspicion.
In 1852 the Beebe expedition, under your
instructions, was organized for the relief of
Lieutenant Greedy. 1t was transported
north in the ship Neptune, and arrived in
the vicinity of Cape Sabine on the 29th of
July, and remained until the 9th day of
September, having been stopped in its north
ward course by barrier Of ice. I'm &C.
cordance with her Instructions" derived
from you, chache of provisions was estab-
ished upon "Littleton Island and another
| on Cape Sabine of two hundred and fifty
rations each" The rest of her stores were, by
your orders, brought back to ST. Johns, and
landed for future use. There was every OPP
portunity to establish cache of 10000 ra-
tons, instead of $50, at Cape Sabine had
YOU so directed. In your testimony before
the court of inquiry, on the 18th of Novem.
Der, 1859, you approved of Mr.. Beebe's
course in thus making the depots as in &C
cortlance with your instructions, though in
your testimony before the same court on
the goth of November in relation to the
propriety Of leaving the stores at Cape Sa-
bine, you say IL have regretted very much
ever since that such instructions were not
given, and that his supplies were not all
left at Cape Sabine" Surely, it was not
Garlpgton's fault that the stores of the
Neptune were deposited at st. Johns in
stead Of at Cape Sabine or Littleton Island,
nor can I believe that it was Greelys, as
you suggest in your memorandum of the
| 18th inst.
Under your sole direction the relief ex-
petition Of 1883 was sent north in the Pro-
tcus, under Lieut.. Garlington's command,
and arrived off Cape Sabine on the 22d day
Of July, 1888. If he had had orders, or even
permission, to leave supplies at Cape Sa-
bine, there was abundant opportunity to do
80 but the court of inquiry found that un-
der your instructions he had neither, and
| justified his course in not doing so.
Permit me to remind you that you speci-
ally emphasized the necessity of not per.
hitting Lieut.. Darlington TO deposit any of
| his stores on the northward course of the
Proteus in the very first lines of your writ
! ten instructions to him, wherein you say:
"You are aware Of the necessity Of reaching
| Lieut.. A. w. Greedy and his party with the
expedition Of this year. This necessity can
not be overestimated as Lieut. Greely's
supplies will be exhausted during the COM
ing fall"
When your attention was called to this,
rs the records of your Office disclosed that
Greedy then had a full years supplies, you
said at was either a clerical error or it
was put in by Captain Clapp in his first
rough draft and the matter was overlooked
afterwards" This is found by the court to
have been one of the nine grave errors or
omissions noted in your action, ''as having
either directly led, or largely contributed to
| the abortive issue of the expedition"
Again, you justified your course in not per-
hitting Darlington to land any of his sup.
plies on the northward progress of the ship
upon the ground that the tender THE Yam
| ticy being at Litteton Island, would actual
| ly be depot. Your instructions, both
written and verbal, were explicit on this
| point.
| In the attempt to carry out 20 ur instruc-
tions, THAT no effort must be spared to
pnsh the vessel through to Lady Franklin
Bay" the Proteus was caught in the ice
and lost of Cape Sabine, on the evening of
the 23d of July, 1888. With respect to Gar
lingtons conduct at this time, the court in
its findings says: after the disaster, the
evidence clearl establishes the fact that
Lieutenant Darlington and his party saved
all they could from the sinking ship, and
that they cached near Cape Sabine all the
stores and provisions that could be spared
before crossing to Littleton Island"
AS you seem to be 10 doubt whether the
responsibility should be fixed upon Greedy
| or Darlington, these facts recalled to your
attention, think, will relieve you of any
doubt as to where it should rest.
may add that the court took occasion TO
note that from July, 1882, to August, 1888,
not less than $4,000 rations were taken in
the steamers Neptune, Yantic and Proteus
up to or beyond Littleton Island, and yet
of that number 900 only were left in that
vicinity, the remainder being brought back
to the United States or sunk with the
Proteus. This was the provision that
wac made unler yOur instruntionc Sor