stefansson-wrangel-09-01-001-001

September 25, 1920.

Sir:

With further reference to my letter of September 16th to the
Prime Minister, of which I have given a copy in my other letter to you en-
closed, I want to take up separately the case of Wrangel Island.

In 1849 or 1850 (I have no reference books here to verify the
date) Captain Kellett of the British Navy discovered Wrangel Island when
on a voyage partly exploratory and partly in search of Sir John Franklin’s
lost expedition. It was later given the name of Kellett Land, which it
bore on the chart for some time.

In 1867 Kellett Land was sighted by Captain Thomas Long, an
American whaler. He was ignorant of the discovery by Kellett and the exist-
ence of this land, so he reported that he had discovered a new land. In
this connection he advanced the suggestion which was considered by many
reasonable, that the island should be named after Baron Wrangel, who had made
two exploratory expeditions by sledge over the ice westward of Wrangel in
search, of land, the existence of which had been reported by Siberian natives.
Or at least that is what some consider it. Others think that the land told
of in Siberian folklore is a pure figment of the imagination and that the
existence of this land is a mere coincidence.

However, the name Wrangel Island came into general use in the
large American whaling fleet which annually frequented those waters and it
eventually displaced Kellett’s name on the map.

Long did not land upon the island, nor did any American whaler
after him. At least this is generally conceded, for the landing made by
the Corwin (Captain Calvin L. Hooper, U.S. Navy) in 1881, is generally con-
sidered the first landing by white men (and probably by any men) on the
island. This was from the Revenue Cutter Corwin when she was in search of
De Long’s expedition.

Later the same year a landing was made on the island by
Lieutenant R. M. Berry (now Admiral Berry), whose ship "Rodgers" lay for
several days where now we have Rodgers Harbor. They made a rough and very
inaccurate survey of the island — it does not pretend to be anything but
the barest approximation.

About the only account, we have of Wrangel Island so far is in
the notes of John Muir, who accompanied the Corwin as naturalist. The book
was published in 1917 under the title, "The Cruise of the Corwin" by John
Muir, Boston. This account is based on half a dozen hours spent on the island.