stefansson-wrangel-09-08-005-003

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pay from the fur point of view; (2) it would be a service to the
British Empire to confirm our rights to this island - a service
which might not be generally appreciated for a decade or two but
which would eventually be universally recognized. As you remember,
your Company decided to place a post upon the island and I was noti-
fied that the Lady Kindersley had been instructed to land men and
an outfit upon her return from Herschel Island the summer 1921.

Knowing the uncertainty of the Lady Kindersley's
reaching the island upon her return from such a long voyage and know-
ing how unlikely it was that Wrangel Island would for another year
remain unoccupied, I took into my confidence just one man, Mr. A.J.
Taylor, a mining engineer of Vancouver. Mr. Taylor offered me his
personal assistance, gave me office room in his offices in the
Credit Foncier Building, Vancouver, and arranged that his attorney
should incorporate the Stefansson Arctic Exploration and Development
Company, Limited. I put into this company all the money I had saved.
I borrowed to the full on my Victory loan certificates, and borrowed
about five thousand dollars from personal friends. It has to date
cost me about $20,000. to send a party of four men by passenger
steamer to Nome and then by the chartered Silver Wave to Wrangel
Island, where they landed in September.

As the matter was so highly confidential, I
did not tell my own men the object of the enterprise until they were
just leaving Seattle. They kept it so confidential that up to the
very time of their leaving Nome no one knew where they were going
and it was generally supposed that they were bound for the region
of oil excitement just east of Point Barrow on the Alaska coast.
When upon the return of the Silver Wave it was found that they had
landed on Wrangel Island (I am informed) an attempt was made to
organize several parties at Nome, but the season was too late. I
had calculated upon this circumstance and had sent my men so late
in the summer that I considered no one would care to try reaching
the island after the return of our chartered ship to Nome. This
calculation worked out correctly.

As you know the Lady Kindersley failed to reach
Wrangel Island. It is, therefore, extremely fortunate that our men
got there at the time they did.

As I have written you previously, the Wrangel
Island expedition has no serious commercial side and is from my
point of view entirely for the purpose of continuing British occu-
pation of this, in my opinion, extremely important island. I should
have been glad had the Hudson's Bay people reached the island last
year and shall be equally pleased personally if they establish a
post there next year.