stefansson-wrangel-09-12-119-004

-4-

taken and called a meeting of his company and pointed out
to his Directors that one paragraph in their charter was
to the effect that they might spend money in any way which
seemed to them to further the interests of British aviation.
He submitted to his fellow-directors that my Wrangell Island
work was an undertaking which they could support under that
paragraph. The directors on that basis voted a gift to the
Stefansson Arctic Exploration & Development Company of £550
sterling for the specific and sole purpose of chartering a
supply ship to sail from Nome under command of Harold Noice
on or about August 1. The sum of £550 was determined by a
cable offer we receieved from Alexander Allen of Nome,
Alaska, offering to undertake the Wrangell voyage for that
sum.

On receipt of the Allen cable I had cabled my repre-
sentative at Nome, - Lomen Brothers Limited, to accept
Allen's offer. I got the Hudson's Bay Company to transfer
to Lomen Bros., $.1,000 by cable from Winnipeg in order to
bind the bargain. This $.1,000 was my own money taken from
a loan which I had made to the Hudson's Bay Company.

After a delay which worried us greatly and after we
had cabled several times without reply, we at last heard
from Nome that Captain Allen had withdrawn his offer. The
same cable spoke of threats by the Soviet authorities and
we understood that these threats had been the reason for
Allen's withdrawal. We were now informed that only one
ship was available, the Donaldson, and that $.12,600 would
be required before she could sail.

Mr. Brewer is familiar through reading and otherwise
with conditions in the Arctic and realised that the short
summer was passing and that the ship must sail at once. He
came to me then with the offer to lend me secretly enough
money so that the loan, combined with the previous gift
from the British Wright Co., should amount to $.10,000. He
made this offer on condition that we should immediately
make an appeal for funds through the columns of the TIMES.
He was a poor man who could not afford so large a gift but
who in a matter of life or death considered it justifiable
to allow the public to think for about a week that the
money was not available. Meantime the actual money in hand
would enable the ship to make preparations for sailing from
Nome.

The appeal was inserted in the TIMES. Up to date the
contributions have amounted to only about £200; more than
two-thirds of that from personal friends of Mr. Brewer's
who have come to his assistance. At this writing Mr.
Brewer's personal contribution to the voyage of the Donaldson