stefansson-wrangel-09-21-009-003

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was not the fact. Knight and Crawford planned the first journey,
and the date for it was set several months before when no
approaching food shortage was contemplated, and it was actually
undertaken later at about the time set. Probably they would have
made the attempt at about the same time of year and with about the
same prospects of success if there had been the largest quantity
of food on hand. After the return of Knight and Crawford the fact
that food had begun to run low, although there was a considerable
supply still on hand, was one reason why the plan for a journey to
Nome via Siberia was not abandoned. The principal lack was fresh
meat.

I did not intend to give the impression that the
death of the three men, Crawford, Galle and Maurer, was probably
a slow one from freezing brought on through weakening by
starvation. It is much more likely and almost certain that the
death did take place suddenly in one of two ways - either by the
party getting in the poor light on unsafely thin ice, and being
drowned by breaking through, or else by the breaking up of the
ice upon which they were camped in a gale, perhaps in the
darkness of night.

The general impression given by my news story now
appears to me unduly critical. I did and I do want to do justice
to these brave men while analyzing the causes of their tragedy.

My complete breakdown followed soon after the
publication of the original long and detailed newspaper story and
its approach must have been the cause of what I later printed and
which I was then convinced I was justified by Knight's and