stefansson-wrangel-09-21-010-001

Noice

February 2, 1923

Dear Mr. Stefansson:

Joe Bernard left Monday. His present intention
is to go to Boston, then on to Montreal, where he will spend the greater
part of the winter. Joe plans to try to get museums, sportsmen, or anyone
else to finance a trip to the Arctic, (preferably Coronation Gulf), although
if he hears from you in the meantime he will go to Wrangel.

Taylor was here at the same time and we had a
conference, with the result that Taylor advises that Joe should be sent
to Wrangel if possible. The five thousand dollars necessary could easily
be offset by taking a moving picture man with the expedition. In fact,
Taylor thinks perhaps it would be a good idea to buy the Teddy Bear out-
right and hire Joe as captain. Joe has agreed to write me from time to
time to tell me whether he has received any offers. I kept it out of the
papers as much as possible when he was here and I do not think he will
spread any unfavorable reports about Wrangel Island. Please let me know
something of your plans in regard to this matter.

By the way, the masterpiece is coming along
and should be finished in another week. So far so good. But Miss Skinner
is rather up against it. It seems that, what with her recent illness and
spending so much time on my manuscript, she has neglected her own work at
the Yale Press and now her contract with them is at an end, and the new
proposition they have offered her is not nearly as satisfactory as the
old one, consequently she does not wish to accept it. If I could let her
have the five hundred dollars she could break away from the Press and turn
her attention to her three unfinished novels.

I have inquired at the Harvard Club and also at
the City Club for the separate box of lantern slides. It isn't at the City
Club, and the Harvard Club has been ransacked from top to bottom for it
without success. The Hawaiian boy maintains that Le Bourdais took both
boxes of the slides. I wonder if Le Bourdais hasn't it among your luggage
somewhere? I have contracted with the Salmagundi Club for a lecture on
the twenty-third of this month, and they are going to pay me fifty dollars.
Would it be too much trouble for Le Bourdais to express the separate slide
box to me if he has it?