stefansson-wrangel-09-29-068

208-F

That the chief motive for leaving Wrangell was either a
feeling that their work on the island was so far done that they
might as well return to civilization, or else a desire to get in
touch with us if we were outfitting a new arctic expedition, is to
be inferred from the frequent offhand references to a journey
"to Nome, via Siberia." In addition to the diary entries quoted
elsewhere, we have one of these in Knight’s description of the
symptoms of his illness which he left as a separate manuscript.
The full reference with its context is: "On January 8, 1923,
Crawford and I started for Nome, via Siberia, and, excepting the
pains in my legs, especially at night, I seemed to be all right."

That most of the men left Wrangell with the expectation
to continue arctic work either there or elsewhere we know from
several sources. Ada Blackjack tells us that she understood
Crawford, Galle and Maurer would all come back from Nome with the
ship they expected in August, 1923; she says that Galle was
especially explicit in telling her he would come back. Galle’s
intention to continue in the Arctic is also shown by Crawford’s
letter to me in which he recommends Galle to m as an exceptionally
good sledge traveler (this was written by Crawford when he was
leaving Galle behind and when he feared his party and mine might
pass each other on the ice between Wrangell andSiberia).

That Crawford and Knight were going to continue we know
from Knight’s letter to his parents in which he tells them that he
and Crawford are planning an expedition to Melville Island when
the Wrangell work is over.

There seems little doubt that these plans would have been carried out had the second attempt to
reach Siberia failed like the first in such a way that the party
could have returned to the island, for then would the Donaldson have
found them all safe when she came in August. I at least cannot
think otherwise who have so often beendown to less than a week’s
rations in a country wholly unknown and have nevertheless always
found game before even a dog had to be sacrificed.

But it was not to be. On the day of their second start,
good weather and good luck of a sort sped them beyond the chance
of retreat and into dangers of another kind - those of treacherous
ice and furious gales at sea. Such is our ominous reading of
Knight’s cheerful entry for