stefansson-wrangel-09-34-037

Blackjack -7 -

whom she was connected. Among these paparesers you will find a
letter of hers to Stefansson in which she writes that Noice
made a "violent attack" against her on this trip. The phrase was
familiar to me as I had heard, and seen it written, numerous
times concerning many persons, including her daughters.

Following this, I had a private letter written by Noice
and mailed at Norfolk where their ship stopped for coaling.
(See envelope marked B). Noice had begun a new book on the
subject of the Wrangel experience and apparently destroyed the
unfinished manuscript to satisfy or placate Frances. I believe
they parted permanently in Brazil.

Noice was young-- only 29 or 30-- and showed promise of
being successful in his interests and enterprises. Even fol-
lowing their separation, Frances seemed bent on ruining his
career.

Her best bet in this direction lay in contacting
Vilhjalmur Stefansson as Stefansson had broken to a certain extent
with Noice. Stefansson was fearing bad publicity should the
Wrangel matter appear in a book by Noice---that is, his having
delayed rescue operations and other matters connected with
it which might be derogatory to him. Stefansson was, I believe,
already getting up a book of his own---his"version" of the
Wrangel matter in which, if my memory is correct, Noice told me that he would
whitewash the Wrangel thing and gloss it over somehow. Further-
more, Noice had become somewhat of a hero in the public eye at
that time and may have shown signs of competition to the
greatest Arctic explorer of those days. I believe Stefansson was
on the lookout for anyone who could come up with facts of a
denigrating nature against Noice.