stefansson-wrangel-09-25-003-018

18

Many ships responded. The Russian Government instructed their
ice-breakers, Taimyr and Vaigatch, to proceed to Wrangell Island. They
had not been able to get within sight of the island, however, when
they received a wireless telling that the Great War had started and
that they must return south. The United States revenue cutter "Bear"
made an attempt but also failed. Several private ships tried. The
successful one was "the King and Winge" under her owner Olaf Swenson.
Her Captain, Jochimsen, was used to the sort of ice he had to contend
with and wormed his way up to the island. On his southward way a day
later he met the "Bear", 30 or 40 miles from Wrangell, and transferred
to her (and to Captain Bartlett who was on board the "Bear’") the men
he had picked up. The "Corwin" (the same that had landed in Wrangell
Island in 1881, but now a private ship sent out by a friend of mine,
Mr. Jafet Lindeberg) arrived at the island a day later to find the
fresh trace of the luckier "King and Winge".

Meantime, the crew of the Karluk had spent six months on Wrangell
Island. That in itself is a long story of adventure and unfortunately
also of tragedy. The seventeen on the island were divided into two
parties and camped about 40 miles apart. One party lived to a consid-
erable extent by hunting. They saw an abundance of game, but had
difficulty in getting the walrus which formed the main part of it be-
cause they lacked the Eskimo type of skin boat (umiak) which is so
light and strong that two or three men can drag it over bridges of
intervening ice to launch into water beyond. Still, they secured
enough game so that fresh meat was a large part of their diet. This
seems to have been the reason why they remained in excellent health,
while a serious malady (apparently nephritis) developed in the other
party that lived mainly on provisions brought ashore from the ship, and
two deaths resulted--Malloch, a Canadian, and ^Mamen Nanen, a Norwegian, both