stefansson-wrangel-09-25-003-013

13 Government to ge travel overland to the mouth of the [[Kolyma River (Russia)|Kolyma]] and to make exped- itions out upon the sea ice beyond to plant the Russian flag upon the supposed corner of the supposed continent. [[Wrangel, Ferdinand Petrovich, baron, 1796-1870|Wrangell]] arrived at the mouth of the [[Kolyma River (Russia)|Kolyma]] in 1820. During the three years following he made journeys northwest, north and northeast over the winter sea ice searching for land. His route map shows that one of his parties once at one time came within 40 or 50 miles of where we now have [[Wrangel Island (Russia)|Wrangell Island]] on the chart, but they saw no land. They picked up once more, however, the native story that land had been seen. [[Wrangel, Ferdinand Petrovich, baron, 1796-1870|Wrangell]] laid this down upon his chart "from Native report" in a position some 40 or 50 miles west of where an island was later discovered. On turning back from his third and last journey, [[Wrangel, Ferdinand Petrovich, baron, 1796-1870|Wrangell]] said: "Our return to [[Nizhnekolymsk (Russia)|Nijnei Kolymsk]] closed the series of attempts made by us to discover a northern land; which, though not seen by us may possibly exist." The statement just quoted is found on page 380 of the first English edition (published 1840) and unaltered on page 384 of the second edition ( published 1844 ) of [[Wrangel, Ferdinand Petrovich, baron, 1796-1870|Wrangell]]'s own "Narrative of an Expedition to the Polar Sea in the years 1820, 1821, 1822 and 1823". These are the This is a trans- lations from an earlier German edition which in turn was based on [[Wrangel, Ferdinand Petrovich, baron, 1796-1870|Wrang- ell]]'s own Russian narrative written in 1825. Since the Soviet Govern- ment of Russia almost a century later quoted [[Wrangel, Ferdinand Petrovich, baron, 1796-1870|Wrangell]] in an entirely different sense, it is well to insist here that the above quotation is the more significant because it was not published by the author until fifteen years after the expedition was over, thus giving him ample op- portunity to modify it if there had been any cause. The discovery of what we now call [[Wrangel Island (Russia)|Wrangell Island]] was in a sense an accident. Sir [[Franklin, John, 1786-1847|John Franklin]] had been lost in the [[Arctic regions|Arctic]] for several years and more than a dozen expeditions were sent out in the great "Franklin Search" which resulted in the discovery of so many new [[Arctic regions|Arctic]]