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refitting and the destination of the proposed voyage were kept hiddensecret. So
far so good, but it was almost equally important that we should have a staff of
men ready, Mr. Harkin and I, therefore, agreed on writing a tentative
stereotyped letter to the presidents of most of the Canadian universities,
asking them to nominate young men trained in the sciences and recently graduated
from college with whom we might confer to make up our minds whether they might
be eligible for polar service.

Eventually we received replies from most of the presidents; but
the only correspondence that concerns us here is that with the University of
Toronto. We need not copy the whole correspondence, for its essential points
are summarized in the first letter written to me by Allan Crawford.

"168 Walmer Road,
Toronto, Apr. 11th 1921.

Mr. Vilhjalmur Stefansson,
Harvard Club,
New York City,

Dear Sir:

Your letter to Sir Robert Falconer, President of Toronto
University asking him to nominate an assistant on your next expedition, has
been referred to me by Dr. W. A. Parks, Prof, of Palaeontology. I understand
that my name is being sent to you so I thought it might be wise to furnish
some further particulars.

I am twenty years old (l/2/01), weigh 151 lbs. and am 5'10"
high. I have never had any eye trouble and I believe my vision is above
average. My circulation and heart action is OK and I have a good stomach.
I have never had any serious contagious disease.

I was under age to go overseas but I was in the Officers’
Training Corps in Canada. I was employed by the Geological Survey of Canada
last summer in Algoma and so have had some practical experience in Pre-Cambrian
geology. In this matter I might refer you to Mr. Ellis Thomson, Dept. of
Mineralogy at Toronto University or Dr. W. A. Collins, Director of the Survey.

I am writing my third year exams. at Toronto. My college work
for the last two years has been chiefly geology, palaeontology, chemistry and
mineralogy. I have had a good grounding in science and mathematics having
taken the First Edward Blake Scholarship in Science at the Honour Matriculation
examination at Toronto University in 1918.

Although I have not written for my degree I find in my course
I am up against men much older and more experienced than myself. I feel I