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would have discovered my errors of fact or argument had I been wrong, losing confidence rather than gaining it from hearing anything which I said that was not strictly in accordance with the facts as they knew them or with the views which they themselves had deduced from those facts. Knight was of an active temperament but Maurer was more contemplative and his mind at least contained many theories as well as the experiences from which they had been deduced. We all talked these over now and then and we were seldom found themselves ourselves in disagreement.

While Knight and Crawford were constantly together as we traveled from town to town, it was only occasionally that they saw Maurer, who was lecturing on another chautauqua of the same ownership as ours that "covered" smaller towns nearby than ours. Crawford made many attempts to get me to talk to him at length about conditions as I found them and the methods in which I believed. But I avoided this in general, urging him that it was more important he should know the views of the men with whom he was going to be associated in the field. If he was in doubt about these or thought they were in conflict with something he had heard me say, he and Knight were to discuss such discrepanciesthem with me. That They did so happened perhaps two or three times and we soon arrived at an understanding. In fact, so far as I remember, the differences turned out to be apparent only.

It took us several weeks to get all details arranged. Most of that time Crawford spent with me, and part of the time Knight and Maurer were with us also. There never were happier boys than the two veterans. They were so exuberantly happy that it was difficult to realize that they were twenty-eight and not eighteen. Knight told by the hour stories from his three adventurous arctic years. What Maurer contributed was equally enthusiastic and even more to the point, for he had actually been on Wrangell Island for six months and was in a position to tell the rest of us about the climate, the vegetation and the abundance of sea and land game. Crawford was soon infected with their enthusiasm. The contagion spread also to Milton Galle, a Texas boy of twenty, who had been

Last edit about 1 year ago by jessiesusan
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for some time acting as my secretary. On the recommendation of the other three and at his own request, I decided to make him the fourth member of the party. The later story of the expedition shows that he turned out loyal and capable, as good a comrade as anyone ever had whether in lean times or in days of plenty.

Crawford was to be in command because the central idea was that the enterprise must be British. But the relation of Crawford and Knight was to be somewhat that of the ship's captain to a pilot when the ship is entering a harbor and when, on the theory that the pilot knows best, the captain for the time being suspends his authority. This was not as good an arrangement from the viewpoint of efficiency and safety as if we could have put either Knight or Maurer in command. Still, the personality of Crawford seemed to be such as to make the plan tenable. The events of the next two years showed that in this made no mistake. Through his character and ability Crawford proved a real commander even while following out the ideas of his more experienced companions. In a diary kept by Knight for two years there does not appear a single criticism of Crawford or any comment to the effect that anything was done that did not thoroughly meet the approval of both Knight and Maurer. A search through the manuscript records of famous expeditions would show that such uniformly friendly co-operation through two years of isolation is almost unique in polar history.

How enthusiastically and quietly the preparations were made is well brought out by a letter which Knight wrote me on , from his home in McMinnville, Oregon, where he says: "I never wanted to do anything in my life as bad as I want to get away from here .... There has been a great deal of speculation at our house on where I am going, but they are still in the dark. Dad is excited stiff." This shows that Knight, as well as all the others, was keeping their particular destination secret even from his parents.

Another letter from Knight says: "of course you must realize that I am very anxious to go north under your direction and am waiting eagerly . . . . Last night Maurer lectured in Amity and I brought him home in a car. We were

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A part of the preparations for the expedition was that Fred Maurer wanted to get married. The Chautauqua on which he had been a lecturer had closed and he had then joined me for a few dayws on my circuit, the regular itinerary of which was approaching Missoula, Montana. If he wanted to he married, Missoula was the place, for I had there several old friends, among them two university classmates. I had just learned that Charles Clapp had been elected to the presidency of the University of Montana and I knew that Mr. and Mrs. Clapp would be glad to have the wedding at their home. A telegram was accordingly sent and Miss Delphine Jones of Niles, Ohio, took the next train for Missoula, a two days’ journey away. They were married on august 11th Their bridal journey trip was another thousand miles west to Seattle where Mrs. Maurer remained for a few days while the outfitting of the party was being completed. When they sailed for Nome she took the train alone back to Ohio.

Last edit 4 months ago by Samara Cary
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together all day and he continually talked about the North. I think (if possible) he wants to get back up there as bad as I do. No doubt he has told you all this.... He continually talks Wrangell Island."

In order to camouflage our real plans, we hinted had been hinting at commercial development when it was necessary to talk for publication at all. On July 2nd Knight wrote again from McMinnville: "All the papers on the Coast have printed articles concerning your commercial enterprise. The Portland Telegram perpetrated an awful poor pun when they said, 'Stefansson’s northern enterprise should cut some ice.' I hope I have a chance to show them what kind of ice we will cut."

On August 16th the party were assembling in Seattle and Knight wrote me: "Maurer arrived this A.M., all grins. He seems to be happy. We all are, for that matter, and aching to get started."

The four boys party made the nine-day voyage from Seattle, Washington, to Nome, Alaska, by passenger steamer. On September 4th, Knight wrote from Nome: "We are having a nice, easy time at your expense but I would rather be far out on the 'bounding sea' bound for the place that we are bound for."

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From the beginning of our plans about a northern expedition independent of the Canadian Government, the understanding had been that the men who went north would do the work and that I would not only find the money for the initial voyage but also undertake to convert to our plans whatever Government might be elected in Canada. But by the time the four men had been together for a week, their enthusiasm had mounted so that they wanted to be sharers in the financial side as well as in the work. Knight had no money and did not know where he could borrow, so he arranged to co-operate financially by having part of his wages due from the company paid monthly into an account for the purchase $1,000. worth of shares. of/shares In this way he eventually became the owner of Fred Maurer had [SKmExxEHKyxxhiKhxiuExpHkxxnxxKdxtexaixE] borrowed $1,000. from his brother, John Maurer, of New Philadelphia, Ohio, purchasing ten shares.

Before sailing north Crawford arranged for the purchase of $500. worth of shares. After he reached Nome he mailed our company back a check for $100. to purchase a two-year option on shares for $1,000. I think all the boys took pains to make it clear to their relatives that they were doing this at their own desire. An example of how thoughtful they were in this matter I take from a carbon which Ceawford kept in the expedition records, duplicating a letter he wrote to his mother on August 18th, 1921, three hours before he sailed for Alaska the Victoria sailed from Seattle. "On very careful consideration I have done something which may seem unwise to you but as I am situated it seems like a very fine thing. I am taking five shares of stock in this company. The payment is $50. a month for ten months. This I did without any suggestion on the part of Stefansson (he is the company) or anyone else."

Last edit about 1 year ago by jessiesusan
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