stefansson-wrangel-09-29-065

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208-C

The entries from January 22nd to January 27th are
routine, the making of clothing, tending of fox traps, etc. On the
28th Crawford wrote the following postscript to his letter to me of
January 7th:

January 28, 1923.

Knight and I returned about a week ago. Knight is
troubled with scurvy. As the five dogs are scarcely enough, he
was dubious of making the trip as his strength is undermined.
My plans are unchanged except that I am taking Maurer and Galle
with me. I am taking both Maurerand Galle, although I would
like to leave one of them with Knight. I think it is wisdom to
do this, as it would be disastrous to return a second time.

Allan R. Crawford.

The first start of Crawford and Knight (January 7th)
would evidently have been ma.de at the same time of year and with
the same equipment if there had been unlimited food supplies on
the island. We have noted in our editorial comment and Knight has
pointed out in his diary entry for January 12th that their chief
error in outfitting was that they loaded the sled too heavily
with food; and in the entry for January 7th Knight complains about
the dogs that they were soft from having been stall-fed without
work. Neither of those difficulties would have been less likely
to trouble them had food been more abundant.

So far as actual diary entries are concerned we are not
completely informed of the motives which led to the original
planning of the journey. Knight mentions (a) desire to commun-
icate with me if I were wintering on the Siberian shore, (b) desire
to send me messages from Nome if I were "in civilization", and
(c) the following of orders or plans agreed upon by us before
they left Seattle (thishas been explained ante). Crawford’s

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