stefansson-wrangel-09-30-008-005

Insert p. 2 of INSERT At this point we might have inserted in the evidence [[Maurer, Frederick W., 1893-1923|Fred Maurer]]’s last letter to his wife, but [[Maurer, Delphine (Jones)|Mrs. Maurer]] on consultation with his parents and family, has decided against this for two reasons. The letter as a whole in of too intimate a nature, and it contains isolated sentences which they fear might not be they the family feel the public might misinterpret, not knowing interpreted by the public in their true sense, which they understand from the other circumstances of the case and not having seen from other com- munications from him. As we have mentioned in this book, [[Maurer, Frederick W., 1893-1923|Maurer]]'s family have concluded from all the evidence in their possession that he did not wish to leave [[Wrangel Island (Russia)|Wrangel Island]], that he did so in deference to the authority and opinion of the others, that the entire party would probably have lived through had they remained on the island, and that [[Maurer, Frederick W., 1893-1923|Maurer]] would probably have been able to secure enough fresh meat for himself, [[Knight, Errol Lorne, 1893-1923|Knight]] and [[Blackjack, Ada, 1898-1983|Ada Blackjack]] had the journey towards [[Nome (Alaska)|Nome]] been attempted only by [[Crawford, Allan R., 1901-1923|Crawford]] and [[Galle, Milton Harvey Robert, 1902-1923|Galle]]. Like everything in this case not actually recorded as a happening in some authentic document, these opinions of the Maurer family are only their opinions. They are significant, however, since they are based in part on evidence which we cannot publish. I have, therefore, asked [[Maurer, John|John Maurer]], elder brother of [[Maurer, Frederick W., 1893-1923|Fred Maurer]], to write a statement on behalf of the family which I might print somewhere. I have chosen to place it here, immediately after recording the record of [[Knight, Errol Lorne, 1893-1923|Knight’s]] xxx wish of February fifth 5th that: "I wish "the three fellows would come back." "[[New Philadelphia (Ohio)|New Philadelphia, Ohio]], December 15, 1924. "Dear Mr. [[Stefansson, Vilhjalmur, 1879-1962|Stefansson]]: "My opinion of [[Maurer, Frederick W., 1893-1923|Fred]]'s letter to his wife and the other evidence is that [[Maurer, Frederick W., 1893-1923|Fred]] did not want to leave the island and that [[Knight, Errol Lorne, 1893-1923|Knight]] and [[Crawford, Allan R., 1901-1923|Crawford]] insisted and brought forward the argument about the shortage of food and he was persuaded to go with that reason. No doubt he also felt that the