stefansson-wrangel-09-31-101v

162 THE ADVENTURE OF WRANGEL ISLAND

To the Editor of the Times.
Sir,—

Most readers of the “Times” will know of Vilhjalmur Stefans-
son’s disinterested enterprise in sending Mr. Crawford and three
other white men with some Eskimos to Wrangel Island, to hold
possession until the British Government shall decide whether this
island (discovered by an officer of the British Royal Navy, and
not by a Russian, as some have assumed) shall be retained as a
part of the Empire. These adventurous patriots have now been
marooned in the Arctic for two years, nor have we heard a word
from them. Their supplies must have given out last year, and they
have since been dependent on hunting for food—an eventuality for
which they were prepared, for two of them are veterans of Stefans-
son’s former expeditions, and used to living in the Arctic by forage.
Nevertheless, their condition may by now be desperate.

Mr. Stefansson has spent on the Wrangel Island Expedition all
the earnings from his books, magazine articles, and American
lectures, and it is now beyond his power to find the costs of a
relief ship to go to Wrangel Island this summer. Rather than
see these gallant men deserted on the island during the coming
winter, the British Wright Company two weeks ago voted the sum
of $2,500 to pay for an auxiliary schooner to visit Wrangel Island
from Nome, Alaska. A cable now received tells me of the schooner
which first offered to go to the relief having accepted another
charter,5 and that an additional sum of $10,000 must be deposited
in the bank at Nome to safeguard the crew of the only other

⁵ Mr. Brewer based this statement on a cable from Harold Noice dated
Nome, Alaska, July 17th. The pertinent part of the cable reads: “Allan
charter failed stop must charter only other suitable vessel and secure own crew
stop cable seven thousand dollars for repairs charter provisions wages crew
fuel oil” That cable, however, was immediately followed by others—each
of which put the money figure higher. On July 27th, for instance, we had:
“Must have total security twelve thousand six hundred dollars,” and so on
for larger amounts higher figures. This was especially bewildering to us in view of the fact
since that we had commenced our negotiations upon the basis of the following
cable:

“Nome, Alaska, June 29, 1923.

“Vilhjalmur Stefansson,

New York, N. Y.

“Can secure boat for Wrangel satisfactory terms believe should leave
here about August first Alex Allan here with new good boat seventy tons nine
knots believe can arrange thousand dollars trip two thousand if successful.”

(Signed) Carl J. Lomen.