stefansson-wrangel-09-32-090v

Appendix V

Further Consideration of the Charge by Mr. Harold Noice
that Ada Blackjack was Responsible for the
Death of Lorne Knight

As stated in the “History of the Wrangel Island Documents,”
Mr. Noice first wrote and published through newspapers having an
aggregate circulation of many millions a romantic story of Ada
Blackjack as “the heroine of Wrangel Island.” Then, months
later, he published a newspaper attack upon her (quoted in full in
Appendix IV) as having played “a mean role in a grim tragedy she
could have averted.” This had a circulation almost if not quite
as large as the original favorable account, and created an un-
pleasant situation which has to be faced, for the alternative of
silence is worse in most respects and bad especially in its injustice
to Ada Blackjack who, if not quite the sensational heroine Mr.
Noice at first represented, is much farther still from being a
vindictive criminal sitting fat and comfortable while a sick man she
could have saved died of hunger.

Since people differ so much in their opinions of right and wrong,
we originally had some idea of omitting from this book, as not
forming any enlightening part of the narrative, certain entries in
Lorne Knight’s diary which a few readers might consider to reflect
seriously upon the character of Ada Blackjack and which others
might think it bad taste for us to print. But after this last news-
paper publicity we had no choice. There must be not even this
single discretionary omission from a book which is the official
account of the Wrangel Island expedition. I felt much better
when that decision had been made, for one is never wholly com-
fortable about a case where any of the truth has to be suppressed,
no matter how kind and good the motives of reticence may be.
But since we still feel that the unpleasant controversies started by
Mr. Noice have been sufficiently (if not too extensively) noticed

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