stefansson-wrangel-09-32-102v

404 THE ADVENTURE OF WRANGEL ISLAND

have been covered with snow at the time and perhaps only indis-
tinctly visible, being but a white outline on a white horizon. Had
it been distinct, he himself certainly would have noticed it.

After the land first had been seen it was visible whenever weather
conditions were suitable. It is a matter of common knowledge that
the absence of fog in one’s immediate vicinity is no guarantee that
there is not a thick fog bank lying invisible a few miles away and
hiding everything beyond. Accordingly it did not strike Hadley
as remarkable that on many apparently clear days the land could
not be seen.

After the land had been seen three or four times and there was
general agreement as to its reality, it was decided to name it
“Borden Land” in honor of Sir Robert Borden who had been chiefly
instrumental in securing the transfer of our expedition from Amer-
ican auspices to those of the Canadian government.

Hadley considered the most important fact about the land to
be that when it was first seen it was to a large extent covered with
snow and that day by day the snow could be seen to be getting less
and less, so that when the land was last seen the snow was mainly
confined to what appeared to be gullies or the slopes of hills. He
said he had no doubt at all of the existence of the land; the fact
that it was not seen from the decks of either the King and Winge
or the United States Revenue Cutter Bear when they were cruising
in the vicinity of Herald Island looking for the missing members
of the expedition, he considered to be of no significance. A fog
to the northeast would, in his opinion, have explained its non-
appearance.

This, in substance, is what Hadley told me. As he has since died,
I will fortify myself by quoting Archdeacon Hudson Stuck’s ac-
count of his interview with Hadley on this subject. The time of
the Archdeacon’s visit to our camp was late March, 1918. I quote
from pp. 304-5 of his delightfully written book, “A Winter Circuit
of Our Arctic Coast”:

Ten miles more brought us to Barter Island and to the extensive building,
half underground in sensible vernacular fashion, of Mr. Stefansson’s base
camp, and here we were hospitably received by Captain Hadley, who
was in charge. . . He had been on the Karluk when she was lost, full
of scientists and all sorts of expensive and elaborate equipment, and bore
no small part in bringing the survivors to Wrangel Island, there lying
many months until rescued by the King and Winge. Having just read the