stefansson-wrangel-09-32-101v

402 THE ADVENTURE OF WRANGEL ISLAND U. S. S. Vincennes ran through the position as indicated on the Admiralty chart and anchored in 42 fathoms in latitude 72° 5' N., longitude 174° 37' W., where Plover Land should have been, and reported that for thirty miles in every direction there was no land though the weather was so clear that the horizon was apparently without limit.2 A little doubt, however, is cast on this testimony by the fact that on the same voyage Commander [[Rodgers, John, 1812-1882|Rodgers]] failed to see [[Wrangel Island (Russia)|Wrangel Island]] although, according to his reported astro- nomical observations and our present knowledge, he was only a few miles from it. After all, the position assigned to Plover Land by [[Kellett, Henry, 1806-1875|Kellett]] was only approximate; there may also conceivably have been an error of position in [[Rodgers, John, 1812-1882|Rodger’s]] reckoning. Later the ship Rodgers, commanded by Lieutenant [[Berry, Robert M., 1846-1929|Berry]],3 reported reaching latitude 73° 44' N. in longitude 171° 48' W. without seeing land. If we consult the standard charts we find the whole vicinity of Plover Land sounded. But the figures show shallow water, as if the facts were determined so to balance them- selves as still to leave a possibility of land. We may also remember that, if it be supposed that [[Kellett, Henry, 1806-1875|Kellett]] was nearer to the land than he thought, he may have overestimated its extent.4 We come now to the reason for the writing of this paper. Plover Land has again been seen. Plover Land and Borden Land In the spring of 1914, after the wreck of the Karluk a short distance to the northeastward, several members of our expedition remained encamped at [[Waring Point (Wrangel Island)|Waring Point, Wrangel Island]], for several months. During that time a land other than [[Herald Island (Russia)|Herald Island]] was seen one day to the eastward and was repeatedly seen thereafter. The two most important witnesses are [[Hadley, John (Jack), -1918|John Hadley]] and [[McKinlay, William Laird, 1888-1983|William McKinlay]]. The Testimony of [[Hadley, John (Jack), -1918|Hadley]] [[Hadley, John (Jack), -1918|John Hadley]], a native of [[Canterbury (England)|Canterbury, England]], had spent most of his life in the [[Arctic regions|Arctic]] since he went thither in 1889 as petty 2 Rept. of the Secretary of the Navy, Dec. 3, 1881, Reconnaissance of [[Bering Strait|Behring's straits]], pp. 7-9. 3 Rept. of the Secretary of the Navy, Nov. 28, 1881, pp. 6-9, 755-763. 4 The author of the [[Royal Geographical Society (Great Britain)|Royal Geographical Society]] paper on [[Wrangel Island (Russia)|Wrangel Island]], printed as Appendix V, ante, concludes that Plover Land was a headland on the present [[Wrangel Island (Russia)|Wrangel Island]].