harold-noice-01-03-01-001

The Evening Te[...]

TORONTO, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 29, [...]

PARENTS BLAME V. STEFANSSON
FOR ALLAN CRAWFORD'S DEATH

Shortage of Food and Failure
to Keep Faith Cited
Against Explorer

TRAGEDY OF WRANGEL

Stefansson Accused of Misstat-
ments to Escape Burden
of Culpability

"Failure to keep faith with the
boys, together with the totally inade-
quate supplies with wich he encour-
aged them to embark," is charged
against Stefansson, the Arctic ex-
plorer, as having caused the death of
their son Allan Crawford, of Toronto,
and his companions on Wrangel Is-
land, to the north of Siberia, in a
statement issued this morning by
Prof. J. T. Crawford, of the Ontario
College of Education Faculty, U. of
T., and Mrs. Crawford. Last week
Stefansson published charges that
Harold Noice, who in 1923 headed
the relief expedition to Wrangel Is-
land, had mutilated and suppressed
the "last testament of a dead hero."

The statement is as follows:

"BURDEN OF CULPABILITY."

"For many months past we have
read in silence statements in the
press contributed or inspired by Mr.
Vilhjalmur Stefansson 'explaining'
the tragedy of Wrangel Island. In
some instances these statements
have been contrary to facts, in
others, a false impression has been
conveyed by a more or less skillful
use of partial truths for the purpose
of deceiving the public and thereby,
if possible, lightening the burden of
culpability for the tragedy which Mr.
Stefansson now bears.

"In addition to making misleading
statements, Mr. Stefansson indulges
in callous and futile spectulations as
to what cruel death may have been
the unknown fate of our son, Allan
Crawford, and his two companions,
Frederick Maurer and Milton Galle.
He has endeavored to convince the
public that their tragic end was a
mere accident, that starvation could
not have been its cause, although he
himself has admitted that a supply
for six months was all the food he
advised them to take, and has stated
in the London Spectator (August 18,
1923), that 'their supplies probably
gave out a year ago'.

"FEAR OF STARVATION."

"He has tried to give the impres-
sion that the second and fatal
attempt of our son to make the
[...]across the ever-moving

{Figure}A portrait photograph of Allan Crawford in a suit.
The late ALLAN CRAWFORD was
born in Hamilton in 1901, but was
educated at the University of To-
ronto Schools and was in his third
year in chemistry and mineralogy at
the University of Toronto when he
left to take command of the Stefans-
son expedition to Wrangel Island,
where he and his associates perished.

Arctic soil. As early as August 15,
1922, Galle records: - 'Crawford and
I have been dipping hard bread in
grease all day long, and seem never
to get filled!' And this was five
months before the trip to Siberia
was attempted!

"DOCUMENTS CONCLUSIVE."

"This the documents left by the
victims of the Stefansson Wrangel
Island enterprise, who are dead and
can no longer speak for themelves,
prove conclusively that it was short-
age of food that led to their cruel
and unnecessary sacrifice.

"From the living, too, we have
testimony. Captain Joseph Bernard
of the Teddy Bear, who risked his
own life and ship in his efforts to
rescue our son and party, writes to
us that he has met and talked with
Ada Blackjack, the Eskimo seam-
stress, sole survivor of the expedi-
tion. When he told her that Mr.
Stefansson was saying in his lec-
tares that there were lots of pro-
visions on the island when the boys
left for the mainland, Ada became
greatly excited. 'She told me.' Cap-
tain Bernard writes, 'that all [...]
[...]was a [...]