stefansson-wrangel-09-13-038-001

[Ab]schrift.

[Aug-Sept 1923?]

The following cable was received in London the morning of
September 5 from Harold Noice, Commander of the "Donaldson" supply ship
which recently returned from Wrangell Island. The telegram was relayed
from Toronto. It seems to have been despatched from Nome by Noice
August 29. The delay in transmission is unexplained. The cable is
copied below exactly as received except that figures have been added
in brackets to refer to annotations.

ARRIVAL LAST NIGHT WEDNESDAY BLACKJACK (1) ONLY SURVIVOR
STOP BURIED KNIGHT AUGUST TWENTIETH STOP CRAWFORD GALLE MAURER LEFT
WRANGELL JANUARY TWENTYEIGHTH (2) NINETHEN TWENTYTHREE STOP BELIEVE
ENTIRE PARTY PERISHED YOU NOTIFY RELATIVES OF BOYS AS YOU THINK BEST
STOP HAVE LEFT COLONY OF TWO ESKIMO FAMILIES TWO UNMARRIED ESKIMO MEN
IN CHARGE OF WELLS (3) STOP EQUIPPED PARTY FOR TWO YEARS SOJOURN STOP
GAME CONDITIONS WRANGELL APPARENTLY EXCELLENT STOP FAILURE OF LAST
EXPEDITION DUE TO COMBINATION POOR EQUIPMENT (4) AND INEXPERIENCE (5).

Notes on the above cable:-

(1) BLACKJACK. This is Ada Blackjack, the seamstress reported in the
newspaper despatches.

(2) JANUARY 28. The newspapers originally reported January 17. This
discrepancy is of no material importance.

(3) WELLS. This man is not known to me. Noice indicates that he is a
competent white man whom he picked up in Alaska. Presumably he
has been in North-western Alsaka several years and should
therefore be fairly competent.

(4) POOR EQUIPMENT. Noice's extended despatch makes it clear that what
he had chiefly in mind as ’’poor equipment" was absence of skin
boats suitable for securing walrus. This lack is unexplained and
incomprehensible. I gave the men a free hand in outfitting but