stefansson-wrangel-09-14-103-001

November 20, 1923.

Dear Mr. Knight:

My absence from New York has delayed the reply to
your letter of November 2nd. Many thanks for it and for the certified
copy of the admirable letter from Lorne to his mother.

To-day I was talking to Dr. Bowman, the Director of
the American Geographical Society, about the Noice newspaper story and
he mentioned his great admiration for Lorne, especially as shown by
the cheerfulness of his diary entries even when things were getting
to look pretty bad. I don't think you need to worry so very much
about the unkind things Noice has said about Lorne, for the diary
entries he quotes carry their own contradiction. It will be only a
very careless reader who prefers Noice's comments to the clear evi-
dence of the diary itself. These unkind and uncalled for comments
will go heavily against Noice with anyone who stops to think about
what he reads.

I am very anxious to get copies of all documents
bearing upon the expedition and should be very grateful if you would
send me copies of any letters that you still preserve from Lorne that
have any bearing on the Wrangell Island expedition, whether they were
written before he started or later. I have just received copies of
all the correspondence between Fred Maurer and his family. They not
only give a very favorable impression of Maurer but they also throw
a great deal of light on the organization of the expedition and the
spirit in which the boys all worked together.

My secretary says that she forwarded some time ago
a photostat copy of Lorne's last letter to me. I hope this has arrived
safely. If not, please let me know and we will send another.

The Ada Blackjack situation is disturbing. When we
found that Noice had made her an overpayment of $600. we thought it
possible that he might have purchased her diary for that sum. I then
cabled to Nome but got a reply from Carl Lomen, saying that Ada had
sailed for Seattle. The next we knew was the newspaper report that
she had arrived in Seattle and would proceed east to join Noice.
While this seemed to make worse an already painful situation (since
it appeared likely that Noice would concoct another very sensational
story) I did not see what I could do about it, or indeed that I could
do anything without possibly making things worse. A few days later,
however, it occurred to me that all the Eskimos are wards of the