stefansson-wrangel-09-14-103-003

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not yet straightened out. There is no doubt we shall eventually get
possession of the diaries. Fortunately, they are in the hands of
the North American Newspaper Alliance. If they had been in Noice's
hands I should have been afraid of their being mutilated or destroyed.

On the whole I should think it would be better for you
not to try to make any arrangements for my coming to McMinnville. You
have such wonderful roads in Oregon that you will be able to bring your
family in easily. It will be equally easy for others greatly interested
to come to Portland to hear me there. I shall probably not say much
about the Wrangell Island Expedition in the Portland talk. Because of
the fear of perverted newspaper publicity, my general policy now is to
say as little for publication as possible until the book about Wrangell
Island
can appear. It is not possible in even half an hour to present
the story completely and to make it as creditable to those who took
part as a full publication of all the documents will make it. It is
something like the case of the story of Ambassador Page's work in Eng-
land. The only way it could be told so as to bring out its full impor-
tance was by the publication of his letters. I think Lorne's letters
and those of the other boys will be the most admirable and most
significant part of the narrative when it is finally published.

With regard to any copies of letters you send me, you
might say at once that certain of them are not for publication. If
you leave it to my judgement, I should, of course, send you the manu-
script for approval before anything goes to press.

I should like very much to get a copy of the
enlargement of the picture of the three boys, but I don't quite under-
stand your letter. Did the Seattle Times give you the negative or
have they still got it? If you have the negative, I hope you will send
me a copy. Otherwise, I will ask for one from the Times direct.

I am sending you a bundle of the Noice stories, as you
request. I believe a complete series has also been published by the
Seattle Times. I believe there are three installments said to be based
on Ada Blackjack's diary which we have not got.

You asked about Noice's financial relations to myself
and to the Wrangell Island Expedition. To begin with, I had been
supporting Noice here in New York for more than a year. I frequently
gave him money, but the checks and accounts we have come up to more than
$2,500. In all probability I gave him about $3,500. He was indebted
to me in many other ways and I had complete confidence in him. Conse-
quently there was no arrangement about his trip to Wrangell Island, not
even a verbal arrangement. In my own mind I had thought of paying him
as much as $500. a month but I had also expected to check that off
against the debt he owed me. Noice's own point of view is that the
original cable he sent from Nome, for which the Newspaper Alliance paid
$3,000., was his own property and was sold by him to the Alliance. The
Alliance, however, insists that they never dealt with Noice and bought
the story from our Company. Noice makes various ridiculous claims with

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