stefansson-wrangel-09-14-115-001

C O P Y

McMinnville, Oregon,
Dec. 5, 1923.

Mrs. J. T. Crawford,
Toronto, Ontario,
168 Walmer Road.

My dear Mrs. Crawford:

I have a great deal to say to you and the same things
I want to say to you should be said to the families of the other boys as
well so, I am writing this letter and making four copies and I hope the
others will forgive me for sending them carbon copies of your letter.

I went to Seattle on the 28th of Nov. and spent five days
there, going primarily for the purpose of seeing Ada Blackjack but while there
I met so many people who knew our boys that I have to tell you all about it,
and I want to say that I came home with a different feeling in my heart from
what I have had since the awful thing became known.

I met Carl Lomen of Nome and New York City, a man who
stands very high in the estimation of all Nome and Seattle and whose father
is the Federal Judge at Nome and he and his brothers (Carl) conduct a store
at Nome and they are engaged in raising and placing on the market thousands
of reindeer each year. He is a special friend of Mr. Stefansson and of all
other northern travelers. He was a special friend of Noice until we had had
about three hours conversation and I laid before him some of the despicable
facts concerning Noice's conduct in this matter and in other matters which
have proven him to have a yellow streak in him and now he is in doubt as to
his friendship for the vulture that Noice has proven himself to be.

I spent the evening with Carl and his lovable old mother
and his brilliant sister who will soon go east, and I found myself still
going strong at 12-30 midnight. Such an evening as I had.

Our boys made the Lomen home their home in Nome, Carl
helped them to outfit and there were many tears shed in our evening's visit
and Mrs. Lomen, God bless her, said that she never knew four nicer, cleaner,
more up and doing, intelligent and altogether worth while young men in one
party than those four boys and then she would break down and weep.

Miss Helen said there was a dance given at the "log cabin"
while the boys were in Nome and she was the best chaperoned lady there because
besides her brother, she had four handsome and entertaining young men named
Crawford, Maurer, Galle and Knight, and such a time as they had, she loves to
talk of it.

I learned many things of them about the north which, well
as I deemed myself to understand it all, I had not grasped.

Before I tell you of these things, let me tell you that I