stefansson-wrangel-09-15-078-001

Escanaba, Michigan; November 20, 1924.

Dear Taylor:

I have just wired my secretary to send you the
revised proofs as they stand after we received the Noice retrac-
tion. I want any comments you have time for. We had to delay
publication beyond the Holidays on account of the retraction and
now further delay does not much matter. The book should appear
in January or February.

I am enclosing copy of Mr. Crawford's last letter. Pre-
viously he had objected to my saying that the relatives and
I believed that Noice had torn out the ten still missing pages.
In reply we changed this to read that Lorne's father and I
believe he tore out those pages.

It seems to me that if the public knew the manner in which
Mr. Crawford has been attempting to discredit his son (it amounts
to that, though not so intented), they could sympathise with him
only on the basis I do - that his judgment is seriously at fault.
As I have said in the book, if the Crawford story had been ori-
ginally told with the same truth and sympathy that the Scott
story was told, Allan Crawford might have become almost as
much of a Canadian hero as Scott is an English one. It is too
late for quite that now, but much can be salvaged and if I had
as sympatheitic cooperation from Mr. and Mrs. Crawford as I have
from the other relatives I could make for Allan a place in Canadi
Canadian history that would not only be his truly but would also
be a solace to his parents - the sort of solace some Canadian
parents have for the losses they suffered in France.

The best chance is to talk with Mr. Crawford's attorney.
Tell him I have in the book two chief motives. (1) To estab-
lish the truth; (2) to pay such tribute to the dead that their
families, their friends and their fellow-countrymen will see
wherein they have a right to be proud of the motives and
deeds of the four Wrangell Island party.

I expect to be in New York from Dec. 15 to January 15.
Are you by any chance coming down.

V. Stefansson.