harold-noice-01-02-15-007

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established the new colony of professional trappers completely
outfitted with all things necessary for the maintenance of a
happy existence for two years and ammunition for three years.

I received congratulations from Stefansson and the company stat-
ing that high personages in the British Government were delighted
with my action. Then six days after I had returned to Nome
I received a cable forwarded from Stefansson instructing me to
purchase the Donaldson outright and leave her at Nome to be used
by the company the following year. I was unable to do this for
obvious reasons and I was also considerably annoyed and astounded
because the cables also stated that Mr. Stefansson hoped the
impression could be created that both the establishment of the
colony and the purchase of the ship were for the sole purpose of
being useful to the survivors of the Crawford party. I refused
to perjure myself but when I met Mr. Taylor in Toronto upon
my return from Alaska he explained the matter by saying that
doubtless it was only a political move on Stefansson's part to
please the British authorities who for diplomatic reasons wanted
the idea to get abroad that the colony had been established for
humanitarian rather than for Imperialistic reasons, but who
would nevertheless take formal possession of the island later
on. Mr. Taylor was delighted with my management of the expedi-
tion and said that, if I had refused to establish the colony in
the face of such a tragedy as most other menwould have done, the
whole project would have been ruined, but now his cable from