stefansson-wrangel-09-25-007-021

21.

polar bears were dangerous. But for a present-day man or woman
who can shoot ducks with a rifle, there is scarcely more danger
in a bear than there is in a duck. Unless cornered, a bear will
always flee when wounded. Furthermore, one who is not frightened
and who has the skill to hit a duck can place a
bullet where one shot is fatal. But Ada not only did not look
for bears; she fled when she saw them. But for this defect of
training, she could have saved Knight with fresh me at as
we had saved him in 1917 (see "The Friendly Arctic" p.___.)

All this is on the assumption that Knight died of
scurvy. But this is not quite clear. He himself mentions frequently
that the symptoms were different from the scurvy he had
before. It seems as likely th t the disease was nephritis, in
which case a polar bear more or less might not have made any
difference.

When the Donaldson arrived at Wrangell Island
August 20, 1923, Ada Blackjack had mastered her environment so
far that it seems likely she could have lived there another year,
although the isolation would have been a dradful experieence.
Almost certainly, she would eventually have killed one of
the polar bears instead of fleeing from them. The first victory
would have led to the killing of several - enough to see her
through, for the summer of 1923 seems to have been as good for
bears as the summer of 1921. Her living along a year would have
made a wonderful story, but it would have been for her a terrible
experience. While I believe in her probably success,
I am more gratefyl than any person unconcerned could be that