stefansson-wrangel-09-30-008-005

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At this point we might have inserted in the evidence Fred
Maurer’s last letter to his wife, but Mrs, Maurer on consultation with his
parents and family, has decided against this for two reasons. The letter as
a whole in of too intimate a nature, and it contains isolated sentences which
they fear they the family got the public might misinterpret, not knowing might not be interpreted by the public in their truy sense! which
they understand from the other circumstances of the case and not having seen from other com-
mications from him. As we have mentioned in this book, Maurer's family
have concluded from all the evidence in their possession that he did not wish
to leave Wrangel Island, that he did so in deference to the authority and
opinion of the others, that the entire party would probably have lived
through had they remained on the island, and that Maurer would probably have
been able to secure enough fresh meat for himself, Knight and Ada Blackjack
had the journey towards Nome been attempted only by Crawford and Galle. like
everything in this case not actually recorded as a happening in some authentic
document, these opinions of the Maurer family are only their opinions. They
are significant, however, since they are based in part on evidence which we
cannot publish. I have, therefore, asked John Maurer, elder brother of Fred
Maurer, to write a statement on behalf of the family which I might print
somewhere. I have chosen to place it here, immediately after recording the record of
Knight’s [xxx] wish of February fifth 5th that the three fellows would come back."

"New Philadelphia, Ohio,
December 15, 1924.

"Dear Mr. Stefansson:

"My opinion of Fred's letter to his wife and the other evidence
is that Fred did not want to leave the island and that Knight and Crawford
insisted and brought forward the argument about the shortage of food and
he was persuaded to go with that reason. No doubt he also felt that the