stefansson-wrangel-09-31-028v

OverviewTranscribeVersionsHelp

Facsimile

Transcription

Status: Complete

22 THE ADVENTURE OF WRANGEL ISLAND

and Vaigach had been fitted out at Vladivostok for the hydrographic
survey of the Arctic Ocean and islands lying off the Siberian coast.
No narrative of the first years of this work is accessible, but a sum-
mary of the geographical and hydrographical results was compiled in
1912 by Lieut. B. V. Davidov and printed for the Russian Admiralty.
This expedition must have erected the tall beacon 35 feet high
which stands north of the entrance to the lagoon in the sand spit
between Blossom Point and Cape Thomas (‘Arctic Pilot,' 1920, p.
477). In the summer of 1914 these same ice-breakers tried to reach
ORW. I must talk this our unit Trausche and charge it.
Wrangel Island again, to rescue the crew of the Karluk (see below),
but were unable to get within 30 miles of the island, and so far as
can be ascertained, no Russians were ever on Wrangel Island before
or after the single visit of 1911.

“Nevertheless the island seems to be claimed by Russia. At the
end of 1916 we were informed by the Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs that he had received from the Russian Ambassador in London
an official notification to the effect that “the territories and islands
situated in the Arctic Ocean and discovered by Captain Vilkitski in
1913-1914 have been incorporated in the Russian Empire.” At-
tached to Count Benckendorf's note was a memorandum giving a
summary of Vilkitski’s new discoveries off Cape Chelyuskin, claim-
ing them for the Russian Empire; and the note continued thus:

Le Gouvernement IMPERIAL profite de cette occasion
pour faire ressortir qu’il considere aussi comme faisant
partie integrante de l'Empire des iles Henriette, Jeannette,
Bennett, Herald et Oujedinenia, qui forment avec les iles
Nouvelle Siberie, Wrangel et autres situees pres la cote
asiatique de l'Empire, une extension vers le nord de la
plate forme continentale de la Siberie.

Le Gouvernement IMPERIAL n’a pas juge necessaire de
joindre a la presente notification les iles Novaia Zemlia,
Kolgouev, Waigatch et autres de moindres dimensions
situees pres la cote europeenne de l'Empire, etant
donne que leur appartenance aux territoires de l'Empire
se trouve depuis des sieves universellement reconnue.1

Here see Appendix IX.

1The Imperial Government takes this occasion to set forth that it considers
as making an integral part of the Empire the islands Henriette, Jeannette,
Bennett, Herald and Oujedinenia, which, with the New Siberian Islands,

Notes and Questions

Please sign in to write a note for this page

jessiesusan

Diacritics are needed for text within lines 28-41

Samara Cary

Thanks! I'll make sure to add those in before final review.