Letter from Vilhjalmur Stefansson to Robert Laird Borden, 30 October 1920

^ Borden ^

October 30th, 1920

Dear Sir Robert:

I have just heard from the Geodetic Survey that they are at last about ready to send you the maps to illustrate my narrative. As a base the maps will have a photograph of the latest Admiralty whart, showing the state of knowledge when we sailed. The maps will be one for each year and it is intended that each map will show in red the state of our knowledge at the end of the work of that season. It will be only the final map, that of 1917, which will show the map as finally revised to show all the results of our work.

Although the manuscript of my book is finished, the publishers now say that they will not bring it out until the autumn of 1921. This is because of the very bad conditions in the publishing trade. I have thought it best, therefore, not to send you the manuscript in the present unrevised condition but to wait till it has been thoroughly revised and a clean and correct copy made for your reading.

Meantime I am sending a copy of the summary of our work, of which I spoke in a previous letter.

I had the opportunity of a good talk with Mr. Meighen about the importance of Canada’s exploring the whole unknown ocean so as not only to add to knowledge but to get a clear title to any lands that may be discovered. The signs are continually multiplying that other countries are beginning to suspect there may be considerable economic value in even the remotest lands. Any that are hereafter discovered are sure to go to those who discover them, for with a clear realization of their value a discovery is likely to be followed by occupation.

It seems that there are many now in Ottawa who see clearly the importance of making good our claim to Ellesmere Island and the other islands in the vicinity of Greenland. I want to urge the equal importance of an occupation of Wrangel Island and an exploration of the ocean to the north. Ellesmere Island is already valued enough by Denmark for her to question our title, but nobody has as yet taken any steps with regard to Wrangel Island. A quiet occupation by us now will probably not bring forth any protest for several years and by then our title will be clear, especially in view of the fact that it is originally a British discovery and that the only people who have

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occupied it for any length of time were the members of our expedition in 1914 (they were there six months).

There are two regions in which there seems reasonable prospect of the discovery of new land. One is to the north of Wrangel Island and for this work Wrangel Island should be used as a base. The other is to the northwest of Borden Island (First Land, discovered by us in 1915). For exploration in this quarter a base should be maintained in Melville Island. The domestication of the musk ox in Melville Island could well be undertaken in connection with such a scientific expedition and without greatly increasing the expense or complicating the program.

Sir Robert Borden, Ottawa, Ontario.