The Harold Noice Controversies
Much of the following is based on allegations between Noice and Stefansson. Many of the relevant legal documents have been lost to time. It seems like (aside from Noices’ story in the papers) Stefansson has control over the Wrangel Island story. It is important to see both sides of the story, especially the one that slips under the modern view of the story. Thus, this page will view Noice as somewhat of a hero. This said, Noice is in no way a perfect man.
Upon his return, Harold Noice sold his story to the North American Newspaper Alliance, which was spread across the globe. Focused on his own image, Stefansson sought to deny all opportunity for any side of the Wrangel Island story but his own from surfacing. Noice spent the following years defending himself against Stefansson’s various attacks. The item above it the first of 12 pages in a letter from Harold Noice to Griffith Brewer defending himself from the many accusations surrounding them. This page seeks to explore this letter in the wider context of the Harold Noice controversies.
An issue of ownership?
The first page of Noice's writing contract as laid out by L. Pickering
The second page of Noice's writing contract as laid out by L. Pickering
Stefansson’s first attempt at stopping Noice was to claim that he had no right to give the Wrangel Island story to the press. He also denies that Noice ever had the rights to any of the documents from the expedition. This argument, however, is easily disproven by the agreement between Loring Pickering of the Newspaper Alliance and Alfred Taylor from July 30, 1923: [1]. The document confirms that Taylor arranged for the purchase of Noice’s story of at least 20,000 words for a sum of $3,000. Further, it gave the Alliance the rights to “all photographs taken of the rescue expedition and of the rescued persons, etc.” It also states that the Alliance has the “first option” to the story of the expedition as told by any surviving members, Stefansson, or Taylor himself. It can be argued that these rights extended to give the Alliance first option to the story as told by the members in their diaries. The deal can be further confirmed within a letter from Pickering to Noice from October 10 [2] that enclosed the final check paying for the story. In a letter between himself and Griffith Brewer [3], Noice claimed that “Mr. Taylor was delighted with this arrangement” (pages 2-3). However, Stefansson writes on page 176 of his book, The Adventure of Wrangel Island [4] , that Taylor denied ever signing over the rights to Noice. He explains that “one does not word letters and papers carefully” between friends. These letters seem like formal transactions between business partners. They demonstrate the formation and execution of a business contract transferring the rights of the story to Harold Noice. Thus, Stefansson was forced to find another method by which he would be able to divert the funds from the story.
An issue of Morality?
"The money that came in from the story… should all go to the relatives of the dead, since the selling value... depend[s] mainly on what they had done"
Vilhjalmur Stefansson in his book, "The Adventure of Wrangel Island"
Stefansson landed upon the idea to question the morality of the sale of the Wrangel Island tale. He rightfully argues that the work of the Wrangel Island expedition is the only reason that there is a story to tell. He, however, ignores the fact that there would not have been such a sensational story had Stefansson ensured that the resupply ship, the Teddy Bear, had been able to leave at a reasonable time. Stefansson wrote in a letter to Bernard, the ship’s captain, that the “late date at which [he] sailed was no fault of [Bernard’s],” but that it “was due to the trouble [Stefansson] had in financing” [5]. However, in his previous letter to Bernard, sent only 3 days earlier (April 7, 1924) [6] Stefansson states that Carl Lomen, an associate of Stefansson, was able to get $300,000 for his reindeer business from businessmen in New York. Thus the question arises: how hard would it have been for Stefansson to get money for the supply mission? In his letter to Brewer [3], on page 10, Noice demonstrates how profitable the new settlers of Wrangel (the fur traders) are. Considering the reputation of Stefansson as a great Arctic explorer, he should have been able to raise the funds.
A modern cover of Stefansson's book from 1921 about the Karluk
Another thing to consider in the morality of profiting from the work of the dead is the fact that Stefansson did so himself. We can think about the “what ifs” as long as we want, but the resupply ship failed to arrive and the Wrangel Island expedition did fail. Thus, we must return to profiting from the work of the dead. Noice raises the argument in his letter to Brewer [3] (page 6) the fact that Stefansson requesting that the money be turned over to the company would be like the “American Museum who sent Mr. Stefansson north to collect ethnological specimens had demanded that he give them the money he received from the sale of articles.” Indeed, Stefansson had profited from his previous expeditions. One of which ended in many deaths, much like the Wrangel Island expedition. In 1913 and 1914, Stefansson sailed the Karluk north to explore. When the ship was crushed in the ice, Stefansson left the ship and its crew behind in favor of his scientific goals. While the crew was able to organize rescue eventually, nearly half of the crew of 25 perished. Stefansson published The Friendly Arctic in 1921, profiting off of the men he left behind. If Stefansson wished to portray Noice as a villain, he would be unable to do so without proving himself one in the process. Whether or not he was in a moral gray zone by releasing his story, Noice did have the right to, and it is up to you, the reader, to form your own opinion. Either way, Stefansson changed his strategy in order to block Noice.
An issue of blame?
Stefansson’s new strategy was to criticize Noice’s portrayal of the men on the expedition. He claimed that Noice was insulting the memory of the men; that he was calling them inexperienced. Stefansson’s claim comes from one main source: Noice’s telegram from Nome upon his immediate return from the island [7]: game conditions Wrangell apparently excellent… failure of last expedition due to [a] combination [of] poor equipment and inexperience.” Stefansson believed that this statement defamed the men of the expedition by placing the blame of their own deaths upon the men rather than the environment of Wrangel Island. While it is true that Knight and Maurer were in their upper twenties at the time and had experience in the Arctic, the leader of the expedition, Crawford, was barely twenty years old. Galle was even younger, and it was both of their first times on such an expedition. Ada, as the seamstress, had little sway over the group, and, though she was an Alaskan native, she lived in the city of Nome. Thus, she also lacked the experience for the expedition. When Knight fell ill, the experience of the party was effectively halved. Thus, it seems a reasonable conclusion to state that the expedition indeed partially failed due to a lack of experience. However, what Noice published in the papers conveyed a different idea.
This is the controversial message sent by Noice according to Stefansson
Noice put in a later statement that will be discussed later (published on page 294 of Stefansson’s book [4] ) that his story in the papers “overemphasize[d] the hardships and drawbacks of the North.” Thus, there should be no issue between his new description and what Stefansson wanted to be stated, right? After all, this new statement blamed the environment and not the men. However, Noice alleges that Stefansson wrote to him about the fact that Noice had not implied that the men were at fault, which, “if known, would remove the feeling that Wrangel Island itself was ill-suited for habitation” [3]. It would seem that Stefansson’s true feelings on the matter wanted the Island to avoid being the villain of the Wrangel story. The only reason he would do so, Noice suggests, is the fact that there was still a profit to be had on the island. I draw the readers’ attention back to page 10 of the same source, in which Noice explains the profit the new fur traders have already raked in for the company. Thus, we have reached the true root of this entire controversy: money.
One last attempt
Noice went on to offer a retraction of many of his statements (published in Stefansson’s book) [4] . He retracts his statements that the final mission of the expedition was not made in desperation for food, that he overemphasized the environment’s role in the deaths, that only Galle and Crawford were inexperienced, and that the words published in the papers were not his writing. The last one may seem more important than it truly is. While he did not write the story, the words were still his own taken from interview sessions. He states that he believed (upon rereading it) that his statement seems overly harsh and critical toward the men of the expedition, and that it was based on a hasty reading of the diaries. Stefansson takes this last statement and blows it out of proportion. Throughout his book, he references this retraction to suggest that Noice did not read the diaries closely, and he uses this to disprove any point of Noice’s he comes across. He can be very petty at times, even going as far as mentioning the fact that Noice did not complete high school (page 358).
Picking sides
“You are and have been accused of various things… that I know for a fact that you are innocent of. But the trouble is that only very few know the truth”
Joseph Bernard in a letter to Noice
"A smooth speaker does not necessarily mean a kind heart."
Joseph Bernard to Noice about Stefansson
"For some time now Mr. Stefansson has been behaving more like an exploiter than an explorer"
-The Montreal Standard
Stefansson was able to convince Lorne Knight's father to join his cause. Aside from Stefansson himself, Mr. Knight was the most outspoken opponent against Noice. Though there is not a letter from Mr. Knight among the sources below, Stefansson often references his opinion. It is likely that Knight sided with Stefansson due to Noice calling the men inexperienced. The Galles, as Helen Crawford would suggest [8] (page 2), were “friendly to [Stefansson].” The Maurers were somewhat in the middle. Stefansson suggests that only the Crawfords stood against him [6] , but there is a letter between John Maurer and Helen Crawford [9] in which he is asking for her to ask the other parents to write to Stefansson. He wants them to ask Stefansson to delay or stop the publishing of his book. While this is not written to help Noice, it shows that Mr. Maurer is also not pleased with Stefansson. As I have already suggested, Helen Crawford worked closely with Harold Noice. She sent him two letters, in which she advises him on how to best utilize his words. She and her husband also gave a very negative piece about Stefansson in the Evening Telegraph [10]. Once again, the letter from Stefansson to Bernard [6] showed that there was great tension between the Crawfords and Stefansson. While reading the letters between Stefansson and Bernard, one will notice how Stefansson tries to sweet talk Bernard over to his side. However, Bernard was never convinced. In fact, he worked with Noice, giving over copies of Stefansson’s letters. Bernard even refused to work with Stefansson again when it was offered to him [11]. It is also worh looking at the newspapers. The Montreal Standard released two articles about Stefansson, one before and one after the tragic results of the expedition were known, that are very critical of him and how exploitative he is with relation to those on his expeditions. They are definitely worth a read (linked here: [12] [13] ).
Works cited
The writing contract giving Noice the rights to the story
[1] Loring, Pickering. Harold Noice Papers. Rauner Special Collections Library, Hanover, NH. https://collections.dartmouth.edu/teitexts/harold-noice/diplomatic/harold-noice-01-02-03-diplomatic.html#?start=12&length=12&view=list&col=harold-noice&oc_0=main-title&od_0=a
The confirmation of payment for Noice's writing
[2] Loring Pickering. Harold Noice Papers. Rauner Special Collections Library, Hanover, NH. https://collections.dartmouth.edu/teitexts/harold-noice/diplomatic/harold-noice-01-02-07-diplomatic.html#?start=0&length=12&view=list&rdat_only_u=no&rdat_u=yes&col=harold-noice&oc_0=main-title&od_0=a
Noice explains himself to Griffith Brewer
[3] Noice, Harold. Harold Noice Papers. Rauner Special Collections Library, Hanover, NH. https://collections.dartmouth.edu/teitexts/harold-noice/diplomatic/harold-noice-01-02-16-diplomatic.html#?start=0&length=12&view=list&rdat_only_u=no&rdat_u=yes&col=harold-noice&oc_0=main-title&od_0=a
Stefansson's Book
[4] Stefansson, Vilhjalmur. The Adventure of Wrangel Island. In History of the Wrangel Island Documents. https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89097145130&seq=211
Stefansson tries to smooth talk Bernard to side with him
[5] Stefansson, Vilhjalmur. Harold Noice Papers. Rauner Special Collections Library, Hanover, NH. https://collections.dartmouth.edu/teitexts/harold-noice/diplomatic/harold-noice-01-02-12-diplomatic.html#?start=0&length=12&view=list&col=harold-noice&oc_0=main-title&od_0=a
Stefansson to Bernard, sent 3 days earlier than the last one
[6] Stefansson, Vilhjalmur. Harold Noice Papers. Rauner Special Collections Library, Hanover, NH. https://collections.dartmouth.edu/teitexts/harold-noice/diplomatic/harold-noice-01-02-10-diplomatic.html#?start=0&length=12&view=list&col=harold-noice&oc_0=main-title&od_0=a
Harold Noice's telegram back from Nome after his return
[7] Noice, Harold. Harold Noice Papers. Rauner Special Collections Library, Hanover, NH. https://collections.dartmouth.edu/teitexts/harold-noice/diplomatic/harold-noice-01-02-04-diplomatic.html#?start=12&length=12&view=list&col=harold-noice&oc_0=main-title&od_0=a
Helen Crawford advises Noice on what to say
[8] Crawford, Helen. Harold Noice Papers. Rauner Special Collections Library, Hanover, NH. https://collections.dartmouth.edu/teitexts/harold-noice/diplomatic/harold-noice-01-02-21-diplomatic.html#?start=0&length=12&view=list&col=harold-noice&oc_0=main-title&od_0=a
John Maurer to Helen Crawford asking her to convince the others to stop Stefansson's book
[9] Maurer, John. Harold Noice Papers. Rauner Special Collections Library, Hanover, NH. https://collections.dartmouth.edu/teitexts/harold-noice/diplomatic/harold-noice-01-02-22-diplomatic.html#?start=12&length=12&view=list&col=harold-noice&oc_0=main-title&od_0=a
The Crawfords speak out against Stefansson to the press using some of Noice's rhetoric
[10] Crawford, John Crawford, Helen. Harold Noice Papers. Rauner Special Collections Library, Hanover, NH. https://collections.dartmouth.edu/teitexts/harold-noice/diplomatic/harold-noice-01-03-01-diplomatic.html#?start=0&length=12&view=list&rdat_only_u=no&rdat_u=yes&col=harold-noice&oc_0=main-title&od_0=a
Bernard refuses to give Stefansson a direct statement and refuses to work for him again
[11] Bernard, Joseph-Fidèle. Harold Noice Papers. Rauner Special Collections Library, Hanover, NH. https://collections.dartmouth.edu/teitexts/harold-noice/diplomatic/harold-noice-01-02-09-diplomatic.html#?start=12&length=12&view=list&col=harold-noice&oc_0=main-title&od_0=a
An article in the Montreal Standard that is very critical of Stefansson even before the expedition failed
[12] Montreal Standard. Harold Noice Papers. Rauner Special Collections Library, Hanover, NH. https://collections.dartmouth.edu/teitexts/harold-noice/diplomatic/harold-noice-01-03-04-diplomatic.html#?start=24&length=12&view=list&rdat_only_u=no&rdat_u=yes&col=harold-noice&oc_0=main-title&od_0=a
Another article from the same paper from after the news of the failed expedition that is similarly critical
[13] Montreal Standard. Harold Noice Papers. Rauner Special Collections Library, Hanover, NH. https://collections.dartmouth.edu/teitexts/harold-noice/diplomatic/harold-noice-01-03-03-diplomatic.html#?start=24&length=12&view=list&rdat_only_u=no&rdat_u=yes&col=harold-noice&oc_0=main-title&od_0=a
Other sources
Bernard writes to Noice that he supports him... he is going to send coppies of Stefansson's letters to him
Bernard, Joseph-Fidèle. Harold Noice Papers. Rauner Special Collections Library, Hanover, NH. https://collections.dartmouth.edu/teitexts/harold-noice/diplomatic/harold-noice-01-02-18-diplomatic.html#?start=12&length=12&view=list&col=harold-noice&oc_0=main-title&od_0=a
Another letter from Bernard to Noice... he sent him the copies but is worried that they were intercepted... he believes Noice's story
Bernard, Joseph-Fidèle. Harold Noice Papers. Rauner Special Collections Library, Hanover, NH. https://collections.dartmouth.edu/teitexts/harold-noice/diplomatic/harold-noice-01-02-19-diplomatic.html#?start=12&length=12&view=list&col=harold-noice&oc_0=main-title&od_0=a
Two links to sources on the Karluk