10 



SCIENCE 



[Vol. LVI, No. 1436 



The relative importance for tMs party is as fol- 

 lows: (1) geological, (2) geographical, (3) an- 

 thropological, (4) biological, (5) photographieal. 

 The chief of the Southern Party, as executive 

 head, must afford every facility a-s circumstances 

 permit to enaile these sub-parties to carry out the 

 above important worlc. 



The Smnmary Report of the Geological Survey 

 of Canada for 1913 contains the following 

 statement by the director (p. 9) : 



Scientific work within the scope of the Geolog- 

 ical Survey was placed under the jurisdiction of 

 the Survey. The expedition was divided into two 

 parties, the northern exploration party under Mr. 

 V. Stefansson, the leader of the expedition, and a 

 southern scientific party under Dr. R. M. Ander- 

 son of the Geological Survey, whose field of oper- 

 ation was to be in the neighborhood of Coronation 

 Gulf, Coppermine River and Victoria Land. 

 [After naming the officials of the Survey who 

 were on this southern party the director con- 

 tinues:] The officers of the Survey are worhing 

 under the direction of and reporting to the Geo- 

 logical Survey. 



From these official documents it is clear, (a) 

 that the Southern Party was working on a def- 

 inite program outlined by the Geological Sur- 

 vey, and (6) that its leader, Dr. Anderson, was 

 responsible for providing it with all the neces- 

 sary facilities in the way of food supplies, 

 sleds, dogs, etc. 



The old whaling steamer Karluk, which was 

 to be used by Mr. Stefansson for his northern 

 explorations, was caught in the ice in August, 

 1913, carried away towards the coast of Siberia 

 and crushed in the following January. It had 

 carried not only the whole of the Northern 

 Party and its outfit, but much of the outfit of 

 the Southern Party as well. The former was 

 eompetely broken up by its loss, while the 

 Southern Party, though nearly intact as far as 

 personnel was concerned, was left inadequately 

 equipped for its work in Coronation Gulf. Dr. 

 Anderson, its leader, holding himself responsi- 

 ble for the carrying out of that work in ac- 

 cordance with the government instructions, 

 refused to cripple his party any further for 

 the sake of Mr. Stefansson's ice trip, or the 

 formation of a new northern party. The topog- 

 raphers, for their part, were faced with two 

 alternatives by Mr. Stefansson's demand for 

 their chronometers ; they could either hand them 



over, leave the expedition and return at once to 

 Ottawa (for without their chronometers they 

 could do nothing) or else refuse to give them 

 up and proceed to carry out their work as 

 originally planned. In view of the fact that 

 their department had attached them to the ex- 

 pedition solely for the work in Coronation 

 Gulf and had issued precise and detailed 

 instructions to them concerning it, the topog- 

 raphers decided that it was their duty to retain 

 their chronometers and carry out the orders of 

 their department to the best of their ability. 

 The question at issue was not, as both Mr. Ste- 

 fansson and his reviewer state, whether the 

 members of the Southern Party accepted Mr. 

 Stefansson's views about living off the country 

 (land or ice), or considered them "silly and 

 insane," but whether the work outlined for the 

 Southern Party was to be seriously curtailed 

 in order to equip Mr. Stefansson's new party 

 with scientific instruments, large quantities of 

 condensed provisions and other supplies. Had 

 the Southern Party consented, it could not have 

 carried out its own program. The government 

 sustained its action on receiving the full re- 

 ports; even before their receipt it sent the fol- 

 lowing despatch, which reached Herschel Island 

 in July, 1914:= 



Department of the Naval Service, 



Ottawa, 30th April, 1914. 

 V. Stefansson, Esq., Commander, Canadian Arctic 



Expedition (Northern Division), Herschel 



Island, via Athabasca Landing. 

 Sir: 



With reference to the plans for a northern ex- 

 pedition during the coming summer 



I have discussed with Mr. Brocks your sugges- 

 tions for the movements of the men and ships 

 this summer and the matter has been submitted to 

 the minister with result that it has been decided 

 that, should the Karluk and the men on board not 

 be available for work this spring, it will mean 

 that you will find yourself with the southern 

 party practically intact and with two small vessels 

 besides the motor launch and smaller boats. Under 

 these circumstances it is considered that it would 

 not be wise to break up the Southern Party and 

 take seme of its members for northern exploration. 



5 Copy on file at Department of Mines, Ottawa. 



6 E. W. Brock, then deputy minister of mines. 

 See "The Friendly Arctic," p. 380. 



