THE EXPEDITION AND ITS OBJECTS 3 
several occasions during his expeditions of 1906-7 
and 1908-12. 
The other reason was that the winter of 1913- 
14 was unprecedented in the annals of northern 
Alaska. It came on unusually early, as we were 
presently to learn, and for severity of storm and 
cold had not its equal on record. 
The National Geographic Society had originally 
planned to finance our expedition, and it was only 
at the urgent request of the Canadian premier, the 
Right Hon. R. L. Borden, that the Society relin¬ 
quished its direction of the enterprise. The Cana¬ 
dian Government felt that since the country to be 
explored was Canadian territory it was only fitting 
that the expedition fly its flag and be financed from 
its treasury. 
When I returned from the seal-fisheries to 
Brigus, my old home in Newfoundland, in the 
spring of 1913, I found awaiting me a telegram 
from Stefansson, asking me to join his expedition 
and take charge of the Karluk . I went at once to 
New York, then to Ottawa for a day with the gov¬ 
ernment authorities and direct from there to Vic¬ 
toria, B, C. It was the middle of May and there 
was work to be done to get the ship ready to sail 
in June. 
It was an elaborate expedition, one of the largest 
and most completely equipped, I believe, that have 
