In October of 1916, the world-renowned arctic explorer Vilhjalmur Stefansson had returned to his winter quarters on Melville Island in the far north of Canada. As the leader of the Canadian Arctic Expedition (1913-1916), he had just spent the past several months discovering new islands in the Arctic Circle, including Meighen Island and Laugheed Island. Although the return to Melville was meant to signal the beginning of the expedition's official completion, Stefansson would defy his orders and strike north again one last time, eventually returning home in 1918. It was the last time that he would venture into the Arctic.
While on Melville Island at the conclusion of his 1916 exploratory adventure, Stefansson evidently found time to catch up on news about the world war that had begun since he had set out on his expedition back in 1913. During his perusal of what must have been a stockpile of old papers, Stefansson happened upon a write-up of an interview conducted by "Anon" in the October 1st 1914 issue of the New York Times. The interview was ostensibly a tell-all about the author of
Peter Pan, J. M. Barrie, by his manservant Brown and provided several opinions about the war and what America's role should be. After reading it, Stefansson took the time to send a letter of appreciation to the reporter who conducted the interview.
Nearly two years later, on his way back to civilization, Stefansson must have been surprised to receive a personal letter from J. M. Barrie himself. In his missive, Barrie somewhat abashedly confessed to being the author of the fictitious interview (which is how he had belatedly received Stefansson's letter) and concluded by expressing his delight that it had been of enjoyment for "any one on Arctic exploration bent."
To see photographic images from Stefansson's Canadian Arctic Expedition (
MSS-229), come to Rauner and have a look at them in person, or take a look at the
digital archive available online. To see the letter from J. M. Barrie to Stefansson, ask for
MSS-196, Box 2, folder 45.
While on Melville Island at the conclusion of his 1916 exploratory adventure, Stefansson evidently found time to catch up on news about the world war that had begun since he had set out on his expedition back in 1913. During his perusal of what must have been a stockpile of old papers, Stefansson happened upon a write-up of an interview conducted by "Anon" in the October 1st 1914 issue of the New York Times. The interview was ostensibly a tell-all about the author of Peter Pan, J. M. Barrie, by his manservant Brown and provided several opinions about the war and what America's role should be. After reading it, Stefansson took the time to send a letter of appreciation to the reporter who conducted the interview.
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