RCMP Museum ~ Musée de la GRC

The Northern Challenge

The NWMP, in 1904 renamed the Royal Northwest Mounted Police in recognition of outstanding service, had also begun to dispatch patrols to the high north, again establishing and protecting Canadian interests. Dog sled patrols over the frozen north were a new facet of Mounted Police life as the Force established remote outposts and began a long association with the Inuit people, learning their ways and providing assistance. Tragedy struck in 1910 - 11, however, as an expedition led by Inspector Francis J. Fitzgerald, which included Constables G.F. Kinney, R.O.H. Taylor and a guide, Special Constable Sam Carter, perished near Fort McPherson. The "Lost Patrol" had set out from Fort McPherson, N.W.T., Dec. 21, 1910, heading for Dawson, Yukon Territory, a trek of roughly 800 kilometers (500 miles). Failing to find their way through the mountains, the lost patrol had turned back to Fort McPherson in a desperate race against cold and starvation. The grisly discoveries of the bodies of Taylor and Kinney, Then Carter and Fitzgerald, were all made within 50 km of Fort McPherson on March 21 - 22, 1911. Despite the hardships faced by the early northern patrols, the Mounted Police persevered and established themselves as a Canadian presence in the north.

In 1920 the Force (RNWMP) absorbed the Dominion Police and was renamed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Throughout the 1920's, the RCMP continued to push north, establishing outposts and detachments from the Yukon to Baffin Island. RCMP patrol vessels were sent to deliver personnel and supplies, and to assist in the enforcement of Canadian law. In 1928, the schooner St. Roch was built-specifically for northern patrols, and while not the most comfortable of craft for its crew, the vessel was well-suited for its duty. In 1940 - 42, with Sgt. Henry Larsen at the helm, the St. Roch became the first vessel to complete a Pacific to Atlantic voyage through the Northwest Passage. In 1944, the St. Roch made the return journey east to west becoming the first vessel to navigate the Passage both ways. Before retiring the St. Roch became the first vessel to circumnavigate North America as it traveled from Halifax to Vancouver via the Panama Canal. The St. Roch was declared a National Historic Site in 1962 and is on permanent display at the Vancouver Maritime Museum.
More St. Roch info #1.
More St. Roch info #2.

In 1932 the RCMP once again garnered national headlines with the case of the "Mad Trapper", Albert Johnson. Johnson, whose cabin was located on the Rat River, 113 km from Arctic Red River, N.W.T., had been accused of pilfering native trap lines. On December 31, 1931 Constable A.W. King attempted to interview Johnson at his cabin but was shot and wounded in the chest.

A second patrol arrived on January 10 but after a fifteen-hour gun battle failed to remove Johnson from his fortress. The fugitive fled alone into the Arctic wilderness before a third patrol arrived. The RCMP set off in pursuit and when they next encountered Johnson he shot and killed Constable E. Millen. Johnson was finally surrounded and died in a gun battle with his pursuers February 17. Captain W.R. May, an experienced bush pilot, transported supplies and personnel to the scene, and also delivered wounded S/Sgt. E.F. Hersey, of the Royal Canadian Signals, to Aklavik after he was shot by Johnson in the Mad Trapper's final desperate hour. The importance of radio communications and the advantage of air support for police duties were the lasting lessons learned from the pursuit of the Mad Trapper. By 1937, the RCMP had established an Air Section with the acquisition of four DeHavilland Dragonflies. Today the RCMP uses jets, helicopters and various aircraft equipped with wheels, skis and floats, allowing considerable flexibility in the exercise of its police duties.