Montour American. (Danville, Pa.) 1866-1920, 1910-09-15
3,347 MILES ON
This POLICE BEAT
But Canadian Mounted Squad
Inspector Performed Feat.
CANOES USED IN WILDERNESS
Nine Months Spent Traversins Top of
Continent to Report on Route From
Hudson Bay to Mackenzie River.
Swimming Deer Blocked Passage
Down River, PeIetier Reports.

A policeman with n beat 3,347 miles
long through n wilderness that yielded
progress only TO canoes and over ice
fields passable only with dog teams
and sledges-that in effect was Inspec-
tor T.. A. Pelletier of the royal north
west mounted police, who, with Cor
poral NJ. A. Joyce and Constables Il.
II. Walker and +. II. Conway, spent
nine months in traversing the top of
the continent to realiirm Canadian
jurisdiction over that area and report
on a feasible route from Hudson bay
to the Mackenzie river.
The story of their performance is a
recital of simple pluck and exploring
skill, matter of fact carrying out of
orders without the lure of Il prize like
the pole.
While the royal northwest mounted
police is everywhere accepted as prob
ably the last word in police efficiency,
the popular conception in the United
States of the individual unit of this
corps is n trinity uniformed Tommy
Atkins" sort of mounted soldier, giving
attention to the suppression of bad
men and ''gun fighters" and protecting
the settlers from violence. All that
the police do, but more.
Advance Guard of Civilization.
They are thrown out far ahead of
the northward advancing line of set
tlement. When civilization catches up
with their outposts they move on.
Not many years ago the southern
portions of Manitoba, Alberta and Sas-
katchewan were distant fields even for
the police.
Since Captain Bernier, n Canadian
explorer, discovered coal in Melville
island the police are pushing a patrol
in that direction. If the coal is worka-
ble and settlement or prospecting that
arctic neighborhood is forthcoming the
police with Il well ordered system of
justice will he on the ground first.
Only once We're the police ever out
stripped by settlement, and that was
when gold was discovered in the Yu-
kon.
Inspector Pelletier's duty on his lone
ly patrol reveals hardships that have
no place in pictures of smart quads
and trim barracks with which the pub
lie is familiar Daniel Boone rather
than Tommy Atkins" is represented
by the far flung outposts of the po-
lice, although perhaps it would be
more appropriate to compare the in
spector and his men with the early
voyagers.
Started at Saskatchewan.
The patrol began at Fort Saskatche-
wan and proceeded northward, partly
by steamer and partly by canoe, to
Great Slave lake. Skirting the shore
Of this great body of water in canoes,
the travellers turned their course al
most east toward Hudson bay and
made their way by river and lake with
many portageS, through almost unbro-
ken wildernesscs afflicted with the in
sect pests for which the north woods
are notorious
The party arrived on the shore Of
Hudson bay with the expectation Of
being able to lay aside the paddle and
ease calloused shoulders from the por-
tage. But the saQboat which had been
provided was wrecked, and the police
were obliged to delay at Fullerton un-
til winter SHOWS permitted a start
with dog trains for the south. The
trip from Fullerton, which is on the
sixty-second parallel of latitude to
Churchill, 40 miles south. was at
tended by many hardships,
The amount of game observed by
the patrol was wonderful. Describing
the journey from Artillery lake TO the
Height of Land. Inspector Peiletier
writes;
Aided by the sails, we We're making
good time, but We're delayed by large
numbers of deer crossing Mt various
points. We must have seen between
10000 and 10000 The hills on both
shores were covered with them, and at
dozen or more places where the Lake
was from half to mile wide solid
columns of deer four or five abreast
were swimming across and so closely
them for fear of getting into some
miXup."
No Dry Clothes or Beds.
The inspector continues:
The worst feature of a long jour
ney like this 1--WE were fortythree
days. in a country where no fuel is
TO be procured is the absolute impos-
sibility of drying clothes. bedding,
etc, The moisture from the body ac-
cumulates, and there are no means to
dry clothing, to get rid of 1t in any
way, and every day sees it harder to
put on in the morning and the bed
harder TO get into at night until both
bedding and clothing become as stiff
as board from the ice.
1T is n very uninviting task and
disaGreeable procedure getting into an
icy bed at night and the same thing
in the morning getting into Icy clothes.
Sleeping with ones clothing on only
makes matters worse"