New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1910-08-24
3,347 MILES ON
THIS POLICE BEAT
But Canadian Mounted Squad
Inspector Performed Feat.
CANOES USED IN WILDERNESS
Nine Months Spent Traversing Top of
Continent to Report on Route From
Hudson Bay to Mackenzie River.
Swimming Deer Blocked Passage
Down River, Pelletier Reports.

Hudson Say to Mackenzie Hiver.
Swim ming Deer Blocked Passage |
Down River, Pelletier Reports.
A policeman with a beat 3,347 miles |
| long through q wilderness that yielded |
progress only to canoes and over ice
fields passable only with dog teams
and sledges-that in effect was Inspec-
tor E. A. Pelletier of the royal north
west mounted police, who, with Cor
poral M. A. Joyce and Constables r.
II. Walker and p. r. Conway, spent
nine months in traversing the top OF
the continent to reaffirm 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, a matter of fact carrying out of
orders without the lure of a 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 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, Canadian
explorer, discovered coal in Melville
island the police are pushing a patrol
! in that direction. If the coal is worka-
: BILE and settlement or prospecting that
arctic neighborhOod is forthcoming the
y police with we'll ordered system of
= justice will be on the ground first.
, Only once were the police ever out
stripped by settlement, and that was
=, when gold was discovered in the Yu-
: kon.
Inspector Peletiers 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 pc
! lice, although perhaps it would be
6 more appropriate to compare the in
= spector and his men with the early
voyagers.
n Started at Saskatchewan.
d The patrol began at Fort Saskatche
s wan and proceeded northWard, partly
e by steamer and partly by canoe, te
y Great Slave lake. skirting the shore
e of this great body of water in canoes
II the travellers turned their course al
l. most east toward Hudson bay an(
made their way by river and lake will
4 many portages, through almost unbro
II ken wildernesses afflicted with the in
sect pests for which the north wood.
- are notorious
:, Hudson bay with the expectation O
- being able to lay aside the paddle ant
ease calloused shoulders from the por
tage. But the sailboat which had beer
- provided was wrecked and the polio,
:. were obliged to delay at Fullerton un
-, til winter SHOWS permitted a star
~ with dog trains for the south. TIL
v trip from Fullerton, which is on tn
RI sixty-second parallel Of latitude t
h Churchill, $50 miles south, was at
q tended by many hardships.
The amount Of game observed b,
the patrol was wonderful. Describing
the journey from Artillery lake to tn.
writes:
u aided by the sails, we were making
d good time, but were delayed by larg,
Il numbers of deer crossing at variou:
q points. We must have seen between
l. 10000 and 10000. The hills on boil
shores were covered with them, and a
y a dozen or more places where the lax,
. was from half to a mile wide sole
columns Of deer four or five abreas
- were swimming across and so closet.
= that we did not like to venture through
them for fear Of getting into SOM
- mixup.''
I'd No Dry Clothes or Beds.
re The inspector continues:
'The worst feature Of long jour
d, ney like this 1--WE were fortythre
1T days. in country where no fuel i
le to be procured is the absolute impos
20 sibility Of drying clothes. bedding
IS etc. The moisture from the body &C
is cumulates, and there are no means t
70 dry clothing, to get rid Of it in an.
le way, and every day sees it harder t
le put on in the morning and the be,
harder to get into at night until bot
cG i haddiner and nlnthincr honnroo a s.fif