Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1912-03-14
THE LOST PATROL in NORTHWEST
THE SIMPLE AND TOUCHING Ola INSPECTOR
WHO GAVE HIS LIFE PuRsu DuTY-MERELY
OTHER PROOF HuMANir ALToeer Their
DEGENERATED.

diary, suecinct, bald, little more than
l quote, the merest record. His pa
troll left Fort Macpherson at 745 A.
NJ, Dec. 81, q degrees below zero
strong wind blowing, heavy mist. light
snow falling, heavy going; made Il
miles; campcd with Indians Next day
IL below, Is miles! next below, II
miles. Heavy snow on night of Dec
%, II below next day; Ii miles. Sun
day. 25th, Christmas, 80 below, heavy
going, is miles. Dec. &c, "a below,
strong southeast wind; good going; 20
miles; camped with Indians. Next
day 80 below, fine, strong southeast
wind, IL miles, very bad going. break
ing three feet of snow, ascending Trail
Creek, hired Indians and dogs to help
across the So-mile portage, SO per day.
Hitherto had been travelling on Peel
River and creeks. Dec. IS, AZ below
deep snow, climbed 500 feet. bad CO.
ing, u miles, climbed 1000 feet to up
per end of Caribou-horn Mountain
nov 1900 feet above Peel River sur
face. During the next four days they
traversed a billy. height-of-land re-
gion, now down, now up, snow al
ways deep. their going the worse be-
cause their snowshoes were too small,
a fact which Fitzgerald's diary does
not remark. as Indians did, later
on Dee. 30 he wrote that slow going
made the cold seem worse than it
was. The temperatures those four
days We're respectively "a, 81, 40, 81 be-
low zero. On New Years day constant
snow fell heavily, the dogs were all
very tired. stint II miles. Here the
duty of economy caused Fitzgerald to
discharge mis- hired Indian. paying him
for five days coming and three to
return" This Indian. with $24 in pock-
ct. pushed for Dawson city not long
after his discharge
The Lost Guide.
The patrol now marched with Car
ter as sole. guide ON an upper reach of
Peel River, Jan. ,, % below; heavy
snowstorm all night and day; piles Of
driftwood frozen into ice of river COM
PEELED them to cut a passage twice
through fringing bush; ten miles.
heavy going. dogs about played out.
Jan. 3. light snow all day, 46 below
reached Wind River. an affiuent of the
Peel, II miles. Jan. 4, AZ below. strong
southeast wind; assembled Wind River
10 miles, very heavy going. Jan. 5, Go
below, fine. slight head wind; had to
go into bush and make camp at noon
owing to intense cold; going better
than of late days, six miles; some
Slight frostbites" among party. Jan.
s, "a below; could not get ashore for
noon camp, rest and lunch because of
overflow caused by deepening ice and
new fraizil; lots of trouble with this
open water, II miles. Jan. T. 81 below
fine. good going; had to skirt around
much open water; IS miles. Jan. 8. 81
below; intense cold: heavy going 8
miles: now % miles up Little Wind
River. Jan. 9. % below, fine: going
very fair. IS miles; eamped 20 miles up
Little Wind River. Jan. 10, 13 below.
strong head wind; clear ice mostly,
bad going, too slippery for dogs, little
troubled by water IS miles. Jan. IL,
% below. strong head wind much
trouble from overflow. all had wet
feet, only miles" Jan. u, 81 below,
fine: sent Carter to look for portage. he
Forrest Creek, en- route to the only
here. conclude we are too far mp. 10
miles. New they We're trying to find
Uputs NIaA IaA!I al pun lou pInoo
eVl OF u7Vl lonpuoo pInoM leul ssed
'uoNnI
They spent the next five days look
ing for the mouth of Forest Creek,
with temperatures of u. 2S, 80, %, 23
below. In this period they should
have crossed to. the Yukon Valley, and
found friendly Indians. on Jan. II
Fitzgerald wrote; Carter is complete
ly lost. he does not know one river