The Wolf Point herald. (Wolf Point, Mont.) 1913-1940, 1929-12-13

communicating to a newspaper al
article specializing on the safety
of his subdistrict for settlers. The
mans motives were honest, and
am sure he had no thought of vi
olating regulations. But the re
suits of his initiative he remem
bered throughout his long and use.
full career as an officer. Close ar
/ rest, a we're reprimand and de-
| meriting notations in his service
record followed i'm rapid sequence.
That wellmeaning young trooper
escaped dismissal by a narrow
margin. He emerged from the ex-
perience a much wiser man. So
u~nrelenting was the service in dis
c%ouraging printed comment, good,
bad, or Indifferent, that newspap-
ermen, usually welcome elsewhere,
found the Mounted Police inhos-
pitable and distant.
To me, as we'll as to others, the
p-ositiveness with which newspa-
pers were refused information
was a source of mystification,
more particularly in later years
when | was able to realize the
striking unfamiliarity of the pub
lie with the operations of the
force. | always took the position
that if the people could have been
informed accurately through the
press of the courage and the ten
work day of the policeman, the
service would have profited
through the intensified morale,
for It is human nature to find
greater pleasure in undertakings
n knows to be appreciated.
Aside from the terse reports con-
tanned in the. Blue Book, official
gazette of the force, and the very
comprehensive yet highly Stats
tical history by the talented Eng
lish author, Mr.. A. L. Hayden, the
real story of the Mounted Police
has never been told.
Had l, as an officer, disregard
ed the prohibition of the regula-
lions against publicity to the ex-
tent of suggesting that some of {
the outstanding exploits and in
cidents be told through the press, '
and had such a recommendation
been carried out, obviously a high
ly improbable result, one of the
first stories l should have liked
to have seen published was that
of THE Lost Patrol" as it was
officially designated. l challenge
any historian to point to a case a
Of self-sacrifice and of devotion O
to duty comparable to the phys +
ical endurance displayed and the :
demonstrated by Inspect n
FITZGERALD and three compan- s
ions during the Yulatide of 1910. a
This story concerns the fate of [
our brave policemen who perish e
I'd on the trail. | knew each of S
hem well, and | present this re-
eital of their martyrdom as my e
tribute to the memory of o
camaraderie that is revered by +
every man in the service. II
A special detachment of Mount
ID Police had been detailed once
year since 1904 to carry mail
ron Port Mcpherson to Dawson
Jity, Yukon Territory, a distance
II 600 miles across barren and
tracts of the far
Iorth. The trek was particularly ii
,erilous in winter, and could be rs
made only by the hardest of Il
hen, mentally and physically.
Inspector F. j. FITZGERALD, vet
ran of many a mush into the
7ilderness volunteered to take
barge of the party. His ability
follow the trail and his logged
in the face of obstacles
ERE calculated to deliver the
christmas mail to Dawson in
ineteen days. The inspector had q,
dditional inspiration for making IN
record trip through the fact ar
lat he was to represent the Nc WI
herson detachment at the Coron- ~
ton of King George in London o.
the summer of 1911. %
A characteristic of the man tn
lat had endeared him to all was BIO
demonstrated in his selection of ac
guide. He had the choice of m;
vo men, n an Indian, Esau, alb
I'd the other an ex-constable, S. Pr
1t was well-nigh impos- hi,
Bile for the Indian to become We
st in the vast open spaces of his
lie frozen north. Had the native Ike
cen chosen, it is certain that the VIZ
would have been saved, for co
Indian made the same trip aivi.
onth later, coming through with tn
1t impairment to himself or his pu
)gs. But the inspector selected We
arter, Tor the former uooper Ta
,uld thus obtain a stake that ha
ould keep him and his family wi
it'll the following summer. ha
At dawn on December 81, 1910, ar
party with Inspector FitzGer- ne
d in command, Carter as guide
Id Constables c.. F. Kinney and Ph
o. II. Taylor behind the sleds, an
= ottt for Daurco0 with thrpq dog pr,