The Bathurst Inlet Patrol and the RCMP in the Arctic

THE POLICE GO NORTH

Since the founding of the force in 1873, the Mounted Police have been the personification of Canadian law and control over the country's vast frontier regions. Over these wide unpopulated spaces the Northwest Mounted Police (later renamed the Royal Canadian Mounted Police) were often the only sign of government authority and nowhere was this more obvious than in the Arctic.

From posts scattered across the North, the NWMP asserted Canadian sovereignty through the enforcement of law, the collection of taxes and the performance of a myriad of other duties. In the Arctic, the mounted police were not only police officers but also Canada's explorers, surveyors, administrators, mail carriers and bureaucrats.

Police presence ensured order
In the Yukon where, by the end of the nineteenth century, American prospectors were assuming de facto control of the future territory, Ottawa responded by sending the NWMP. Their presence in that territory did more than any other factor to secure Canadian control and ensure that the gold rush took place in a relatively peaceful and orderly environment. Similarly, in the early 1900s when the government became concerned at the increasing activity of American whalers in both Hudson Bay and the Beaufort Sea, the NWMP were sent in to establish Canadian law and collect customs duties.

In the western Arctic permanent posts were set up at Herschel Island and Fort McPherson early in the 20th century, later at Fort Resolution and Fort Simpson in 1913 and Coppermine in 1919. In the East there were stations around Hudson Bay at Baker Lake, Port Nelson, Fullerton and Churchill.

Posts were hubs of activity
These posts became the main hubs of activity in the region. Yet police activities were not confined to these posts. The NWMP regularly ventured into the barren interior on long patrols to investigate crimes and assert Canadian sovereignty. As early as 1890, patrols were made across the length of the Arctic mainland, from Dawson in the Yukon to York Factory on Hudson Bay.

These patrols went out every year and often constituted the only government presence for thousands of miles. The force was thus the eyes and ears of the central government, reporting on the economic and criminal activities in the Arctic, the presence of foreign nationals and the state of the Inuit.

By the end of the First World War the entire northern mainland had been brought under Canadian jurisdiction. And by the 1920s, the RCMP (no longer the NWMP since 1919) had extended Canadian authority over the most remote parts of the country. Investigator, tax-collector, bureaucrat, and post man - the mounted police officer was the ultimate jack of all trades. Exercising Canadian control in some of the most unforgiving regions of the world and ensuring that Canadian sovereignty was respected, the early history of the Arctic was largely defined by the actions of the Canadian Mounted Police.

THE BATHURST INLET PATROL

The Bathurst Inlet Patrol was one of the NWMP's most extensive operations in the Arctic. From 1917 to 1918 a force of two officers with Inuit guides traveled 5,153 miles across the Northwest Territories from Hudson Bay to the Coppermine River and back again.

This patrol was provoked by a pair of murders. In 1911 Harry Radford, a wealthy sportsman, and George Street, a young surveyor, had been killed by their Inuit guides at Bathurst Inlet. Word of this crime eventually reached the NWMP and in 1914 the force decided to send out an expedition under W.J. Beyts to investigate. After a number of attempts, Beyts was unable to reach Bathurst across the rocky and barren terrain of the Eastern Arctic.

In an effort to rejuvenate the enterprise, Beyts was replaced in September 1916 by Inspector Francis H. French, an energetic man of considerable northern experience. When French arrived at Baker Lake the season was too far advanced to begin any expedition and so he concentrated on establishing supply caches and prepared for the following spring.

Wolf attacks and snow blindness
In March of 1917 French and fellow officer Thomas B. Caulkin set out west in what was to be a gruelling ordeal. The party, traveling by dogsled, picked their way across sometimes impassable rocky terrain. For three weeks, the sun beating on the snow caused a painful snow blindness, the dogs were attacked by wolves, and the men's maps proved unreliable. Only a month's provisions could be carried and the group soon had to rely on game to survive. In his journal French records: "living on deer meat straight. All civilized grub gone. Oil out."

By May they had come within sight of the ocean on the eastern side of the Kent Peninsula. Following sled tracks, they reached Bathurst Inlet a week later. Upon reaching the Inuit camp, the police found the men out hunting and began to speak with the women. As the Inuit men returned they were surprised to find strangers in their camp and fanned out into a skirmish line brandishing knives and spears. A quick demonstration of friendship by French made the men lower weapons and welcome the party.

Investigating the deaths
Investigating the Street/Radford killings proved to be a tricky situation. It was the rumored the action had been in self defence. Government had given the force instructions that if the rumor was true, there were to be no arrests. The Inuit at Bathurst Inlet, displaying their people's traditional honesty and openness, spoke freely with the officers and their stories confirmed that the killings had been in self defence.

Harry Radford had had a reputation as a tyrant and an altercation had began which he tried to settle by beating one of his guides. Carrying the poor Inuk towards a hole in the ice, it appeared as though he was about to drown the man. The other Inuk in the party quickly wrestled him to the ground and stabbed him to death. Thomas Street was also killed while running for the rifles on the sled. The police took the Inuit at their word and there were no arrests.

Return to Baker Lake
Hoping to make an easy return to Baker Lake, the party continued west to catch a Hudson's Bay ship that was reported to be in the area. By June 15th they had reached Bernard Harbour and waited, but the vessel never arrived. Stocking up on supplies and sled dogs, on September 1st, they left for Coppermine on a small boat to await the freeze-up and begin the return trip by land.

By the end of October, French and Caulkin had left the Coppermine settlement. The days were becoming increasingly short and after only a few hundred miles the supplies were gone and game became scarce. By mid-December the party ran out of dog food. A sled had to be abandoned and French began killing some of the weaker dogs to feed the rest. By December 22nd, the two found themselves completely out of food and heating oil. They were saved only by a small group of Muskox which had the misfortune to wander by, providing the hungry men and dogs with a convenient meal.

Exploring further south, French soon found the Thelon River and one of his supply caches. Yet as late as January 21st they were still in unfamiliar country and the dogs were again starving. Once again a lucky find saved the party. A herd of Caribou was spotted and the men shot ten of them. One week later they arrived back at the Baker Lake detachment.

Efforts recognized
The patrol had lasted 10 months, six of which had been spent in travel. Over 5,000 miles had been covered on foot - walking or running with the dogs rather than adding to the weight of the sleds. The trek had exhausted both men and weakened French who, several years later had to be given sick leave from the force. It had been the longest patrol of any police force in the world and French received the Imperial Service Order. Sgt. Major Caulkin won the Kings Police Medal, often called the policeman's Victoria Cross.

This patrol stood out because of its sheer length and difficulty. However, it was far from unique. It was through patrols like this one that the mounted police exercised Canadian authority. Canadian law had to be asserted under any condition and if that required an epic journey, it was undertaken. The end result was not just the upholding of Canadian law. The French expedition resulted in a great deal of exploration. Extensive surveys of the region were completed, covering 1,154 sq miles. Upwards of 30 new islands were also discovered. Existing maps were often found lacking and were considerably improved. It was through such improvements and exploration that Canadian control maintained and a better understanding of the Arctic environment, its people and its challenges were gained.