AN EPIC OF THE SNOWS.

Star (Christchurch), Volume XLIV, Issue 412, 30 April 1932, Page 17 (Supplement)

AN EPIC OF THE SNOWS.

Mad Criminal Who Defied Canadian Mounted Police.

Herewith is a graphic description of the last desperate stand of Albert Johnson, the Arctic madman, who so long defied the Canadian Mounted Police. The writer, QuartermasterSergeant Riddel, is attached to the Royal Canadian Signal Corps. He was a member of the posse led by Staff-Sergeant Hersey which set out on the third and last attempt to get Johnson dead or alive. By Quartermaster-Sergeant R. F. Riddel, Royal Canadian Signal Corps. EDMONTON (Alberta), March 1. 'A FTER the first two unsuccessful attempts of the Royal Canadian Police patrol to capture Albert Johnson, the mad trapper of the Arctic, the third posse left Aklavik on the morning of Tuesday, February 2, under the command of Inspector A. N. Eames, going j in by way of Fort M'Pherson, where we picked up additional volunteers. Owing to heavy winds and blizzards, the going was very rough and we had to break trail, for the dogs practically all the way and did not reach the point where Johnson was supposed to be until four days later. We received word that night over our portable radio that Captain W. R. May, of the Canadian Airways, accompanied by Constable Carter, of Edmonton, would be over the area the next day. The ’plane arrived, and after circling several times, landed close to the forward party. Captain May reported that apparently our man had fled, as he had seen a faint trail leading from the barricade away into the divide. I was taken up in the ’plane to assist in tracing the trail. Evidently Johnson had circled back on his own trail and camped for the night just off his main trail so that he could watch it. A heavier, or fresher, trail led from this along the creek, as though he had backtracked. After about an hour we landed and reported to Inspector Eames. As a result, the base camp was moved ' up to the junction of the two trails. A party of us went ahead to examine the trails on the ground. This was the , start of more than a week’s hard grind of following Johnson’s trails. The ( aeroplane made several attempts to , cover the trail from the air, but the « heavy winds, which at times blew the ’ drifting snow as high as a thousand ( • feet, prevented the ’plane from making ' observations and also from being able ] to land and connect with the ground party until late in the week. i On Friday, February 12, Constable ] May, of the Old Crow Detachment of 1 the R.C.M.P. on the Yukon side, report- j ed to .Inspector Eames that Johnson £ had been seen in the vicinity of the t ,Bell River on Wednesday, so on Satur- 1

day morning Inspector Eames, a volunteer named Gardlund and myself flew over to Lapierre House, while the other party, including Sergeant Hersey, continued on by dog team through the divide.

Early on Wednesday morning, a party under Inspector Eames, including Constable May, Sergeant Hersey, Verville, Gardlund, an Indian special, Frank Jackson, of Lapierre House, an . Indian from Aklavik, and Peter Alexei, , a local Indian who knew the district , well, and myself, left camp, which was ' about twenty-five miles from Lapierre ■ House, to follow Johnson’s trail : up the Eagle River. The trail • was fairly good, though two days old. ; Gardlund and myself were making and : setting out markers so the aeroplane could follow our route. As he had done several times before, Johnson doubled back on his own trail and we came upon him unex- ; pectedly in a very crooked stretch of ; the river. Hersey, with his team, was in the lead, followed closely by Joe Verville. Johnson must have spotted Hersey a moment before Hersey saw him, for when first seen Johnson was running to the edge of the bank on the inside of a bend for cover. Hersey grabbed his rifle off the toboggan and ran to the centre of the creek, where he would have a good view of Johnson, and Verville followed him. Johnson immediately opened fire from fairly good cover on the two men in the centre of the creek, wounding Hersey as hg knelt on one knee to fire. The rest of the party immediately scattered, some to the tops of the banks on either side of the : creek, and some down the centre of the creek. Johnson started running back along his own trail, up the creek, in a hail . of bullets. He was knocked down ; from a distance of 500 yards, probably j wounded in the leg. He then lay prone on the snow, and pulling his large pack in front of him, commenced digging down in the deep, soft snow, the posse meanwhile rapidly overtaking and partially surrounding him. Johnson fought desperately to the end, emptying his rifle, and was in the act ( of reloading it when he was killed. The accurate shooting of the posse ] had riddled his body with bullets. The aeroplane had arrived overhead ( and landed as soon as the firing ceased. I dashed over to Hersey, followed by ■ the rest of the party, and to my joy i found he was still alive. It at first appeared that he had been hit three time as he was bleeding from the knee, ] the arm and the chest; however, we ,

found later that one bullet had caused all three wounds. As Hersey was kneeling on his right knee with his left elbow resting on his left knee, the bullet had grazed the .kneecap, entered the elbow, come out the upper arm and into his chest. First aid was immediately given and we carried

Hersey to the aeroplane, which took off at once. I accompanied him' and insjde of an hour and a half he was in the hospital in Aklavik, under the care of Dr Urquhart.

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