“On the “mystery roll” of the man-hunt scroll
is written the trapper’s name,
But no-one knows just who he was, from
whence or why he came.” (J. Robert Barrett)
We came upon this sign near the Rat River crossing deep in the Yukon Territory in Canada while on our way to Alaska. The story is an interesting one so we thought we'd share it with you. BYOP.
In 1932, a lonely, middle-aged man with a surly disposition was chased and killed by a group of Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers in the Yukon Territory of Canada. This is the story of the “Mad Trapper of Rat River.”
The year is 1927. The place is the Yukon Territory. A stranger arrives at the Ross River Post for supplies, claiming his name is Arthur Nelson, and that he is remaining at the post just long enough to build a boat. He buys the necessary materials from the Taylor and Drury Trading store, in cash, using large bills. Although generally keeping to himself, he does converse with a trader named Roy Buttle who is helping him build the boat. He reveals only his Danish heritage and that he was raised on a small farm in North Dakota. He leaves the settlement nine days later, as suddenly and as strangely as he arrived.
Over the next couple of years, Arthur Nelson is occasionally seen in the surrounding area. About a year after leaving Ross River Post, he returns for a month to await the supply boat. Soon after, he asks some trappers for directions to the settlement of Keno. Next he asks the way to Mayo. Nelson is seen on July 9, 1931, at Fort McPherson.
This man, claiming his name is Albert Johnson, is met by RCMP Constable Edgar Millen. Johnson reveals only that he spent the previous year on the prairies and that he wants to live entirely alone. The following year, Millen is told that although generally surly, Johnson is particularly so with the Louchoux Natives who avoid the man who threatens and terrorizes them. When they complain that he is interfering with their traps, Millen sends Constables Alfred “Buns” King and Joseph Bernard to investigate.
They arrive at Johnson’s cabin nearly a week later. When he refuses to answer them, they trek back to the post at Aklavik to find reinforcements and acquire a search warrant. With warrant in hand and Constable Lazarus Sittichiulis and Robert McDowell added to their party, they return to the cabin, and on December 31, 1931, are promptly greeted with a hail of fire. Constable King is severely wounded and the posse falls back. On January 9, 1932, Constables McDowell, Sittichiulis, Millen and Bernard, return with Inspector Alexander Eames, trappers Karl Garlund, Knud Lang and Earnest Sutherland, 42 dogs and 20 pounds of dynamite. A 15 hour siege follows but still, Johnson does not surrender. The men return to their post to restock their supplies. Twenty-one men, including 11 Louchoux Natives, return to the cabin on January 16, but this time Johnson has escaped, probably heading for the Alaskan border. With enough food to last them nine days, Millen, Riddell (a soldier), and two trappers, set out to find the elusive Johnson.
On January 30, the party discovers Johnson who kills Constable Millen. This only serves to intensify the force's determination to catch the fugitive. With the help of an experienced young pilot, Wilfred “Wop” May, the RCMP uses the first plane to assist in the apprehension of a criminal. The team sets out on February 3, in pursuit of the criminal. The final shoot-out between the trapper, Albert Johnson, and the RCMP occurs on February 17, 1932, when a Royal Canadian Corps of Signals, Staff Sergeant H. F. Hersey, is injured and Johnson is killed. The Mounties “get their man.”
On Johnson’s person were found 32 kidney pills, $2,410 dollars in large bills, both Canadian and American (worth approximately $60, 000 today), and two glass jars, one containing five pearls, and the other, seven gold pieces of dental work. He was also found with a .22 Winchester rifle, a model 99 Savage, a .30-30 rifle, 39 .30-30 ammunition shells, 84 .22 shells and four shotgun shells.
