The Mad Trapper of Rat River
Eagle Plains hotel, Yukon. This hotel was the last stop before reaching the arctic circle.
This was displayed on a wall at the hotel.
In the winter of 1932, after killing one Royal Canadian Mounted Police constable and wounding another, Albert Johnson led the Mounties on a 45-day chase through the Arctic Circle wilderness.
Enduring subzero temperatures with only the supplies he carried in his backpack, the Mad Trapper, wearing heavy homemade snowshoes, survived multiple gun battles with his pursuers.
For 2 weeks in near 50 below zero weather and 2 blizzards Johnson evaded his captures.
On Jan 30th he was confronted once more. After a short shootout, Constable 'Spike' Millen lay dead - shot through the heart. Johnson made his escape by climbing a shear cliff in the dead of night.
During a raging blizzard he climbed over these 7,000 ft mountains with very little food and no climbing gear. With visibility during the blizzard at near zero, trying to cling to sheer cliffs of slippery ice and numbing cold, the mountain men of the area told the Mounties it would be impossible to do at this time of the year even with the proper gear and food.
A native trapper traveling through one of the guarded passes told of strange tracks on the upper reaches of the Eagle River, Yukon. Assuming that this could be Johnson on the other side of mountains, the Mounties knew they were no match in overtaking this fugitive.
In a Canadian first, on Feb 7, 1932 a monoplane piloted by W.R. May was pressed into service to aid in the search to finally corner Johnson.
On February 17, 1932 May directed the Mounties to a hairpin turn in the middle section of the Eagle River where a gun battle eventually brought Johnson down. It took 9 bullets to Johnson's body to finally end this 5 week ordeal. When he was killed in this final shootout, his emaciated body weighed “not much over 100-pounds” according to one constable at the scene.
Where did he come from (his finger prints were no help)? No family member ever claimed the body. Before entering the Arctic River area no one had ever heard of him. During the entire man hunt the Mounties never heard him speak a word. And yet he had over $2,000 in cash and some placer gold in his possession.
Further Information Available here
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Johnson_(criminal)
