Four Degrees Celsius (13 page)

But getting closer to home also brought hazards. Being farther south, Great Slave Lake had not frozen, and the blackness of open water made for some tense moments since all three ski-equipped planes could not land safely unless they found ice. Fog hung low over the lake and visibility was limited. Although the men scanned the landscape below for the Domex base at Fort Reliance, they could not locate it. The pilots did, however, find a landing site at the mouth of the Lockhart River, where the water was shallow and ice had formed. All planes landed without any problems. This put them close to old Fort Reliance, originally built by in 1833 by George Back
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when he needed a wintering station during an Arctic expedition. The “new” Fort Reliance community, where the Domex base was located, had been built in the vicinity of Back's earlier fort, so actually was nearby.

Now at the east end of Great Slave Lake, the planes' engines are covered with a canvas “protector” with only the propeller exposed. The men gathered around a campfire to seek what little warmth was available and to cook their food. A large tent was set up on the ice for sleeping quarters.
Provincial Archives of Manitoba, Canadian Air Lines Collection #2130

Tents were set up and soon the sound of axes chopping trees filled the air. Fires were lit and pots of water put on to boil in the surroundings of Back's earlier fort. Only the fireplaces and some other stonework of the old fort remained. Crouching amid the ruins, the men found comfort in the blazing fires and commented how wonderful it was to be in timber again.
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A sense of security seemed to envelope them. Supper was cooked over the wood fires and tea, flavoured by the low-hanging smoke, was made for all. Cruickshank, however, did not share their sense of well-being — the fact that the pilots were down to three planes was troubling. If by chance they encountered another machine failure, they would be in a challenging situation indeed.

On November 15, several members of the group took their guns to search for game in the cold clear morning air. Before long, shots rang out and the triumphant hunters returned dragging six caribou.
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Once they had eaten their fill, fuel was transferred to Hollick-Kenyon's 'SL and he took off in search of the Dominion Explorers base at Fort Reliance. The pilot and passengers searched the rocky west shore and finally located it. The inhabitants of the community ran out onto the ice signalling to the pilot that the ice was safe for landing. Hollick-Kenyon, being cautious about the state of the ice, circled above while Blanchet dropped a note saying “Run in a circle if the ice is safe.”
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A small dog caught the note and led the people in a lively chase around the buildings. Snagging the dog at last, the men read the bedraggled note and quickly gave the signal to land. The Domex base had been found.

Some of the men sit at the campfire eating a hearty meal at the crumbling remains of George Back's old Fort Reliance. The tent (right) is the typical accommodation for bush pilots.
Courtesy of Daryl Goodwin.

Andy Cruickshank, centre, with Roy Brown, far right, and Alf Walker, at left, enjoy a joke as they discuss the events of the past weeks at the old fort.
Courtesy of Daryl Goodwin.

The men were to be moved over to new Fort Reliance and settled into the base, a site well-stocked with food. As Hollick-Kenyon began to transport a few at a time from the former Back station, 'SL developed engine problems. Upon landing, he also reported that all three planes with full loads would be too much for the relatively thin ice at the Fort Reliance base. It was decided that 'SQ and 'SL would remain at the old fort, and the rest of the group would be transported over by Brown in 'SO. Once 'SO was gassed up from their store of fuel, it taxied along the shoreline to deliver the next contingent to their new quarters, a site with substantial log buildings and manned by the RCMP. After months in the Barrens, Blanchet joked that “This was a metropolis!”
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Once again the men had to wait for ice to form. Meanwhile, they were entertained by radio broadcasts about the “lost party” — so recently “found.” Since they had not been heard from after leaving Burnside River, and since there was no wireless at Reliance, the media was once again speculating on the missing men and pilots and where they could possibly be. Where were their heroes?

While sojourning at Fort Reliance, the men tried a spot of curling — Far-North style. Sections of logs were cut into rounds, and into each round a spike was driven to be used as a handle. The wooden rounds were then dipped repeatedly into water and allowed to freeze and refreeze. Once a good solid coating of ice encased the round, a curling “sheet” was cleared, using snow shovels on the ice along the shoreline. Aircraft brooms were used to sweep the ice in front of the wooden “curling stones.”
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Since food and shelter were not a concern, it was time for some fun, and many such games were played during the wait at Reliance. The men also helped with chores, such as building up firewood stocks for winter. In the evenings their drink of choice was a cocktail of wine and gin.

Bill Spence still had not appeared from Muskox Lake. Two days had passed and Cruickshank was concerned about pilot and crew. This could mean one of two things — either they could not make repairs or they had met a further mishap. He wanted to get spare parts to them as soon as possible, so he decided that Roy Brown, Guy Blanchet, and Paul Davis would set out with supplies on November 16. Accordingly, they packed up the parts and tools needed for Spence's repairs and extra food, including a quarter caribou, but in their haste they forgot to pack the tent. This should not have been a problem, as they fully expected to return to Reliance in the evening, assuming all went well with Spence, Siers, and Longley. A quick turnaround would mean the entire group could begin their final leg no later than November 18, ice permitting.

The sky was clear for the flight, with only a frosty haze. They picked up the Lockhart River with ease on their way to Muskox Lake. Visibility was good for a short time, and then a low cloud forced Brown to fly at only a few hundred feet altitude. Blanchet's comment pointed out the danger of these conditions: “Land and lake were almost indistinguishable.”
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They were only roughly ten miles away from Spence, near Aylmer Lake, yet they could not go on. Brown landed his plane and kept the engine running as they waited for the sky to clear. Once the cloud dissipated, he gathered speed for takeoff. Suddenly, the engine's whine was cut short by a deafening crash and a tremendous impact, jarring pilot and passengers and tossing them like rag dolls. 'SO had hit a hard drift, and the starboard undercarriage collapsed. As the plane swerved and plunged into the snow, ten feet of the fifty-one-foot wooden cantilevered wing crumpled like paper. Nothing short of a new wing and a machine shop would restore 'SO's life.

Meanwhile at Muskox Lake, Tommy Siers and Graham Longley were repairing 'CZ. Siers, as always the innovative and resourceful mechanic, had decided to use the handle of the frying pan to splice the broken component. This worked remarkably well, even by Siers' standards, and he hoped the plane would be airworthy by the following day, November 16. While Siers worked on the plane, Bill Spence built snow walls around their tent to protect them from the freezing winds and prepared the meals.
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Longley had returned to camp empty-handed and their food stocks were dwindling at a dismaying rate. Unless one of the men had some luck with a gun, they would be out of food within a day or so. Cold and miserable, they kept their ears strained for the sound of a plane coming to assist them.

Just to the south at Aylmer Lake, Brown, Davis, and Blanchet were uninjured but in a state of shock. They had begun the day as the ones bringing assistance to Spence and his crew, and now they were in a very precarious position themselves. They had food, a Coleman stove, and a plumber's pot (the heating torch for the engine and engine oil), but upon checking, they found the only shelter they had was their fabric-covered plane, and it was poised at a very steep angle. Now both Brown and crew at Aylmer Lake and Spence and the mechanics at Muskox Lake were in need of help, and neither could communicate with the group at Reliance or each other. Cruickshank's intuition and sense of foreboding had once again been verified. Two more machine failures had occurred, and Hollick-Kenyon's plane was now no longer airworthy. The trip home was going to prove as difficult and “eventful' as the initial search, possibly even worse.

November 16, 1929

Richard Pearce's Diary, Domex base at Fort Reliance

The weather was fine this morning, and one aeroplane, carrying Brown, Davis and Blanchet, hopped off with food and repair parts for Muskox Lake, where we had left the damaged aeroplane. It is hoped that both machines will be back by night, making an early trip to Stoney Rapids possible. It has been a lazy day, most of the party enjoying themselves indoors reading. Brown didn't get back, so we assumed the plane in the Barrens is still unable to move. Late tonight some of the boys visited the police barracks and heard over the radio that our party was presumed to be at Reliance waiting for favorable weather….

The crews continued to work on Hollick-Kenyon's 'SL and they discovered that the engine had a cracked cylinder. It would need a spare to fly. Since there were no spare cylinders at Reliance, the 'SL was irrevocably grounded. This left only Cruickshank's “old crock” in service, the plane that had been rebuilt after its crash through the ice at Burnside. Siers had shown foresight when he decided 'SQ could be salvaged, as it now rested upon Cruickshank and 'SQ to contend with the airlift back to Winnipeg.

Andy Cruickshank and Alf Walker hiked back to the old fort, where 'SQ and 'SL had remained, and brought 'SQ to the Domex base. The snow was beginning to fall, and there was a need to take action quickly. Cruickshank conferred with Colonel MacAlpine and suggested that he and Walker fly 'SQ to Fort Resolution to request two more relief planes. Colonel MacAlpine agreed, and the mechanics overhauled the “old crock” once again for a long flight to Resolution in the morning.

November 20, 1929

Richard Pearce's Diary, Reliance

Cruickshank got away a little after nine for Resolution. There was no sign of the planes from the Barrens. All of us are worrying about the two parties, for while they have plenty of food to last them some time, it is obvious that unless more is sent soon they will be in distress. We have regular lookouts on the ice, armed with flare pistols, and have brush piles ready to be lighted should a plane be heard. We hope that only weather conditions are holding them up.

At Aylmer Lake, Brown, Blanchet, and Davis were thankful to be uninjured, but dismayed at the sight that greeted their eyes. Blanchet summed up the men's stunned disbelief: “It seems incredible that the powerful machine which a few moments ago could travel so swiftly through the air, is now helpless”
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Once over the shock, the three men tried to determine their location. Fortuitously, a cairn that Blanchet had built some years before during a survey expedition was nearby, and from this he knew they were at the end of Five Finger Bay, which happened to be on the route to where Spence and his plane were down.
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Blanchet hoped that once Cruickshank or Hollick-Kenyon flew to look for Spence, 'SO and her crew would be sighted.