John Holt

The Lost Patrol John Holt

Can men overcome their darkest nature and most compelling fears in this life, even if this struggle ultimately leads to their deaths? The wildly spectacular Arctic north of Canada is the setting for The Lost Patrol, a page from history Four men were led by Royal Northwest Mounted Police Inspector Francis J. Fitzgerald as they attempted to deliver annual reports and mail to the district office. The patrol left Ft. McPherson, Northwest Territories in late December 1910 headed for Dawson City, Yukon. Their trail runs along now-frozen rivers, through dense virgin forest, over rugged mountain passes and across trackless Arctic tundra, all of this during days holding less than four hours of light. Trouble sets in as the men become lost and are forced to constantly retrace their steps looking in vain for a turnoff that leads over the Wernecke Mountains. Temperatures reach minus 64 degrees then suddenly warm up to the point that frozen rivers turn to slush making travel nearly impossible. Food runs short. Their guide becomes disoriented. The now frost-bitten, emaciated men are forced to eat their sled dogs, then the animals' leather harness. They all die within a couple of days of each other along the Peel River, only 20 miles from the salvation of the fort. Fitzgerald's disaster is still discussed in the north country. People wonder what went wrong and say over drinks in isolated taverns in isolated settlements, "If it could happen to him, it could happen to me." Death is always close by in this beautiful, little-changed landscape. The Lost Patrol's fate brings this death that much closer.