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... the Norvan Explorations camp at Prairie Creek. It wasn't Cadillac Exploration yet. Slide 69 is a little closer look at it. It was all tent frames. [Part of Al Wright's and Ernie Birkbeck's journey to deliver two Cat bulldozers to the Norvan Exploration camp at the Prairie Creek lead-silver deposit.]

Bill Clark's Oral Caption from His 1977 Interview: [l-r] Milt Campbell, Gus Kraus, Harry Vandale and John the Russian at frozen waterfall between the mouth of McLeod Creek and Irvine Creek [on the Flat River]. Spring 1935

Photographer: either Bill Clark (most likely) or Albert Faille using Milt Campbell's camera

WDA's Comments: Bill Clark mixed up Gus Kraus and Harry Vandale in his naming here . The actual l→r sequence is Milt Campbell, Harry Vandale, Gus Kraus and John the Russian. Also, John the Russian was not met up with until the mouth of Caribou River where he and Nazar had spent the winter trapping. The person labelled John the Russian may be Bill Clark and that would account for the fifth person travelling in the group from Bennett Creek down to Faille's cabin on Flat River just above Irvine Creek.

John the Russian's surname is unknown to me. Nazar Zinchuk pronounced it for me in his interview, but Nazar did not know how it was spelled. My phonetic transcription of Nazar's pronunciation is Nawoomo but that certainly does not sound like a Russian name. John died near Fort Liard in the fall of 1935 after tipping his canoe while trying to retrieve a moose he'd shot across the river. John made it to shore swimming between ice floes and back to his cabin where he died in bed. He left an explanatory note for Nazar.

Duncan's photo description: "Red Wolstenholme" (caption on back of photo)
Caption Source: Duncan C. Martin
Photographer: likely Duncan C. Martin
WDA's Comments, 2014 Apr 20: Red Wolstenholme had been cook at the RCMP barracks for some years when he was replaced by Charlie Hansen in late 1932. Red seems to have been quite a character. Charlie describes one of his exploits in which the whole barracks was on a drunk on the arrival of the first boat with the annual liquor permits. Red locked a very drunk constable into the only cell. The next morning Red forgot he'd done this and everyone was frantically looking for the key as the Distributor was blowing its whistle to leave. The constable was supposed to be leaving with Inspector Martin for a downriver posting. Fortunately Red suddenly remembered the key and the constable was delivered to the boat in rather sad shape.

Bill Clark's Caption on Back of Photo: "Explosive, fuzes & thermal powder from Jap balloon. Ft. Simpson 1942 Wm Clark"

Photographer: unknown

WDA's Comments: The fire balloons had a series of thermal devices that would ignite. The Japanese hoped they would start fires in populated areas or forest fires. The weight of the thermal device was balanced by a counterweight on the opposite side of a circular ring keeping the incendiary-carrying structure horizontal so that incendiary devices could drop away from the balloon freely without tangling in any of the mechanism. Periodically a thermal device and its opposite counterweight were released as the balloon travelled on the wind, the idea being that a string of fires would be started. Some balloons released explosives instead of incendiary bomblets.

Again Bill's date is wrong and the balloon was not shot down. Bill is inflating his own importance in this event. Milt Campbell's account of events seems more reliable (see his interview).

Canada Department of Energy, Mines and Resources map sheet 95F/12 of the Virginia Falls area with Gus Kraus' annotations drawn on in pencil.

Canada Department of Energy, Mines and Resources map sheet 95F/11 of the Vera Creek area with Gus Kraus' annotations drawn on in pencil.

Canada Department of Energy, Mines and Resources map sheet 95F/8 of the First Canyon area with Gus Kraus' annotations drawn on in pencil.

Canada Department of Energy, Mines and Resources map sheet 95G/4 of The Twisted Mountain area with Gus Kraus' annotations drawn on in pencil.

Part of map sheet 95F/7 with W.D. Addison's 1979 trip route marked.

Part of map sheet 95F/10 with W.D. Addison's 1979 trip route marked.

Canada Department of Energy, Mines and Resources map sheet 95F/7 of the Second Canyon area with Gus Kraus' annotations drawn on in pencil.

Canada Department of Energy, Mines and Resources map sheet 95F/6 of the May Creek area with Gus Kraus' annotations drawn on in pencil.

Canada Department of Energy, Mines and Resources map sheet 95F/1 of the Clausen Creek area with Gus Kraus' annotations drawn on in pencil.

Canada Department of Energy, Mines and Resources map sheet 95G/5 of the Fishtrap Creek area with Gus Kraus' annotations drawn on in pencil.

Canada Department of Energy, Mines and Resources map sheet 95E/9 of the Flat River area with Gus Kraus' annotations drawn on in pencil.

Canada Department of Energy, Mines and Resources map sheet 95E/8 of the Flat River area with Gus Kraus' annotations drawn on in pencil.

Canada Department of Energy, Mines and Resources map sheet 95E/11 of the Pass Creek area with Gus Kraus' annotations drawn on in pencil.

Canada Department of Energy, Mines and Resources map sheet 95E/6 of the Logan Mountains area with Gus Kraus' annotations drawn on in pencil.

Canada Department of Energy, Mines and Resources map sheet 95E/7 of the Seaplane Lake area with Gus Kraus' annotations drawn on in pencil.

Canada Department of Energy, Mines and Resources map sheet 95E/10 of the Irvine Creek area with Gus Kraus' annotations drawn on in pencil.