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Charlie's photo description: The shack is in the background with a window in it. That was
where the Brother was sleeping when we went to town one night. They wanted some little
lumber and some timbers. They sent a Brother out. He come there and he skidded logs for us and
then we sawed them. Kind of a deal we made and he maybe took out some for us too. He come
back there one night and here's one of them big trees fell right over the comer of the shack and
where his bed was. Of course, it couldn't bust the logs in the shack. He laughed and said, "You
see Charlie, somebody up there is looking after me". The other boys, they liked tents so they
stayed in tents. I had a little lumber shack on skids. We don't see it anyplace. Anyhow, I'm filing
the saw. My father-in-law is sitting there on the slab, part of his back to me. I can't see who's
over by the tractor there. But Isadore used to come out and he was the throttle man. He was
crippled with [suffered from] rheumatism and so on. Some days he would feel real bad and I just let him go and
run whatever his own speed was. So when he was like that I put him on the tractor seat there and
he pulled the throttle when he seen the saw going into the log. Gas was expensive in them days. I
ran out of gas and the Army sent me-I'm sawing some for them too---a truck down with two
barrels of gas. I didn't know it was truck gas and the tractor wasn't made for that type of gas. All
at once bang, sputter, bang. It bmned all the valves out ofit. Too high octane. Well I put new
ones in.
Caption Source: Charlie Hansen interview.
Photographer: likely Isidore Villeneuve but with a new sharper camera.

Charlie's photo description: That's the old Hudson Bay steamer. It's got to be the Distributor I
think. The Mackenzie didn't make too many trips down there. It was laid up. It was finished but
they put it back in service during the war because they needed to take so much stuff down there.
But he's on his way south you see he's empty. He's going upriver.
Caption Source: Charlie Hansen interview.
Photographer: likely Charlie Hansen or Isidore Villeneuve judging from blurred photo edges.
WDA's Comments, 2014 Feb 10: This is the Distributor based on comparison to known photos
of both the Distributor and the Mackenzie. Note the fuel drums stacked on shore. Charlie knew
the barges were empty because of the water level marks on the sides of the barges being so far
above the water.

Bill Clark's Written Caption on Back of Photo: "CF-AWR Photo taken at Glacier or Brintnell Lake, S. Nahanni area, 100 miles above Virginia Falls in 1935. This is one of the huge single engine Bellanca planes left as only a few were built. Cathedral Mountain in background. Stan Macmillan pilot. (for Mackenzie Air Service) Wm (Bill) Clark"

Photographer: unknown

WDA's Comments: This photo was taken by someone on Harry Snyder's 1935 expedition to the South Nahanni country but how Bill Clark obtained this copy is unknown. Judging from this photo and several interviews, Snyder had to have the biggest and best of everything. He thought himself sufficiently important that he unsuccessfully attempted to get today's Ragged Range named the Snyder Mountains. Thankfully, he failed. (I know, I am not supposed to editorialize but sometimes I can't help myself.)

Caption on back of photo: "#17. 1941 Priming the pump for the morning workout in draining hole beneath falls. Took a ½ hour - 3 " outlet. Sluice box built inside flume has a manual opening and closing device. We built it with B. C. fir in 12 foot long sections tapered to fit each other. Bill Clark"

Caption Source: Bill Clark

Photographer: Carl Falcon, print from copy negative

WDA's Comments, 2013 Jul 10: The long arduous work of emptying the pothole beneath the flume began by pumping the water down to a level where they could begin scooping gravel out from between large boulders which occupied much of the hole. Some water constantly seeped in and had to be pumped out so they could continue working. The large boulders could neither be lifted out nor blasted out (wreck the flume), so they had to wedge the boulders in place with logs before wiggling down between them to get lower. Bill Clark's small size was a decided advantage in this dangerous chore. Meanwhile freezing conditions arrived before the hole was completely cleaned out. It must have been wet, very cold, unpleasant work. The first chore each morning was to pump out the water that had accumulated overnight. The hole was completely emptied before Oct 13 when Falcon radioed out, "Completed our big job the result is nil." In his Interview Falcon states that hey did not get even one colour of gold. What a crushing disappointment.

Caption Source: Bill Cormack interview and Bill Addison

Photographer: unknown but likely G.C.F. Dalziel

WDA's Comments, 2013 Oct. 12: G. C. F. Dalziel (Dal) pioneered a trapping method that only Bill Cormack, Nazar Zinchuk and a few others were able to emulate. They were normally out on the traplines sleeping in half a Hudson's Bay blanket with a light tarp under and over them even at -50 °F. Their ability to tolerate such condition meant they had little gear to carry and therefore they could travel great distances and trap a huge area, quickly skimming off the easy-to-trap marten, As soon as catches dropped off slightly, they moved on. Their system required paring everything to an absolute minimum. Note the similarity of this main camp to Dalziel's in a previous photo. The tent was only used occasionally

Bill Cormack identifies this camp as at Porcupine Lake in his interview but I do not know where the lake is. I could find no such named lake either in the South Nahanni watershed or in its vicinity on topographic maps or in the NWT Gazetteer. It is one of several lakes along the YT-NT boundary in prime marten trapping territory.

Bill Clark's Caption on back of photo: "Winter of 1943. Japanese balloon shot down near Ft. Simpson airport and draped around spruce tree. Balloon is 63 ft by 33 ft with many ¼" ropes. Balloon composed of thin laminated paper-light green color and impossible to tear when wet. Bill Clark"

Photographer: unknown

WDA's Comments: Bill's caption contains erroneous information. The Japanese navy released a total of 9300 incendiary or explosive balloons, the first on 1944 Nov 03 and the last on 1945 Apr (Wikipedia). According to Milt Campbell who witnessed the balloon drifting in, it just snagged in the trees and was not shot down. Milt places the landing date as 1946 Feb. It is certainly a more plausible date than Bill Clark's, although if that is the case it was among the very last balloons released and it took 10 months to reach Fort Simpson. That is a long time given the rate at which winds move across the Pacific. A more reasonable landing date would seem to be 1945 Feb. The date for this photo needs corroboration.

Bill Clark's Written Caption on back of photo: "Held up by high water June 1930 at head of 1st Canyon, South Nahanni. at George's Riffle just .below island; - Standing, Jack Mulholland & from left to right. Carl Arhus, Jim Macauley [sic] & Bill Epler. Bill and Jack's brother disappeared about 5 yrs later in Glacier Lake area. No clues after ground, river and water search was made. I was on ground & river searches. Bill Clark"

Photographer: presumably Bill Clark

WDA's Comments: This upriver trip was bringing in supplies to establish a big game hunting cabin in Deadmen Valley. They never did reach Deadmen Valley on this trip. Their concept was for a big game hunting resort at Nahanni Hotsprings (Kraus Hotsprings today) with a hunting cabin or cabins in Deadmen Valley The whole McCauley-Clark plan for the resort never came to fruition because the NWT Commissioner's office failed to grant them the necessary lease (see Clark Papers and interview).

Note that Clark misspelled McCauley's name in the caption above. Correspondence with NWT Commissioner's office has his name as J. H. McCauley (Clark Papers)

[Copy negative of a page from R.M. Patterson's photo album showing 6 images from his 1951 and other trips. Captions on the page:] [Top] Roche qui trempe à l'eau. Fort Nelson River. [Bottom left] Curtis. E.V. sounding. [Bottom middle] Oct. 1927 Old times at the Sikanni Crossing. Techàhnehta. The Sikanni Chief. Corporal Barber. Archie Gardiner. Bellyfull. [Bottom right] Changing propellers. Fort Nelson River.

Caption by Dick Turner: "# 37:Hudson's Bay Company paddle wheeler "Distributor", one of the means used in years past for transporting goods in the North."

Caption Source: Dick Turner but it was probably supplied by Kay or Stanley Turner. It was typed on yellow paper pasted on the back of the photo by Dick Turner.

Photographer: unknown but probably Kay or Stan Turner

WDA's Comments, 2014 May 23: This is one of nine photos by Kay or Stanley Turner that appear in Dick Turner's book Nahanni. Each photo has a caption typed on yellow paper pasted on the back of the photo and plus publisher's notes written on the back of the photo. The typed captions on yellow paper appear to be Dick's ... The Distributor hauled freight and people between Fort Smith and Aklavik on the Slave and Mackenzie Rivers.

Caption Source: Bill Cormack interview and Bill Addison

Photographer: Bill Cormack but likely on Dal's camera

WDA's Comments, 2013 Oct. 14: If this is their complete marten catch there are 212 marten here according to Bill Cormack in his interview. More likely this is the pile of 100 marten seen in the previous photo. This tent was their headquarters. It had a small light-weight 'tin' (steel) stove. Bill and Dal rarely slept here. They were normally out on the traplines sleeping in half a Hudson's Bay blanket with a light tarp under and over them even at -50 °F. Their ability to tolerate such condition meant they had little gear to carry and therefore they could travel great distances and trap a huge area, quickly skimming the easy to trap marten, As soon as catches dropped off they moved on. Maximum efficiency was the game.

Caption by: probably Kay or Stanley Turner but it was typed on yellow paper on back by Dick Turner after consulting Kay or Stan as to its whereabouts and date. Dick's caption is "#8: Paddle Wheeler "Athabasca River" on the Slave River in 1937."

Caption Source: see above

Photographer: likely Kay or Stanley Turner. Dick Turner was not along on this trip.

WDA's Comments, 2014 May 23: This is one of nine photos by Kay or Stanley Turner that appear in Dick Turner's book Nahanni. Each photo has a caption typed on yellow paper pasted on the back of the photo plus publisher's notes written on the back of the photo. The typed captions on yellow paper appear to be Dick's ... The photo above was taken on Kay and Stanley Turner's trip from Alberta to Fort Simpson in 1937 down the Athabasca, Slave and Mackenzie Rivers. This boat hauled freight and people between Athabasca Landing and Fitzgerald on these rivers.

Caption Source: Bill Cormack interview and Bill Addison

Photographer: G. C. F. Dalziel or Bill Cormack

WDA's Comments, 2013 Oct. 13: This photo was likely taken early January, 1936 by either Dalziel or Bill Cormack on Dal's camera, The left hand building is Poole Field's cabin and the centre one may be Diamond C's. Dal is flying Bill Cormack into what Bill calls Flat Lake, local name, which may be one of the Skinboat Lakes or a nearby lake. They stayed at Nahani Butte for a day or two waiting for it to warm up from a temperature of about -60 °F.

Charlie's photo description: That's where the end of the road was on the island. You can see
the tarp on the Cat D4. That was so I could close off the whole front with a heavy thirty-two
ounce canvas and felt. It had a zipper on it. l rode that Cat all night once on the airport packing
snow. Got to town seven o'clock in the morning. When I got off I couldn't stretch my legs up. I
was like I was still sitting. Then I started to shiver. I stopped in front of the radio station and
that's as far as I could make it. I went in and the cook was up. I got behind the stove and I
shivered for hours. They had measured that night seventy-seven below but that's as far as they
could measure and if it was below they wouldn't say. So it was a cold night.
Caption Source: Charlie Hansen interview.
Photographer: likely Isidore Villeneuve judging from blurred edges
WDA's Comments, 2014 Feb 12: -77 °F = -60.6 °C. The coldest temperature at Fort Simpson
airport for the period 1963-2013 was -47 °C. There may have been colder temperatures before
that. Alternately, Charlie's memory may have failed him.
The caboose had a stove in it and offered basic shelter and heat if away overnight or in a storm.
The fuel may be for logging operations as seen in Photos 110-112 or it may be for an entirely
different purpose.

Caption on back of photo: "#42 - 1941 - Jean doing his daily dozen at our cabin which was ¾ mile downstream from the canyon. Bill Clark"

Caption Source: Bill Clark

Photographer: Carl Falcon

WDA's Comments, 2013 Jul 10: Bill Clark has misplaced this photo. It is on Carl Falcon's Roll 1 indicating that it was taken shortly after they arrived and not in the fall as the caption suggests.