C Ihe Ladies c cu. V'VVAN - History and Classics, Department of

Notes to Pages 67-73 265train Signals personnel in anticipation of the Second WorldWar (Moir 64), is mentioned in Vyvyan's field note for 26June. Only in her accounts, following the last dated entry inher field notes (227), does the information appear that shesent a wireless from Aklavik; it cost her $2.70, which, given therate-"30 c[enlts. a word"-listed in her field note for 2]uly,must have represented a nine-word message.the North-West Mounted PoliceVyvyan can hardly be blamed for erring in the name of theinstitution. Established as the North-West Mounted Police in1873, the force was invited to add "Royal" to its name in 1904.On I February 1920, seven months after the Winnipeg GeneralStrike (Kemp 69), "the RNWMP lllerged with the DominionPolice to form the Royal Canadian Mounted Police" ("North­West"). Acronyms, which do not show the hyphen, of thevarious forms of the name are used throughout the notesdepending on the year referred to; in terms of strict accuracy,by 1926 all Vyvyan's references should have been to the RCMP.CHAPTER 12: LA PIERRE HOUSE (23 ]UNE)Although Vyvyan's field note for 23]une records her meetingwith]ack Parsons at Aklavik, the discovery that La Pierre Housewas abandoned is not mentioned. On 27 May, in Edmonton,Vyvyan was told that the women might be able to reprovision atLa Pierre House, but since she discussed the Rat River withArchdeacon Whittaker on 2]une at Waterways, she likely knewwell before she arrived in Aklavik that La Pierre House wasabandoned; alternatively, since Whittaker's journey up the Rathad taken place "long ago" (as Vyvyan put it in her letter to hermother of 3 ]une), and he had been stationed inPenetanguishene since 1923, Vyvyan could have assumed thathe was not au courant with its state.In the published version of events, the discovery that thewomen would have to travel through the wilderness aloneappears just as Dorrien Smith's ankle is healing, and Vyvyan'sdramatic conversation with Parsons is followed by an anxioussearch for inforlllation about the route and for paddlinglessons. Introduced in this chapter, then, the abandonment ofLa Pierre House heightens the narrative tension just as theWOlllen are about to elllbark on their wilderness adventure;Whittaker's qualified encouragement (Vyvyan's letter to hermother of 3]une finds him "rather gloomy about our trip")and Sgt Anderton's confident encouragement are balanced byVyvyan's own retrospective evaluation of the wOlllen' sresources. The tension might be regarded as one between twoidentities, "mere tourists" (41) and "seasoned travellers" (73).Will the sprained ankle permit them to make themselves overinto travellers now that they are on the brink of the wilderness?The interview with Anderton permits Vyvyan to move from"dream" to "sober fact," a progression they must make if theyare to get up the Rat and over the Divide to the enchantment ofthree days alone on the Porcupine River.Apart from the interview with Anderton, the contents ofthe chapter have no equal in the field notes.the ntanager of the Hudson's Bay Contpany store, MrParsons]ohnAmbrose Parsons (1886-1974) was born in Codroy,Newfoundland, and served as a constable of the RNWMP from1909 to 1916, taking his discharge after serving in Yorkton,Kamsack, Punnichy, Athabasca Landing, Fort McPherson, andHerschel Island (Zealley to MacLaren). The following year hejoined the HBC, and throughout his career (1917-31) heworked as a post manager in the western Arctic. He was atBaillie Island 1917-20, at Fort McPherson 1920-24, and atAklavik 1924-30, before returning to Fort McPherson for hisfinal year in the company's service. He then became an independenttrader at Aklavik ("Parsons"). In the winter of 1932,he was involved in the hunt for Albert] ohnson, the "MadTrapper" (Zealley to MacLaren).a trader and also a trapperIt is possible that Vyvyan here preserves a distinction in the twoterms as sometimes used in the North: "trader" refers to whitetrappers and "trapper" to non-whites.our friend Sergeant AndertonSgt Frederick Anderton (1889-1974) was born inLeicestershire, England, and served with the LeicestershireConstabulary 1910-12 before emigrating to Canada. He joinedthe RNWMP in 1913 at Regina, served in France and Belgiumduring the First World War, and returned to the force afterdemobilization. Promoted to sergeant in 1920 and sergeantmajor in 1934, he served throughout the northwest and theArctic from Regina and Edmonton to Herschel Island and