The Mad Trapper of Rat river – Canadian Outlaw of the North
By: Red Feather Archery
There is no other Canadian Outlaw more celebrated in infamy & tradition then that of the “Mad Trapper of Rat river”. Who he was and how he came to be Canada’s most notorious Outlaw, is still to this day unknown? But what happened during the winter of 1932 along the Rat River and over the Richardson mountains, during relentless arctic conditions, still to this day, lives on in song. But only the true story can honestly be told by the watchful eyes of the Northern lights.
The north has its allure and has attracted brave and unruly men, from all walks of life. Some come to seek bounty & riches, while others to escape the mundane of modern life and find peace & sanctuary in wilderness. Some men are quickly forgotten, while others carve living legends into the fabric of time… this is a story of one such man, presumably named “Alfred Johnson – The Mad Trapper of Rat river”.
What inspires those of us to explore new and wild frontiers is less of a test of man verses wild but, more a test about of man verses himself. These men, ruled by none and governed only by an inherent primal instinct to seek new territory are the last of a rare breed of man. These men constantly seek the next challenge to test their mettle and define their character. Some of the trails these men blaze prove to define their very existence while other become lost over time and wander trails, less forgotten that lead them astray. The story of The Mad Trapper supports both themes. A man in search of a life of solitude in the remote stretches of wilderness and that of a man driven to survive at any cost. By any means necessary.
As the story is told, the Mad Trapper was a man, ripe with madness and fleeing from the law. Wanted for what may have started as a dispute about a tampering with native traplines in the area to jealousy from a forbidden love. However, a similar story can be told about a man, resilient and capable of more than just surviving alone in wilderness. A man of super-human stamina and incredible character to evade a posse of skilled native trappers, acting as guides for well-equipped law enforcement. Evading his pursuers by Snowshoe and Mounties travelling by dog team, to the story of Canada’s most notorious outlaw being broadcast for the first time to thousands of listeners across the country via radio. Only with the assistance of a bush pilot was the Mad Trapper finally cornered, across a frozen landscape during the inhospitable conditions for freedom and solitude against all odds….
Again, the story beings with a traveller arriving on the banks of the peel river on a homemade raft and landing in the small Gwich’in community of Ft. McPherson, NWT. At that time in the 1930’s it was common for men trying to escape the great depression and seek refuge in the Great White North. Trapping and fur trading was a staple for the communities and a main economic driver for the region of the North West of Canada’s Arctic. Over the years People came in by the thousands building camps and setting up trap lines rich with wildlife to harvest and sell for furs to buyers in foreign lands.
And as the story is told. Upon Alfred Johnsons arrival on July 9th, 1931, he was greeted by Constable Edgar Millen from the RCMP. For reasons unknown, Johnson provided little detail on who he was and said very little to the constable. Was he fleeing from his past? or perhaps the law? or did Alfred Johnson simply want to maintain his anonymity in these new lands and protect his privacy from those that may wish to exploit it.
It was noted that Alfred Johnson spoke with a mild Scandinavian accent but provided little to no information on who he was and where he was coming from. Speculation of the Mad Trappers identity include Chicago Mobster, Guide for Zane Grey, and because of his resilience under fire and capability to flee on foot during harsh winter conditions, he was thought to be an ex- military man with hardened combat survival experience. But most likely, he was a man lost in search of himself. Johnson appeared to have enough money for supplies & was well equipped to make camp out in the remote wilderness but declined a trapper’s license – which was seen as odd as trapping was the primary source of income for newcomers trying to make a new life for themselves in the North.
As the story unfolds with our perceived villain, Johnson ventured off into the remote wilderness to find himself along the banks of the Rat River, NWT where he built a small but sturdy 8’x10’ cabin and prepared his camp for the coming winter.
Little is said there after about the “Mad Trapper of Rat River” up until In December of 1931, a complaint to the RCMP detachment in Aklavik, NWT had been made by local Gwich’in about someone tampering with a trap line and hanging traps in trees. Alfred Johnson was identified as the likely culprit. On December 26, 1931, two RCMP officers – Constable Alfred King and Constable Joe Bernard made the 97 km trek by dog team to confront Johnson about the allegations of interfering with trap lines set out by Natives in the communities of Ft. McPherson and Aklavik. Both men had considerable experience traversing in the frozen Canadian Wilderness to arrive at Alfred Johnson’s cabin which appeared to have smoke from an active stove fire and Johnson inside. Despite both officer’s request to speak with Alfred Johnson, they were ignored by Johnson and decided to return later with a search warrant.
King and Bernard returned 5 days later on December 31st, 1931 with two other men from the hamlet of Aklavik but again Alfred Johnson refused to speak to the two constables and their deputies. With temperatures dropping and time running out, King tried to force down the door to Johnsons cabin to enforce the warrant. That is when Johnson opened fire and a brief shoot out occurred, wounding King in the process. The team withdrew and returned to Aklavik to tend to Kings gunshot and where King would eventually recover from a none fatal gunshot wound to the chest.
The RCMP returned for a 3rd time determined to get Alfred Johnson for what began as an inquiry about tampered traplines to now attempted murder on RCMP Constable King, they returned with 9 men, dogs and dynamite expecting to flush Alfred Johnson from his cabin. A 15 hour shoot out occurred and near the end of the shootout leaving the constables with no choice but to try and blast Alfred Johnson out of his cabin using sticks of frozen dynamite. After several unsuccessful attempts, finally a charge detonated a stick of dynamite, destroying the Mad Trappers cabin. Expecting to find Alfred Johnson blown to pieces in the debris of the smoulder ruins of the cabin, hide Johnson from a dug out beneath the floorboards and returned fire upon his assailants. The Attempt to try and blow Alfred Johnson up with his cabin proved futile and once again the RCMP retreated to Aklavik in the -40-winter weather.
On January 14, 1932 – resupplied with 9 men, travelling by dog team, the Mounties returned to the cabin to find Alfred Johnson had disappeared into the frozen Canadian Wilderness….
…and for the next 6 weeks in the harsh Arctic winter and the unforgiving Richardson mountains, the Mad Trapper evaded a posse of RCMP, Inuvialuit and Gwich’in trappers by snowshoe until finally on February 17th, 1932, Alfred Johnson, the Mad Trapper of Rat River, outnumbered and out gunned made his last stand during a gunfight with his pursuers and was shot 9 times with the fatal bullet severing his spin and killing him on the banks of the Eagle River, Yukon.
Alfred Johnson, The Mad Trapper of Rat River, evaded the Mounties and their guides for 48 days. During his time at large, the Mad Trapper would demonstrate cunning and resilience by follow the tracks of migrating Caribou along the rivers, and tactics conceal his fires and turn his Snowshoes backwards to mislead his desperate pursuers as he trekked through relentless blizzards and near impossible odds. Some have even speculated that Johnson displayed almost superhuman stamina to have evaded capture for so long against such incredible odds.
January 30th, 1932, after weeks of tracking the Mad Trapper through boreal forest, the western Mackenzie delta and the foothills of the Richardson Mountains did the Mounties find His trail. After weeks of tracking Johnson through the snow and icy conditions did, they think they would finally have their man and bring their fugitive to justice but instead another shootout occurred, and The Mad Trapper shot Constable Edger Millen killing him in what is now known today as Millen creek – named after the constable.
With the death of Constable Edger Millen by a bullet through the heart from Johnsons .30-.30 did more men rally to the cause to bringing the Mad Trapper to justice. On February 5th, 1932, by request of the RCMP, William “Wop” May and his ski equipped Bellanca Monoplane joined the hunt for Canada’s most notorious outlaw. William May tracked Johnson from the sky and only lost him during a 3-day blizzard with which Johnson used to his advantage and scrambled up and over the Richardson Mountains to avoid men stationed in both passes – a feat to this day that would be nearly impossible given the weather conditions and terrain but due to desperation, Alfred Johnson was again able to avoid capture.
On February 14th, William May spotted Alfred Johnsons tracts which had eluded ground pursuit by travelling in the middle of the Eagle River by blending his tracts made from his snowshoes with the tracks of migrating Caribou. It was only when his tracks deviated from the tracks of the Caribou he was following was, that William May was able to get a fix on the direction of the Mad trapper and radioed to the RCMP on the ground of his location from his Monoplane and on February 17th, 1932, The RCMP and their Native guides had Alfred Johnson surrounded on the Eagle River, Yukon.
Once cornered and surrounded it became clear that Alfred Johnson would not be as fortunate to escape his pursuers and with one last attempt for freedom, another gunfight broke out, this time wounding Sergeant Earl Hersey before being killed himself by returning gun fire. Alfred Johnson was shot 9 times before being killed by a bullet severing his spine. It is said he remained calm under fire and his shots where well composed during his final battle with a posse of RCMP and their deputies.
Upon his death, Items found include $2000 dollars in American and Canadian currency, Gold, pocket compass, fishhooks, and a knife & axe. A dead squirrel and dead bird, snowshoes, and a large quantity of Beechman pills. He also carried with him a .22 Winchester rifle. .30-.30 savage model, 99F 16-gauge Iver Johnson’s champion shot gun which was sawed off at the buttstock. It was estimated that he burned up to 10,000k calories a day evading the RCMP in some of the most hostile terrain and weather conditions of The Canadian North west.
The age and identity of the Mad Trapper of Rat River is still a mystery to this day and his body was exumed for a television documentary in 2007. It was presumed he was in his mid to late 30’s upon his death on the Eagle River. Alfred Johnson was a remarkable individual proving to be a resourceful woodsman and with almost superhuman stamina, capable of evading well-armed & equipped RCMP, Inuvialuit and Gwich’in guides through some of the most unforgiving terrain of the Canadian wilderness. The Mad Trappers final resting place is located in the hamlet of Aklavik, NWT, Canada.
