Yukon: Dempster of the Mounties

"I'm one of the Arctic brotherhood, I'm an old-time pioneer.
I came with the first -- O God! how I've cursed this Yukon -- but still I'm here.
I've sweated athirst in its summer heat, I've frozen and starved in its cold;
I've followed my dreams by its thousand streams, I've toiled and moiled in its hold."
Robert Service

It took exceptional men and women to challenge the north. To be a member of the North West Mounted Police was to accept both the worst and the best that the Yukon offered. Reward came in the form of service and the visceral freedom of space and landscape.

I learned of William John Duncan Dempster from his granddaughter, Beth. Beth guided with, and for me, for over 20 years. The more I heard of his story, the more I saw the same qualities of quiet resolve, caring, and professionalism in Beth that made WJD Dempster’s tenure as a North West Mounted Policeman in the Yukon very special.

Dempster came to Canada from Wales. He joined the NWMP in 1897 and was posted, over the years, in various Yukon communities. He served exclusively in the Yukon, retiring with the rank of Inspector in 1934.

It was incumbent on each NWMP post to provide written details of official business to headquarters periodically. In so doing, they also provided a source of mail delivery and outside news to locals. It was with this responsibility that Dempster was elevated to national attention in 1910.

One of the mail runs was from Fort McPherson in the MacKenzie Delta to Dawson City, a distance of about 800 miles each way. Countless rivers, creeks, treeless valleys, mountainous terrain, and snow cover made the route complicated at best during the winter. In 1910-11, Inspector F.J. Fitzgerald, with three constables, left Fort McPherson in late winter for Dawson City. They died on the trail. Their story is remembered as the “Lost Patrol” and is worth the read. (See bottom of post).

Corporal Dempster, along with two other constables and a First Nations’ guide, were charged with finding what happened to Fitzgerald’s patrol. Dempster’s patrol left Dawson in February, 1911 in an extremely cold period where temperatures dropped well below freezing (he recorded one day at -80 degrees F with wind chill). Signs of a tragedy began to appear as he discovered abandoned campsites, gear, and dog remains. It became evident that Fitzgerald had become hopelessly lost. On March 21 and 22 he discovered all four bodies.

Dempster was ordered to make the route a safer one. During 1912-13 he established food caches, shelter cabins, and trail markings for future travel. In 1920 he covered the route in 14 days by dogsled, a record held to this day.

When he retired in 1934 he was the most well-known and respected Mountie in the Yukon. He died in 1964 at the age of 88.

In 1958 the Canadian Government decided to build an old weather road across the Arctic Circle from Dawson City to Inuvik. In honour of his contribution in the north, the road was to be named the Dempster Highway. Construction was stopped in 1961 but renewed again and officially opened on Aug 18, 1979.

Although he did not live to attend the opening, William John Duncan Dempster knew before his death that the highway would be named for him.

Bibliography:
NORTH, DICK. 1978. The Lost Patrol. Anchorage: Alaska Northwest Publishing Company.