NOT THE LOST BUT THE LAST PATROL

There have been a couple of recent books released about the Lost Patrol....one with real relevance to A discussion concerning the Mackenzie River Husky and Fort Mcpherson is actually called The Last Patrol http://caitlin-press.com/our-books/last-patrol-the/ This book is authored by Keith Billington, now of Prince George B.C....he and his wife lived in Fort McPherson for several years in the 1960's, Keith was a musher and he was instrumental in organizing the journey by dog team from Fort Mcpherson to Dawson City in recognition of the the Centennial of the N.W.T. Billington juxtaposes this journey and that of the ill-fated Northwest Mounted Police Lost Patrol. This book is good, really good! While it wasn't the intended reason for it being written, as it turns out it documents the end of an era. Eleven teams of Mackenzie River huskies made the trip with mushers ranging in age from their early 20's to their late 70's. In a very personal way, the book talks about a lost way of mushing, tandem collar harness, wooden toboggans with wrappers and backboards, breaking the trail with snowshoes, the musher's clothing, the heavy canvas tents but most importantly the dogs, all of them Mackenzie River Huskies. There are endless priceless photos in this book featuring the mushers, the gear, the countryside but again most importantly, the dogs. These are the famous "Peel River Dogs" that appeared in Dawson City during the Klondike Gold Rush.....and now they are all but gone.