{"id":2264,"date":"2019-01-21T22:01:10","date_gmt":"2019-01-22T03:01:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=2264"},"modified":"2019-01-21T22:37:41","modified_gmt":"2019-01-22T03:37:41","slug":"fwd-final-copy-summer-1963-the-marathon-job","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/?p=2264","title":{"rendered":"Fwd: FINAL COPY: SUMMER 1963..THE MARATHON JOB"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
Maybe some of the little bits of the 1963 journal will amuse you\u2026had to get it out of my system\u2026This was year 8 of my years<\/div>\n
as a field man in the business of  mining exploration\u2026It was also the year of our marriage.  Every cent earned in the Marathon<\/div>\n
wilderness between  May and August was spent on the honeymoon\u2026which only lasted four days!!<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n
\n
SUMMER OF 1963:  PART ONE:  THE MARATHON ADVENTURE<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/div>\n
Jan. 2019<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
ANCIENT BACKGROUND NEEDS IMAGINATION<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
When the meteor reached our atmosphere at thousands of miles per second it was  like hitting  stone wall.  The friction<\/div>\n
set the huge piece of space debris alight.  A speeding ball of fire streaked  across  the sky but there was  <\/div>\n
no living thing to see it for it happened  1.8 billion years ago.  Billion?  yes, billion.  A time when the earth was only<\/div>\n
4.5 billion years  old  itself.  When the meteor struck the earth a great plume of pulverized rock was  thrown<\/div>\n
up into the air making a crater 20 miles wide.  The impact<\/div>\n
ruptured  the surrounding rock for many miles, perhaps  hundreds.  Cracks appeared  forming dikes <\/div>\n
that went deep down to the liquid magma of the inner earth and the super heated magma surged up the dikes<\/div>\n
and  along the fractures where it cooled eventually forming sparkling deposits of chalcopyrite (copper), silver, <\/div>\n
platinum and gold.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Then 1.8 billion years later we arrived\u2026.Bill Gilbey, David Murphy, John Lloyd, Rgoer Nichols and Alan Skeoch<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n
The North shore of Lake Superior is  one most beautiful yet starkly desolate places<\/div>\n
in Canada.   Being there in 1963 was like being in a place that time forgot.  A place<\/div>\n
that was mostly devoid of human beings.  A place where the vistas bring forth thoughts of<\/div>\n
what the world was like before we humans had a chance to manipulate nature.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
LARGE METEOR STRIKE HERE \u2026 SLATE ISLANDS<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cCome over here.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAmong all these boulders, a fellow could break a leg.”<\/div>\n
\u201cDid you see that flash across the sky?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNope, sky is clear\u2026sunny day on shore of  Lake Superior.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cIf you were standing here 469 million  years  ago you would have seen it.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSeen what?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSome huge burning object flash across the sky faster than a rocket.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhy talk about something that happened millions  of years  ago?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cBecause that flash may be the reason we are standing here on this bowling ball beach.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cGet to the point, Alan.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cIt was a meteor\u2026big one\u2026maybe 6 kilometres  wide.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\"\"\"\"\"\"<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cWhere did it hit?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cJust south of  where we are standing\u2026a few Kilometres out in the lake\u2026place now called the Slale Islands.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI Can\u2019t see anything.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cToo far out but the islands are there\u2026not many people ever  see those islands\u2026\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHow  come the islands survived the meteor impact?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cIslands were created by the impact.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWouldn\u2019t a meteor that size blow everything all to hell?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cCertainly did that\u2026blew a hole 20 km wide\u2026threw up a big crater now buried  deep in Lake Superior.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat about the islands?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhen the meteor blew a hole in the rock then the weight was  removed from the mantle\u2026less weight caused uplift\u2026rock below pushed  up to form the islands.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAny evidence\u2026chunks  of the meteor?\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\"\"upload.wikimedia.org\/wikipedia\/commons\/thumb\/9\/92\/Slate_Islands_Shattercone.JPG\/300px-Slate_Islands_Shattercone.JPG<\/a> 2x” data-file-width=”1728″ data-file-height=”2304″><\/div>\n
Shatter cone, 30 feet tall<\/div>\n
found on Slate Islands. Rare.I <\/div>\n
Prook of  impact.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cNot that I have discovered.  But there is a shatter cone, one of the largest in the world\u2026proof of impact\u2026a cone of rock shattered.”<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat has that got to do  with us?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNot exactly sure but I have an idea.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cIdea?  I prefer facts.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cOK, try this fact on for size. The impact of that meteor strike shook the mantle of the earth for maybe 100 km.  Caused the mantle to crack<\/div>\n
in places\u2026deep vertical cracks are called dikes\u2026happened in lots of places\u2026those cracks allowed hot magma from inside the earth to push up.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSo?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSo some of that hot magma contained the minerals we hoop to find with this magnetometer.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cMinerals?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cGeologists think chalcopyrite\u2026copper\u2026was part of the  magma that pushed up those dikes.. might also find silver, platinum and others.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHow  do we know for sure?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cno one knows for sure that\u2019s why they hire Huntec  to do exploration…<\/div>\n
 minerals, particularly copper,  are magnetic\u2026if we use this magnetometer we can find whether the copper is in the  skies or not.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDo you really think that meteor brought up molten copper from the centre of the earth?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cCould be the reason this area around Marathon is so magnetic\u2026geologists looks for these cracks.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cMaybe  the meteor was full of copper.”<\/div>\n
\u201cChunks of The meteor?  Maybe, but more likely copper ore came from  magma?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThink about Sudbury\u2026a comet hit there 1.8 billion years ago\u2026made a big hole that was filled  with hot magma from inside the earth\u2026lots of<\/div>\n
nickel, copper, platinum and gold came up.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDid  you say  a comet strike?  What\u2019s the difference between a comet and a meteor?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cComet is  composed  of frozen gas  and  dust\u2026not much rock\u2026Scientists  believe the Sudbury comet vaporized on impact.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cA meteor is made of solid rock then?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYes\u2026but the hole is the same\u2026the cracks  in the earth allows molten rock carrying copper to seep to the surface and  cool.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAnything left of the meteor?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know\u2026strange that  no one has dived down there. But evidence of  the meteor must be  around  here\u2026evidence of<\/div>\n
platinum seems to infer a meteor strike\u2026millions of years  of  erosion has wiped  out most of the crater rim.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYou sound like a geologist\u2026or geophysicist\u2026a big shot\u2026do you have credentials?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNone\u2026just a  history student with an interest in science.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cA student?  Only a student?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cJust call me a  dreamer if that makes you feel better.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYou talk about millions of years as if they were yesterday.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWe humans have not been thriving on this planet for very long\u2026perhaps  making a  mess of things if we are<\/div>\n
responsible for global warming.<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat were repercussion of that meteor?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cImpact threw  tons  of dust into the atmosphere maybe\u2026.could darken the earth so  much that plants  and animals<\/div>\n
would die\u2026global winter\u2026dark and cold.  then again the meteor  Might pitch  CO2 in the air and the planet would  become a huge hot house.<\/div>\n
Either way was  catastrophic.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cOnly last one  year though.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNot true\u2026meteor impact could cause disaster  for thousands of years\u2026even millions. We  could  not survive.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cGet away\u2026never happen.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWrong.  Mass extinctions  have happened  five times for sure and  maybe we are in the midst of  a sixth extinction\u2026global warming<\/div>\n
is not bed of roses\u2026sea level could rise so high that our  coastal cities would have to be abandoned.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThe earth looks  good to me.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSame here\u2026let\u2019s get looking for copper and leave disasters to others.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\"The<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
ON THE  OLDEST EXPOSED  ROCK  IN THE WORLD:  THAT\u2019S WHERE WE STOOD IN 1963<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
North America was located  in the tropics About the time the Slate Island meteor hit Lake Superior 450 million years ago.<\/div>\n
Instead  of a deep  freshwater lake, there was a massive shallow  sea covering much of he land and that<\/div>\n
sea was home to a large number of sea creatures whose bodies  are easily found as fossils in the sedimentary<\/div>\n
rock of Southern Ontario.  The Niagara Escarpment was the rim of that ancient sea.   The rock on the North<\/div>\n
Shore of Lake Superior is different.  Much lava covered the land and where that rock has been eroded away some<\/div>\n
of the oldest rock on earth aged between 4.5 billion and 540 million years old \u2014 immense swath of time where with many molten<\/div>\n
intrusions pushed their way upward.  The route upward  were facilitated Fractures  and dikes  in<\/div>\n
the granite of the Canadian Shield.  Some of these<\/div>\n
fractures and dikes contain copper, silver, gold,  platinum and other minerals.  At other ancient times long rips occurred as the tectonic plates<\/div>\n
pulled apart or jammed  together.  When this happened the lava flows were so large that the climate of the earth was changed, hence some<\/div>\n
of the great extinctions of life on the earths surface. The map of the Sudbury basin above<\/div>\n
puts this  in picture form.  THREE distinct layers…Precambrian igneous rock, \u2018irruptive\u2019 nickel, and topped off with precambrian sedimentary rock  <\/div>\n
and volcanic rock.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The surface of the north shore of Lake Superior is largely a long tract of wilderness with a  few company towns here and there. <\/div>\n
For much of the distance on Highway  17 both sides of the road are clothed in the huge boreal forest that covers<\/div>\n
so much  of Canada.  A  carpet of green.  The shoreline of Lake Superior is also a  wilderness of water and rock.<\/div>\n
At the company town of Marathon the rocky shoreline is  covered in huge smoothly rolled boulders  about the<\/div>\n
size of a human head.   And  off shore are a group of islands called  the Slate Islands. It is not hard to imagine<\/div>\n
what happened  here millions of years ago when the land was younger.  A large meteor, several perhaps kilometres across<\/div>\n
came hurtling to earth from outer space.  The impact was catastrophic.  Not as catastrophic as the larger meteor<\/div>\n
which hit the Gulf of Mexico 65 million years ago and  triggered the mass extinction of dinosaurs  like Tyranosaurus  Rex<\/div>\n
and  Iguanadod.  Cataclysms happened here around the same time.  Tears in the crust of the earth allowed  vast <\/div>\n
quantities of lava to pour forth here and elsewhere on the earth many times in our billion year history.  With the<\/div>\n
destruction came some good things. The cracks in the earths mantle filled  with minerals here and there.<\/div>\n
And it was these minerals\u2026copper, platinum, silver,  iron\u2026that gave me a job in the<\/div>\n
summer of  1963.  I  was sent to Marathon, Ontario, in search of a magnetic ore body that had been detected<\/div>\n
early in the20th century but never exploited fully.  I was a field man working for Huntec subcontracted<\/div>\n
to Anaconda, a company whose fortune was  made and augmented  by the presence of copper<\/div>\n
in volcanic nooks and crannies around the world. <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cALAN, WE ARE SENDING YOU TO MARATHON THIS SUMMER,PACK YOUR BAG.”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Why would I want to go to Marathon?  Where is the place anyway?”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
HONEYMOON MONEY AND LURE OF THE WILD:  TWIN  PUSH FACTORS<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Why did  I want this job?   I was  getting married late<\/div>\n
in that 1963 and needed enough money to finance our honeymoon. <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n
The Slate Islands are just a  few kilometres offshore from Marathon,<\/div>\n
Ontario.  It was here millions  of years ago that a large meteor struck<\/div>\n
the earth.  It\u2019s caldera is  not visible for the Lake is  deep and the <\/div>\n
piles of dislodged rock are hidden.  The late Islands are the uplift <\/div>\n
cone of the meteor strike.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/div>\n
SUMMER 1963, 25 YEARS OLD\u2026TO BE MARRIED AUGUST 24\u2026IN THE BUSH UNTIL THEN<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cMom, this could be my last summer in the wilderness\u2026 I want to make the most of it.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhere  will they send you this year, Alan?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNever know until the day  before  departure\u2026remember the Irish  job?\u2026Dr. Paterson  had said  I was  being sent to the  Mexican \/ USA border\/\u201c<\/div>\n
\u201cYes, and I worried about snakes.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

        \u201cAnd I read a first aid noe  on snake  bites\u2026if bitten cut the place a bit and suck out the blood and venom.  I told Mom there was no real  danger and there wasn\u2019t .  <\/p><\/div>\n

        I never got to the Mexican border.”
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\u201cThen the next day everything  changed  and  I was  on  a  plane to Southern Ireland.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n


<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\u201cThis will be our last year in the bush.  How  does Marjorie feel  about it..You\u2019ve left her with all <\/div>\n
the marriage  preparations.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s not wildly enthusiastic. But accepts things as they are and  we\u2019ll need the money for the  honeymoon.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cIs that the story you told her?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYep.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI doubt she  believes  you.  I think she  just knows you have to get the wilderness out of your system this one last time.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
(As things turned out there were still two more summers \u2018in the bush\u2019\u2026but Marjorie  joined me on those  venture.  On one job<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

       she even brought or cat Presque Neige and her sewing machine.  Gave the boys quite a laugh since hungry wolves  howled every<\/p><\/div>\n

        night and  to make matters worse for Marjorie we had  no  electricity.  She  fitted  in  perfectly though.  But that story is yet to come.)
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/div>\n
Dr. NORMAN PATERSON SETS UP THE JOB<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\u201cBack for another summer, Alan?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhere  to this time?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cMarathon\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cMarathon?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNorth shore of Lake Superior\u2026lots of wilderness for you.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cBlack flies, deer flies, horse flies,  blow  flies\u2026and  Mosquitoes\u2026the usual greeters.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cPutting you in charge  of the operation this year, Alan.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cMeaning?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSet up the camp,  conduct the surveys,..\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDig the latrine, get the grub, cook the grub, put up the tents, protect the instruments.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAll that\u2026\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWho does the interpretation?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cJohn Lloyd, a Welsh geophysicist\u2026\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s the brains, right?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cBut never been in the bush.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cJust two  of us?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNo.  David Murphy, an Irishman, and Bill Gilbey, a Brit, and Roger Nicholls, a student\u2026five of  you \u201c<\/div>\n
\u201cAnd the linecutters?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAlready up there setting up the grid\u2026French and  aboriginal bunch.  They know their job.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
AND SO YEAR EIGHT, 1963, BEGAN<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

          Journal Entries


TO say Marathon was a smelly place is to flatter<\/div>\n

the town. It was a vile smelling place.  Hydrogen  <\/div>\n
sulphide in the air.  Like living inside a room where<\/div>\n
beer drinkers were passing air.   Awful


<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/div>\n
Tuesday May 21, 1963: \u201cWell, here I go\u2026another  summer.  Drove our 1953 Meteor to office in east Toronto which meant Dad had to take a whole series  of busses  and streetcar to get from<\/div>\n
west Toronto to his job a a tire builder in Whitby.  He did  not complain.   Met our crew Bill Gilbey, David Murphy and John Lloyd\u2026a Brit, Irishman and Welshman\u2026hoped these guys  could get along.<\/div>\n
Roger Nicholls still in high school.  Bought train tickets and cashed  $4o0 expense check.  Phoned Marjorie in North Bay to say good-bye for a while.  She is not too enthusiastic as we have<\/div>\n
barely got engaged and I am  taking off leaving her to make the marriage arrangements.  Marjorie does not really complain since we will need the money to finance out honeymoon after the<\/div>\n
August 24 wedding.  Mom and dad drove me to Union station with my single rucksack filled with stuff to last two months.  Socks are the most important items\u2026big thick socks.  Gum rubbers  boils<\/div>\n
my feet as water always gets in so dry socks each day are  crucial.  After 7 years in the bush my feet are pock marked like a World  War II battlefield. Our crew have a compartment on the train\u2026a luxury.<\/div>\n
We spent two hours in the dining car scarfing down a great roast beef dinner ($3.86) then climbed up into the Scenes Dome and watched the settled  landscape slide into an endless  boreal forest.<\/div>\n
We  got off the train in MacTier to stretch  our legs.  Cool up here\u2026even cold.  Some girls in the next compartment offered  to share a  mickey with our crew as they think we are big shot mining guys.<\/div>\n
Really we have no idea what we will doing.  Lulled to sleep by the staccato music of  the rails.” <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Wednesday May 22, 1963: \u201cWinter vista all around when we awoke and faced  a blizzard from Sudbury westward.  Waiter lamented \u201cDon\u2019t want no more snow\u201d at breakfast then we climbed into<\/div>\n
the Dome to enjoy the snowstorm.   Crossed  my fingers that storm and  snow would  be gone by the time we got our tents erected.  Bunch of British immigrants in the dome with us so Bill Gilbey<\/div>\n
had great time socialising.  Bill is really an extroverted kind of guy.  Same age as me.  I think we are going to have a grand summer.  Bit premature comment …said  before we arrived in  Marathon.<\/div>\n
The town has a  vile smell that cannot be escaped something to do with the manufacture of cardboard from pulpwood  logs  H2S, Hydrogen Sulphide gas known unpopularily as \u2018rotten eggs\u201d.<\/div>\n
The smell covers  not only the town but also much of the nearby forest where we will be doing our survey.  I wonder if H2S become H2SO4 once it hits our moist lungs.  Sulphuric  Acid.  Well , we will just have<\/div>\n
to put up with it.  No escape.  I fear the acid  air with affect Roger Nicholls who already has a throat and lung problem called  \u2018Quinsy\u2019.  Must carry on.  Rented  a  truck for the summer from<\/div>\n
K.T. McKaig and then bought a  load  of lumber from Marathon Corporation for our base camp. Drove to Heron Bay, southeast of Marathon, a native community close to our survey site.  Located<\/div>\n
our base camp near there on Highway 17.  Wilderness all around.   Made sure the Department of Lands and Forests knew what we were doing.   Unfortunately our gear has not arrived<\/div>\n
so we checked in to the Everest Hotel for the night.  Expense money nearly all gone now.  Finally we met Mr. LaMotte who is in charge of our linocutting crew.  Some lines already blazed so we start right away<\/div>\n
if our gear ever gets here.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
Building a campsite is a  messy business.   Geophysical  prospecting involves  lots of movement.  Setting up a sleeping tent under a covering <\/div>\n
fly tent is not as easy as it sounds.  This picture was  taken at an  earlier location but gives the general idea os what is required.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n


<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
Thursday May 23, 1963: “Camping gear still has not arrived so  bought new coking gear and pile of canned  food, Kraft dinners, peanut butter.  The usual stuff.  This town really stinks with that rotten egg<\/div>\n
smell.  People seem to accept the smell so we must do  the same. The flies  do not seem to mind the smell at all \u2026 seems to make the bloodsucking bastards even worse so used  my credit account with<\/div>\n
the company store to stock up on fly sprays. Chose a campsite a few miles outside town beside a little lake where gravel had been scooped out for the Trans Canada Highway. cleared brush and erected first tent, then dug a latrine downwind from the tent a short distance away since using a latrine… always a challenge for the bugs loved a stationary body\u2026easier to draw blood.   In addition Latrines offer more exposed flesh as well.  Need a windy spot with some shelter.  Not such a easy task. Then we dug a meat hole in which we planted a new galvanised garbage can\u2026a substitute for a refrigerator.  We will have to use our noses to check the meat occasionally.  Hard to do because of the goddamn H2S in the air.   Cooked supper \u2014 minute steak, rice, mushroom, carrots, peaches and cookies topped off with best coffee I have every boiled (which is not really saying much) . Washed dishes and then crawled into sleeping bags by candlelight.  No cots yet so slept on the ground.   Bill and David hookef up our radio antennae.  Log jam in the river below.  Looks like cold cold nights.  Snow still on the ground in patches.”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Friday<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
May 24, 1963:  Drove west to Pic River to make Latitudinal correction on instrument\u2026could not zero it much less than 200 gammas.  Then explored and mapped logging roads through our designated survey area.  Visited line cutter, Mr. Leblanc, who has cut as far as 104+00 South.  Planned to start survey but truck got bogged down in loose sand\u2026deep as hubs, no way out. Walked all the way to Marathon to get a two truck\u2026hours.  Still no sign of cots and cooking gear.  bought food.  Heard the Anaconda crew were coming this week end.  Our clients.  They have a crew of twelve men and plan to use same  site as ours\u2026this  is not a good idea as we willed time to interpret our results.   I would prefer that  we do this without the Anaconda men looking  over our shoulders.  Nothing against them but interpreting survey results is a very tricky thing best done in isolation.  So we changed our site quickly…surreptitiously  Found a small gravel pit lake about 10 miles from present location and  made our move tonight\u2026long tough job involving two trips with truck\u2026Tent(s) taken down and one pitched in the dark.  Supper at gas station run by Finnish couple.  Hooked up stove and then sacked out.This is the 24th of May \u2026 big time holiday in Canada but no holiday for us.  The little devilish black flies air not on holiday it seems from the blood specks on my body.”<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n
\t\t\t\"page12image1017454416\" \t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n


<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
Even though the campsite was cold an miserable in tho first few weeks, Bill Gilbey and<\/div>\n
David Murphy enjoyed cool bottles of Red Cap Ale.  Alcohol was  not common in our<\/div>\n
camp.  This was  a celebration after the tents had been erected.  No cots arrived so  <\/div>\n
we were sleeping on the ground and needed  something to sooth our acing backs\u2026hence<\/div>\n
the  Red  Cap  ale.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n
\n
\n

WHAT IS KNOWN ABOUT THE ANOMALY?  ANY  EVIDENCE OF COPPER?<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHas anyone searched for copper around here before us?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLots of people as far back as the 1920\u2019s.  Geologists knew  there was something here\u2026magnetic\u2026likely copper. By the 1940\u2019s thje presence of magnetite<\/div>\n
and chalcopyrite was confirmed in various places. Prospector  dug trenches down to the bedrock, bigger outfits used diamond drills to get deep  core samples,<\/div>\n
mineral samples were tested.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWas there enough copper to make a mine pay for itself?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThat remains  the big question.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat will happen to our magnetometer results?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDiamond drills will be  here fast if your guys confirm sites for them.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\"page14image987454800\" \t\t\t\"page14image987455072\"<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/div>\n
Saturday  May 25, 1963:  Up early\u2026hard to sleep on ground, wish cots would arrive.  Straightend up camp\u2026our little lake looks nice, really small but deep and clear.  Got some lumber to build tables, racks, maybe a bit of a dock to make it easier to dip water\u2026Drove to job site\u2026did lines 104 South to o-4000 East then 112 South to 0-4000 East.  Checked with linecutters.  Strange thing about working in the bush is that we rarely see other human beings\u2026line cutters are ghosts.  Hot and dry day.  Forests getting tinder dry\u2026must be very careful.  Lucky no one smokes. Back in camp sent letter to Barrie Nichols at Hunting Tech and Exploration Services.  No gear yet.  So will buy what we need in Marathon. Phoned Barrie\u2014all clear to buy what we need. Put up our cook tent and began construction of kitchen cupboards (really just shelves).  Lousy meal cooked by Bill Gilbey\u2026guess he has a cook and maids back in England.  Bill now realising that dirt is part of bush life\u2026\u201dBlimey, I\u2019m going to have a wash!\u201d  Lake water cold as ice. but Bill dove in.  Warm in our tent though. Candlelight but no wine.  Tomorrow the bush  again\u2026routine begins.  Squirrels are mating as are the partridge. Phoned Marjorie from town\u2026nice to hear her voice\u2026always upbeat.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Sunday  May 26, 1963: \u201cBreakfast smells good..  French toast, bacon, juice, coffee, porridge, milk.  David Murphy and I headed into the bush for the day doing lines 144 and 152, East and West, then 160 West.  No water at all\u2026frozen.  Ate snow for lunch\u2026lots of that still around.  Evening supper a failure.  Weiners were mouldy but we ate them all the same.  Plotted our results on graph paper.  \u201cIt\u2019s getting chilly around my legs and back\u2026how about some linoleum for the floor\u2026or even a carpet.\u201d comment by Bill Gilbey who was beginning to understand the limitations of bush life.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Monday May 27, 1963: Bill Gilbey keeps us laughing.  \u201cWe\u2019re in pretty bad shape when we have to find our pornography in Eaton\u2019s catalogue.\u201d   He was flipping the pages, \u201cStockings, eh, must be shoes next\u2026heading for the lingerie!\u201d The night was dreadful.  Wind destroyed the cook tent\u2026kept Bill and I up all night.  The stove overturned but no fire started. Late start. Did lines160 and 168 East, 168 and 192 West.  Bill Gilbey is going to work out fine. David Murphy cooked breakfast.  Really hard walking the bush spongy swamp and  then dense stands  of tag alder.  Movement difficult until  we reached  a rock shelf 1500 feet above the shore of Lake Superior.  Stunning view of the vastness of  Lake Superior.  Human presence was totally absent\u2026as if time rolled back a thousand years. Somewhere out there are the Slate islands where a meteor hit the earth in ancient times. A whole bunch of meteors<\/div>\n
hit back then with devastating results.   Drove to Marathon in evening and bought box of beer. Nice to get Mail from Marjorie.  Gear finally arrived.  Built table for cook tent.  Evening storm expected\u2026tent billowing dangerously.  Bill Gilbey getting serious about Eaton\u2019s catalogue.  Tore out pin up girls in female underwear.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n
                                Inside our cook  tent at the Marathon Camp.  I got very handy at building kitchen  cupboards  on our campsites.   Unfortuanntley this<\/div>\n
                                cupboard contaiined a lot of food  that a roving bear would find tasty.  If you were a bear what would  you want from our larder.<\/div>\n
                                A  real bear eventually showed up and  helped himself.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
 The flies do not seem to mind the smell of the place. Flesh sucking bastards even seem hungrier.  So stoked up with fly sprays and creams.  Chose a campsite a few miles outside town beside a little lake where gravel had been scooped out for the Trans Canada Highway. cleared brush and erected first tent, then dug a latrine downwind from the tent a short distance away since using a latrine… always a challenge for the bugs loved a stationary body\u2026easier to draw blood.   In addition Latrines offer more exposed flesh as well.  Need a windy spot with some shelter.  Not such a easy task. Then we dug a meat hole in which we planted a new galvanised garbage can\u2026a substitute for a refrigerator.  We will have to use our noses to check the meat occasionally.  Hard to do because of the goddamn H2S in the air.   Cooked supper \u2014 minute steak, rice, mushroom, carrots, peaches and cookies topped off with best coffee I have every boiled (which is not really saying much) . Washed dishes and then crawled into sleeping bags by candlelight.  No cots yet so slept on the ground.   Bill and David hookef up our radio antennae.  Log jam in the river below.  Looks like cold cold nights.  Snow still on the ground in patches.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
LAKE SUPERIOR<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n


<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\u201cThird largest freshwater lake in the world by volume\u2026the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area.  The Ojibwe people were aware of this, naming it’ Ojibwe Gichigami\u2019 \u2026Ojibwe\u2019 Great Sea.  Great indeed.  The Lake covers 31,700 square miles ( 82,103 square kilometres).  Average depth is 483 feet\u2026enough water to cover North and South America to depth of one foot.  Big\u2026gigantic.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Geologically the north shore of Lake Superior dates back to the origin of our planet.  The North Shore exposes the ancient granite rock. called the Canadian Shield.  540 million years ago the churning magma from the earth\u2019s interior forced its way to the surface bringing with it valuable minerals such as Copper, Iron, silver, gold and Nickel.  Hence the interest in mining exploration in tis part of Northern Ontario.   The mountains born of this volcanic past have been eroded down to the smooth hard surface common to Lake Superior shoreline.   Ten thousand years ago during the Wisconsin glaciation ice covered the area to a depth of 1.25 miles (2 km).  I always find that fact hard to believe\u2026ice over 2 km thick towering above wherever I stand in Ontario.  Mountains ground down and made as smooth as a baby\u2019s bum.  And then, incredibly, the surface of the earth was split creating some of the deepest rifts in the world.  It  is these rifts that have filled with the melted glacier water.   More lava pushed its way up to the surface melting its way through the sedimentary layers left by the ground up mountains\u2026.called diabase sills.  Cavities filled with amethyst in some place\u2026semi-precious stone.  When the ice melted in a period of global warming ten thousand years ago, the rift valley filled with water and the land rose once the weight of ice was removed.  A Gap in the rock at Sault Ste. Marie stabilized the lake surface.   This rock was Important to my employers in the summer of 1963 because along with the magma came lots of minerals located in pockets all along the north shore of Lake Superior.  The job was to find those pockets and then get a diamond drill in to confirm the presence of copper. <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
When the ice melted, the Plano people moved north with their stone tipped spears to hunt and kill caribou along the shores of the great lake, then even greater than it is today..  They are A mysterious people of whom little is known.  Then came the Shield Archaic people (5,000 to 500 BC) who used bows and arrows, made dugout canoes, traded with other peoples to the south.  Significantly they were miners\u2026first miners of the region\u2026converting raw copper into tools and weapons.  Direct descendent of the current Ojibwe and Cree.  From 500 BC to 500 AD the Laurel people were making fish nets on the Pic River where we were about to do our search for mineral wealth.<\/div>\n
Other aboriginal people arrived with snow does, birch bark canoes and domed lodges.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The people First Nations people  lived nearby  Herons Bay and call themselves the Anishinaabe, also called Ojibwe or Chippewa.  They became the dominant people of \u2018Great Sea\u2019 forcing others to flee south and west and east  \t<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
          \u201cYOU ARE COMMON, ALAN, VERY COMMON.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n


<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
That comment was the closest I ever got to British upper class \u2018holier than thou\u2019 put downs.<\/div>\n
Common?  What did that mean?  Seems to infer some kind of inferior status.  Common as opposed to \u2018special\u2019.  The division of people into upper class and lower class.  Obviously I was put in the later category.  <\/div>\n
This happened long ago when I was sitting around a campfire with a bunch of older Boy Scouts, most of whom I knew well.  One scout was new. a visitor to Canada.  He was very British as he spoke with a kind of nasal huff and puff voice.  I did not make fun of him.  I hardly knew him but for some reason he took a deep dislike of me.  Then, out of the blue, he called me a \u2018commoner\u2019 thereby placing him in some kind of elevated class.  What should i do?  Fist fight?  No.  I am not a fighter for I learned long ago that people get hurt fighting.  As a little boy I watched gang fights in Dufferin Park where lead pipes and broken bottles were weapons of choice.  Then I fell on one of those beer bottle shard weapons and still have the leg scars to remind me that violence should be avoided wherever possible.   What should I do?  Fire back some kind of return comment like \u2018Fuck you\u2026you mealy mouthed so of a bitch!\u201d  I had picked up these words mostly from my Dad\u2019s advanced lectures in the fine use of language..  What to do?   I did nothing.  Just looked at him with steely eyes.  But I never forgot.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Then here I was, years later, working with Bill Gilbey, another Brit.  Did he have the same attitude towards colonials\u2026the same view that those born without a silver spoon in their mouths were Commoners.  My grandfather had left England in 1908 to get away from the class system.  \u201cGot sick and tired of tipping my cap to the gentry at Eywood.\u201d  (* footnote 1) Seemed that the The Gilbeys were member of the British upper class according to scuttlebutt at company HQ.  But All I really knew about Bill was that his family name was plastered on Gin bottles in Canadian liquor stores. Who were the Gilbeys?  Should I expect to be called a Commoner in our bush camp outside Marathon?  Could Bill take orders or just give them?  Were we heading for trouble?<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Nothing like that happened.  Bill was a most enjoyable guy to work with\u2026he revelled in hard work, cursed the blood sucking flies like the rest of us and, most important, had a wonderful sense of humour.  Best remembered was his comment while leafing through Eaton\u2019s catalogue. \u201cSo it has come to this, boys, we are turning to Eaton\u2019s catalogue for our pornography\u201d as he gazed at the advertisements for brassieres and girdles.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The Gilbeys are baronets?  Members of the aristocracy.  Well, not quite.  A baronet is not a member of the \u2018peerage\u2019 who are the real blue bloods of the class system.  Baronets come from the great unwashed masses called Commoners.  Elevated if you please.  Walter Gilbey, in 1893, was designated a baronet for one of three reasons.  First, his success in the manufacture and distribution of gin, wine and other hard liquor.  Two, he was a great admirer of horses and wrote many books on the subject of shire horses.  Three, he made jam.  Jam?  he demonstrated that<\/div>\n
English estates could grow fruit crops that could be boiled down into damn good jam.  Part of his 900 acre estate was devoted to the jam business.  So he became a baronet either by being recognised as a great businessman or by buying is way into the class\u2026maybe a bit of both.<\/div>\n
Before that election the Gilbeys had a stagecoach business.  That ended with the railway boom.<\/div>\n
\u201cMaybe we could make money selling cheap wine from South Africa\u2026try to ween locals away from beer.\u201d  They never looked back.  In no time the Gilbeys had 20,000 customers.  Gin making followed.  Success breeds success.  Every time I see friends ordering a glass of red wine instead of a pint of beer, I think of Walter Gilbey.  Most of my friends are Commoners.  Most still drink beer.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The British class system.  The Royals and Peers all belong to the authentic upper class.  They have names for themselves in a fixed order.  A Duke is the highest\u2026then<\/div>\n
Earl, Marquess, Viscount, Baron.  In 1996 there were 1198 peers qualified to sit in Briths House of Lords.  No, I do not know if there enough seats for them all.  Some peers had multiple titles.<\/div>\n
Up until 1963, the year Bill joined me in Canada, there were a few women peers but none were allowed to sit in the House of Lords.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
As mentioned the Gilbeys are Baronets which mean they are not peers\u2026not qualified to sit in the House of Lords.  So just what is a baronet?  A person who has bought or been given a \u2018courtesy title\u2019 that allows them be called \u2018Sir\u2019 or \u201cLady\u201d but never \u201cMy Lord\u201d.   <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Bill Gilbey never once made mention of this so none of us called him Sir.  I think he would have been  offended if we dared do so.  Bill was a commoner just like the rest of us\u2026no better, no worse.  Industrial and marketing skills in the business of making Gin.  Gilbeys Gin can still be found in liquor stores although no Gilbey now involved.  Bill\u2019;s grandfather became a baronet in 1897.  Before that they ran horse driven taxis, a business rendered unprofitable once the iron horses\u2026the railways\u2026criss crossed England.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
BLIPS AND STRAIGHT LINES: <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Our job was not very sophisticated.  We tried to find blips\u2026spikes\u2026anomalies.  We walked up and down straight lines that were cut by linecutters at right angles to a base line that could be a couple of miles long.  As I walked on the line, I stopped at every hundred feet and took a reading<\/div>\n
with various geophysical instruments.  Some readings were visual\u2026sone readings were auditory depending the machine.  All readings had numbers which I wrote down in my Field Notebook.<\/div>\n
When I rented to camp these readings were plotted on graph paper\u2026sometimes I did this but most of the time a better qualified geophysicist did the plotting.  We were looking for blips\u2026for anomalies that diverted from normal background numbers.  These blips cold indicate the presence of conducting mineralization deep below the ground.  No one really knew what the blip<\/div>\n
represented until a diamond drill crew was assigned to the blip.  Diamond drills extricated long drill core\u2026a long piece of cylindrical rock that penetrated the blip.  With luck\u2026whit rare luck\u2026there would be lots of chaco pyrite in the drill core\u2026lots of copper,ore which is a fine conductor of electric or has high magnetic qualities.   Audio Frequency Magnetometers and Electrical resistivity instruments gave the readings.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The earth is a strange and wonderful piece of rock on the surface but underneath is a molten core that sloshed around and sometimes spews out molten rock from cracks in the earths surface.  This sloshing beneath the earths crust creates the earth\u2019s magnetic field.  Invisible but necessary for all life and living things on the earth.  Without the magnetic field our atmosphere would be stripped away as has happened on Mars.  The sun is both a source of light and life but also a source of solar wind.  Solar wind, if unchecked, would destroy our atmosphere.  That does not happen because out magnetic field extends far into space and deflects most of the solar wind like a car windshield deflects air and rain and snow on the highway.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
What creates this magnetic field?  Sloshing around of the molten core of the earth I think.  The Heavy iron core of the earth is sold. The next inner layer is molten lava.  The sloshing of this material aided by the earth\u2019 rotation creates  dynamo effect\u2026an electric magnetic field.North pole and south pole \u2026 one positive, one negative.  magnetic pole are somewhat different from the geographic poles.  Magnetic pole move around but that takes thousands of years to do so.  Apparently the poles have even reversed over time which allows <\/div>\n
paleomagnetic archeologists to date rock strata.  Confusing?  You bet.  Much remains mysterious.   Is the magnetosphere around the earth weakening.  Is the movement of the poles accelerating?  The North Pole moved 40 kilometres eastward in 2003.  What does this mean?<\/div>\n
Will more cosmic radiation from outer space reach earth and cause havoc for us?  Will more particles in the solar wind also reach earth.  Both of these could strip our atmosphere.  That does not sound good, does it?   But who really knows.?  Not me.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Where did I come in?  How come I found blips?  What could these blips mean?  Well, geophysicists believe some of these blips\u2026they called them anomalies\u2026could indicate pockets of valuable mineralization in the earths crust … could be confirmed by diamond drill cores.<\/div>\n
And \u2018bingo\u2019, a mine!  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Mystery remains.  An Invisible Electromagnetic force blankets the earth and extends far into space  The core of our earth is a dynamo of heavy metal at the centre and molten magma covered by a thin crust on top     Our oxygen is provided by the plants that coexist with us as long as we can get sunlight.  Sunlight can be lethal if al the solar radiation hits the earth.  Lucky for us the earths magnetic field deflects much of the solar radiation.  And our magnetic field also deflects the potentiallly lethal cosmic rays that come form deep space.  Geophysicists understand these relationships.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The earth is not one homogenous entity.   Lots of materials can be found in the earths crust\u2026like copper, gold, silver\u2026and iron.   The crust of the earth is a giant stew.   Our job was to find the best parts of the stew using distortions in the earth magnetic field.  What do you like in stew? Carrots? Beef? Onions?  Well my job was to find copper deposits (chalcopyrite).<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
METEOR IMPACT<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cNot too far out there in the lake are a bunch of small islands.<\/div>\n
\u201cSo what?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cUnusual islands.  About 450 million years  ago a bunch of large meteors peppered north America.  The meteor that hit Lake Superior created a crater that was 20 miles  in diameter (32 km).\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cMeteors  create holes in the earth, not islands\u2026are you sure a big meteor hit out there?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cyes,  The impact crater has been eroded away for the most part.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cShouldn\u2019t there be a big hole?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cMeteor impact blasts rock with terrific force.   Takes weight off and that triggers  uplift in the centre.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYou said something about a bunch of  meteors, not just one meteor.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cYes, a bunch of them hit the earth\u2026Slate islands, Iowa, Oklahoma and  Wisconsin\u2026impact craters remain.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHow come we can  see the craters on the moon but cannot see many on the earth.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cerosion, volcanoes, forests, oceans, plate tectonics\u2026our  earth hides things.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHow do you know  the meteor hit 450 million years  ago?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cI  don\u2019t know for sure\u2026some geologists think the impact was even older\u2026say  800 million years  ago.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAny evidence?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cShatter cones\u2026\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cShatter cones?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cRare things  created by high velocity shock waves  when meteors hit the earth.  The Slate islands  display one of the largest shatter cones in the world.<\/div>\n
Proof a  big meteor hit here.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cJust for curiosities  sake, how old are the regular rock under Lake Superior?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAbout 2.7 billion years  old\u2026some of the most ancient rock  on earth.”<\/div>\n
\u201cHow old is the earth anyway?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAbout 4.5 billion years old.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cIs the Slate Island meteor strike important?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cIt is one of the top 25 impact craters  in the world.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cCan Igoand see it?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNot likely\u2026few people ever visit the Slate islands\u2026that\u2019s why the government airlifted a bunch of Woodland Caribou to live there\u2026few people and no wolves.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
METEOR ARMAGEDDON: <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n
P.S.  THE FIVE MASS EXTINCTIONS ON PLANET EARTH<\/div>\n
1) End of Ordovician period   444 million years ago  \u2014 86% of living things lost<\/div>\n
2) Late Devonian,  375 million years ago \u2014  75% of living things lost<\/div>\n
     \u2014including Trilobites and other maritime life found in Mississauga fossils<\/div>\n
3) End Permian period,  251 million years ago  \u2014 96% of  living things lost <\/div>\n
    \u2014worst of the mass extinctions<\/div>\n
4) End  Triassic period,  200 million year ago  \u2014 80% of living things lost<\/div>\n
5) End Cretaceous period ,  66 million years ago  \u2014 76% of living things lost<\/div>\n
    \u2014includes the Dinosaurs and the Ammonites<\/div>\n
    \u2014some mammals survived \u2014 from which we have evolved<\/div>\n
6) Sixth Extinction \u2026 Is it underway?<\/div>\n
    \u2014global warming is suspected in most of the mass extinctions 
<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Does  a doomsday in the past mean we will face a  doomsday  in the present.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
  ‘It ain\u2019t necessarily so\u2019. as  the song says.  About 90% of the asteroids that could threaten<\/div>\n
the earth in the next hundred years have been identified.   Could an asteroid heading our way  be deflected or exploded?   There was  a Hollywood film that a team of suicidal astronaughts<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

      landing on an asteroid for an earth impact.  In the movie the astronauts planned to drill into the asteroid and bury a nuclear bomb.  Well, that is fantasy.  Could  be done but NASA and other space<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
scientists  suggest an easier way.  Simply have an unmanned rocket push the asteroid a few centimetres  off  course.   It will take a century or more to read earth and by that<\/div>\n
time will be on a near miss or  complete miss trajectory.  Yes,  Virginia, we can  protect ourselves<\/div>\n
Tuesday May 28, 1963<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n
Bedrock at Neys Provincial  Park\u2026a  few miles offshore are the Slate Islands  where a  large meteor struck the earth some 480 million years ago.<\/div>\n
The bedrock in the foreground of the photographed is  about 2.7 billion years old\u2026yes \u2018billion\u2019 years old.<\/div>\n
TASK:  Use your imagination. A huge meteor is about to strike Lake Superior straight ahead o you.  The sky is alight then comes impact.  Now imagine<\/div>\n
that sky after impact\u2026.!!!  Why is the earth not pock marked with impact craters like the moon?  Answer: covered by lava, greenery, water, movement of tectonic plates\u2026perhaps.<\/div>\n
 How many of the five mass extinctions on earth were caused by meteors?  How many were caused  by rips in the earth\u2019s mantle and outpouring of huge\u2026immense\u2026flows <\/div>\n
of lava?  How many cannot be explained?  Are we in the midst of the sixth extinction as scientists say?   Geophysical prospecting makes a person  think.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Tuesday, May 28, 1963:  Cold and overcast. Set out early for the bush and did lines 192 and 184 East, 184 and 176 West.  Had David Murphy operating the instrument in afternoon.  Emerged on shore of Lake Superior. Stunning.  Like that Group of Seven painting of bare rounded rocks and infinity of steel grey water.  Gathered driftwood for big fire and made billy can of hot tea.  Billy can is a fruit juice tin with a wire top handle. Must have got that name from drifters in the Great Depression.  Who  was \u2018Billy\u201d?  No idea.  Tea is easy to make.  If we have no tea we can use the Labrador Tea leaves\u2026a plant with conical leaves that are fuzzy underneath.  David and I discussed the Irish problem\u2026what a mess.  We agreed.  Bill Gilbey prepared a fine supper for us after we got the stove back in working order.  Shaved and then we drove into town to see Steinbeck\u2019s \u201cWayward Bus\u201d in film form.  Had ice cream at Marathon\u2019s only restaurant.  The stink of the cardboard making plant took some joy away from the ice cream. Tomorrow I\u2019ll do the plotting (looking for blips).  Pope John is in bad shape.   Bill Gilbey announced that \u201cI can\u2019t stand history\u2026dreadful things have happened, best not to read about them.\u201d Odd comment.  We are getting used to his odd comments.  Hilarious  to see him flipping through the women\u2019s underwear section of Eaton\u2019s catalogue. \u201cLook at this boys\u2026a winner for sure but no phone number.”<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n


<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/div>\n
Wed. May 29, 1963: Delightful rain in morning.  We could all sleep in.  Cooked grub late in morning. Drove to Marathon.  Expense check arrived and a letter form Bill Dunn.  We had worked together in the Yukon where he nearly got knifed by a native girl hw was screwing.  Bill was quite a character.  Some age as me.  Ended up in the Yukon when his friends got him drunk and put him on a plane to Whitehorse the day before his wedding.  He never Looked back. I am not sure if I told Marjorie that story.  She might think the same tragedy could happened.  Not a chance that.  Bill Dunn was enjoyable and loyal in spite of that \u2018left her at the alter\u2019 event.  Maybe the girl was lucky for he was not the marrying kind.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
My brother Eric graduated from U. of T.  Looks  like we will both be history teachers.  Who could  have predicted that three years ago?   In afternoon I plottred our survey results while Daving and Bill did line 176 East.  Rain lasted until 2 p.m. Steak for supper then visited our client Al Boerner (Anaconda Corporation) in the evening.  He was nice.  We went to the Northern Bar and had pleasant discussion over three beers.  Drunken native Canadians also present. Sad.  One passed out with his eyes and his fly wide open.  Not really funny.  The natives are really nice people when sober and super friendly when  drunk.  I like them.  Drive back to camp where boys were waiting up.  I still have not had time to put my bed together so another night on the ground. Gilbey spoke again: \u201cgosh they make camping look nice\u2026if they only knew what really happens.  Like our tent falling down three times in one night. Sleeping on ground with rock for a pillow. Camping can be torture.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/div>\n
                    <\/div>\n
                     Our line cutters  sometimes  did a terrific  job as in the picture above. They clear cut straight lines  for us and then set out pickets<\/div>\n
                     every hundred  feet.  We walked  these lines  and took reading at each  picket.  Sounds  simple.   But most lines were not like tis<\/div>\n
                    sometimes  they were just marked by blazes on the trees and  then tag alder pickets rammed  into the ground at the reqired inervals.<\/div>\n
                    And  sometimes  the lines ended  abruptly in a steep cliff or a small  lake.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Thursday May 30, 1963: I did not want to get out of bed this morning but did so once breakfast was ready. Bill Gilbey and I went to the property and did lines 144 East and West, then 136 East, 136 West, 128 West.  Very rough going\u2026exhausting.  Kettles (small swamps) all over the East sections. Lots of moose sign.  Puts me in mind of swamps my first year in this business when I  was so thirsty I lay  down and sucked water from a mossy puddle. Closed my eyes.  Water tasted wonderful.  When I opened  my eyes I was startled.  The bottom of the puddle was  full of moose shit\u2026great conical turds.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Put up the 10 x 12 tent,  Got permit for entry into bush from Lands and Forests.  Fire danger is  severe so forests are closed to most people. Wished I was in Toronto as this job has turned out to be very hard.  Al Boerner dropped by in the evening.  We discussed the project.  Very tricky for me as I am not a geophysicist.  Neither was Boehner though so we both looked for blips thinking that might mean something. Coffee and small talk.  i guess when all thing are considered our camp is the best possible \u2018of all possible worlds\u2019 as  Voltaire said in his book Candide.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Friday M May 31, 1963:  Spent day drafting and processing our raw results, contouring.  Hot day with rain in evening.  Boys did lines 128 and 120 East.  Did my washing.  Had canned goods supper after a very poor breakfast.  Spent evening writing letters, making my new bed of canvas and a wire contraption, reading The Reason Why plus The Atlantic Magazine. The wood stove keeps us pretty snug now. Al Boehner drove me to Heron Bay at noon.  Expect Brimley on Sunday.  Pope John died this evening which could be the end of the Ecumenical Council. \u201cThat\u2019s drag and a half,\u201d said Bill Gilbey who is R.C.  Unsure of his meaning. Expect the Catholic Church will swing to the right now Pope John  is gone.  I think that is  what Bill meant.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Saturday, June 1, 1963: Guess  what ? Pope still alive but failing.  Murphy and Gilbey did lines 104 and 112 East, then 96 and 88 East.  Spend day contouring result of Block 2.  Drove to Marathon for more grub.  Windy\u2026really windy.  Stinks as usual.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Sunday, June 2, 1963:  Murphy and I did lines 80 and 72 East.  Very hard going.  Steep in places so very hard to move with equipment.  Found many game trails.  Never see the animals but they may be watching us.  Lots of trails weave through forest. Went for a swim in our little lake\u2026cold and bracing.  Saw Music Man in evening.  Thick fog on route home. Found a lizard part way up our tent wall.  Finished reading The Reason Why.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Monday June 3, 1963: Worms in the bacon but we ate it anyway.  Poured boiling water over the rest of the bacon.  That should kill the grubs.  Had lizard, small little thing \u2014 smaller than a crocodile, in my sleeping bag last night\u2026not quite as large as a crocodile.  Disconcerting though,  David Murphy and I did lines 104 and 112 East.   Phoned Barrie Nicholls from town.  Disposed of truck at cost of $187.50.  Wrote Barrie and sent him our field notes and expense reports ($227.16 and $235.79)  Eric’s graduation sounds exciting.  Marjorie is going to wedding shower on June 7 which sounds interesting.  Marriage date getting closer, August 24. Barrie sent word that I was to go to Calgary  Thursday and Friday by train.Bill Scott is to relieve me at this end of the project.  Our client, Mr. Brimley, dropped by in the evening.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Tuesday June 4, 1963:  Gilbey and Murphy did lines 64,56 East, 56 West, 64 West, 72 West, 80 West.  Sketch contoured Blocks 2 and 3.  Dug a new latrine.  Heat was ferocious. We all Swam in our little lake when boys got back to camp.  Reading Animal Farm by George Orwell.  Wrote out field reports.   Took evening stroll to the Husky Gas Station down the highway for ice cream.  Police stopped to question us\u2026wondered why we were on foot on the highway.  We are eating well but still think I have lost a full inch roundly waste.  Read an article by Loren Wisely in The Atlantic magazine.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Wed. June 5, 1963: Bad day\u2026really bad day.  Did lines 48 East, 64 East, 48 West, 56 West, 72 West, 80 West.  Then we made the discovery that David Murphy\u2019s pocket knife was affecting the magnetometer by 180 to 280 gammas.  Sinking feeling.  Started to re-do all the lines.  worked late.  Returned to camp for a nervous supper.  I have been trusted to do this job and only hope that $%$^& pocket knife did  not make me a less trustworthy.  Worked on profiles until late in the night.  Manage to distract myself by Considering Tobago for our honeymoon provided I have enough money. All the money I will have earned in three months could be gone in a few days.  I wonder how other couples pay for their honeymoons? Terrific storm at night lit up the night sky.  These storms have an effect on the magnetic field I think. Torrential rain.  Could not sleep.  Lucky we have fly tarpaulins over the tents.  Cook tent wet though. Living in tents during storms is not pleasant as Bill Gilbey noted.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

           Seeing wild animals is rare.  They hears us coming and get out of the way.<\/div>\n
           This moose could easily fade into the forest cover and not be seen even if<\/div>\n
           only 40 or 50 feet away.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
  The earth is not flat.  When our straight lines<\/div>\n
meet a cliff face like this and a then a river below\u2026.taking reading  is  impossible.   <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/div>\n
\"\"<\/div>\n


<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Header<\/h2>\n
\n

Head<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

In 1924, Lawren Harris  led the famous Group of Seven  painters to the North Shore of Lake Superior where Harris<\/p><\/div>\n

painted \u201cPic Island\u201d an launched the painters  in a direction of images that stressed  the sometimes  hostile landscapes<\/div>\n
of the Canadian wilderness.  The Pic River was part of our survey area but we were unaware of the significance<\/div>\n
of Pic Island to the history of Canadian  art.  We were aware, however, that a few miles west of Marathon there had  been a huge prisoner of war camp <\/div>\n
during World  War II where high risk Nazis were imprisoned.   <\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n


<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Thursday, June 6, 1963: Got up at 5a.m. and looked over field notes\u2026still worried about David\u2019s knife affecting readings.  Will re trace 96 and 88 East because readings seem odd.  Rain fell until 9 then Bill got up and cooked breakfast.  Did lines 96 East, 88 East and 72 East.  Pouring rain made everything wet, returned to camp with pants soaked and feet boiling in rubber boots. Rain water gets in through holes in the boots then body temperature heats up the  wet socks and the, end result is boiled feet with white pock marked skin that can be peeled. Not a nice experience but after 8 years of this I am accustomed to it. . Expecting Bill Scott to arrive and take over job.  Cannot find air interpretation photographs which we need  badly.   Our location is  pinpointed by aerial magnetometer readings.  Ground crews like us are sent to confirm any anomalies.  if confirmed then a diamond drill crew  is assembled at considerable cost.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
McCuaig\u2019s store in Marathon want payment for food on the tab. Reasonable request just hope I have enough cash on hand. Plotted and contoured until 8.30 p.m. when Brimley and Boehner dropped by.  The contours look very nice thank Heaven. I am Glad , however, our camps are separated by ten miles though.  Nice guys but do not want them breathing down my throat every day. Bill Gilbey got 6 leeches on his skin while swimming in our little lake which is just another  aggravation he has discovered in his camping experience. . Do not know what has happened to the I. P. crew (Induced Polarisation).  I need a shave.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
                  <\/div>\n
                 David  Murphy floating in our little lake.  The blood  sucking leeches do not seem to<\/div>\n
                 bother David but maybe he  does not know they a lurking there.  Bill Gilbey pulled<\/div>\n
                 six  from his body.  Salt makes  them drop off which  is  better idea.  When pulled<\/div>\n
                  off they inject some  kind  of anti-coagulant that prevents the blood  from clotting.<\/div>\n


<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Friday, June 7, 1963:  Rain in morning.  Got lift to town. Picked up mail and magazines then phoned Barrie.  I will not be going to Calgary which was depressing news as I would like to escape the #$%^%$ smell of H2S.  Must be making my spit acidic\u2026spit plus hydrogen sulphide equals sulphuric acid, does it not? Roger Watson and John Lloyd arrived late in the evening.  Discovered I will have to do some recalibrating.  Depressing.  Trying to do the best I can. Gilbey and Murphy did lines 16 East, 8 East\u2026very rough going\u2026rocky cliffs cannot be avoided as we have to do survey in straight lines for the grid.  Late evening discussion about the I.P. unit. Sounds very complicated.  I must find out what \u2018induced  polarization\u2019 is all about.  I assume  some  kind of  magnetism is involved.  No library around here to check.    This  Induced Polarization unit puts  me on a steep learning curve.  Marjorie sent word by letter that she might come for a visit.  That will be a shocker for her as life here is primitive to say the least.  But it would be fun. Maybe  we  will have to build a  male and female latrine.  Dr. Paterson once  told about a latrine  outside  a Chibougamau bar in Northern  Quebec.  Simple thing.   One long pole tied to two trees. half the pole had  been debarked\u2026that was the female washroom. The male half of the pole still have the bark shards  and pine gum which sticks  to the ass.   What does this say about men?  About women?<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
He claims the story is true.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n
So here is our crew  with  the Induced Polarization (I.P.) unit. This  is the base station unit… Much too large to carry.  Bill Gilbey,  David Murphy, Alan  Skeoch, Roger Nichols, John Lloyd.  We laid our cables  and set<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

        gournding rods  much like we  did with The Tram system.  Geophysical  prospecting is 50% science and  50% hard  slogging in places few people visit\u2026or want to visit.

<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Saturday, June 8, 1963: Up earlier this morning.  We laid out I.P. cables and set grounding rods. The I.P. has similarities to the Turam system which we used in Alaska and Southern ireland.  Not as intimidating as I expected. Did shopping in town later.  Steaks grilled over an open fire\u2026and a  box  of chocolate bars. Flies are terrible.  Got stuck on the bloody road.  Deep muddy ruts.  A  Passerby in a half ton truck gave me a beer though.  Nice.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Sunday June 9, 1963:  Day off.  Wrote letters, read Steinbeck.  Then, believe it or not, I began to do lesson plans since I start teaching history at Parkdale C.I. in September.  History teaching is best if mystery is injected\u2026who the hell wants  to listen to a teacher reading a text book.  Best to find some big questions that I cannot answer and  ask for help from students.  Trouble finding those big questions. Best of all today we spent long morning in bed.  Shot the bull with Roger and John who are a great addition to our crew.    John Lloyd cannot seem to shave himself without drawing blood.  I think he must use an electric razor normally.  “Guess what John? No electricity!\u201d  A pleasant day doing nothing remarkable.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Monday , June 10, 1963:  Bad storm late last night.  Tents are in chaos.  Bill Gilbey soaked in his bed\u2026amusing comments.  He revels in this rough life.  Spent day putting camp back together as the storm continued.  Did shopping in town\u2026another tinware stove needed.  Too cold to do much during the day.  Nearly suffocated in the evening as the stove started a fire after John Lloyd and I were asleep.  Terrifying to wake up choking\u2026thought it was fog in tent at first then realised the danger.  Our stoves are called Quebec  Heaters.  Very flimsy  things made of  tin\u2026can get red hot.  Worse thing is  they can fall over unless braced on a flat floor.  Finding a flat floor in the bush is not easy task.  Solution is to put the stove on a piece of plywood.  Guess  what?  Plywood  is flammable.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
                  <\/div>\n
                  Bill Gilbey assembling a Quebec Heater\u2026cheap and dangerous stove.  Fly net on Bill\u2019s head.  \u201cCamping can  be miserable”<\/div>\n


<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Tuesday, June 11, 1963: Rain continued all day so we got up late to make up for lost sleep after the fire.  Plotted the Magnetometer results.  Roger Nicholls arrived\u2026seems like a nice kid\u2026Barrie\u2019s son.  Bet both Roger and Bill Gilbey had some idea this was a summer camp.  Wet, cold, rotten food sometimes, legions of blood sucking insects, then slogging through virgin forests in search of some kind of rainbow.  Not what they expected I bet. Relieved to have mag results plotted just before client, Jack Corbett, arrived.  John Lloyd, a Welshman, is very comical so we have really rollicking bull shit sessions.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Wed. June 12, 1963:  Bright sunshine at last.  Got out to the property with the I.P. unit right away.  Murphy, Watson, Lloyd and I on the I.P., Gilbey and Nicholls tied in all the base stations and did line 64 West with the mag.  I feel quite exhilarated now that we seem to betting somewhere and the new crew makes the work less onerous.  Must remember that I am a student of history and hot a geophysicist\u2026just an instrument man\/chef\/camp foreman\/qwuartermaster.  That is enough.  Suppose I decided to make this  job permanent.  A permanent field man.  Travel the world and settle down for short periods in the most unlikely and  unpleasant places. Never got sick or should  illness strike just tough it out.  Get the $%^&&& results\u2026the readings.  Great while you’re young and healthy.  Agony when you\u2019re old  and sick.   I learned this lesson on my first job in the quebec wilderness where Dr. Wilson and  I had to portage a rowboat since nothing else was  available.  He told  me about a friend who died in the bush and had his body flown out.  I imagined a Cessna taking off with the side door open and the poor guys legs sticking out after rigorous mortis had set in.  Was  that imagination or did I actually see this?  Sometimes imagination and fact blur together.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
We laugh a lot on this job.  Bill still reading and re reading Eaton\u2019s catalogue and finding the lingerie section more and  more exciting.  \u201cLust,\u201d Alan, \u201cis a terrible thing.”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Thursday June 13, 1963:  Bad day.  I.P. unit not working properly.  Worry moisture has penetrated the console. Lost day of work.  Did manage to take Magnetometer out in the afternoon with John Lloyd\u2026Read line 2 West.  Gilbey and Nicholls also on base line .  Did shopping in town at new store called Shop Easy.  Nice letter form Marjorie describing her wedding shower.  I wonder what her friends  think of the guy she is  about to marry?  \u201cShe could  do better, don\u2019t you think?\u201d  Marjorie accepts things as they are.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/div>\n
Friday, June 14, 1963: Bill Gilbey and I tied in Base stations from 48 South to 144 North.  Very rough going.  Feet dead tired by 5.30.  Had more steaks cooked over open fire.  Millions of flies waiting for us at every tree, every swamp, every outcrop\u2026everywhere. In evening we did the calculations and discussed the project with Roger Watson.  Very tired.  David Murphy saw two bears, Bill Gilbey saw a moose, I saw a partridge.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Saturday June 15, 1963: Gilbey and Nicholls did lines 8 East and West, then 40 West.  Lines vary in length due to lakes  \u20261570 feet, 3700 feet, 1300 feet, 3600 feet.  Then did south section lines 0 West  1944 feet and 40 West at 3400 feet.  Skeoch did profiles for Blocks 1,2 and 3.  Murphy out with the I.P.,Unit.  Amused by Steinbeck\u2019s words, \u201c\u2026am incomparably, incredibly, overwhelmingly glad to be home. I\u2019ve never been so goddamn lonesome in my life.\u201d  I know  what Steinbeck means… Get that feeling now and then.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Sunday, June 16, 1963: Murphy and I on the I.P. unit.   also did profiles.  Gilbey\u2026loop lines 24 West, 24 East, 32 East, 56 west.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Monday, June 17, 1963: Double shift on I.P. 5 a.m. to 2 p.m. then Skeoch and Nicholls 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.  Did shopping in morning.  Stormy day.  Bad weather common up here.  Change of plans. I will be in charge of magnetometer work and Camp manager.  John Lloyd will take care of the I.P. unit. Machine does not seem  to be working right.  I am much relieved\u2026to much to do.. Enjoyed a late supper and then hit the sack. Stomach ache because I ate too many dill pickles today.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Tuesday, June 18, 1963:  Spent day potting field notes and cooking.  Wrote letters to Marorie, Mom and Uncle Frank.   Gilbey and Nicholls did lines N16 East three times, then N8 East.  All on other side of Three Finger Lake.  Rain in afternoon.   Saw Lolita in the evening, Weird.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Wednesday, June 19, 1963:  Gilbey and I did line N16 West.  Rain all day.  Hard to describe how difficult this kind of work can be when pouring rain\u2026.clothes soaked to the skin\u2026rain dripping off our noses.  Try to shield instrument from rain but we carry on.  Barrie Nicholls and Dennis Boyer arrived late in the day.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Thursday, June 20, 1963:  Drafting blocks 4 and 5 then Murphy, Gilbey and I did line o East (2,000 feet) .  Murphy, Lloyd, Watson and Boyer worked with the I.P. unit.  Roger Nichools very sick with Quinsy\u2026seems to be some kind of ulcerated throat, painful.  Infected throat with pus nodule close to the tonsils apparently.  Very dangerous in the past before Penicillan.   Luckily we had been cautioned about this problem and let Roger sit in camp when pain got really bad\u2026i.e. he could  not speak, painful just to open his mouth.  A very dangerous thing.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Poor kid.  \u201cIs Quinsy dangerous?\u201d  \u201cQuinsy is the medical  name for a type of abscess which develops on one or on both tonsils.  it is an  uncommon condition although it does  affect a small    number of people, usually  teenagers  and young adults and requires medical treatment.  Quinsy can endanger health and even life itself if  untreated.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Although in pain Roger tried to work.  Bill Gilbey and Roger did lines 48 West (3500 feet), 48 East (8600 feet), 56 East (8200 feet) 56 West (3600 feet)\u2026terrific. Roger Nicholls really ill\u2026throat so painful he cannot speak.  <\/div>\n
Roger should be home.  Bush work is unforgiving.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Routine now established\u2026one day follows another as we traversed the mining claim property with the  magnetometer and the I.P. unit. <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
  We tried to rotate the cooking tasks which worked fairly well although some of the fellows were better than others.  And we did wash our dishes.  All the same bush life is a dirty business. We try to minimize the fly problem but fail most of the time. Lots of flies in the bush but our camp had fewer problems with those little bastards because we had lots of wind. Wind, however, was a mixed blessing since it jeopardised our tents\u2026sometimes led to collapse.  And the wind made the campsite cold most of the time.   The wind blew in various directions naturally.  When the wind came from Marathon the stink was almost unbearable.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Wed. July 3, 1963:  Boyer and Gilbey fell from a cliff on 192 East.  They were OK but the Mag looks like it is broken. Workable maybe.  Sometimes I wonder which is more important\u2026the men or the magnetometer Now that is as awful thing to say but I worry that I could fall into that trap and  value the magnetometer above everything else.  Above life and  limb.  When the boys reported the fall, my first comment was  \u201cwhat about the magnetometer\u201d”<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n


<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
        <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
        Just imagine trying to walk in  a  straight line taking readings every 100 feet and then plotting them on a  grid that has the appearance of a flat surface.  Falling from cliff faces
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

                happened.   Usually the survey lines ended in places  like this.  No  point in trying to set pickets.<\/p><\/div>\n


<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Friday July 5, 1963: Boyer and Gilbey\u2026one of them fell on the magnetometer.  loosened things but seems to be all right..  I was working with the I.P. transmitter.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Saturday July 5 and Sunday July 7, 1963: We reclaimed the cable from Line N 40 East and West.  Then put down the I.P. cable in Block 6.  Entire crew needed.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Wed. July 10, 1963: Moved operations westward to the Pic River\u2026set up loop for base stations. Began I.P. on block 5 successfully.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Thursday, July 11 and July 12, 1963: Mag from Pic River to Little Pic River. Used Highway 17 from Pic River to the Little Pic River\u202626.5 miles \u2026<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
                  <\/div>\n
                  The Little Pic River was more  or less the  western  boundary of our investigation and the Pic River was the eastern boundary\u2026again more or less.  We  could access some of our survey lines by canoe.  The banks<\/div>\n
of both Little Pic  and  Pic  rivers seemed like untouched wilderness but that was an illusion especially  so on the Little Pic River which flows  into  Neys Provincial Park.  In world War II Neys was a <\/div>\n
Prisoner of War camp for hardened Nazis.   To  keep them  busy they were used to cut timber and  haul the logs to the river where they then floated down  to Lake Superior.   Mud of what we thought was<\/div>\n
virgin timber was really second  growth\u202620 year  old  trees.  This young forest was a lot denser than  an  ancient forest because the tree canopy had not been fully established. As a result there was heavy<\/div>\n
underbrush which made our job tough.   Linocutting  was a slow process\u2026normally line cutters do there work well ahead of any  geophysical crews.   On the Marathon job that was not the  case.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
                 <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
                  Early morning on the Little Pic River.   In the late 1940\u2019s Nazi POW\u2019s were escorted here to cut timber and<\/div>\n
                  then return to their prisoner barracks  at the mouth of the Little Pic River.  The camps  was the site of a major<\/div>\n
                 prison escape all of whom were  eventually recaptured.  Escapees were chewed night and  day by black flies,<\/div>\n
                 deer flies, moose flies, mosquitoes, perhaps even ground wasps.  Not pleasant.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Saturday July 13, 1963:  Caught up to linecutters on Blocks 8 and 9 \u2026 nothing we could do.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Sunday  July 14, 1963: No work.  A bear visited our camp this morning while we were all present.  Big black bear.  Seemed confident rather than  frightened.   I hope  he is just passing<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

through.  If not, then we are going to have trouble.
<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/div>\n
SAD STORY ABOUT OUR BEAR:<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
<\/div>\n
When the  bear arrived  we hoped  and prayed he or she  would not stick around.  Our food was somewhat protected but not enough so <\/div>\n
the bear found  camp life suited her or him just fine.  Not a good  state of affairs.  The bear reached for a hanging salami from outside<\/div>\n
the cook tent wall at the same time John Lloyd reached for the  same salami from inside wall.  Not sure if this was entirely true for it<\/div>\n
is a memory nearly 60 years old.  The presence of the bear was, however, definitely true.  And tragic in the end.<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
The black  bear arrived at our camp on Sunday July 14 about mid-morning… seemed non plussed by our presence which was a broad hint that he was not afraid of human beings\u2026in other words he found it easier to get food from us than to scavenge for blueberries.  At first the bear was a novelty\u2026like having a pet dog in camp.  That did not last long.  The bear reached for a salami<\/div>\n
hanging in our cook tent at the same time we were having supper one night.  He was outside… unknown to us.  We laughed about it but I was beginning the worry as it seemed my responsibility to ensure the camp was safe.  Somehow we  had  to discourage the bear.  This turned  out to be a very difficult task.  The result was tragic.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat can be done?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cMaybe he will wander away on his own.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNot bloody likely since we cannot hang our food high in any nearby tree.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cMaybe scare him off with a gun.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWe do not have a gun\u2026the company never sends crews into the bush with guns\u2026unwritten policy.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cBecause it is more likely we would shoot each other.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s crazy.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNot so crazy.  I worked on a job eight years ago in Chibougamau where the crew was rough and a lot ofnasty things happened.  Tensions between the survey crew  and  the linecutting crew were as taut as as a bow string. Linecutter crew hated our crew.  Linecutters were French.  they we\u2019re  overworked and underpaid.  Our Survey crew were mostly Anglos with two very hardened German Immigrants\u2026perhaps Hitler Youth survivors who had seen lots of violence.  To make matters worse our crew played  nasty tricks on each other.  Humiliation kind of tricks like shoving a sharpened pole up Dick Wilson\u2019s ass when  he at the latrine.  Dick stuttered badly.  When  he ran into our cook tent screaming and stuttering that \u201ca bbbbbbbear jjjjust ttttoook a sssssipe at my ass.\u201d everyone laughed.  This was not really funny. I was glad there were no guns on that job.\u201d<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n


<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\u201cSo what about the bear?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAny ideas?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhy don\u2019t we electrocute him\u2026not kill him, just give him a good shock.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWe have a motor generator\u2026might work.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNeed a plan.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cOK, we know the bear loves chocolate bars\u2026so a case of Oh Henry bars will be the bait.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s electrify the garbage can.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThe garbage can!\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cRight.\u201d<\/div>\n
(We had buried a galvanised garbage can deep in the ground and used it as a kind of refrigerator for meat and  spoilables.  Sort of worked although meat still did get mouldy and wormy if we kept it around  too long.)<\/div>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll hook the cable to the lid of the garbage can\u2026when the bear lifts  the lid he will complete the loop\u2026when he  lifts the lid we\u2019ll zap him\u2026should scare the shit out of him.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHow will we know he has lifted the lid?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ll park the truck facing the garbage can and watch for him\u2026then when he arrives we\u2019ll signal one of us to start the motor generator and just wait for the son of a bitch to lift the lid.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s not a son of a bitch\u2026I sort of like him.\u201d<\/div>\n
(So a bunch of us sat in the truck that night\u2026waiting and watching in the darkness)<\/div>\n
\u201cHere he comes. Pass the word\u2026start the generator.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s reaching for the lid\u2026Now\u2026NOW!\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cJesus, he got the box of chocolate bars so fast \u2026 we were too slow.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cMaybe the bear is smarter than we are\u2026\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cHow did he know the Oh Henry bars were there?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cSmell\u2026chocolate, bacon, bread, butter. blueberry jam\u2026lots of  nice smells.”<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n


<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n


<\/div>\n
       \u201cThis is getting serious\u2026the bear thinks he is part of our crew.  He  is always nearby.\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cWhat if he  attacks one of  us?\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cUnlikely according to what I have heard.\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cBut suppose one of us startles him\u2026he might attack.\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cTrue.\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cWhat should we do?\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cOne bit of advice is to play dead.  Curl up on the ground and protect your<\/div>\n
       vital organs\u2026hands  over  head, knees up to the gut.\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cAre you joking? Who the hell would do that?\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cIt has happened\u2026but takes lots of guts.\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cWhat else?\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cMake lots of noise.  Bears really do not want to be our friends\u2026noise will scare them off\u2026unless we startle one.\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cThen what?\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cStand your ground\u2026do not run.\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cWhy not?\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cA bear can outrun you\u2026by  running you act like you are afraid.\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cOf course  I  would be afraid\u2026I would run.\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cBear might come after you\u2026likely not but it is possible, especially if the bear is a female with cubs.  Meeting her puts you in big trouble.\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cStand  my ground!  Sounds stupid to me.\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cThat\u2019s the advice.  Stand your ground but do not stare at the bear\u2026eye contact communicates aggression.\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cWhat if  that curl up on the ground thing fails?\u201d<\/div>\n
      \u201cThen you will have to act.\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cDoing what?\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cYell, scream\u2026pick up rocks  and heave them at him or her\u2026grab a stick\u2026get aggressive\u2026maybe the bear will take off.\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cMaybe?\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cBest advice is to make lots of noise as you do your job\u2026bears  will just get out of the way\u2026you may never even see  one.\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cWhat about this bear\u2026he is getting super friendly\u2026super dangerous.\u201d<\/div>\n
      \u201cEasy enough for us to talk  about.   Hell of a lot different if we  meet a bear.\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cDone this work for 8 summers now and only had met a bear a couple of times.\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cOne I remember clearly.  I was hiking back  to our  base cap alone to get food from our stash.  I was scared.   Kept hearing branches breaking as  I walked.  I would  stop and  listen..no sound.<\/div>\n
       then walk again\u2026and stop again.  My  imagination got the best of me. I was terrified.  That night I slept alone in our base cam tent.  Full moon that night.  Lit up the canvas. Then a cloud slipped by<\/div>\n
       only it was not a cloud.  it was a  bear on the other side of the canvas just strolling by.  Smelling food.  I was petrified, trapped in my own sleeping bag.  I dared  not move\u2026dared not breathe. Then<\/div>\n
       the bear moved along and the moonlight lit the canvas.   Being alone in the bush is  not pleasant.  The mind plays  tricks.  That event happened years  ago.  Today I am not even sure there was<\/div>\n
       a bear on the other side of the canvas\u2026could  have been a  cloud\u2026could have been a  moose.   If  it was a bear i was in the curled  up fetal position  much like the advice given earlier.\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cBut our bear in this camp is getting way to friendly\u2026we have to do  something.<\/div>\n
       \u201cThere is a  solution but I hate to use it.\u201d<\/div>\n
       \u201cSolution?”<\/div>\n
       <\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Our electrified garbage  can  failed.  Our big plan was lots of fun setting up but the bear was faster than we were… got the bars before we could zap him.  Seemed like microseconds.  We decided just to get along with him\u2026tolerate his presence but not get too close to him.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Toleration did not work.  Deep in the wee hours of the night I got up and slipped out of our tent to take a leak.  Nothing remarkable about that.  Bright moonlight and no sign of the bear.  Danger was not from the bear.  Danger came from John Lloyd.  He awoke suddenly and saw my shadow coming back into the tent. He thought I was the bear and reached for his blazing axe as a defence.  Lucky he swore\u2026allowed me to swear back and he dropped the axe.  This bear business was getting dangerous.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
I still feel guilty about my next step but I felt responsible for the crew.  Some of the fellows did not feel the bear was dangerous.  We were getting too close to him.  He was getting too close to us.<\/div>\n
What to do?  Only one course of action seemed possible so I called in th local Lands and Forest ranger with his gun. <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cCould you just scare him away\u2026not shoot him?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNo.  Garbage bears like him become a nuisance and then they become dangerous.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDoes he have to be killed?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s why you called me.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat is the plan?”<\/div>\n
\u201cGet all the crew behind my rifle and we will wait for him to appear. Make sure no one<\/div>\n
is in front of the gun.  He will come as he seems to have done every day.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThere he is.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cQuiet\u2026until he is out in the open.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cCareful aim, want to get him with one shot\u2026easy, Easy, Easy\u2026NOW!\u201d<\/div>\n
And the Ranger fired\u2026the bear dropped to the ground\u2026mortally wounded  but not dead.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n


<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\u201cOH GOD, HE IS CRYING LIKE A BABY!\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cNot for long\u2026he\u2019s dying.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWhat do we do now?\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cDig a hole and bury him\u2026better still,  I\u2019ll send in a machine for the hole.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
None of us felt good about that day.  I felt really felt bad since it was my call.  The crying that bear still bothers me some nights.  Easy to justify, I suppose, especially if the bear had harmed one of the crew.  But he didn\u2019t do any damage except for the back of the cook tent wall reaching to get a salami ..  hardly worth the taking of a life, right?  So what if he ae 24 Jersey Milk chocolate bars wrapping and all? Save us a dentist  bill.<\/div>\n
. <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n
\n
\n
EXPLORATION HISTORY OF THE MARATHON SITE 1963 to 2017<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
  In 1963, Hunting Technical and Exploration Service\u2026later called Huntec\u2026was contracted  to Anaconda to systematically survey  the area looking for Diamond  Drill sites.  173 sites  were<\/div>\n
identified 10 miles north of Marathon at Two Duck  Lake and  diamond drilling   began.  Eventually 36,531 metres  of  drill core was extracted.  The presence of copper and other minerals was then confirmed in <\/div>\n
bands ranging from  4 metres to 100 metres thick .  Problem:  Anaconda suspended activity because<\/div>\n
the price of copper was too low  to justify setting up a  mine.  Then the site was sold to other companies\u2026Fleck in 1985, Geomaquae in 2000, Marathon PGM Corp. in 2003, then Stilwater in 2010. <\/div>\n
None of these ventures could justify a mine.  Stillwater came close planning a  mill that would hammer out 22,000 tonnes of ore per day for an estimated 11.5years with a work force of 400 people.<\/div>\n
the town of  Marathon would need to be expanded.  By 2010 the cardboard factory was no longer economic having consumed and ground up much of the surrounding softwood forest.<\/div>\n
 Not far away, southeast of Marathon, the huge Hemlo gold mine had been discovered a mine site established.  In 2017, Stillwater estimated there were (are) 730 million lbs. of copper beneath the ground<\/div>\n
of the Marathon site which would require the removal and crushing and  flotation extraction system  of  151.7 million tonnes  of  rock\u2026graded at 0.22% copper. Not enough for the mine to be <\/div>\n
profitable yet.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

NEW JOB:  QUICK SURVEY  OF THE TRIBAG MINE SITE<\/p><\/div>\n


<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Monday July 15, 1963:  Barrie Nicholls called and said I was to head for the Batchawana River on next Monday\u2026alone\u2026there would be a new crew waiting for me there.  Short Mag job for Tribag Copper Mine\u2026they want<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

                see how extensive are their reserves.  So far they have extracted 9,250,521 lbs of copper from 258,113 tonnes  of rock grading at 1.67% copper per tonne.
<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/div>\n
Monday, July 22, 1963: Left Marathon base camp in morning heading south for Sault Ste. Marie area.  Batchawana Bay has suddenly become a hot mining survey area.  The Tribag Mine already has 40 men underground getting something or other of value\u2026.copper? Silver?\u2026 Other mining companies were interested.  Our client  needed surface confirmation to pin point setting up Diamond Drilling rigs.  Or to sell mining stock to  the greedy<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
 It was a Long rather luxurious drive in summer sunshine so I took my time stopping for a swim a couple of times where a lake looked enticing.  Lots of summer traffic on Highway 17.  Driving even got dangerous as I felt sleepy.   Had to blink my eyes often\u2026dangerous so diving in nameless lakes and swamps helped to keep me awake.  Stopped at Wawa to buy Eskimo (Inuit) soapstone carvings for Marjorie and mom at the Hudson\u2019s Bay Store.  Distance  between  Marathon and Salt St e Marie is 255 miles \u2026should take about 5 hours teady driving but I will take my time\u2026.no rush as meeting with new clients  isn\u2019t until Tuesday July 23.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Arrived at Sault Ste. Marie and booked into Windsor Hotel for night then went to see ” The Longest Day.\u201d in local theatre.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Tuesday, July 23, 1963: Since I had  few hours to kill, I drove across border to the U.S. and did some shopping\u202612 paris socks, 10 pair underwear, pair of pants, a new shirt.  Prices lower.  Figured I better<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

                      have look more respectable as Marjorie was  planning to drive north to get me back  to Toronto around  August 15.
<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Then Met Dodds and Foster at CPR station and we drove back north to Bachawana Inn where our new client, Mr. Walker, was waiting.  Got instrument checked out and ready.  Took swim in the shallow Bachawana Bay\u2026waded out a long way before water gets deep. Lots of tourists and locals swimming.  But that did not prevent a tragedy…Big crowd gathered on the beach where a child had drowned.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Wed. July 24, 1963:  Dodds, Foster and I drove inland to our project site and set up camp.  Met Paul Marin who had already cut 10 miles of line, 4 of which were chained with 100\u2019 picket intervals.  Later in afternoon we swam in the Bachawana River waterfall\u2026smooth rocky waterfall that made body surfing easy\u2026about a 15 foot drop.   Incredibly beautiful and unspoiled waterfall almost hidden along the old mining road.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The Batchawana River tumbles its way to Lake Superior.  Beautiful to see. The rocks chutes<\/div>\n
have been worn down to nice smooth surface so we slid from pool to pool bare bottomed.<\/div>\n
Later I took Marjorie here and we  did the same\u2026only we wore bathing suits. Swimming<\/div>\n
here was a kind  of Paradise.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
RUINS OF THE TRIBAG COPPER MINE:  OPEN TO ALL ADVENTURERS<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/h2>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
The Tribag Copper Mine was in full production in 1963 with 80 miners blasting and crushing<\/div>\n
copper and silver bearing ore.  I never saw the mine since our survey job involved work on<\/div>\n
mining claims  some distant from the mine.  135 claims had been staked.  The site of<\/div>\n
the Tribag Mine is accessible to tourists today\u2026open shafts and ruined  buildings.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Look closely  Roof bolts  hang from the ceiling. Manyno longer provide support.  The more of these that loosen the more unstable<\/div>\n
the more dangerous  the ghost mine becomes.  <\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
TRIBAG COPPER PROSPECT PRODUCTION<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
The Tribag mine yielded 9,250,521 pounds of copper recovered  from 258,113 tonnes of ore.   Let me restate<\/div>\n
that in general terms.  Nearly 10 million pounds  of copper extricated from over five million pounds of  rock.<\/div>\n
Less than 2% copper\u202698% waste rock with a little silver.  When the mine closed it was estimated that<\/div>\n
689,522 tonnes of  ore remained underground but the percentage of copper was  1.67% which made it<\/div>\n
uneconomic.<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Thursday July 25, 1963: Perused the Magnetometer Survey drawn by Tribag Mine company in a year ago in 1962.  I guess we are here to confirm the results before diamond drill sites are chosen.<\/div>\n
We used both mags on Base Line 7000 and B.L. 7200\u20262400 feet and 1400 feet.  High  grade copper wire found  in 1959<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Then we did a loop on the New Senator Property\u2026lines 0, 12, 24.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Friday, July 26, 1963:  Full Day in bush\u2026<\/div>\n
lines<\/div>\n
0 North -2,650 feet<\/div>\n
0 South – 1500 feet<\/div>\n
4 North – 2600 feet<\/div>\n
4 South- 2600 feet<\/div>\n
8 South – 2700 feet<\/div>\n
12 South – 2700 feet<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Saturday, July 27, 1963:  We caught up to the linecutters today after finishing lines 12 North and 8 North (2600 and 2620 feet.  Good chance to check calibration of both mags on neutral ground at 25\u2019 intervals for 350 feet.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Sunday, July 28, 1963: Dodds, Foster and I did full day in bush<\/div>\n
Lines<\/div>\n
24 North -2400 feet<\/div>\n
24 South – 2400 feet<\/div>\n
28 North -2500 feet<\/div>\n
28 south – 2800 feet<\/div>\n
16 North – 2600 feet<\/div>\n
16 South – 2800 feet<\/div>\n
20 North – 2545 feet<\/div>\n
20 South – 2700 feet<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Monday, July 29, 1963: We caught up to the linecutters again.  Some lines were cut but not chained and picketed so no use doing any work with Mags.  In the afternoon we ran a loop on the Tribal Mine claims to check Altimeter Base stations using N3 as base.   <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

<\/div>\n

                 The Tribag mine operated  from 1965 to 1972.   The ruins of the mine attract adventure tourists  regularly.
<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/div>\n
Tuesday, July 30, 1963: Full day\u2026long day to finish survey<\/div>\n
Lines<\/div>\n
8 South – 1000 feet<\/div>\n
East 6 South – 1000 feet<\/div>\n
         7 South – 1000 feet<\/div>\n
         5 South-  1000 feet<\/div>\n
         4 South – 1000 feet<\/div>\n
         3 South – 1000 feet<\/div>\n
         2 South – 1000 feet<\/div>\n
         1 South-  1000 feet<\/div>\n
         0 South- 1000 feet<\/div>\n
West 1 South – 1000 feet<\/div>\n
         2 South – 1000 feet<\/div>\n
         3 South – 1000 feet<\/div>\n
East 7 North – 500 feet<\/div>\n
        8 North – 600 feet<\/div>\n
        6 North – 500 feet<\/div>\n
        5 North – 500 feet<\/div>\n
        4 North – 450 feet<\/div>\n
        3 North – 400 feet<\/div>\n
        2 North – 350 feet<\/div>\n
        1 North – 400 feet<\/div>\n
        0 North – 1000 feet<\/div>\n
West  1 North 1000 feet<\/div>\n
           2 North -1000 feet<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Wednesday July 31, 1963:  Rain all day.  Phoned Toronto with results.  \u201cSend us the numbers, Alan\u2026the numbers\u201d  Setting up drill holes…  Not my job\u2026bigger authorities doing this but based on our numbers.  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Thursday August 1, 1963:  Did Altimeter calculations.  Plotted results and then did contouring.<\/div>\n
Job is finished from my end.   Farewell to Dodds and Foster. heading back to Marathon\u2026long drive in bad weather. Just stopped for one swim.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
Mining is a messy business.  Dangerous on all fronts really.  The walls could collapse and crush the miners and often that happens.  Water could suddenly burst into the mine and drown miners just as it did the horses in the Alaskan mine described in the Yukon adventure.  The air is often, perhaps always filled with tiny shards of shattered rock leading to miners lung which is often deadly.  Explosives, rock drills, loaded mine carts, huge crushers, precipices underground, lifts that break, ladders with missing rungs as in the Irish Knockmahon mine described earlier.  <\/div>\n
Fist fights, drunkenness, whoring diseases, gambling, poverty\u2026enough?  <\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
  Mines go bankrupt.  Owners walk away and leave desolation behind.<\/div>\n
They do not clean up the mess.  The Yukon minesites described earlier are a good example as they leach arsenic, cadmium and zinc into the groundwater of the surrounding region.  Who cleans up a mine site?  Sometimes the cleaning occurs, I imagine.  Government laws insist on that.  The trouble is that mines go bankrupt.  Then who does the work?  Who pays for it?<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n
                 <\/div>\n
                  Tribag Mine picture taken looking back  at the  entrance.  What are those things<\/div>\n
                   on the top?  Roof bolts that are supposed to prevent the roof of the mine from <\/div>\n
                   collapse.  In time the roof bolts fail.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n


<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
In 1963, when Dodds, Foster and i did our magnetometer survey, the Tribag Mine was in full operation.  Work had been done in the early 1950\u2019s.  But after our survey and perhaps aided by our survey the mine was expanded.  I cannot say for sure for I was never told who hired us to  do the survey.  Diamond drill holes on the rock had confirmed the presence of magnetite and chalcopyrite and a whole host other minerals in the Breccia (pieces of broken rock cemented together by some ancient volcanic force.  <\/div>\n
Hard rock miners hammered and blasted their way down 1200 feet and extricated a huge payload from these mineralised faults of breccia.  They dumped the waste rock and the slurry of poison in a settling pond or rock pile.  About 2% of the ore was copper\u2026enough t justify the mine.  They stopped at the 1200 foot level when the price of extricating the ore became unprofitable.  More ore is sitting there deeper down.  Now that the price of copper has sky-rocketed there is renewed interest in the Bachawana area (2017).  <\/div>\n
But what happened to all the Tribag mine buildings, the head frames, the diamond drill cores, the crusher, the slag heap, the settling pond?   Not much.  The wreckage is still there strewn around Mine Lake and Nicolet Township.  Visible form the air.  A site to explore by adventurers.  One wilderness promoting company even plans camping trips to the old Tribag site.  Some intrepid<\/div>\n
explorers can even enter the old shafts and adits if they want.  The gate to discourage such risky endeavours is shattered.<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
When we we\u2019re doing our magnetometer survey we did damage the wilderness. If we found enough copper then what would happen to Bachawana Falls? We might be the last persons to slide over those smooth rocks NS body surf down the spillway. Resolved that when  Marjorie came to get me we would stop in Bachawan Bay and sample the thrill of the waterfall that I feared was about to be destroyed.  As things turned out the Bachawana waterfall remains untouched.<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n
\n

<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n


<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n


<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n

END PART ONE: 1963<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
PART TWO<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
alan skeoch<\/span><\/div>\n
January 2019<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span>
<\/div>\n
Our wedding began in that bush camp near MarathonOntario.  <\/span>  On August 24 we  were to be married<\/div>\n
and all my income that summer was put into the honeymoon.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span>
<\/div>\n
\"unknown.jpg\"<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span>
<\/div>\n
Here are the fellows in my Marathon crew as they await the arrival of Marjorie, mom and Marjorie\u2019s guardian Phyllis Morgan.   <\/span><\/div>\n
Marjorie had to hire a Marathon taxi to find our bush  camp.  Taxi driver, then Roger Nicholls, David  Murphy, John Lloyd and Bill Gilbey.<\/span><\/div>\n
They wanted to come to the wedding as  well.<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n
August 15, 1963:<\/span><\/div>\n
Three women pulled into our gravel pit campground today.  Marjorie, mom and Marjorie\u2019s guardian Phyllis Morgan all arrived in a flurry of welcomes from the guys in camp.<\/span><\/div>\n
<\/span>
<\/div>\n
\u201cHow about a cup of coffee in the cook tent ladies?\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cWill we be glad to get Alan the  hell out of this camp, so glad you have come.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cWe got together and bought a card table as a wedding present.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cAlan said you were worried he would  stay doing the survey past the wedding.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
\u201cCouldn\u2019t you find a better fianc\u00e9, Marjorie, or are the pickings really lean in Toronto.\u201cHe needs a  shave and a bath\u2026wearing the same clothes for more thant three months.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
     \u201cRun while you have a chance Marjorie.\u201d<\/span><\/div>\n
     \u201cMarry me\u2026marry any of us\u2026take your choice\u2026cannot be any worse that Alan.”<\/span><\/div>\n
etc. etc.  Nice remarks\u2026lots of laughter.<\/span><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/div>\n
We drove  south all the way to Bachawana Bay.    <\/div>\n
Quite a change to be travelling with three women.  A little disconcerting at times.   Marjorie\u2019s aunt<\/div>\n
was very glad to do he driving.  Phyllis liked to look at<\/div>\n
people when she was driving.  When we talked  she looked  at me.  The <\/div>\n
problem was that my seat was in the back of the car and Phyllis was driving.  Looking at me she took her eyes  off the<\/div>\n
highway for long stretches  of time but kept her foot on the accelerator.  I was a nervous wreck by the time we reached<\/div>\n
Bachawana.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
The  Bachawana River spills down to Lake Superior over a number of waterfalls.<\/div>\n
This  picture is closest to the one I remember.  Looks  more danerous than it<\/div>\n
actually was  for we tumbled with the river in late august when water level was<\/div>\n
lower.  The bottom spillway in the picture is most like the one we experienced<\/div>\n
only the pool below was clear of rocks and nice and  deep<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\u201cMarjorie, let\u2019s go for a swim\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cThe beach here looks wonderful\u2026sandy and huge.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cNo, I think you would  like the Bachawana River\u2026I\u2019d like to show you a waterfall swimming hole<\/div>\n
discovered when we were doing the survey a few weeks ago.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cAlan,  it\u2019s beautiful\u2026like something out of the movie South Pacific.\u201d<\/div>\n
“No palm trees\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cBut the waterfall is like a giant water slide as  in the movie.:\u2019<\/div>\n
\u201cMust get you a  bikini\u2026get rid  of that full body bating suit.\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cJust bought it for our honeymoon\u201d<\/div>\n
\u201cWho needs a  bathing suit on a  honeymoon\u2026let\u2019s try nude swimming.\u201d<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
I can\u2019t remember if we actually did this\u2026but I have an idea we did. I do remember<\/div>\n
sliding down the smooth granite with white water pushing us forward until we were <\/div>\n
launched into the deep  pool at the base of the waterfall\u2026really more a water Chute.<\/div>\n
Marjorie loved it.  Maybe it was then she got the idea that she might even like living<\/div>\n
in the bush with a mining survey crew.  The following summer she did just that\u2026she<\/div>\n
joined our crew in the summer of1964<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
Honeymoons can be a bit of a disaster.  Or so I read in a couple of novels.  I hoped ours would go OK but remained a bit nervous.  I thought our first night together<\/span><\/div>\n
was  going to be important.  No kidding! <\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
SEE PART TWO:  TWELVE MISTAKES  MADE ON OUR HONEYMOON 1963<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

alan  skeoch<\/p><\/div>\n

January 2018<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n


<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maybe some of the little bits of the 1963 journal will amuse you\u2026had to get it out of my system\u2026This was year 8 of my years as a field man in the business of  mining exploration\u2026It was also the year of our marriage.  Every cent earned in the Marathon wilderness between  May and August was […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2264\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alanskeoch.ca\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}