the patrol did good service. For the rest of it, the
collapse of the gold rush after 1898 made it practically unnecessary.
But it demonstrated again the endurance, judgment and reliability of the
police in carrying out any duty assigned to them.

To show the thoroughness with which the country was covered by the
police in order to prevent danger and catastrophe to the rather
improvident gold-seekers, a patrol was made by Inspector (later
Assistant Commissioner) W. H. Routledge a distance of 1,100 miles or so
from Fort Saskatchewan away north to Fort Simpson. This patrol was of
value in getting into touch with many groups of "Klondikers," taking in
their mail and bringing it out and also in making known at remote points
the laws that were specially applicable to their situation. And there
was also a patrol under Inspector A. E. Snyder undertaken with a view to
seeing whether Inspector Moodie had been successful in getting forward
towards the Yukon. This patrol under Snyder went as far as Fort St. John
up near the sources of the Peace River and returned to report that
Inspector Moodie and his men had gone on to Fort Graham, whence their
way would be clear in the spring for the last lap of the long patrol as
above related.

While the Yukon was being opened up the members of the Force on the
plains and in the mountains were steadily doing their duty. They were
perhaps less in the limelight for the time being since the attention of
a good part of the world was centred on the gold country, but their
presence was equally necessary as a terror to evil-doers and an
encouragement to those that did well.

The construction of the Crows Nest Branch of the Canadian Pacific
Railway entailed a very heavy amount of work on the Mounted Police. This
came under the oversight of Inspector G. E. Sanders, who in turn was
under the nominal direction of Superintendent Deane, then in command at
Fort MacLeod. Deane had a busy time, as he had to cover about 400 miles
of front with less than 200 men, of whom as many as fifty at a time had
to be at certain construction points in British Columbia. Referring
especially to the railway part of the work Deane says, "Inspector
Sanders' report which I enclose will give a good idea of the amount of
duty devolving upon him and his men, and I beg leave to record my
opinion that it was well done. The effect of even a single mounted
policeman's personality upon a lawless mob requires to be seen to be
fully