Shock marker placed on the cabin - but it looks as if there it is smoke from the fireplace :)
A good run by Johnson. Our fictional trapper was deadlier than the historical one, as he killed or gravely injured six of his pursuers, versus two by the real Johnson.
The Hunt for the Mad Trapper of Rat River
January-February 1932. Northwest Territory, Canada
A set of three linked wargame scenarios for Fistful
of Lead
In December 1931, First Nations
trappers complained to the RCMP detachment in Arctic Red River (now known as
Tsiigehtchic, NWT) that their traplines had been torn out. This was serious for the trappers, as their
livelihood depended on them.
Tsiigehtchic in
summer 2025
The available evidence pointed to a
white trapper, Albert Johnson, who had arrived in the region the previous
summer. Constable King and Special
Constable Joe Bernard were dispatched to Johnson's cabin on the Rat River to
find out more. Johnson refused to speak to the constables, so they went to
Aklavik, NWT and obtained a warrant from RCMP Inspector Alexander Eames. The patrol was increased to four men -
Constables King and McDowell plus Special Constables Joe Bernard and Lazarus
Sittichiulis. When Constable King approached the cabin this time, Johnson fired
through the door, seriously wounding the constable. Special Constable Bernard
dragged King to safety, and the patrol rushed him back to the hospital in
Aklavik, where Dr Urquhart found that the bullet barely missed King's heart.
The Mounties now had a much more
serious matter to deal with than vandalism of traplines. Inspector Eames organised a patrol to arrest
Albert Johnson, consisting of himself and Constables Millen and McDowell;
Special Constables Bernard and Sittichiuli; as well as trappers Knute Lang,
Ernest Sutherland and Karl Gardlund; and First Nations guide Charlie Rat. The game begins as the patrol approaches
Johnson’s cabin...
In order to make this set of scenarios work, Johnson has been given several traits to keep him from being too easily taken out. Traits include:
- Nine Lives, so he can't be taken out by a lucky shot early in the game.
- Steady, so he can ignore penalties for shooting from shock or wounds.
- Stealthy, so he is harder to hit.
- Loads of ammo - he won't lose a turn of shooting if he rolls a '1'.
- Armour save (varies by scenario).
Scenario 1 - Johnson's Cabin
Albert Johnson starts inside his
tiny, 8’x10’ cabin, as Inspector Eames and his group start surrounding the
cabin. The cabin is in a small clearing
in the forest, 12” open space to the front and sides, 8” to the rear.
Johnson's cabin is loopholed. He can fire out in any direction without
moving. The cabin gives him a 6+ armour
save and also counts as heavy cover, so attackers have a -2 on their rolls to
shoot him.
Lang also has two charges of
dynamite. The dynamite charges are
thrown as grenades. If the centre of the
blast lands on the cabin, make a wound roll.
On a shaken result, the cabin shakes but remains intact. On a wound, cover is reduced from heavy to
light (and Johnson's save is reduced from 6+ to 8+). On an 'out of action' result, the cabin is
destroyed and there is a wound roll for Johnson. If the template only touches the wall of the
cabin, then on a wound or out of action roll, cover is reduced only on that
side of the cabin.
Inspector Eames and his men arrived
at the cabin on 7 January, 1932.
Temperatures had dropped to -40C. To reflect the limited time that the
men could work in the cold temperatures, the game is limited to 8 turns, after
which the police will withdraw to warm up.
I added another consideration - the police are not fanatics, and this is
not a 'do or die' military solution. The
police rate their own lives and those of their colleagues. To measure this, every turn after the police
have taken casualties (including wounds but not shock), the leader must roll a
d6. If the number is equal to or less
than the number of casualties, the police will withdraw to tend to their
casualties.
After regrouping, the Mounties returned to the cabin, but found it deserted. This was the beginning of the manhunt. Johnson was a very experienced woodsman, and tracking him in the dead of winter was very difficult. The RCMP posse was joined by Quartermaster Sergeant R.F.Riddell and Staff Sergeant Earl Hersey of the Royal Canadian Signal Corps outpost at Aklavik. These men brought their radios - marking the first time that the RCMP used radios to coordinate a manhunt.
Scenario 2 - In the Wilderness
McKenzie River
near Inuvik, NWT
After weeks of tracking Johnson
through the wilderness, the next encounter with him happened on 30 January,
when Constable Millen, Carl Gardlund, Noel Verville and Sgt Riddell came across
Johnson's camp. The camp was hidden
among boulders and fallen trees, allowing Johnson an 8+ save as long as he
remains in the camp. Another special
rule is that Johnson must stay in the area for 4 turns before fleeing (this is
a bit arbitrary, to give the Mounties a chance to engage Johnson and not just
have him leave the table on the first turn!).
One more special rule is that Sgt
Riddell has his radio. Each time he
activates, he can attempt to call for reinforcements. Due to the cold, the radio is unreliable, so
he needs to pass a normal (5+) test to get a message through. If he succeeds, then in the following turn,
Sgt Hersey and Special Constable Sittichiulis will enter the table.
Historical note – this represents
the encounter where Johnston shot and killed Constable Millen.
Scenario 3 - Shootout on the Eagle
River
After the encounter with Constable
Millen and his team, Johnson disappeared back into the wilds. Canada's most famous bush pilot, Wop May, was
recruited to provide air support, another first for the RCMP. He flew his
Bellanca CH300 Pacemaker, assisting the hunt by looking for signs of Johnson's
movement through the snow. as well as ferrying supplies and men back and forth
from Aklavik, Fort McPherson and Tsiigehtchik to the team in the field. Finally, on 17 February 1932, the hunt caught
up with Johnson on the Eagle River in Yukon Territory, approximately 145 km
west of his cabin on the Rat River. He had covered the entire distance on foot
in the dead of winter, in temperatures below -40C, with almost no supplies,
living on small game, unable to light more than the smallest fire in case it
was seen by his pursuers.
For Scenario 3, Johnson starts in
the middle of the Eagle River, without cover.
He can move full speed on the ice, but must pass a normal test (5+) to
climb the banks, which he needs to do to exit into the woods away from his
pursuers. He retains his 8+ cover save,
without any particular justification, except that he needs any advantage he can
get in order to have a chance!
There is no turn limit. Either Johnson leaves the table or he is
killed or captured by the Mounties. The
pursuers arrive in different turns throughout the game. In turn 1, Sgt Hersey arrives on one of the
river table edges. In turn 2, Trapper
Noel Verville and RCMP Constable Sidney May enter on the opposite river table
edge. No new arrivals in turn 3, then in
Turn 4 Special Constable Sittichiulis, Trappers Gardlund, Lang and Sutherland
arrive on one of the riverbanks (roll to determine which bank). Turn 5 sees Inspector Eames, Sgt Riddell,
Special Constable Bernard, Trapper Constant Ethier (a former RCMP constable) on
the other riverbank. Finally, on turn 6
Constable McDowell arrives on the river, on the same table edge as Hersey.
Memorial to the
NWMP Lost Patrol of 1912 at St Matthew’s Church in Fort McPherson, NWT
