The success of Failes

By 1932, Emile Dagenais had been prospecting for 10 years and although he had covered a good part of Canada, he hadn’t worked much in the vicinity of the Arctic Circle. That changed when he was asked to join Dominion Explorers for a 6-month exploration program on Great Bear Lake. The program was later extended to 34 months, which was fine with him as he found himself in the thick of the Great Depression.

At the time, the eastern shore of Great Bear Lake was an exploration hot spot. Rich veins of pitchblende and native silver had been discovered a few years earlier and word had spread. The rush was on.

That year there were 26 mining companies and syndicates in the Cameron Bay district on Great Bear Lake, and by the end of 1932, there were 3,799 claims in good standing in the Northwest Territories — 2,200 of which were around Great Bear Lake.

The staking rush attracted the usual suspects, including pilots, priests, storekeepers, prospectors — and the press.

The Northern Miner sent reporter Fred Failes to Cameron Bay in the spring of 1932 to cover the field-exploration season and the activities of companies that had descended there.

Dagenais’ travelled from Rouyn, Que., in late February to Edmonton to gather gear and supplies. A few weeks, and a couple of flights later, Dagenais was delivered to the eastern shore of Great Bear Lake where he would soon meet Failes. It would become a friendship that would last well beyond the field season.

Failes lodged in Cameron Bay, but over the course of the field season made several visits to Dagenais’ Lindsley Bay camp. In fact, Failes helped the prospector put up his tent, according to an entry in Dagenais’ 1932 diary.

In his time at Great Bear Lake, Failes visited many bush camps, keeping himself apprised of what various companies were up to. He was also the main source of news from the outside world.

In June, Failes told Dagenais about the accidental death of one of Dagenais’ associates. But there was little time to grieve as the field season was short and the rush was on.

Failes’ visits to the camp often seemed to coincide with meal times, but Dagenais and his crew didn’t mind, especially when Failes showed up with fresh meat. What a supper that was!

It was always interesting to hear what others were up to and Failes’ role exposed him to some interesting characters, not the least of which was someone who once presented himself as a Russian prince. He appeared in Cameron Bay one day with his own private plane and pilot and Failes brought him to Dagenais’ camp, adding another name to the log of people who visited the camp that summer — about 50 in all.

On Aug. 4, a picnic to commemorate what was then called Dominion Day was organized at Cameron Bay by the Northwest Territories Prospectors Association. The 1933 event was advertised to people “outside” (anyone south of 60) the community. A 10-day roundtrip excursion from Edmonton, Alta., to Great Bear Lake was $390, including transportation, meals, lodging and stopover tours. In 1932, 200 men — and one woman — joined in a day of events that included canoe races, tugs-of-war, high jumping and other activities.

It’s fair to assume that Failes had met most of them by virtue of his travels.

In mid-August, Failes left Great Bear Lake in a Canadian Airways plane piloted. Dagenais’ diary entry says: “Fred Failes has left the country for good.” Indeed, during the time he was at Cameron Bay, he helped document one of Canada’s high-profile staking rushes.

— The preceding is an edited excerpt from a book about Emile Dagenais’ years as a prospector. It is titled I Was There. The author, who resides in Nanaimo, B.C., is the son of Emile Dagenais.