Four Degrees Celsius Read Online Free PDF

people) quickly gained an impressive understanding of the equinoctial weather systems in the North, grasping the impact of the wind currents that formed high above the Arctic Circle, sending fog and low clouds to the flat landscape of the Northwest Territories. He became well acquainted with the updrafts and whirlwinds that were generated by the mountainous regions in the Yukon. While living in the North he learned firsthand that everything needed for survival was there, provided that one was attuned to the environment.
    In 1929, the Northwest Territories was approximately 1.3 million square miles, so to search for two planes and eight men in such a vast area was an enormous, nearly impossible task. However, his knowledge and experience made him the obvious choice to be placed in charge of directing the aerial search, and he accepted his assignment with determination and resolve. Nevertheless, it wasn’t easy for him to embark on a journey that would separate him from Esmé and their eight-month-old daughter Dawn for an indefinite period of time. Their home was a one-room cabin, the size of a garden shed, measuring a mere ten-by-twelve feet. It was presided over by Esmé, a woman of incredible strength, whose sense of adventure matched that of her husband. She had been taken on many flights throughout the Yukon, Alaska, and British Columbia. In fact, she was credited with delivering the first airmail into Dawson in November 1927, having pushed the mailbag out of the plane window as her husband lined up a flight path down the main street of the town. While she flew with him, Cruickshank was training his wife to become a pilot.
    The Cruickshank family, Andy, Esmé, and baby Dawn, are enjoying a moment of sunshine in front of their Prince George cabin just days before Cruickshank left for the Arctic.
Karram Family Collection.
    Esmé completely understood the task her husband had been assigned and immediately began assembling his kit. Using the same list that he had outlined for his young pilots, she laid out woollen underwear, heavy serge and mackinaw breeches, a mackinaw, a buckskin shirt, a heavy woollen sweater, a caribou parka and pants, several pairs of woollen mitts (as well as moose-skin mitts to put over the woollen mitts), and 15 cent gloves for plane repairs.
    Although she had the utmost confidence in her spouse, she knew the hazards of the in-between season in the North only too well — that the area would soon become a stark, seemingly dead world, animated only by the sound of the shrieking wind. Though she kept her qualms to herself, she could not help but wonder what lay in store, not only for her husband, but also for the other men on the search who had their own families. An hour or so later she heard the drone of Cruickshank’s plane as he made his customary pass overhead and watched as he dipped his wings in farewell. On this day, her eyes followed his aircraft as he headed into the clouds. Her heart was heavy.
    The Northern Miner , on September 26, 1929, ran the story that Cruickshank’s instructions, issued by Leigh Brintnell, had been to fly with Alf Walker to Fort McMurray then on to Fitzgerald and the Coronation Gulf, where he would meet Clennell H. “Punch” Dickins on that day. From there they would head to Stony Rapids.
    What should have been two days’ travel for Cruickshank and Walker turned into a nightmarish week. Almost immediately after takeoff they ran into bad weather that forced them down at Hudson Hope, where they remained all day. The following morning they doggedly pushed on, but soon encountered heavy rains, forcing them to land on the Peace River. They were finally able to lift off in the evening and managed to reach Peace River Crossing in spite of the rain, sleet, and snow. Despite the freezing temperatures, the water was not frozen, and Cruickshank landed safely, without damaging the floats on the plane.
September 26, 1929
    Andy Cruickshank’s