Futility Closet

In the winter of 1931, a dramatic manhunt unfolded in northern Canada when a reclusive trapper shot a constable and fled across the frigid landscape. In the chase that followed the mysterious fugitive amazed his pursuers with his almost superhuman abilities. In this week's episode of the Futility Closet podcast we'll describe the hunt for the "Mad Trapper of Rat River." We'll also visit a forgotten windbreak and puzzle over a father's age. Intro: Korean soldier Yang Kyoungjong was conscripted successively by Japan, the Soviet Union, and Germany. In 1978, Arnold Rosenberg examined idioms to trace a path to the most incomprehensible natural language. RCMP constable Alfred King is at far left in the photo; constable Edgar Millen is second from right. Sources for our feature on Albert Johnson: Dick North, Mad Trapper of Rat River: A True Story of Canada's Biggest Manhunt, 2005. Barbara Smith, The Mad Trapper: Unearthing a Mystery, 2011. Richard C. Davis, "The Mad Trapper, by Rudy Wiebe," Arctic 35:2 (1982), 342.