1934 Bedaux Expedition leaving Fort St. John. In 1934, French efficiency expert Charles E. Bedaux mounted a Sub-Arctic expedition into northern British Columbia. It was an attempt to cross the northern BC wilderness from Fort St. John to Telegraph Creek, a tiny settlement on the Stikine River near the Alaskan panhandle. He planned to use five Citroen half-track vehicles, specially built in France, as his method of transport. Advance teams were sent out to cut the trail wide enough for the half-tracks to follow. Unfortunately, it was an unseasonably wet year and the half-tracks did not meet the challenge and were abandoned in favour of packhorses. The horses then began to get sick and had to be destroyed and the expedition was abandoned. The party returned to Hudson's Hope by boat. What made this expedition so memorable for the locals was that Bedaux hired local guides, axemen and cowboys for a terrific wage. During the Dirty Thirties, money was scarce, yet Bedaux was very free with it. The oddity of it all also made people wonder why he wanted to try such an expedition. Bedaux traveled with his wife and his mistress, cases of champagne, French delicacies, silk pajamas and many other extravagant items, definitely not fit for the northern bush! A Hollywood cameraman was also on the expedition to document the events, a great number of which were staged to make for better movies!

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