Tom Thomson’s Algonquin was the depiction of the Canadian North
By Ted Currie
March. A tired old winter holding-on. Yet there is the smell of open earth coming from the hillsides where the sun has been strong and kind. There is the potential a mid-winter snowstorm might soon spiral away the bright cheer of this now sunny lake vista, as Algonquin storms are legendary for their suddenness and intensity. The warm bathing sunglow this morning, in a matter of moments, could be swept into obscurity by wind-driven snow and the darkness of tumbling cloud cover. There is an ominous cloud-bank currently rising behind the horizon evergreens. For the moment, I bask here in this spring-inspired morning sun, and think about the artist who painted transitional vistas such as this, and became as much a legend as the Algonquin landscape he documented.
"Thomson’s sketches had developed with breath-taking rapidity for four years. The climax came in 1917 when he began in early spring to paint a daily record of nature’s changing moods and aspects, even to the flowers. By July, he reported his project as virtually completed. The Frasers at Mowat Lodge saw him leaving in his canoe at noon on July 8 for an afternoon of fishing at Tea Lake Dam. The overturned canoe was found later that day, and his body was recovered on July 16. There were many rumors of foul play and much speculation about how the best-known canoeman of the north could have drowned by accident."
The passage above appears on page 275 of the revered Canadian art history by J. Russell Harper, entitled "Painting in Canada – A History."
In 1925, less than a decade after Thomson’s death, art historian, Newton MacTavish, in the book "The Arts in Canada," wrote the following passage about the artist’s impact on a nation, and on the international art community itself:
"Then came suddenly, in 1917, the news that Tom Thomson had been drowned in Algonquin Park. The occurrence meant, as far as art in Canada is concerned, more than might be suspected, because Thomson, although he lived in winter, in Toronto, almost as a recluse, and in summer as a bush ranger, had a considerable following. For he had attacked the north country with a big and exclusive design. And although he did not teach art, his work was an inspiration to others; and if ever it can be shown that there is in Canada a school of art, the beginnings of that school might be traced back to Tom Thomson."
"I could sit down and cry to think that while in all this turmoil over here there is a ray of light, and that the peace and quietness of the north country should be the scene of such a tragedy," wrote Thomson’s colleague A.Y. Jackson, in a letter to associate painter J.E.H. MacDonald, shortly after he had received word of the drowning. Jackson, at the time, was in England awaiting transport to the battlefront in France, to paint the war record of Canadian soldiers in action, during the concluding years of the First World War. "It seems like the reversing of another tie which bound us to Canada, because without Tom the north country seems a desolation of bush and rock. He was the guide, the interpreter, and we the guests partaking of his hospitality so generously given," wrote Jackson in a letter dated August 4th, 1917." (Letter contained in "Painting in Canada – A History" by J.R. Harper)
Although the winter of 2009 had an early but gentle beginning, the late-winter rage has once again defined in sculpture, the dynamic of a Canadian winter. Standing on the shore of Algonquin’s Canoe Lake, you must not dismiss the remaining weeks of winter potential. It is a most beautiful frozen snowscape, sculpted with the heavy snow and windstorms of February. It was a scene Thomson would have approved, and sought out the right vantage point to more poignantly capture the effects of light and shadow, upon rock, windswept evergreens and late winter sky. It is a curious portal from which to view the natural world. It instills upon the watcher in the woods, a comforting solitude yet offers an immense invigoration of the senses. It was a place of great inspiration to Tom Thomson. Ninety two years ago this rapidly rising figure in Canadian art, was about to make his most intense study of the Algonquin re-awakening which would see the creation of many of his finest paint boards, depicting the colorations of this season of dynamic, vivid re-generation. It would end several months later with his alleged drowning, sometime between the evening of July 7th and mid afternoon July 8th, during a undetermined misadventure on this same lake.
Tom Thomson’s reputation as a representative Canadian artist was emerging slowly by 1917 but there are few critics who would disagree, his ongoing success was virtually guaranteed if he had continued painting past that summer. The fact he died on this brink of fame, and did so tragically and arguably with an added measure of inescapable mystery, has become so intertwined over the years, it is impossible to separate the two aspects of insightful art and sudden demise. If Thomson had died of natural causes, much less attention would have been foisted upon his departure from this mortal coil, and all the focus would have been on his life and art. Like finding a jury member uncontaminated by freely expressed opinion or bias of a particular event, finding an art admirer anywhere who isn’t abundantly aware of Thomson’s sudden and mysterious death, is a rarity today just as it was in the years following the Canoe Lake occurrence.
There are steadfast art historians who wish to remove the circumstances of his death well away from the interpretation of his art panels. Yet a few hale and hearty avengers, in the study of Thomson’s death, feel it is now an inherent, important patina of his work; not to take away from his artistic capability but as a legend within that begs us to take a second look,...... at not only his art but the mortal who so capably captured Algonquin’s natural, supernatural essence. I could stand on this frozen shore all day, feeling the company of Thomson’s spirit. I can easily imagine what it must have been like in that spring of 1917, when the artist first arrived to see that year’s spring emergence from the frozen, barren landscape. He found great beauty in this transition and re-generation of the lakeland.
There are those critics now, just as there were in 1917, and in all the years following his alleged accidental death, who flatly refuse to have anything to do with the so-called "Tom Thomson Mystery," so poignantly and intelligently presented by Judge William Little, in his well known book of the same name. It was the research-based text which formally introduced the full scope of the murder scenario to the Canadian public. His work inspired a landmark CBC film documentary which left little doubt, murder theorists had a great deal of corroborating evidence. In fact, it has been the deniers themselves, who have raised suspicion moreso than the foul play proponents, by their outright refusal to discuss the possibilities,...... on the grounds that it has no business in the discussion or consideration, now or in the future, of Thomson’s body of work. They believe, just as his associate artists agreed in 1917, that the memory of Thomson was not best served dredging up all kinds of nasty allegations warranting unwanted editorial coverage. As this was a profound and purposeful effort to disassociate Thomson from anything criminal, it smacked of a cover-up from the beginning, as uncovered fully by William Little in the late 1960’s. It wouldn’t be the first time that an intentional covering-over of an event, or crime, doubled or tripled the attention of the curious. Dogged investigators couldn’t help but wonder why clear evidence, on the case, was not provided during that summer’s Coroner’s Inquest, held at Canoe Lake.
Many of the participants in the room at that time, suspected Thomson had been murdered but declined to raise their suspicion to the Coroner when given the opportunity. From the day Thomson’s overturned canoe was found in Canoe Lake, the mystery commenced. It wasn’t solely inspired by biographer Blodwen Davies, in the late 1920’s, who was the first to suggest to the public, foul play was the most likely cause of Thomson’s death. It didn’t arrive at the time an impromptu exhumation of Thomson’s first grave, at the Canoe Lake Cemetery, turned up a coffin and skeleton that wasn’t supposed to be there, and it certainly wasn’t created just by the release of the Tom Thomson Mystery. The mystery, and the patina ingrained in the work of Tom Thomson, began moments after his body was found and the rumor mill commenced its momentum of speculation......which has perpetuated through the decades.
In fact there is ample evidence discussion about murder, was taking place before Thomson’s initial burial, prior to the Coroner’s inquest, and those stories carried on from that point, spun and embellished as they become generation to generation. Even if a writer had not touched the story in those early years, it would have emerged into the public domain sooner or later. Too many people had suspicions and were willing to talk about it, or Davies would have had no reason to involve the police in the case in the late 1920’s, during her work on Thomson’s biography. She found numerous individuals in the Canoe Lake community, willing to talk about the possibility a crime had unfolded in the circumstances surrounding Thomson’s death.
One might reasonably conclude there was unresolved guilt, held by many friends of Thomson, who had failed to defend the artist’s honor when afforded the opportunity. They attended the inquest and held their peace so to speak, instead of confessing their suspicions. I’ve heard handed down stories even this past year, from a resident on Canoe Lake, offering unfaltering opinion Thomson was indeed murdered, and the killer was Mowat hotelier, Shannon Fraser. Whether it was Fraser or not, who had a hand in Thomson’s demise, this will be the mission of discovery for a future column. Were they scared of the consequences of fessing-up? Was their bond with the alleged killer stronger than their friendship to Thomson? We’ll examine these questions in future blogs.
It’s getting colder here now and the wind is slicing painfully through my jacket. It has been an invigorating visit to the shore of Canoe Lake, one of my favorite places on earth. Take the time this summer season to visit Ontario’s Algonquin Park, and the legendary Canoe Lake.
Who murdered Tom Thomson?
Ninety two years since artist’s tragic death on Algonquin’s Canoe Lake
It’s only the first of April but there are clear signs here at Canoe Lake, that the Algonquin landscape is ready to burst with spring rejuvenation. The sunglow off the remaining snow-crust is blinding. The sound of tiny cataracts of run-off water is a pleasant harbinger of spring, as are the bird calls and the sign of fresh animal tracks in the decaying mantle of winter snow. I wonder if Tom Thomson might have found this re-emergence of the lakeland worthy of study? A sketch possibly.
In the spring of 1917 he arrived at Canoe Lake, to watch the spring season unfold across the Algonquin Lakes. He found it an interesting season, the summer being too green and lush to give him the color contrasts he found with a barren forest, and a rugged, craggy lakeshore. The spring sky. The powerful storms that etched across this Canadian landscape. He had eager expectations for the spray of vivid colors, associated with the first wildflowers to arrive in the warming soils of the open areas, on the fringe of the forest and bordering the grassy lowlands.
Ninety-two years ago Tom Thomson would have touched this spring released water, and witnessed this heavenly sky backdropping the rich hue of evergreen, the grey of rock against the rising pulse of dark current, tumbling deeply within this legendary lake. I can’t help but to crouch now, out of respect, to touch this water along the beach, just as Thomson would have, when launching his canoe nine decades ago this year.
The purpose of this blog series is to address what I believe has been an injustice to the memory of a great Canadian artist. When I began my inaugural investigation into his death, I attempted to research my way past the accepted conclusion.......to discover something, anything, a trivial detail overlooked by countless others that would help disprove the theory Thomson had drowned accidentally. Most of the reference books about Thomson have been steadfast regarding the circumstances surrounding his death. Accidental. I have felt it was somewhat insulting to assume that Thomson, on an otherwise clear, still day, could have drowned by misadventure, within calling distance of shore. To suggest, as some have written, Thomson was drunk when he left shore, doesn’t fit his profile that summer. As for him having a pee mid-lake, and subsequently toppling out of the canoe, this is on the very edge of ridiculous. There were cottages and folks all over that shoreline, certainly at the time he was alleged to have traversed the lake, so relieving himself wasn’t within character for such a chap known widely as a gentleman.
Bandied about even up to the mid 1990's, is this unfounded, grasping-at-straws assessment, Thomson had toppled out of his canoe while urinating clumsily mid-lake,....... hitting his head on the gunnel of the vessel on the way down into the lake. It is also alleged he was more than a little tipsy before relieving himself, due to the flask of alcoholic beverage he consumed earlier. Most authors stick to the results of the coroner’s report of 1917, which is, in my opinion, a breach of investigative protocol because any one who has studied the events surrounding, and during the inquest, realize justice was not entirely served. So those Thomson biographers who side with accepted opinion, decided to conclude that death was indeed due to drowning, foolishly agreeing with an incomplete inquest.
Blind acceptance of the inquest’s ruling by Thomson researchers to this point, is evidence these authors have dismissed his death as being of little overall importance to the study of his contribution to Canadian art. A few intrepid Thomson admirers have thought enough of the artist to commit to a full and complete investigation; just as Judge William Little detailed in his book, "The Tom Thomson Mystery," and Blodwen Davies before him, in a biography she was writing on Thomson (during the late 1920’s, published in early 1930). Both believed the inquest was shallow and information about the days leading up to his death, and conflicts with area residents, was negligently withheld during the official hearing. The coroner did not have all the information required, to without doubt, attribute Thomson’s death to drowning.
Here’s what’s wrong with acceptance of fact as presented. Canadian art history has been influenced by the mystery from the moment Thomson’s body was found in July 1917, and word initially spread around the Canoe Lake community about the loss of their so-called friend. Even then his mates and even a few enemies pondered the cause of death, and no one (except the Coroner later) believed Thomson drowned. They knew him to be, at the very least, a competent canoeist, who could handle adverse conditions and even an occasional topple-over into the lake. During the day he was supposed to have disappeared, it’s unlikely he would have been under the influence of alcohol, and because it doesn’t take long to get from shore to shore, Thomson had very little reason to relieve himself awkwardly balanced in mid lake, where his body was eventually found.
When the coroner that July did come to the hamlet of Mowat, on Canoe Lake, to conduct the specially called inquest, the examiner discovered Thomson had been buried earlier that same day in the local hillside cemetery. No body! Just the observations made by a doctor, not a pathologist, who originally spotted the floating body, and who later conducted an impromptu lakeshore examination. The body was never taken to dryland for proper examination and in fact, he was prepared for burial, including embalming, right on the island shore where his body had been hauled-upon the day before. So for every author-historian-biographer who has decided to adopt the accidental death theory, and include it for the ongoing distortion of historical record, this is the reason a wrong must be corrected. Thomson did not die as a result of drowning.
Thomson while an emerging talent on the Canadian art scene, by the summer of 1917, was also embroiled in a few personal conflicts, which some well known authors believed could have inspired thoughts of suicide, although this has received thin investigation over the decades. It has also been revealed by an historian in Washington State that Thomson, during his stay there with a brother working in the commercial art discipline, may have generated a child with a prominent Seattle family, and then been forced to make a hasty retreat back to Canada. It has long been alleged that he had another child on the way with a local Huntsville woman, and there is evidence he was preparing to enter into marriage to make the situation right. It is said he reserved an Algonquin cabin as a honeymoon retreat for later that summer season of 1917. It is also known Thomson was in some financial peril despite the fact some of his work was selling and he was living frugally in Mowat. There are a few biographer "busy-bodies" who believe Thomson was owed money and that tension was building over several weeks that spring season, as he made demands for re-payment.
There are literally hundreds of details concerning Thomson’s final days and demise that require forensic scrutiny. After reading every book, article and document I can find about Thomson, and his painting during the spring and early summer of 1917, one can ascertain that he was both content and prolific at his art work, producing many paintboards, and feeling satisfied he had captured the spring re-awakening in Algonquin.
What is also well established is that he could be argumentative and drinking possibly too much for his own good. The evening before he is said to have drowned, he had a serious dispute with an American cottager, Martin Bletcher Jr., which ended with a modest amount of pushing but no actual fisticuffs. Bletcher was considered a suspect in Thomson’s death shortly after the body was recovered. First of all, those who were in company with the artist and Bletcher the night of the argument, remembered the cottager telling Thomson to stay out of his way, if he knew what was good for him. Secondly, it was Bletcher who first spotted Thomson’s over-turned canoe but did not report it immediately to Algonquin authorities. He claimed that it was not uncommon to find overturned canoes in the lake, many having accidentally drifted away from encampments. It was pointed out to Bletcher, by some of his neighbors that only Thomson’s boat had that particular hue of (oil paint) green attached, noting that no one could have mistaken the overturned canoe for anyone else’s property.
It was also rumored about difficulties manifesting between Mowat hotelier Shannon Fraser and Thomson, who resided frequently at the hotel, regarding money owed. I’ve heard both sides, one that Thomson owed Fraser money for lodging and supplies and had refused to make restitution. Other sources have explained it was actually Fraser who owed Thomson, and that because the artist needed the money to proceed with the wedding that fall, the requests for payment became more rigorous. Today it is pretty much accepted thought amongst those who disbelieve the drowning scenario, (despite the accidental death theory mainstream authors continue to publish as fact) that it was Fraser who killed Thomson. Not on purpose, but the end result of a brief, violent skirmish, when Thomson fell in the midst of physical conflict, and struck his head on a stone hearth. As "dead-men-tell-no-tales," Fraser decided to dispose of the body and make it appear as if the artist’s disappearance was the result of poor canoemanship.
A death-bed statement by kin of the Frasers, of Mowat, claimed that Shannon and his wife, in the wee hours of the summer night, dragged the artist’s unconscious body out on the dock and rolled him into the canoe. They then tied their rowboat to the canoe and propelled themselves through the darkness toward a mid-lake target-site to purposely overturn the canoe. What is revealed by William Little’s book is how inept the Frasers were in replicating the canoeing habits Thomson employed, including how one paddle was awkwardly lashed to the thwart and a second paddle that was never found despite an extensive search.
Within only moments of seeing the evidence and visible tampering, and then the condition of the artist’s body, the guides who attended Thomson did not believe it was in any way accidental drowning. Consider the fact that the impromptu autopsy on the island shore, determined that Thomson was still bleeding when he went into the water, not being quite dead when unceremoniously abandoned to the bottom of Canoe Lake.
The mission of this multi-year research project regarding the death of Tom Thomson, is not to sensationalize his death. It is however, to refute completely the idea the artist was the victim of accidental death. In this the 92nd anniversary year of his demise, it is a fitting time to set the record as straight as it can be, without going the complete distance and having his body exhumed for forensic investigation; which would be a much more precise examination today with DNA profiling. Keep in mind there are two graves, one in Algonquin and one in Leith, Ontario, said to possess the artist’s remains. One body, two graves. This is going to be an exciting series of feature blogs. Don’t miss a single one.
In the meantime, make a point of visiting Algonquin Park this summer season, especially this beautiful area of Canoe Lake. There’s lot to do up here, particularly the museum display at the Algonquin Visitor’s Centre. Drive safely and watch for the moose!
92nd Anniversary of Tom Thomson’s death
The spring of 1917 gave Thomson the perfect Algonquin study
I so clearly recall the restorative, invigorating freshness, the post-ice chill of water that day, as I experienced my first touch of the legendary Algonquin Lake. I had spent all that winter season reading about Canadian artist Tom Thomson, and his outright joy living and working in this beautiful and enchanted place. Kneeling down to let the water run through my fingers connected me at last, to one of Canadian history’s most enduring mysteries. How did Tom Thomson meet his end? Was it an accident? Or was it Murder?
My first adventure to Canoe Lake was the beginning of an enduring relationship for our entire family. From the first touch of the lake which we all participated somewhat ceremoniously, on that particular spring day, we have camped, paddled, hiked and motor-toured through the park each season of the year. We would be hard pressed to tell you which season is most impressive, each being magnificent with its own natural adornments. You won’t find a landscape more spectacular than looking out over an Algonquin lowland after newly fallen snow. Just as compelling is the fabulously colored autumn landscape, and then the lush greens and heavenly blue skies of a hot July.
For Thomson, the spring regeneration was an important season to study. He wasn’t particularly fond of a green landscape prevalent in the summer months, so the spring season offered the visual contrast of a stark topography left by recoiling winter, yet the daily rejuvenation of plant life and hardwood foliage across the lakeland. It was in the spring of 1917 that Thomson made an impressive, profoundly ambitious attempt to capture the re-awakening Algonquin woodland. He put together a much more rigorous painting regimen than was his hallmark as a painter, in Algonquin, during the years previous. At the time of his death it is said by some biographers and critics that he had just about wrapped up a complete study of the spring season and was painting less and fishing more. It was as if he appreciated his mission had been successful. A few writers with paranormal overtones believe Thomson was tidying up his painted biography on the brink of his own anticipated demise. There has long been the suggestion Thomson may have taken his own life, although I’m not one who believes this assessment.
Thomson was particularly concerned about the accuracy of his depictions. He demanded the colors be realistic. It is said that when someone would remark of a finished paint board, the colors of a flower, for example, reminded them of a patch of wildflowers they’d seen on a walk, he would appear delighted to hear he had captured the correct hue. When someone would say that his painting of the Northern Lights made one feel cold and alone, he was equally enthralled, as it was very much his intent with the painting, to inspire a spiritual awe in the presence of something so awesome. When a park ranger approached Tom Thomson, while painting a scene from an island on Smoke Lake, and commented that the art panel clearly reminded him of all the natural attributes witnessed while traversing that part of the waterway, the artist invited the gent to partake of a freshly baked blueberry pie; made by Thomson in a crudely fashioned reflector oven.
Thomson had his critics who didn’t care that he was an artist and who wouldn’t have taken a panel if afforded one as a gift. Some acknowledged him when an impromptu meeting took place in Mowat, on Canoe Lake, or on one of the many portages in the vicinity. He wasn’t a friend to all. Thomson was opinionated, some said he was arrogant and argumentative, and a few others make mention that he drank too much and wasn’t beyond becoming physical if that was demanded to defend someone’s honor. Most who knew him felt that he was pretty average. He was generous to those he respected and was well known for handing over studies to those who remarked about liking the art panels. He gave away many paintings, some to people who he believed could benefit sometime in the future, by selling the subject painting.
When Thomson got into a heated argument with Martin Bletcher Jr., on the night before he went missing, it wasn’t an event that stirred much interest amongst the cronies at Mowat. In fact it didn’t even get one moment of scrutiny at the inquest into Thomson’s death, even when the Coroner asked whether any one (of many in the room) had information relevant to the artist’s mysterious demise. Afterall it was noted on initial inspection of the body by Dr. Howland, that Thomson was still alive after disappearing down into the black lake, as he continued to bleed from his ear. Corpses don’t bleed as such.
So seeing Tom Thomson in an argument of one kind or another, as others participated as well, didn’t spark any particular sentiment that this was an isolated or unusual event.
It is reported that Bletcher, a German-American, who cottaged with his family on Canoe Lake, had a disagreement with Thomson regarding events and involvements of the nations embroiled in the ongoing battles of World War. Thomson was said to be sensitive about the war effort, and about his inability to join the ranks of Canadian volunteers because of problems with his feet. Many of his artist colleagues had gone overseas to paint the events on the battlefields, and it was felt by some biographers that Thomson felt guilty at not having a role to play abroad. The context of the argument is largely speculation although at the conclusion Bletcher did warn Thomson to stay out of his way in the future, if he knew what was good for him.
There are others who knew there had been an ongoing conflict over money, going on between Mowat hotelier Shannon Fraser and Thomson, and that it was also at a precarious level prior to the artist’s disappearance. The coroner heard nothing of either conflict at the inquest, even thought there was ample opportunity to raise the matter. It is known that there was grumbling and hearsay before the inquest, even in whispers while it was in session, and again after it was over, something that was picked up by Thomson biographer Blodwen Davies more than a decade after the death. She was so certain that the police would want to know about this now seasoned rumor of foul play, that she helped open up a cold case file. It was quickly dismissed and the file shoved back into the obscurity from which it was "dredged-up," a reference made by some members of the Group of Seven artists upset by Davies’ murder allegations regarding their colleague, Thomson.
In the coming blogs in this series, I will present some of the key facts of the Thomson mystery you are currently not aware, so that you can decide for yourself if justice was served in 1917, when the Coroner, without a body to examine, declared his death was the result of accidental drowning, a shortfall of criminal inquiry that has haunted this case for the past 92 years. And we’ll try to determine Thomson’s final resting place. Currently he is said to reside in two graves. The Thomson family believes he rests in a small cemetery in Leith, Ontario (near Owen Sound), and others believe he was never exhumed and moved in July 1917 (by order of Tom’s brother George after the initial burial), and still rests in vicinity of the old village of Mowat, Canoe Lake. We know for fact there is a skeleton buried in Thomson’s original casket at Canoe Lake, as it was uncovered in the 1950’s by a group of men including Judge William Little, author of "The Tom Thomson Mystery."
Take a motor trip up to Algonquin Park this spring, and put your feet into the sparkling waters of Canoe Lake. There are great places to dine, to hike, swim, canoe and observe. Don’t miss the opportunity to visit the Algonquin Visitor Centre Museum and Gallery, on the way to the East Gate. It’s great for the kids, and there is an impressive Tom Thomson exhibit.
Drive safe, watch for crossing deer and moose, and enjoy the wonderful view!
92nd Anniversary of Tom Thomson’s death -
Was it a case of murder or accidental drowning?
If you haven’t experienced a sparkling June day in Ontario’s Algonquin Park, you’re missing one of life’s truly amazing adventures. Here now on the shore of Canoe Lake, the water laps soothingly up over the sand in a gentle rhythmic wash. There are canoeists preparing for day-trips from the Portage Store dock, and voyageurs checking into the park office to register camping trips into the interior. Those having breakfast in the café above the lake, have a fantastic view of the bay and the expanse of this historic Algonquin waterway. I’m here now because of my interest in the Tom Thomson mystery. My wife calls it my obsession. My boys Andrew and Robert don’t really care why they’re in Algonquin, just that we are afforded two canoes and provisions for a day on the water.
It has long been considered fact that legendary Canadian landscape artist, Tom Thomson, drowned in Canoe Lake on July 8th, 1917. It is also recorded that Canoe Lake Hotelier Shannon Fraser saw Thomson alive, "and even checked his watch – 12:50 p.m. – as Thomson set off in his canoe from the Mowat Lodge dock," notes author Roy MacGregor, on page 287 in the softcover reprint, (re-named) edition of "Canoe Lake," formerly known as "Shorelines," an historical novel that came the closest, at the time, to the personal details surrounding Thomson and his love interests that fateful year.
"The presumption has always been that Fraser was the last person to see Thomson alive, and, in fact, the death of Tom Thomson has always been recorded as July 8, 1917. What, however, if Thomson had returned from his afternoon fish and the fight happened on the eighth," asks MacGregor, in the final pages of his book, which updates research into the circumstances surrounding the artist’s mysterious demise. "All Daphne Crombie (a guest at Mowat Lodge) knew was that Tom had gone missing, and since Fraser and (Mark) Robinson (Algonquin Park Ranger) claim they’d last seen him around noon on the eighth, she would have assumed that the fight Annie referred to had occurred the previous evening. Thomson’s canoe, however, was not reported missing until the ninth, and not found until the following day, July 10th. While Robinson’s sighting of Thomson has been used to disprove Crombie’s contention of a fight the night before Thomson went missing, it is entirely possible that both were right if, in fact, Shannon Fraser was lying about the last time Thomson was last seen alive at Mowat Lodge. He may indeed have checked his watch at 12:50 p.m. on July 8, as Thomson paddled away. He may also have had his argument with Thomson later that same day, following Thomson’s return to the Lodge." (2002, "Canoe Lake," Roy MacGregor, McClelland & Stewart, page 287)
Roy MacGregor’s novel, "Shorelines," originally published in 1980, was one of the first books I was told to read, by a book shop owner also interested in the Tom Thomson Mystery. He suggested that MacGregor’s fictional account was particularly close to what had actually happened in both his native Huntsville, in and around 1917, and the circumstances enveloping Thomson in the Algonquin community of Mowat. By MacGregor’s own admission, revealing his own family connection to the Thomson story had a number of personal consequences. "When this book was first published in the spring of 1980, there were still people alive who had known Tom Thomson and had been at Canoe Lake that fateful summer of 1917. I personally know nothing of what happened. I only know, for sure, that this book so upset certain members of my family that it cost our relationship. I understand their response. These are disconcerting speculations, but they can not be ignored if sense is ever to be made of what happened that warm July at Canoe Lake." (Canoe Lake, pg. 289)
If you are interested in knowing more about the final days of Tom Thomson, and wish to be introduced to the characters that played important roles in his life at the time, Roy MacGregor’s book is a necessary beginning. It has long been considered, even by some oldtimers in this region of Ontario, to be a fair account of what actually took place in that last year of Thomson’s life. This book is still available at new book shops, and you can find a copy of the 1980 novel "Shorelines," on either the Advance Book Exchange or in the Out of Print section of online Barnes & Noble.
"Exactly how Tom met his death probably no one will ever know. The following is the account given me (William Little – author of The Tom Thomson Mystery), by Mrs. J.S. Fraser, 1953, with whom Tom was living at Canoe Lake when the tragedy occurred. Tom was staying at Mowat Lodge. On Sunday, July 7, 1917, he made preparations to go to Tea Lake dam to fish, and he left with his lunch at about 1:00 p.m. Mr. Fraser last saw him as he was letting out his copper fishing line while paddling through the narrows to the right of the twin islands. About 3:00 p.m. when Martin Bletcher and his sister Bessie went down the lake in their little put-put motor boat, they saw Tom’s empty canoe drifting near the far end of the second twin island (belonging to Dr. Bertram and Mr. Pirie). They did not stop but on their way back they towed Tom’s canoe to Mowat Lodge and put it in their boat house. Nevertheless, they did not mention the fact, probably thinking it belonged to the hotel on Joe Lake. (Thomson’s canoe was of such a color, nobody who lived on the lake could have confused ownership) Tuesday morning Charlie Scrim discovered Tom’s canoe in Mr. Bletcher’s boat house, and then the hunt for Tom began. (Mrs. Fraser’s account has inconsistencies). The canoe contained Tom’s lunch, some supplies, and cooking utensils, which Tom always carried, while the paddles were placed as if for portaging but this could have been done by Martin Bletcher to hold them in place. The copper trolling line was missing." (Page 220, The Tom Thomson Mystery," William Little, 1970 McGraw-Hill). A question that was never put bluntly to Bletcher was whether or not he knew it was Thomson’s canoe, by its peculiar color (Thomson is alleged to have used his oil paint to color the hull...green). According to Thomson’s close friends there was no way anyone on Canoe Lake could have mistaken the artist’s boat, including Bletcher. Finding Thomson’s canoe adrift should have caused Bletcher, and his sister (also in the boat) to report the event right away, sensing a potential serious misadventure.
One of the most important books regarding Thomson’s demise is the sleuthing expertise of William Little, who takes what Fraser stated above, and the observations of many other witnesses, known facts and events surrounding the mysterious death, and presents a compelling argument that the artist was not the victim of accidental drowning but indeed had been murdered by someone in that Canoe Lake community, whether it was Martin Bletcher Jr., as suspected for many years, or Shannon Fraser, the Mowat Lodge proprietor. This book is also available through online out-of-print book sellers, such as "ABE" and others, should you be interested in reading more about Little’s sleuthing.
"Thomson got his canoe ready for the trip (Sunday, July 8th, between noon and 1 p.m.), and stowed away food and utensils for a meal or two. He had no bread at the cabin so he drew up at Mowat Lodge dock, while Fraser went up to the store for a loaf. Thomson tucked it away under the bow. The morning had turned grey. There was a light east wind blowing, with a drizzle of rain. Thomson bid the crowd that had gathered on the dock a gay farewell and in a very engaging mood set out on his mission," wrote noted Canadian biographer Blodwen Davies, in her 1930’s privately published text simply titled "Tom Thomson."
"Mowat Lodge stood on the shoreside of Canoe Lake. A short distance down the lake and separated from the mainland by only a narrow channel is Little Wapomeo Island, the property of Taylor Statten, who had a cottage on it. At the time the cottage was empty. The channel between the island and the mainland was choked with drowned timber, so Thomson paddled around to the east of Little Wapomeo and its sister island, Big Wapomeo, apparently with the intention of hugging the main shore until he came to the portaging place by which he would cross over into one of the little lakes where big trout were to be found," writes Davies. "When Thomson did not return that night, there was no alarm on the part of any of his friends. If they discussed it at all, they must have concluded that the fish were not biting and that he was challenged to continue. He had food and a ground-sheet."
"The Coulsons of Algonquin Hotel, at Joe Lake, had reported a canoe missing from the foot of the portage at Joe Lake Dam. On Monday morning, (July 9) Martin Bletcher Jr., one of the campers who lived near Mowat Lodge, reported that on Sunday afternoon (July 8) he had seen an upturned canoe drifting between Little Wapomeo and Big Wapomeo, which might be the lost Coulson Canoe. Charlie Scrim, of Ottawa, another camper, and a friend of Thomson, paddled down to have a look at it. There was consternation when he returned and reported that the canoe was Thomson’s. Thomson’s friends were puzzled. That some mishap had befallen him was evident, but the idea of drowning they did not entertain at all. He was too expert a swimmer to come to grief there. The only possible explanation was that he had landed somewhere, gone inland and had an accident – broken leg, perhaps, and his canoe had in the meantime drifted free. A search was organized to cover the adjacent woods and the news was sent out that Thomson was missing." (pg. 95-96 "Tom Thomson", Blodwen Davies).
"The cottage on Little Wapomeo had been rented and just after Thomson’s disappearance, Dr. Goldwin Howland took his family there from Toronto for the holidays. The weather continued to be wet and grey and the newcomers had to keep to the island. The morning of Monday, July 16th, was a little brighter and Dr. Howland took his small daughter out trolling on the lake. It was about nine o’clock when the child felt something heavy on the end of her line," reported Davies. Dr. Howland’s daughter had snagged the body of Tom Thomson. Davies asked the question, "Did Thomson’s body take eight days to rise in a shallow lake in the middle of July?"
It is suspected, by the length of copper line wrapped around Thomson’s ankle, that his body had been connected to some heavy object, to keep it from surfacing naturally, which would have taken less time in, as Davies describes, a shallow lake in a warm summer month. It is likely the copper wire rubbed against another object on the bottom of the lake, and the current’s twisting of the body caused the line to break free of the weight. This detail was one of the contentious issues that led Davies to contact the police, during her research, to suggest they should re-open the case that had been improperly labeled "death by accidental drowning." While it was given minor scrutiny, it was quickly dismissed by police.
"The mystery surrounding Thomson’s death will never be cleared up. Was he drowned in the quiet waters of a small lake? A man who had paddled all over the Park, generally alone, in all kinds of weather, run rapids, and carried his canoe over rough portages and made his camp in the bush in wolf-ridden country? There were theories – suicide, heart attack, foul play, but the verdict was "accidental drowning" – not very convincing; but with no evidence of anything to the contrary, it stands and must be accepted," wrote A.Y. Jackson (member of the Canadian Group of Seven artists) as an inclusion in the text of Davies’ 1967 reprinted text, published by the Mitchell Press of Vancouver. It is possible to find a copy of this book online as well.
In the next blog submission, I would like to present you with a contrary collection of facts and assessments to disprove Jackson’s assertion that there is no evidence to support theories other than accidental drowning. Quite a few writer-researchers have refused to surrender to Jackson’s suggestion, "it stands and must be accepted." Judge William Little for one, believed there was nothing accidental involved in Thomson’s demise. It was a clear cut case of murder and its cover-up. Join me for a stunning look at one of Canada’s best known legends. Will it ever be solved? I believe so!
Take a trip up to Algonquin Park this summer, and visit some of the locations that Tom Thomson captured on his paint boards, particularly in the area of beautiful Canoe Lake. Don’t forget to visit the Algonquin Visitor Centre where there is an impressive Thomson display, amongst many other historical and nature displays to enjoy.
Drive safely and enjoy the amazing view. Watch for the moose!