The leader of this expedition was one of the most colorful millionaires of the early 20th century. Charles Eugene Bedaux had amassed a fortune in scientific business management. He was friends with royalty and Nazi’s alike.
He was a big game hunter and explorer, leading expeditions in various places before deciding to lead the Bedaux Canadian Sub-Arctic Expedition in 1934. It was a bit of a publicity stunt but also an effort to test out the new Citroen half-track cars for his friend Andre Citroen.
The expedition included a couple of dozen cowboys from BC, and a large film crew lead by Floyd Crosby, and an Academy Award winning cinematographer. The Canadian government also sent two geographers, Frank Swannell & Ernest Lamarque. Bedaux brought his wife and his mistress who was an Italian Countess. In all there were more than 100 people,
On July 6, 1934, after enjoying a champagne breakfast with Edmonton’s elite and parading down Jasper Avenue, they were formally sent off by Alberta’s Lieutenant Governor. It began to rain soon after and this weather held through most of the expedition. It made travel even more difficult as they made their way through regions that were relatively unchartered and had no trails.
The film crew was busy throughout the entire expedition and even though the original film was not made “The Champagne Safari” was produced in 1995 incorporating existing footage from the expedition. Even though we have not found a lot of literary documentation of the route prior to reaching Ft. St. John, the map in the film shows Edmonton, Smith, Fort St John, Prophet River, Sifton Pass and Telegraph Creek. The intervals suggest that these towns were the stopping places.
This would be reasonable as the highway passed this route in 1934. Smith was one of the larger centers and stopping points because of its location. By July 12th they were in Grand Prairie so they would have been here in the preceding week. The expedition in itself was a failure but leaves tantalizing rumors. He was arrested on Jan 13, 1943 in Algeria by the Americans as he was supervising the construction of a German pipeline. He was taken back to America and charged with trading with the enemy. While in a safe house in Miami Florida, awaiting a grand jury investigation into his war time activities, he committed suicide. The circumstances of Bedaux's death remain suspicious, and the existence of any relevant documents continues to be denied by the FBI even today. Because of his ties with Nazi Germany it is suggested that his Sub-Arctic Canadian Expedition was really a way to map Canada for future invasion of the Nazi’s. That is a question that will never be answered.