Date: March, 1893

Location: Murdering Corner, Andrew’s Hill near Cartwright

Easting: exact location not known

Northing: ?

Latitude: 53° 42′ 00″ N

Longitude: 57° 01′ 00″ W

Fatalities: 2 or 3

Injuries: 0

Source: Them Days, April 1993, Vol. 18(3), p. 42; Hudson’s Bay Company Cartwright Post Journal 1893

Frank Davis in 1979 recounted the story handed down through his family of a tragedy that occurred around the turn of the century (Them Days, 1993). His father (John Davis), grandfather (Thomas Davis), uncle (Tom Davis), great-uncle (Solomon Morgan) and Andrew Reeves decided to climb up Andrew’s Hill one fine afternoon in March. Andrew’s Hill is about 6 kilomtres east of Cartwright. Leaving Goose Cove, to reach the top of the hill they had to climb up a steep gulch, with a bank of overhanging snow. John Davis was suffering from a nose bleed and was lagging behind the other four, and saw the overhang give way, avalanching down the slope and burying his four companions. He rushed to the scene and was able to extract his father by digging with his snowshoe. Frank Davis recounted “Grandfather said he felt as if he had been runned in lead”. The two then quickly returned to the community to get shovels and help, but when the other three were dug out, they were all dead. One had had his back broken over a birch tree, and it is likely the other two were asphyxiated. The slope on which the three men died was since been known as “Murdering Corner” or ‘Murdering Gulch”. Goose Cove lies 10 kilometres east of the village of Cartwright. It is not clear if the men lived in Goose Cove or were returning from a walk in that area.

From the Hudson’s Bay Company Cartwright Post Journal: Thursday, 16 March 1893:

“Solomon Morgan and Thomas Davis, son of Thomas Davis, was killed by a snow avalanche at Andrew’s Hill on Sunday evening past.“

Thus there is some uncertainty as to whether Andrew Reeves did in fact die in the avalanche as he is not mentioned in this contemporary account.