Snow Man (John Hornby in Canada's Barren Lands)

Canada's Barren Lands - that rugged, desolate, heroically beautiful part of the Northwest Territories - was one of the last great unexplored areas of North America. In 1923 John Hornby and James Critchell-Bullock set off on a year-long expedition to the Barrens, supported only by their wits and their weapons. Based on Bullock's diaries, Snow Man is the story of that journey and a testament to the strength of human character. We share in Hornby's and Bullock's sufferings and triumphs as they canoe and portage across the endless taiga, endure terrible hunger, and ultimately achieve their goal of being the first white men to live off the Barrens for an entire year.

Hornby, who came from an affluent British family, emigrated to Canada in 1904 and fell in love with the Canadian North. Known as a man who could deal with any situation, however adverse, he seemed to seek out hardship. According to legend he could "out-Indian the Indians" in his ability to survive in the northern wilds and often set out into the bush with little more than a rifle, a gillnet, a bag of flour, and tea. His strange and solitary ways earned him the nickname "Hermit of the North" and old-timers often described him as "bushed" or "bush-queer" as a result of spending too much time in the bush.