In 1903, Superintendent Charles Constantine, who had previously been commanding officer at Forty Mile, Yukon, was selected to lead an expedition down the Mackenzie River to Fort McPherson, where he was to establish a North-West Mounted Police detachment. From there, he was to proceed to Herschel Island, where he would set up another detachment, if he thought it advisable.

There were five men in his party, including Francis J. Fitzgerald.