TIMAGAMI, Ont. (CP) A small fleet of red canoes moved across Rabbit lake, 10 miles west of here, Sunday in search of the lumber tug White Bear, feared to have gone down in 200 feet of water, dragging a steel boat and four lumbermen down with it.

The white-hulled 35-foot tug, powered by a 150-horsepower diesel engine, disappeared Thursday. But no alarm was felt for the safety of the four men until searchers in a plane Sunday spotted a barrel and an aluminum pike pole floating on the lake.

Believed drowned were Leslie Taske, 23, captain of the White Bear; Fred Kozik, 21, woods foreman for the Gillies Lumber Company; and lumberjacks Leonard Conroy, 19, and Edward Hamilton, 61. The tug was towing a 23-foot steel boat which weighed six tons. It set out Thursday on an 18-mile trip from the Gillies mill to a large log boom tn the southeast bay of Rabbit lake, about 65 miles north of North Bay.

TIMAGAMI, Ont., May 4 - An oil slick on the surface of a Northern lake may help solve the mystery of the disappearance of the lumber tug White Bear and four men aboard her. A fleet of red canoes scouring Rabbit Lake is seeking such a slick or even bubbles of fuel oil from diesel-driven tug's 200-gallqn tank. Police say oil traces will probably afford the only hope of finding the White Bear, believed to have blown up last Thursday and gone down in 200 feet of water with all hands.

Missing and feared drowned are Leslie Taske, 23, captain of the tug; Fred Kozik, 21, of Ottawa, wood foreman of the Gillies Brothers Lumber Company; and lumberjacks Leonard Conroy, 18, and Edward Hamilton, 61, of North Bay. Taske and Conroy came from Quebec province. Hamilton, whose brother Tom is in Sudbury, lived at Timagami more than 30 years. Taske was in his third year as skipper of the White Bear. The tug had been in constant use since the Spring breakup April 13.

The tug was towing a 23-foot six-ton steel boat when it set out Thursday on an 18 mile trip from tha Gillies mill to a large log boom in the southeast bay of Rabbit lake, about 10 miles west of this Northern Ontario resort centre and some 65 miles north of North Bay. It is believed all four men were on the White Bear, which had a cookstove and cabin facilities.

The men were expected back late Friday with 7,000 logs. When they did not return by Saturday, a casual search was made in the expectation the tug had merely been delayed by adverse winds. Sunday the concern became alarm and a search plane went out. From the air, searchers spotted an oil drum and an aluminum pikepole floating on the lake. Then other searchers in canoes found a smashed stool on which Taske usually sat while steering the tug, as wellas part of the White Bear's superstructure, two more pikepoles and another oil drum.

TIMAGAMI, Qnt., (CP) A small fleet of red canoes moved across Rabbit Lake, 10 miles west of here, last night, seeking traces of the lumber tug White Bear which was feared to have gone down in 200 feet of water, dragging a steel boat and four lumbermen down with it. SPOT BARREL The white-hulled 35-foot tug, powered by a 150-horsepower diesel engine, disappeared Thursday. But no alarm was felt for the safety of the four men until searchers in a plane Sunday spotted a barrel and an aluminum pikepole floating on the lake. Believed drowned were Leslie Taske, 23, captain of the White Bear; Fred Kozik, 21, woods foreman for the Gillies Lumber Company; and lumberjacks Leonard Conroy, 19, and Edward Hamilton, 61.

The tug was towing a 23-foot steel boat which weighed six tons. It set out Thursday on an 18-mile trip from the Gillies mill to a large log boom in the southeast bay of Rabbit Lake, about 65 miles north of North Bay. Both vessels were expected back late Friday with 7,000 logs, No safety until Sunday because their owners believed adverse winds could have delayed them as they hauled the heavy loads.

FIND WRECKAGE A casual search was made Saturday but the men were thought safe until John Hunt, manager of Gillies Lumber Company, and Lou Riopel of Lakeland Airways, spotted the drum and the pole. Later, searchers in lands and forests department canoes led by Provincial Constable Albert Dick found a stool on which Taske usually sat while steering the tug. The seat of the stool was split. Floating near it was part of the superstructure of the White Bear, two more pikepoles and another oil drum. The discovery led lumbermen to believe the White Bear exploded, filled and sank, dragging the other boat to the bottom. Hunt said the two boats did not reach the log boom at the southeast bay. He said they apparently sank about Thursday noon. Rain and snow were falling on the lake at that time. No person was within 10 miles of the spot and any explosion would have gone unheard.

The canoes were sent out in the hope their occupants could spot oil bubbles rising from the 200-gallon tank of the White Bear. All four men were thoroughly acquainted with the lake. They had all worked for the Gillies Company for more than three years and Taske was in his third year as skipper. Taske and Conroy are from Quebec province. Kozik's home is in Ottawa. Hamilton, with a brother Tom in Sudbury, has lived at Timagami more than 30 years. All four are bachelors.

IN DEEP WATER The White Bear had been in constant use this season since the spring break-up April 13. Constable Dick said the search area is so long and the water so deep that it is virtually useless to try to find the boat with grappling irons. The only hope is to spot oil rising to the surface, he said. The four men are believed to have been riding in the White Bear, which was equipped with a cook stove and cabin facilities.

TIMAGAMI, Ont.- A large oil slick on Rabbit Lake is believed to mark the spot where the lumber tug White Bear is thought to have gone down last Thursday with four men aboard. Searchers spent 11 hours Monday working with a mineral-hunting magnometer in an area several hundred yards square where they think the White Bear sank in 130 feet of water. They plan to continue the hunt today, using a scow as a base for the equipment. Small boats in which the de-ice was used Monday were found to rock too much in the choppy water.

Missing and feared drowned are Leslie Teske, 25, of Buckingham, Que., captain of the White Bear; Fred Kozik, 21, of Ottawa, woods foreman of the Gillies Brothers Lumber Company; and lumberjacks Lionel Conroy, 18, of Buckingham, and Edward Hamilton, 61, of Timagami. (Leslie Teske is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Teske, of Blanche, Que., about 25 miles from Buckingham. He has two sisters, Isabelle and Bernadette and a younger brother, Leo, all at home. (Lionel Conroy is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Eddy Conroy, also of Blanche. Two brothers, Dan and Edgar, are also employed by the Gillies Brothers Lumber Company. Two brothers, Stanley and Leo and four sisters, Doris, Vera, Edna and Eileen, live at Blanche).

Check Possibilities While the oil slick is considered a worthwhile clue to the tug's location, provincial Constable Albert Dick of Timagami, leading the search, said it is possible the oil drifted to that spot 300 yards offshore from V-shaped Rabbit Point or was carried there by a current. The Gillies company plans to move its scow from White Bear Lake to Rabbit Lake in the rugged wilderness area 65 miles north of North Bay in which the tug vanished while on a trip to pick up a log boom. While waiting for the scow, the searchers will sound the lake in the vicinity of the oil slick. The company is reported planning to bring in a diver as soon as the wreck is found. Monday's operations were concentrated about a quarter of a mile from the wooded shore.

Probe Lake Bottom Weights were dropped on cables to probe the lake bottom beneath the oil slick. A bulldozer waited on the nearby shore to pull the boat out if it is found. The White Bear was towing a 23-foot, six-ton steel boat when she set out on an 18-mile trip from the Gillies mill to a log boom in the southeast bay of Rabbit Lake. She is believed to have dragged the steel boat 200-feet to the bottom. In the tug were Taske and Kazik. Conroy and Hamilton were in the towed vessel. Fleets of canoes and two planes set out early Monday morning to search for the tug and her crew. From the air, searchers spotted an oil drum and the pike pole. Others in canoes found a smashed stool on which Taske usually sat while steering the tug. Before the big oil slick was found late Monday, motor boats were called off the search for fear they might cause oil slicks which would confuse the searchers. The debris indicated that the White Bear a 35-foot, 25-ton vessel, got half way to the boom when she disappeared.

TIMAGAMI, Ont, (CP) A flat-bottomed scow was used today in the search for the lumber tug White Bear, believed to have gone down in a wilderness lake last Thursday carrying four men to death.

FEARED DROWNED Missing and feared drowned are Leslie Taske, 23. of Buckingham, Que., captain of the White Bear; Fred Kozik, 21, of Ottawa, woods foreman for the Gillies Brothers Lumber Company; and Lumber jacks Leonard Conroy, 19, of Buckingham, and Edward Hamilton, 61, of Timagami.

The scow is expected to provide firm footing for a magnetometer, an instrument normally used in hunting mineral deposits. Searchers will also make soundings of Rabbit Lake at the point 300 yards offshore where a large oil slick is thought to mark the spot that the Diesel-driven tug made her fatal plunge with the four men and a steel boat she was towing.

WAVES TOO HIGH The magnetometer was used but results were unsatisfactory. It was impossible to read the instrument, because waves on the choppy lake 10 miles west of this Northern Ontario resort centre kept rocking the small boat in which it was carried. Rangers in canoes spotted the oil slick. They expressed belief the oil was forced out of tanks of the sunken tug and steel boat.