wanted...wanted men to join the newly-formed north-west mounted police must be active men of sound...

1 June 1873 Cypress Hills, N.W.T.

American wolf hunters todayattacked a band of Assiniboine in theCypress Hills. An American wolferfalsely accused Chief Little Soldier’speople of stealing a horse in Montana.The Americans came north lookingfor revenge. The drunken wolfersburst into the Assiniboine camp,killing 36 men, women, and children.It turned out that the missing horsehad just wandered away.

Even before this incident,Aboriginal peoples resented theAmerican hunters. These wolfers usestrychnine to poison their prey. Thispoisoned bait is often eaten byAboriginal people’s dogs. The dogsthen die agonizing deaths. TheAmerican traders are also despised bymany here because they bringanother kind of poison. They sellcheap liquor known as “firewater” toAboriginal peoples.

Because of incidents like theCypress Hills Massacre, the Canadiangovernment will be forced to act.Sooner or later, Macdonald will haveto find a way to bring law and order tothe North-West!

Chapter

9 The North-West Mounted PoliceMassacre!

Reflecting/Predicting1. Why do you think it was difficult to keep law and

order in the North-West of the 1870s?2. What was John A. Macdonald’s solution? List what you

think the main duties of the North-West MountedPolice would be.

3. If you were there at the time, would you be willing tojoin the Mounted Police? Why or why not?

125

WANTEDMen to Join the Newly-Formed

NORTH-WESTMOUNTED POLICE

Must be active men of sound health between the ages of 18 and 40, at least 183 cm in height,and of fine character. Should be able to readand write in either French or English and be good riders.

TERM: 3 YEARS

PAY: Constables $1.00 a daySub-constables .75 a day

With free room and meals, clothing, boots, kit, fuel, lighting.

Sixty-four hectares of land after 3 years good service

All transportation for those in service paid for by the Government.

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Unit 2: The Development of Western Canada126

The Need for PoliceFor years, people in the North-West had com-plained about the number of outlaws and illegalwhisky traders in the area. It was against thelaw to sell whisky. However, there was nopolice force in the region to enforce the law.

Some people took advantage of this situation tosell whisky to Aboriginal people at outrageousprices.

A place nicknamed Fort Whoop-Up wasthe centre of this outlaw activity. It stood nearthe present-day city of Lethbridge, Alberta. The

people who lived there were mostlyAmerican smugglers and traders.They flew the American flag overthe fort, even though it wasCanadian territory.

The situation in the West wasbecoming desperate. Parliamentdecided to form the North-West

Mounted Police. The duties of theforce were to keep peace, preventcrime, and catch criminals. Itwould be a mounted force. A chainof posts would be built fromManitoba to the Rocky Mountains.The troops would wear bright scar-let jackets.

Recruiting began at once. Therewas no shortage of recruits. Youngpeople seeking adventure flockedto join the force. By the summer of1874, 300 men were gathered inManitoba to be sworn in asMounties.

The first uniform of the North-West Mounted Police.TheMounties were recognized espe-cially for their red coats.The storygoes that the governor general,Lord Dufferin, wanted the force towear the imperial red colour ofthe British empire.The red wouldalso distinguish the NWMP fromthe US Cavalry, which wore themore traditional police blue.Today,the Mounties wear the red coatsonly for special ceremonial events.

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Chapter 9: The North-West Mounted Police 127

Some of your friends tell you about a movie theysaw last night.They say,“The movie was fantastic.There were some amazing special effects.”However, you know that they really like moviesthat have lots of action and dazzling effects. Canyou trust their opinion? It is important to recog-nize that they have a bias.A bias is a preferenceor particular point of view that makes it hard forthem to judge the movie fairly or with an openmind.

Bias can be dangerous. Newspaper and tele-vision reports can influence many people. If, forexample, certain newspapers or journalists havea bias against a particular politician, they canwrite and broadcast negative stories about heror him. If the media slant stories about a politi-cian in a negative way, the public won’t be able tojudge this person’s performance fairly.The politi-cian may not be re-elected for this reason.

Sometimes it is the choice of words thatgives us the “wrong” impression. For example,when Aboriginal people “attacked” settlers, itwas often recorded as a “massacre.” But whensettlers “attacked” Aboriginal people, it mightsimply have been called a “fight” or “battle.” Howcan you be aware of bias in what you read orhear? Here are some helpful tips and exercises.

Try It!1. Each of the following statements containswords that are negative or emotionally charged.Identify the biased word.Then replace the wordwith a similar but more neutral word or phrase.For example:

The traders were hunted down ruthlessly fortheir crimes.The traders were caught for their crimes.

a) The crooked traders sold whisky toAboriginal people.

b) Sir John A. Macdonald sent troops toforcibly squash the rebellion.

c) The Mounties set off on a heroic marchwest.

d) The rebellious Métis at Red River formedan illegal provisional government.

e) The jury voted to have Thomas Scott murdered.

f) Louis Riel betrayed Canada.

Explain how the meaning of the sentencechanges when the biased word is replaced.

2. Which word,“massacre” or “battle,” soundsworse? Why? Look up the word “massacre” in adictionary. Should the incident with the Americanwolfers in the Cypress Hills be described as amassacre? Why or why not?

3. Examine the newspaper report entitled“Massacre!” at the beginning of this chapter. Findexamples of bias in language in this article.Whichside does this article seem to support—that ofthe Assiniboine or that of the wolfers?

4. Look through your local newspaper and seeif you can find examples of bias in language.

Skill Building: Recognizing Bias

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The Great MarchThe new police force was faced with an almostimpossible task. It had to look after 6 millionkm2 and thousands of people with only 300police.

Colonel French, the first commissioner orcommanding officer, wanted to let the peopleof the Territories know that the Mounties hadarrived! He decided to make a long patrol. Onegroup wouldmarch fromManitoba to FortWhoop-Up. Therethey would builda police post.Another groupwould head northto Fort Edmontonand set up a postthere. Then somewould return toManitoba andestablish head-quarters. Hehoped that the

word would spread: “The Law has arrived inthe West!”

Plans were made for the Great March

West. Many members of the North-WestMounted Police kept diaries as they travelled.From these we can get a good picture of whatthe country was like and the problems theyfaced. The diary below is based on facts fromactual accounts.

A Mountie’sDiary

Regina Ft. Ellice

Ft. Whoop-up

Ft.Macleod

Calgary

Ft.Edmonton

Roche Percée

Ft. Garry

DufferinDIRT HILLS

CYPRESSHILLS

SWEET GRASS HILLS

Lake Winnipeg

RedR

iv er

Assiniboine R.

S. Saskatchewan

R.

N. Saskatchewan R.

N

UNITED STATESOF AMERICA

THE ROUTE OF THE MARCH WEST

300 km1000 200

French's Route to Sweet Grass HillsMacleod's Route to Ft. MacleodJarvis's Route to Ft. Edmonton

8 July 1874

The Great March Westhas begun. What asight! There are 300officers and men, 142oxen pulling Red Rivercarts and wagons, 93head of cattle, 310horses, 2 field guns, ahay-mowing machine,and portable kitchens.

9 July

Weather is hot. We aretortured by mosquitoes.The column is 3 km inlength. Col. French hasarranged us in sixdivisions riding differ-ent coloured horses. Atthe rear are the slowerox carts, wagons, cat-tle, and machines.

10 July

Already some havedeserted! They ranaway in the night. Thisjourney is going to beharder than wethought!

13 July

Heat is becomingunbearable. The supplywagons and oxen can-not keep up and havefallen behind. So nofood for us tonight.

16 July

Started to march at 4a.m. and travelled 19km before breakfast.

21 July

Many horses are tiringand sick. Had to leavesome horses to bebrought along in carts.Not much grass forthem to eat becausegrasshoppers haveeaten everything insight.

2 September

Buffalo were sightedand a few killed. Thislessens the food short-age for everyone. Butthe poor horses havenothing to eat! Theprairie has beenstripped bare of grassby the wandering herdsof buffalo.

10 September

Weather has turnedcold and wet. Eachperson gave up a blan-ket last night to coverthe animals; but fivehorses were dead any-way in the morning.

14 September

We saw vast herds ofbuffalo as far as theeye could see. Manythousands of themwere in sight. Theprairie seemed coveredwith them!

16 September

Cannot go much far-ther!

18 September

Sighted the Sweet GrassHills and found goodgrass and water.

5 October

Col. Macleod has hiredan experienced Métisguide, Jerry Potts. Hehas spent his wholelife on the plains andknows his way around.Potts is guiding us tothe notorious FortWhoop-Up. Heavenknows what we willfind there!

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This illustration of the Great March is by Henri Julien, a reporter/artist who was invited to goalong on the March. He reported on the expedition for the Canadian Illustrated News. Whatimpression does the drawing give of the Mounties on the March? How do you think drawingslike this might have contributed to the image of the Mounties as heroes opening the West?

24 July

Sixteen days on the marchand we have only covered430 km. The worst part ofthe march is still ahead ofus!

2 August

Twenty-two people are sicktoday from drinking swampwater. It was the colour ofblack ink!

3 August

A tremendous thunderstormstruck. All tents were blowndown. Fortunately horseswere prevented from stam-peding. Unusually high hillsare ahead of us.

23 August

We are coming close to theCypress Hills. We killed someantelope. How delicious freshmeat smelled roasting overthe open fire!

24 August

We are now deep into thecountry of the Aboriginalpeoples. We have sent amessenger ahead to explainwhy we are coming intotheir territory. The messengerwill tell them that we havebeen sent by the Queen todrive out the people whohave been selling liquor.

9 October

What a disappointment FortWhoop-Up turned out to be.We found the whisky tradershad gone. There were only afew Aboriginal people andone fur trader. We searchedthe fort top to bottom, butno whisky was found.

15 October

Hard at work building apolice post on the banks ofthe Oldman River near FortWhoop-Up.

17 October

One man died of typhoidfever. His body was the firstwe laid to rest in a littlecemetery between the postand the river.

18 October

The fort will be in the formof a square, about 70 m toa side. On the east side willbe our quarters. Officers’quarters will be on thewest. Hospital, stores, andguardroom on the south.Stables and blacksmith’s shopon the north. All buildingswill face inward. There willbe gates on two ends of thesquare.

30 October

The flag flies proudly overthe barracks. We havenamed the post FortMacleod after our command-ing officer. The Mountieshave arrived in Whoop-Upcountry!

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Police Work BeginsOnce permanent police posts were establishedin the West, the real work of the Mountiescould begin.

First, the liquor trade had to be controlledand stopped. Dishonest whisky traders weretaking furs and guns in exchange for a powerfuldrink called “Whoop-Up Bug Juice.” Macleodwas determined to bring that whisky trade toan end. Shortly after the arrival of the Mounties,an Aboriginal man came into Fort Macleod. Hecomplained that traders had just given him ajug of whisky for two fine horses. The Mountiesset out quickly. The traders were caught andfined. The whisky was poured out on the snow.A first blow had been struck at the whiskytrade.

Within a short time, most of the whiskytraders were run out of “Whoop-Up country.”Law and order were being established.

The year 1999 marked the 125th anniversaryof the Great March West. To celebrate theevent, a special reenactment of the March

was held on the prairies. It began in Emerson,Manitoba on 8 May and ended in Alberta on28 July. Police recruits, Métis scouts, supplywagons, and Red River carts were all part ofthe reenactment. The March ended with a

dramatization of a meeting between ColonelMacleod and Crowfoot and a performance of

the Mounties’ famous Musical Ride.Communities along the way and across the

country were involved. Before the March, stu-dents were invited to send in a description ofwhat it might have been like to be on the trekalong with an illustrated map. The four win-

ners joined the March for a few days.

Fast Forward

Reenactment of the Great March

To find out more about the history of the RCMP,visit the RCMP Centennial Museum on the Internet

at www.rcmpmuseum.com/.

Whoop-Up Bug Juice

• colour alcohol with black chewingtobacco

• spike with red pepper, ginger, andmolasses

• water down and boil to become“firewater”

Whoop-Up Bug Juice was sold at anextremely high price. One buffalorobe bought 20 cupfuls.

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Relationship With AboriginalPeoples The Mounties also had to win the respect ofAboriginal peoples. Macleod invited the chiefsto meet with him. He told them he had notcome to take away their lands. The Redcoatshad come to bring law and justice to the West.All people were to be treated the same underthe law. Many chiefs believed that the Mountiesand Macleod treated them fairly. They grew totrust him.

The leading chief of the Blackfoot (Siksika)was Crowfoot. He was a skilled hunter and pos-sessed great courage. He won the respect of hisown people and that of the settlers. He becamethe most outstanding man of his people—apoet, a speechmaker, and a leader.

A friendship developedbetween Crowfoot and ColonelMacleod. They trusted andrespected one another. Thisfriendship was tested in May 1876.A messenger from Chief SittingBull was sent to the Blackfoot(Siksika) camp with tobacco.Sitting Bull was the chief of theAmerican Sioux. The Sioux hadfought American cavalry at thefamous battle at Little Bighorn.They were protesting against thesettlers and prospectors who hadtaken over their hunting areas.

Sitting Bull was invitingCrowfoot to join the Sioux in waragainst both the American soldiersand the Canadian Mounties. Someof the Blackfoot (Siksika) calledfor war. But Crowfoot remindedthem that the Mounties werefriends. The police had driven outthe whisky traders and jailed thewolfers who had killed their peo-ple. Crowfoot refused to smokeSitting Bull’s tobacco. He wouldnot join the Sioux in war.

During the winter of 1876, thousands ofSioux crossed the border into Canada. Theywere seeking refuge from the US Cavalry. Forthe next four years, the Sioux stayed in Canadacamped in the Cypress Hills. Eventually, theyreturned to the United States.

In the 1870s and 1880s, the Canadian government decided to move the Aboriginalpeoples onto reserves. In Canada, unlike in theUnited States, this was achieved with almost nobloodshed and warfare. In part, this wasbecause of the friendship between theAboriginal peoples and the Mounties. Thoughthere were some incidents of violence, thetreaties were generally made peacefully.However, disillusionment on the part of theAboriginal peoples soon became evident.

The North-West Mounted Police badge includes theCrown symbolizing the British monarchy, the buffalo, andthe maple leaf. The motto “Maintien le Droit” means“uphold the law.”

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Colonel French became thefirst commissioner of the

North-West Mounted Police. Hebelieved that the new forceshould be well trained and welldisciplined.

Reports tell that to toughenthe new recruits, French leddrills with them outside FortGarry in -350C weather. Heissued salt to rub on their sad-dle sores until, as one Mountie

said, “We became so tough wecould even sit on a cactus.”

For breaking the rules,Mounties were punished withsevere fines. If they werecaught swearing, they werefined $5. For falling asleep attheir post, they lost their payfor two weeks.

Colonel French gave theMounted Police an early reputa-tion for discipline.

ProfilesColonel George Arthur French

J erry Potts was one of thereal characters of the

Canadian West. He was a Métisborn from an Aboriginalmother and a Scottish father.Potts joined the Mounties as aguide and interpreter in 1874.

Jerry was described asround-shouldered, bow-legged,and covered with the scars ofmany battles. It was said thatno one had a better under-standing of the prairies. Hecould always find water whenthey were thirsty and a buffalowhen food was scarce.

Even in snowstorms andon very dark nights, Pottscould find his way. He knew

all the prairie landmarks. Oncehe was looking for a pile ofstones as a landmark. ColonelMacleod asked, “Are you lost,Jerry?” Potts answered, “No, thestones are lost.”

Potts was a person of fewwords. The story is told of achief who delivered a longspeech to the governor general.The chief spoke for 90 minutes.When Jerry translated it, hesummed it up in four words:“The chief wants grub.”

Jerry Potts was buried atFort Macleod in 1896 with fullMountie honours in recognitionof his work.

Jerry Potts

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Macleod was trained as alawyer as well as a police

officer. All through his career,he urged the Mounties to be fairand just. He told the constablesthat he did not like the saying“Wanted: Dead or Alive.” Hedemanded that all prisoners be

brought back alive. Any Mountiewho brought in a dead prisonerwas sentenced to three months ofhard labour in the cells.

Colonel Macleod gave theMounted Police an early reputa-tion for law and justice.

Lieutenant-Colonel James F. Macleod

Superintendant Sam Steele

Superintendent Sam Steele isone of the legendary figures

of the early North-West MountedPolice. He joined the force at itsbeginning when he was 19. Formore than a quarter century, his name keeps appearing inCanadian history whenever theNWMP are mentioned. He tookpart in the Great March. He wasthere during the North-WestRebellion of 1885 and the buildingof the Canadian Pacific Railway.When trouble broke out in 1887between settlers and Aboriginalpeople in the Kootenays, Steelewas sent in to build the firstpolice fort west of the Rockies.He managed to defuse the situa-tion without violence. The peopleof the place renamed their villageFort Steele in his honour.

Again in the 1890s, Steele wassent to the Yukon to bring lawand order during the Gold Rushin the Klondike. In 1899, he leftthe police to join the military andserved overseas in South Africaand Europe during World War I.

1. How did these prominent peo-ple associated with the earlyNorth-West Mounted Policegive the force its character?

2. Imagine you are an officerserving with one of the charac-ters profiled above.Write ashort eyewitness report or ashort story describing an inci-dent you experienced. Recordit on audiotape.

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Civics &Society The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Today

The RCMP has gone throughmany changes since its

beginnings on the prairies in1873. Today, the force hasgrown to over 15 000 members.About 700 of these are women.The RCMP enforces nationallaws. Officers investigate suchcrimes as dealing in narcotics,spying, counterfeiting, andsmuggling. They still haveresponsibility for upholding theIndian Act.

Today, you may seeMounties on parade at theParliament Buildings in Ottawaor on horseback in their famousMusical Ride. However, most ofthe Mounties’ work is done withcars, airplanes, ships, motorcy-cles, or snowmobiles. The forceuses the most up-to-date meth-ods of criminal investigation.

1. Using a web diagram, brain-storm everything you knowabout the RCMP today.Whatdo you still want to know, orthink you should know? Dosome research to find theanswers (see the web sitebelow).

2. Design and create a specialcoin, stamp, web page, collage,or other image to reflect theimportant role the RCMPhas played in Canada’s devel-opment as a nation.

001110010011110100011101000100110101000111010011101011001010110101001110001101010010110111100101100001011010001101101010101001101011010100101010010100100101010010000010101100101001001010101010111010100101111011100001100101001011010100101010101101000011100100111101000111010001001101010001110100111010110010101101010011100011010100101101111001011000010110100011011010101010011110100011101000100110101000111

oNetsurferNetsurfer

To find out moreabout all the dutiesand activities ofthe RCMP, visit

their web site atwww.rcmp-grc.gc.ca.

Today most Mounties do not ride horses and do notwear the scarlet uniforms except for special occasions.They are engaged in the day-to-day operations of policework across the country.

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Historical Highlights

1873 North-West Mounted Police is created

1874 Great March West—18 officers, 257 men and horses leave Winnipeg for Fort Whoop-Up

1874-1905 Duties include general law enforcement, establishing friendly relations withAboriginal peoples, helping settlers

1880s Musical Ride is established for public relations

1895 Police the Yukon during the Gold Rush

1904 “Royal” is added to the name; force becomes known as “Royal North-West Mounted Police”

1914-1918 During World War I carry out surveillance of enemy aliens at home and send cavalry squadrons overseas

1920 Become the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP)

1928-32 Take over provincial policing in Saskatchewan (1928), Alberta, New Brunswick,Manitoba, Nova Scotia, and Prince Edward Island (1932)

1935 Police Dog unit opens with three German shepherds Forensic laboratory established in Regina

1939-45 During World War II are involved in national security at home and marine, air, and military police duties overseas

1950 Take over provincial policing in Newfoundland and British Columbia

1970s New duties include airport policing, VIP security, and drug enforcement

1973 Centennial Museum opens in Regina to celebrate 100 years of the Force

1974 Women recruited as uniformed regular members

1990s Take part in international police activities in Namibia and Yugoslavia

1992 First women appointed as commissioned officers

1998 Celebrate 125th year with specialevents across the country; theRoyal Canadian Mint issues a spe-cial coin and Canada Post releasesa commemorative stamp

1999 125th anniversary of the March West

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ActivitiesUnderstanding Concepts

1. Add these new terms to your Factfile.

Cypress Hills Massacre North-West Mounted Police Great MarchFort Whoop-Up bias

2. a) What were the two main tasks that the North-West Mounted Police hadbeen sent out West to do?

b) Why were these tasks necessary in the 1870s?

3. What was the Great March West? Describe the March in your own words.

4. Why did Crowfoot not join Sitting Bull in war?

Digging Deeper

5. CREATE Create a collage to illustrate the work of the North-West MountedPolice in the 1870s. Include diagrams, pictures, descriptions of tours of duty,personalities, and incidents in its early history.

6. INVESTIGATE/MODEL Find photos of a NWMP fort from the 1870s or 1880s.Construct a model of the fort including labels and descriptions.

7. ROLE PLAY/INTERVIEW Imagine that you are an interviewer for a newspaper.You have been sent out to talk with a member of Colonel Macleod’s detach-ment at Fort Macleod.What questions would you ask? Develop your questionsand then role play the interview with a partner.

8. CREATE It is 1880.The North-West Mounted Police needs more recruits.Create posters to be used in Ontario to recruit new members to the force.Be sure your posters appeal to the kinds of recruits you wish to attract.

9. DISCUSS Discuss this statement:“The Mounted Police made the CanadianWest a different kind of place than the American West.”

Making New Connections

10. COMPARE Develop and complete a chart to compare the North-WestMounted Police in 1873 with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police today.Consider such things as the numbers of officers and detachments, location,training, living conditions in barracks, rules and regulations, main duties, andmethods of transportation.

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11. MEDIA/WRITE How are the Mounties portrayed today on television, inmovies, and in other media (books, cartoons, pictures, etc.)? Think of somespecific examples (or gather examples) and describe them.Then write two orthree paragraphs expressing your point of view on how accurate these mediaimages are. How well do they reflect the real life and work of an RCMP officer?

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wanted...wanted men to join the newly-formed north-west mounted police must be active men of sound...

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