Canada – Alberta – Fort Macleod

2019 JULY 5 —–

It was still fairly early so we decided to go to the Fort Museum of the North West Mounted Police.

The Fort was only a couple blocks from our motel. There was a sign in front saying there were 2 RCMP Musical Rides daily included in our ticket. We were very excited, but alas, the rainy weather muddied the arena and the rides were cancelled. The main building had a lot of displays and stories on the history of the NWMP and RCMP.

The NWMP was founded in May 1873. In 1904, King Edward VII bestowed the title of “Royal” upon them. On February 1, 1920 Parliamentary legislation merged the RNWMP with the Dominion Police, a federal police force that had jurisdiction in eastern Canada, to form the RCMP. Whereas the requirements to become a NWMP stressed horsemanship and Calvary tactics, the RCMP leans toward higher educational and training standards – air and marine divisions, crime detection labs, intelligence and security roles. The horsemanship and cavalry drills of the NWMP live on as basics of the RCMP Musical Ride.

The NWMP were formed in response to a series of unpleasant events. The North-West was brought under the control of the Dominion of Canada in 1867. The Hudson’s Bay Company had maintained relative stability in the region the previous 200 years. When they left, it opened a door to the American Whiskey Trade. Canada was looking to establish settlements in the new frontier but so were the Americans. The Cypress Hills Massacre, a whiskey driven tragedy, prompted Sir John A MacDonald to establish a police force to bring peace and authority to the North-West Territories. Ending the whiskey trade and ensuing violence, as well as establishing good relations with the local Indians, would help encourage settlers and Canada’s foothold in the virgin territory.

On July 8 1874, nearly 400 recruited men left Dufferin, Manitoba, under the leadership of Commissioner George Arthur French, and began its Great March west. They brought 114 Red River carts to haul supplies, 143 draught oxen to pull the 73 wagons loaded with more supplies to establish a post, 93 cattle for slaughter, farm machinery, two 9-lb cannons, portable forges, wheeled kitchens, and 310 matching Standardbred horses – French thought that having matching horses would make a powerful impact upon their arrival.

The trek was arduous and difficult. The managed only 24 km (15 miles) per day. The oxen could pull more than the horses, had more stamina and were content on only hay, but they were slow. Nothing could make them move faster despite French’s frustration at the slow pace. Many horses died and many men deserted. Man and beast went hungry and prairie water was not fit to drink. They failed to bring water containers to stock up when good water was found. A contingent was sent north to establish a post near Edmonton, the rest of the party continued on a well-established trail, hugging the US border. They had to veer north to avoid Sioux territories at one point.

When the Force arrived at what they thought was the location of Fort Whoop-up they were, instead, off by 121 km (75 miles). Instead of good grazing land for their horses that they were expecting, they found a treeless barren. French decided to head to Fort Benton, Montana to gather supplies. The 110 km (70 mile) detour proved too much for the already starving horses; many more died. By the time they reached Fort Benton many of the men were barefoot and had only rags left for clothes. So much for making an impressive appearance. They had travelled nearly 1400 km (900 miles) and still had not reached their destination.

Having gotten new supplies, and with the weather turning cold, French headed back east with a small contingency and left Assistant Commissioner James Macleod to find his way to maintain order at the whiskey trading capital, Fort Whoop-up. Macleod and his 150 men arrived at a deserted Fort Whoop-up on October 13, 1874. It had taken a total of 97 days from the time they started. The whiskey traders had heard that the cops were on their way and had long since moved on.

The small Force was given orders to set up a garrison in the area. They settled in to build their post on an island on the Oldman River and named the fort in honour of James Farquharson Macleod. The original fort was one mile east of the present day Fort Macleod.

History books have been kind to Commissioner George French, depicting the March West as a story of bravery, endurance and determination. Overall his leadership was a disaster and the expedition succeeded in spite of him. Historian William Baker described it as “a monumental fiasco of poor planning, ignorance, incompetence, and cruelty to men and beasts”. At the end of the 30 minute video we watched they said “One good thing can be said about French – not one man died on the march.” I point out here they said ONE good thing…..

After their long and arduous journey life did not get easier. Standard issue beds consisted of “three boards and a pair of wooden trestles” and a canvas tick that they had to fill themselves from the haystack. The barracks were damp, drafty and infested with mice. The sod roof leaked so bad, men strung cloth tarps over their beds. Their kit had to be laid out on the bed, or shelf above the bed, in a manner that would pass the commanding officer’s inspection. The meals were repeatedly buffalo patties, beans and tea. One constable wrote, “The food in hell could not be a greater punishment than the meals at Fort Macleod.” God only knows how they survived that first winter.

They had 300,000 miles of land to patrol, with about 10,000 First Nations people and about 300 frontiersmen living there. As the settlers grew in number so did their duties. The mounted policeman had a bigger job than just policing and handing out justice to whiskey smugglers and horse thieves. To the new settlers he served as guide, philosopher, nurse, mailman, messenger, and friend. He was the tax man, he registered births and deaths, and he performed health and welfare checks on settlers and Natives alike. He spent countless hours in the saddle facing all kinds of weather, from blazing sun to freezing snowstorms.

The Standardbred horses were replaced with more rugged western-bred broncos. The NW Mounted Police were dependent on the quality and sufficiency of their horses. In 1878 they established their own horse ranch, near Pincher Creek, to maintain a steady supply of horses. The men were responsible for the grooming and well-being of their individual horse. Tradesmen followed the western flow of Mounties and horses. Carpenters, harness makers, wheelwrights, and blacksmiths were soon setting up shop for settlers, not just the Mounties.

In the end, maybe it was a good thing that French and his “make an impression” and “hurry the oxen” attitude went back east. Blackfoot leader, Crowfoot, welcomed the arrival of the police. His people had become victims to the whiskey trade. He was eager to meet with Macleod to see for himself if he could trust this man in helping his people prosper and protect their culture while living peacefully with the new settlers. Crowfoot and Macleod took an instant liking to each other. Macleod understood the plight of the Native people and understood that peace would be possible only through honest and friendly relations. This trust was instrumental in Crowfoot convincing other chiefs to sign Treaty 7 where they ceded their rights to their traditional territory in exchange for continued hunting and fishing on the surrendered land, annual payments or provisions from the Crown, and established reservation land. Their trust was put to paper.

Shortly after signing Treaty 7, Crowfoot took his people to Montana to follow the buffalo. When they returned a few years later the Mounties were no longer in charge of the welfare of the First Nations people. Sadly, the Department of Indian Affairs had replaced them. They were terrible at understanding the Native people and their culture. They established residential schools and tried to turn the Red Man white. Crowfoot became distrustful of the Mounties and the Canadian Government.

We carried on, checking out the old buildings in the Fort that included a gallery with beautiful old pictures and artifacts,

a chapel,

a dispensary,

blacksmith shop,

and Kanouse House. Fred Kanouse was a fur trader from Montana that came north to build a whiskey post at Fort Whoop-up. Even though he was making $12,000 a year ($275,000 today) selling whiskey to the Indians, when he came across the newly arrived Mounties, he knew his whiskey days were over. Ever the entrepreneur, he began selling the dreaded buffalo meat to the Mounties. When Treaty 7 was being signed, he took advantage of the influx of Blackfoot and began trading goods with them. He bought 22 head of cattle and against all odds let them loose to forage on their own for the winter. In the spring he found his herd to be alive and well. Senator Cochrane came to him for advise before purchasing 6700 cattle, beginning the southern Alberta beef industry. When asked if it were true that he was on the prairies before the Mounties, he replied, “I was the reason they came.”

There was a poster of the Rules and Regulations of the Macleod Hotel – adopted unanimously by the proprietor on Sept 1, 1882. I’m not sure if this was for real or a hoax. Some of the rules were hilarious.

“Baths furnished free down at the river, but bathers must furnish their own soap and towels.” “Assaults on the cook are strictly prohibited.” “Meals served in own rooms will not be guaranteed in any way. Our waiters are hungry and not above temptation.” “All guests are requested to rise at 6 AM. This is imperative as the sheets are needed for tablecloths.”

After leaving the Fort, we walked across to the Historical Main Street of Fort Macleod. The buildings are all very old and most of them have historical significance. However, it was getting late and most of the shops were closed. We could only peek in the windows of a few antique shops. We were going to stop for a coffee at a quaint little shop but the sign on the door said he would be back soon.

That worked out just fine because Ed and I ended up going into Stronghold Brewing, a micro-brewery. The place was full of people (always a good sign). I asked if they had sour beer. They did – two kinds. I asked for a small sample of each. Neither was impressive. Then the owner said his sister likes to combine them. I dumped one glass into the other and proceeded to order a pint of the blend. Ed had a stout. All the tables had people sitting at them. One large table had only 3 fellows and we asked if we could join them. We ended up having a great chat with them. One of the men was the artist who painted the mural in the pub. They left which left Ed and I alone at the big table. (Allan and Bella didn’t want to join us as they thought there was no room to sit.) A lady came up and asked if we would mind trading tables as there were six of them at a tiny table and only 2 of us at a big table. Not a problem. Oh, I love meeting strangers!!

We all ate together at a Chinese Restaurant. Bella wasn’t very hungry so she ordered a small bowl of wonton soup with shrimp. It was HUGE!

The next day we were headed for Frank Slide.