C. The North West Mounted Police

From HCO Jr

Part 7. All Aboard for the West → A. Red River Settlement & Insurrection → B. National Policy & the CPR → C. North West Mounted Police → D. Aboriginal Treaties → E. North West Rebellion → F. Rise of British Columbia → G. Making a Western Home

The Enduring Canadian Symbol

Like so much in Canadian history, the creation of the Mounted Police was largely a response to American pressure. The Americans cast a greedy eye northward, hoping eventually to fly the Stars and Stripes over the vast area west of Manitoba. They simply saw it as part of their "manifest destiny" - their God-given right to control all of North America.

The North West had fewer than 50 000 people, mostly aboriginal, scattered over an area about a quarter the size of the entire continent. It was was ripe for a take-over, and unscrupulous American fur traders added to the chaos by freely - and illegally - trading whisky for furs. The Aboriginal People were forced to move further and further west in pursuit of the diminishing buffalo herds. As they did, hundreds were killed in an intense territorial warfare waged between the Cree and Blackfoot. Smallpox epidemics in the 1870s added to the looming crisis, although some HBC posts provided vaccinations.

The American Spirit of Manifest Destiny, 1872

Fort Whoop-up Before Arrival of Law & Order

The Canadian government was responsible for maintaining law and order in this vast territory. Manitoba Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba, Alexander Morris, had already convinced Macdonald to move forward with a police force for the West. But the bill was stalled in the House of Commons. Now a new ingredient was added to break the logjam.

On May 31, 1873, news of the Cypress Hill massacre reached Parliament Hill. About a dozen American "wolfers" - hunters who poisoned buffalo and then collected the fur after wolves had fed off the carcasses - viciously attacked a defenseless band of Assiniboine people near Abe Farwell's trading post. Mistakenly thinking that the Assiniboines had stolen a horse, the "wolfers" savagely murdered about two-dozen people , including children and old people. One elder was clubbed to death and his severed head mounted on a lodge-pole. Their bodies were left to rot in the sun.

Canadians were outraged, and demanded a swift response to curb this lawlessness, so the stalled bill quickly passed through Parliament,. The name of the new body, the North-West Mounted Rifles, sounded too much like a military force. "Rifles" was changed to "Police" so as not to anger Americans. The NWMP was empowered with a wide-ranging mandate. It was to preserve law and order, maintain peace and security, end the illegal whisky trade, patrol the border, end smuggling, and gain the trust and confidence of the Aboriginal peoples.

The Mounties March West

In the fall of 1873, the first hundred and fifty recruits of the NWMP gathered in Collingwood, Ontario to train and get equipped. Then they journeyed 1400 kilometers west, by lake boat and sled and by foot, to winter at Lower Fort Garry and continue their preparations.

James Macleod

In early July 1874, a contingent of three hundred men began "the Great March" westward under the command of George Arthur French. After only 430 kilometers (of the 1600 km. trek), French decided to break the company into two, with the healthiest group continuing on to Fort Whoop-Up, while the other traveled north-west to Fort Edmonton.

RESOURCE: You can read an account of the trek in the Diary of Henri Julien, an illustrator from the Canadian Illustrated News who travelled with the party.

On October 9, Assistant NWMP Commissioner James Macleod arrived at Fort Whoop-Up with a North West Mounted Police troop, guided by Métis scout Jerry Potts. They found the whisky trading post empty, but built a fort nearby on an island in the Oldman River. Made of cottonwood logs plastered with clay, it had a barracks, stables, a hospital and a smithy. It was the first police post in Alberta. The first arrest came shortly after with the capture of five whiskey traders with two wagon loads of buffalo robes, rifles and fire water (a nasty concoction of brandy and pepper).

NWMP Post at Fort Walsh

The Mounties performed invaluable services with efficiency. They stopped smuggling and drove out the whisky traders . They also provided a number of key services (medical, mail delivery, and census taking) for the native population. They patrolled on horseback and integrated themselves into the community. They helped resolve domestic and community disputes, fought prairie fires, drove rustlers out of the region, and delivered emergency supplies to starving Aboriginal bands.

The native people slowly began to trust and respect the men in the scarlet tunics, even though they were the agents of a harsh government that moved to ban the Sun Dance and other ceremonies.

Sun Dance - The Making of a Brave

The Mounties evolved and their name changed ("Royal" was added in 1904). They consistently reinvented themselves to remain relevant to the changing times. But their role and reputation remained stellar and sterling. In the 1920s, Hollywood movies like Rose Marie started featuring the image of the stalwart Mountie, always courageously getting his man and maintaining his glistening character.

Canada Post

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police became the local police force in most provinces of Canada. Their Musical Ride is world famous as is their appearance at ceremonial functions. They now include women and members of visible minorities in their ranks. Their contemporary functions - drug enforcement, computer crimes and other white-collar crime - are vastly different from their original job description. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police, however, remain the quintessential symbol of Canada, inside the country and out.