Cypress Hills
The pioneers who explored and settled North America were
from a variety of backgrounds. Some were young, a few were old (middle-aged in
the standards of today), some were educated and most were not.
Many ventured out alone and if they had some experience in
protecting and feeding themselves they managed to survive. If they happened to
be extremely fast learners they might survive. If they had neither skill or
could not find someone who did they often perished.
Having company often helped. With two people or a group each
will have different skills which will help and they can also watch each other’s
back in a crisis. There where instances when a married couple managed to make a
living on a western farm when neither was experienced or fitted for the life in
the beginning but working together managed to prosper. There are also examples
of such couples not surviving.
Most of those who trod the prairie and mountains in those
early days were men. Groups would have been from a variety of backgrounds with
a wide range of education, How did the young get along with the old or the illiterate
with the professor?
That was my concept when I wrote “Partners” my second
published novel, access to which has changed, mostly without my knowledge.
Amazon still has it listed as a Kindle (and as a book at a
price no one in the world would pay) but the printed version can still be found
through the SBP web site which is http://sbprabooks.com/davidmmcgowan or simply click on the book
cover to the right.
I
suspect to change this availability soon but not for a few months since I have
other things on my plate.
The
story begins near “Old Wives Lake” which is now a migratory bird sanctuary on
the eastern edge of the Cypress Hills. Near the lake (which covers a fairly
large area but is not that deep) there is just the beginning of a rise in
elevation from the prairie to the east. This rolling landscape continues to
rise to where the hills become much more extensive. It is there that two main
characters come back to them later in the story, further west in the hills.
This
central to western area of the Cypress Hills has been used in several stories
the most famous of which is “The Englishman’s Boy” by Guy Vanderhaegue. The
story (and the movie) climax is the historic Cypress Hills Massacre where a
mixed group of whites (Americans and Canadians and Métis) attacked a village of
peaceful Assiniboine resulting in the death of twenty and one of the Americans.
This battle took place in 1873 and was the push the accelerated the
establishment of the North West Mounted Police that the “great leaders” in
Ottawa had been talking about for years (as politicians still do) but had done
little to achieve. (And as they still do.)
Cypress Hills, where the story starts.
A beautiful area in south west Saskatchewan
In 1866 the area which now includes Manitoba, Saskatchewan
and Alberta was called Rupert’s Land and was under the control of the Hudson’s
Bay Company. Those in the east who where trying to form a country from the
British Colonies hadn’t done much to change that since they were concentrating
on Upper Canada (Ontario), Lower Canada (Quebec), New Brunswick, Nova Scotia,
Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland. They like-wise had not opened
communication with the Colony of British Columbia. Two years later (1868)
Canadian Confederation was achieved for the east under the British America Act
and Rupert’s Land became the North West Territories except for a small area
around Winnipeg becoming and embryo Manitoba.
Wild Horse Creek
One of many
small gold rush towns in British
Columbia
Barkerville street scene
Barkerville
At the time
it was said to be the largest center west of Chicago San Francisco
It has been claimed that there were no serious battles
between whites and aboriginals in Canada
The various governments and law enforcement agencies would
like everyone to think that there where few violent confrontations between any
individuals during the building of Canada
There is a ‘Heritage Moment’ on Canadian television which
depicts Inspector Sam Steele of the North West Mounted Police explaining to an
American visitor to the Klondike Gold Fields that “Men don’t wear firearms in Canada
There used to be (perhaps 20 years ago?) a show on Canadian
TV called ‘Bordertown.’ Good actors, good directing but the concept upset me.
The Mounted Policeman (for the north side of the town) was a law abiding,
caring, thoughtful figure. Had he been indicative of policemen of the time they
would have all been beaten or murdered by the not so nice people evident in any
place or time including this one.
The town Marshal (for the south side of the town) was rough,
tough, uncaring and a shoot-first-ask-questions-later sort. He too would have
been eliminated by the people of the time, but in this case the law abiding
element.
Below are the historical notes from the last pages of
‘Partners’.
Located in what is now south-central Saskatchewan
Probably in an effort at political correctness it has been
renamed and now appears on Saskatchewan Old Wives Lake
Blackfoot
Actually a confederacy of three Algonquin nations, the
Kainai, Sitsika, and Peigan, the name “Blackfoot” supposedly placed on them by
the Lakota or Sioux. Outnumbered by everyone except the whites, (and by the mid-1800s
them too) they made up in ferocity what they lacked in population. The fear
they engendered in other peoples was only equaled by the Kiowa and later the
Apache far to the south.
Colonel Coleman
It is true that Colonel Coleman is a figment of my
imagination. However, during the time period depicted and because there was
nothing to stop them, there were several individuals who attempted to create
their own kingdom in what is now Southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. According
to the Hudson Bay Company’s charter (and the British Crown) the entire area was
part of that company’s area of operation and thus under their protection until
1869. However, practically speaking, this area was buffalo country with a white
population consisting of about 500 whiskey traders and a few trappers. Thus the
company held very little interest in the area and had no force capable of
stopping or even slowing incursions.
As mentioned above, the North West Mounted Police, formed to
prevent incursions, eliminate whiskey, and protect the population, did not
arrive in the area until 1874.
Captain McDougal
Like Colonel Coleman, Captain McDougal is a completely
fictional character. However, the U.S. Army of the day was populated with
officers (and troopers) who took demotions following the end of the Civil War
in order that they might have a home. A few of these officers and their men
were of less than stellar character, but many, such as the fictional Captain
McDougal, completed almost impossible tasks despite being virtually ignored by
Washington.
Bear Child
He was known by the white man as Jerry Potts, but his Kainai
name was Bear Child. He was the son of a Scott, Andrew Potts, an American Fur
Company clerk at Fort
McKenzie
Jerry Potts has been called the greatest scout and guide of
the old west, which, considering the competition may or may not be completely
true. There is no doubt that the two people most responsible for the early
survival of the North West Mounted Police, and thus the continuing longevity of
the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are Colonel J.F. Macleod and Jerry Potts.
Actually, the ‘Colony of British Columbia’ was very short
lived and for much of the time before joining Canada was “The Colony of
Vancouver Island” and “The Colony of New Caledonia”. At the time these two
colonies joined confederation another “New Caledonia” (a French territory in
the South Pacific) existed so the “Province of British Columbia” came into existence.
I chose to use the British Columbia name in an attempt to avoid confusion.
Constable Jack Lawson
Constable Lawson, a rookie with the British Columbia Police
force was the second police officer to be killed in the line of duty in what is
now Western Canada. A few days before his death on July 18, 1867 , Canadian Confederation had been
achieved, but British Columbia Oregon Territory
Charles H. (One Ear
Charlie) Brown
One Ear Charlie was a totally despicable thug with a long
criminal career that covered the Western United States
and the Colony of British Columbia. During one of his many incarcerations he
attempted to overpower a prison guard at Victoria who shot off his ear.
Charlie’s last crime was the killing of Constable Lawson who
was widely liked by the miners of Wild Horse Creek. Since no other officers
were immediately available, four miners trailed Brown south into Oregon July
20, 1867 .
Despite diligent research, I could find no mention of the
names of the four vigilantes and so I have given them names.
From the back cover of “Partners”
Thomas
Brash is trying to escape but knows he never will. Pursuing him is the memory
of the family he lost to cholera. Perhaps he believes that traveling alone in a
wild, dangerous land will end all his memories; there is no doubt he wishes to
be alone.
Whatever
his intentions the appearance of Frank Clement and the circumstances of that
meeting upset those plans. Brash views Clement as an uneducated child who
requires fatherly protection and guidance. Clement views Brash as a tenderfoot
and cannot understand how anyone who knows so little could live so long. These
two loners are joined by others and they all become partners.
Having
achieved relative sanctuary and surrounded by civilization
their wilderness past comes back to haunt them.
