Sir John A. Macdonald and the North-West Mounted Police
In the 1870's a new wave of traders from outposts of the American North-West crossed the border (to compete with the Hudson's Bay Company) into the foothill country of present day Alberta, the tribal home of the Blackfoot. These tough, adventurous men, representing many nationalities, often veterans of the Civil War, had little concern for the Indians' welfare. They soon established themselves in fortified posts whose colourful names reveal something of their picaresque character — Slideout, Kipp, Standoff and the most notorious of all, Whoop-Up. By 1873, these "free traders", as they were called, had captured most of the Blackfoot trade. The newcomers brought cheap whisky from Chicago and St. Louis distilleries; it was often adulterated to potentiate its effect and increase profits. One recipe called for a quart of whisky, a pound of chewing tobacco, a handful of red pepper, one bottle of Jamaica ginger, a quart of molasses and a dash of red ink. The effect of this concoction was said to be stunning.
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| Fort Whoop-Up |
Profits were high in the nefarious exchange of goods. The Indians, having no use for white man's money, exchanged their furs for rifles, ammunition and whisky. The sale of whisky realized the greatest profits, and the
Indians who craved the vile concoction sought out the traders who offered the most, often bartering their last possessions for a few cups of "Whoop-Up bug juice". As a result, many Indians were stripped of their pride and possessions; they became debauched and demoralized, and the old tribal institutions began to break down. Life became cheap; murder and robbery went unpunished.
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| Sir John A. Macdonald |
Several observers reported the deteriorating conditions on the western plains to Ottawa. One of these observers, Lt. Butler, after traveling across the North-West in 1871, wrote: "The institutions of Law and Order, as understood in civilized communities, are wholly unknown." Canada's first Prime Minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, became directly responsible for establishing Canada's authority in the newly acquired territories.
The violence which had accompanied American expansion onto the western plains in the previous decade was uppermost in Macdonald's mind as he considered the problem of establishing law and order on Canada's frontier. A series of Indian wars with the plains tribes followed the rush of settlers and miners into the American West. These wars cost the United States government millions of dollars and the lives of hundreds of troops and settlers. Macdonald was aware that Canada did not have the resources to repeat the American experience. He was determined that law and order must be established in advance of settlement. Macdonald's answer to this thorny problem was a paramilitary force of mounted police, trained and equipped for plains warfare, but with primarily civil responsibilities; it would be the advance guard of settlement, establishing friendly relations with the Indian tribes and maintaining peace as settlers arrived. The model for the proposed force was the Royal Irish Constabulary, which had been used as a pattern for organizing numerous police forces throughout the British Empire.
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