GREAT TRADITIONS UPHELD
In the foregoing chapter I have, in order to preserve the continuity of
the Police story through the war period, gone a little ahead of the
chronological order of general events in the history of the corps. But
history was being made all the time by these remarkable men, whether
they were serving at home or abroad. They were always and everywhere on
active duty, and "peace hath her victories no less renowned than war."
Riding with dispatches in France was not more active and dangerous
service than patrolling over the immense areas of trackless snow and ice
in the Arctic Circle or facing overwhelmingly superior numbers where
mobs were surging restlessly and riotously in our own country. Here and
there on the plains or in the mountains little detachments were without
display or advertisement carrying out tasks that were onerous and
disagreeable in the extreme.
For instance, we have the story of a great mine disaster at Hill Crest,
Alberta, where by a terrific explosion 188 men out of the 237 who had
entered the mine on a June morning in 1914 lost their lives. The Mounted
Police as usual rushed to the scene to see what they could do to relieve
the situation, Inspector Junget taking charge. Experienced miners were
at work bringing out the bodies, it being evident from the first that
none but the few men who had come up in an exhausted condition were
alive. The detachment of Mounted Police only numbered six, but they took
effective oversight at once, first closing the bar of the local hotel in
order to head off the danger of drunkenness breaking out in the camp.
Corporal Searle and Constable Kistruck, from Pincher Creek, and
Constable Wilson, from MacLeod, were posted at the entrance to the two
mines to keep the crowd back and preserve order generally, while
Corporals Mead and Grant and Constable Hancock looked after the
mutilated bodies as they were brought out of the mine. Mead and Grant
kept the check numbers of the bodies where they could be found, kept an
inventory of the money or other property found on each, then washed the
bodies, and wrapped them in cotton sheets. Then these bodies were taken
to the Mine-Union Hall, where Constable Hancock looked after them,
placing them in rows upon the floor. Handling 188 mutilated and grimy
bodies in the warmth of June weather was a gruesome, depressing and
difficult task, but these men, assisted by relays of miners, did this
work for four days and nights until funeral services were held over the
mangled remains of these unfortunate victims of the disaster. Mead,
Grant and Hancock especially had a terrible undertaking, and they won
the praise not only of the citizens of Hill Crest, but that of the
miners also, many of the latter, though extreme radical Socialists who
resented the very existence of the Force, saying, "We have no use for
the Police, but we cannot help respecting its members when we see them
working under such trying conditions." Thus were these gallant men
winning the applause of revolutionists who hated them because they stood
for law and order in the country. And I think it well to say here, after
knowing the Mounted Police throughout the years of their history, that
the only enemies they have had have been the elements that resented the
fearless and impartial enforcement of law. Sometimes these elements were
found amongst the reckless promoters and denizens of the underworld.
Sometimes amongst those who would fan the embers of social discontent
into a blaze that would destroy society and not infrequently in the
ranks of those who would not scruple to plunder the public treasury. It
has always been annoying and disconcerting to such elements to find that
they could neither cajole nor frighten nor bribe these inflexible men in
the uniform of scarlet and gold who stood for the administration of
British law in a British country. _Noblesse oblige._ If the recruits of
to-day measure up as they have been doing to the established reputation
of the Force, that reputation will become increasingly one of the saving
assets of Canada and the Empire.
Up in the Arctic areas during those days of war when some were on duty
in France and across our own plains and mountains, the Police were
battling against hostile climatic conditions that the sacredness of
human life might be impressed on the inhabitants of the most remote
regions under the flag. And sometimes their equipment was not very
ample. One laughs when he sees attacks made upon Mounted Police
expenditure. A country vaster than several European Kingdoms cannot be
kept in peace and quietness for a trifle. If the Mounted Police were
withdrawn and lawlessness was allowed to run riot in the country, people
would soon realize that it is not the proper administration of law, but
the absence of it which bankrupts a country. As a matter of fact, as
this story has shown again and again, these men of the Police were
constantly practising economies in regard to the very necessaries of
life in case they should be considered as asking for too much. Here, for
instance, in that war year when millions were being poured out
elsewhere, we find Superintendent Demers, who with his men had to patrol
the dangerous northern coasts in the Hudson's Bay region where wrecks
and drownings are frequent, asking apologetically for six life-belts, as
"patrols by water have to be made without any precaution against
possible accident." We hope he got them. These men were not playing on a
mill-pond, but were fighting storms in the fields of ice and reefs with
bull walrus thrown in as an extra peril to guard against.
War echoes are heard during that period, but for the most part alien
enemies soon recognized the wisdom of pursuing their work quietly, and
in such cases they were not molested. And amidst it all we find the
record of quiet heroisms as these Mounted Policemen who were not allowed
to go to the Front pursued the steady round of their duty at home. Here,
for instance, in 1915 we find Superintendent West, who was in charge at
Battleford on the Saskatchewan, telling us of a piece of work whose fine
courageous quality those who know the country can especially appreciate.
West says, "Typhoid fever broke out amongst the Indians on the Island
Lake Reserve and Constable Rose was sent from here to see that
quarantine was enforced." Typhoid is a serious business in the dry
season, and the constable would have done his regular duty if he had
just put the place under quarantine and kept anyone from going or
coming. But that was not the police way, and so Rose went beyond his
duty. West goes on, "One man, Patrice Dumont, a half-breed, living close
to the reserve, fell ill, as did the members of his family. Dumont, who
was the sole support of the family, died. The rest of the family became
hysterical and Rose had to be there continually. He dressed the body of
Dumont for burial and made a coffin fastened with wooden pegs in the
absence of nails, and as the flies were bad he buried the body next day
with the help of some Indians. The circumstances under which Constable
Rose worked were most trying, as he had to sleep in the same room with
the dead man, while Dumont's children kept crying and clinging round his
neck all night." The children, half-crazed with grief and delirium,
recognized that the big policeman was a friend and very human in his
practical sympathy.
It is evident that the Dominion Government feared that at one time the
whole Mounted Police Force, if allowed, would have enlisted for service
overseas unless their attention was very specially called to the vital
necessity for their presence at home. Accordingly, in 1916, when many of
the Force were renewing the efforts to go overseas, the Premier of
Canada, Hon. Sir Robert L. Borden, than whom there was no one who
understood the world situation better, sent the following special
communication to the Mounted Police Force, "The Prime Minister desires
to express to officers, non-commissioned officers and constables his
very deep appreciation of the patriotic and devoted service which they
have rendered, and of the faithful and efficient manner in which they
are performing their important duties.
"He fully realizes the great desire of the members of the Force to
enlist for overseas service, and he is aware that practically the whole
Force would offer their services at the Front if permission could be
given. This patriotic spirit is entirely commendable; but all members of
the Force must remember that the service they are now rendering to the
Dominion and to the Empire is not less important than that which they
would perform if serving at the Front. Further, it is a service which
can only be efficiently performed by a force which has been trained in
the discharge of the duties it is called upon to undertake. For these
reasons the Prime Minister has found himself unable to consent to the
retirement from the Force of many officers and men who have asked that
permission for the purpose of enlistment." Sir Robert is especially wise
when he mentions how only the trained men of the Mounted Police could do
certain duties. Men with less tact, firmness, fairness and discipline
would have had the whole country in a turmoil a dozen times over during
these recent decades. For during this period the West has been seething
with an inrushing tide of polyglot people who have been naturally
disposed to consider that the liberty of a new land gave them
unrestrained licence to do what they pleased. Under proper oversight
they have found their feet without losing their heads.
That year, 1916, Commissioner Perry reported that the Mounted Police had
subscribed $30,000 to the Canadian Patriotic Fund. This later reached
$50,000.00. These men were serving on a small wage, but if they could
not get away to the Front they were going to help the cause to the limit
and when the opportunity would be given they would show their readiness
to go themselves wherever needed.
That year also the Commissioner reported the death of Assistant
Commissioner A. E. R. Cuthbert, to be followed a few years later by the
sudden demise of one of his successors, Assistant Commissioner W. H.
Routledge. Both had given splendid service. Cuthbert had been thirty-one
years with the Force and had served with distinction in South Africa.
Routledge had served in all parts of the West, including the Yukon. He
was a master of detail and system, and did work of unique value in
arranging the reports and working out orderly methods in the use of
documents. In the same report the Commissioner expressed the regret of
himself and the Force at the retirement of Mr. Lawrence Fortescue, who
had joined the corps at the very beginning, had made the trek to the
West and then was recalled to Ottawa to assist with the work of the
Department there. At the time of his retirement he was Comptroller of
the Force. The corps has been fortunate in its Comptrollers, the men who
are official administrative heads and have the general oversight of
expenditures. Lieut.-Colonel Frederick White, who for long and faithful
service was given the C.M.G., was the first Comptroller--a man of great
ability and indefatigable disposition. The present popular and able
Comptroller is Mr. A. A. McLean, a sturdy Highland type from Prince
Edward Island, who was a prominent lawyer and legislator for years. Much
of the steady frictionless movement of the whole department depends on
the administrative talent of the Comptroller.
When we have heard arm-chair critics attack police expenditure, we have
thought not only of the practice of economy as already indicated in the
case of reports from officers at many points, but of the amount saved to
Canada by the devoted and self-sacrificing efforts of these men to head
off lawless movements and to create in the remotest points of the
country a wholesome respect for constituted authority.
There were many wonderful patrols in the Arctic circle, but those which
had to do with the detection of crime or the unravelling of mysteries
connected with the disappearance of explorers and traders or others
naturally attracted most attention. There were not many of these
particular patrols, for the Esquimaux were not by any means murderously
inclined. The cases investigated showed that they had been moved by
provocation.
One of these cases resulted in the famous Bathurst Inlet patrol. In 1911
two men, Mr. H. V. Radford, an American, and Mr. T. G. Street, a
Canadian, went on an exploring and specimen collecting journey into the
North. They reached Bathurst Inlet in 1912, having wintered at Schultz
Lake. In May, 1913, that well-known northern patrol man, Sergeant W. G.
Edgenton, of the Mounted Police, who was in command of the post at
Fullerton, reported that a rumour had come to him through Eskimo that
Radford and Street had been killed by the Eskimos in June, 1912. A few
days later one of the Eskimos, by name Akulack, who had travelled part
of the way with the explorers, came to Chesterfield Inlet and gave Mr.
H. H. Hall, the Hudson's Bay Company officer there, an account of what
he had heard. It appeared that the wife of one of the Eskimos who was
travelling with the explorers had fallen on the ice and was seriously
hurt. So the Eskimo refused quite properly to leave her in that
condition, upon which Radford tried to enforce obedience by repeatedly
striking the Eskimo till a general row started and the two explorers, or
whatever they were, suffered death. It took three years or so to get at
the facts, with the final decision that, the murder having been traced
to the perpetrators, the whole evidence showed that it was a case where
the Eskimo had acted in self-defence and that, while in imminent fear of
being killed by the white men, they had taken the lives of the latter.
But the Mounted Police had to travel many a long and dangerous mile
through many a weary month before these facts were discovered. We give
an outline of the process in the following pages.
Superintendents Starnes and Demers recommended that an expedition be
equipped for two or three years and sent out to investigate, but the
wrecks of schooners and other untoward incidents interfered. But in
July, 1914, over two years from the date of the alleged crime, Inspector
W. J. Beyts, an officer of much experience in the North, left on a
Government schooner from Halifax with a sergeant and two constables. The
weather was so bad that they did not reach the Hudson's Bay Coast till
it was too late to establish a post at Baker Lake. The next year, after
enormous difficulties, he succeeded in planting the post, but the winter
of 1915-16 was such that two brave attempts to get to Bathurst Inlet
failed. Game on which they had to rely for dog-feed was so scarce that
supply could not be secured. Dogs died by the score also amongst the
Eskimo that year, and Beyts reports one case where there were only six
dogs amongst ten families, and another case where the sleigh was being
pulled by one man, two women and a dog. In the summer of 1916 Beyts, by
previous arrangement, returned to headquarters, and his place was taken
by Inspector F. H. French, who arrived at Baker Lake in September. This
was more than four years after the murder, but the Police never let go
their hold once they started on a case.
Commissioner Perry's instructions to Inspector French were these: "It
will be your duty to get in touch at the earliest possible moment with
the tribes said to be responsible for the deaths. You will make
inquiries and take such statutory declarations as may seem necessary in
order to obtain a full and accurate account of the occurrence. From
information received, it is assumed that there was provocation. If this
is found to be the case, it is not the intention of the Government to
proceed with prosecution. If, however, there was found to be no
provocation, the Government will consider what further action is to be
taken."
French was "to the manner born" in the Police service. He was a son of
that gallant officer, Inspector "Jack" French, leader of "French's
Scouts" in the second Rebellion, who was killed by a half-breed sniper
after having driven Riel's men from their coverts in one section of the
fight at Batoche. And he was also the nephew of Colonel Sir George
French, the first Commissioner of Mounted Police after their
organization, although Colonel Osborne Smith, as already stated, was
Commissioner for the purpose of swearing in the men.
And this younger French was evidently a "chip of the old block," because
he does not contemplate failure. In January, 1917, he wrote: "I hope to
make a successful trip, commencing in March next," but he knows it will
be a fight against the elements and against want, for he adds: "my only
difficulty will be the inevitable dog-feed question, which rises at
every point where a man moves in this country." He will have to depend
on game and game is always uncertain.
French was fortunate in his party having with him Sergt.-Major T. B.
Caulkin (later Inspector), a most reliable and persevering man who knew
the Eskimo country, and he had also police natives, Joe and "Bye and
Bye," with two other natives to assist. They were absent from their base
at Baker Lake about ten months of almost incessant travel amongst the
Eskimo, to whom on all occasions of meeting French explained the law of
the country in relation to human life and property. In that regard it
was a kind of missionary tour and did lasting good.
Getting into contact with the Eskimo tribe at Bathurst Inlet, French
secured many statutory declarations which established beyond all doubt
that two Eskimos who were known to be quiet and inoffensive men, had
been goaded by ill-treatment into turning on their tormentors and
putting an end to them. French had fulfilled his mission and did not
consider it necessary to arrest these men. But the patrol had impressed
upon these "ends of the earth" the lessons desired.
French's return was attended by great hardship. Game was scarce and
wild. So food for both men and dogs ran out again and again. Dogs were
shot as they became exhausted and fed to the other dogs. Deerskins were
chopped up and made into soup. Fuel oil became exhausted and sleds had
to be burned. As one of the party, French himself said, "It looked like
their last patrol," but they struck some deer and got food, which toned
them and their dogs up so that "they made the grade." But it was a close
call and every member of the party deserved the eulogy expressed by
French in which all who know the history include as chief the Inspector
himself. He had done good service throughout the years, but the Bathurst
Inlet patrol will always remain as an outstanding mark to his credit.
Similarly will the Bear Lake patrol go to the credit of Inspector C. D.
La Nauze, who also was fortunate in having splendid support from his
men. The occasion of the Patrol was the disappearance of two priests,
Fathers Rouvier and Le Roux, who in 1913 had left Fort Norman on the
Mackenzie River for a two years' absence in establishing missions
amongst the Eskimo of the far North. When the two years were well on and
no news had been received from them, their friends began to get anxious,
and of course appeal was made to the Mounted Police, who were expected
to unravel all mysteries and solve all perplexing problems. And it is to
their credit that they never turned a deaf ear to such appeals. It took
nearly two years and a half to get the solution of the mystery. There
were others in the patrol when it started, but Inspector La Nauze,
Constable Wight, Special Native Constable Ilavinik and Corporal W. V.
Bruce were those who were in at the end when two Eskimo men, Sinninsiak
and Uluksak, were arrested by them at Coronation Gulf as the
self-confessed murderers of the two priests. Leaving Great Bear Lake in
April, 1916, La Nauze, Wight and Ilavinik reached Coronation Gulf a
month later and here they met Corporal Bruce, who had been sent out by
Inspector Phillips from Herschell Island to gather information that
would help to locate the priests, if alive, and if they were not found
to discover the cause of their disappearance. Bruce knew the whole
region and knew many of the Eskimos personally. Without exciting their
suspicion he had found amongst them and purchased several articles of
priests' wear which strongly indicated that the priests had perished.
Ilavinik proved a treasure. The party found two of the explorer
Steffanson's men and they had heard of Ilavinik, so that the way became
easier. Finally La Nauze and Ilavinik began to talk to the people in
their igloos, and inquire if any white men had been that way at any
time. They said Yes, and then La Nauze sat back and let Ilavinik do the
talking. In a little while he turned, trembling with the excitement of
it, to the Inspector and said, "I have got on the track. These men know
who murdered the priests and they are very, very sorry that any of the
Eskimos should have done it." This led very soon to the arrest of
Sinnisiak, who was said to be the chief instigator of the crime, his
companion being of a milder type. After examination of the prisoner and
witnesses, the Inspector formally committed Sinnisiak for trial by a
competent court. Then La Nauze left the prisoner in charge of Constable
Bruce, while he, accompanied by Constable Wight and a bright young
Eskimo "Patsy" who was attached to the Canadian Arctic Expedition, went
to South Victoria Land and arrested Uluksak. He was of a gentler type.
Sinnisiak had rather demurred to being arrested and had indicated his
power to make medicine that would sink the white man's ship if they
tried to take him away. But Uluksak came forward at once and gave
himself up. La Nauze asked him if he knew what they had come for and the
Eskimo said, "Yes, to kill me by striking me on the head as the other
white men did." He was formally arrested by Wight and committed for
trial by the Inspector. From the evidence it seemed clear that the
priests in their eagerness to get ahead had attempted to force the two
men to go along with them. Uluksak said one of them put his hand on the
Eskimo's mouth and would not let him say anything. Generally speaking
the priests showed their lack of understanding of the Eskimo nature and
fell victims to their own impetuosity in dealing with them.
The prisoners were brought all the way to Edmonton and then to Calgary,
where they were finally tried. They seemed to be as guileless and simple
as children, and gave absolutely no trouble from the day they were
arrested. They became much attached to their captors and cried when they
had to leave them. But they had told their story with clearness, and the
jury brought in a verdict of "Guilty with the strongest recommendation
to mercy a jury can make." They were sentenced to be hanged, but this
was commuted to imprisonment for life, and they were finally sent back
amongst their own people in the far North. It was felt that justice had
been vindicated and that their story to their own people would be of
great value to prevent any such event occurring again. These two patrols
of French and La Nauze, along with a recent arrest of an Eskimo in
another part of the Arctic Circle by Sergeant Douglas, revealed again to
the world that the long arm of the Mounted Police was unavoidable once
anyone had transgressed laws in regard to human welfare. And thus are
the men of this famous corps patrolling the vast white North in all
directions at the time of this writing.
That such patrolling is excessively difficult and dangerous may be
gathered from such a report as that sent in by Inspector J. W. Phillips,
who was in command of the Herschell Island detachment in 1918. He, with
Constables Cornelius and Doak, was wrecked 8 miles off Herschell Island,
when their whale boat was crushed to pieces in the ice. They had to jump
on the floating ice. The cakes were small and were churning round and
up-ending. At times the piece on which one would be standing would
up-end and then it was a case of jumping or being crushed to death.
Finally they reached the shore ice. Then they started for Herschell
Island, but found great cracks or leads in the ice too wide to cross.
They changed their course and made for the nearest land. They found the
leads narrower. By joining their belts and suspenders together a line
was made. One of them would swim the lead and then assist the others
over by this life-line. They crossed over more than a score of leads in
this way before reaching the nearest land. We read this over and then
think of men in comfortable armchairs finding fault with police
expenditure.
But the remaining part of the report in this connection is still more
amazing. Let me quote it. "The time spent by us from the wrecking of the
boat on the ice to our reaching the land was ten hours. A gale from the
north-east had been blowing all the time and in our soaking wet
condition we suffered severely from the cold." One would imagine they
would when he reads on. Phillips says, "The only clothing we wore at
this time was our under garments, trousers and muckluks. Our Artiggies
we threw away, as we found they hampered us too much when getting across
the leads. Herschell Island post was still 12 miles away. We started to
walk it. After travelling about a mile I noticed that Constable Doak was
delirious. Constable Cornelius and I helped him to walk, but owing to
cramps in the legs we could not manage. Constable Cornelius at this
stage offered to go to Herschell Island for assistance, food and
matches, and I permitted him to go. After he left I built a windbreak of
driftwood. Constable Doak and I crawled into it. Here we remained till
11 p.m. the following day. Then we were rescued by a whale boat and
taken to Herschell Island. We kept a sharp look out for Constable
Cornelius, but saw nothing of him, and on arrival found he had not
reached the post. I at once started out Constable Brockie and two
natives with a whale boat, and found him on a sand-spit 10 miles away.
He was brought in safely. I am sorry to say that at the present time
(the day after the event) the two constables and myself are laid up with
swollen feet and legs due to exposure." They must have had tremendous
endurance to get through at all. And one gathers that the Inspector is
not thinking of his own and the Constable's personal losses and
exposure, but is rather concerned that some government property had to
be noted as missing in the wreck. For he adds: "I must say that I am
exceedingly sorry to have to give you a report of this nature, but I
think you will agree that this occurred under circumstances over which I
had no control. I am happy to be able to report no loss of life. As soon
as I am able to send a patrol to the vicinity of the wreck I will do so,
with the idea that there may be some government stores blown up on the
coast." But most of us are willing to declare our readiness to let
government stores go so long as men of this stamp are saved to continue
their contribution to the great traditions of a corps that has done so
much for Canada and the Empire.
Commissioner Perry's report for 1920 has just come to hand and is
specially notable because it is the first presented under the new name
of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and therefore the first since the
jurisdiction of the Force was extended to all parts of Canada. It
relates the change of name, the absorption of the Dominion Police by the
Mounted Police Force, and removal of headquarters from Regina to Ottawa,
all of which changes were made in pursuance of the policy adopted by the
Government to have one Federal Force controlled by a single head and
exercising authority in every part of Canada. A section of the amendment
of the Mounted Police Act may be quoted here. It says, "Every member of
the Force shall be a constable in every part of Canada for the purpose
of carrying out the criminal and other laws of Canada and in the
North-West Territories, and the Yukon Territory for carrying out any
laws and ordinances in force therein." This legislation, as already
intimated, involved the absorption of the Dominion Police, which in
various forms had existed in older Canada from as far back as 1839. Its
duties were mainly concerned with the protection of public buildings,
though also with the general preservation of law and order. This
Dominion Police Force came into more special prominence under the
Commissionership of Colonel Sir Percy Sherwood, who was knighted for his
services and under whom the Force grew to the number of some 150 men,
who were scattered over Canada singly or in small groups guarding
buildings, Navy yards and enforcing specific laws, as well as engaging
in effective secret service work in relation to enemy aliens in
war-time. After a long and highly creditable career in this service, Sir
Percy Sherwood retired on account of ill-health in 1919.
The absorption of the Dominion Police into the Mounted Police was not
free from difficulty, as the organizations differed fundamentally, the
former being on the lines of a civil municipal force, while the latter
was on military lines and engagement was for a fixed term. However,
conditions of engagement were offered to the members of the Dominion
Police and practically all of them enlisted in the Mounted Police, their
service already given in their own Force to count towards pension under
Mounted Police regulations.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is now the sole federal Force, and is
under Commissioner Perry, subject of course to the Minister of the
Dominion Government in whose department it comes, that minister at
present being the Hon. James A. Calder, President of the Council. The
duties of the Force may be summarized as follows:
(A) The enforcement, or assistance in enforcement, of all laws
where the Government of Canada is directly interested or
responsible.
(B) The protection of public buildings of the Dominion.
(C) The protection of Navy yards.
(D) The Intelligence Service.
(E) The maintenance of law and order in all territories and
Dominion parks.
(F) Maintenance of finger-print bureaus.
(G) Paroled prisoners' record.
The Commissioner says, "The Force is distributed in the way best suited
to perform its many duties. It is found along the international
boundary, where it aids in protecting the revenue and preventing the
entrance into Canada of undesirables. It is located on or in the
vicinity of Indian Reserves to maintain good order, and to aid in
enforcement of the laws pertaining to our Indian population. It occupies
many lonely posts in the North-West Territories and Yukon Territory, and
along the Arctic and Hudson's Bay Coasts. It is found in centres of
population, and at points where industrial activities are vital to the
welfare of the nation." New outposts were established in the far North:
one at Port Burwell on the Hudson Straits, to act for the Department of
Customs and collect duties on foreign vessels entering the waters of
Hudson Bay, and the other at Tree River, on Coronation Gulf, for
ordinary duty. The latter is the most remote outpost and the fact of its
existence there indicates the far-flung character of the operations of
this ubiquitous corps.
When the Commissioner says the force is Found at centres of population
he visualizes for us the fact that our modern social life has created
vast cities which have eaten up the green fields and turned them into
asphalt pavements. These cities become the hardest problem for the
administrator of law. Into them drift the derelicts of human society,
and even these are drawn down to deeper degradation by the undertow of
vice and crime. More mean in their lawlessness and much less open than
the dwellers in frontiers and camps, the vicious elements in cities
require from the State the oversight of an adequate force of fearless
men. The illegal traffic in narcotic drugs, for instance, is carried on
by the most degraded and the lowest criminals of the underworld, aided
and abetted too frequently by dishonourable members of honourable
professions. The gambler and the "bootlegger" and the white slave dealer
find their habitat in large centres of population. And no force can keep
these lawless elements in check like a force free from local influences,
especially when that force is the Mounted Corps which for nearly half a
century has built up a reputation for a fair and fearless administration
of law. The prestige of the corps that has been proof against all
attempts at intimidation or bribery on the part of the lawless classes
makes it a unique power for good in the cities as on the plains.
And when the Commissioner says that detachments of the Mounted Police
are found at points "where industrial activities are vital to the
welfare of the nation" he strikes a chord that will find grateful
response from every industrious citizen, whether employer or employed,
who understands that "trade is the calm health of nations." There is
nothing in this world of material things more to be feared than the
wanton destruction of industries that have been built up by laborious
endeavour and the unstinted expenditure of energy in brain and hand.
Such destruction leads to endless suffering amongst the innocent and to
the business stagnation which brings calamity in its wake. To guard
against these dread contingencies the Mounted Police are on hand. They
have never interfered in a partisan way when strikes and lock outs are
abroad, but they stand by to preserve law and order and to prevent any
destruction of human life and property which might take place at the
instigation of irresponsible extremists. In this difficult and ofttimes
dangerous duty the men who stand for constitutional order in society
will always have the support of decent intelligent citizens.
Not only in the centres of population but away up in the Arctic regions
beyond the sky-line of civilization have the Mounted Police in 1920 as
always been doing their duty in their usual unobtrusive but extremely
effective way. Amongst the Eskimos there were several cases of murder of
adults and of infanticide, every one of which was followed up by the
closest investigation even though it took months of work and patrolling
amidst the rigours of Polar weather to do it. In these cases of murder
there seemed to be a complete absence of that malice aforethought which
constitutes the essence of the crime in the eyes of the law. The cases
were very few, but occasionally an infant was put out of the misery of
starvation when there was no food in sight and a man who became a moral
nuisance to the tribe and was therefore considered insane (a fairly good
inference) was quietly removed by the unanimous vote of the community.
But the Police taught a different code of ethics, followed and
investigated every case until the Eskimos have begun to see things in a
more humane light. It is of great interest to find that in these recent
endeavours to get the Eskimos to see these matters aright the Mounted
Police had the aid of the two Eskimos Sinnisiak and Uluksak who had been
convicted of the murder of Fathers Le Roux and Rouvier, as already
related, but who had been finally pardoned and sent back to tell their
people of the sacredness of human life. In fact, Sinnisiak entered the
service as a special constable and did useful work as a guide and
hunter, thus showing, as Staff-Sergeant S. G. Clay said, that "his now
rather long acquaintance with the Police has had its advantages." Two
other Eskimos who had been tried and acquitted were also taken back by
the Police to their own tribes to preach the gospel of the value of
human life.
In connection with these recent Northern patrols Sergeant W. O. Douglas
with Constable Eyre and two natives left Fullerton for Chesterfield to
look into rumours of a murder near Baker Lake. After a difficult patrol
and serious risk Douglas arrested the alleged murderer, On-aug-wak, and
brought him back to the Pas in Northern Manitoba after several thousands
of miles of patrol for trial. The Eskimo made a statement as to taking
the lives of two men, but there were many elements to be considered, and
as the prisoner is deemed entitled to all the protection that British
law affords, the Police with the accused are leaving for Baker Lake by
the Hudson's Bay Company steamship _Nascopie_. A court will be
constituted at Chesterfield Inlet with a jury from the crew of the
steamship and the dozen or more Eskimo witnesses will be on hand to tell
their story. This shows how carefully the Police work is done with due
regard to every one's rights, no matter what his race or colour. But
whatever the outcome of the trial the moral effect on the natives will
be highly beneficial.
Similarly Inspector J. W. Phillips and Sergeant A. H. Joy made a patrol
from Haileybury in Northern Ontario to the Belcher Islands in the
sub-Arctic, taking seventy-five days and covering nearly two thousand
miles, arrested an Eskimo named Tukatauk for killing a man named
Ketanshauk, but the coroner's jury were unanimous in saying that
Ketanshauk was "killed for the common good and safety of the tribe."
Phillips saw the force of this verdict as reasonable from the point of
view of the Eskimos and was satisfied with the opportunity to give them
some appropriate instruction in law and morals. One other case was
followed up by Phillips at the same time with somewhat the same result.
In 1920 Staff-Sergeant S. G. Clay, Constable E. H. Cornelius and
Constable J. Brockie left Herschell Island and established the most
northerly outpost of the Force 65 miles east of the mouth of the
Coppermine River. The isolation of this post may be judged by the fact
that the nearest post office is at Fort Macpherson over 600 miles away
as the crow flies and the nearest telegraph office is at Dawson, over
1,000 miles distant. Here the Union Jack flies in the Arctic breeze and
here revenue is collected for the Dominion from traders and trappers who
venture north in schooners to ply their occupation. Sergeant Clay and
his men made constant patrols to the Coppermine, to Bernard Harbour and
Victoria Land, to Bathurst Inlet and Kent Peninsula with their dogs. The
question of supplies of food for themselves and dogs was always pressing
and at Fort Norman on the return journey there was such a shortage that
the whole party had to go to Willow Lake for a month's fishing and
hunting to lay in a safe supply. About 20 miles east of Cape Barrow this
patrol found a tribe whom the police had not yet met. This gave the
opportunity for more instruction, and Clay opines "that with the advent
of the missionary and other aids to civilization" the wrongs done in
ignorance by these people will cease.
I have already spoken of the oilfields in the Fort Norman district, to
which at the time of this writing there is a rush of people who see in
their own imaginations such roads to wealth that they miss seeing the
dangers of the way through these remote regions. But the Mounted Police,
under the general charge of Superintendent G. L. Jennings, an
experienced northerner himself, have made stringent regulations as to
entry into the district which will protect the foolhardy from their own
folly.
And then, swinging away in our story to the old cities of the East, we
find the Mounted Police at the ports of Montreal and Halifax, engaging
the services of such experienced social-service workers as the Rev. John
Chisholm and Mrs. Bessie Egan to meet unaccompanied women and girls who
land in Canada, to see to their requirements and to attend them on board
their trains, so that they may not be misled or enticed in wrong
directions by the unscrupulous individuals who fatten on the wreckage of
human lives. Social-service workers have always found difficulty in this
work because of the brazenness and the threatening attitude of some of
the evildoers, but when the stalwart men in scarlet and gold are at the
call of these life-saving crews at the ports of entry to this country
the harpies who prey on the innocent have to keep out of the way. A
right royal task is this, also, for the old corps that has headed off
more crime than any similar body in the world. And for all the work in
Canada we have sketched, the total strength of the Force is about 1,700
of all ranks. There are some few people who so lack the power to sense
nation-wide conditions that they gird at the expense of maintaining the
corps. But men of vision know that the Mounted Police save Canada
annually from moral and material losses that make expenditure upon this
famous old law-and-order corps pale into insignificance by comparison.
In the past year there were many changes in the way of promotions.
Amongst the names our readers who have followed the story of the Force
will meet many of the men who gave such ample proof of their fitness
that their moving up a step came as it has generally come in the Force,
as a spontaneous recognition of merit. The promotions were as follows:
Promoted Assistant Commissioners: Superintendents C. Starnes, T. A.
Wroughton. Promoted Superintendents: Inspectors R. E. Tucker, J.
Ritchie, A. B. Allard, T. S. Belcher, G. L. Jennings and H. M. Newson.
Promoted Inspectors: Sergt.-Major Fletcher, A./Sergt.-Major Trundle,
Staff-Sergeant Mellor, Staff-Sergeant Forde, Staff-Sergeant Reames,
Sergeants Bruce, Thomas, Moorhead, Kemp, Frere, Eames and Fraser. And
these men, who had won their spurs, are with their comrades carrying on
in a way worthy of the great traditions to which they are heirs.
Thus has the story of the famous Mounted Police of Canada been brought
down to date. An encyclopedia might be compiled on the subject by
writing minute records and dry details, but an encyclopedia was not
desired. It would be prohibitive in cost to the people in general and
would be lacking in the personal element and the personal human touch so
characteristic of the history of the corps. The aim was to bring the
records of nearly fifty years into a single volume without squeezing the
life out of them. Incidents and names could not all be included, but
nothing has been omitted intentionally that bore upon the general trend
of Western Canadian history with which the work of the Mounted Police is
inseparably connected.
Two years ago the Dominion Government, as already intimated, extended
the jurisdiction of the Force to the whole of Canada, so that in towns
and cities as well as on the frontiers of the far North and West the
influence of the Force will henceforth be felt, backed by its great
prestige. Referring to this the Duke of Devonshire, who as
Governor-General of Canada was so close a student of its history and
affairs, said recently, "The Force is now taking over a wider
jurisdiction and increased duties. It will carry with it a great
tradition and a great name, and we who appreciate and value its work can
be assured that its record will be as successful in the future as in the
past."
And our gallant Prince of Wales, who captivated all Canada during his
recent tour across the Dominion, graciously expressed his approval and
appreciation of the Force by speaking at Regina Headquarters after
inspection in the following words:
"It is not only a real pleasure, but a great privilege to me to
inspect you on parade this morning, and to visit the depôt of the
Royal North-West Mounted Police, though this is by no means my
first introduction to the Force, which I have seen a great deal of
throughout my travels in the West, and I have been very impressed
by it, particularly by the mounted escorts and guards that it has
furnished for me in all the big cities.
"I am interested in the history of the Force, how it was organized
forty-six years ago, at a time when treaties were being made with
the Indians, whereby the lands of the North-West were made
available for settlement by the white people. So well has it
administered justice between all parties that it has won for itself
respect and the confidence of both white people and Indians, and no
new country has ever been opened up with less crime and violence
than this North-West Territory.
"Up in the Klondike, when wild and lawless men thronged the Yukon
gold diggings, life and property were as safe in the care of the
Royal North-West Mounted Police as in any other part of the
Dominion, and the splendid police work which they have done and
continue to do in the frozen wastes of the North, under the most
trying conditions of hardship and privation, is recognized and
appreciated everywhere to-day.
"I know that at the declaration of war, the whole Force wanted to
join up, though that was naturally impossible. The first to be
allowed to go were many Imperial reservists, who have always
constituted a large percentage of its members. Then, by degrees,
men could he spared, and served in the Canadian cavalry, infantry
and other units, and I know many of the last joined men are war
veterans.
"I was with Sir Arthur Currie, Canadian Corps Commander, when he
inspected the Royal North-West Mounted Police squadron when they
arrived in France a year ago, so that the war records of the Force
have been of the same high standard as its records in the past.
"The Royal North-West Mounted Police is a splendid Force with
magnificent traditions, whose fame is as wide as that of the
Dominion itself.
"I know the men of the Force of to-day are proving themselves
worthy of those traditions and will ever uphold them."
It was appropriate that the heir apparent to the British throne should
thus address the Mounted Police of Canada, for their record is part of
that British tradition and British sentiment which, delicate and
intangible as gossamer, but strong as steel, bind our far-flung Empire
into one triumphant unity.
And now, as a fitting climax to the history of the corps at the time
when it was undergoing changes that meant larger opportunities and
increased usefulness in the years ahead, there comes this note in
Commissioner Perry's report for 1920 just off the press:
"On March 8 last, Sir George Perley, High Commissioner for Canada,
cabled as follows:
'With His Majesty's approval Prince of Wales has graciously
consented accept position Honorary Commandant Royal Canadian
Mounted Police and His Royal Highness asks me tell you how pleased
he is to be associated with Force in this way.'
"On May 3, an Order in Council was passed making the appointment.
"The Force has been signally honoured by His Royal Highness, and it
keenly appreciates the distinction conferred upon it."
This needs no comment beyond saying that the Prince of Wales knows
Canada and knows the Mounted Police record in peace and in war. The
Prince, who came to the overseas Dominions to represent our beloved
King, has always shown his splendid capacity for thus appreciating the
service of men who have stood and will continue to stand unconquered for
the Flag
"That may float or sink o'er a shot-torn wreck,
But will never float over a slave."
_Printed in Great Britain by_ Butler & Tanner, _Frome and London_.