The article below appeared in the Regina Leader-Post on June 22nd, 1981. I enjoyed the way it recapitulated Fort Walsh's short history, and that it provided a couple of point I'll want to research further (being constable Grayburn's murder and the reasoning behind the fort's location).
The following announcement appeared in the March 24th, 1874, British Whig (Kingston), and was a regular feature for several days after. A slightly different version ran in the Brantford Expositor throughout late March and much of April of that year.
I mentioned in the previous post (assuming you're reading these in chronological order) that I've recently begun reading the book Denny's Trek. It includes a list of the gentlemen that began the march west in 1874.
Using that list as a reference, I searched the name Lief N. F. Crozier in a newspaper archive and came across an interesting series that appeared in the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix throughout 1985, celebrating 100 years of the northwest rebellion. Crozier was awarded a spotlight among the various people that were featured every few days in that paper that year. His entry is displayed below.
While I don't want this seldom-updated webpage to become little more than an accumulation of obituaries, I felt the need to include the one below.
The book "Denny's Trek: A Mountie's Memoir of the March West" became available (on Amazon) at a very good price recently so I ordered it immediately. Only 20 pages in, it appears that it will be a captivating read.
Locating Sir Denny's obituary proved to be somewhat challenging due to an unexpected discrepancy in what seems, on the surface, as easily-verified information. Heritage House's "About The Author" section states that Denny died in October of 1928 but that is incorrect. He died on July 24th of that year.
As evidence, the article below is from the Wednesday, July 25th, 1928, Edmonton Journal. Apologies for the page breaks but it does read as left column first.
Sir Cecil's monument was erected about 10 years after his death. A great irony is that the memorial marking the grave of Alberta's Chief Archivist is inscribed with an incorrect date of death; it is out by one month. However, if it is one thing I have learned about the men of the original NWMP, including Sir Cecil, it is that they had a good sense of humour. The story is often told of how Sir Cecil would tease Col. Macleod over the translation of the name "Calgary", saying that it actually meant "Cabbage Patch".Fair enough then. Can't fault anyone for basing themselves on the man's actual gravestone. The August date error is quite understandable under those circumstances. The October one is still a little puzzling, however.
The lack of posts on this blog in over three years actually came as a surprise to me. It was less a matter of lost interest and more a matter of struggles with figuring out a proper layout for the information.
I want to display and discuss Mountie fiction but also keep a notebook of the NWMP's history so you'll note two categories on the right side of the page; "Fact" and "Fiction". If you care particularly more for one than the other, then simply pick your path!
Very little "fact" has been featured here but my reading has leaned more into that category of late. I am currently working my way through Sam Steele: A Biography and enjoying it a great deal.
The briefest version of one's accomplishments is normally through an obituary, unfortunately, and so the easiest way to share the key points from probably the most famous Mountie was to locate his. I did so in the January 30th, 1919, Calgary Herald and share it with you below.
There was a pleasant surprise waiting for me in the third issue of Dynamite Entertainment's Lone Ranger / Green Hornet mini-series entitled Champions Of Justice.(Dan Reid Jr.) is the name of Captain Reid's son, the Lone Ranger's nephew, a character introduced in the radio series in 1942, who became a juvenile sidekick to the Masked Man, is Dan Reid.
When (Lone Ranger co-creators George) Trendle and (Fran) Striker later created The Green Hornet in 1936, they made this Dan Reid the father of Britt Reid, alias the Green Hornet, thereby making the Lone Ranger the Green Hornet's great-uncle.Got all that? When the man who would become the Lone Ranger's (sometimes named John Reid) Texas Rangers group was ambushed, his older brother Daniel Reid was among the victims. That man's son, Dan Reid Jr, fathered Britt Reid, who went on to become the Green Hornet.
Following the success of The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet on Detroit radio station WXYZ ...the station owner, George W. Trendle, asked for a similar adventure show with a dog as the hero....The dog was originally called Mogo, but after criticism by Trendle, (writer Tom) Dougall re-christened the canine King. Dougall likewise created Sgt. Preston and the French-Canadian guide. Fran Striker, who also wrote for The Lone Ranger, contributed show scripts.Nice work by Uslan to more directly connect Preston to both The Lone Ranger and The Green Hornet due to their true-life origins. A tip of the hat to the writer for both the idea and the execution.
Sergeant Philip Trent is a 'Mountie', a member of the Canadian Northwest Mounted Police. At the end of the 19th century, it's up to him and his fellow officers to crisscross the vast open spaces of Canada to maintain law and order. Sent after a small-time killer, he finds himself saving the beautiful Agnes from a pack of hungry wolves. The young woman has come from the city to find her missing half-brother. Against his better judgment, Trent agrees to help her...There are three volumes available as I write this. I believe the books are French in origin but translated into English. Here's a sample page.
