Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1907-12-31
CANADIAN MOUNTED POLICE.
Handful of Brave Men Preserve Order
In Vast Territory.

Handful of Brave Men Preserve Order
In Vast Territory.
1t is a safe assertion that there Is no
finer body Of men Of its size in the
world than the Royal Northwest
Mounted Police. Although there are
less than 1000 Of them, they rule su-
preme over some million square miles
Of territory. In the most inaccessible
portions Of the far North, and on the
rolling prairies, their presence is ever
felt despite the fact that the nearest
"red coat" may be several hundred
miles away. Northern Indians, who
have never come in contact with the
mounted police, have a wholesome
fear of them, for report Of their rig
orous rule has preceded them into the
most remote parts Of the northern
wilds.
In every town and in every settle
ment under their jurisdiction a mount
ed policeman appears at some time or
another. His visits may become fire.
quent at times, then again he may not
appear on the scene for several
months, and they have habit Of ap-
pearing at places when they are least
expected, evildoers are in constant fear
Of members Of this little force. AS
the train rolls over the prairie the
SOLITARY" horseman appears, his coat
blotch of scarlet on the apparently
endless sea OF green. He Is the one
great symbol Of law and order, and
the authority Of the British empire on
the uninhabited wastes and in the
frontier settlements of the land Of
many happenings.
Policemen are seldom popular any
where, but in western Canada 1t Is the
reverse, and whenever their name Is
mentioned at a banquet or a meeting
1t is the signal for immediate applause.
With the people Of western Canada
every mounted policeman is hero,
and there are but few who are not In
favor of having the force increased In
,ize. Nowhere does the "bad. man"
the unsettled prairies than in many Of
the large cities Of the Continent. No
cowboys ride into the little towns and
"shoot up" the place; they know
swift justice and a short trial would be
their lot.
Criminals are relentle.ssly hunted
down and there is. small chance for
escape for those who commit q des-
perate crime. The trinl follows In
short order, and In minor cases the
offenders are often caught, tried and
sentence is served in twenty-four
hours Of the commission Of the Of
fense. Murderers get a short shrift,
and hanging Is the invariable penalty.
Appeals may be taken in capital cases,
but are only granted upon grounds 80
clear that a refusal would work
greater injustice.
Each year the mounted police re-
port contains many accounts Of hero
ic deeds which have done so much to
make this force famous. A few
months ago word was brought down
to the police post at Norway House, on
the shores Of Hudson Bay, that MUIR
der had been committed several hun
dred miles to the north. The post
consisted of but three men, and while
the sergeant was left to do guard and
patrol duty alone Constables eastman
and O'Neill started out on dog sleds to
look up the murderers. With their
characteristic grim courage they went
into a camp Of Indians and arrested
four of their number. One of them is
now under sentence Of death, while
another committed suicide before he
was brought to trial.
Once in the middle Of winter 1t was
imperative that q message should be
sent to a far-off post. A young COLLIE
gian, who had donned the red uni
form, volunteered to perform the mis-
sion. In the teeth Of binding bliz-
zard, with the temperature SO degrees
below zero, he set out on his long
Journey. The dispatch was never de-
livered, the bearer never returned.
After the snow had gone in the spring
an Indian found a skeleton clad In a
faded red uniform. The fatal dispatch
was in his pocket and on 1t were writ
ten these words: Lost. Horse dead.
Am trying to push on. Have done my
best!"
When the Klondike rush was at It's
best a Colorado miner got fresh at
a mining camp dance. He threatened
to shoot up" the place. A mounted
policeman chanced to be present, and,
although small Of stature, told the
miner to put up his gun. Come on,
boys. See this guy" the miner called
to his friends, but the others were not
new arrivals and they knew that II
bloodshed resulted there were hun
dred policemen handy to round up the
offenders. A word from "red coat
goes in the territory they rule, and 1t
is this fact which makes the Canadian
Northwest what 1t Is today.-Winni-
peg Letter