The Oskaloosa herald. (Oskaloosa, Mahaska County, Iowa) 1885-1919, 1917-03-08
THE NORTHWEST
POLICE TO FRONT
NOTED CANADIAN FIGHTERS ARE
TO BE USED IN WARFARE.
THEIR DARING PRovERBIAL
Many Stories Of Heroism are Woven
Around Romantic Troops of the
North. Provincial Men to
Take Their Places.

London, Ontario, March Prob
bly, the most striking bit of legislation
in Canada since the war began was
the authorizing of the famous police
force, known throughout the world as
the Royal Northwest Mounted police,
for overseas duty.
In accordance with this, the two pro-
lvinces of Saskatchewan and Alberta
were instructed to find provincial fore
es of men to take the place of this
long ruling body.
The ruling is expected to stand,
but though Saskatchewan has evident
ly accepted it, and is mobilizing a
force of law enforcers to take the
mounted policies place, the farther
western province of Alberta was less
docile. A petition signed by all the
heads of the principal stock raising
and agricultural societies in Alberta,
was wired recently to the dominion
government, petitioning that the Roy
'al Northwest Mounted police be not
withdrawn form Alberta AS this coun-
try has a large stretch of still frontier
country where liquor smuggling still
lourishes, the request seems to be
reasonable.
Posts in the Far North
The force on Jan. /, 1916, according
o official figures, numbered $50 men.
OF these however, between fifty and
Seventy-five will not be available, sit
lated as they are in northern regions
where, at the present season, it would
require at least two months and half
q reach them. The most noted north
ern post is at Herschel island, point
On Beaufort sea, at the mouth of the
Mackenzie. 800 miles from the, near.
est railway at Edmonton. Other north
ern points are Fort Mcpherson, Fort
Smith, all in Mackenzie territory, and
Port Nelson, Fullerton and several
smaller detachments in the Hudson
bay region and Yukon territory.
Shortly following the Custer massa-
ere in 1876 Sitting Bull, the Sioux In
dian Chief, came to Canada with some
If his band and attempted to stir up
IN Indian war, using as preteXt some
recently passed legislation regarding
Killing wantonly the buffaloes, which
were fast disappearing. But it is on
record that this chief and his tribes
men were approached while they sat
p&rleying with the Indians by two
of the Royal Northwest
mounted force. And these two daunt
less officers, by the sheer force of their
morale, conducted Sitting
Bull and his men back to their own
country.
Two Troopers Took 500 Indians.
In 1879 food was scarce among the
Canadian plains Indians. But though
there was scarcity of game on the
Canadian territory, there was plenty
of hunting just across the line. A band
OF some 500 braves crossed from Cana
da, but had only hunted short time
when a strongly armed force of United
States Cavalry from Fort Benton
rounded them up and escorted them
back to the border. The commanding
officer then sent word by messenger
to the nearest mounted police post for
a detachment to take off his hands the
Indians. To his amazement two days
later, two mounted policemen showed
up; and when the American command
ing officer asked anXiously where was
the detachment to take care of these
500 Indians, the sergeant replied:
"Why, we're the detachment" And
such was the influence of these men
upon the Indians that they had no
trouble with their charges, which a
whole regiment of cavalry had been
required to round up.
In 1882 the Canadian Pacific started
building its transcontinental railway
through the west. To cope with the
tens of thousands of foreign railway
laboTers, the force was raised to 500
men. From then to now it has slowly
been added to till the force numbers
$50 men.