New-York tribune., 1918-05-26

tional boundary and run amuck in
the northern states. After official cor
respondence between Washington
and Ottawa, they had been rounded
up, and were being returned to their
own country. The Indians were
angry, and sufficiently restive to
make their escort anxious to be
rid of the job; and the understand
ing was that the captives would be
met by another escort at the border.
When the border was reached,
three uniformed men met them-a
non-commissioned officer and two
rankers. Somewhat surprised, the
officer in command of the cavalry
asked, "Where's your escort?"
"We're it, SIR" said the sergeant,
tipping his hat.
"But where's the rest of you?"
"He's washing the breakfast
dishes"
This story is old, but has the merit
of being true. These four men were
deemed by their superior, and proved
themselves to be, sufficiently DOW
erful escort. The magic lay in the
fact that they wore the scarlet tunic
of the Royal Northwest Mounted
Police. Here is another story.
A Rumor Filtered
From the Far North
Last summer two Esquimaus were
arraigned at Edmonton, in the west
ern Canadian province of Alberta,
for the murder of two Catholic
priests. Out of the frozen North a
rumor, filtering from tribe to tribe
down through thousands Of miles of
land uninhabited by white men, had
come that a band of wandering Es-
quimaus were displaying an outfit of
priests robes; and it was recalled
that some years previously some
Catholic missionaries had gone into
the North and that no tidings had
ever been received of them. On this
slim evidence, an investigation was
ordered; and in due course Sinnisiak
and Ululiak stood before Canadian
judge. The trial, incidentally, was
a peculiar one in criminal annals,
for Sinnisiak's lawyer advanced the
theory that an uncivilized aborigine
who hunted for his daily food could
not in common justice have his deeds
judged by the standards of modern
civilization, and that the court
should descend to his level. To this
the prosecution replied:
"We cannot try this man accord
ing to the principles of Esquimau
justice. If we did, Sinnisiak should
have been stabbed by the Mounted
Police when they discovered him.
It was what he expected"
Travelled Two Years
For Their Prisoners
The interest, however, lies not SC
much here, or in the peculiar punish
ment that was meted out to them, as
in the agency that brought these
Stone Age men to justice. 1t took
Inspector LaNouze of the Mounted
Police--twenty-fve years old-anc
the two constables detailed to assist
him two years to secure their prison
ers. They had pressed their way
north past the last dwarfed speci
mems of spruce and willow, travelled
the soft carpeted tundra, crossed the
barren lands, and emerged on tn,
outer edge of the world. Thew hat
tracked up rivers, sailed or rowee
fiat-bottomed boats on Arctic lakes
packed behind dog trains. They hat
arrested their men in the midst o
their tribe, and carried them, witt
Esquimau witnesses and interpre
ters, for fifteen months withou
chain or handcuff. When the
reached Edmonton they had covere
5000 miles.
The Royal Northwest Mounted pt
lice OF Canada has been one of tn
most remarkable forces of traine
men in the world. 1t is scarcel
necessary to say that, for their g,
ploits are famous; but unfortunate
ly the past tense must now be en-
ployed. The Mounted Police hay
gone to war. After four years q
disappointed hopes, during whic
they chafed as hounds in leash. tn
scarlet-coated "riders Of the plains,
as the people among whom the
have worked for forty-five yea,
affectionately call them, have bee
permitted" to go overseas.
Now They're OFF
For the Big Fight
The announcement, suddenly as
came, did not bring such shoe
to those who knew and loved tn
Mounted Police as it might normal
have done. .<for 3 Little oyer d yea