The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1920-03-19
Northwest Mounted Police Loses
Identity as Civilization
Lessons Its Need.
BODY HAS STIRRING HISTORY
Ranged Far Into Arctic Wastes to Pun
ish Crime, Maintain Order and Ex-
tend Relief-Won the Conf
dence of the Indian.

Ottawa.-That famous corps, the
Royal Northwest Mounted Police, has
ceased to exist. 1T Is now merged
with the Canadian mounted police.
For half century 'the scarlet and
gold" of the riders of the plains had
been the symbol of law am order in
u territory as vast as the United States
west of the Mississippi From Hud-
son bay to the Rockies, from the Inter
nation ! noun" ny to and beyond the
arctic ,'rcle Icy carried security TO
the L. abiding and terror to the law
breaking. On tn vast prairies, in
mountains and forest through tie Ice
hou.,d reaches of The arctic coast they
made the long patrol protecting the
settler succoring the weak and ad-
ministering Justice with a relentless
hand 20 white nnf red, to British ana
alien.
The march Of civilization has
brought into { S vast territory pros
porous settlers. where the Royal North
west Mounted Pol q found the Indian
eNcitable Metis .(the French half-breed
Of the plnins), and the outlaw who
sought this mo mans land" 10 escape
inS' - and coniinu. in crlme. ~ In
dian and Metis are now peaceful FARM
erS, the ranch ha been replaced by
the farm, and railways now cover the
country as thi"'- as the Indian tra"s
of the seventies. Only in the far north
Is any Of the original work of the po-
lice ! z. Here I'm the Great Bnrrens,
along ne desOlate shores Of HUDSON
bay and the Arc" ocean through the
and gol'" do the long patrol. The fa-
nous corps has done its work and has
lost its identity In the new national
force. The uniform has been pre-
served; e rom. nee and esprit de-
corps have gone.
ori-in Of the Corps.
For nearly two centuries the Hud-
son Bay company had ruled that vast
territory between dson bay and the
| Rockies. when in 1870 the Dominion II
Canada acquired possession. The great
company had been guardian to the
warlike Blackfeet, Assiniboines and
Cree Indians ar kept In fashion lav
and order. The hardy Scotch factors
had In many instances married into
the tribes and their influence was pow
erful and firm. Then came the change
In control. IL became mo mans X nd
with the grent company without au
thority and the dominion government,
witho { any machinery to enforce it,
edlcts.
II was a dangerous period. The Unit
ed States government was seeking Il
curb the fierce Sioux. They. In turn
were making overtures to the Cana
dian Indians to join them. The whisk,
runner was unchecked In his debauch
cry of the Indian. II was at this pc
road that the Royal Northwest Mount
ed Police came into existence. ant
since then have been the most poten
influence In preserving order In thi
vast territory. Three companies wer,
mobilized at Winnipeg. or, as II WI
then known, Fort Garry" Three othe
companies came through the Unite,
States and Joined them. and In all So
men restored and preserved order Il
a territory as large as Europe, withou
railway and peopled with nearl
100000 Indians rent with tribal war
md embittered against the whites b.
the depletion Of the buffalo herds, tn
almost sole source of their existence
II was then that the famous ''scarle
cad gold" uniform was adopted. T
the II iinn the ''red" coat symbolic
the power OF "the great white mother.
and Colonel Robertson-Rs~s. orgarixe
OF tho force, suggested this unifo7, !
his report.
During my inspection in the north
west nscertaIaed TINT some pr TicIr