The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1926-06-25

hours and listened
D =" O with wonder and
envy to the tales of an old surveyor
who had followed a crew to Hudson's
Bay and back; I had heard the eX-
aggerated stories of the youths who
had started for the Klondyke and
returned, falling short of their desti-
nation. All of these, and more, had
either enhanced or distorted my o N
ceptiOn of that vast land of wonders
"Where Indians and wild animals
beset the daily path, and where gold
in plenty could be had for the mere
digging"
When the BOer uprising assumed
proportions of a n to British
sovereignty, Canada, Great BTitain's
outstanding colony, was thrown into
the furOre and excitement of war pre-
paratiOn. The spirit of intensified
patriotism pervaded, penetrating to
the remOtest sections. Well do 1 re-
call the celebratiOns-When Lady
smith was relieved and Lord Kitchen
er added new laurels to his fame;
when the Pretoria siege was lifted
and Sir Baden Powell was crowned
with glory; when the old town mar
shall threw away the key to the will
age "calabOOse;" when we boys were
given all the firecrackers and Roman
candles we could safely handle.
Those we're great events in the lives
of any youths. However, in my
young life, there was one occasion
which stood out far above all the
rest during those epOchal days.
A lad of eleven years, I had &C
cOmpanied an uncle, a dealer in
livestock, to the Montreal market.
1t so happened that u arrival there
conceded with the embarkation of
the second Canadian contingent of
Te%rritOrials, bound for South Afri-
ca. To witness the spectacle of this
mammoth, cOIorful parade and the
maneuVers akin to such an important
event, was indeed the high spot of
my youthful days.
Off For The BOer War
There they came, thousands of
them, and what a blOod-tingling
sight to behold. First III line was
that famous "StrathcOna's Horse,
a regiment of crack, picked cavalry
men, all mounted on coal black
horses; then Canada's pride-the
48th Highlanders; these followed by
the second regiment of Queens Own
Rifles, the Irish Grenadiers, the
Hussars, and the numerous battal-
ions of Canada's forces, dispatched
to the aid and protection of the
Mother country. Down the line Of
this great column, and by no means
among the least to command at
tentiOn and applause, vas an aggre
cation of hOTsemen which appealed
to me more than all the rest. They
were men of faultless physique
on mounts that were trained anC
grOOmed to a fault. Their very ap
pearance commanded respect anC
interest and their regalIa, although
perhaps not so ~cOlorful as some o
the others, was the most unique ant
outstanding. These men wore tn,
StetsOn hat with it's leather strap, RET
TUNES with glistening brass button
and brass Ornamented chevrOns
their trousers were blue with tn.
narrow stripe of red down the leg
and interesting beyond measure t.
me were the wide belts with thei
bulky holsters and ammunition peck
cts, we'll filled. These were tn
Royal Northwest Mounted Police
Canada's Own-whO had come al
the way from Manitoba, Saskatche
wan, Athabasca and Alberta.
I had learned very little of thes
wonderful soldiers, but jus
enough, coupled with my elaborat
imaginary picture of the West, t
render this part of the Second Cor
tingent to the BOer war, most inter
esting. Their fame had alread
been well established in the account
of the Riel Rebellion; but, befOT
the Boer instruction had been SUI
pressed, every British citizen an
people the world owe learned muc
about these "men from the NORTH
west" They carried with them
the front something far more in
pOrtant than gaudy show.
These were men from the organ
ization which the Canadian govern
ment had years before recruite
to blaze the trails for civilizatiO
across the vast prairies and over tn
foothills and Continental Divide
The Mounted Police
Stretching far away until it meet
the horizon at some distant point, {
merges into blue hazy mountains
others, is a monOtOnOusly lev
plain sparsely covered with ding
grass and low bushy sagebrush. 0
the bank Of a stream, which is on
lined by a line of trees or hig
bushes and set within a stOckad
you can perceive a cluster Of WOOde
structures enclosing a plot of grOunI
which On approaching and enteriu
you will find to be as neatly kept
circumstances viii permit.
It is an early-day western CanaC
fur trading post, such as we're 81
toned at distant intervals through
out what S. now Alberta, or Saska
Chewan, more than fifty years ag
Picture this, and then, of over yoI
der rise that divides the two wallis.
you wiz see g column Of mOunt'