By Tania Millen, BSc, MJ

In October 1873, after Canada’s Prime Minister John A. Macdonald approved the formation of a North West Mounted Police (NWMP) force, adverts like this one in the Halifax Chronicle appeared in newspapers across what is now Eastern Canada. They encouraged recruits to sign on to what Tony Rees writes would become “one of the greatest chapters in Canada’s national mythology; as rich in absurdity as glory, every bit as foolhardy and reckless as it was colourful and proud.”

On July 8, 1874 — 150 years ago — 275 NWMP members began their 2,500-kilometre march west from Dufferin, an inconsequential fort located south of Winnipeg, Manitoba to Fort Edmonton, Swan River, and what became Fort Macleod, in Alberta. 

The recruits battled thunderstorms, floods, drought, hordes of locusts, lack of feed for their horses, lack of firewood for cooking and warmth, saline water, knee-deep mud, grass fires, and illness. Many horses died but every man survived, and the NWMP “Mounties” became known for their ability to rise to the toughest occasions and survive long odds that others didn’t. Their origin story is tied to the creation of Canada.

Wanted Immediately by Government

20 active, healthy young men for service in the Mounted Police Force in the North West Territory. They must be of good character, single, between the ages of 20 and 35 years, capable of riding. They will have to serve for a term of 3 (three) years. Their pay will be 75 cents per diem and everything (uniform, rations, boardph, etc.) found, and on completion of services will receive a free grant of 160 acres of land, with right of choice. For further particulars, apply without delay to Captain C. Young, Halifax Hotel.

Before the March

In 1869, the future of the western portion of what soon became Canada dramatically changed. The Hudson’s Bay Company (HBC), which had been collecting and trading furs from the vast area that now covers about two-thirds of Canada, sold the “Northwest Territories” (Manitoba westward) to the fledgling Canadian government. Free traders took advantage of this news and — in the absence of HBC fur buyers — started plying the Indigenous Peoples with powerful whiskey in exchange for furs.

Above: Mounted police preparing to leave Fort Dufferin in 1874, depicted by Jenri Julien.

The massacre of an Assiniboine encampment of men, women, and children in Canada’s Cypress Hills (now in Saskatchewan) in June 1873 by whiskey-emboldened American wolf hunters who crossed the unsurveyed, unprotected US-Canada border was the tipping point. Due to the slow movement of news, Canadians didn’t read about the massacre in their newspapers until August 1873. The uproar caused by the news forced the government to pass an emergency Order-In-Council and create the first six divisions (150 members) of the NWMP.

Recruitment began immediately and 150 clerks, tradesmen, soldiers, telegraph operators, policemen, sailors, bartenders, students, gardeners, lumberjacks, and adventure-seekers gathered in Eastern Canada. In the haste to get “boots on the ground” in Western Canada, the recruits were sent over land and lakes from the Maritimes to Lower Fort Garry near Winnipeg in late September to be readied for an early summer start in 1874. That trip foreshadowed the trials of the March West. Storms on Lake Superior ensured men arrived exhausted, hungry, and happy to be alive. Freezing rain and blizzards caused hypothermia in recruits who hadn’t been issued winter hats, gloves, or boots, while meals of rotting pork and mildewed hardtack created bouts of diarrhea. Upon arrival, the disheartened men were met by freezing barracks located in an isolated wilderness and unruly horses yet to be trained.

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Over the 1873-1874 winter, star-recruit Sam Steele had the task of breaking horses and teaching non-horsemen to ride. He wrote, “With very few exceptions, the horses were broncos which had never been handled, and none but the most powerful and skilled dared attempt to deal with them. Even when we had them ‘gentled’ to let recruits mount, the men were repeatedly thrown with great violence to the frozen ground; but no one lost his nerve… I drilled five riders per day the whole of the winter in an open menage, and the orders were that if the temperature was not lower than thirty-six below zero, the riding and breaking should go on.”

One recruit wrote an anonymous letter to the Toronto Globe newspaper, stating, “We get dry bread and bad coffee for breakfast, boiled meat and worse potatoes for dinner, and real bad tea and dry bread for supper… I’d as soon be in a penitentiary as in this corps.”

Meanwhile, Ottawa learned that five main whiskey forts had developed along the now partially-surveyed border, one of which was rumoured to have over 100 outlaws and a few stolen cannons. Fort Whoop-Up, in present-day Lethbridge, Alberta was the largest and most notorious. The government quickly approved the hire of up to 300 NWMP.

By June 1874, recruits were staged in Fort Dufferin, which would become their jumping-off point for the historic march. It was on the edge of the rural civilization offered by the Red River valley. Points west were unmapped “Indian Country” with few trails, unknown dangers, violent men, and an inconceivably wild land.

Upon arrival, many NWMP recruits had never pitched a tent or slept outdoors. Henri Julien — an artist and journalist for Canadian Illustrated News who accompanied the march — wrote that the mosquitoes were “thick enough to put out a fire or tear a protective net to pieces.” Men succumbed to heat stroke, blisters, typhoid, dust inhalation, and injury by equines. Horses died of fatigue, and in a well-documented account, stampeded during an intense thunderstorm.

Above: September 1874 sketch titled “Dead Horse Valley” by Henri Julien depicting the misery for the horses that endured extreme weather conditions, hunger, foul water, illness and hordes of black flies and mosquitoes. Photo: Henri Julien, Library of Congress 

Above: Sketch by Henri Julien depicts panicked horses during the thunderstorm at the start of the ride, which scattered 250 of the 310 horses. Photo: Henry Julien, Library of Congress

Fenced in by a loose line of wagons and tents, 250 of the 310 horses tore off in a lightning-infused panic. The following day, recruits traveled over 150 kilometres to collect their horses, before the Sioux claimed them. Meanwhile, news of nearby Sioux scalpings panicked 15 recruits into deserting south across the nearby border.

The Ride

On July 8, 1874, the march began with a military inspection. The youngest recruit, Fred Bagley, described the scene in his journal.

Map of the March West routes showing the route of Commissioner French and his contingent to Swan River; the route of Assistant Commissioner James Macleod and his troop to Fort Whoop-Up and Fort Macleod; and the route of Sam Steele’s group led by Inspector W.D. Jarvis to Fort Edmonton. Photo: Tania Millen

“The parade was an inspiring sight with every man in his new scarlet tunic, grey riding britches, gleaming black boots, white buckskin gauntlets [gloves], and white cork helmets with brass-link chin straps,” Bagley wrote.

At 5 pm, the Mounties rode out in what the NWMP Commissioner called an “astonishing scene.”

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“First came A Division with their splendid dark bays and thirteen wagons. After them followed B Division with dark brown horses; C with light ‘chesnuts’ drawing the guns and ammunition; D with their greys; E with their black horses; and lastly F with their light bays,” wrote Commissioner George A. French.

It wasn’t just horses and riders heading west. All-told the two-kilometre-long procession included 21 officers, 254 constables, 310 horses, 20 guides, two field guns and two mortar cannons (for protection), 73 wagons, 114 Red River carts, 142 working oxen, and 93 cattle for slaughter and milk.

Above: A replica of a Red River Cart in front of Pembina Hall, home of the University of Alberta Faculty of Native Studies. Made of wood and tied together with leather, sinew, or rope, the cart was used by Métis people of the Prairies through most of the 1800s to transport loads across distances. Photo: Wiki/Viola Ness 

Above: Photograph depicting Mounties on horseback drawing a carriage (possible gun). Written on back of photo the name of “Mr. D.J. Cummings and Haultain with the beard.” Photo courtesy of the Fort Museum of the NWMP and First Nations Interpretive Centre. 

Above: Photograph of a sketch with script: “Fort Macleod, N.W. Territory - From a sketch by Capt. Winder, Inspector of the N.W. Mounted Police.” Photo courtesy of the Fort Museum of the NWMP and First Nations Interpretive Centre. 

Leaving late in the day was typical of a “Hudson’s Bay start” by those beginning a long journey. It was essentially a shake-down whereby travelers moved a few miles from home base, set up camp and determined whether any equipment or supplies had been left behind. If so, they could return home to pick up the missing supplies rather than go without an imperative piece of equipment while traveling for months through wild country.

That start was the beginning of endless trials. Oxen walk much slower than horses, so the joint Canadian-United States-British boundary commission surveying the border during the summers of 1873 and 1874 sent supply wagons out from camp long before riders left. Commission axemen and carpenters rode out weeks ahead to build depots and horse corrals, cut and stack firewood, and cut hay for their incoming horses and oxen. However, rather than take advantage of those now-empty depots, which a small group of NWMP Mounties could have stocked before the main procession arrived, Rees writes that the NWMP procession “careened from one near-fatal disaster to another.”

Horses started dying of heat and dehydration on day two. The endlessly squeaky Red River carts broke down. Dramatic storms unleashed rains that turned prairie soil to snot, bogging wagons to their axles. Alkaline water caused dysentery; horses refused to drink. Canteens hadn’t been included in the Mountie’s equipment. Fires and hordes of locusts left no grass for grazing. Oxen and horses ran loose; men deserted. The procession was soon spread over 10 kilometers.

Above: The Blackfoot used horse travois whereby long, straight tipi poles were lashed to the sides of a horse and the rear tips dragged along the ground. Crossbars then formed a platform where household goods and buffalo hides were carried. Photo: Tania Millen

Above: Photographic portrait of Chief Crowfoot, a Blood Indian and Chief of the Blackfoot Confederacy. He lived through the disappearance of the buffalo in the late 1870s and, having faith that the Mounted Police came as peacemakers, signed Treaty 7. Crowfoot is thought to be the greatest influence on the maintenance of peace during the settling of the West after the coming of the Mounties.

Constable James Finlayson wrote, “Camped on the open plain near a swamp. No water, no wood, no supper. The supply wagons did not get in till after midnight, therefore no provisions.”

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By July 29, 1874, they reached the banks of the Souris River near Roche Percee in present-day southern Saskatchewan. 

There, the group split, with one column heading 1,400 kilometres northwest to Fort Edmonton while the other continued west. 

Steele was part of those heading to Edmonton and described the group as including “several of the youngest and weakest men, 55 sick and almost played-out horses recovering from a severe attack of epizootic, 24 wagons, 55 oxcarts with 12 drivers, 62 oxen, 50 cows and 50 calves.”

Steele’s group struggled for eight weeks to survive what he described as one of the worst treks he’d ever been on.

“The trail was knee-deep in black mud; sloughs crossed it every hundred yards and the wagons had to be unloaded and dragged through them by hand,” Steele wrote. “The poor animals, crazed with thirst and feverish, would rush to the ponds to drink, often falling and having to be dragged out with ropes…”

Meanwhile, the column led west by French fared worse. Their route traversed the Coteau of what is now southern Saskatchewan — a land of few trees, brackish water, and tricky route-finding. Men acquired dysentery while almost six horses died per day.

Assistant Commissioner James Macleod was sent forward with a small wagon train to find the former boundary commission depot at Wood Mountain.

Above: Portrait of Lieutenant-Colonel James Farquharson Macleod (1836–1894), a Scottish-born militia officer, lawyer, and politician who played a key role in Alberta’s early history. He served as the second Commissioner of the North West Mounted Police from 1876 to 1880. Macleod, for whom Fort Macleod and Macleod Trail are named, was later appointed to the Supreme Court of the Northwest Territories in 1887 and served until his death. He is buried in Union Cemetery, Calgary. Photo: Tania Millen

“After three days of thrashing about, Macleod found the depot,” writes Rees.

There Macleod purchased emergency pemmican rations and oats, which were delivered to “cripple camp” at Old Wives Lake where sickly horses, oxen, and men were left behind while the column marched on.

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On August 24, the reduced column reached Cypress Hills and the last of the buffalo. Although bison meat was a boon for the half-starved men, the beasts had eaten every blade of grass and contaminated every water hole. The ragged, ill-equipped group reached what is now the Alberta border in early September, as winter began. They continued to search for Fort Whoop-Up, near present-day Lethbridge, but incorrect information meant they missed the fort by over 100 kilometres.

Above: The uniform of the NWMP incorporated several traditional features of the British military. In winter the NWMP wore a buffalo coat, fur cap, mittens, and long woollen stockings. Photo: Tania Millen 

Above: Replica of 1876 California stock saddle used by the NWMP. Photo: Tania Millen

Above: James Macleod was so impressed by the buffalo that he suggested the force’s brass buttons and official badge include a buffalo head. His suggestion was adopted, and a buffalo head remains part of the RCMP insignia. Photo: Tania Millen

Finlayson wrote, “We are lost on the prairie. No one knows where we are. Horses and oxen dying fast, provisions getting scarce, things looking very dark.”

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Rees writes, “They spent six horrific weeks wandering around… to cover a straight line distance of only 400 miles.”

As wind, snow, and limited feed hampered their march, French and his NWMP divisions turned south for respite in the prominent Sweetgrass Hills, just across the border. After their arrival on September 20, Commissioner French, Macleod, and a small contingent continued south to Fort Benton, Montana for supplies. 

Upon their arrival in Fort Benton, French telegraphed Ottawa and was advised that the new NWMP headquarters would be in Swan River, northern Alberta. He immediately headed north with blankets, clothing, and food, picked up Divisions D and E from the Sweetgrass Hills, and subsequently arrived at the newly constructed NWMP barracks in October 1874.

Meanwhile, Macleod was tasked with continuing to Fort Whoop-Up with the over 150 men of Divisions B, C, and F. Having already missed the fort once, Macleod hired a man reputed to be the most knowledgeable scout in the territory — an American Metis named Jerry Potts.

Above: NWMP Metis scout Machelle Queselle. Photo courtesy of Glenbow Archives.

Above: Photograph depicting NWMP Scouts, 1890. L-R, top: Sir Cecil Denny, Jerry Potts. Middle: Sgt Genereaux, Sgt. Hilliard, Sgt. Cotter. Bottom: Mike Oka, Black Eagle. Photo courtesy of the Fort Museum of the NWMP and First Nations Interpretive Centre.

Above: Photograph titled “Pincher Creek Detachment, October 1888” showing a rough log fence in background with flatbed wagon, two horses outside, six Mounties and several civilians in a group. Photo courtesy of the Fort Museum of the NWMP and First Nations Interpretive Centre.

On October 9, 1874, Potts led Macleod’s Mounties to the elusive Fort Whoop-Up post where the Mounties unsheathed their weapons, ready to defend against wild characters known for drunkenness, debauchery, and violence. Macleod and Potts then rode up and knocked on the door of the fort, subsequently discovering that the only residents were a couple of Indigenous women and a veteran. The fort’s desperadoes had been warned of the Mounties’ approach and judiciously left town with their illicit goods.

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With winter on the doorstep, Macleod tasked Potts with finding a suitable place to build a permanent settlement. Potts led them to a bend in the Oldman River which is now known as Fort Macleod and whose inhabitants are celebrating its origins 150 years later in 2024.

Above: Artist’s rendition of the NWMP at Fort Macleod, 1875. Photo: Tania Millen

Above: Mounties and horses at Fort Macleod 1876. Photo courtesy of Galt Museum and Archives

Above: Non-commissioned NWMP officers at Fort Walsh, circa 1878. All are in uniform, with swords. Photo courtesy of the Fort Museum of the NWMP and First Nations Interpretive Centre. 

Above: Photograph titled “Head of the Mountain Detachment, Cypress Hills, 1886,” showing eight men, five horses and a dog. L-R: Cst. Robert Moore, Cst. Blackburn, Cst. Sevton, Cpl. Je Royce, Cst. “Kid” Draycott, Scout Machelle Queselle, Cst. Rubert, and Cst. Vaudrey. Photo courtesy of the Fort Museum of the NWMP and First Nations Interpretive Centre. 

Events of Importance

Considered both a disastrous ordeal and a resounding success, the duplicity of the March West reflects the time and the land. The coming of the NWMP to Western Canada occurred during great change. The buffalo were hunted to extinction soon after. Relationships were built with Indigenous Peoples and treaties were negotiated. Prairie lands were settled and plowed up. The railway was constructed, dramatically increasing development. Throughout it all, the Mounties were tasked with keeping the peace and ensuring that their presence prevented the annexation of prairie soils by the Americans. The toughened Mounties and their successors brought peace, order, and good governance to the Canadian west.

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Above: Having survived the march, Mounties received 160 acres of land for completing three years of service between 1874 and 1879. Many Mounties also benefited from the Dominion Lands Act, which allowed homesteaders to apply for 160 acres of land in exchange for a $10 filing fee. If the settlers stayed on the land for six months each year for three years, the land was granted to them. Other stipulations to “prove the land” were that a house had to be built on the land worth at least $300, along with a barn and fence; 30 acres had to be broken, with 20 acres cropped or seeded. Pictured is Constable Fred Bagley, bugler on the March West ride. Photo courtesy of Glenbow Archives.

Above: Photograph titled “Sergeant's Group, Fort Macleod 1890” depicting 11 Sergeants wearing uniform and pillbox hats. Photo courtesy of the Fort Museum of the NWMP and First Nations Interpretive Centre. 

Above: Photograph depicting Fort Macleod, spring 1897, from outside of the Fort and its accompanying buildings, with some scatterings of snow of the ground. Photo courtesy of the Fort Museum of the NWMP and First Nations Interpretive Centre. 

Above: Photograph titled “1901 Full dress parade passing down the Main Street of Macleod on the occasion of the visit of the Duke of Cornwall and York.” The old Hudson's Bay Store is seen in the background. Photo courtesy of the Fort Museum of the NWMP and First Nations Interpretive Centre. 

Above: Today’s RCMP Musical Ride has many manoeuvres inspired by drills from early 18th-century British Cavalry. Photo: RCMP

Today, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) are a continuation of the NWMP. Riders who explore the prairies on horseback can still experience wild weather, biting bugs, deep mud, poor water sources, and endless wind. The internationally renowned RCMP Musical Ride harkens to 150 years ago when Steele was drilling horsemanship skills into green adventure-seeking recruits. While our lives today are different from those of yesteryear, we remain connected to the daring young men who chose to be part of a long ride into the unknown wilds of Western Canada.

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Related: Cypress Hills: A Dream of Trail Riding Across the Canadian Grasslands

More by Tania Millen

Main Photo: Site of the Cypress Hills Massacre which occurred June 1, 1873, near the Battle Creek region of Saskatchewan. Credit: Wikipedia/SkeezIX1000