The North-West Mounted Police: 1873-85 outlines the formative years of the Force in certainly the most momentous twelve-year period observed in Canadian prairie history. OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE ERA is enhanced immeasurably by the extent of information provided, the clear description of the frontier experience, and in its detailed survey of the policing and lifestyle of the “Guardians of the Land."In his research, the author relied extensively on primary sources: diaries, letters, newspapers, official reports, NWMP personnel files. The North-West Mounted Police: 1873-85 is an engaging account of Western Canadian history. Three examples illustrate the fascinating scope of study:IN 1876, ASSISTANT COMMISSIONER A. G. IRVINE, while en route escorting prisoners of the Cypress Hills Massacre, chose to temporarily remove their handcuffs, and provided them with rifles to hunt buffalo in order to replenish the party’s food supply. DURING A JURY TRIAL AT FORT WALSH IN 1877, Colonel James Macleod, aware local opinion prejudged Freeman Burnett guilty, in turn, recruited a jury in Montana Territory. This recruitment of a jury from another country is perhaps unparalleled in legal history. A MAP PRINTED IN JANUARY 1875 (three months after the North-West Mounted Police reached Fort Macleod) precisely depicts the geographic features of the Canadian prairies, the new NWMP posts and the route taken on the acclaimed '74 March. This land was not an unchartered wilderness when the '74 Originals traveled west. In fact, the next summer, the two sons of Inspector William Jarvis, aged 13 and 14, obtained a gun and with the supplies they could carry, walked the same route as their father’s column across the plains. | The North-West Mounted Police by Jack F. Dunn, Paperback | Indigo Chapters