Sam Steele
Sam Steele was the distinguished strength, honour and integrity of the NWMP in the North. As Inspector, he was the law of the Yukon during the Gold Rush of 1898-1899. Steele joined the NWMP after serving in the Canadian militia, adding his skills learned as a Mountie to what would become a long and successful military career.
Born into a military family at Purbrook, Sam was the son of Captain The Hon. Elmes Yelverton Steele, R.N., a veteran of the Napoleonic Wars. Following his family's military tradition, in 1866 Steele joined the military during the Fenian raids. Steele also participated in the Red River Expedition in 1870 to fight the Red River Rebellion of Louis Riel. Much to his disappointment, he arrived after the Métis had surrendered. The following year he joined the Permanent Force artillery, Canada's first regular army unit. Steele had long been fascinated by the West, devouring the works of James Fenimore Cooper in his youth.
In 1873, Steele became the third officer sworn into the newly formed North-West Mounted Police (NWMP), entering as a staff constable and quickly rising through the ranks using his riding skills and military knowledge. During the North-West Rebellion Steele was dispatched with a small force. Missing the Battle of Batoche the Mounties were sent to move against the last rebel force led by Big Bear(Mistahi-maskwa). He was present at the Battle of Frenchman's Butte, where Big Bear's warriors defeated the Canadian forces under General Thomas Bland Strange. Two weeks later, Steele and his two dozen Mounties defeated Big Bear's force at Loon Lake, District of Saskatchewan, in the last battle ever fought on Canadian territory. The discovery of gold in the Klondike, Yukon, in the late 1890s presented Steele with a new challenge and he was sent to succeed Charles Constantine as commissioner and to establish customs posts at the head of the White and Chilkoot Passes, and at Lake Bennett. Steele and his force made the Klondike Gold Rush one of the most orderly of its kind in history and made the NWMP famous around the world, which ensured its survival at a critical time when the force's dissolution was being debated in Parliament.
In 1899, Steele went to South Africa as commander of the Lord Strathcona Corps. He had been recommended by the commissioner of the North-West Mounted Police to Lord Strathcona. The unit served as part of the British army but was made up entirely of Canadians and several NWMP constables who had served with Sam Steele chose to enlist and accompany him to Africa. The Boer War was bloody and brutal, and so Steele's unit served less than a year in a variety of scouting duties in the midst of combat. The unit was seen as effective as any British squadron and received high praises from the British command after returning home in 1901. Steele was later invited to return to South Africa to command a division of the South African Constabulary. Steele trained the SAC for civilian policing and worked with the local citizens before returning home in 1907.
Born into a military family at Purbrook, Sam was the son of Captain The Hon. Elmes Yelverton Steele, R.N., a veteran of the Napoleonic Wars. Following his family's military tradition, in 1866 Steele joined the military during the Fenian raids. Steele also participated in the Red River Expedition in 1870 to fight the Red River Rebellion of Louis Riel. Much to his disappointment, he arrived after the Métis had surrendered. The following year he joined the Permanent Force artillery, Canada's first regular army unit. Steele had long been fascinated by the West, devouring the works of James Fenimore Cooper in his youth.
In 1873, Steele became the third officer sworn into the newly formed North-West Mounted Police (NWMP), entering as a staff constable and quickly rising through the ranks using his riding skills and military knowledge. During the North-West Rebellion Steele was dispatched with a small force. Missing the Battle of Batoche the Mounties were sent to move against the last rebel force led by Big Bear(Mistahi-maskwa). He was present at the Battle of Frenchman's Butte, where Big Bear's warriors defeated the Canadian forces under General Thomas Bland Strange. Two weeks later, Steele and his two dozen Mounties defeated Big Bear's force at Loon Lake, District of Saskatchewan, in the last battle ever fought on Canadian territory. The discovery of gold in the Klondike, Yukon, in the late 1890s presented Steele with a new challenge and he was sent to succeed Charles Constantine as commissioner and to establish customs posts at the head of the White and Chilkoot Passes, and at Lake Bennett. Steele and his force made the Klondike Gold Rush one of the most orderly of its kind in history and made the NWMP famous around the world, which ensured its survival at a critical time when the force's dissolution was being debated in Parliament.
In 1899, Steele went to South Africa as commander of the Lord Strathcona Corps. He had been recommended by the commissioner of the North-West Mounted Police to Lord Strathcona. The unit served as part of the British army but was made up entirely of Canadians and several NWMP constables who had served with Sam Steele chose to enlist and accompany him to Africa. The Boer War was bloody and brutal, and so Steele's unit served less than a year in a variety of scouting duties in the midst of combat. The unit was seen as effective as any British squadron and received high praises from the British command after returning home in 1901. Steele was later invited to return to South Africa to command a division of the South African Constabulary. Steele trained the SAC for civilian policing and worked with the local citizens before returning home in 1907.
Louis Riel
Louis Riel was born in 1844 in Saint-Boniface, in the Red River Settlement. His father Louis Riel Sr. was businessman and a political leader in the Metis community. From the start of his education, he emerged as a very intelligent student. He was identified as a strong candidate for the priesthood, and was given a scholarship to study at a Sulpician School in Montreal which he also excelled at. He also got interested in Poetry and nurtured it for the rest of his life. The Metis organized the Metis National Committee to protect the social, cultural and political status of the Metis in Red River and the North West. Riel was elected as the secretary and then as president. With Riel at the helm, they accomplished many things. After the Red River Uprising, the Metis felt vulnerable. Their old lives as fur traders for the Hudson Bay’s Company were disappearing, including the bisons which they depended on as well. They seeked help from Ottawa for reassurance that titles to their homes and farms would be guaranteed, but the answer was slow in coming and the Metis got impatient. Also the railway was complete and the NWMP was created, which developed a local force. Riel was brought back from America and formed a provincial government which included an armed force. The Metis occupied the community of Duck Lake, and 100 NWMP and armed citizens attacked the community. The battle ended shortly and the police decided to retreat due to casualties. The victory encouraged the Cree and Assiniboines to join the rebellion. After many violent battles, NWMP were able to quell the rebellion and Louis Riel and the other rebellion leaders were captured and Riel was hung.
George French
Major-General Sir George Arthur French was an experienced militant. He was the first leader of the NWMP, from October 18, 1873, to July 21, 1876. In 1871, at the request of the Canadian government, he was sent to Canada as an inspector, to scout Rupert's Land that they bought off the Hudson's Bay Company. The NWMP was created in 1873, and French was selected to coordinate the force. He also conducted the force on a march to the Rockies later that year. In 1876, George French decided to resign and he continue to serve for the British Armed forces. He later was promoted to major-general. Retiring in 1891, French returned to England where he was Knighted, and spent the remains of his life guarding the crown jewels in London, where he wistfully died in 1921.
Jerry Potts
Jerry Potts was born at Fort McKenzie, Montana on the Missouri River. At the time of his fathers death in 1840, Jerry was given to American Fur Company trader Alexander Harvey. Harvey was a violent, vindictive man, who neglected and mistreated Jerry Potts before abandoning him in 1845. Andrew Dawson, a American Fur Company trader adopted young Jerry Potts and taught jerry to read and write.
When Potts became an adult, he gradually gained fame as an Indian warrior, and almost legendary accounts of his battles with the traditional enemies of the Blackfoot Confederacy. Potts was trading horses in Fort Benton, Montana In September 1874 when the North-West Mounted Police hired him as a guide, interpreter and scout. The North West Mounted Police allowed his contract as a guide to last twenty two years. He was paid $90 per month, which was three times as much as a police constable's salary. Even City Marshals in large cities such as Abilene or Dodge City often earned less than that amount. He also picked the location for the first North-West Mounted Police post, called Fort Macleod.
Jerry Potts only stopped working for the force at age fifty-eight because the pain of his throat cancer made it difficult to ride. He died a year later, on 14 July 1896 at Fort Macleod. Jerry was buried at Fort Macleod with full honors in 1896 having served with the North-West Mounted Police for twenty-two years and being given the rank of special constable.
When Potts became an adult, he gradually gained fame as an Indian warrior, and almost legendary accounts of his battles with the traditional enemies of the Blackfoot Confederacy. Potts was trading horses in Fort Benton, Montana In September 1874 when the North-West Mounted Police hired him as a guide, interpreter and scout. The North West Mounted Police allowed his contract as a guide to last twenty two years. He was paid $90 per month, which was three times as much as a police constable's salary. Even City Marshals in large cities such as Abilene or Dodge City often earned less than that amount. He also picked the location for the first North-West Mounted Police post, called Fort Macleod.
Jerry Potts only stopped working for the force at age fifty-eight because the pain of his throat cancer made it difficult to ride. He died a year later, on 14 July 1896 at Fort Macleod. Jerry was buried at Fort Macleod with full honors in 1896 having served with the North-West Mounted Police for twenty-two years and being given the rank of special constable.