Cotondog Loc: Saskatchewan, Canada

Pic taken in August 2018 with Canon 6D
Lens: 24-105 f/4l @28mm.
ISO 100; f/10; ss-1/180


I am not sure whether it is permissible to provide some background information here. I feel, however, that in some cases, it may help to provide some overall meaning to the photo. If not allowed, please accept my apologies, and I will make every effort to be brief.

What you are looking at here is Fort Walsh, located in the Cypress Hills of South West Saskatchewan. The Fort was built for a reason:

In the 1800s, a large party of "wolfers", buffalo hunters, and whiskey traders from Montana had a regular practice of crossing the border into the Northwest Territories (Saskatchewan had not yet joined Canada, and was still part of the NWT). On June 1, 1873, the American party was in Saskatchewan, and following a day of trading and drinking whiskey, the Americans accused the Indians of stealing one of their horses. They sneaked back to the small Indian camp that night, which was located on Battle Creek, and opened fire on the camp, killing 24 Indians. 1 wolfer was killed, 3 male Indians were killed, and the other 21 killed were Indian women and children. This became known as the Cypress Hills Massacre.

At this time in history, those provinces that were not yet part of Canada had no law to speak of. So, the massacre sparked the creation of the North West Mounted Police (they later became the Royal Canadian Mounted Police -- RCMP), and the first 150 recruits were dispatched to Saskatchewan under the command of James W. Walsh. They built the fort 2 miles from the massacre site. Their purpose was to bring Canadian law to the West and to end the whiskey trade.

Other tidbits of information:
- The crosses you see on the hill to the left are the graves of civilians who dies or were killed during the early years in the Fort's history. At the time, civilians could not be buried in the same cemetery as soldiers or Officers of Canada. This changed later, and all persons serving at the Fort were buried in a cemetery about 2 miles up the road you see on the right.
- The American party never did receive any punishment for the massacre. Seven of the men who did participate were eventually arrested in the US. A trial was held, but all were found "not guilty."
- Among the American party were 3 fairly well-known individuals: Thomas Hardwick (an American Civil War vet who was described as "a prolific Indian killer); John E. Evans (another Civil War vet who would later become the captain of the Spitzee Calvalry); and John "Liver-eating" Johnson (the famous mountain man, trapper, Crow-killer, and whiskey trader).
- Following the battle of the Little Bighorn in June, 1876, Chief Sitting Bull crossed the northern border into Saskatchewan with a band of 5,000 Sioux, and came to Fort Walsh. He camped at Fort Walsh but primarily moved around the Hills for over 5 years between Fort Walsh and Wood Mountain (about 200 miles to the East of Fort Walsh). He returned to the US in 1881, when the buffalo were becoming scarce.

Sorry, not as brief as I thought.

(Download)

NMGal Loc: NE NM

Very interesting. Thanks for the info on something I knew nothing about. Never understood what possesses people to do the things they do.

Longshadow Loc: Audubon, PA, United States

Neat.

RichardTaylor Loc: Sydney, Australia

Beautiful. Thanks for the history lesson.

Rich1939 Loc: Pike County Penna.

Excellent photo and an interesting (and unsettling) bit of historic information.

IDguy Loc: Idaho

Thanks for the great story and image.

Although the expanded downloaded image is excellent it would also be nice to see some of your images in and around the fort itself.

Cotondog Loc: Saskatchewan, Canada

Thanks, NMGal. A dark piece of history. Very difficult times for both the U.S. and Canada.

Cotondog Loc: Saskatchewan, Canada

Thanks, Longshadow.

Cotondog Loc: Saskatchewan, Canada

I appreciate your comment, Richard.

Cotondog Loc: Saskatchewan, Canada

Thank you, Rich. I appreciate your comment, and agree that it was a very unsettling time. The 1970s and 80s were hard times for both our countries, and for the Native populations.

Cotondog Loc: Saskatchewan, Canada

I appreciate your comment, IDguy. I have a number of other photos of the fort and cemetery.. I don't think they would qualify as landscapes, however, so probably could not post them here.

Linda From Maine Loc: Yakima, Washington

I viewed the image before reading your intro and was moved by the crosses so distant from the fort. Thank you for teaching us about this moment of our shared history.

Cotondog Loc: Saskatchewan, Canada

OOPS, double post.

Cotondog Loc: Saskatchewan, Canada

Thank you, Linda, and you are most welcome.

jaymatt Loc: Alexandria, Indiana

Interesting history.