Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History No. 21

Whisky, Horses and Death:
The Cypress Hills Massacre and its Sequel

by Philip Goldring

Preface

In 1968 the National Historic Parks and Sites Branch of the Department of Indian and Northern Affairs acquired the Cypress Hills massacre site from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. In 1972 it became necessary to determine the accuracy of the traditionally ascribed sites of Fort Farwell, Fort Soloman and the Indian camp around which the massacre took place. The material uncovered was unsatisfactory to some extent; it was wholly consistent with the traditional image of the site, but offered no positive or striking confirmation that the traditions were correct. It was therefore decided to try archaeological investigations, which began in August 1971. The archaeologist, Jack Elliott, made discoveries which thoroughly justified the time and effort expended and it now seems pointless to dispute the traditional arrangement of sites about the massacre grounds: Fort Farwell stood on the west bank of Battle Creek, Fort Soloman about 600 feet away on the east bank, and the Indian camp on the south side of the coulee, east of the creek. The two trading posts stood on land now surveyed within Section 9 of Township 7, Range 29 west of the third meridian. The Indian camp, though only a few hundred feet southeast of Fort Soloman, appears to have lain wholly, or almost wholly, in Section 10.

Although tradition faithfully recorded the arrangement of buildings about the site, it was less careful of the massacre story itself. The historical record is littered with inaccuracies, careless descriptions and unwarranted assumptions. It soon became apparent that I had amassed a more extensive collection of firsthand accounts of the massacre than has been available to any previous writer, enough to justify going beyond immediate operational needs and writing a new story of the massacre based entirely on primary sources.

In general I have followed the spellings and translations of names current in the 1870s and where inconsistencies arise, I have followed the spelling given in official documents rather than that of newspapers or other accounts. A single exception is the use of "Soloman"; according to Jack Elliott, this is the correct spelling of a common Métis name. In quotations from contemporary sources, spellings have been left as they were, but obvious typographical errors in newspaper accounts have been corrected.

The collection of information on the massacre was not a single-handed effort. Modern transcripts of 19th-century Department of Justice papers were sent by the RCMP to National Historic Parks and Sites Branch, probably before 1960. Many of these documents are of great interest and not all of them can still be found in the justice department's records, which were severely pruned about a decade ago. Original copies of some of these documents can still be found elsewhere; in such cases I have cited the surviving original. Where a comparison is possible, however, the transcripts are such faithful copies that I have relied on the RCMP typescript in cases where no other copy exists. Another substantial part of my notes consists of excerpts from Montana newspapers, made available by F. Verspoor, formerly attached to Western Region Office, National and Historic Parks Branch. I also profitted from consulting the research notes of my colleague Robert Allen after he examined the T.C. Power Brothers Company records in Helena, Montana.

I am indebted to many other people for contributions of various sorts. George Shepherd, curator of the Western Development Museum in Saskatoon and a long-time student of the Cypress Hills and their history, gave useful advice and encouragement. Jack Elliott, director of the Galt Museum in Lethbridge, Alberta, and an authority on Métis winterers in the Cypress Hills, read an early draft of the manuscript and made several valuable suggestions. Members of the staff of the National Historic Parks and Sites Branch's Western Region, H.A. Tatro and A. Buziak, took me over the massacre site. I am grateful also for the patience of J. O'Brien of the Public Records Division, Public Archives of Canada, and the assistance of John Bovey, provincial archivist of Manitoba, and his assistant archivists, B. Hyman and E. Blight.