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

Endnotes

Prologue

1 It is not intended to suggest here that there was neither crime nor disorder in the territories before the advent of the American-based liquor trade. Such disorder, however, rarely involved whites and seldom threatened the fundamental bases — cultural or economic — of the lives of the native tribes. Writers frequently quote the remark made by Captain Butler in 1871 that "crimes of the most serious nature have been committed . . . without any vindication of the law being possible." Few note, however, that this is a parenthetical remark in a paragraph whose full meaning tends towards the other direction: "I do not mean to assert that crime and outrage are of habitual occurence among the people of this territory . . . the position of affairs rests at the present moment not on the just power of an executive authority to enforce obedience, but rather upon the passive acquiescence of the majority of a scant population who hitherto have lived in ignorance of those conflicting interests which, in more populous and civilized communities, tend to anarchy and disorder." William Francis Butler, The Great Lone Land . . . (London: Sampson, Low, Marston, Low and Searle, 1872), pp. 357-8.

The Characters

1 Large bands of Indians continued to frequent the Cypress Hills for about a decade after the massacre, but there was always a dominant white element present — the whisky traders until 1875, the North-West Mounted Police thereafter.

2 For the visit of the Stonies, see the testimony of Abel Farwell, 19 June 1876, at the murder trial of Bell, Hughes and Vogle (Standard [Winnipeg] [hereafter cited as Winnipeg Trial], 24 June 1876). For the remaining chiefs and their bands, see Dan Kennedy (Ochankugahe), Recollections of an Assiniboine Chief, ed. J.R. Stevens (Toronto: McClelland and Stewart, 1971). pp. 42-7. This includes the memories of Eashappie, who as a boy of 12 was present at the massacre. Kennedy refers to the principal chief as Hunkajuka. "Little Chief," but this is clearly the same man referred to as Manitu-potis, "Little Soldier," in the contemporary official accounts.

3 William Francis Butler, op. cit., pp. 379-80.

4 The list of traders is compiled from the full range of primary documents employed for this study, but the major single source is Abel Farwell's testimony at the Winnipeg trial, 19-20 June 1876. Farwell, under cross-examination (see Winnipeg Trial, 19-20 June 1876), placed the number of whisky traders within three miles at the stated figure, 13.

5 Ibid. George Bell referred to his military career during his examination at the Winnipeg trial (Winnipeg Trial, 21 June 1876): for the Métis camp, see ibid., examination of Joseph Vital Turcotte. Farwell said the Métis camp was on the Frenchman River (ibid., 20 June 1876).

6 See ibid., testimony of Joseph Vital Turcotte and Joseph Laverdure, 21 June 1876.

7 See Canada. Public Archives (hereafter cited as PAC), RG7, G6, Vol. 24, Bonnot to ______, 5 Aug. 1873, in Thornton to Dufferin, No. 29, 23 Aug. 1873, "The general reputation of Evans and Deveraux . . . is that of horse thieves and traders of whisky to Indians," For the other comment, see "Extracts from Department of Justice Files: Data Re. the Cypress Hills Massacre and Rounding Up of the Hardwick Gang," (manuscript on file, National Historic Parks and Sites Branch, Parks Canada, Ottawa, n.d.) (hereafter cited as "Extracts . . . Re. the Cypress Hills Massacre"). Page to McMicken, 1 Jan. 1874.

8 The main sources for this account are in PAC, MG27, I, H2, Taylor Papers, depositions of Trevanion Hale and John H. Evans, 15 Dec. 1875 and 20 Dec. 1875 respectively. See also an anonymous but similar account in the Fort Benton Record, 26 June 1875. For the information that the horses were actually stolen by the Cree, see Dan Kennedy. op. cit., p. 44.

9 PAC, MG27, I, H2, Taylor Papers. deposition of John H. Evans, 20 Dec. 1875.

10 Winnipeg Trial, examination of Abel Farwell, 19 June 1876.

11 Ibid.: PAC, MG27, I, H2, Taylor Papers, depositions of Trevanion Hale and John Evans, 15 Dec. 1875 and 20 Dec. 1875.

12 Daily Independent (Helena), 25 July 1875.

13 The names of the Benton party are gleaned from a number of sources: for the two Métis, see Winnipeg Trial, examination of A. Lebombard, 20 June 1876.

14 Donald Graham, "Cypress Hills Massacre," Edmonton Journal, 9 and 29 March 1924, reprinted, with some slightly muddled commentary and annotation, by Hugh A. Dempsey in Montana Magazine of History, Vol. 3, No. 4 (Autumn 1953), pp. 1-9. Many passages of Graham's story are wholly inconsistent with aspect of the real story as agreed to by all contemporaries and it is likely he was indulging in the respectable old pioneer's sport of pulling an editor's leg.

The Scene

1 There was evidently a fair amount of intercourse between the two forts over the winter — see Winnipeg Trial, cross-examination of A. Lebombard, 20 June 1876.

2 For a more detailed description of Fort Soloman, see Appendix B.

3 Distances were paced off and recorded by Inspector Irvine and presented in evidence at the preliminary hearing of George Bell: see United States. National Archives. Diplomatic Branch, Dispatches from the American Consul in Winnipeg to the [U.S.] Secretary of State (hereafter cited as NAD, Dispatches), No. 219, Taylor to Cadwalader, 22 Sept. 1875, Enclosure No. 1, transcript of the hearing of George Bell.

4 Wallace Stegner, Wolf Willow (New York: Viking, 1963), p. 111: George Shepherd, Brave Heritage (Saskatoon: Prairie Books Service, 1967), p. 17.

5 "Extracts . . . Re. the Cypress Hills Massacre" contains some notes on this effort about 1943 by Sgt. D. A. Flemming of the RCMP.

6 The map was submitted by Irvine to the Bell hearing. Unhappily, Winnipeg police court records no longer exist for this early period and no other copy of the map has been found.

7 Jack Elliott to Philip Goldring, pers. com., 11 Dec. 1972.

The Tragedy

1 PAC, MG27, I, H2, Taylor Papers, deposition of Trevanion Hale, 15 Dec. 1875: also Winnipeg Trial, examination of George Bell, 21 June 1876.

2 Winnipeg Trial, cross-examination of A. Lebombard, 20 June 1876.

3 Ibid., examination of George Bell, 21 June 1876.

4 There was no clear consensus afterwards about what time the fight started, but it was between noon and four o'clock, probably about one. For the return of Hammond's horse, see ibid., examination of A. Lebombard, 20 June 1 876.

5 This is Lebombard's account, which is substantially corroborated by the testimony of Farwell and a defence witness: see ibid., testimony of A. Lebombard, 20 June 1876: ibid., testimony of Abel Farwell, 19 June 1876: ibid., testimony of Baptiste Champagne, 20 June 1876.

6 Ibid., examination of Abel Farwell, 19 June 1876.

7 NAD, Dispatches. No. 219, Taylor to Cadwalader, 22 Sept. 1875, Enclosure No. 1. deposition of A. Lebombard, 13 Sept. 1875. See also Winnipeg Trial, examination of A. Lebombard, 20 June 1876.

8 Dan Kennedy. op. cit., pp. 44-6, is useful, but the basic (and hitherto unexploited) source of information from the Indian point of view is in five depositions taken by Inspector A.G. Irvine from Assiniboine survivors of the massacre (Manitoba. Provincial Archives [hereafter cited as PAM]. Morris papers, file 1177). These depositions establish the crucially important fact that the Indians were warned that the white men were coming for hostile purposes. The evidence also corroborates or explains various dubious or ambiguous statements in other people's testimony.

9 Farwell swore afterwards that the white men in the coulee were calling to him to get out of the way as they intended to fire on the camp and that Hammond told him when he returned to the coulee, "G-d d—n you, why didn't you come out when we told you first, for we would have had a good shot"? This is not corroborated by other witnesses and the intent of Farwell's testimony was to minimize the hostility of the Assiniboine and to exaggerate that of the whites. See Winnipeg Trial, examination and cross-examination of Abel Farwell, 19-20 June 1876.

10 No two witnesses saw the opening shots of the massacre in the same fashion: nor is it particularly important who fired first, since the Indians clearly assumed they were on the defensive.

11 "The Extradition Case," Weekly Herald (Helena), 15 Aug. 1875, provides a summary of Farwell's testimony: his opinion about the whites' intentions in going to the camp was unchanged a year later. See Winnipeg Trial, cross-examination of Abel Farwell, 20 June 1876.

12 The Helena Weekly Herald printed in full the remarks of Commissioner W.E. Cullen in its issue of 29 July 1875.

13 Farwell said that the men were standing between the fort and the coulee: see Winnipeg Trial, examination of A. Farwell, 19 June 1876: Lebombard swore he saw men on the roof: see NAD, Dispatches, No. 219, Taylor to Cadwalader, 22 Sept. 1875, Enclosure No. 1, deposition of A. Lebombard, 13 Sept. 1875, "I saw some people on the roof of Solomon's house: and behind the chimnies [sic], firing at the Indians."

14 Lebombard is unequivocal on this point: see his deposition of 13 Sept. 1875, (NAD, Dispatches, No. 219, Taylor to Cadwalader, 22 Sept. 1875, Enclosure No. 1) and his testimony under examination at the Winnipeg trial (Winnipeg Trial, June 1876). Farwell's testimony (Winnipeg Trial, 19 June 1876) corroborates this in a general way, though he was under the impression that the whites were not chasing the Indians in the bushes by the river but those on the hillside. Farwell also described this incident forcefully at the extradition hearing in Montana.

15 The death of Legrace (often referred to in unofficial accounts simply as "Grace") is described in Winnipeg Trial, testimony of Abel Farwell, 19 June 1876.

16 The death of Little Soldier was described by his wife and mother-in-law in their depositions to A.G. Irvine (PAM. Morris Papers. tile 1177). There is some confusion over who was clubbed to death and decapitated: Lebombard stated that it was an old crippled man, but added that he had been told the decapitated head belonged to Little Soldier (Winnipeg Trial, examination of A. Lebombard, 20 June 1876). Eashappie, Dan Kennedy's source, claimed it was Wankantu, "an old Indian" (Dan Kennedy, op. cit., p. 46.) The most detailed account, not surprisingly, is among the depositions taken by Irvine (PAM, Morris Papers. file 1177). Miskotakikotena ("The Man Who Took the Coat") swore that "I saw some of the Americans come to where the 'Old Man' was and strike him on the head with a hatchet, leaving the hatchet there in his head and then take up a pole and run it through him from his backside to his head." The old man may have been a chief, but not Little Soldier, who was relatively young. There is no reliable corroboration for the fact that the old man was impaled: decapitation, though equally revolting, seems more likely on the basis of contemporary testimony.

17 The obsequies for Legrace are described in Winnipeg Trial, testimony of George Bell, 21 June 1876, as well as ibid., testimony of Joseph Vital Turcotte. Contemporary accounts do not mention a coffin, but the skeleton discovered in 1972 was in a wooden coffin.

18 PAM, Morris Papers, file 1177, deposition of Wakiuskemo ("The Woman who eats Grizzly Bear"), wife of Little Soldier, 1 Dec. 1875.

19 Winnipeg Trial, cross-examination of Abel Farwell, 20 June 1876.

20 PAM. Morris Papers, tile 1177, deposition of Keeshkesan ("Cutter"), Dec. 1875, ". . . we started in the night for the end of the mountain to the half-breeds, they treated us kindly giving us dogs, kettles etc."

21 For the departure of the parties, see NAD, Dispatches, No. 219. Taylor to Cadwalader, 22 Sept. 1875, Enclosure No. 1, Abel Farwell and A. Lebombard, 13 Sept. 1875. From Lebombard's testimony, it appears that he may not have accompanied Farwell all the way back to Fort Benton, for he was in the Cypress Hills again very shortly after the massacre. For the activities of the Benton party before it split up, see Winnipeg Trial, examination of A. Lebombard, 20 June 1876, "The Benton party went to the Indian camp and gathered up everything in a heap and burned it." See also Daily Herald (Helena). 11 June 1873, "Two of the men loaded 2 wagons . . . and started for Benton while the others started north on the trail of the Crees."

22 Daily Herald (Helena), 11 June 1873.

23 Wheeler's letter to the Department of the Interior is alluded to in PAC, RG7, G6, Vol. 24, Clurn to secretary of the interior, 8 Aug. 1873, in Thornton to Dufferin, No. 27, 21 Aug. 1873.

24 In addition to the dispatch cited above, ibid., Thornton to Dufferin No. 29. 23 Aug. 1873, with its enclosures, is also important. The material quoted is from two enclosures in ibid., Thornton to Dufferin, No. 27: first, Simmons to ______. 12 July 1873, and second, Cox to Smith, 26 July 1873.

25 The interdepartmental correspondence is ibid., Thornton to Dufferin, No. 27: see also PAM, Morris Papers, Letterbooks, Morris to minister of the interior, 20 Aug. 1873: Ottawa Daily Citizen, 29 Aug. 1873.

26 PAM, Morris Papers. item 1945, McKay to Urquhart, 24 Aug. 1873. A copy of this was forwarded by Morris to Ottawa with a covering dispatch (PAC, RG13, Acc. No. 68/263, Dominion Police Files, 1873, No. 60n, 26 Aug. 1873).

27 PAC, RG13, Acc. No. 68/263, Dominion Police Files, 1873, Morris to minister of the interior, 20 Aug. 1873.

Anti-Climax

1 See Philip Goldring, "The First Contingent: The North-West Mounted Police, 1873-74," Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History, No. 21 (1979), Appendix C.

2 "Extracts . . . Re. the Cypress Hills Massacre," McMicken to Dorion, minister of justice. 29 Nov. 1873 (see Preface): also ibid., Bernard to McMicken, 18 April 1874.

3 PAM, Morris Papers, file 997, Privy Council report by T. Fournier, minister of justice.

4 John Peter Turner, The North West Mounted Police, 1873-1893 . . . . (Ottawa: King's Printer, 1950), Vol. 1, pp. 218-9.

5 "Extracts . . . Re. the Cypress Hills Massacre," Page to McMicken, 1 Jan. 1874.

6 The Montana press for the period June-July 1875 is full of references to the extradition case: a useful cross-section may be found in the Helena Weekly Herald, 8, 15, 22 and 29 June 1875: a more colourful version emerges from the Fort Benton Record, 26, 24 and 31 June 1875.

7 Paul F. Sharp, Whoop-Up Country (Minneapolis: Univ. of Minnesota Press, 1955), pp. 71-2.

8 Weekly Herald (Helena), 22 July 1876.

9 An account along these lines was written by an unnamed member of the Benton party and was published shortly before the extradition hearing in the Fort Benton Record, 26 June 1875.

10 For Cullen's remarks in full, see Weekly Herald (Helena), 29 July 1875.

11 From the text of a series of resolutions passed by a public meeting at Bozeman, reported in the Bozeman Times, 6 July 1875.

12 Fort Benton Record, 26 June 1875.

13 Ibid.

14 Bozeman Times, loc. cit.

15 Weekly Herald (Helena), 29 July 1875.

16 NAD, Dispatches, No. 219, Taylor to Cadwalader, 22 Sept. 1875, enclosure, deposition of A.G. Irvine, n.d.

17 This article was reprinted with much indignant commentary by the Fort Benton Record, 16 Oct. 1875.

18 NAD, Dispatches, No. 219, enclosure in Taylor to Cadwalader, 22 Sept. 1875.

19 An enormous amount of correspondence on this topic passed between the various officials named and even appeared in the press: see especially Potts to Hale, 22 Sept. 1875. and Hale to Potts, n.d., in Weekly Herald (Helena), 7 Oct. 1875. Much official correspondence is in PAC, RG7, G6, Vols. 26-7, Thornton to governor general or acting governor general. No. 23, 15 May 1875: No. 26, 22 May 1875: No. 32, 12 June. 1875: No. 47, 12 Oct. 1875: No. 50, 15 Oct. 1875: No. 1, 1 Jan. 1876: No. 9, 31 March 1876, and No. 14, 5 May 1876. Blake's stand is outlined in an order in council attached to the dispatch of 12 Oct. 1876. Fish's capitulation is dated 4 May 1876 and enclosed in Thornton's dispatch of 5 May 1876: "As the authorities of Canada . . . seem unwilling or unable to assist . . . I shall no further refer to the question."

20 This is explained in detail in the petition presented by Biggs on behalf of Taylor at the opening of the Winnipeg trial (Winnipeg Trial, 19 June 1876).

21 Ibid.: the defendants must have expected this result. In any case, a fairly comprehensive defence had already been prepared.

22 Cornish discussed the trial in a lengthy report to the minister of justice, written shortly after the end of the trial. The original of this report does not appear to have survived and the typescript copy in "Extracts . . . Re. the Cypress Hills Massacre" is undated.

23 Ibid.

24 Ibid.

25 The procedure is described in PAC, MG27, I, H2, Taylor Papers, Letterbook, Taylor to Evans, 20 March 1882.

Epilogue

1 This controversy is discussed at length in Philip Goldring, "The First Contingent: The North-West Mounted Police, 1873-74," Canadian Historic Sites: Occasional Papers in Archaeology and History, No. 21 (1979), Appendix C.

2 PAC, MG9, G1, p. 31, Morris to the North-West Council, 1875.

3 This tradition is explained in S.W. Horrall, "Sir John A. Macdonald and the Mounted Police Force for the Northwest Territories," Canadian Historical Review, Vol. 53, No. 2 (June 1972), p. 180.

4 The Montana press, or some parts of it, made frequent references during the extradition hearing and Winnipeg trial, to the differences between Canadian and American political institutions. The Fort Benton Record for instance, railed at the "spite and malice" which Canadian officials, "hirelings of a Queen," exhibited toward the "citizens of a republic" (18 Sept. 1875). The Record also accused the Manitoba Free Press of "an inveterate hatred against the representatives of a free and civilized people" (16 Oct. 1875).

Appendix A. Abel Farwell and the Cypress Hills Massacre Story.

1 Paul F. Sharp, op. cit., pp. 58-9, 66-7.

2 PAM, Morris Papers.

3 Robert Allen, pers. com. The T.C. Power Company account books have recently been made available to the public through the Montana Historical Society.

Appendix B. Description of the Massacre Site.

1 Winnipeg Trial, testimony of George M. Bell, 21 June 1876.

2 Ibid., testimony of Philander Vogle, 21 June 1876.

3 Ibid., testimony of George M. Bell, 21 June 1876.

4 Ibid., testimony of Joseph Vital Turcotte, 21 June 1876.

5 Ibid., testimony of A. Lebombard, 20 June 1876.

6 Ibid., testimony of Abel Farwell, 19 June 1876.

7 NAD, Dispatches. No. 219, Taylor to Cadwalader, 22 Sept. 1875, enclosure, testimony of Inspector Irvine, Winnipeg examination of George Bell, Sept. 1875.

Appendix C. The Date of the Massacre.

1 Winnipeg Trial, testimony of Baptiste Champagne, 21 June 1876.

2 Ibid., cross-examination of Abel Farwell, 19 June 1876.

3 PAC, MG27, I, H2, Taylor Papers, deposition of Trevanion Hale. 15 Dec. 1875: ibid., deposition of John H. Evans, 20 Dec. 1875.