ROOMS WITH SHOWER OR BATH

TOURIST AND COMMERCIAL
FULLY MODERN
FULLY LICENSED

Phone 70

SAMPLE ROOMS AVAILABLE

York Hotel

aun Coffer Shoppe
CRANBROOK, British Columbia

A-E and C. SPERKA

APPROVED BY:
A.C.T., N.W.T.A,.
AAA. BCAA.

Box 318

ber Superintendent Cuthbert (later
Commissioner Cuthbert) living there,
and Superintendent Starnes, who also
became Commissioner. Inspector
Davidson was stationed at Maple
Creek for some time—I believe his
son now lives in Victoria. My father’s
house was away from the main build-
ing, a two-storeyed log erection, with
a number of rooms—my mother’s
pride being her parlour, which was
filled with ornate furniture, many
knick-knacks and family portraits.
This room was kept for company, but
we children preferred the cosy den
and kitchen. The blacksmiths, car-
penters and tailors had separate shops
nearby.

The horses were exercised and put
through their training in a_ large
circle inside the grounds. Not to be
forgotten was the little cemetery
where lay the bodies of men who
had lost their lives while members of
“A” Division. It is regrettable that
this old barracks has not been pre-

Jaffray General Store
and SERVICE STATION

H. D. Wilson M. S. McNeil
GROCERIES - MEATS
HARDWARE - DRYGOODS
GAS and OIL
JAFFRAY B.C.

MOUNT BAKER HOTEL

Miss M. G. Yeager, Proprietress

One Day Laundry Service
All Brick, Fireproof
TOURIST HEADQUARTERS

Phone 92 CRANBROOK, B.C.

STOP & GO INN

OUR SPECIALTY . . .
“CHICKEN IN A BASKET”

Good Food Well Prepared is the
Only Kind We Sell

CRANBROOK

B.C.

served as a memorial to the fine men
who lived and worked there, and did
so much to make Canada what she
is today.

There was always something hap-
pening at the barracks, life was never
dull. One night the constable on night
guard at the gaol fell asleep, forget-
ting to lock the door. When the
orderly officer made his rounds at
midnight he was still asleep and his
revolver lay by his side empty. The
prisoners, about eighteen at the time,
had gone. They could not get very far
without food and horses, but it took
several weeks to round them up.
Occasionally we children used to
snitch our father’s tobacco and slip
it to the prisoners, while the guard
looked the other way. Although there
were notorious criminals in the gaol
at times, there were also many pris-
oners serving small terms for minor
law infringements.

One of the constables was a par-
ticular favorite with the young
people, and we missed him when he
went away on a patrol. These patrols
often lasted for weeks at a stretch
and were made on horseback, with the
minimum of equipment and supplies.
The last patrol that Constable Powell
made was in the winter, and after he
left the post we never saw him again.
He had taken shelter in a hay rack,
during a terrific blizzard, where his
frozen body was found. When his
horse returned home alone there was
an atmosphere of gloom and sadness
in every quarter of the barracks.

Another constable who lost his life
on patrol was Constable Johnson,
whom we all called “Tubby.” He went
away during the spring thaw when
the waterways were swollen and
flooded. No one knew exactly what
happened to him, but his body was
found floating in a large creek, and
they presumed that, while trying to
swim his horse across, he had been
swept into the rushing water.

I mentioned that we had a cemetery
at Maple Creek—there was another

at Fort Walsh, 45 miles away, which
was immortalized by Rudyard Kip-
ling, in a poem written while he
stopped there—

RIDERS OF THE PLAINS

Upon the cypress hillside,
Where the precious breezes blow,
Six grassy mounds lie, side by side,
Six riders sleep below.
Neat palings guard their
ground,
No stranger’s step profanes
Their deep repose, and they sleep
sound,
These riders of the Plains.

sacred

My mother was just a young girl
when she came to Canada and married
my father, settling with him near
Fort Walsh, where he was on duty.
There she mastered the Cree
language, and endeared herself to the
Indians, whom she tendered in sick-
ness and comforted in time of sorrow.
When she was obliged to leave home
for any reason, she left her babies
with a squaw, knowing that they
would receive the best of care.

At one time during her stay neat
Fort Walsh a fierce war broke out
between the tribes and a big massacre
took place near the house. She was
ordered into barracks, but returned
when the trouble was over, having no
fear of the most savage Indian there

A good many years have passed
since my boyhood days in the
N.W.M.P. barracks, and during that
time I have watched the Mounties
grow from a small body of not veiy
well equipped policemen to one ol
the finest forces in the world, with all
that modern, scientific invention can
offer at their command in the war
against crime. * *

THE CLUB CAFE
MAH TOY, Prop.

Creston Valley’s New Home
For Quality

Fully Prepared Chinese Food

Phone 120 CRESTON, B.C.

* PIONEER MOTORS LID. _ +

Pie : C. W. DRAPER, Prop. ACCESSORIES

as an i

e Dealer for Buick - Pontiac - G.M.C. Trucks Grodyecr #iitzs
*

Phone 555

CRANBROOK, B.C.

P.O. Box 729

Page Forty-four

THE SHOULDER STRAP