by Jessica Patterson Illustration by David Willicome

The old road to From Fort Benton, at the headwaters of the Missouri River in Mon- THE tana Territory, a rough path twisted and turned northwards. It led across the border to Fort Whoop Up, Fort and then MACLEOD north to the Hudson’s Bay Company’s forts. For about 20 years, it TRAIL: was the heavy-duty freight route in and out of Alberta. Prior to the 1860s, the trail saw mostly fur traders and First Nations people who passed freely over the border. Its heyday was between about 1860 and 1883. Goods from all over the world came up the river to Fort Benton and were offloaded to bull trains for the rest of the trip. They were called bull trains but the animals were really oxen, ex-bulls. A train might have 12 teams, each pulling several wagons hitched to- gether, hence the word “train”.

30  West . ISSUE 25 . spring 2012 The old road to Alberta

West  31 1880 Trail Fort Calgary Calgary to Milk River Crossing – 191 miles. High River Milk River Crossing to Whiskey Posts Fort Benton – 144 miles.

Bow River 15 days by ox team

Glenbow Archives: NA-98-11

Porcupine Hills

Fort Macleod

Fort Whoop-Up Oldman River

alberta Medicine Hat

Milk River Ridge canada

United StateCoutts s Sweetgrass Milk River

Shelby

Fort Conrad montana

Marias River

Marias River Big Sandy Creek

Teton River NA-98-11 Archives: Glenbow

Fort Benton

Great FallsMissouri River

It was the traffic. No stage line. Nothing was very ing rivers and coulees before reaching “easy” route organized. Fort Benton was the official the Canadian border. It continued west link with the outside world.” of Milk River Ridge and north to St. The trail was the only way to get to Al- From Fort Benton, the trail was Mary's River and Fort Whoop Up at berta without travelling from Winnipeg, known as the Whoop Up Trail. The what is now Lethbridge. From there, the which would take months, says volun- name then changed, depending on trail crossed the Belly and Oldman riv- teer Trail historian, Bill Dunn. “There where you were, to and ers. Then, it turned north to the High- was no rail into Alberta until 1883. Trail. wood River, where there were whiskey There was no overland mail or freight It started off west by northwest, cross- posts, and then straight to Calgary.

There are two ways to spell whisky. The Canadian and Scotch versions don’t have an “e” while the Irish and American versions do. Since, in those days, most of the illegal whiskey in western Canada came from down south, we use the American spelling throughout this article.

32  West . ISSUE 25 . spring 2012 Facing page: Getting a bull train from Fort Benton to took weeks, with no hotels or restaurants along the way.

Left: Colonel James F. Macleod of the North-West Mounted Police brought the law to Alberta in 1874.

The trail was the only way to get to Alberta without travelling from Winnipeg, which would take months.

years and already there are eight or nine trading posts on this one river (the Oldman) and various others on other water courses.” Neavitt, an American Civil War draft dodger who'd been educated as a doctor in Canada, had come from Fort Garry and wrote frequently to his fiancée, Elizabeth “Lizzie” Eleanor Beaty, about lenbow Archives: N A-354-1 Archives: G lenbow life on the march west. James Farquharson Macleod was a gentleman, and fine looking, Neavitt noted. Macleod’s background included Then came the chiefs Crowfoot and Red Crow. His a degree in classics and philosophy, a law, followed relationship with Crowfoot would later decade practising as a lawyer, and sev- by the railroad be important in clearing the way for eral years with the Canadian militia. He the CPR. took over as commissioner of the North The land was wild and the route was West Mounted Police in 1876. hazardous. There were graves along “He was quite a leader,” says Fort the way and markers where people had “Civilization” Macleod historian, Gordon McIvor. drowned. There was no formal law until was coming “He's right up there with the Fathers of North West Mounted Police Com- Confederation, those important figures missioner Arthur French and Colonel “The place has assumed a very busy who helped shape Canada into what it James Macleod arrived with a company aspect, next year we may expect a larger i s t o d ay.” of about 318 men in 1874. influx of settlers of all descriptions,” The North West Mounted Police’s Within a year of setting up Fort Ma- wrote Dr. Richard Barrington Neavitt, real job was to establish Canada’s pres- cleod (named in his honour), Macleod the NWMP’s assistant surgeon on Oct. ence in the west to deter expansionist had stopped the whiskey trade and 31, 1874. “The country up here has Americans but they’re best remembered made the acquaintance of Blackfoot been opened up only for three or four as formidable crime fighters.

West  33 “Whiskey wasn’t traded as blatantly as before, but the trail was still heavily used for transportation of goods,” says Lorain Lounsberry, the senior curator of cultural history at Calgary’s . In fact, after the arrival of the Mounties, the trail got busier. It was an economic lifeline and trade and com- merce flourished in the new territory. “Most of the heavy supplies to build Fort Macleod and Fort Calgary were WE GO THE EXTRA transported by bull train,” says Dunn. “It was a tricky business. It wasn’t without MILE FOR YOU its hazards. The terrain was still wild.” The trail was well-travelled only in the summer. “The last thing they want- Insuring your home and car with RSA comes with its ed was to be stuck on the open prairie ® own reward – you can earn 1 AIR MILES reward mile in the middle of a blizzard,” Dunn for every $20 in insurance premium* which can be says. “They travelled after spring runoff redeemed for great travel and merchandise. because even the Highwood River could present a problem.” Contact a Western Financial Group broker today to It still does. After a while, the trail became well- learn more about RSA, or visit us at rsagroup.ca. defined. “It would go across sections in the river that were passable. They knew where the flats and shallow parts were. I’ve travelled to Fort Benton for research and carefully looked for the tracks, especially along river bottoms. And you could still see a bit of those tracks from the big, heavy bull trains,” says Lounsberry, adding “A bull train did not move quickly.” Although the came to Alberta in 1883, the trail stayed useful for years because it connected all the established ranches, including the famous Bar U and Oxley. These days, concrete and asphalt connect the communities in southern Alberta. Nonetheless, the past lies out there on the prairie, not buried under the soil, but in places that can still be seen today. West

Jessica Patterson is a writer-editor, based in Okotoks, who followed her own trail to Alberta from Nova Scotia’s beautiful Annapolis Alley.

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