Fort Whoop Up Research Paper

The Dominion of Canada purchased the Northwest Territory from Hudson Bay Company. Prime Minister John A. MacDonald decided a Federal Police

Force was needed to establish governing authority in this huge territory. Reports of American Whiskey traders, especially those at Fort Whoop-Up, and the events that culminated the Cypress Hills Massacre was a big concern to bring law and order to this region. Planning began in the late 1800s. Creating a permanent force to safeguard Canada’s borders, posts and land.

Army officers were first sent out of Manitoba to survey this vast area and found nobody was protecting the inhabitants in the land. Americans were crossing the border illegally, whiskey traders and criminals were taking advantage of the lawlessness.

The area just opened up for settlement. So the Army officers in 1873 recommended that the territory should use mounted riflemen, a force of 100 - 150 men, to maintain law and order, in the Northwest Territory. In 1873, the first 150 recruits for the Northwest Mounted Police were sent west to Manitoba.

The Canadian west was called the

Mary’s River. However the force didn't realize how treacherous the march would be, they were not prepared, had little supplies for water and food. They also had the wrong breed of horse, for this march. The troops composed of 287 constables and sub-constables, 67 wagons, 310 horses,114 ox carts with 18 yokes of oxen, 90 cows & calves combined. Because of maps that were incorrect, it took them 97 days before they reached Oldman River. When they arrived, they were expecting this location to be a volatile area, the American whiskey traders had left the area because they were warned before the NWMP arrived. This would become the very first fort in the Northwest Territories, called Fort Macleod. From here the NWMP became the law of the land, by bringing order, protection and friendship to the ranchers, farmers and natives in this massive