Fur Trade Prototypes (3 JAN)
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Updated 3 JAN The NWMP was established by the Canadian government during the ministry of Prime Minister Sir John Macdonald who defined its purpose as “the preservation of peace and the prevention of crime” in the vast NWT. The NWMP was established in 1873, and were deployed to the area of the present Alberta border. Colonel George French was the commissioner of this new force, and was ordered to proceed west from Fort Dufferin to deal with what the authorities described as the “band of desperadoes” around Fort Whoop-Up, before then dispersing his force to establish police posts stretching across the territories. Following instructions from Ottawa, French agreed that the expedition would initially follow the trail along the southern line of the border, but then would steer north away from the border and Sioux territory, as it was argued that it might encourage an attack by the Sioux on the column. James Morrow Walsh (22 May 1840 – 25 July 1905) In August 1897 during the height of the Klondike Gold Rush, Walsh was appointed Commissioner of the newly created Yukon Territory. He resigned in 1898, returning to Ontario where he died in 1905.
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