1

The force is in trouble.

Colonel French has too many sick men and horses and it is obvious that if something is not done, they will not make their destination in time. He decides to send the weakest men and all the sick horses north under the command of Inspector William D. Jarvis. This force must travel all the way to Fort Edmonton as best it can.

Jarvis and his men not only manage to make it to Fort Edmonton, but they save all their horses thanks to superhuman effort by the likes of Sam Steele.

2

La Roche Percée

3

The March North Roche Percee
1874
Roche Percee

4

The Mounted Force Lieutenant Colonel George A. French
1876
Ottawa, Ontario

5

Colonel French was not happy.

Progress had been slow, the men were sick and the horses were hardly able to carry themselves. He realized he was not going to be able to reach Fort Whoop Up and deal with the whiskey traders before winter. The original plan had been to send a force north to Fort Edmonton only after reaching Fort Whoop Up.

French decided that the best way to speed his main force on its way was to cut out his sick men and horses, and the slow ox carts and send them to Fort Edmonton under Inspector William D. Jarvis.

6

A Fort is Built. Colonel Jarvis
1877
Fort Walsh, Saskatchewan

7

Jarvis was given only a dozen able-bodied troopers and 12 Metis with which to coax, carry or drag 55 of the weakest horses, 24 wagons, 54 ox carts, the herd of cows and calves, plus 15 sick men.

Trooper Jean D'Artique had no doubts as to French's true motives: "For my part, I do not think he expected for a moment that we would be able to go any further than Fort Ellice, a distance of 130 miles from Roche Percée. But if he did, he thereby tacitly acknowledged that Inspector Jarvis was better able than he to direct the expedition. For travelling 900 miles with sick horses and heavy waggons was a very different thing from travelling 270 miles with horses that were at least in good condition at the outset."

8

Sam Steele

9

The March North Chief Constable Samuel Steele
1873
Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta

10

Jarvis had some advantages. His three officers included men who would latter become legends, notably Sam Steele.

Steele is known today for his work in keeping order in the Klondike and during the building of the Canadian Pacific Railway, the man who arrested Louis Riel, and the founder of Lord Strathcona's Horse.

Inspector Sévère Gagnon was also to prove an able hand on the hard road ahead. But those sent north were not happy about missing out on the big adventure expected when the main force reached Fort Whoop Up. "We were a disconsolate lot when we saw the force depart on their long treck," Steele wrote.

11

March West Map

12

The March North The Map
1874
Fort Dufferin, Manitoba

13

The northern group, known as "A" division, set out for Fort Edmonton via Fort Ellice and Fort Carlton, but not before spending a few extra days resting and getting everything in order.

Once underway the sick horses and men found travel difficult, according to Steele, who wrote: "We had a bad time of it for several days after we left La Roche Percée, the horses being so weak that they had to be changed twice both forenoon and afternoon to enable our little force to make eight miles a day, and the cows and calves became so footsore that they would lie down every few yards unless a goad were constantly applied."

Reaching Fort Ellice in 11 days, the force spent just four days watering and feeding the animals in the green valley there, though the sick men, the worst of the horses and about half of the cattle were then left at the fort.

14

The Desolate Land