Fort MacLeod, December 16th 1874

My Dear Liz

This is a day that must ever be marked with a white store – for today we, I speak collectively for the force, received a portion of mail matter. I got a letter from Jack dated Oct. 11 Yours of Oct. 5th, 9th, 12th, 19th, 26th – one from Mannie of the same month – some from Aunt Ellie & Mannie of Oct. 16th also some copies of the Mail – for which I am deeply thankful. You will receive at the same time as this a letter from me – complaining very much of the letters not coming. I had almost begun to fancy something was wrong – but the fact that no one received letters made me feel that the wrong lay in the transportation. Thank God my darling that you are well. How many many times the dragging thought has haunted me that you might be ill and I not at hand to help you take care of you. All day long I have been so busy getting a list of drugs & medicines required that had to go by Major Walsh who left at 12 to day - & he had not been gone an hour when the letters came I spent the afternoon reading your letters but can hardly answer any questions. I was only cognizant of the fact that I was reading your own dear letter and I knew you to be well. I have not read any of the other letters but Jack’s. I find I have an opportunity of sending this letter after Major Walsh & can only hurriedly say that I have received yours. I am well that is all I can say. Well – everything has an end and so have long periods of time – perhaps I will one day receive your other letters – which are now wandering somewhere between Toronto & Fort MacLeod and the North Pole & the Equator.

I will just look over your last letter again. So you are in St. Kitt? Remember me most kindly to Miss Taylor and so my promotion & increase of salary is good news is it? Don’t you think that the natural consequences of that will be to lengthen my stay here? Perhaps you ought to look at it in this light viz that I am here for the purpose of making a sum of money that the larger my salary is the more rapidly will that sum be accumulated and consequently the sooner will I return. I must say that I can hardly give credence to the report. How did Dr. Thorburn know anything about it? However if you mean what you say – Old Woman, beware! I may stay out here for a longer time than at present I expect to. But if you do not want me there will be no object in my going back too soon. Your letter did not reach me in time for my Birthday nor late enough for Christmas. I hope that you will get this about New Year’s day. Thank you ever so kindly for your beautiful Tobacco pouch. It is quite acceptable I hope sincerely that I will superintend the making of the next one – perhaps too I will ‘catch’ you at it. I was going to reread your letters & answer any questions I might find in them but find that if I read I can’t write so I will only write. While I was still reading your letters this afternoon, I had to go down to Kanouse’s to see one of my sick men. He is poor fellow very ill I do not think that he will ever recover he may get over this sharp attack, but is liable at any moment to suddenly drop dead. Poor fellow – he is his grandmother’s only grandchild & had lived with her all his life – never having been away from her until he came on this expedition. He must have been longing to see the wrinkled old face & to hear the tremulous accents of his old second mother – to hear from her or of her – and here I was in the bloom of health blessed with news from my loved ones, while he poor chap lay suffering in mind & body without one scrap of comfort. It seems so hard. I talked with him a long time and it was quite dark when I got back & found tea waiting and your letters still unfinished & Jack’s & Mannie’s & the Home letter & Ned’s all to be read. I first went to the Colonel & told him I wanted some one to go down & sit up with the sick man – went & got the likeliest man for that purpose and made up some medicine for him – gave directions how it was to be taken – came in had tea – lit my pipe and then finished your letters & Jack’s & the Home one. I think you must be mistaken when you say that mother has suffered so much with her ear and eye. Aunt Ellie says it is Aunt Lou & if it were Mother what would she be doing way up in Philadelphia. I must close now with fervent heartful thanks to the glorious giver of all good things & with my best love to my own Lizzie.

Barrie

Fort MacLeod, December 14th 1874

My dear Lizzie

You will guess by the reappearance of this style of paper that I have received my valise from Fort Edmonton and I can only praise your rapid perception I have they came in today brought by the man MacPherson who I believe I told you left us at the St. Mary’s River to go to Edmonton, and has only just returned, taking just about two months. I was dreadfully disappointed at not receiving any letters. Mr. MacDougall the missionary, when he was here said that there was a large mail for us at Edmonton & had raised our hopes to almost a certainty & to be thus disappointed is too exasperating. However there are two more chances by which we may get letters and if both of these fail why I think I had better settle my brains for a long long winter’s nap of silence and anxiety. Major Walsh went to Helena & Sun River got what letters there were in Benton & brought them on – but none for me. I have written you by every possible chance – and this is to go tomorrow & has to be in the orderly Room tonight by 9 o’clock. I am going to try and be patient & still hope for a line from you – but it really seems as tho’ fate was against the Police force receiving letters. I hope that my letters have not miscarried. Have you received any from me? the only letter I have had at all was one from Father in answer to one I wrote him from Fort Benton. I wrote to you at the same time. The last letter I wrote you we were in the midst or had just had a severe spell of cold weather. After that it moderated considerably and for the past few days have been very mild. We are still in our tent. The Officers Quarters are so near to their completion that we propose taking up our residence therein tomorrow. We have had the walls & roof covered with old lodge skins which will prevent the mud from coming down in such quantities as to smother us, and will also keep out a good deal of wind. Another comfort in the house will be that when it blows we will not lie awake all night with our clothes on to be ready to jump and run whenever the tent blows down. Not that the tent ever had blown down with us, since we set to work to prop it up securely but the wind blows with such fearful violence & the tent shakes and flaps to such a degree that one imagines the next gust will surely bring it down.

When I have told you of the weather and our present conditions and of our future residence & of our disappointments hopes & expectations there will be nothing left to tell – no news – no nothing. You would not care to hear that it took Major Walsh 40 days to go to Sun River and back. You might think it all right but the trip is generally made in 5 days. Nor that it took Thomas’ teams 28 days to come from Fort Benton here – a trip that has been made in 2 ½ days you would probably ask who Thomas was & want to know if 28 days was a long time. Thomas has a hard time to come through he got caught in the snow storm on a large bit of burnt prairie, the cattle could not travel in the storm and they could not live on nothing hence they did the only thing they could do which was die & accordingly they did. The men were left out on the open prairie without wood, a team of horses had to go back 30 or 40 miles for wood, but finally the men & wagons came in all right. But not until oxen were sent down to haul them in. Helena Montana is nearly starved out on account of all the provision trains being stuck in the snow. So you see the Mounted Police are not the only ones who can lose horses and cattle on the plains. What have the papers said of us? I suppose you have heard some queer old stories concerning the Police. Col. MacLeod has been appointed Customs Agent for this portion of the North West Territories and has created no little dismay among the traders around, by sending to get an account of their stock. They seemed to think it peculiarly hard that not only should their most lucrative trade in whiskey be stopped but also the slower mode of trading goods should be heavily taxed. However they will get over that or leave the country. I have not been able to get a good sketch of the Fort for you yet as the Fort is not yet finished, but I trust will soon be able to do so. It is a very hard thing to sketch if you get about 100 yards away from it you can scarcely see it, it is so low and if you get very close to it you can’t put it on paper.

My hospital is quite a comfortable place. I have a large box stove with a big drum which keeps the place warm & room for ten beds – a kitchen is attached to the place. I have a Hospital Sergt. & an orderly, who are under my complete command, & all the sick are of course to do exactly what I tell them. Our Sick list now never numbers more than 10 or 12 – at one time it reached so high as 45! Mostly colds - & no wonder – sleeping as they then were in tents without fires where their heads would be frozen to the ground in the mornings & their breath congealed over the buffalo skins & on the tents in big frost showers, working all day – in moccasins full of holes – or in boots without soles & in many many cases without socks. It is only wonderful that not more were attached with acute inflammatory afflictions.

And now I must say good bye to you my darling – write me soon directing to the care of I.G. Baker & Co. I print the directions for fear of mistakes – with love to all & kind regards for those who care to enquire after me. Believe me undoubtingly yours with fondest love.

Barrie