Steele S Scouts

After a fatal encounter between Louis Riel's Metis rebels and the North West Mounted Police at Duck Lake in March 1885, the Canadian government mobilized forces in both Ontario and Alberta to suppress what became known as "The Northwest Rebellion." The western force was assembled in Calgary by Gunner Jingo Strange, a retired major general who readily knew the right man to lead an advance unit: Samuel Benfield Steele. He called them "Steele's Scouts." Steele's Scouts patrolled through bush and swamp, under the constant threat of ambush. They were vital to the furious battles near Frenchman Butte and Loon Lake, where the scouts alone fought the Cree warriors. Their actions contributed significantly to the defeat of Canada's last rebellion. Wayne Brown, a long-time admirer of Sam Steele, knows well the landscape and rebellion battle sites of the Northwest Rebellion and has followed the trails of Steele's Scouts. With each stage of Steele's journey, Brown gives detailed directions so that history buffs or the curious can visit these heritage sites.

In the spring of 1885, it appeared that war was about to set the Canadian West aflame. Louis Riel had established a Metis provisional government at Batoche, and the Cree, led by war chief Wandering Spirit, had killed settlers, taken hostages and forced the capitulation of Fort Pitt. Among the forces marshalled to quell the unrest was an elite scouting unit of the Alberta Field Force, led by the charismatic Sam Steele of the North West Mounted Police. Aggressive, tenacious and supremely confident, Steele was a seasoned policeman who had earned a reputation for getting the job done. Composed of North West Mounted Police, ex-militiamen and savvy cowboys from Calgary, Steele’s Scouts relentlessly pursued the Cree warriors and their prisoners through the western Saskatchewan wilderness, acting as shock troops and often fighting at close quarters. The story of Sam Steele and his contingent is an unforgettable account of the campaign that marked the end of the Wild West on the Canadian prairies.

The life of Canada’s police and military hero is “a story worth telling. Macleod’s solid research and clear writing also make it a story worth reading” (AlbertaPrimeTimes.com). Sam Steele, “the man who tamed the Gold Rush,” had a high-profile public career, yet his private life has been closely protected. This biography follows Steele’s rise from farm boy in backwoods Ontario to the much-lauded Major General Sir Samuel Benfield Steele. Drawing on the vast Steele archive at the University of Alberta, this comprehensive biography vividly recounts some of the most significant events of the first fifty years of Canadian Confederation—including the founding of the North-West Mounted Police, the opening of the North through the Klondike, and Canada’s participation in the South African War—from the perspective of a policeman who became a military leader. Impeccably researched and accessibly written, Sam Steele is perfect for anyone interested in Canada’s early decades. “Deeply-researched and elegantly written, this book brings alive one of the most intriguing characters of Canadian history who has been undeservedly forgotten.” —Charlotte Gray, bestselling author of Murdered Midas “A revealing story of a talented, dedicated Canadian who always strove to do his best for his country.” —Canadian Military History “Focusing on its subject’s life and career, Sam Steele paints a thoughtful portrait of an interesting and important man that, like any good book, raises interesting and important questions . . . this biography is likely to remain the definitive work on Steele’s life.” —Canadian Historical Review

The story of the man who played a significant role in the historical events during the pioneering years of the Canadian West.

From humble beginnings in what is now Bracebridge, Ontario, to his knighthood in England two years before his death in 1919, Sam Steele's life epitomized the themes of personal adventure, service to Crown and country, and the zeal for modernization and social order that characterized nineteenth-century Canada.