Saskatchewan Gen Web Project - SASKATCHEWAN AND ITS PEOPLE by JOHN HAWKES Vol 1I 1924


Dear Saskatchewan GenWeb Enthusiasts,

We come bearing exciting news for those who have journeyed through the corridors of the old Provincial Saskatchewan GenWeb site hosted by Rootsweb and Ancestry. Fear not, for our webpages will not only endure but thrive in a new digital haven!

New Beginnings, Rejuvenated Dedication:

Discover our revamped home at https://saskgenweb.ca/cansk/Saskatchewan. This transition marks the continuation of our unwavering commitment to document the rich history of Saskatchewan. The legacy of the one-room schoolhouses, cemetery headstones, historical maps, and the plethora of placenames will persist.

Navigating History's Landscape:

As we weave through the diversity of Saskatchewan's past, these webpages serve as a compass, guiding you to the closest one-room schoolhouse, a church or cemetery, or the nearest town or Rural Municipality for your genealogical or historical quest.

Patreon: A Beacon of Support:

The heart of this journey lies in the support of our growing Patreon community. With their encouragement, we've secured a new domain and web hosting provider-ensuring that the flame of this service continues to burn bright.

Grow With Us:

Join our Patreon community, become a pillar in our efforts to persist year after year. Your support is not just a contribution; it's a testament to the value of preserving the stories that make Saskatchewan unique.

Visit Our New Webpages:

Explore the evolving Saskatchewan GenWeb at https://saskgenweb.ca/cansk/Saskatchewan. The digital canvas is ready to be painted with the vibrant strokes of history.

Support Us on Patreon:

Behind every webpage update, every historical map scanned, and every record documented, there is a dedicated team of volunteers. If you find our service beneficial, consider supporting us through Patreon. Your contribution ensures that the Saskatchewan GenWeb remains a beacon for historians, genealogists, and the public.

Gratitude to Ancestry.com and Rootsweb.com:

We express our deep gratitude to Ancestry.com and Rootsweb.com for providing the foundation upon which this digital tapestry was woven. Now, as we transition, we seek your support in maintaining paid web hosting.

Sustaining a Legacy:

The Saskatchewan GenWeb service has been a cornerstone for those seeking to unravel the past. Today, we invite you to stand with us in ensuring its continued existence for generations to come.

Join Us in This Exciting Chapter:

Visit https://saskgenweb.ca/cansk/Saskatchewan and witness the renaissance of the Saskatchewan GenWeb. Thank you for being a vital part of our community and for your enduring passion for genealogy and history in our best beloved province of Canada.

Warm regards,

The Saskatchewan GenWeb Volunteer Team




SASKATCHEWAN AND ITS PEOPLE
1924
Volume II



FATHER GILLIES AND THE HEBRIDEANS.

Father Gillies, who now in an honored and peaceful old age lives in semi-retirement at Regina, deserves a front niche in the temple of Sas- katchewan worthies, not only as a devoted priest, but as the guide, phil- osopher and friend, the counsellor and sustainer of a band of Hebridean pioneers, who, but for him might have followed the example of three simi- lar settlements, and have become disintegrated under the early hardships and discouragements which met them on their introduction to the west. In 1883 there arrived in the Wapella district forty-seven souls, hailing with a few exceptions from the Island of Benbecula in the Hebrides. These were the founders of what afterwards became an important settle- ment. These pioneers deserve to have their names recorded, for they have been well-described as "simple, God-fearing and loving men and women, most of whom have gone to their reward after leading upright lives, and fighting the battle of life in a way to make their descendants proud of them". They were Donald McDiarmid; Roderick McDonald, his wife Mary and children; Donald McDonald, his wife Christy, and daughter Kate; William McPherson and his wife Marion; Lachlan McPherson and his wife Christy; Donald McDonald and his wife Effie and four children; Angus McCormick and his wife Marion and three sons and one daughter; Alexander McPherson, his wife Effie and one child; Alexander McDonald and his wife Catherine; Donald McKay, a bachelor of twenty; John Bu- chanan, a bachelor of thirty-six and Archie McDonald, another bachelor of twenty. In the following year (1884) two hundred and forty souls arrived. Monsignor Tache, the great Archbishop of St. Boniface, desiring to provide for the spiritual care of these good Gaelic people wrote to Nova Scotia, where so many Gaelic speaking Canadians are to be found, but there were only two in the College who answered the requirements. One of them was Mr. Gillies, and he and his colleague answered to the call. The latter however did not remain permanently. Mr. Gillies, gently raised and a stranger to anything crude and hard, was at first inclined to be dismayed by the conditions, but encouraged by the Archbishop, he remained and for some thirty years he labored in his wide parish. His duties were extremely arduous and although not naturally of the most robust physique he never spared himself. Not only did he fulfil the duties of a parish priest, he also held the following offices: Member of the Board of Education of the North West Territories; Member of the Board of Examiners of Teachers; Member of the Board of School Inspectors and of the Educational Council. As a school inspector he made long journeys over rough trails in all kinds of weather, so that his health was seriously endangered. When the Diocese of Regina was formed with the present greatly-loved and esteemed Archbishop Mathieu as its first Bishop, Father Gillies, the most widely known and respected priest in the province, be- came the first Rector of the Cathedral parish of Regina. Mr. James N. McKinnon, who has done a public service by writing a "Short History of the Pioneer Scotch Settlers of St. Andrews, Sask." says well of the parting: "Naturally the parting between priest and people was marked by keen sorrow and tears, for such ties, welded by long years of service, and mutual understanding, are always hard to break, but the people had the consolation that the promotion was well deserved, and in a way de- sirable, as it would widen the sphere of their former pastor's usefulness in the Master's service, and still leave him near enough to keep their mutual interests and regard very much alive."

Father Gillies has given a great example of priestly and personal service, and in the "sere and yellow leaf" [sic]he has the respect and admira- tion of all, and the love and veneration of many.

JEAN LOUIS LEGARE OF WOOD MOUNTAIN AND WILLOW BUNCH.

To tell of Wood Mountain is to tell of Jean Louis Legare. Wood Moun- tain is an old Metis settlement ninety miles south of Moose Jaw, and for the purposes of this notice, it may be spoken of, almost interchangeably as Willow Bunch. It is many years ago since the Franco-Indian hunter made a home, a meeting place and a point of departure, of Wood Moun- tam; and it has always been a scene of the labors of a devoted priesthood. Priests have travelled long journeys in terrific weather to say mass at Wood Mountain. It was also famous as a boundary post for the North West Mounted Police; and it will always be associated with the American Indians who came over with Sitting Bull, after the wiping out of General Custer and his command by that remarkable warrior. From this district spreading to the Cypress Hills, countless skins of buffalo, bear and wolf have been shipped. The railroad is there now, and there are modern towns and villages; but nothing will ever dispel the air of border ro- mance that hangs over Wood Mountain. The untutored Indian in all his barbaric freedom, the dauntless hunters and traders,-French, American, English,-and the equally courageous and dauntless priest; and the police post and its red riders ensuring justice and protection to all-red river carts, oxen, ponies, moccasins, blankets, feathers, beads, leggings, tepees, log shacks, braves, squaws and naked children playing in the sun, the feast, the buffalo, the bear, the flint gun, the Winchester, the how and arrow, the coming and going to and from the American side, the trading, sometimes the carouse and the quarrel-red, white and Metis, all mixed in the great natural life of the border, but with never the influence of the cassock wholly withdrawn, such was Wood Mountain, and amid it all moved Louis Legare the honorable, strong, truthful French Canadian trader who had the confidence of Indian and white, for his tongue was never split and his influence was always for good.

It was about the year 1870 that Jean Louis Legare arrived at Wood Mountain, and undoubtedly to him, more than to any other man is due the establishment of Willow Bunch and the surrounding trade centres of today. It is good to know that he lived until 1918, and saw and partici- pated in the fruits of his labors. In 1871 he went into partnership with George Fisher, an English speaking trader of the mixed race, belonging to a well-known and much respected family. They established a trading post at Wood Mountain. In the winter they collected as many skins as possible, and in the spring a train of Red River carts carried their pelts to St. Francis Xavier in Manitoba, and the train would return laden with supplies.

The courses of the buffalo were capricious, and hunters and traders alike had to follow the shaggy monsters. In 1875-76 the bison had almost totally abandoned Wood Mountain, and the Metis followed them to the Cypress Hills, which now became a general meeting place for all the boundary Indians both American and Canadian. Then came what is called the Custer Massacre on the American side. Three or four years before, the Cypress Hills slaughter of Indians by American traders had occurred. The Custer affair and the coming of Sitting Bull and his warriors to Fort Walsh has been dealt with elsewhere, but we may say here that after his victory over Custer, Sitting Bull sent scouts over the Canadian border ahead of him. Legare tells of the arrival of a body of these scouts at Wood Mountain. His account runs:

"On November 17th, I was in my store with two of my men when a dozen savages on horseback appeared. Little Knife was at their head. Without dismounting they came straight to the window ana stared at us. They were covered from head to foot in buffalo robes. They stayed look- ing at us for at least half an hour but we took not the slightest notice of their presence. At last Little Knife came in leaving the door open and stayed a long time looking at us. Presently without appearing to see us he advanced quietly to the centre of the room, sat down on the floor and called in his companions one after the other. All came in leaving the door open as he had done. As for me I took care to say no word and make no gesture, but waited quietly to see what they would do. This lasted for two hours when suddenly at a bound Little Knife was on his feet. He then came to us, shook hands and returned to his place. His companions did the same. Then one of them named Crow having turned to the four cardinal points spoke thus: 'We have come from the American frontier because we cannot sleep there in peace and we have learned that the Great Woman (Queen Victoria) is good to her children. That is why we have come to this country to be able to sleep in peace'. He then went on to say that they were in great need and offered to treat with me for cartridges, tobacco, powder, etc. In order to get rid of them I gave them $30 worth of goods and they went away".

The scouts returned to Sitting Bull and reported the roads free and the next day they returned with 70 tents and camped around the store of Jean Louis, as they called him.

It was not until after the arrival of the Sioux at Wood Mountain that the Mounted Police of the Cypress Hills post heard of the massacre of Custer. Major Walsh then went to meet them at Wood Mountain at the head of a detachment of 25 men. But after long pourparlers, seeing that their intentions were peaceful and that their one object was to get pro- tection from the Americans, he judged it better not to molest them as long as they kept the peace on the frontier.

The Sioux continued to arrive at Wood Mountain but at the same time the buffalo retired and for want of the necessities of life the savages had recourse to stealing, and compelled the merchants to give them goods without hope of payment.

In 1877 the Metis of Cypress Mountains moved to Wood Mountain, and in the same year Father Hugonard arrived from Qu'Appelle with some families from that mission, so that Legare was no longer the only French- man living among the Metis. The Indians were, however, a constant source of anxiety, on many occasions giving proof of their barbarity when refused what they desired. It was a miracle that Major Walsh and Legare escaped being killed by them and no doubt this was owing to their great courage for which the Sioux had great respect as well as for their known firmness an uprightness.

In 1879 the buffalo having left the neighborhood, the Metis followed them over the border. Here they were attacked by the Americans and taken prisoners. Some days later they were told that as they had in- vaded American territory, furnished arms and munitions to the Indians of the United States, they would not be allowed to return to Canada. The Metis, terrified, sent a messenger to Major Walsh who hastened to their assistance. He followed the American General to the banks of the Mis- souri and then summoned him in the name of the Queen to set the Metis free at once. The general submitted and the Metis were given their choice of returning to Canada or remaining in America. Two groups of them decided for the latter and the third returned with Walsh to Canada.

After these events General Miles reported to the American Govern- ment his conviction that it would cost less to feed the Indians than to make war upon them. In consequence of this some of the smaller chiefs were brought over and finally of the 4,000 Indians who had crossed the frontier in 1876 only 500 remained faithful to Sitting Bull who still re- mained refractory in spite of all the efforts of the government. At last Legare prepared a great banquet for them and then spoke to them as fol- lows: "I was the first to take your hand on your arrival here and I have been your friend ever since. The American Government offers an amnesty and if you do not believe me send as many delegates as you like to enquire. I will furnish the money for the journey both ways. We will start in five days". Most of the band were in favor of this action and 30 dele- gates were chosen. On the day named they started, but on the next Legare saw a band of Sioux coming towards him. The chief, a nephew of Sitting Bull, came to him, shook him roughly and said: "We know what you mean to do with these men you are taking to Buford; you mean to sell them by the pound for you have chosen the fattest". The result was that 16 of them turned back and only 14 remained with Legare. In the mean- time Sitting Bull went to Qu'Appelle to ask for a reserve there. This was refused and things went from bad to worse. Many of the older and weak- er Indians fell by the wayside never to rise again. Then, at last, Sitting Bull came to Legare and said "If you will give me what I ask, I will do what you want". "What do you ask"" said Legare. "Three hundred dollars" replied the chief. Finally he agreed to accept the half of this sum and they prepared to leave, Sitting Bull saying to Legare, "You are brave, we are content and shall be grateful to you".

In 1879 a great prairie fire destroyed all the forage for a considerable distance around Wood Mountain and many of the Metis looked elsewhere for a home. Among these was Andre Gaudry who settled in the Willow Bunch district. His description of the beauty and fertility of this dis- trict decided Legare to put up a house and store there also. With him went about 30 other families.

At about this same time events were preparing which were to change the whole face of the Wes~the choice of Regina as capital of the North West Territories and the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

With the arrival of the railway closes the cycle of savagery and begins the era of civilization. As the iron road advanced through the plains, colonists followed, towns and villages were built, the soil was opened by the plough, fur animals disappeared, Metis and savages retreated and their social and political importance no longer preponderated.

The railway arrived at Winnipeg in 1881 and in 1882 the line, pass- ing by Brandon, was pushed on to Regina. The work required numerous teams and work people and these were provisioned by the Metis of Wil- low Bunch. In the spring of 1883 Pascal Bonneau put up a two-story shop on Broad Street, the first established at Regina.

During all these years there had been no organized education for the children. The first school was built at Willow Bunch in 1886; this was a free Catholic school and from 40 to 50 children were enrolled the first year. With the organization of the province the citizens of Willow Bunch seized the opportunity of placing themselves under the jurisdiction of the new province of Saskatchewan, and in 1907 a school district was organ- ized under the name of Sitkala. This was the twenty-third erected in Saskatchewan.

With the establishment of the Post Office in or about the year 1894 and a telegraphic service in 1904, life at Willow Bunch was greatly im- proved.

After the Riel rebellion the townships were divided into homesteads but of the 1,886 only 22 had been claimed in 1905. However, with the arrival of the crowds of immigrants the Metis began to see that they must bestir themselves. The first land agent was appointed in 1901 and in 1910 the municipality was organized. Since then progress in every way Bull, came to him, shook him roughly and said: "We know what you mean to do with these men you are taking to Buford; you mean to sell them by the pound for you have chosen the fattest". The result was that 16 of them turned back and only 14 remained with Legare. In the mean- time Sitting Bull went to Qu'Appelle to ask for a reserve there. This was refused and things went from bad to worse. Many of the older and weak- er Indians fell by the wayside never to rise again. Then, at last, Sitting Bull came to Legare and said "If you will give me what I ask, I will do what you want". "What do you ask"" said Legare. "Three hundred dollars" replied the chief. Finally he agreed to accept the half of this sum and they prepared to leave, Sitting Bull saying to Legare, "You are brave, we are content and shall be grateful to you".

In 1879 a great prairie fire destroyed all the forage for a considerable distance around Wood Mountain and many of the Metis looked elsewhere for a home. Among these was Andre Gaudry who settled in the Willow Bunch district. His description of the beauty and fertility of this dis- trict decided Legare to put up a house and store there also. With him went about 30 other families.

At about this same time events were preparing which were to change the whole face of the West the choice of Regina as capital of the North West Territories and the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway.

With the arrival of the railway closes the cycle of savagery and begins the era of civilization. As the iron road advanced through the plains, colonists followed, towns and villages were built, the soil was opened by the plough, fur animals disappeared, Metis and savages retreated and their social and political importance no longer preponderated.

The railway arrived at Winnipeg in 1881 and in 1882 the line, pass- ing by Brandon, was pushed on to Regina. The work required numerous teams and work people and these were provisioned by the Metis of Wil- low Bunch. In the spring of 1883 Pascal Bonneau put up a two-story shop on Broad Street, the first established at Regina.

During all these years there had been no organized education for the children. The first school was built at Willow Bunch in 1886; this was a free Catholic school and from 40 to 50 children were enrolled the first year. With the organization of the province the citizens of Willow Bunch seized the opportunity of placing themselves under the jurisdiction of the new province of Saskatchewan, and in 1907 a school district was organ- ized under the name of Sitkala. This was the twenty-third erected in Saskatchewan.

With the establishment of the Post Office in or about the year 1894 and a telegraphic service in 1904, life at Willow Bunch was greatly im- proved.

After the Riel rebellion the townships were divided into homesteads but of the 1,886 only 22 had been claimed in 1905. However, with the arrival of the crowds of immigrants the Metis began to see that they must bestir themselves. The first land agent was appointed in 1901 and in 1910 the municipality was organized. Since then progress in every way has been rapid. The arrival of the C. P. R. at Verwood (12 miles from Willow Bunch) had the greatest influence on the economic conditions of the district. Before this the nearest station was Moose Jaw, a distance of 90 miles, and it often took a week to make the return journey.

In 1910 the C. N. R. arrived at Bengough, 30 miles east of Willow Bunch. As before stated Jean Louis Legare lived to see the realization of his dearest wishes, dying in 1918. He was proverbial for his uprightness and frankness, he never deceived anyone and the Indians especially appre- ciated this trait. One of them said one day, "Among the white men the only straightforward ones are the priests and you". The day after his death the Sioux of Wood Mountain sent his son this telegram: "We de- plore bitterly the loss of our old friend".

MR. R. H. WILLIAMS (REGINA).

An esteemed correspondent sends us a copy of the Canadian Club Magazine, dated Oct., 1923, with a suggestion that we give a permanent place to the following sketch by Jack Fairley of Mr. R. H. Williams, as a Saskatchewan Pioneer of the first rank. We have more than pleasure in acceding to this request. Those who are familiar with R. H. Williams and Sons great departmental store in Regina will be especially interested in the story of its founder's early battles with pioneer conditions.

The story of a Regina pioneer who began selling lemonade to Indians from the tail of an ox-cart at a Dominion Day celebration before there was a Regina, and now heads a million dollar mercantile concern bearing his name, besides other important property interests, is told in good news- paper style by Jack Fairley in a special publication of some years ago. It is a good story, this, of the coming of R. H. Williams to the West and his part in the building of Regina. Mr. Wilams, who has been four times Mayor of Regina, who was born in Toronto in 1852 but as a boy was taken out as a homesteader into Simcoe County and there learned to handle horses, cut and yard logs and gained an insight into the lumber and build- ing business which stood him in good stead when he came to the new country. When he married on reaching voting age, Miss Mary Susan Reid, he found he could use some extra money and went out to hustle for orders for fruit trees. Then he and his wife answered the western call and arrived at St. Boniface, April 1st, 1881, before the C. P. R. had crossed the Red River into Winnipeg. Mr. Fairley now tells the story:

"For a solid year he worked in Winnipeg carpentering or anything that was doing. At the end of that period he had saved some money and joined a party bound for the prairie country. His contribution was a Red River cart that cost $29, a big red ox that set him back $100 and a har- ness for the ox that cost $9. In addition he secured a general supply of provisions. In June, 1882, the party left Winnipeg, Mrs. Williams and three young children remained behind. The outfit was shipped by rail as far as Flat Creek (Oak Lake), the western terminus of the C. P. R. at that period, after the red ox had put up a terriffic battle against enter- ing a box car. Arrived in Flat Creek the country was found to be mostly under water, but an extra $40 persuaded the train crew that it would not be too much trouble to carry the outfit a few miles further west to the actual end of the steel.

"They were finally unloaded over a twelve foot embankment, a de- barkation that the red ox absolutely refused until he was blindfolded with bags and considerable pressure was brought to bear from behind. Then they were off on the last lap. The ox was hitched to the Red River cart wearing the nine dollar harness, and R. H. was in the driver's seat. They steered a westerly course following as closely as possible the old Hudson Bay trail and heading for Qu'Appelle, the popular port for prairie schoon- ers. And they arrived at the end of their journey without encountering anything more exciting than a few bands of Indians. They found the West, the land of adventure and romance, the land of the Indian and the buffalo, and the land of wealth for those with courage, faith and ability to win it.

"Two days after the arrival at the Fort came Dominion Day and the Indians of the entire district had been summoned by the Hudson Bay factors to celebrate. The pioneer party had about two-thirds of a box of lemons left over and Mr. Williams conceived the idea of selling lem- onade to the tribesmen. After securing permission from the law, the N. W. M. P.-that was before royal was the lead-off name-and the Hud- son's Bay Co., the future Regina merchant went across the valley to the fort, a cluster of log huts, rigged up the tailboard of the cart as a counter and dispensed lemonade at 25 cents a drink. When the lemons were gone he had $43 in his jeans and every Indian and breed that could get within hailing distance had his first lemonade under his blanket.

"A few days later Mr. Williams again took the road and seated in his little Red River cart, and hauled by his big red ox, went a-homesteading. He located at what is now Balcarres, where he put up a rough hut for himself and a better one for the ox. That completed, he cut some hay for the horned beast and leaving him to eat his head off, set out for Regina or what is now Regina. From here he returned to Winnipeg to visit the family, pack the household effects and return in mass formation to the prairies. Regina was named Regina on the day the family arrived. That ceremony safely accomplished, though Mr. Williams had nothing to do with it, he pitched his tent pending the time that lumber would arrive when a real shack could be erected. For while he had been in Winnipeg he had arranged to act as agent for a lumber company.

"The shack was built. It stood between Broad and Osler streets on what is now South Railway. The little home was completed in Septem- ber. He then entered the building business and shortly after his own home was finished built the first Regina hotel, called the Commercial. The hostel was operated as such for about a year when it was sold to the late R. B. Fergusson, moved to South Railway Street and used as a furniture store. With the arrival of more lumber in the city Mr. Williams built himself a house. It stood on Broad Street where the Independent Laun- dry now stands. That house is still doing business as a dwelling and stands at the corner of Halifax Street and Sixteenth Avenue.

"Mr. Fairley's narrative goes on to tell of Mr. Williams' exchanging the Balcarres homestead for one in Albert Street where the first G. T. P. station was located. Here he failed to find water, though he put up a shack and lived there the first winter. On leaving the Balcarres place the ox was sold for $100 but the cart remains in the family as a souvenir.

"In the winter of 1883-84 and while still on the homestead Mr. Williams, in partnership with Mr. D. Murphy, took the contract to build one of the first Indian Industrial schools to he erected in the West, near the mouth of High River in the district now known as Alberta. The building still stands, 25 miles east of Calgary on the Bow River. When the building party organized, J. K. R. Williams was left in a private school here in Regina. Mrs. Williams went along to cook for the crowd. Lumber was bought and horses to draw it to the destination, though the lumber had to be rafted quite a distance, an operation that resulted in the loss of several thousand feet. Calgary was then known as Old Calgary and was marked by a Hudson Bay fort.

"Mr. and Mrs. Williams, two children and eight workmen started over- land for the site of the school that was to be. After considerable diffi- culty they crossed intervening creeks, rafted the lumber and finally made camp. On arrival they met one of the first white settlers of the West, the late Father Lacombe. It was a new country in those days, yet this man had lived in the neighborhood 35 years even then, working tire- lessly among the Indian tribes.

"Father Lacombe was able to give the party advice as to how to handle the Indians. In the summer months while the building was going up bands of Blackfeet were constantly passing arrayed in full war paint, for they were then preparing to join Louis Riel in his famous rebellion move- ment. The Indians passed within a stone's throw in order to ford the river. Sometimes as many as 500 would be in a hand. It was rather a terrifying experience for Mrs. Williams, but acting on the advice of Father Lacombe they had no truck with the Indians, giving them nothing and asking nothing from them. The work was at last completed and the builders returned to Regina. The horses went into the government trans- port system used during the rebellion to carry supplies to the troops.

"At that period in the history of Regina there was no water save that drawn from Pile '0 Bones, now dignified with the name Wascana Creek. An Indian pony was bought, and hitched to the cart. The combination made the first water system of the city. The water brought one dollar a barrel on the open market. The barrels were brought from Winnipeg with some household effects. The owner was offered and refused $3 each for them when they were empty of even Wascana Creek water.

"Everybody used to borrow the pony and cart in those days when the family washing was extra heavy. One day a restaurant keeper secured the rig and set sail for the creek. When he had filled the barrels to ca- pacity the pony thought it was time to go. He started on the dead run and when he brought up the cart was a wreck. There was not an ounce of metal in the cart makeup and the wood went into several stoves.

"And speaking of wood, that kind of fuel was brought from the bluffs around Edenwold in the winter of 1882-83 and cost $12 a load, and the load was small. The first ton of coal that R. H. Williams bought in Regina set him back $25.

"Regina has been called muddy by people who never saw it in the days before pavements became fashionable. Regina mud was a curse in those days and Mr. Williams as an enterprising citizen, in company with Daniel Murphy who is still in the building business in the city, started to take up a subscription to build a sidewalk. When they had the money they started to build. The first walk that graced this fair city pointed north and south and extended along what is now Broad Street to South Railway. Two planks were laid on the bald prairie with a space left be- tween for a third when finances became easier. The third plank was never laid. Anyway, two people could pass by turning slightly sideways at the exact time of passing.

"It has been mentioned that Mr. Williams was a builder. In 1886 he was still following the business and in that year he built a home for the commissioner of the N. W. M. P. The house is now occupied by the assistant commissioner. At the same time he built several other buildings at the barracks. Some of them still stand, some of them have been burned. And just touching on police affairs it might be mentioned that Mr. Will- iams built the cell that Louis Riel occupied during the time of the famous rebellion leader's trial, in the old courthouse on the corner of Victoria Avenue and Scarth Street.

"Six years after Mr. Williams' arrival in the city he secured the con- tract for the erection of the Mounted Police buildings at Macleod, with Charles Willoughby as a partner. He had to make the trip to the scene of his operation by stage coach, the regular old-fashioned kind that novels and motion pictures have made famous. The four horses went on the lope with the driver flourishing a long-lashed whip. There were no bridges across the Old Man River and the same lack was suffered by the Belly River. On this particular trip one of the rivers had been crossed in safety and on the far bank the driver, a man named Pollinger, changed from a light rig to the heavy coach. Mr. Williams helped to transfer the baggage and mail. The hero of the story chose to sit on the high seat with the driver. Before a start was made Pollinger went inside the coach while the president of the R. H. Williams Company was given the task of holding the four wild bronchos. He was assisted in his task by various commands that came from the bowels of the hack, sounds that became mo~e violent as time passed. The driver finally climbed to his seat in an ugly mood, swirling his long whip, the team plunged, the coach lurched and they were off. At the first stop, called Kip, for a change of steeds, Pollinger spoke to the keeper of the stopping place and the latter approaching Mr. Williams, said: "Are you the Rev. Mr. Blank"" He was. turned away with an evasive answer and shortly after the journey was resumed.

"At the destination, Fort Macleod, the passenger was hustled to a room as quickly as he arrived. It was in the late fall and the passenger was cold. He figured he wanted a drink and went after it. He found a little bar and ordered his refreshment. Just as he was about to toss it off, in walked Pollinger, who was immediately invited to have a drop. With a string of oaths the driver accepted the invitation and as the liquor made him talk, he said: 'You are the deceivenist man I ever met. I figured you for a preacher from the start. 'Member just after we crossed the river: Well, I crawled into the coach to have a drink where you couldn't see me, and consarn you, you were sitting on the corkscrew.'

'Which was the only time I was ever taken for a minister in this or any other country,' said Mr. Williams, in telling the story.

"The lumber for the building at Macleod was secured from a little sawmill up in the foothills owned by Peter McLaren, of Ontario. The mill was closed down, but the foreman consented to start up and Mr. Williams was the first to show him how to saw shiplap, specified in the contract.

"One of the last building contracts undertaken by Mr. Williams was that of the first exhibition buildings on the present site for the territorial exhibition.

"When the year 1891 rolled around Mr. Williams organized the firm, the Regina Lumber and Supply Company. He was president of the com- pany which had eleven years in the various districts. At the end of the four years he sold out his interest in the lumber business to devote all his time to the store.

"The first real start in the mercantile business was made when he bought a partnership in a little store on South Railway Street with Alex Sheppard. The store is where W. E. Arens carries on a drug business right now. Mr. Sheppard was Scotch and when the building was enlarged and the new partner entered, they looked around for a name. Mr. Will- iams suggested 'Glasgow House' because his partner was Scotch. It met instant favor with Mr. Sheppard and the name stuck. It is probably as widely known as any firm name in the West today. In those days J. K. R. Williams, now vice president and general manager of the com- pany, was carrying parcels.

"Mr. Williams was not altogether satisfied with the progress of the business and he offered to sell his share to Mr. Sheppard. The offer was refused and Mr. Williams bought out Mr. Sheppard. In 1889 a new store was built east of the original stand. F. J. Robinson occupies the store today.

"Came the year 1910 and the present building on Eleventh Avenue was occupied. The site was first occupied by a public school building. By a queer turn of fate Mr. Williams had been a member of the school board that selected the site for the school twenty years previous. He bid it in at public auction when he wanted it for himself, paying $39,600. And by another turn of fate Alex Sheppard, his first partner, was the auctioneer. J. W. Smith, another of Regina's first business men, was the contending bidder."

REGINA PIONEERS.

An old-timers' dinner was held in Regina in December, 1923, pre- sided over by Mr. Eddy, who is one of the princes among the pioneers. The register of this highly interesting and successful function helps us in giving the names of some of the Regina pioneers. The guests included among many: Sir Frederick Haultain, Colonel James McAra, James Bal- four, K. C.; T. R. Brown, J. R. C. Honeyman, Mrs. William McKillop, J. B. Parker, R. E. A. Leech, Charles Martin, John Malcolmson, Indian Commissioner Graham, Captain Heffernan, L. C. Craigle, Daniel Brown, R. Rolston, D. Kirby, Mrs. Agnes Skelton (Battleford), S. B. Jamieson, E. C. Cullum, A. Bannister and Mrs. Bannister, James Eadie, Sam Beach, 0.Banjafield, G. Brown, W. F. Eddy, Mrs. John Dale (Silton, 1873), Robert Sinton, Frank Whitmore, Finlay Kennedy, A. C. Garner, J. C. Moore, F. Bredin, H. R. Gollnick, A. McCannell, N A. McCannell, A. B. Fleming, George Mollard, J. D. Ross (Lumsden, 1880), E. McCarthy, R. H. Williams, A. B. Dunnett, E. S. Weeks, Mrs. W. J. Gould (Moose Jaw, daughter of H. J. Moberley, Duck Lake, 1861), George Burns (Con- die), and Mrs. Burns, C. H. Burns, Mr. and Mrs. J. M. Duncan, D. H. Gil- lespie, Mr. and Mrs. Forsyth, Mrs. J. E. Tanner, Mr. and Mrs. Duncan, C. McIntyre, Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton, Mr. and Mrs. Russel Williams, Mr. and Mrs. G. H. Barr, Mrs. L. Dawson, Mr. and Mrs. W. M. Longworthy, R.D. Fraser, Mr. and Mrs. John Dougans, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Wil- loughby, Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Williams, Mrs. W. F. Eddy, Mrs. H. W. Holquist, J. D. Mclnnis, A. C. Paterson, W. H. Ellis, Robert Martin and Mrs. Martin, W. D. Craig and Mrs. Craig, Mr. and Mrs. J. K. R. Williams, D. W. Caswell (Wolseley), John Anderson, T. Mutrie and Mrs. Mutrie, T. H. Cochrane, Mrs. J. W. Martin, Mrs. N. W. Anderson, James and Mrs. Simpson, Frank Binnie, Charles Slinn, F. G. England and Mrs. England, G. A. Faulkner, Mrs. R. E. Tinning, Gilbert Smith (1878), Mr. Justice James McKay, Hugo Carss, William Balfour and Mrs. Balfour, W. E. Cooney and Mrs. Cooney, F. W. Smith and Mrs. Smith, J. L. Mc- Lellan, Charles Wilson, W. T. Balfour, G. H. Kidd, R. Rowson, James Grassick and Mrs. Grassick, Mrs. Austin Bothwell. Bibliography follows:



Previous Page Previous Page SASKATCHEWAN AND ITS PEOPLE VOL II INDEX Next PageNext Page


THE STORY
OF
SASKATCHEWAN
AND ITS PEOPLE



By JOHN HAWKES
Legislative Librarian



Volume II
Illustrated



CHICAGO - REGINA
THE S.J. CLARKE PUBLISHING COMPANY
1924




Visitor # [an error occurred while processing this directive]

Web Master: Sask Gen Webmaster,

for Sask Gen Web Project

Re-published ": Thursday, 02-Nov-2023 15:54:05 MDT

URL: sites.rootsweb.com/~cansk/SaskatchewanAndItsPeople/Volume2/FatherGillies.html






We encourage links to this page.

These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format
for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons.
Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must
obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal
representative of the submitter, and contact the listed WebmasterWeb
master with proof of this consent.