GRETNA, Man. – They rode into town with tired and in some cases pained expressions on their faces. The day’s ride had taken its toll.
“I should be able to do this for three days and live to tell the tale,” said Margaret Ritchie after dismounting from her horse. “I feel a little tired, but I’ll be ready to go tomorrow morning – I hope.”
Ritchie, an Ottawa resident, was among the procession of wagons and horseback riders trekking across southern Manitoba on May 8. It was the first day of the RCMP March West Reenactment, an event being held to celebrate the 125th anniversary of the original march west.
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Throngs of people had gathered earlier in the day to witness the start of the reenactment. After much pomp and ceremony, the riders left Fort Dufferin to begin the trek westward. They arrived at Gretna late Saturday afternoon.
Sprawled under the shade of some trees at Gretna, Melissa Peters and Helanna Janzen made no attempt to hide their fatigue. They had awakened that morning to find their tent coated with ice. By the end of the day, Janzen was nursing a sunburned face and a stiff left leg.
“You’re mentally and physically exhausted,” she said, describing the challenge of keeping a steady pace within a troop of about 150 riders. “It gets a little nerve-wracking sometimes.”
Peters and Janzen planned to stay on the ride for only three days. That would take them into their hometown of Winkler, Man., where they both attend high school.
“Maybe we’ll get courageous and go five days,” suggested Janzen.
“That’s a very big maybe,” chimed in Peters.
The original march west was an arduous trek from Fort Dufferin to two points in the North West Territories, Fort Macleod and Fort Edmonton. The mounted police force had been commissioned by the government of the day to take law and order to the Canadian west.
Despite what were described as incredible hardships, the mounted police arrived at Fort Macleod and Fort Edmonton in the fall of 1874. They had endured the hostile elements of the Prairies to take law and order to the West and to enforce the border between Canada and the United States.
Nation wide event
This year’s March West Reenactment has attracted people from coast to coast interested in reliving the accomplishments of the force 125 years ago.
The southern route through Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta will closely follow the original route taken in 1874. It will cover close to 1,500 kilometres, arriving at Fort Macleod in early July.
Few will complete the entire trek. Const. Tom Lowden, co-ordinator of the reenactment, expects there will be about 10 people who attempt the entire 56-day expedition.
Saturday’s ride followed a gravel road through the flat and fertile fields of the Red River Valley. There was little there to remind one of how the prairies might have looked more than a century ago.
But the fickle weather, which bounced between cold and overcast in the morning to mild and sunny in the afternoon, offered a glimpse of what the mounted police might have encountered in 1874.
Peter Kehler of Steinbach, Man., enjoyed the luxury of a camper for his overnight stay at Gretna. The prospect of sleeping in a tent didn’t appeal to him at this time of year.
“If the weather was just a little warmer it would be fantastic. But right now, it’s pretty cold.”
Kehler, 67, appeared in a buoyant mood as he tossed his saddle and other tack into the back of his camper. With his weathered face and clear blue eyes, he looked the part of a western cowboy. Still, he was not immune to the aches and pains associated with sitting in a saddle for much of the day.
“I’m not in that bad a shape, but I’ve got some hidden muscles that I hadn’t used for a while.”
