About the Mounties in Literature

"The grass in Canada is not stained with blood."  -Sitting Bull

"There's a land where the mountains are nameless, and the rivers all run God knows where; there are lives that are erring and aimless, and deaths that just hang by a hair; there are hardships that nobody reckons; there are valleys unpeopled and still; there's a land -- oh, it beckons and beckons, and I want to go back -- and I will."  -Robert W Service, THE SPELL OF THE YUKON


 

"Just you, alone with a happy team of sled dogs, in the Great White North -- that's the last act of pure Freedom still available on the planet."  -Brian Alan Burhoe 

Mountie Fiction and the Northwestern Genre:

The Mounties have appeared in Literature almost from their inception -- a part of the genre that became known as the "Northwestern."  

The Northwestern was named after its locale: the Canadian Northwest and Arctic, as well as American territories that bordered and interacted with them, especially Alaska.

While the American Western (a genre usually defined as being "set in the U.S. west of the Mississippi and before 1900"), generally covered a period of only a few decades, the Northwestern covered a greater area, being set in the northern half of North America, and a greater time period, from the days of the fur trade to the beginning of the industrialisation of that area, from the 1920's to (in the High Arctic) the 1950's.

To find Northwesterns -- (the literature of the the Great White North -- the Northwest -- Mountie fiction and Realistic Animal Stories) -- look for these books:

Ian Anderson -- The Scarlet Rider Series: CORPORAL CAVANNAGH, THE RETURN OF CAVANNAGH, BEYOND THE STONE HEAPS, SERGEANT O'REILLY, FORT TERROR, THE FLYING PATROL and DEAD OR ALIVE

H Mortimer Batten -- WHISPERS OF THE WILDERNESS, WILD AND FREE and DRAMAS OF THE WILD FOLK

Rex Beach -- THE SPOILERS

John Benteen (Benjamin Haas) -- FARGO: ALASKA STEEL

Harold Bindloss -- THE WILDERNESS PATROL

William D Blankenship -- YUKON GOLD

Fred Bodsworth -- LAST OF THE CURLEWS and THE SPARROW'S FALL

Max Brand -- CHINOOK, MIGHTY LOBO, THE TYRANT, MOUNTAIN STORMS and THE MASTERMAN

Kate Bridges -- THE SURGEON

Sheila Burnford -- THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY

William L Chester -- HAWK OF THE WILDERNESS, KIOGA OF THE WILDERNESS, ONE AGAINST A WILDERNESS and KIOGA OF THE UNKNOWN LAND

Joseph Collins -- ANNETTE, THE METIS SPY

Ralph Connor -- CORPORAL CAMERON OF THE NORTH-WEST MOUNTED POLICE (The First Masterpiece of Mountie Fiction)

Ridgewell Cullum -- THE LAW BREAKERS

James Oliver Curwood -- PHILIP STEELE OF THE ROYAL NORTHWEST MOUNTED POLICE, KAZAN THE WOLF DOG, BAREE SON OF KAZAN, BACK TO GOD'S COUNTRY and THE FLAMING FOREST: A Novel of the Canadian Northwest

Muriel Denison -- SUSANNAH OF THE MOUNTIES and SUSANNAH OF THE YUKON

Francis Dickie -- UMINGMUK OF THE BARRENS and HUSKY OF THE MOUNTIES

Terrance Dicks -- THE MOUNTIES: THE GREAT MARCH WEST and THE MOUNTIES: MASSACRE IN THE HILLS

Bernard A Drew -- LAWMEN IN SCARLET: An Annotated Guide to Royal Canadian Mounted Police in Print and Performance -- RCMP in Literature -- Bibliography.   RCMP in Motion Pictures -- Catalogs.  The Ultimate Resource for Mountie Fiction!  From Scarecrow Press, Inc.

Louis Charles Douthwaite -- YELLERLEGS, WARDEN OF THE WILDS and YUKON PATROL

Harry Sinclair Drago -- OUT OF THE SILENT NORTH and THE SNOW PATROL

Laurie York Erskine -- RENFREW OF THE ROYAL MOUNTED

Tabor Evans -- LONGARM AND THE MOUNTIES and LONGARM AND THE YUKON QUEEN

Wade Everett (Giles A Lutz) -- THE WHISKEY TRADERS

Kathryn Fox -- THE MOUNTIES: THE SECOND VOW

W Michael Gear and Kathleen O'Neal Gear -- PEOPLE OF THE WOLF

Jean Craighead George -- JULIE OF THE WOLVES and SNOW BEAR

Dick Harrison -- BEST MOUNTED POLICE STORIES (includes stories by James Oliver Curwood, James B Hendryx, Wallace Stegner, Ralph Connor, Rudy Wiebe...)

James B Hendryx -- CORPORAL DOWNEY TAKES THE TRAIL, OAK AND IRON: OF THESE BE THE BREED OF THE NORTH,  LAW AND ORDER ON HALFADAY CREEK,  GOLD -- AND THE MOUNTED and BLOOD ON THE YUKON TRAIL

Will Henry -- BLIND CANYON and THE NORTH STAR

Joe Holliday -- DALE OF THE MOUNTED

Don Hutchison -- SCARLET RIDERS:  PULP FICTION TALES OF THE MOUNTIES (includes stories by Lester Dent, Hugh B Cave, Murray Leinster, Ryerson Johnson, Frederick Nebel, Talmage Powell, Harold F Cruickshank...)

Ralph Kendall -- BENTON OF THE MOUNTED

Louis L'Amour -- SITKA

R D Lawrence -- CRY WILD

Suzann Ledbetter -- KLONDIKE FEVER

Robert Leighton -- SERGEANT SILK, THE PRAIRIE SCOUT

Jack London -- THE CALL OF THE WILD and WHITE FANG

T Lund -- WESTON OF THE NORTH-WEST MOUNTED POLICE, UP NORTH: A Tale From Northern Canada and THE MURDER OF DAVE BRANDON: A Story of the Royal North-West Mounted Police

Giles A Lutz -- THE MAGNIFICENT FAILURE

John Mackie -- SINNERS TWAIN: A Romance of the Great Lone Land, THE RISING OF THE RED MAN and CANADIAN JACK

Anne MacMillan -- MOUNTIE PATROL

George Marsh -- FLASH, THE LEAD DOG and WHELPS OF THE WOLF

James A Michener -- ALASKA and JOURNEY

Alan Morris -- The Guardians of the North Series: BY HONOR BOUND, HEART OF VALOR, BRIGHT SWORD OF JUSTICE, BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY and WINGS OF HEALING

Lawrence Mott -- JULES OF THE GREAT HEART: Free Trapper and Outlaw in the Hudson Bay Area and THE WHITE DARKNESS AND OTHER STORIES OF THE GREAT NORTHWEST

Nadia Nichols -- ACROSS A THOUSAND MILES

Jack O'Brien -- SILVER CHIEF, DOG OF THE NORTH

Janette Oke -- WHEN CALLS THE HEART

Frank Oppel -- TALES OF THE CANADIAN WILDERNESS (includes stories by Mary Knowles Bartlett, Mina B Hubbard, Jack London, Lawrence Mott, Sir Charles G D Roberts, John Sidney Webb, Dillon Wallace...)

Frank Oppel -- TALES OF THE CANADIAN NORTH (includes stories by Lawrence Mott, Sir Charles G D Roberts, A Hyatt Verrill, Rex Beach, Robert T Morris, Duncan Campbell Scott and Terese Guerin Randall -- the nine stories by Lawrence Mott make this a collector's dream!)

Roger Pocock -- THE CHEERFUL BLACKGUARD

Bill Pronzini -- STARVATION CAMP

Bill Pronzini and Martin H Greenberg -- THE NORTHERNERS (includes stories by Jack London, Rex Beach, Samuel Alexander White, James Oliver Curwood, James B Hendryx, Ryerson Johnson...)

J R Roberts (Robert J Randisi) -- THE CANADIAN PAYROLL

Sir Charles G D Roberts -- THE BACKWOODSMEN, HOOF AND CLAW, KINDRED OF THE WILD and THE HAUNTERS OF THE SILENCES: A Book of Animal Life

Dana Fuller Ross -- YUKON JUSTICE

Robert W Service -- THE TRAIL OF '98

Jon Sharpe -- THE TRAILSMAN: NORTH COUNTRY GUNS

Alfred Silver -- RED RIVER STORY, LORD OF THE PLAINS and WHERE THE GHOST HORSE RUNS

Bertrand W Sinclair -- THE LAND OF THE FROZEN SUNS

Daniel St James -- BROTHERS IN BLOOD

Harwood Steele -- TO EFFECT AN ARREST, SPIRIT-OF-IRON, I SHALL ARISE, TALES OF THE NORTH-WEST MOUNTED POLICE, GHOSTS RETURNING, THE MARCHING CALL, THE RED SERGE and THE NINTH CIRCLE

Charles Stoddard -- MALLOY OF THE ROYAL MOUNTED

Albert M Treynor -- THE TRAIL FROM DEVIL'S COUNTRY

Guy Vanderhaeghe -- THE ENGLISHMAN'S BOY and THE LAST CROSSING

Muriel Whitaker -- GREAT CANADIAN ADVENTURE STORIES (includes stories by Sinclair Ross, W O Mitchell, Roderick Haig-Brown, Rudy Wiebe, Harwood Steele, Pierre Berton, Jack London, R M Ballantyne...)

Muriel Whitaker -- GREAT CANADIAN ANIMAL STORIES (includes stories by Ernest Thompson Seton, Sir Charles G D Roberts, H Mortimer Batten, Grey Owl, Farley Mowat, Jack London, George Allan England...)

Samuel Alexander White -- MORGAN OF THE MOUNTED and THE CODE OF THE NORTHWEST 

TO READ MORE, GO TO THE GREAT AUTHORS OF NORTH-WEST MOUNTIE FICTION  

Some Mountie Fiction in Detail:

Mountie Fiction has always had a loyal fanbase. 

Beloved works -- from Ian Anderson's Scarlet Rider series, through Ralph Connor's classic novel of Mounted Police literature, CORPORAL CAMERON OF THE NORTH WEST MOUNTED POLICE, -- to Harwood Steele's (the son of one of the Original members of the North-West Mounted, Samuel B Steele) TO EFFECT AN ARREST: Adventures of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, SPIRIT-OF-IRON, An Authentic Novel of the Northwest Mounted Police and TALES OF THE NORTH-WEST MOUNTED POLICE: Daring Adventures of the World-Famous Canadian Force -- from James B Hendryx, who gave us Northwesterns of the outlaws of Halfaday Creek and timeless Mountie Fiction featuring Corporal Downey -- to American Bill Pronzini's best western, STARVATION CAMP -- and Robert J Randisi's (written under the penname of J R Roberts) marvelous recreation of the true story of the endangered North West Mounted Police payroll -- the 1990's saw the BROTHERS IN BLOOD Trilogy of novels by Daniel St James and the GUARDIANS OF THE NORTH Series by Alan Morris -- these and other novels are still read, collected and treasured... 

Old movies from KING OF THE ROYAL MOUNTED, created by Zane Grey, to SUSANNAH OF THE MOUNTIES with Shirley Temple, have been restored and released.

WESTON OF THE NORTH-WEST MOUNTED POLICE Series by T Lund.

Trygve Lund (b. 1886) actually served in the Royal North-West Mounted in its early years.  He left the Force to fight in the Boer War with Lord Strathcona's Horse, and finished off his military career as a Captain in the Royal Air Force.  Following that, he settled in England and spent the rest of his life writing well-received Northwesterns.  But unlike other former members who had turned to writing fiction based on their own careers, Lund set his stories further north -- along the northern reaches of the Saskatchewan River and in the Great Northwoods. 

Lund started by creating Richard Weston, who would appear in five novels: WESTON OF THE NORTH-WEST MOUNTED POLICE, UP NORTH, THE MURDER OF DAVE BRANDON, ROBBERY AT PORTAGE BEND and THE VANISHED PROSPECTOR.  In his novels of Richard Weston, Lund followed the life of one officer from young Constable to seasoned Inspector. The first three Weston novels were collected in the much sought-after THE LONE TRAIL OMNIBUS, published in 1936 by T Werner Laurie of London. 

Other fiction by T Lund include a number of short stories published in the American pulp magazines of the day and novels such as IN THE SNOW: A Romance of the Canadian Backwoods and STEELE BEY'S REVENGE.

GUARDIANS OF THE NORTH Series by Alan Morris

Heart of Valor continues the saga of the establishment of the North West Mounted Police as they attempt to bring law and order to the wild and rugged Canadian frontier.  Battling the destructive whiskey trade, Hunter Stone and Reena O'Donnel, attempt to bring down the man who controls it.  Stone, a North West Mountie, travels the rugged terrain in search of the whiskey smugglers.  Reena, missionary to the Blackfoot Nation, watches the destructive influence of the whiskey on her Blackfoot tribe. 

Particularly troublesome is one renegade, Dew Eagle, who teeters on the brink of violence under the influence of the polluting whiskey.  Together, fighting the whiskey trade, Stone and Reena grow closer together and passions rise.  Will they admit their growing love for one another or do outside distractions strive to keep them apart?  A well-written Christian novel on the real evils experienced by the native Indians with the introduction of whiskey.

  This novel takes the reader down a trail of deep suspense as the characters struggle against the true nature of evil on the rugged frontier. A good read.

The final novel in the Guardians of the North series, Wings of Healing, details the dangers of epidemics and the massive loss of life due to primitive medicine on the frontier.  Facing a massive epidemic which claims the life of the town's only physician, Reena O'Donnel must act as nurse as the epidemic reaches her own Black foot tribe.  Many will lose their lives in this epidemic.  How will Reena fare?  Adding to the tension, is the recently decreed command from the new superintendent of the North West Mounted Police decreeing the move of all the Indians around the Mountie post of Fort Macleod to reserves.  This decree angers Hunter Stone and leads to a serious confrontation between officers of the North West Mounted Police.  With all the sickness and tension among the officers and Indians, will Reena and Stone be able to keep their love alive?  Where will this final novel find this couple who has endured so much together?  Will their love and passion for one another end in marriage or separation?  A fitting conclusion to the Guardians of the North series.

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SCARLET RIDERS Pulp Fiction Tales of The Mounties edited by Don Hutchison

No country has had as many stories written about its national police force as Canada. The sterling image of the scarlet-coated Mountie was almost as familiar a symbol as the ubiquitous cowboy in American historical and Western fiction, and nowhere was he more popular than in the dynamic pulp fiction magazines of the twenties, thirties and forties.  Scarlet Riders: Pulp Fiction Tales of the Mounties is a generous collection of Mountie Fiction: tales featuring rugged Mounties maintaining the law in the untamed North.

The legendary pulp  fiction magazines may be long dead, but they are not forgotten.  Once upon a time their gloriously vivid covers advertised some of the most exciting stories of adventure, action and romance that a thrill-seeking public has ever experienced...

During the pulp heyday of the 1920 and 30's, stories featuring rugged Mounties maintaining the law of the untamed North -- on snowshoes or horseback, with faithful huskies close at heel -- were so popular that a number of authors built careers specializing in Mountie fiction.  Western pulp magazines such as Western Trails, Western Story Magazine, Wild West Weekly, Blazing Western and Western Round-up regularly printed Mountie fiction.  Soon magazines appeared that specialized in the Great White North -- magazines such as North-West Stories, which became one of the longest-running titles in pulp fiction history, and Complete Northwest Novel Magazine, regularly printed action-packed Mountie stories.

Scarlet Riders is a generous collection of such tales from the fabulous pulps -- as flamboyant and red-blooded as the publications in which they first appeared.  Included is a portfolio of cover art from the original magazines along with stories by such pulp fiction favorites as Hugh B Cave, Talmage Powell, Frederick Nebel, Murray Leinster, Harold F Cruickshank, Ryerson Johnson and Lester Dent, author of the world-famous DOC SAVAGE series.  "The Mountie pulps were no magazines for sissies.  From tales of outlaw hordes and lost race primitives to phantom killers... their spring-loaded pages exploded with fantastic adventure and homocidal excitements." -from the Inroduction by Don Hutchison.

Editor Don Hutchison is widely recognized as a leading authority on the history of the pulp fiction era.  He has published three previous books on the subject, including the multi-award-nominated The Great Pulp Heroes.  Don Hutchison is the creator and editor of the acclaimed Northern Frights anthology series.

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THE MOUNTIES: The Second Vow by Kathryn Fox

As a dedicated member of the North West Mounted Police, Irishman Braden Flynn had only one mission: escort the Sioux as they fled across the U. S. border after the battle of Little Big Horn. And yet, he could not help but be distracted by Dancing Bird, the stunningly beautiful niece of Sitting Bull, whose spirit and loyalty to her beleaguered people touched his heart as never before. Though a fierce desire smoldered between them, Braden know that Dancing Bird was reluctant to trust a white man. Now, amidst the clash of two governments and murderous upheavals, nothing--neither grueling hardship nor mortal danger--can keep him from winning her trust . . . and her love.

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TRAPPER by Thomas York

"A fierce and wild novel...  Like Jack London and Farley Mowat, York seems able to strike literary gold in the icy north."  -Seattle Times

It was impossible for him to get away -- and impossible to catch him!  There was no way he could survive the howling arctic winter without food and proper clothing.  No way he could make it on foot across the Northwest mountains into the Yukon.  But for seven weeks of superhuman endurance, Albert Johnson -- the Mad Trapper of Rat River -- outran and outfought a posse of 25 Mounties, led by an Inspector who vowed to kill him, and a bush plane flown by the ace who downed the Red Baron.

It was a sensational story that gripped Canada and the World in suspense.  And as the Mounties headed after the man who turned pursuers into prey... the Mad Trapper headed into legend.

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GREAT CANADIAN ADVENTURE STORIES by Muriel Whitaker

"As fine a company of rogues, crazies, saints, and unsung heroes as you're likely to encounter in a long while." Margaret Laurence

Here is a book to stir the imagination and appeal to the spirit of adventure with a thoughtfully chosen selection of stories for all tastes and ages.

Tales of heroism and peril hold an irresistible attraction, particularly when man is pitted against man or is locked in a grim struggle for survival against the powerful forces of nature. Many stories of high adventure are based on true experiences. In "How the Klondike Rush Began", Pierre Berton tells how fortunes were made and lost in the feverish hunt for the elusive yellow metal. Bruce Hutchison's "The Overlanders" contains vivid excerpts from diaries of early settlers. Jack London, whose story "Trust" is set in the Yukon in goldrush days, was one of those who managed to make their way through the Chilkoot Pass during the great rush to the Klondike.

Stories by Rudy Wiebe and R. M. Ballantyne recapture the excitement of the past, set against a background of Canada's fascinating wilderness. While there is a haunting sense of melancholy and loneliness in some of the stories, there is humour and irony too, in tales by Stephen Leacock, Harwood Steele, and Will Bird. And although these adventure tales are primarily about boys and men, Ethel Wilson's story of a woman gradually shedding her timidity deserves its place in this collection.

Great Canadian Adventure Stories provides a thrilling excursion through the Canadian landscape. Readers will not easily forget this compelling book. The superb illustrations, specially commissioned for this book, are the work of artist Vlasta van Kampen. Muriel Whitaker's new anthology is a fitting companion to her earlier collection, Great Canadian Animal Stories.

Authors include: R.M. Ballantyne, Pierre Berton, Will R. Bird, Sir Wilfred Grenfell, Roderick Haig-Brown , Bruce Hutchison, Stephen Leacock, W.O. Mitchell, Jack London, Howard O'Hagan, Sinclair Ross, Harwood E. R. Steele, Leland Stowe, Rudy Wiebe, Ethel Wilson.

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BEYOND THE STONE HEAPS by Ian Anderson

They had a job to do: bring the Queen's justice to the lawless Canadian West.  But new to the frontier, the Mounties were destined for a long tour of death -- until they were joined by a bold Indian fighter named Cavannagh.  Together they created the grand legend of THE SCARLET RIDERS.

Fresh from slaughtering Custer at Little Big Horn, the bloodthirsty Sioux crossed the border into Canada.  Immediately Cavannagh was on their trail, seeking a renegade chief who had launched a vicious mission of vengeance.  With death on all sides, Cavannagh boldly rode into the Sioux camp.  Only he can stop a raging Indian war that would end just one way -- Mountie massacre!

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FORT TERROR by Ian Anderson

Corporal Robert Parsons of the Mounties was a bright daub of scarlet and gold against the deep green forests of spruce and pine as he rode west toward the cloud-shrouded Rockies.  And the farther west he rode the more stories he heard about women with hair the color of the sun who lived at the foot of the Backbone-of-the-World -- about dark, hooded riders who guarded the gray escarpment, shadowy forms who were the shadows of death!

Parsons was proud to serve Queen and country as a scarlet-coated guardian of justice.  He rode wherever the Union Jack waved, and the Jack waved over a hell of a lot of territory.  But when he was suddenly ambushed and captured by the robed and bearded killer monks of Fort Terror, Parsons knew his life was at the mercy of the deadliest assassins in the Territory.  It was up to him, and him alone, to stop their bloodthirsty reighn of anarchy and chaos, to bring law and order back to the uncharted wilderness -- to turn the tide of battle and continue the growing legend of THE SCARLET RIDERS.

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Zane Grey's KING OF THE ROYAL MOUNTED. 

Zane Grey, with the help of his son, Romer, scripted the first newspaper comic script for King Features in 1935.  The strips were later repackaged in comic book form, leading to original stories in 1948 from Dell Four-Color Comics.  Big Little Books published a number of titles in the 1930's and 1940's: ZANE GREY'S KING OF THE ROYAL MOUNTED, THE NORTHERN TREASURE, ...GETS HIS MAN, GREAT JEWEL MYSTERY, ARCTIC LAW, THE FAR NORTH, THE FROZEN NORTH, LAW OF THE NORTH and THE LONG ARM OF THE LAW...

To see more on this, go to: "Bill Hillman's Zane Grey Tribute Site," presented by Bill & Sue-On Hillman Eclectic Studio...

Recommended Studies of Mountie Fiction:

"The Mountie from Dime Novel to Disney" by Michael Dawson

Historian Michael Dawson digs deep into the written and pictorial record to reveal how the RCMP, from its beginning, has created and zealously protected its public image.

From the legendary Sam Steele to Nelson Eddy in Rose Marie. From Sergeant Preston, Renfrew of the Mounted and Dudley Do-Right to Due South and the Disney deal. From the Great March West to the Musical Ride, the Mountie shines as an image of strength, courage, and the Canadian way. In this richly illustrated trove of Mountie lore, Michael Dawson takes us on a journey through time, across shifting terrain. Along the way he reveals the darker, and the lighter sides of the fabled police force. While the Mounties don't always get their man, they have always captured our hearts and minds.  In movie, magazine, novel, radio and television -- the Mounties reigned. 

LOOKING NORTH -- The Royal Canadian Mounted Police Illustrations by Karal Ann Marling

THE MOUNTIE WORE HIS HEART (and ours) on his bright red sleeve; he stood for integrity, bravery, and a whole range of Victorian virtues that had been banished from the abstract art of the modern, 20th century.

The big calendars that carried these images were Northwest Paper Company's pride and joy. To promote high-quality paper to the printing trade, it was crucial to show how well it reproduced the intended colors -- how well it "printed." Chicago ad man Frank Cash had the answer: The red Mountie tunic and the vivid hues of the outdoor landscapes would test the printing qualities of Northwest paper to its limits. The heroic male figure would appeal to the jobbers and printers; theirs was, in the 1930s, strictly a man's world.

LOOKING NORTH features 140 color illustrations by Arnold Friberg, Hal Foster, and 13 other artists who created these stunning story-ads for the Northwest Paper Company in Cloquet, Minnesota, between 1931 and 1970.

To see more on Northwest Paper's Mountie Illustrations, just SCROLL down to THE MOUNTIE COLLECTION... 

Recommended Studies of Mountie History:

THE LAW MARCHES WEST by Sir Cecil E Denny.  The great march west of the North-West Mounted Police in 1874 from Dufferin, Manitoba, to the foothills of the Canadian Rockies is one of the most stirring events in Western frontier history.  It's effects on the developement of Western Canada were profound.  The establishment of Law and Order by the presence and work of the Mounties provided a marked contrast to the lawlessness that accompanied the opening up of the frontier lands further south.  THE LAW MARCHES WEST is a first-hand account of the expedition by Inspector Denny, who commanded one of the six troops of Mounted Police that made the epic march.  It is a stirring adventure, harrowing hardship, and splendid achievement in the settling of the Great White North.

FORT STEELE -- GOLD RUSH TO BOOM TOWN by Naomi Miller.  Major Sam Steele's "D" Division of the NWMP built Kootenay Post in 1887 and helped to alleviate tensions between white settlers and the native Ktunaxa people.  With disputes settled the appreciative residents renamed the town in 1888 to honour Sam Steele, the highly respected Mountie.

SAM STEELE -- LION OF THE FRONTIER by Robert Stewart.  Sam Steele was a policing legend during legendary times.  One of the Originals -- the first members of the North-West Mounted Police, Steele trained men and established posts in the Great Lone Land: the Canadian Northwest...

THE GREAT ADVENTURE: HOW THE MOUNTIES CONQUERED THE WEST by Cruise & Griffiths.  In the 1870's, the great plains of the Canadian West and the White North were the most dangerous places in North America.  Murderous whiskey smugglers, fur traders, outlaws, gold seekers and Indians desperately making a last stand against "civilization: combined into a volatile stew.  Amidst public outcry, Sir John A Macdonald created the North West Mounted Police to bring law and order to the West...

THE NORTH-WEST MOUNTED POLICE AND THE NORTH WEST REBELLION by Insp. Donald Klancher.  Complete history of the North-West Mounted Police involvement in the 1885 Reil Rebellion...

RED COATS ON THE PRAIRIES by Beahen & Horrall.  Detailed non-fiction history of the North West Mounted Police under Commissioner Herchmer, 1885-1900.

HONOURED IN PLACES by Wm. J. Hulgaard and John W. White.  In this collection, over 250 North-West Mounted Police, Royal North-West Mounted Police and Royal Canadian Mounted Police who died while on duty, or who enjoyed long and extraordinary careers are remembered.

RED SERGE AND STETSONS by Don Saul.  Gripping, tragic, funny by turns, these non-fiction recollections by Mounties go back to the Great March West in 1874.

A TRYING TIME by Wallace.  The role of the Mounties during the Riel Rebellion, 1885.  The Mounted Police were involved in the battle at Cutknife, Frenchman Butte, Loon Lake and Duck Lake.  As exciting as fiction.

BEYOND REASON -- MURDER OF A MOUNTIE  In 1978 four young Mounties attempt a routine investigation of a truck rental at a motel in Virden, Manitoba.  Inside the motel was a desperate couple; Canada's Bonnie and Clyde.  A gun fight ensues where one Mountie is killed and two others badly wounded.  This ignited one of the biggest manhunts in the history of the Mounties and the province.

RCMP MARCHES WEST  The March West is a celebration in picture and story of the Mounties on the occasion of the Force's 125th year.  The March West follows Canada's mounted police through and beyond the founding days...

DOG TALES AND MOUNTIE ADVENTURES by Robert Ward.  Ward served over 21 years in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.  A combination of letters, travel diaries, note books, have enabled the author to bring to the reader a factual bit of Canadiana that will give readers insight into part of northern Canadian history, involving the men, women, dogs and peoples...

YUKON MEMORIES: A MOUNTIE'S STORY by Jack "Tich" Watson.    Yukon Memories chronicles real adventures in a time and place that forms the backdrop to some of Canada's most enduring legends of the Great White North -- the days when mail was hauled overland by sleigh and dog team, prospectors still sifted the gravel of Bonanza Creek searching for gold, and trappers sometimes went missing for years.  And as young Tich Watson quickly discovered, law enforcement in the Yukon of the 1930's was often dramatic.  Minutes after arriving at his Dawson City posting in 1932, the rookie Royal Canadian Mounted Police constable was supervising the death watch of a popular local resident condemned to hang for murded...

THE HORSEMEN by C W Harvison, Commissioner (Rtd.) Royal Canadian Mounted Police.  C W Harvison was under-age when he joined the old Royal North West Mounted Police in Regina in 1919...but the young Mountie would rise to become Commissioner of the re-named Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

MOUNTED POLICE AND PRAIRIE SOCIETY by Baker.  This book is a collection of scholarly explorations of the nature and role of the Mounties on the Prairies, from the formation of the North-West Mounted Police in 1873/74 to it's transformation into the Royal Canadian Mounted Police in 1919/20.  An essential non-fiction study of the Mounties and the expansion of law and order to the Great White North.

THE RCMP MUSICAL RIDE by Maxwell Newhouse.  The pageantry of the sleek black horses, their intricate dancelike steps, and the thrilling play of lances make the Musical Ride of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police an unforgettable experience. Rooted in the cavalry drills of the Great March West of 1874, the modern-day Musical Ride now represents the best in horsemanship.  In this loving homage to the Ride, Maxwell Newhouse captures its spirit – from the riders to the equipment, the training, and the horses – in words and art.

The story of the Ride and its spectacular horses is told through black and white drawings and wonderful full-color art that presents performances from the plains to the mountains and all over North America.  This book is a perfect gift for anyone who loves horses, and a perfect introduction to a national treasure that represents Canada around the world.

Maxwell Newhouse is one of Canada’s most accomplished folk artists. His work is exhibited in galleries across Canada. He is well known for his paintings of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police Musical Ride, which are gathered together for the first time in this book. He has illustrated three books for Tundra Books of Canada, including Emily Carr: At the Edge of the World, written by Jo Ellen Bogart. He lives in Cultus Lake, British Columbia.

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The Royal Canadian Mounted Police by R C Fetherstonhaugh

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police.-R.C.Fetherstonhaugh. Gray pictorial cloth,published by Garden City Publishing Co.Inc.NY,copyright 1940,illustrated,294 pages.

Fascinating history of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police which emphasizes the adventures of the officers and men rather than the details of organization and administration and is based upon the Force's own records and documents.

The book covers the early history and founding of the Mounties -- originally called the North-West Mounted Police -- in 1873,the march of the NWMP to deal with the problems of the American Sioux Indians,the Crees etc.the importance of the new Canadian Pacific Railway,nice chapter on the Northwest Rebellion of 1885,the Mounties head north to the Yukon,problems with the Crees again, Northern Patrols and South African service,dealing with crime in the Yukon etc.

Then the book continues with chapters on crime on the prairies,humanitarian efforts,the re-named Royal Canadian Mounted Police and Herschel Island and Hudson Bay,the Winnipeg General Strike of 1919 and the labor problems in the provinces following the end of WW1,murders in the Arctic,Starnes assumes command,Northern achievements in 1929,the new commander of the RCMP,Macbrien,duties ashore and alfloat,some more notable cases and finally police duties during the years 1936-37.

According to the table of contents at the front of the book there is supposed to be three appendices at the end of the book as well as a list of "Index of Persons" but none of these pages are in the book and it does not appear that any pages are missing or torn out so possibly this edition was somewhat abridged or slightly shortened to save on paper during the early years of WW11.The nice "Chronological Index" of the main events in the history of the RCMP covering the period from 1870-1937 is present and this was also listed in the table of contents.

The book is nicely illustrated with a number of black and white photos and illustrations as well as several in-text maps.

The illustrations include the Mounties at the Coronation of King George Vl,the march to the mountains in 1874,Crowfoot Chief of the Blackfeet welcomed at the new NWMP post by Assistant Commissioner Macleod,the riot at the Beaver,1885,a Mountie officer and his Indian escort on a winter patrol in 1886,a constable on prairie patrol 1886,view of the Chilkoot Pass during the gold rush of 1898,a constable mending his nets on a beach in the Arctic,the famous "floating detachement"St.Roch off Herschel Island in 1935,the police post at Moose Factory,police landing from the SS Distributor at Fort Simpson,boat of the Arctic patrol,RCMP and Hudson's Bay Company men at work on the shore of the Arctic,Aviation Section RCMP in Toronto in 1937 etc.

The in-text maps have key map of the Dominion of Canada,Routes of March of North-West Mounted Police Divisions in NW Canada in 1874,the Yukon,Mackenzie and Western Arctic,Hudson Bay showing Inspector Begins patrol in 1890 and Supt.J.Moodies voyage in 1903 and finally map showing route taken by Inspector Joy with dogteams in spring of 1929.  Great maps and illustrations and exciting reading.

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THE MOUNTIES: The Story of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police by Jo McDonald

The Mounties, The Story of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, by Jo McDonald. Stirling; 1966. 10.25" x 6.75"; 96 pp. Numerous color and black and white illustrations on coated stock.

A Summary of the contents includes:

The Oath of Office; Riders of the Plains.

The Early Days of the Mounties (The Indians, Keeping Order, Recruitment, The Originals, The Uniform, The Long March, The Blackfoot Confederacy, British Columbia, The Prairies, Crowfoot's Loyalty, The Sioux, The Peace Pipe Is Smoked, Red Crow , Chief of the Bloods, The Cree Camp, The Squaws, The Constable, The North West Rebellion, The Force is Increased, Gold Rush, The Chilcoot Pass, The Diamond Jubilee, The South African War, New Settlers, The Doukhobors, The Force Knighted, The North, The North-West Passage, The Police Schooner St. Roch, The Crew, Tuk Tuk, The Magnetic Pole, The Second Winter, Lancaster Sound, The Open Sea, Return Voyage, Outposts, The Arctic Archipelago, The Eskimos, The Early Twentieth Century, the Horse Marines, The Reserve, The Silent Force).

The Force Today (Regular Police Work, Rural Service, Northern Service, Federal Duties, Smuggling, Counterfeit, Security Service, National Police Services, Fingerprint Section, Criminal Records, Other Services, Marine Division, air Division, Police Service Dog Section); The Mountie (Qualifications, Training, Posting, Discipline, The Ranks, Commissioned Officers, Commissioners, The Lance and Pennant, Regimental Colors, The Uniform); Horses and Dogs (Horses, Police Service Dogs, A Dog Recruit, Tracking); Mountie Bands and Music (The Musical Ride, Musical Figures, The Best Rides, Maintiens le Droit).

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TRIBUTES TO "THE SCARLET RIDERS: An Anthology of Mountie Poems"  Collected by Edgar A Kuhn

This engaging anthology of verse, compiled by Edgar Kuhn, reflects the early history and experiences of the North-West Mounted Police, Royal North-West Mounted Police, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police,  from the 1880s to the present. Written from various points of view, these very readable poems portray the heroism, emotions, hardships, dedication, and loyalty of those who have served in Canada's national police forces.

Be they humorous or poignant, simple or formal, Kuhn's selections reflect the moods and adventures of Arctic survivors, plains horsemen, vulnerable trainees, and witty veterans. Collectively they will entertain anyone who has ever been, or known, a Mountie.

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STEELE'S SCOUTS by Wayne F Brown

The North West Rebellion of 1885 saw a force of 5,000 troops mobilized by the Canadian government to suppress Riel's followers after a fatal encounter between the Metis forces and the North West Mounted Police at Duck Lake. while most media focus of the day was placed on the eastern forces organized in Ontario under Major General Frederick Middleton, it was a specific force of an Alberta contingent, quickly assembled by the aptly monickered Gunner Jingo Strange, retired soldier, that would ultimately end the rebellion. Once commissioned, Major General Strange, immediately sought out the Mountie he respected most, Superintendent Sam Steele, and urged him to recruit and take command of an advance unit he would call " Steele's Scouts."

The Scout's brief but effective existence, the charismatic leadership of Samuel Benefield Steele, and their combined role in the North West Rebellion are now the focus of this colourful story that will make pleasurable reading for all Canadian and North-West Mounted Police history buffs.

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THE LAST GUARDIANS -- The Crisis in the RCMP...And in Canada by Paul Palango

The timing could not be better for Paul Palango's hard-hitting examination of a Royal Canadian Mounted Police in crisis. As Canadians focus on the latest in a long series of problems - the treatment of protesters at the APEC conference in Vancouver - THE LAST GUARDIANS (released by McClelland & Stewart, November 14, 1998), by investigative journalist Paul Palango takes a close look at the role of the Mounties in Canada, the relationship -between the police and the government, how several bad decades have reduced the once proud force to its present state, and. what it all means for Canadians.

Even RCMP Commissioner Philip Murray, in Macleans article by Palango entitled "Why the Mounties Can't Get Their Man," admitted that there's a problem in federal law enforcement, pointing to the rise of private firms offering security and investigation services. This, of course, goes hand-in-hand with the Mounties' declining role in the solving of economic crime. At the same the force has been involved in a series of embarrassing debacles - from barn-burning to Airbus (a humiliation that never really seems to go away), and now the APEC scandal.

About recent events Palango is blunt, "What happened in Vancouver is what a country can expect when there isn't a proper distance between government and police. The intent and integrity of the RCMP have been subverted by the political process."

Paul Palango's research for this book was a kind of one-man commission into the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, its current state, and its possible future. He'd written about them before in his best-selling book Above the Law, but this time the questions were even broader and tougher. How have social, political, and economic imperatives been used to usurp the rule of law in Canada? What are the implications for ordinary Canadians?

To find the answers, Palango set out across the country and, with the cooperation of the Mounties, talked to high-ranking officers, rode on patrols, visited training facilities, and spent time at RCMP headquarters. He wanted to see first-hand what it meant to be a member of the RCMP. From Sparwood, B.C. to Dauphin, Manitoba, Regina to Ottawa, Palango observed the different roles Mounties play. What he found was a force struggling against impossible pressures -both societal and political. Expected to be a guardian institution on the one hand, and facing crippling cutbacks and legal changes on the other, the RCMP has tried to be all things to all Canadians in a society that is not even sure what role it wants the force to play.

From hundreds of interviews, Palango has assembled a revealing picture of the RCMP, and a wide variety of opinions about what should be done. Some believe the force has become too politicized, while others believe it has become too big and too diverse. Should the Mounties be an elite national force in charge of policing across the country, or a force in charge of federal law enforcement?

As he writes: "Across, Canada the RCMP seems to be in a state of total confusion, performing so many different roles and carrying out so many duties that it is sometimes impossible for individual members to know who they are and what they are supposed to be doing.... They desperately want to be the best, and they are absolutely committed to serving Canada, but almost every man and woman in red serge feels that they are being Mocked from being all that they could be - handcuffed, as it were."

Palango concludes by recommending a hill public inquiry into almost every aspect of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, and a federal review of the issues of privacy and secrecy in Canada with an eye to making information more attainable for both the public and investigators. He believes that without radical change, the RCMP cannot protect the greater good - and that puts our very nation at risk. Because for Canada the Mounties really are the last guardians.

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THE RIDERS OF THE PLAINS -" A Record of the Royal North-West Mounted Police of Canada" by A L Haydon

The motto chosen in 1873 for the newly created North West Mounted Police was "maintiens le droit". But the world knows that "they always get their man," those men in scarlet tunics and Sam Browne belts who make up the most romantic and romanticized police force in history.

The heroism of the force throughout its history cannot be exaggerated. But perhaps its glamorous popular image has obscured the genuine character and courage of its men, who were, as former commissioner George B. McClellan records, not storybook heroes but "common and uncommon men... mustered and annealed into a force, who, when called upon to do the impossible, did just that." 

A record of the force in its early years by a painstaking military historian is therefore invaluable, particularly when it is accompanied  by contemporary comment from one of the RCMP's most honored commissioners. THE RIDERS OF THE PLAINS was first published in 1910 and later revised to provide a complete history up to 1918. As Mr McClellan demonstrates in his introduction to this new edition, the true stories of police bravery, achievement and sacrifice need no embellishment; the episodes he retells are more glorious, simply for having happened, than any legend or fiction could be. And the book does justice to the past, to the "common and uncommon men" who actually server in the unique force that has made Canada synonymous with the Mounted Police the world over.

A Summary of the contents includes:

The North-West of the Past
The Coming of the Police
Outposts in the Wilderness
Indian Problems
Sitting Bull and the Sioux Invasion
Changes and Developments
Railway Progress: A New Era
The North-West Rebellion
Ten Years' Work, 1885 - 1895
'Almighty Voice", Bad Indian
In the Yukon
Back to the Territories
At The Front in South Africa
Pushing Northward
A Batch of Stories
Horse Thieves and Cattle Rustlers
On a Patrol
In Barracks
The Police of Today
APPENDICES:
LIST OF North-West Mounted Police Officers on the Westward March of 1874
The Treaty With The Blackfeet, # 7
List Of  NWMP men Killed of Wounded in the North-West Rebellion
List of Commissioners of the NWMP, 1873-1910
List of Royal North-West Mounted Police Officers, 1910
NWMP Districts and Officers Attached To
List of North-West Mounted Police Officers who Left the force, 1873-1909
How to Enter The Force
Distribution of the Force, 1909
Crime Statistics Under NWMP Jurisdiction
Index.

Some of the other specific topics discussed in this book include: Adamites, age of enlistment, arms and equipment, artillery, Assiniboine Indians, Athabaska, benevolent work, bison, buffalo, Blood Indians, Canadian Pacific Railway, Chilkoot Pass, claim-jumping, Cree Indians, customs duties, death-roll of officers, dog trains, Dominion of Canada, Eskimos, explorers, Forts, fur traders, police horses, illicit liquor trade, Indian scouts, Indian tribes, mail carrying in the Yukon, musical ride, Norway House, patrols, payment of officers and men, Jerry Potts, prairie fires, recruits, Louis Riel, sheep camp, strength of force, timber dues, veterinary surgeons, witchcraft. 

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THEY NEVER SURRENDERED:  THE LAKOTA SIOUX BAND THAT STAYED IN CANADA by Ronald J. Papandrea. 

After the defeat of Civil War General George A. Custer at the Battle of the Little Big Horn in the Great Sioux War of 1876, thousands of Lakota (Teton) Sioux went to Canada to escape the American army.  These included Sitting Bull and his people, as well as many of the followers of Crazy Horse, especially after Crazy Horse was killed while in American custody.  The Lakota Sioux who went to Canada were greeted by Dakota (Santee) Sioux who were there because of the Minnesota Sioux War of 1862.

Most of the Lakota Sioux who went to Canada returned to the United States within five years but more than 250 stayed in Canada and NEVER SURRENDERED.  This is the history of those who stayed in the Dominion of Canada and their interactions with Metis, traders, Indians, NorthWest Mounted Police (NWMP), missionaries and Canadian officials.  Lakota Sioux fought in the Metis Resistance of 1885 (Canada's Civil War), including the most famous battle of the Canadian west - the Battle of Batoche.  The Lakota Sioux eventually obtained a Canadian reserve at Wood Mountain, 21 miles north of the U.S. border.

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And You Have Got to See...

THE MOUNTIE COLLECTION

The Mountie Collection---Art and Illustration from when the Mounties were the North-West Mounted Police to today's Royal Canadian Mounted Police---From the Northwest Paper Company, this collection of Mountie art is a must-see. Starting with artist Hal Foster, of "Prince Valiant" fame, Northwest Paper has been presenting these dramatic and beautiful paintings of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the Great White North, the men, the horses, the dogs, the people they served -- fact and fiction -- Some of these illustrations, presented as the Potlatch Collection, have appeared in the book: LOOKING NORTH -- Royal Canadian Mounted Police Illustrations. 

The first artist asked to provide a Mountie illustration to the Northwest Paper Company collection was Hal Foster.  This Canadian artist, born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, rode from Winnipeg to Chicago on a bicycle to enroll at the Art Institute -- a trip of a thousand miles.  Foster was later chosen to illustrate Edgar Rice Burroughs's Tarzan newspaper comic strip.  After that, he created Prince Valiant, the premier adventure comic strip.

J Allen St John followed with his own Mountie illustrations.  St John was already famous for his book cover paintings for the Tarzan novels, including outstanding artwork for such Edgar Rice Burroughs masterworks as The Beasts of Tarzan and Tarzan the Untamed.

Burne Hogarth, who took over the Tarzan comic strip from Hal Foster, also took over from him by adding to the Mountie Collection.

But the best artist was Arnold Friberg.   "Put simply, Arnold Friberg has done the best work in capturing the Mountie Myth.  He is the Master." -Brian Alan Burhoe.  The Mounties agreed: in the 1970's, the Force made Friberg the first American honourary Member of the RCMP.  The accuracy of Friberg's  portayals, combined with his unique skills at capturing landscapes that took you there and character studies that made his people vibrate with life, have made the Mountie Collection an essential part of Canadian cultural history -- a strange accomplishment, considering that the only Canadian involved was Hal Foster.  Friberg's Mountie pictures are much sought-after by collectors and are still in circulation in the form of calendars, pamphlets, and other printed materials.  Friberg continued his career in Salt Lake City, Utah.  His most powerful work is the well-known painting of George Washington praying at Valley Forge.  But Canadians, after seeing his work in book-form or online can only say, "God bless you, Arnold."

Other artists who added to the Mountie Collection include Robert Addison, Studley Oldham Burroughs, Frances Godwin, Harold Michaelson, Walter S Oschman, Paul Proehl and Irvin "Shorty" Shope.  Studley Burroughs was the nephew of Edgar Rice Burroughs -- another Tarzan connection.

About the Mountie Collection at the Tweed Museum:  Even though the University of Minnesota Duluth's Tweed Museum collection contains more than 5,000 pieces of artwork, the 374 Mountie illustrations sometimes seem synonymous with the museum. A new book and display will help put the Mountie collection in context.

"For a lot of people, when they think of Tweed, they think of the Mountie paintings," said Martin DeWitt, the museum's executive director.

The works are connected to the region in a unique way, DeWitt says. Most prominently, they originate through an advertising campaign by Northwest Paper Company and later Potlatch, which played an important and ongoing role in the region's history.

But there are also the connection to the North Woods and the link to neighboring Canada that are strongly felt in northern Minnesota. Plus, the Mounties by now have become almost iconic. Pop culture references include Zane Grey books, Dudley Do-Right cartoons and even Mountie Barbie and Ken.

And those iconic virtues of integrity and competence were among the reasons the paper company started the advertising campaign in the 1930s and continued it until 1970. Particularly in the midst of the Great Depression, the image of honest Royal Canadian Mounted Police was one a company would hope for, says Peter Spooner, the Tweed's curator.

But Spooner says there was also a more pedestrian reason  the red coats, which used a color difficult to reproduce on some kinds of paper.

"It became sort of a proving grounds for Potlatch to be able to print that red coat," he said.

The campaign started out of a Chicago ad agency and was originally a business-to-business kind of advertising.

Up to 16 artists made Mountie illustrations, and Potlatch spent up to ,$ 50,000 a year on the campaign. The images ended up in calendars, posters, notepads and even the names of Potlatch papers, such as Mountie Matte and Mountie Gloss.

What a successful image. How could you go wrong? DeWitt said, surveying the more than 100 images on display for the current exhibit.

It certainly lives in the memory of many who have been associated with the company over the years. Edwin Jankowski, who worked as chief forester for Potlatch and spent almost 40 years at the company, was looking them over with his son, Steve. The elder Jankowski said that on a snow-bird trip to Arizona, he befriended an actual Mountie who became fascinated by the images. Jankowski ended up giving his new friend most of his personal collection.

"I think it's just great," Jankowski said of the exhibit.  "I really enjoyed just remembering and going back."

He added that he was particularly captivated by Mountie-related artifacts, such as actual red coats.

Spooner said one of the interesting characteristics of the exhibit is that it shows the progression of the paintings, from the early, pre-World War II works that have the flair of an adventure novel and tend to be rather stark to the fully evolved later works with American Indian themes, more emphasis on landscape and themes of prosperity and commerce.

There's also a sense of showing how the different artists vary in their approach to the theme, Spooner said. One famous painting depicts a Mountie flirting with a stereotyped American Indian girl, which Spooner says would not be politically correct today.

At that time, it would have been totally accepted, he pointed out. Nobody would have thought about it at all.
Another illustration blends totem poles from the Northwest, teepees from the Plains and pottery from the Southwest in one stereotyped tribe.

That's in direct contrast to the work of Arnold Friberg, the best-known and most prolific of the artists who worked on the illustrations, DeWitt said. Friberg would go out of his way to do research, and people actually now study the illustrations for their historical accuracy.

He really wanted to come to a deep understanding of what he was painting, said DeWitt, who also highlights the artistic qualities the mood, light shading and details  of Friberg's paintings.

Spooner points out that it's rather unusual for a commercial illustrator to do so much research.

And while some of the artists only did one or two illustrations, a few did several and had distinct styles. The Mountie exhibit at Tweed gives a deeper appreciation of some of those artists, like Paul Proehl's work from the 1940s and the 1930s illustrations of Hal Foster, the original Mountie artist.

DeWitt and Spooner are both excited about the book project, done in collaboration with Afton Historical Society Press and with substantial support from UMD Chancellor Kathryn A. Martin.

The book, which carries the same title as the related exhibit, Looking North, was written by Karal Ann Marling, who teaches art history and American studies at the University of Minnesota.

Marling has written or cowritten 18 books, three of which have been New York Times notable books of the year. The themes of her work  such as Norman Rockwell, theme-park architecture and the TV culture of the 1950s  seem to share something in common with the Mounties. 

Looking North traces the ad campaign and also has glossy, full-color representations of many of the Mountie images. Tweed officials believe it will find a home with Mountie fans, and the book is already moving toward its second printing, DeWitt said. They also believe it will offer a Mountie fix for times when space limitations don't allow the paintings to be displayed.  Spooner says the book also provides a context. The Mounties will always be special for the museum  there's no doubt about it, he said. But that must be balanced with the museum's other work.

The context offered by the book will allow the Tweed to exhibit them more confidently.

"I think we'll be able to exhibit them to greater effect now," Spooner explained.

The Tweed also plans to revive the tradition of Mountie calendars carried on by Potlach for years, and it has many new Mountie-related items in its store for sale.