Theme: Settler Pre-Railroad Era
Vantage Points Stories (Books, Online & pdf)
Vantage Point Flashbacks (Radio Broadcasts)

Additional Resources

 

Theme: Settler Pre-Railroad Era
Format: Vantage Points Article

 
Vantage Points articles are presented with links (Web) to the story on the Vantage Points Website
 and as print-ready PDF files
.


For a Radio Broadcast based on the story select the "Vantage Points Flashback" link.
For more info about locations follow the "Places Link".
To visit a related website follow the "Web Link" (There may be more than 1).
To download a related Document click the "Document Link".


Volume 1


Turtle Mountain       Web  / PDF      Vol. I, Page 1
The creation, habitiation and settlement of a unique area.

Whitewater Lake       Web  / PDF      Vol. I, Page 2
The creation, habitiation and settlement of a unique area.

Lauder Sandhills       Web  / PDF      Vol. I, Page 3
The creation, habitiation and settlement of a unique area.
Places Link

Boundary Commission Trail       Web  / PDF      Vol. I, Page 4
The main highway - west.

Mandan Trail      WebPDF       Vol. I, Page 5
The explorer LaVérendrye used the Mandan Trail on his expedition in 1738 to visit the Mandan villages along the Missouri, thus the trail quite possibly existed prior to the fur trade era.

Yellow Quill Trail       Web  / PDF      Vol. I, Page 6
The main highway - to the southwest corner.

Skull Swamp       WebPDF    Vol.  I, Page 7
Skull Swamp is an example of the ingenuity possessed by post glacial societies in their bison hunting techniques and how they used the existing landscape to their advantage.
Web Link

Ther Souris Basin Fur Trade      Web  / PDF     Vol.  I, Page 8
The Souris Basin was very important in the fur trade of the 18th and 19th Centuries.

Ash House      Web  / PDF     Vol.  I, Page 9
Ash House was built on the north shore of the Souris as a canoe fort.

Lena House      Web  / PDF     Vol.  I, Page 10
Lena House is one of two fur trading posts which were located on Turtle Mountain, though its exact location has never been determined.

John Pritchard       Web  / PDF      Vol.  I, Page 11
A Normally Competent Fur Trader Loses His Way
Vantage Points Flashbacks      Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources

Fort Mr. Grant     Web  / PDF      Vol.  I, Page 12
Fort Mr. Grant was built sometime between 1824 and 1826 on the Souris River near Hartney.

Fort Desjarlais      Web  / PDF     Vol.  I, Page 13
Fort Desjarlais is remembered today as the most prominent and successful of the Souris River trading posts.
Places Link

The Red River Cart
    Web  / PDF      Vol. I, Page 14
The cart played a huge role in the success of both the fur trade and Red River bison hunts.

Métis Bison Hunts          Web  / PDF      Vol.  I, Page 15
The Red River Métis began their organised bison hunts soon after 1820. It didn't take long for the hunts to become a central feature of the Métis way of life as they provided the Métis with their principle source of income for several decades.

Métis Wintering Communities        Web  / PDF   Vol.  I, Page 16
A wintering community generally consisted of hunters and their families and a few Métis fur traders.
Vantage Points Flashbacks (1):   Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources
Vantage Points Flashbacks:(2)    Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources

The Manitoba Land Survey Systems    Web  / PDF      Vol. I, Page 17
The surveying of prairie land went ahead of settlement, taking no consideration for the natural contours of the landscape whatsoever.

Turtle Mountain Reserve (IR60)
     Web  / PDF      Vol. I, Page 18
The Turtle Mountain Reserve  became the smallest reserve in Canada, measuring only one square mile.

The Boiler Trail
    Web  / PDF      Vol. I, Page 19
This trail branched off from the Boundary Commission Trail about a 2.4 kms west of Wakopa and met up with the Trail again at the Old Deloraine Land Titles Office

George Morton's Ventures    Web  / PDF     Vol. I , Page  20
He persuaded businessmen in Kingston to invest in the Morton Dairy Farm Company and received (via his business connections with John A. MacDonald the right to purchase 72 square miles (184 kms²) of land west of Whitewater Lake.
Vantage Points Flashbacks:   Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources

Turtle Mountain City and Waubeesh   Web  / PDF    Vol. I, Page 21
John Brondgeest envisioned Waubeesh becoming a thriving settlement, and by 1884, it was indeed a chief commercial centre for the region along with Old Deloraine.


Newcomb's Hollow  
Web  / PDF    Vol. I, Page 23
The first Land Titles Office in the Turtle Mountain area was a solitary tent that was set up in August of 188


Old Deloraine    Web  / PDF     Vol.  I, Page 24
After the Land Titles Office was established at the edge of Turtle Mountain (by George F. Newcomb), the area began bustling with activity.

Moberly       Web  / PDF       Vol.  I, Page 26
The Lakeside Resort That Never Was

Grande Clairière Convent        Web  / PDF      Vol.  I, Page 29
The beginning of the Grande Clairière Convent was marked in 1898 when Father J. Gaire, the parish priest from Grande Clairière, was visiting the family of one of his parishioners in France.
Vantage Points Flashbacks:    Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources
Places Link

Dunseith Trail       Web  / PDF      Vol. I, Page 35
The prohibition of beverage alcohol in the early 1900s paved the way for one of the area's most colourful chapters of thrill and intrigue.


Volume 2


Rise of the Métis Identity       Web  / PDF    Vol.  II, Page 6
Vantage Points Flashbacks      Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources

Working for Pay & Trapping       PDF     Vol.  II, Page 11 - 13

Harvesting & Hunting      PDF     Vol.  II, Page 14 - 20

Traditional Foods, Holidays & Celebrations, Recreation, and the Red River Jig   
PDF     Vol.  II, Page 21-26
 
Goods and Stores, Transportation, Communication, Healthcare  
PDF     Vol.  II, Page 27 - 31
 
Brockinton Site     
Web  / PDF     Vol. II  Page 33
The Brockinton archaeological site is located along the Souris River valley wall south of Melita. This site was occupied by three different cultures over the last 1600 years. These occupations left behind rare and archaeologically invaluable finds.
 During this site's earliest occupation, it was used as a bison pound.
Places Link
Web Link

Sourisford Linear Burial Mounds         WebPDF      Vol.  2, Page 36
Artifacts from these thousand year-old burial mounds indicate the trade relations that existed upon the plains before convenient modes of transportation.
Web Link

Manchester to Melita /   Web  / PDF     Vol.  II, Page 37
The most successful of the Sourisford communities

Assiniboine (Nakota)       Web  / PDF     Vol.  II, Page 47
The Assiniboine were once a Nation that occupied a territory that spanned the prairie provinces (including southwestern Manitoba) and parts of the northern United States.
Vantage Points Flashbacks:      Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources
Vantage Points Flashbacks:     Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources

Dakota Claim in Canada      WebPDF     Vol. II Page 48
Unlike other First Nations in Canada, the Dakota did not sign treaties with the Canadian government. Because of this they are still fighting for acknowledgment of their Aboriginal title.
Vantage Points Flashbacks     Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources


Volume 3


Mammoth Tusk       WebPDF      Vol.  III, Page 8
This find is one of only eight proboscidean discoveries in Manitoba and one of three tusks, the other finds being teeth.

Bison Rubbing Stone     WebPDF    Vol. III Page 9
In an era where herds of bison are but a memory, the bison rubbing stones remind us of a time well passed . . .
Vantage Points Flashbacks     Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources

The Souris River     WebPDF      Vol.  III, Page 10

Mullett Site     WebPDF      Vol.  III, Page 12
The period of the site’s occupation likely stretches from the Besant Period (BCE 500 to AD 750) right up to the pre-contact era.

Lauder Sandhills        WebPDF      Vol.  III, Page 13
10,000 BC - Present) The unique environment provided by the Lauder Sandhills attracted bison, which appealed to the early peoples who came to camp and live there.
Places Link

Snyder II Site      WebPDF     Vol. III  Page 15
The Snyder II Archaeological site is on the bank of the Gainsborough Creek just half a kilometer west of its junction with the Souris River. T

Dand Stone Features  WebPDF     Vol. III  Page 16
The purpose behind these mysterious and unique features may never be determined

The American Fort          Web  / PDF     Vol.  III, Page 17
The American Fur Company’s attempt to lay claim to the furs along the Souris River - about 1810 - 1828

Numbered Treaties in Manitoba        WebPDF      Vol.  III, Page 18
Southern Manitoba was included in the signing of Treaty 1 and 2 in 1871 between local First Nations and the government of Canada. This event marked a major shift in land use on the prairies.
Vantage Points Flashbacks:       Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources

Métis Intermediaries     Web  / PDF     Vol.  III, Page 20
Métis interpreters, present during the signing of Canada’s early Numbered Treaties and an integral part of the Boundary Commission Survey, were more than mere translators – they were peacekeepers and diplomats.

Eva McKay: The Dakota Experience    WebPDF     Vol.  III Page 22
Retelling History: Elder, healer and activist Eva McKay tells of the gross misinterpretation of history as it describes her people

Old Wakopa        Web  / PDF     Vol. III, Page 24
The first “stopping place” for settlers heading west
Vantage Points Flashbacks:   Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources
Places Link

Old Melita Trail  /   Web  / PDF       Vol. I , Page  25
It is likely that the trail was first created by the surveyors who travelled the area between 1879 and 1880, marking out the land into townships (blocks of 36 square miles).

Lake Max Sawmill      Web  / PDF     Vol.III  , Page 26
In 1880 Mr Bolton established a sawmill on the shore of Lake Max. The next year, entrepreneur George Morton bought the sawmill and used it to produce lumber for nearly every building in the then thriving village of Whitewater.
Vantage Points FlashbacksRadio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources

All Saint's Church     Web  / PDF    Vol.  III, Page 32
The All Saint’s Church and Cemetery served as a landmark and community centre for over 30 years before the numbers in the parish could no longer support it.


Volume 4


Dreaming Up Dobbyn City    Web  / PDF     Vol.  IV, Page 8
This "Speculative" or "Paper" City" was planned near what wouild become Melita during the Manitoba Boom. Its owner/promoter soon turned to other, more successful, ventures.
Places Link

Melgund - Almost a Village      Web  / PDF       Vol. IV , Page  9
Before Hartney and Lauder beame villages, Melgund was on the map. Although it never became a centre of commerce, it did endure as acommunity.

How to Build a "Soddy"       Web  / PDF    Vol. IV , Page  13
Soddies were the ultimate in low-cost housing.

Sam Heaslip - The "Stage Coach" Mailman    Web  / PDF     Vol.  IV, Page 17
In the early 1880’s the main road from Old Deloraine to Brandon was the Heaslip Trail named for Sam Heaslip who established the trail and used it to deliver the mail.

The Halfway House      Web  / PDF      Vol.  IV, Page 21
When you discover that your homestead happens to be in the right location, and you don’t mind some company from time to time, why not go into the business?

Waskada's Blacksmith: Ren Amos     Web  / PDF    Vol.  IV, Page 23
Over a span of half a century, Ren operated his blacksmith shop. He had to rebuild it twice. His wife often helped him in the shop and together they lived and worked through countless changes in agricultural methods.

Mrs. Weightman Comes to Canada       Web  / PDF     Vol.  IV, Page 32
Mrs. Weightman, a widow from Berwickshire, in northern England, and her children, arrived at their homestead in the spring of 1882 after a fifty-six day journey from Edinburgh, Scotland. 
Vantage Points Flashbacks: Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources

Mary Hathway's Homestead      Web  / PDF     Vol.  IV, Page 34
Mary’s brother-in-law, Reverend Davies, drove her to the Land Titles Office where a long lineup stood waiting for opening time.
Vantage Points Flashbacks: Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources

Cricket Anyone? : The Waubeesh English Settlement        Web  / PDF     Vol.  IV, Page 38
There were many attempts in Western Canada for groups from Britain to duplicate the sort of life they were used to in their home country.

Chief Inkpaduta     WebPDF      Vol.  IV, Page 39
We may never be sure which way to see Inkpaduta, but we can be fairly certain that while in Canada, he lived a peaceful life.

Sitting Eagle      WebPDF      Vol.  IV, Page 40
He and his Grandfather H'damani were among the few who declined a $200 government pay-off to relocate to a reserve near Pipestone. By 1909, only H’damani, his grandson Chaske (later known as Sitting Eagle) and a few others remained.
Vantage Points Flashbacks:     Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources

Walter Thomas - Against All Odds      Web  / PDF      Vol.  IV, Page 42
t was in late March 1880. A spell of warm weather had melted much of the snow, when Walter set out for Winnipeg to get more provisions.
Vantage Points Flashbacks     Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources

Walter Thomas - Kitchen Table Surgery        Web  / PDF      Vol.  IV, Page 43
He learned later that it was fortunate that muzzle was close to the arm and the flame from it burned the flesh and arteries so that very little blood escaped.
Vantage Points Flashbacks:    Radio Broadcast  |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources
Places Link


Volume 5


The Souris Plains in 1491     WebPDF     Vol.  V, Page 1
What was life like on the Souirs Plains before the Europeans arrived? It was interesting and by any measure, the home to many very successful civilizations.
Vantage Points Flashbacks      Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources
Web Link 1
Web Link 2

Who Were the First Farmers on the Plains?      WebPDF       Vol.  V, Page 2
Ongoing archealogical research south of Melita is providing additional information about pre-contact agricultural activitiy in our region
Vantage Points Flashbacks:     Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources
Web Link

At the Butterfield Post Office       WebPDF      Vol.  V, Page 13
The first Post Office and Stopping Place in the far southwestern reaches of Manitoba was called Butterfield.
Places

The Two Desfords       Web  / PDF       Vol.  V, Page 14
The Desford community began in the late 1870's along the Old Commission Trail about twelve kilometres south- southeast of Boissevain.

The Neighbourhood Lime Kiln       Web /  PDF     Vol.  V, Page 25
To prepare for a burn, stones were placed in the kiln leaving an arch at the bottom to hold the fire. The process took three days to re- duce the limestone to powder. 



Theme: Settler Pre-Railroad Era
Format: Radio Broadcast


#1: Goodbye at Sourisford 
Charlie West felt invisible at Sourisford, before other began to arrive.
Date: 1880   Place: Sourisford   : Municipality:  Two Borders    

Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  | 
Resources
   

Themes
Trails & Rivers  / Fur Trade / Dakota, Nakota & First Nations  / Community Cooperation & Organization

#3: Mrs. Weightman 
From Scorland to Dand - a pioneer woman's success story.

Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  | 
Resources


Themes
Trails & Rivers    Settler - Pre-Railroad    Women Leaders   Children     Homesteading / Agriculture    Settler - Pre-Railroad Biographies & Characters

#4: Whitewater Lake 
Change is the only constant when it come to this large shallow body of water.
Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources

Themes

Trails & Rivers      Fur Trade    Dakota, Nakota & First Nations    Settler - Pre-Railroad      Children

#8: Prairie Riches /   Photos by Hime
Observations by the first Prairie Photographer
Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources

Themes


#9 John Pritchard /   Barely Alive
A Fur Trade Era survival story.
#14: What Happened to Manchester? 
Manchester wasn't the first town to find out that the name they chose was already taken.

#15: The Legend of Wakopa 
Bernard LaRiviere's Stopping Place became southwestern Manitoba's first "settler" village - and an important one at that.

Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  | 
Resources

Themes

Metis & Mixed Blood     Dakota, Nakota & First Nations  Settler - Pre-Railroad    Schools & Teachers  
Land Knowledge & Archaeology       Biographies &Characters

#17: Master Newcomb 
Each of the hundreds of homesteads registered in southwest Manitoba in the early 1880's required a visit to the Land Tiltes Office near Deloraine.
Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources

Themes

Trails & Rivers           Dakota, Nakota & First Nations    Settler - Pre-Railroad        Homesteading / Agriculture     Biographies &Characters      Government Influence

24: Farmer Mary at Dand
A different sort of pioneer story
Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources

Themes

      Settler - Pre-Railroad   Community Cooperation & Organization     Innovation, Tools & Entrepreneurs    Women Leaders
Children
       Homesteading / Agriculture          Government Influence

#29 Walter Thomas - Before Dinner 
Sometimes survical is about, choices

Themes

Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources

Trails & Rivers           Settler - Pre-Railroad      Community Cooperation & Organization         Innovation, Tools & Entrepreneurs      Health     Land Knowledge & Archaeology      Biographies &Characters    Events & Adventures


#30: Walter Thomas - After Dinner 

After a freak accident, some good fortune and a bit of kitchen table surgery saved his life.
Radio Broadcast  |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources

Themes

Trails & Rivers             Settler - Pre-Railroad      Land Knowledge & Archaeology       Biographies &Characters

#37: George Morton / The Cheese King 
The name of the Municipality of Boissevain pays tribute to George Morton. He came to Turtle Mountain area in 1878 - and immediately saw the potential for large-scale cheese production - and other things.
#40: Mouse Valley 
River valleys offer shelter, water, and wood to settler, hunter and traveller alike. The Souris River has been all that and more to the people of our region - for a long time.
#52: Mountain Mill 
Those sod houses prairie settlers built seem quaint from a distance. They served their purpose but settlers  near Turtle Mountain had  a suuply of wood close at hand and it wasn't long before The Max Lake sawmill was servoing the commimity.
Radio Broadcast   |   Illustrated Text  |  Resources

Themes

                Settler - Pre-Railroad         Innovation, Tools & Entrepreneurs      Settler - Pre-Railroad      Commerce & Work    Biographies &Characters         Government Influence



Theme: Settler Pre-Railroad Era
Resources


Sourisford: The History of a River Crossing



Vantage Points

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