Communications Museums Around the World

Hey All,

I've been doing some sleuthing in regards to other post museums on the web. Most, it seems, celebrate the technological achievements of their various locales, or, when social/cultural history comes into play, have very little web content (such as the one in St Petersburg). Most also seem geared at children (and the Macao museum's photos are almost inclusively of children interacting with its exhibitions). So, thus far, museography (if that is a word) has nothing readily available (I haven't looked to secondary lit on these establishments yet). Will keep looking.

Pete

Accounts of the Battle of Duck Creek

At the Duck Creek Regional Interpretive Centre there are a number of accounts of the first battle of the resistance.

This includes 'Pioneer, Civilian and Military' accounts, a Willow Cree account and a Métis account.

The DLRIC also is a potential source of artefacts, with a listing on the page linked to in the first paragraph above.

summary on newspaper sources

I have been examining the portrayals of Louis Riel and the North West rebellion in French and English new media. The most fruitful source that I have come upon has been the online catalogue of the Globe and Mail. From this resource I have collected a small cache of articles, advertisements and political cartoons. Of especial interest are a series of advertisements by “Thompson’s Clothiers” which feature racist caricatures of native people. These ads offer an interesting visual element for the possible display, as well as expressing some of the popular attitudes in English Canada, which are sometimes obscured by the journalistic tone of the articles. Obviously if these images were to be used they would be handled sensitively so as not to offend visitors, or imply the museum condones the racist portrayal of native people. I have also found a number of full-page spreads which detail the North West rebellion. This could act interesting visual pieces as well, with lines of particular interest highlighted. These English language sources will be contrasted with French sources from Montreal Papers. These sources have been harder to procure, though a number are currently on order from Ottawa University. Using these two sources we hope to show the different ways the rebellion was communicated to central Canada. These feeds into our larger theme of competing modes of communication at play in the Riel rebellion.

The Rebellion -1885 (Carleton University Library)

Title
From the St. Lawrence to the North Saskatchewan [microform] : being some incidents connected with the detachment of "A" Battery, Regt. Canadian Artillery, who composed part of the North West Field Force in the Rebellion of 1885 / by Alexr. Laidlaw.
Author
Laidlaw, Alexander.
Publisher
[Halifax, N.S.? : s.n., 1885?]
Floor 1 Microform MCR
FC18.C15 N. 92684    
Dated p. [6]: Halifax, N.S. 9th January, 1885.

With: Report upon the suppression of the rebellion in the North-West Territories, and matters in connection therewith, in 1885 / Department of Militia and Defence of the Dominion of Canada. Ottawa, 1886. --Report of the commissioner of the North-West Mounted Police Force, 1885. Ottawa, 1886. --Le 9me Bataillon au Nord-Ouest (journal d'un militaire) / par George Beauregard. Québec, 1886. --The Queen vs. Louis Riel, accused and convicted of the crime of high treason. Ottawa, 1886. --Census of the three provisional districts of th e North-West Territories. Ottawa, 1886.
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Title
Discours sur la question Riel, prononcé le 17 mars 1886, à la Chambre des communes [microforme] / par Sir Adolphe Caron.
Author
Caron, Adolphe, Sir, 1843-1908
Publishr
[S.l. : s.n., 1886?]

FC18.C15 N. 30087 Floor 1 Microform MCR

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Title
Le cas de Louis Riel condamné et exécuté pour haute trahison [microforme] : rapport / de Sir Alexander Campbell.
Author
Campbell, Alexander, Sir, 1822-1892.
Publisher
[Ottawa? : s.n.], 1885 ([Ottawa?] : Imprimeur de la Reine)
FC18.C15 N. 03882 Floor 1 Microform MCR
1 microfiche (10 images).
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Title: Louis Riel, martyr du Nord-Ouest. [microform]
Author
Presse (Montreal, Quebec).
Publisher: Montreal, Impr. generale., 1885.
Edition
2d ed.
Floor 1 Microform MCR FC3231.P43 
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The Rebellion (Ottawa U Library)

1) Épitome des documents parlementaires relatifs à la rébellion du Nord-Ouest, 1885. --
Publisher
Ottawa : Imprimerie Maclean, Roger et Cie, 1886.
FC 3215 .C288 1886, MRT General (Ottawa U Library)
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2) The Medical and surgical history of the Canadian North-West Rebellion of 1885 [microform] : as told by members of the hospital staff corps.
Publisher
[Montreal : s.n.], 1886 (Montreal : J. Lovell)
CIHM No. 58777 MRT Microfiche - MRT 1st floor (Ottawa U Library)
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3)
Title: Copy of official diary of Lieut.-Co. Irvine [microform].
Author
Irvine, Lieut.-Col., 1837-1916
Publisher
[S.l. : s.n., 1885?]
1 microfiche (14 fr.). (Ottawa U Library)
Series
CIHM/ICMH Microfiche series = CIHM/ICMH collection de microfiches ; no. 30572
CIHM/ICMH Microfiche series ; no. 30572
"(Confidential)."
Covers the activities of the Commissioner of North-West Mounted Police during the Riel Rebellion, from March 18, 1885 to May 23, 1885.
Filmed from a copy of the original publication held by the Glenbow-Alberta Institute, Calgary. Ottawa : Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions, 1983.

Louis Riel- New York Times

MORE TROUBLE FOR ENGLAND.
New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Mar 13, 1885. pg. 3, 1 pgs
Abstract (Summary)

TORONTO, March 12.--A dispatch to-day from Saskatchewan, Northwest Territories, says: "The half breed population here is on the verge of an incipient
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RIEL AGAIN CAUSING TROUBLE.; THE DOMINION GOVERNMENT EXCITED OVER NEWS FROM THE NORTHWEST.
New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Mar 24, 1885. pg. 1, 1 pgs
Abstract (Summary)

OTTAWA, March 23.--There is great excitement here to-day over the announcement that an outbreak, headed by Louis Riel, who led the rebellion at Red River in 1870, had taken place among the half breeds near Prince Albert, Northwest Territory. In Parliament to-day, Sir John Macdonald said that there was a disturbance among the half breeds under the leadership...

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CURRENT FOREIGN TOPICS.
New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Oct 16, 1885. pg. 1, 1 pgs
Abstract (Summary)

LONDON, Oct. 15.--It is understood that the sentence of death passed on Louis Riel, the leader of the half breed rebellion in Canada, will be commuted to life-long servitude.
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THE REBEL CHIEF HANGED; LOUIS RIEL PAYS THE PENALTY OF TREASON-FELONY. HIS EXECUTION CREATES INTENSE EXCITEMENT THROUGHOUT CANADA--THE GOVERNMENT DENOUNCED.
New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Nov 17, 1885. pg. 1, 1 pgs
Abstract (Summary)

REGINA, Nov. 16.--The last act in the Riel rebellion occurred in the jail yard of the mounted police barracks at Regina this morning, when Riel suffered death for treason-felony. Sunday morning he awoke very early, and declared to his guards that he had another vision from heaven.

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BATTLE FLAGS AND SCALPS.; LIEUT. HOWARD EXHIBITS HIS COLLECTION OF RIEL REBELLION RELICS.
New York Times (1857-Current file). New York, N.Y.: Jul 18, 1886. pg. 8, 1 pgs
Abstract (Summary)

Louis Riel's battle flag is now floating in Waterbury. It is nothing but an ordinary linen table cloth, bearing at one end, sewed on, a steel engraving, "Notre Dame de Lourdes," with considerable holy writing on the back of it. Beneath it is written the full pedigree of the Riel family down to Louis, who paid the penalty of ...
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Louis Riel

LOUIS RIEL'S INSURRECTION.; Later Advices Indicate that No Indians Have Joined Him.
The Washington Post (1877-1954). Washington, D.C.: Mar 27, 1885. pg. 1, 1 pgs


Abstract (Summary)
OTTAWA, Ont., March 26. -- The government has received no information of any collision between the mounted police and Riel. The so-called rebellion is confined to a small district near Fort Carleton, on the outskirts of the Prince Albert settlement. Riel is reported to have about 100 followers, forty of them Indians and the rest half-breeds.
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IN THE NORTHWEST.; A FULL ACCOUNT OF THE SITUATION OF THE REVOLT. Louis Riel Gathering Indians and Half-Breeds to His Support -- Gen. Middle- ton Heard From at Last.
The Washington Post (1877-1954). Washington, D.C.: May 3, 1885. pg. 1, 1 pgs
Abstract (Summary)

WINNIPEG, Manitoba, May 2. -- Yesterday afternoon a courier arrived at Qu'Appelle from Fish Creek, the scene of the recent battle, bearing dispatches to Indians at that point, with the object of inciting them to join the rebels. One of these letters, written by Gabriel Dumont, Riel's lieutenant, to Pieapot, was forwarded to some half-breed sympathizers in Winnipeg.

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RIEL'S FATE IS SETTLED.; HE IS NOTIFIED IN HIS CELL THAT HE MUST HANG. He Receives the News Calmly and Talks with Apparent Cheerfulness of His Approaching End.
The Washington Post (1877-1954). Washington, D.C.: Nov 16, 1885. pg. 1, 1 pgs
Abstract (Summary)

REGINA, Nov. 15. -- The special messenger, bringing the warrant signed by the Governor General of Canada, directing that the execution of Louis Riel, leader of the Canadian Half-breeds in their recent rebellion, should take place in accordance with the verdict of the jury which tried him, arrived here on a special train at 8 o'clock to-night.

Louis Riel Day

As you may (or may not) be aware, yesterday was Louis Riel Day in Manitoba (as opposed to Family Day here in Ontario). This proud holiday dates all the way back to last year - 2008. It was also the day that was chosen by the Manitoba Metis Federation to unveil several jailhouse poems written by Riel that they recently purchased at auction. This might make an interesting afterword to the exhibit.

I'm posting links to a few news stories on the events, one from the Globe and Mail, and two from the Winnipeg Free Press, for your interest.

From the Globe: <http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20090216.wriel17/EmailBNStory/National/home>

From the Free Press:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/Riels-contributions-to-Canada-praised-39684707.html

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/After-more-than-a-century-Louis-Riels-final-poems-displayed-in-public.html

Summary by Beady I's

A point of clarification: I think we should define the terms Métis and Half-Breed. Sherry Farrell Racette, a Métis art scholar, has proposed a respectful usage of the term Half-Breed which originally referred to mixed-blood peoples who were of English descent. The term Métis today refers to both Métis of French and English descent. Historically, Métis referred to the peoples of Aboriginal and French Canadian descent, but the term is now used to encompass members of the Métis Nation throughout Canada.
Who exactly is Métis? This is a difficult question as there are many interpretations of what Métis means. In general, Métis means mixed-blood, but it also refers to a group of Aboriginal people, with distinct traditions, cultures and languages. Predominantly in the nineteenth century, there was a large group of Métis living at the Red River Settlement in Manitoba. Several groups of Métis then dispersed from this community across Canada including the Northwest Territories.

(Barbara A. Hail and Kate C. Duncan note “The descendents of Indians and Europeans have been referred to variously as Métis, mixed-blood, michif, half-breed, bois brule and non-status Indians.” Barbara A. Hail and Kate C. Duncan, Out of the north: the subarctic collection of the Haffenreffer Museum of Anthropology (Bristol, R.I.: The Museum, 1989), 22.

Context of the era
Feeling associated with exhibition – Urgency
Cultural temperament
Anxiety, unease, disillusionment between farmers, Métis, Half-Breeds, due to land settlements, scrips, lack of government funding for First Nations people and farm equipment, relief aid

As Guy Lavalee notes, “At the time, the economy of the Métis, hunting of various kinds, fishing and trapping, was well integrated to the land and to the environment and was highly successful, much more successful than the Scots who tried farming! For the Métis people, the ‘unsurrections’ of 1869 at Red River and the ‘rebellion’ of 1885 at Batoche, were caused by the fear of losing their central position in the existing economy. Confederation as understood by the MacDonald government meant marginalization to the Métis, cut off from their economy.” ( Lavalee 1988:15)

Clothing
Both European and Aboriginal styles influenced their clothing. Métis women, according to Harrison, were also influenced strongly by the Grey Nuns, a catholic mission established throughout the Red River Settlement. Women would draw inspiration from the Cathedral decorations as well as the European-influenced designs taught by the religious women. Harrison notes that the sashes the Métis men wore were a style adopted from the fur traders, and were worn for practical reasons. Harrison makes no mention of the symbolic significance that the sash may have held for Métis people, as a signifier of a distinct nation.

Michif Language
According to Lavalee, “The Métis molded the aboriginal and settler languages into coherent patterns which reflected their own cultural and historical circumstances. Over the generations, grammatical structure, accent and idiom transformed into peculiarly Métis usages. And what was peculiarly Métis varied, of course, from place to place and from group to group, reflecting as it did the unique linguistic, cultural and historical antecedents of each group.” (Lavalee 1988: 171) There are four main Michif related languages; Michif Cree, Michif French, Ojibway and Swampy Cree. At St. Laurent, Michif French is prominent.

Michif is a unique language that combines Cree and French. Verbs are Cree while nouns are Michif-French in origin (2001:177). Peter Baaker notes that the influence of the Ojibway or Anishnaabe is also present in the Métis language, due to intermarriage between French men and Ojibway women (2001: 178).
Baaker makes a strong argument for the creation and evolution of the Michif language. He notes that many Aboriginal women married French men and would then teach their children their indigenous language. Usually the child became proficient in the mother’s language. With the second generations of Métis, the children would mix indigenous language such as Cree with French and the Michif language developed. Baaker states “When the mothers of the first generation speak a language different from the fathers, the new mixed languages of their descendants, if they are a considerable group, appear to combine the grammatical system of the mother’s language and the lexicon of the father’s”(2001: 179).

One thing we need to clarify is the type of Michif dialect we could use, because there are several. Perhaps we could use Michif French?


Regarding our aim to have a Michif speaker, we will have to decide – what languages were they speaking at Red River, or more specifically Batoche? Probably Michif French? Michif French, by 1900s in St. Laurent, came to be seen as less prestigious than French, introduced by Bretons, in 1900s (Lavalee 1988:181). The Michif language for the Métis people at St. Laurent is a strong signifier of their identity, kept up during 20th century, taught in home.

Music
Métis music and dance, like identity, has been influenced by a combination of Scottish, French and Aboriginal influences. Métis depend on oral tradition to pass on knowledge, so songs were not recorded on paper, but rather passed through humming and singing. Lynn Whidden notes the similarities between Métis and Aboriginal musical traditions, such as the use of the “one beat pulse” throughout a composition. The origin of the fiddle and the Red River Jig in Métis culture, argued by Whidden, can be traced in particular to the Desjarlais family, part of the Red River Settlement (2001: 169). The songs of the Métis draw on French, English, Cree and Michif traditions. (2001:174).
Perhaps we could have a recording of Métis fiddle music playing at the exhibition?
Possibly use the songs recorded by Lynn Whidden in “Métis Music” in Métis Legacy, 2001.

Settlement of the Prairies
Could perhaps include a scrip document?
Red River Settlement in 1870s
Both Métis and Half-Breeds felt they had a right to the land that they had settled on; many had farms along the Red River. These claims to the land however were ignored by the government, who created new ways of dividing the land into plots, which forced people off the land, to make room for Anglophone settlers, many from Ontario. With scrip, many Métis and Half-Breeds could either receive money or land in payment, however, the land plots were difficult to maintain, sometimes requiring a trip of great distance. After persecution in the 1870s -1880s, many Métis and Half-Breeds fled west to the subarctic, some went to Ontario and some set up a community at Batoche.

References
Bakker, Peter. “The Michif Language of the Métis.” In Métis Legacy, edited by Lawrence J. Barkwell, Leah Dorion, Darren R. Prefontaine, 177-179. Winnipeg: Pemmican Publications, 2001.

Harrison, Julia D. Métis: People between Two Worlds. Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre, 1985.

Hope, Adrian, Poem “Ode to the Métis.” In Métis Legacy, edited by Lawrence J. Barkwell, Leah Dorion,
Darren R. Prefontaine. Winnipeg: Pemmican Publications, 2001.
2001.

Hourie, Audreen. “Oral History of the Michif/ Métis People.” In Issues in the North, volume 1, edited by Jill Oakes and Rick Riewe, 129-132. Edmonton: Canadian Circumpolar Institute, University of Alberta, 1996.

Lavalee, Guy. The Métis people of St. Laurent, Manitoba, an introductory ethnology. Vancouver: University of British Colombia, 1988.

Whidden, Lynn. “Métis Music.” In Métis Legacy, edited by Lawrence J. Barkwell, Leah Dorion, Darren R. Prefontaine, 169-176. Winnipeg: Pemmican Publications, 2001.

Artifact List (add as we go?)

Artifacts

1. Painting of Battle of Batoche – CMC collection
Artifact # 78-589, “The Capture of Batoche”, oil
“At the battle of Batoche on 12 May 1885, Canadian militia units under Major General Frederick Middleton defeated the Métis nation. The artist is thought to have fought with the government forces and been wounded, but his painting was probably taken from a lithograph published in the Canadian Pictorial and Illustrated War News (30 May 1885, p. 68). Battle memorials in the form of descriptive paintings have a long history in Europe, a tradition that has been carried on in Canada.” (from website - http://collections.civilization.ca/public/pages/cmccpublic/emupublic/Display.php?irn=74345&QueryPage=%2Fpublic%2Fpages%2Fcmccpublic%2Femupublic%2FQuery.php&lang=0)

2. Ceinture fleche or sash
Artifact # III Z 35
Collection: CMC

3. Metis flag
Artifact # V Z 193
Collection: CMC

4. Photography box – used in communication
Artifact Number 996.2.1
Museum CMC
Place of Use Country - Canada, Province - Saskatchewan, Municipality - Regina
Place of Origin Country - no entry, Municipality - no entry
Inscription (spine/reliure) Riel &c/Photographs
Begin Date 1880/01/01
End Date 1890/12/31
Measurements Length 28.4 cm, Width 19.5 cm, Thickness 6.9 cm
Events Louis Riel North West Rebellion 1885
Category 06: tools and equipment for communication
Sub-category F080: photographic tools and equipment
Image Notes PHNG = S96-24551; S96-24552
Other Cultural Affiliation Canadian

5. Diary of events in Louis Riel’s trial “Autograph Book”
Artifact # 966.2.2
Collection: CMC
- has notes from Louis Riels trial, names of people involved – maybe we could show pages from it at the exhibit?


6. Piece of rope that hanged LR
Artifact # 996.2.3 a-c
Collection: CMC

7. Photograph
Artifact # 996.2.24
MuseumCMCPlace of UseCountry - no entry, Municipality - no entry
Place of OriginCountry - Canada, Province - Alberta, Municipality - Canmore
Inscription(front bottom/devant en bas) Morning Express Canmore (reverse, handwritten/verso écrit à la main) at CanmoreTitleMorning Express Canmore
Has image of people in front of train – Canmore in Alberta – showing the importance of communication

8. Print of guns going to Batoche
Artifact Number19850109-011
MuseumCWMCollectionBeaverbrook Collection of War Art Canadian War Museum
Person / InstitutionAssociated institution, Toronto War News
Associated institution, Harper's Weekly

9. Print of Capture of LR
Artifact Number19850109-021MuseumCWMCollectionBeaverbrook Collection of War Art Canadian War Museum
Person / InstitutionSubject, Riel, Louis
Place of UseCountry - Canada, Province - no entry, Municipality - no entry
Place of OriginCountry - no entry, Municipality - no entry
Artist/Maker/ManufacturerAnonymous
Date of Manufacture1885/08/01TitleTHE CAPTURE OF LOUIS RIEL BY THE SCOUTS ARMSTRONG AND HOWIE, MAY 15, 1885

10. Print of “Half Breeds” with LR
Artifact Number19850109-022MuseumCWMCollectionBeaverbrook Collection of War Art Canadian War Museum
Place of UseCountry - Canada, Province - no entry, Municipality - no entry
Place of OriginCountry - no entry, Municipality - no entry
Artist/Maker/ManufacturerAnonymous
Date of Manufacture1885/05/09TitleTHE REBELLION OF HALF BREEDS IN CANADA UNDER LOUIS RIEL

11. handcuff
Artifact Number20030122-004MuseumCWMPerson / InstitutionAssociated historical figure, Riel, Louis
Place of UseCountry - Canada, Province - no entry, Municipality - no entry
Place of OriginCountry - Canada, Province - no entry, Municipality - no entry
Begin Date1885/11/01End Date1885/11/30MeasurementsLength 27.0 cm, Width 10.0 cm, Thickness 1.5 cmEvents1885 North West RebellionService ComponentRoyal North West Mounted Police
Category05: tools and equipment for science and technology

12. rifles used in Rebellion
Artifact Number19620059-005MuseumCWMPlace of UseCountry - Canada, Province - no entry, Municipality - no entry
Place of OriginCountry - United States of America, Municipality - New Haven
Artist/Maker/ManufacturerWinchester Repeating Arms Company
Date of Manufacture1878InscriptionCarved in Buttstock: Cut Knife Creek, 2 May 1885, with the Indians; On triggerguard tang; 32325; On receiver tang: Model 1873Begin Date1878/01/01End Date1878/12/31MeasurementsHeight 21.1 cm, Length 109.5 cm, Width 4.6 cmEvents1885 North West RebellionBrand Name / Model(model) 1873 Second ModelPattern NameWinchester
Category05: tools and equipment for science and technology
Sub-categoryE060: armament, firearm

13 print of Dumont
Artifact Number19850109-012MuseumCWMCollectionBeaverbrook Collection of War Art Canadian War Museum
Person / InstitutionAssociated institution, The Montreal Star Publishing Co. Limited
Associated institution, Harper's Weekly
Subject, Dumont, Gabriel
Place of UseCountry - Canada, Province - no entry, Municipality - no entry
Place of OriginCountry - Canada, Province - no entry, Municipality - no entry
Artist/Maker/ManufacturerAnonymous
Date of Manufacture1885/05/09TitleDumont, Riel's Lieutenant; Haranguing A Detachment of Rebels; The Pursuit of Applegarth; The Fight at Duck Lake; The Fish Lake FightBegin Date1885/05/09End Date1885/05/09MeasurementsHeight 39.8 cm, Width 27.3 cmEvents1867-1899, North-West CampaignCategory08: communication artifacts
Sub-categoryH040: art
Image NotesIMREF = CWM96-09457


14 – Birch bark note used in NW rebellion – could probably get facsimile?
Artifact Number 20030283-001
Museum CWM
Person / Institution Associated Military Personnel, Middleton, Major-General Frederick Dobson
Place of Use Country - Canada, Province - Northwest Territories, Municipality - no entry
Place of Origin Country - Canada, Province - Northwest Territories, Municipality - no entry
Date of Manufacture 1885/01/01
Inscription (reverse/verso): This piece of Birch Bark, the property of C.S. Clapp, was cut, by him, from a tree on the banks of the South Saskatchewan River, N.W.T., during the Rebellion of 1885. He being on board the Str. "Northcote" with the Midland BATT. who were on their way to join Gen. Middleton at Fish Creek. South Saskatchewan River April 1885 C.S. Clapp Private "A" Co. MID. BATT BELLEVILLE 1893
Begin Date 1885/01/01
End Date 1885/01/01
Measurements Length 10.0 cm, Width 8.5 cm
Events 1885 North West Rebellion
Category 10: unclassifiable artifacts
Sub-category J020: artifact remnant

Notes from John

Reminder of what is involved in this western vision:

We begin with Riel, his surrender in May of 1885, and all communication circumstances surrounding the putting down of the Northwest Rebellion. But we must also be concerned with the consequences which are integral to the process: namely the resettlement of the Canadian Prairie. In the case of certain portions of Saskatchewan (See Bill Waiser’s book on Saskatchewan) and Alberta, the High River areas (Paul Voisey, High River and the Times); there is a two-step sequence of resettlement: first ranching, then wheat +mixed farming. The latter generates a different relationship to the land, a different ordering of elements in space and hence of infrastructure in space: including communication infrastructure: post offices, means of conveying mail, telegraph, telephone, newspapers…



The Last Spike

It might be interesting to know more about communication events surrounding the last spike in the fall of 1885. Check out Pierre Berton and also contemporary descriptions. Maybe a little something re the trial of Louis Riel. A propos I have a couple of books loaned by our plains ethnologist (Morgan Baillargeon): George R.D. Goulet The Trial of Louis Riel; Chester Brown, Louis Riel. A Comic-Strip Biography. There is more stuff out there than this.



Objects:

The CMC may be receiving some firearms that pertain to Batoche. I suggest you have a look at the Métis sections of the displays either in the Canada Hall, or in the First Nations display. I am not sure what they have at the Canadian War Museum. There there is the Mountie Museum out west….

Pete vs Carleton's Library's Exporter

Here are some secondary and primary resources care of Carleton's library Catalogue. I tried to put them into refworks, but failed miserably.

There is a good deal of microfilm data, of which a small sample is included here.

Henkin, David M.
The postal age : the emergence of modern communications in nineteenth-century America / David M. Henkin.
Chicago : University Of Chicago Press, 2006.
CALL # HE6371 .H46 2006.

Arnell, J. C.
Atlantic mails : a history of the mail service between Great
Britain and Canada to 1889 / J.C. Arnell ; with the editorial
collaboration of K.S. Mackenzie.
Ottawa : National Postal Museum, c1980.
CALL # HE6940.M3A72.

Smith, William, 1859-
The history of the post office in British North America,
Cambridge [Eng.] The University press, 1920.
CALL # HE6655.S7.

Amyot, Chantal.
Country post : rural postal service in Canada, 1880 to 1945 /
Chantal Amyot and John Willis.
Gatineau, Quebec : Canadian Postal Museum, c2003.
CALL # HE6655 .A455 2003.

Lee, Ian R. (Ian Richard), 1953-
The Canadian postal system: origins, growth and decay of the
state postal function, 1765-1981.
Ottawa., 1989.
CALL # PH.D. 1989.L42.

Canadian postal guide [electronic resource] : containing the
chief regulations of the Post Office, the rates of
postage ... / compiled by John Dewé.
Montreal : E. Pickup 1863.

Amyot, Chantal.
Special delivery [electronic resource] : Canada's postal heritage
/ Chantal Amyot, Bianca Gendreau, John Willis ; edited by
Francine Brousseau ; principal photography by Claire Dufour.
Fredericton, N.B. : Goose Lane Editions : Canadian Museum of
Civilization/Canadian Postal Museum, 2000.

Doherty, Bill, 1916-
Slaves of the lamp : a history of the federal civil service
organizations, 1865-1924 / Bill Doherty.
Victoria, B.C. : Orca Book Publishers, c1991.
CALL # JL108.D64.

Mulock, William, Sir, 1844-1944.
The administration of the Post Office Department [microform].
S.l. : s.n., 1900?]
CALL # FC18.C15 N. 34057.

Canadian Pacific Railway Company.
Canadian railway postal payments [microform].
[Montréal? : s.n., 1908?]
CALL # FC18.C15 N. 85775.

Great Britain. Colonial Office.
Conveyance of mails (North America) [electronic resource] :
return to an address of the Honourable the House of Commons,
dated 7 July 1859, for, Copies of all correspondence between
Her Majesty's government and the provincial government of
Canada, in reference to the conveyance of mails between this
country and British North America ; of an address to Her
Majesty ; ... and of all correspondence between Her Majesty's
government and the British and North American Royal Mail Steam
Packet Company or Sir Samuel Cunard, Baronet, on the subject of
the prolongation or renewal of the contract made with that
company for the conveyance of the mails to and from North
America.
[London : HMSO, 1859]

Adie, Douglas K.
The mail monopoly : analyzing Canadian postal service / Douglas
K. Adie.
Vancouver : Fraser Institute, c1990.
CALL # HE6655.A34.

The post office and the railway [microform].
[S.l. : s.n., 1863?]
CALL # FC18.C15 N. 23105.

Fleming, Sandford, Sir, 1827-1915.
Postal and telegraphic communication by the Canadian route
[microform] : submitted at the meetings of the Colonial
conference on the 19th and 20th April, 1887 / by Sandford
Fleming.
[Ottawa? : s.n., 1887?]
CALL # FC18.C15 N. 91412.

Drummond, A. T. (Andrew Thomas), 1843-1923.
Postal reform [microform] / by A.T. Drummond.
[Montreal? : s.n.], 1893 (Montreal : J. Lovell)
CALL # FC18.C15 N. 03927.

Conference Colonial Conference (1887 : London, England)
Proceedings of the Colonial Conference at London, in 1887
[microform] : in relation to imperial postal and telegraphic
communications throughout Canada.
Ottawa : Printed by order of Parliament by B. Chamberlin, 1888.
CALL # FC18.C15 N. 03397.

Media sense; the folklore-popular culture continuum.
Bowling Green, Ohio, State U. Popular P., 1986.
CALL # FC95.M43.

Heyer, Paul, 1946-
Communications and history : theories of media, knowledge, and
civilization / Paul Heyer.
New York : Greenwood Press, 1988.
CALL # P91.H49.

Hindley, M. Patricia, 1934-
The tangled net : basic issues in Canadian communications / M.
Patricia Hindley, Gail M. Martin, Jean McNulty ; foreword by
George Woodcock.
Vancouver : J.J. Douglas, c1977.
CALL # P92.C3 H55.

Friesen, Gerald, 1943-
Citizens and nation; an essay on history, communication and
Canada.
Toronto, University of Toronto Press., 1999.
CALL # FC95.F74.

Communication and the Canadian North.
Montreal, Concordia U., Dept. of Communication Studies., 1983.
CALL # HE215.Z7N828.

Kenney, Gerard I., 1931-
People communications in Canada's north. Part II. The solution.
Montreal, Arctic Institute of North America., 1971.
CALL # P94.5.I532C36.


Harlow, Alvin Fay, 1875-
Old wires and new waves; the history of the telegraph, telephone
and wireless.
New York, Arno., 1971-1936.
CALL # TK5115.H3.

Dudley, Leonard, 1943-
The word and the sword : how techniques of information and
violence have shaped our world / Leonard M. Dudley.
Cambridge, Mass., USA : B. Blackwell, c1991.
CALL # JC325.D83.

Lucy, Niall.
Beyond semiotics : text, culture and technology / Niall Lucy.
London ; New York : Continuum, 2001.

Green, Lelia, 1956-
Communication, technology and society / Lelia Green.
London : SAGE, 2002.
CALL # HM846 .G74 2002.

O'Donnell, James Joseph, 1950-
Avatars of the word : from papyrus to cyberspace / James J.
O'Donnell.
Cambridge, Mass. : Harvard University Press, 1998.
CALL # P96.T42O36.

How Canadians communicate [electronic resource] : media,
globalization, and identity / edited by David Taras, Maria
Bakardjieva, and Frits Pannekoek.
Calgary [Alta.] : University of Calgary Press, c2007

Letters, diaries, and journals in Ontario Archives

Letter, Geo T. Denison (Humboldt) to W.A. Foster (Toronto) | June 17, 1885
Though pleased with the outcome of the Battle of Batoche, he deplores
"the fullsome flattery of the Press"  and "the braggart boasting of many men
who have written home letters which have been published."  Sympathetic to
the Indians, he makes harsh reference to the "breach of faith" which led to
Col. Otter's attack on Poundmaker.
F 70  William A. Foster fonds
Item is located in F 70, container B299654

Letter, Col. A. Sproat, Garrison Prince Albert, to A.E. Belcher | May 18, 1885
re the North West Rebellion, mentioning the capture of Riel, the great anxiety
during the campaign, praises Irvine but has no use for Dewdney.
F 18  Alexander Emerson Belcher fonds.
Item is found on self serve microfilm reel MS 93.

Panorama #172 | Film
Item is a film featuring two stories consisting of the following:
100-year-old Billy Mills is interviewed about the Riel Rebellion, smoking,
sports and new year’s resolutions.
F 4396-7-1  CFPL-TV Farm Shows and other films
Item is located in F 4396-7-1, container T004953

A Psycho-Medical History of Louis Riel, by Dr. Daniel Clark | July 1887.
Clark was Medical Superintendent of the Asylum for Insane in Toronto.
F 2-3  Published material collected by Edward Blake
Item is located in F 2-3, container B226552

Discours de L'Hon. J.A. Chaplea, M.P., sur L'Execution de Louis Riel,
Chambre des Communes, March 24, 1886.
F 2-3  Published material collected by Edward Blake
Item is located in F 2-3, container B226552

                                                   

Selected Manitoba resources relating to Louis RIel

Archives of Manitoba records

Letter from Louis Riel to his wife Marguerite, written from the prison in Regina, October 5, 1885
Archives of Manitoba P5563, f.12

Riel family correspondence and poetry, 1869-1923
Archives of Manitoba MG3 D2

George A. Flinn fonds, 1884-1935
Diary of George A. Flinn, newspaper correspondent, 24 March-11 June 1885; memoirs written in 1935; correspondence and papers, 1884-1935, including an account of the trial and execution of Louis Riel.
Archives of Manitoba MG3 C13a-b

Charles A. Boulton fonds, 1855-1961
Charles A. Boulton (1841-1899) was part of a Dominion Land Survey party sent to the Red River Settlement in 1869. He organized a group of volunteers to try to suppress the Red River Rebellion by Louis Riel and in 1885, he led a group of militia to help put down the North-West Rebellion. Records include correspondence, articles, speeches, invitations and genealogical material, including a description of the capture of Louis Riel in 1885
Archives of Manitoba MG3 C13

Alexander Ross Family fonds, 1810-1903
Alexander Ross (1783-1856) was an author, fur trader and prominent citizen of Red River
Archives of Manitoba MG2 C14; #380, 396, 399, 402, 411, 430, 447-8 & 500

Alexander Morris fonds, 1839-1913
Alexander Morris (1826-1889), Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba. Correspondence, letters and papers
Archives of Manitoba MG12 B2

Photographs
Louis Riel, ca 1876. Photographer: Hall and Lowe
Archives of Manitoba Louis Riel 1 (N5730)

Louis Riel, ca 1873
Archives of Manitoba Louis Riel 2-3 (N5735)

Louis Riel and Council, [1870]. Photographer: Joseph Langevin
Archives of Manitoba Red River Disturbance 1 (N5396)

General Middleton's note to Big Bear | June 2, 1885

Letters, diaries, and journals in LAC collection

Letters, diaries, and journals in LAC collection

Louis Riel - documents and papers relating to Louis Riel and his part in the North West rebellion (includes copies of documents found on his person at the time he was captured).
MIKAN no. 879978 | RG18-B-5 2477
Finding aid no. 18-12

Prime Minister (Canada) - Series of telegrams on the subject of Riel Rebellion.
MIKAN no. 1822039 | RG25-B-1-a 124
Finding aid no. 25-71

Note to Big Bear from General Sir Fred Middleton [textual record]. Item is a note, dated 2 June 1885, from General Middleton demanding that Big Bear surrender and release his prisoners.
MIKAN no. 98287 | MG29-E23 1

North West Field Force fonds [textual record]. Fonds consists of a list of wounded in the fighting before Batoche, dated 13 May 1885, and three receipt books for supplies received from the commissary officers for delivery to supply offices at Battleford and Clark's Crossing; and brigade orders, photocopy, dated 29 March to 29 April 1885.
MIKAN no. 101426 | MG29-E75 1
Finding aid no. 5

Journal of John Tomkins [textual record (microfilm)]. Item is a microfilmed journal of John Tomkins, an Indian Agent, covering the period 20 March - 30 June, and 20 September 1885. Entries indicate discussions and battles with the Indians in the Battleford and Prince Albert areas of Saskatchewan. Other topics covered include: the issuance of food and provisions to the Indians; lists of provisions required; crop sowing; the movements of Louis Riel and General Middleton; and their own voyage to Duck Lake. This material is located on microfilm reel M-1965.
MIKAN no. 98437 | MG29-E102 M-1965
Finding aid no. 5

Diary of Lewis Wallbridge's service [textual record]. Item is a diary of Lewis Wallbridge's service with "A" Company of the Midland Battalion during the Northwest Rebellion of 1885. Wallbridge describes the train journey west, the forced march from Swift Current to Saskatchewan Landing, the voyage down the South Saskatchewan River by the steamer NORTHCOTE and the battle of Batoche as well as the marches to Prince Albert, Battleford and Frog Lake. Originals, 130 pages.
MIKAN no. 98233 | MG29-E119 2
Finding aid no. 5

Captain James Peters album 1 [photographic material]. File consists of snapshots taken by Captain James Peters, officer of 'A' Battery of the Regiment of Canadian Artillery. Personal activities of military life as well as military parades and formal activities at Quebec City. Captain Peters is known as Canada's first military photographer. Inludes a photograph of Louis Riel outside the prisoner's tent where he was held captive at Batoche. Northwest Rebellion of 1884-85.
MIKAN no. 156505 | R2547-2-3-E

Charles Salyer Clapp fonds [textual record]. Fonds consists of a handwritten reminiscence of Clapp's service with "A" Company of the Midland Battalion during the Northwest Rebellion in 1885, recounting incidents during the train journey west, including the passage of the gaps in the railway around Lake Superior. There are also descriptions of the forced march of "A" and "C" Companies of the Battalion from Swift Current to Saskatchewan Landing and the descent of the South Saskatchewan River by the steamer Northcote. The manuscript ends with an account by Clapp of the Battle of Batoche. Original, 38 pages.
MIKAN no. 101502 | MG29-E103 2
Finding aid no. 5

William Thomas Wrighton fonds [textual record]. Fonds consists of letters from Color Sergeant William Thomas Wrighton to a Mr. Hewton describing the march across Lake Superior and to Battleford, the ensuing battle with the rebels at Batoche, the wounding of Sergeant Wrighton, and his subsequent recuperation at the Moose Jaw Hospital, 13 April, 12 June 1885.
MIKAN no. 101429 | MG29-E82 1
Finding aid no. 5

Harold Penryn Rusden fonds [textual record]. Fonds consists of extracts from the LONDON GAZETTE, 7 August 1885, containing despatches from Major General F. Middleton relating to engagements in the Northwest and a list of killed and wounded at Batoche, annotated by Harold Penryn Rusden, 10 pages; and handwritten accounts by Rusden of the Northwest Rebellion, consisting of "Notes on the Suppression of the Northwest Insurrection", 97 pages, "The Steamer Northcote and her work in conjunction with the column", 8 pages, and "A tough time for Scouting in the N.W.", 11 pages.
MIKAN no. 101414 | MG29-E64 1

Letter from Charles Tupper to John A. Macdonald May 15, 1885
MIKAN no. 511528


Graphic Material

Reporter's Brigade at the Riel trial. Photograph.
MIKAN no. 3233088 | Copy negative 1977-241 NPC PA-120254

Erection of a monument to the memory of the men killed in the Riel Rebellion.
MIKAN no. 867949 | RG18-B-1 1025
Finding aid no. 18-7

Souvenir Number of the Illustrated War News, being a history of Riel's Second Rebellion.
MIKAN no. 2956869 | Copy negative 19XX-XXX C-011539

Plan Of the Position At The Battle Of Batoche May 12th 1885. From a Sketch made by Messrs. Burrows and Denny of the Surveyors. Intelligence Corps. "The Canadian Pictorial & Illustrated War News. Vol. I, No. 13, Saturday, June 27, 1885" (unverified)
MIKAN no. 2945531

The Capture of Batoche. This print was published with numerical notations on the image and corresponding key to notations, all inscribed below the image. The lithograph is after sketches by Sergt. Grundy and others, according to printed inscription. Present location barcode: 2000792071, Gat. Vault 7, Bay 4, Shelf 19
MIKAN no. 2999644

Canada - Fighting in the North West, [1885]. Illustration for the front cover of Frand Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper, for the week ending May 23, 1885. With text on page 223. See acc. no. 1984-207-2.
MIKAN no. 2937011 | Box A284-02 Item no. assigned by LAC 1

Citizens and Nation, or Space and Time and Talk in Canadian History

This is the book I found this weekend in the basement of a little used book store a few blocks from the Department of History at the University of Toronto's downtown campus. The cover picture was a horrendous choice and suggests the publisher cared more about catching people on the title and the idea of Emily Carr as Nationalist Painter, but the book has little if anything to do with Carr.

Instead it looks at different societies within the geographic space of Canada and, particularly, how they communicate in mundane, economic, cultural, and wider discourse. It's a bit simplistic (which might be an understatement) at times, but it is effective in debasing the idea that Canadian history is that of Reformers and Tories.

I'll talk more about it tomorrow, but it's emphasis is on communication and how it changes and is used differently by different culture groups--and ultimately how different forms merge in the hybrid spaces (and sometimes bodies) that have occurred in Canada. Friesen also challenges standard, European, conceptions of time and space.

This latter point might be something to think about as, Friesen argues, ideas of time and space help to define what is communicated and how that occurs in social contexts. He doesn't quite get into questions of power, but it is definitely implied (or read in to the text on my part).

Another way of thinking of the question is through the idea of "movable knowledge,"** which generally refers to turning information into material (or electronic) form and transmitting it through space and time to somewhere and, effectively, sometime else. Technology, as well as cultural ideas regarding space and time, is an important but not necessarily dominant factor.

The question is translating this way of thinking into the language of the target audience and the sense of urgency required of us. I think it's doable, and it will also allow us to frame the topic in a more unconvential and edgy, and I hope intriguing, light.

More tomorrow (and hopefully I'll have a chance to read more--I've only read the first part so far!)


**This is, as far as I know, a term coined by French science studies thinker Bruno Latour, or one of his translators. It came up in one of the most interesting papers from the conference last weekend.

School Maps

This map is from either David Duncan's (of Manitoba) 1905 History of the Canadian People, authorized for use in the Western Provinces during the early decades of the 20th Century and in Ontario until 1910, or from the 1910 rip off of Duncan's book cleverly titled The Ontario Public School History of Canada, authorized for use in this province into the early 1920s.

The simplicity of this map is intentional, but I won't get into the pedagogy, ect, here.

The Hanging of Luis Riel

http://metis.tripod.com/Louis.html
The Hanging of Louis Riel

In 1885, front page headlines across Canada, The news stories reported on one of the most important events in the history of Canada, the execution of Louis Riel. At the time of the execution many newspapers across Canada printed accounts and reactions to the hanging of Riel.

At the time, The Manitoba Daily Free Press located in Winnipeg printed a total of 12 separate stories on the execution. In the March 16, 1997 issue of the The Winnipeg Free Press, these original stories were reprinted.







http://metis.tripod.com/
MDumont.html
Michel Dumonts Report

St. Vincent, Minn, Nov 16. Michel Dumont, half brother to Gabriel, arrived at St. Vincent yesterday, and went to Neche today expecting his family. He says there is no question of RielÕs insanity even at the time of the rebellion, that they know of his intention to surrender at Batoche, and that they searched three hours for him before leaving intending to tie him on a horse and take him with them to Montana.



Photo of Gabriel Dumont brother of Michel Dumont



http://metis.tripod.com/The_interview.html

An Interview - Toronto, Nov. 10,1885

The Globe this morning containing a telegram from its Regina correspondent giving what is declared to be a bona fide interview with Riel. After referring to the reasons which led him to cross the line, he said, When I was asked to come from Montana the half-breeds wanted me to petition, and I did so, and an answer resulted in an increase of police. I had no protection at all, and reports and threats came from all quarters about me, and agitation was considered a thing out of place by many in Saskatchewan, and the Government began having special constables at all meetings. The police are out of place. If they would give us our rights instead of keeping guard over us, men so employed could be kept to much better purpose in developing the country.

I wish the Dominion Government would book one seventh of our land and compute that as capital and give us for the present what interest they could on that capital, and as the country became more prosperous increase that interest, still retaining the capital. He then wandered off on the subject of Divine mission, and said, Since December 8, 1875, the year I was banished, God has appointed me his prophet, and all my points are as clear as water of the purest fountain. With the many interests bound against us it was impossible man should succeed, and I was praying day and might that God would grant me mercy and help men in my extremity. Before consenting to the invitation I told them to give me six hours for prayer and confession, and next morning, with Gabriel Dumont and Michael Dumais, went to confession and received communion. When twenty-four hours had expired, God showed me what good I would be doing the country. In the Gospel it is said: From him that asketh thee turn not against. They wanted to borrow my help, and I thought it not christianlike for me to refuse to give it. The first difficulty arose a Duck Lake, where Major Crozier came with cannons to fetch oats from our settlement. If he was justified in using cannon to fetch oats, why were we not justified in using small guns in defending our lands.

The parish of St. Louis de Langevin had been completely sold with the property of twenty-four families, and they could not get even an appearance of a title, and chapel, priests house, all ground, and everything were taken away, and this only is an instance of the injustice under which we labored. Then followed some revelations, after which the guard notified me that my time had expired. As I turned to go away Riel said: I want to tell you one thing more; last night I had a vision and way the bucket, but did not kick it. It was another man who kicked it. I think it was Langevin. This was symbolical of his belief that he would not hang.





http://metis.tripod.com/another_account.html

Another Account - Regina, N.W.T. , Nov. 16

Louis David Riel was executed on the scaffold at the barracks of the Mounted Police, for high treason against the Queen of Great Britain, at 8:23 0 clock. The same extraordinary precaution against the possible escape of Riel or intrusion into the barracks by unauthorized persons, was observed again this morning. At a mile from the barracks mounted patrols challenged all persons and compelled them to disclose written passes. Two other lines of guards were stationed at points nearer the posts. Here the same precautions were observed. No one was permitted to enter the guard room until 8:12 O clock. The scene presented there was Riel on the scaffold with Pere Andre and Father McWilliam with him celebrating mass, Riel on bended knees, wearing a loose woollen surtout, gray trousers and woollen shirt. On his feet were moccasins, the only feature of his dress that partook of the Indian that was in him. He received the notice to proceed to the scaffold in the same composed manner shown the preceding night on receiving warning of his fate. His face was full of color, and he appeared to have complete self-possession, responding to the service in a clear tone. The prisoner decided only a moment before starting to the scaffold not to make a speech. This owing to the earnest solicitation of both priests attending him. He displayed an inclination at the last moment to make an address, but Pere Andre reminded him of his promise, and he then arose and walked toward the executioner, repeating prayers to the last moment. The final words escaping him being Mercie Jesus. He died without a struggle. Not to exceed twenty persons were admitted within the confines of the barracks to witness the execution.

Before the Execution - Regina Nov.16
Riel has been confined in the guard room of the Mounted Police barracks, whose headquarters post is located on the open prairie, three miles west of the city, ever since the conclusion of his trial here in the month of July. The leader of the Metis in their second revolt against the authority of the Canadian Government has been kept under the closest surveillance by the force stationed here. Ever since the denial of the Imperial Council of Great Britain to overturn the verdict rendered against him, capionage has been more strict than before, both to guard against the escape of their state prisoner and to prevent any attempt at rescue which might be made by his countrymen in Canada or over the American border. Ninety men were told off for this duty, on Saturday might and last night even this number was increased, videttas occupying commanding points a mile from the barracks and a double cordon about the camp proper.

The prison of Riel is a long wooden structure, one story in height, with long slanting roof and small windows under the eaves, grated with iron. The two reliefs of the guard occupied the rooms in the front portion of the building, while six sentinels paced up and down continuously outside the structure. Another sentinel paced in front of the cell of the condemned half-breed and the precautions extended as far that the officer of the guard was compelled to visit and certify that he had visited his prisoner each quarter hour. Never was a captive more zealously guarded, and possibly never was a captive during the full period of his imprisonment less in need of watchmen in his outward department. Whatever his character may have been in the field as a martial leader of his countrymen, in prison he has fallen little short of a religieux. His time has been devoted assiduously to prayer. Even when given his constitutional on the open ground adjoining the guard-room for an hour each morning, he has paced back and forth with his hands clasped together in front, his head bowed with prayers issuing from his lips, voiced in either the French or Indian Cree tongue. Soon after his capture by the Canadian troops he professed to throw off his allegiance to the Roman Catholic Church and took the guise of a prophet, claiming to see various and foretelling events. latterly, as his fate seemed more surely sealed, he has sought comfort again of his original faith, and his constant and almost only companion for the past two weeks has been Pere Andre, from Prince Albert, close to the scene of the recent rebellion. The churchmanÕs visits have been paid twice daily, and in his absence Riel was frequently kneeling at his couch in prayer.

The remainder of his time has been spent in writing out predictions of the future and a defence of his conduct in leading the half-breeds twice to war. These papers have all bee entrusted to Pere Andre, and will doubtless be produced at some time in the future, although the prelate refuses what his credentials, was permitted to surrender them now. No one, no matter what his credentials, were permitted to passed through the guard room to see the prisoner in his cell, and the immediate friends of the condemned man even did not see him, though no restriction was placed upon them. He received a few days ago a letter from his aged mother which affected him visibly, but at no other time during his confinement did he show any signs of the weakness which was imputed to him after his capture by the Canadian scouts.

The strict privacy of the prisoner was broken down for the first time yesterday when the representative of the associated press was permitted to visit the prisoner in company of the sheriff and the commandant of the mounted police. This was on the occasion of the formal announcement that his death warrant had arrived, The charm of the rebels manner was undeniable. He anticipated what the sheriff would say in his own greeting: Well, you have come with the great announcement. I am glad. He spoke slowly, but very distinctly, looking at the Sheriff with resolute eye and without a tinge of braggadocio. He rallied the Sheriff when the latter suggested that he should not speak too long. You think I will speak too long; that I will be unnerved. Oh, no At the last moment I will be firm, There was a trace of the French patois in his accent which did not lessen the charm of his speech. His beard was dark brown, neatly trimmed, and his hair was brushed back from his high forehead with a tendency to curl in contrast to the straight hair of his Indian progenitors. His nose was slightly Roman, and his skin dark but not swarthy. Looking at him and witnessing his manner it was easy to discern the influence he had with his people.

His address was that of a skilled courtier, and his college training had never deserted him in the perfection and grace of his speech, all the more remarkable in contrast with that of his followers. While it has been charged that he showed a lack of spirit on the battle field or in the presence of danger, no one would urge it against him in witnessing the non-chalance in his bearing and the suavity of his speech in acknowledging the fiat of his doom. The stoicism lent by the savage strain in his blood, it would be conceded stood him in good stead as he made his final plea, that he was urged on in his career by the motive of a patriot. I have only the, (striking his breast) to leave: and this I tendered to my country fifteen years ago, am willing to give now.Ó Beyond the prelate who wisited him it was the fate of Riel that there were none of his former companions, either from political or personal fear, that found their way to his cell, and beyond the announcement of the results of the various stages of his trial he had no knowledge of passing events or criticism passed upon his career. His concluding hours were passed in the sole company of his spiritual adviser, who performed masses for hime during the early portion of the night. Riel then lay down and appeared to sleep soundly, awaking at an early hour, and again resuming his devotions.








http://metis.tripod.com/Chronology.html

Chronology of Riels Life

The chronology of RielÕs life, up to the time of the rebellion, is as follows:
1847 - Born at St. Boniface
1853 - First attends school at St. Boniface town hall
1856 - Goes to Montreal and attends the Jesuit college
1866 - Returns to his home in Manitoba
1867 - Clerk in a store in St. Paul, Minnesota
1868 - Returns home and becomes a farmer in St. Vital
1869 - July 29 - First meeting of half-breeds and others at court house, St. Boniface to demand a portion of the money the Hudsons Bay Company was to receive from Canada
Oct 19 - Hon. William Macdougall warned not to enter the Northwest
Oct 20 - Riels followers assemble on the banks of the River Salle to oppose McDougalls advance
Oct 20 - McDougall retreats across the lines to Pembina
Nov 3 - The insurgents take possession of Fort Garry
Nov 16, 17 - Meeting of 24 deputies at St. Boniface to arrange a programme in Riels interest
Dec 1 - Mr. McDougall issues a proclamation against the rebels
Dec 6 - A Government proclamation of amnesty granted
Dec 7 - Dr. Schultz and forty-four Canadians captured and imprisoned by Riels force.
Dec 8 - Riels Provisional Government formed
1870
Jan 7 - Archbishop Tache asked to mediate by the Government of Canada
Jan 11 - The Archbishop agrees to do so
Feb 14 to 16 - Major Boulton attempts to organize a force to march against Riel. Sir John Macdonald authorizes Archbishop Tache to proclaim a general amnesty, and to assure the insurgents the Canadian Government would stand between them and all harm
Feb 17 - Major Boulton and 47 others captured and imprisoned by Riel
Mar 4 - Archbishop Tache arrives at Red River and in a letter written June 9, states that he promised, in the name of Imperial and Canadian Governments, both to the insurgents generally and to Riel and Lepine in particular, a full amnesty for every breach of the law of which they had been guilty, including the murder of Scott.
Mar 11 - Archbishop Tache meets Riel and Lepine and others, and promises them an amnesty in the name of the Governor-General
Mar 24 - Father Ritchot, Judge Black, and Mr. A. Scott start for Ottawa as delegates to present the claims of the Provisional Government to the Dominion authorities
April 11 - They arrive at Ottawa
June 17 - They return to Fort Garry, and Father Ritchot assures Archbishop Tache that a full and complete amnesty was promised by the Governor-General and Sir Clinton Murdoch in the name of the Queen
June 24 - The Red River delegates make their report to the representatives of the river settlement and the Provisional Government notifies the Secretary of State that the people of the settlement agree to enter into the Canadian Confederation
July 12 - Sir George E. Cartier, in a letter to Archbishop Tache, corroborates Father Ritchots statements regarding the amnesty promised
Aug 24 - Arrival of WolseleyÕs force at Fort Garry
Oct 3 - Proclamation issued by Lieutenant-Governor Archibald asking for volunteers to serve against the Fenians
Oct 4 - Meeting at St. Vital, at which Riel urges his friends to aid the Government against the Fenians
Oct 7 - Lieutenant-Governor Archibald receives a letter from Riel and Lepine and Parenteau announcing the organization of several companies of Metis for service against the Fenians, and containing assurances of loyalty
Oct 8 - The Lieutenant-Governor accepts the proffered assistance, and, through his Secretary of State, addresses Riel and Lepine an official reply, complimenting them on the loyalty they had shown and the assistance they had rendered. He also reviewed the troops under Riel and Lepine and their companions, and publicly shook hands with them. In his communication to Sir John Macdonald on the subject, he said, If the Dominion has at this moment a province to defend and not one to conquer, they owe it to the policy of forbearance. If I had driven the French half-breeds into the hands of the enemy, O Donohue would have been joined by all the population between the Assiniboine and the frontier. Fort Garry would have passed into the hands of an armed mob, and the English settlers to the north of the Assiniboine would have suffered horrors it makes me shudder to contemplate.
Dec 27 - Sir John Macdonald, sends a private and confidential communication to Archbishop Tache, announcing that her has made an arrangement regarding Riel, and enclosing a sight draft on the Bank of Montreal for $1,000 to aid him in leaving the country.
1872
Jan 1 - Archbishop Tache consults with Riel and Lepine, and they are finally prevailed upon to leave the country on condition that they are furnished with $1,600 each.
Jan 1 - At the suggestion of Lieutenant-Governor Archibald, Donald A. Smith advanced 600 pounds to be added to the $1,000 provided by Sir John Macdonald, the understanding being, that Mr. Smith was to be reimbursed by the Dominion Government.
Feb - Riel and Lepine leave the Northwest by private conveyance, Mr. Plainval, chief police, sending several of his men with them to protect them in case of danger.
Sept 14 - Riel declines the nomination for the House of Commons for Provencher in favor of Sir George Cartier.
1873
June 4 - the Imperial Government is asked by order-in-council, approved by Lord Dufferin, to deal with the question of amnesty for Riel and his associates.
July 24 - Lord Kimberly, Secretary of State for the Colonies, reports the Imperial authorities willing to do so.
Oct - Riel is returned for Provencher by acclamation
1874
Jan 22 - Riel is again returned for Provencher
Mar 28, 29 or 30 - He signs the roll in the Clerks room, House of Commons.
April 16 - He is expelled from the House by a vote of 124 to 68
Sept 3 - He is again elected for Provencher
Oct 10 - Lepine is capitally convicted of the murder of Scott at the Winnipeg assizes
Oct 15 - A warrant of outlawry is issued by the Court of QueenÕs Bench of Manitoba against Riel
Dec 10 - Lord Dufferin sends a dispatch to Earl Carnavon, Secretary of State for the Colonies, reviewing at length the circumstances which were urged as entitling Riel and Lepine to clemency, placing special stress upon Lieutenant-Governor Archibalds acceptance of their services on the occasion of the threatened Fenian invasion, and the public expression of confidence and thanks tendered them by the representative of the Crown in Manitoba. In reference to the commutation of LepineÕs sentence he said: This commutation, when the proper time arrives, I propose to order on my own responsibility, under the powers accorded to me by my instruments.
1875
Jan 14 - Earl Carnarvon, in a dispatch to Lord Dufferin, states that in LepineÕs case neither amnesty nor entire pardon is possible, but that his sentence should be commuted, that Riel should have similar punishment, and that both should be politically disqualified.
Jan 15 - LepineÕs sentence is commuted to two years imprisonment and forfeiture of his political rights.
Jan 26 - Lord Carnarvon cables Lord Dufferin: I fully approve the course taken by you in LepineÕs case.
Feb 12 - Amnesty granted to Riel and Lepine on condition of five years banishment and forfeiture of political rights, and in fulfilment of pledges made by Sir John Macdonald and his Cabinet to Archbishop Tache and the Red River delegates, and of those of Lieutenant-Governor Archibald to Riel, Lepine and his associates.
1877 - Riel spends several months in Beauport Asylum, Quebec
1878 - Riel engages at farming at St. Joe, Minn.
1879 - He removes to the Sun River settlement, Montana, and takes a situation as teacher in an industrial school.
1981 - He marries a half-breed named Marguerite Bellimeure, daughter of Jean Baptiste Bellimeure, of Fort Ellice.
1884 - Returns to Saskatchewan
1885 - Engages in the resistance in Saskatchewan

News in the East

http://metis.tripod.com/News_East1.html
News in the East

Montreal - Nov. 16
The city council this afternoon adopted a resolution to adjourn Ò as a protest against the odious violation of the laws of justice and humanity in the execution of Riel.Ó Portraits of Riel, Hon. Mr. Chapleau, and Col. Ouimet were exposed in windows on St. James street and an excited crowd kept the sidewalk blocked all day. RielÕs picture was framed with Crape, and had a French flag for a background. The other two portraits were prostrate, and each had a drop of red sealing wax on the forehead to represent drops of RielÕs blood. Underneath these pictures were French inscriptions signifying Òtraitor,Ó Òhangman,Ó etc. There is a movement on foot to have requiem masses celebrated in all the Catholic churches throughout the Province next Monday for the repose of RielÕs soul. About 400 students started from Victoria University tonight to parade through the city. When they had reached the Camp de Mars their numbers had been augmented by a following variously estimated at from 5,000 to 10,000 persons. The paraders carried French flags, transparencies and effigies of Sir John Macdonald, Sir Hector Langevin, Hon L. A. Chaleau, Hon, Mr. Caron. Hon. Mr. ChapleauÕs and Sir HectorÕs effigies were burned in the Champ de Mars, where a number of shots were exchanged between the paraders and the police. No one, however, was hurt. An effigy of Sir A. P. Caron was burning at Dominion Square tonight, and after proceeding to the Champ de Mars the mob went to Col. OuimetÕs house, were the Colonel;s effigy was burned. Mayor Beaugrand appeared at the doorway and asked the crowd to go home. the crowd then placed a smallpox placard on the ColonelÕs front door and departed for their homes.

Ferment in Quebec, Nov. 16.
The excitement here is almost beyond all restraint. A flag was hoisted at half mast upon the ÒCanadianÓ office, and some English speaking citizens, who felt aggrieved at this, came near being roughly handled. Flags decked with mourning emblems are also displayed, and many men have crape on their hats and around their sleeves. It would be hard to tell what the result will be. Tonight 200 or 300 students with their friends have been marching through the streets shouting ÒGlory to Riel,Ó and cursing the Orangemen. Crowds are gathered near Sir Hector LangevinÕs house in St. Louis Street, and it is feared that they intend mischief in that quarter. the police, however, are patrolling in large numbers. Handbills have been distributed to all passers-by calling on them to meet tonight. these bills are headed in large letter, and read as follows: ÒRiel Hanged. (Infamie Consomme) The triumph of Orangemen over Catholics and French Canadians. There will be this evening at Jacques Cartier marketplace, a meeting of the French Canadians, of the city of Quebec, to protest against the terrible murder committed this morning by Sir John Macdonald, Sir Hector Langevin, Sir A.P. Caron, and Hon. Mr. Chapleau. Let everyone be at his post tonight.Ó

The bill, appearing, as it did when the people were almost beside themselves, nothing but roaring and imprecatious against the Orangemen have been ÒspattedÓ and are likely to feel the result of tonightÕs demonstration. The uneasiness felt has been intensified by the news that Major Langelier left the city this morning on professional business and that it will be impossible for him to return tonight except by special train. It is believed he has left someone to act in his place in case of a riot. ÒBÓ battery and other soldiers on garrison duty in the citadel have not been allowed out all day, and are held in readiness for any emergency. Three scaffolds have been erected in St. Rochs, and effigies are to be hoisted and burned and each mock execution accompanied by a stirring national speech which will undoubtedly stir the already kindled enthusiasm of the populace and cause a riot. A meeting of the St. Jean Baptiste Society was held this afternoon an a resolution passed ordering the president to have their national flag draped in mourning and hoisted at half-mast for eight days. It is stated that Mr. Morrisette, who was to have been married this morning, postponed his marriage on account of the execution of Riel. For this he is loudly applauded by some of the French evening papers. LÕElecteur, the Liberal organ, appears tonight draped in mourning and all its articles are most stirring. all its columns are devoted to the Riel matter, and it calls upon French Canadians not to forget the martyr who was murdered for the French cause. The story that the 8th Battalion had been ordered under arms is contradicted. It is believed that if that battalion was called out great disturbance would be caused, as it is almost entirely composed of English-speaking residents.

Toronto, Nov. 16
By 9 oÕclock this morning crowds began to gather about the various newspaper offices, eagerly waiting for news of RielÕs execution. Even then doubts were freely expressed that the execution would take place, and bets were made. One man wagered $200 even that the prisoner would not be hanged. When the news was received that Riel had expatiated his crimes on the scaffold the crowds after perusing the bulletin boards quietly dispersed. The excitement here over Riel quickly subsided after it became known that he had been executed. The courage displayed by Riel on the scaffold was admired, but no expression of pity could be heard at his fate.

Ottawa, Nov. 16
The news of RielÕs death was at first received quietly here. The Protestant Conservatives were considerably elated, however, over what they term their triumph. A large number of them waited on the Premier and Hon. Mackenzie Bowell, Minister of Customs, congratulating them on the carrying out of the sentence of the court. Among the French Canadians, who are in a large minority here, there is a deep feeling of displeasure.

Belleville, Nov. 16
There is no excitement over the hanging of Riel. Small knots of people gathered around the bulletin board, but the only opinion expressed was that of satisfaction that the sentence has been carried out.

Halifax, Nov. 16
The execution of Riel caused little excitement here, although Halifax sent a battalion to the front during the rebellion.

The Final Act

http://metis.tripod.com/Thefinalact.html
The Final Act - Regina, Nov 16, 1885

The morning of the day fixed for Riels execution dawned clear and calm, with a frosty keenness in the air. As the fatal hour drew nigh, the stir around the barracks slightly increased, the needed preparations being quickly and quietly completed. About 8 o clock the prisoner was summoned by Deputy Sheriff Gibson from his cell, where he has spent the night chiefly in prayers and devotion with his confessor Pere Andre. Mass had been celebrated by the latter, assisted by Rev. Father McWilliams, and the last sacrament had been administered to the doomed man. Supported by the two priests and preceded by the Deputy Sheriff, Riel walked steadily across the guard room and climbed the ladder which led to the gloomy loft at the back of the building. This the party crossed in like order to the door outside of which the scaffold, with the empty noose depending from the beam. Around the door was drawn up a guard of twenty police, under command of Inspector White-Frazer. Sheriff Chapleau, Dr. Jukes, Coroner Dodds and the jury were also in attendance.

The condemned man wore an appearance of unshaken fortitude and firmness, although his face was pale and his look earnest. He was dressed in a black coat, woollen shirt and collar, grey tweed trousers and moccasins. His head was uncovered. When Riel and the priests reached the doorway they kneeled down and engaged in prayer. Gather Andre recited the Litany, the prisoner making the responses in firm and unbroken voice. The spectators were visibly affected by the pathetic scene, and gave a sigh of relief when it was ended. At 8:15 prayers were finished, Riel arose to his feet and was kissed by the priests. The masked hangman stepped forward to pinion the prisoner, who prayed incessantly during the operation, at one stage lifting his hands heavenward and saying ÒFather, I am ready.Ó When the pinioning had been completed Riel and the fathers proceeded towards the scaffold, the prisoner walking with steady step and repeating in French the declaration: In God Do I Put My Trust.



Down the six steps to the scaffold and out upon the prop the prisoner walked with firm and hesitating demeanour. Pere Andre and Father McWilliams prayed constantly, and Riel exclaimed as he took his stand on the fatal platform, ÒI ask the forgiveness of all men, and forgive all my enemies.Ó When the executioner had taken his place, drawn the white cap over the prisoners head, and adjusted the noose, Gather McWilliams repeated the Lords prayer. As he finished the bolt was drawn, the drop fell, and all was over.

The hangmanÕs work had been well done; the neck was broken; and in the short space of two minutes the heart had ceased to beat. The legs were drawn upward two or three times in this space of time, and then the body was still. After hanging half an hour the body was cut down and placed in a coffin beneath the scaffold.

The result of the post mortem made by Dr. Jukes was as follows: The execution was most cleverly performed. From the moment he fell, judging from the nature of the injuries received, he must have been entirely without sensation. The neck was entirely dislocated from the bone of the two upper joints of vertebrae, thus paralysing all the lower portion of the body. He could have felt no pain whatever. The circulation ceased in four minutes. An unusually short time. No death could be more merciful. The coroner and jury than viewed the body, and found the features much distorted. One juryman had to retire from the sight.


The Jurys Verdict
After a brief deliberation the following verdict was rendered: That the body is that of Louis Riel, convicted of high treason, and sentenced to death; that the judgment of death was duly executed upon the body of said Louis Riel on this sixteenth day of November, 1885; that death was caused by hanging at the police barracks, near Regina, N.W.T., as directed by sentence passed by the court. (Signed)
H. Dodds, M.D., Coroner
F. Champness, Foreman
Jurymen.
Wm. P. McCormick,
John Dawson,
William D. Firstbrook,
David H. Gillespie,
W. Bedford Jones,
(Please NOTE: These articles were originally written at the time Riel was executed and for some reason the names of the jury in the article is wrong. I don't know why but the real jury members are named in Georgr Goulet's book "The Trial of Louis Riel - Justice and Mercy Denied - 1999) Thanks to Michael Gillespie - Grandson of David H. Gillespie, [who was wrongly identified as a jury member], notified of me of this error. How his grandfather was named I am not sure, unless he was one of the potential jurors if not alternate if they had any at the time.
The real names of the Jury raken from George Goulet's book are as follows:
Francis Cosgrove - foreman - Whitewood, Edwin J. Brooks of Indian Head, Henry J. Painter of Broadview, Walter Merryfield of Whitewood, Peel Deane of Broadview and Edwin Eratt of Moose Jaw.
 
The coffin was then nailed up and temporarily placed in the burying ground attached to the barracks, pending the relatives obtaining permission to carry it to St. Boniface.

The rope used has been destroyed by Deputy Sheriff Gibson, according to orders, to prevent relic hunters getting hold of it. It was a stout hempen cord, five-eighths of an inch in diameter. The whole arrangements for the execution were arranged by Mr. Gibson, and, owing to his foresight and care, no painful hitch took place. The sentence of the law was carried out smoothly and effectually. During the last moments RielÕs behavior excited the pity and admiration of all. He made no speech, but occupied himself with spiritual matter entirely. He was pale, but was self-possessed. His eyes rolled a little occasionally, but his hands were not clenched like a person strongly excited. He made no statement except that in prayers, he asked, forgiveness of all that he had injured and forgave all his enemies.

The hangman, as already indicated, was Jack Henderson, of Winnipeg, who was one of RielÕs prisoners at the time of the Red River rebellion. He was then pursuing the avocation of a freighter.

Access Major General Middleton's account of Battle of Batoche !

http://catalogue.library.carleton.ca/search?/Xbattle%20of%20batoche&SORT=D/Xbattle%20of%20batoche&SORT=D&SUBKEY=battle%20of%20batoche/1,7,7,B/l856~b2325332&FF=Xbattle%20of%20batoche&SORT=D&6,6,,1,0

Map

Dominique's Message

What is interpretation?

One definition:

Interpretation Canada (1976):
Any communication process designed to reveal meanings and relationships of cultural and natural heritage to the public, through first-hand involvement with an object, artifact, landscape or site.

What does an interpretive planner at the CMC?

Role of an interpretive planner:
To consider the visitor experience through the exhibition development process

In order to get a successful exhibition:
We need to know to whom we are communicating;
What we want to say and why;
How we should communicate it so the visitor is interested, understands and get a meaningful and memorable experience

The tasks of an interpretive planner:
(In close collaboration with all members of the exhibition team)
Clarify the exhibition objectives and the outcomes
Identify the target audience
Conceive an interpretive or communication approach. This is the basic plan for the exhibition, for its structure. It details the thematic framework, the messaging and the tools we are going to use to communicate the messages.
Identify the interpretation tools needed to reach our goals
Texts
Artifacts
A.V.
Interactive
Visual components (photos, graphics)
Computer kiosk, website
Audio-guide
Printed brochure
Learning space
Live interpretation with animators, volunteers, or Dramamuse (theatre troup)
Making sure to vary the tools and the strategies to reach different kinds of audience and different learning styles.
Cognitive
Emotive
Sensitive
Auditive = sounds, a.v.
Visual = graphics, photos
Tactile = interactivity, to touch stuff
Participate in the writing process (writing, editing, translation, etc.)
Collaborate to the design phases
Participate to the animators or volunteers training when require

The vision for the visitor experience for the permanent exhibition for the new Post and Communication Museum

Guidelines for the visitor experience
i. To consider the visitor as the starting point of the experience
ii. To put the human and social aspect at the forefront
iii. To call on the intellectual and emotional visitor background
iv. To privilege a dynamic and inviting experience
v. To be accessible both physically and intellectually
vi. To call on the different senses (hear, touch, view, smell)
vii. To put the visitor in an active mode
viii. To privilege a multiple levels content approach
ix. To present the content to reflect a modern and contemporary approach for both the exhibition mediums and the communication world.
Goal
i. Propose an experience where the visitor, as an active member of the society and a witness to its history, will be invited to enter in a cycle of communication. Therefore, he will not only be asked to receive and understand some information, but he will also be asked to become an agent of communication.
Objectifs
i. To touch directly the visitor by communicating the spirit if the event that we are showcasing. We want the visitor to perceive or recall a coherent emotion with what the people felt at the time of the event.
ii. Create a personal connection with the visitor by encouraging him to use his own references.
iii. Encourage communication between visitors. We want visitors to communicate to each other, to share their stories, to question themselves together.
iv. Invite the visitor to share his own experiences.

- Examples of some of the possible interpretive tools:
· Interviews
· Music
· Songs
· Quotes
· Images
· Videos
· Objects or props
· Recreations
· Soudscapes

Notes from John Willis

1. Defining moments in the history of communication.
Subject Matter
Communication is a complex and omnipresent phenomenon of human life. Although present at every stage of our history, in every facet of everyday life, there are outstanding instances in which the significance of communication can be more easily highlighted. The instances or defining moments depicted in this exhibition will attract the attention of our visitors and support the primary message of the exhibition. Our object is first to show the communication side of historical events. Second we will focus on the human aspect and strive to show that ultimately men and women, not technology, make communication history.

Communication patterns vary according to the level or circle of social life. At the micro-scale, the level of the individual person, family, neighbourhood, village, voice will be of paramount importance. The inner circle can effectively carry any message, but it does not generate all the news. Much of this comes from the outer circle of communication where large communities and groups of people interact. At the macro-scale communication media are deployed, to sustain social relationships that have previously been confined to face to face interactions. In most but not all cases, writing is of paramount importance. Words are put down and moved along a network.

The circles are not impervious to one another. They interact. Popular expressions bubble up from below. Commands, normative texts trickle down from above. Words, traditions, strategies collide with one another, whether they originate at the same or opposite ends of the social edifice. There is no either or: just orality, just literacy, just inner, just outer. There is both.

The circles evolve: both within their respective spheres as well as by virtue of interaction. The little circles keep digging deeper, the big circles keep reaching ever further. The two keep interacting.

Content
The team proposes a preliminary selection of nine defining moments, drawn in the main from the last 100-120 years of history. Our selection may change in accordance with space and content considerations. A number of Canadian examples have been chosen, the better to illustrate the role of communication in the making of our country, international examples are chosen as well because along with the former these should resonate strongly with our visitors. In each case the theme is examined sui generis, and then in terms of historical precedent (looking backward) and consequence (looking forward). We will offer a few suggestions as regards events with a backward or forward potential. We try to convey the many different senses and dimensions at play.

Theme no. 1: Quand les choses doivent changer: The sinking of the Titanic, 1912. Hailed as an invincible craft the ship sunk to the bottom of the Atlantic 640 km off the coast of Newfoundland. Because of this incident certain key changes were introduced in terms of communication and navigation safety. The Titanic is an example of powerful circumstance necessitating change. It was also front-page news in newspapers the world over.
Looking backward: naval wrecks and naval communication, colonial period
Looking forward : The need for a United Nations: 26 June 1945, new world forum of communication
Postal Link: transatlantic mail.

Theme no. 2: Quand on prend les choses en main: The birth of the telephone, 1876. This modern device of communication was successfully tested by Alexander Graham Bell. The telephone was originally intended as a business tool but as a result of social practice it emerged as a vital tool of domestic communication. Human demand helped steer communication technology in a different direction. Just as it has done, more recently with the internet and the various spinoffs of digital convergence: cell-phones, blackberries, i-pods and i-phones.
Looking backward: (and postal link) Personal correspondence throughout history.
Looking forward: Communication by internet, text-messaging cell and blackberry.

Theme no. 3: Quand il faut conquérir: the news from Batoche, May 1885. The Capture of Louis Riel on May 15th put an end to the Northwest Rebellion. Newspaper correspondents travelling with troops sent to put down the revolt were forbidden that day to send out their despatches by telegraph. The news did find its way into the papers back east the next day. Following the defeat of the Metis the re-settlement of the Canadian prairie would proceed without interruption. Railway, telegraph and post, not to mention the troops, helped ensure that the west was won, for “civilization”.
Looking backward: Communication in the Prairie North-West and the West coast (B.C.) in the days of canoe and waterway travel, 18th + 19th Century.
Looking forward : communication in contemporary military situations, Canadian Forces in Afghanistan.
Postal Link: The Post Office and the development of the Prairie West.

Theme no. 4: Quand les idées secouent, shaking the tree of convention : McLuhan pronounces in 1964 that The Medium is the message. What he meant is that the medium by which a message is conveyed is of greater bearing on human behaviour than the actual contents of a message. The medium reaches deeply into our subconscious and pursues a particular sensorial line. Print media engage the eye; radio appeals to the ear. Human beings are prodded in particular directions in accordance with the prevalent media. Writing in the late 1950s and 1960s McLuhan viewed himself as a spokesperson of the new electronic era of television. He also advocated that the world-wide reach of the media has made of our species a global village. As a Canadian thinker of communication, McLuhan’s ideas enjoyed a world-wide reputation.
Looking backward : The Dreyfus Affair of 1898, an author with one dramatic front page article is able to shake to its foundations, the French military and political establishment.
Looking Forward: Yes We Can: the 2008 campaign of political upstart, Barack Obama, through an adroit and systematic recourse to the internet, captures the enthusiasm and votes of the American electorate.

Theme no. 5: Quand plus rien ne fonctionne: The Ice storm of 1998. A freak combination of warm January temperatures and strong precipitation produced an abundance of freezing rain that felled transmission towers, blew transformers and in essence knocked the power out for upwards of 1,6 million homes in Québec and Ontario. The normal amenities of electronic communication were rendered obsolete. People had to rely on old-fashioned means of communicating as they gathered to meet, talk and eat, by candlelight. On the surface there was no communication, but deep down there was.
Looking backward: Winnipeg flood of 1950; Hurricane Hazel, Toronto 1954. (Possibly refer to another context in which face-to face of paramount importance.
Looking forward: The Ontario-U.S. blackout of August 2003; Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans 2005.
Link to post: the challenges to postal service during the ice-storm, how the mail kept running.

Theme no. 6: Quand le monde nous influence: The Assasination of John Kennedy, November 1963. Television has made a single integrated audience of the world’s populations. The first such example, one which rocketed around the world mainly through electronic media was the assassination of the U.S. president in 1963. The event left a huge impact on Canadian television and print journalism and upon Canadian public memory.
Looking backward: News of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, on 28 June 1914. (D’Arcy McGee assassintation as well.)
Looking forward: News of the fall of the Berlin Wall, 9 November 1989; news of attack on the World Trade Center, September 11, 2001.

Theme no. 7: Words of Mass Destruction: Rwanda, April 6, 1994. During the spring of 1994, 800,000 persons were massacred by their fellow citizens during a killing frenzy spread out over 100 days. The radio station, Radio Mille Collines played an important role; as propaganda instigator prior to the slaughter and as broadcaster directing teams of killers from one place to another. The genocide counts as one of the worst tragedies in the history of the 20th century.
Looking backward: radio and propaganda during World War Two.
Looking forward: communication and scapegoats in the contemporary world. (Gaza?)

Theme no. 8: When many are one or the crowd as great big communication machine. Protest and suppression at Tianamen Square, Beijing June 1989. Conflicts between police and students in Beijing broke out in 1989. Protesters fashioned symbolic temporary monuments out on the square and when the troops came, stood their ground on world television in the face of columns of army tanks. There is a political side to this event and a communication side as well. A crowd is a big communication machine. A crowd voices collectively its message through its shouting, gestures and choreography. At the same time within the crowd there is an ongoing exchange between individuals and smaller groups of people, between leaders and followers.
Looking backward: The crowd in the Winnipeg General strike, 1919
Looking forward: the Rio Carnival.
Postal Link: The postal strike within the Winnipeg General Strike, 1919.

Theme no. 9: Quand on doit le dire autrement (When Words will not do) 1958, Anti-nuclear demonstration London to Aldermaston England. A highly recognizable fixture of demonstrations against the war in Vietnam, during the 1960s and 1970s, the peace sign was first used by British anti-nuclear protesters in 1958. It served as a rallying symbol of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament which sponsored marches between London and a nuclear research facility, Aldermaston, in the south of England. The symbol reminds us that although we live in a world dominated by words, graphic symbols, logos and pictures, are still effective means of communication. The visual dimension in communication is powerful because it facilities recognition and because art of some kind is embedded in virtually every human culture.
Looking backward: May 1920: Canadian art for a Canadian landscape: First art exhibition of the Group of Seven.
Looking forward: Symbol of victory, a classic photo taken in 1972, shows Paul Henderson celebrating his series-winning goal against the Soviet hockey team.


2: Inner and Outer Circles of Communication
The Canadian Postal Museum has decided to broaden its mandate to incorporate the wider field of communication. My job is to help formulate a conceptual launch pad to help guide us through the exhibit development process. I am a postal historian trying to communicate with communication.

Summary of our Approach
Communication patterns vary according to the level or circle of social life. At the microscale, the level of the individual person, family, neighbourhood, village, voice will be of paramount importance. The inner circle can effectively carry any message, but it does not generate all the news. Much of this comes from the outer circle of communication where large communities and groups of people interact. At the macro-scale communication media are deployed, “to sustain social relationships that have previously been confined to face to face interactions.” In most but not all cases, writing is of paramount importance. Words are put down and moved along a network.

The circles evolve within their own respective spheres: The little circles keep digging deeper, the big circles keep reaching ever further. And the two are not impervious to one another. They interact. Popular words bubble up from the plancher des vaches. They trickle down from above. Words, traditions, strategies collide with one another whether they originate at the same or opposite ends of the social edifice. There is no either or: just orality, just literacy, just inner, just outer. There is both. The micro dimension gets all wrapped up in the macro one and vice versa. Case in point: put 2 million people together in a capital city to watch a presidential inauguration. Many have cell phone which normally would allow them to have private conversations. But so many people with so many cell phones meant that the airwaves were jammed. Not all of the people could talk over their phone.

Each of the two scales can be used to demonstrate a defining feature of communication. Events transpiring within the first circle make it clear that as a species we have a strong propensity to communicate. Step onto a school bus at 7 in the morning, you will see what I mean. The outer circle provides a good vantage point from which to track the process of conquest that has done so much to shape our country and fasten Canada and therefore Canadian communication to the global wheel of fortune.

Before embarking on the inner-outer discussion, we need discuss first the contribution of Canadian thinkers on communication. Some of the biggest names in the field are Canadian (this usually doesn’t happen). The two names that come to mind: Harold Innis, Marshall McLuhan

Innis
We begin with the most important of the two, Innis. A historian usually closely associated with the elaboration of the staple theory of economic growth, he studied the exploitation of such commodities as cod and fur in the pre-industrrial period, in the latter part of his academic career, Innis took a special interest in communication, publishing two significant works: The Bias of Communication and Empire and Communication. Innis was interested in the great sweeping approach to western history, from ancient civilizations to modern times. The crux of his arguments was that communication matters to human history. You want to know why a civilization rises and or falls, examine closely the circumstances of communication. Therein lies the answer for success or failure.

By virtue of the character of a communication system, a civilization will tend to develop extensively or not along either in space or over time. For example, the bias of communication will give a society the ability to expand in a robust fashion in space. The lighter the medium, argues Innis, the greater its ability to extend in space. The late Egyptians and later the Romans used Papyrus, a light-weight writing surface. It was easy to move messages around between the capital and the distant provinces. These were empires in which it was technically possible, road-system permitting, to centralize coordinating functions, power, in a capital city. Innis refers to the roads of the ancient Persian empire which allowed the prince to thus manage from a specific pre-eminent place. He could have used as a transport-communication metaphor, the convergence of railways on the city of Paris, since the mid to late 19th century. Here converged railways, beaurocratic reports from each department, information, mail paper, control.

A time-biased communication system will be characterized by a heavier writing surface or medium. Clay tablets are more difficult to move around, they are more likely to stay put. What you get is a dispersed pattern of social units, politically separate and autonomous from each other. In such a situation it is not easy to merge the disparate units. But you can dream about it, as did Machiavelli in the 16th century. His was an Italy of separate city-states that as a result of a developing postal system, were gradually coming in increasing congress with one another.

History is all about change, as Innis the historian knew. The balance between space and time inclinations is bound to fluctuate. The social balance of power will fluctuate. Around each communication medium there clusters a social group, class whose power is rooted in that medium. This class (priests, press magnates, politically charged evangelicals, will endeavour to exercise a monopoly of knowledge and communication. The monopoly is eventually challenged, the challenge originating on the margins of civilization, usually at a time when the ancien communication regime is beginning to falter: « Minerva’s Owl begins it’s flight only in the gathering dusk », Innis wrote in 1947. Paper will displace parchment in the late medieval era. The new medium which used printing, is driven by the city, it will displace the previous hegemony predicated on rural seigneurs and monasteries in the country. According to Innis.

Innis tends to generalize. As historians we might prefer less grandeloquent case studies. Yet I think we can concur with Innis that communication is the litmus test of empire. During the 18th century it was not easy to keep intact an imperial communication system, and hence the empire thereto appertaining. Kenneth banks, Chasing Empire Across the Sea, concludes that the French system was dysfunctional. He could have said as much about the British who could not persuade those 13 colonies to the south of New France to stick with the King. Regimes change. Let’s use a more contemporary example: The U.S. attacks Iraq after 9-11. Fox news, right-wing hotline shows and to a lesser extent the rest of the media, sing the praises of the coalition gladiators, until someone put the wrong picture in the papers (from the prison of) . So the opposition starts the rising, and they use the internet (e-mail, facebook etc) to get their man, yes we can believe in change, elected.

McLuhan
Is better known than Innis and always presented himself a loyal disciple of Innis.McLuhan is best known for his aphorism, the medium is the message. This he intends as an extension of Innis’ conception of the bias of communication. What does McLuhan mean: He means that that the medium or form of communication is more important than contents. A specific particular medium appeals to a particular realm of the senses. These senses then become a mere extension of the communication technology. Print and later television extend into the visualization components of the human nervous system, radio, oral-oratory, contribute to the hegemony of the ear.

You will note that there is almost no room in this scenario for social or cultural agency. The influence extends direct from the technical properties of the medium to the human nervous system. McLuhan bypasses hsitroy, and mankind.

One interesting concept of McLuhan is the global village, predicated on a older stratum, the postal village. The rise of electronic media, radio + t.v. in his day (there was no internet he died in the 1980s before the web) turned the planet into an interconnected village of radio listeners and t.v. viewers. As we are thus transformed into world villagers we rediscover or rebecome what we once were in an ealier more primitive stage of civilization. We want to know whose dna is on the dress hanging in Monica Lewinsky’s closet. Indignant as any villager would be, we want to know why the flag outside Buckingham palace is not at half mast, even thought the wife of the future King of England, has died, tragically in a car accident in Paris. And who is that voluptuous girl with the low-cut blouse on the arm of the Minister of External Affairs…

We are enthralled by all these petty things. We are captivated by what we see on our screens; just like the main character in Hitchcock’s film, Rear Window, he suffers from a broken leg he has lots of time to kill, so he starts staring outside his window at the apartments across the back alley, only to discover, after careful observation, aided and abetted by a pair of binoculars, that his neighbour has just murdered his wife, all the while ignoring his beautiful fiancée (Grace Kelly) who quite frankly, with what she was wearing, should not have been ignored. Voyeurisme is very strong thread in communication, past present.

McLuhan brings out the village in human communication. Innis offers the empire view of communication. There are my two starting points for this lecture. Village and empire: Inner and outer circle.


Inner Circle
The inner ring is a social experience of communication, intense and intimate. Life is lived, on a day to day basis, by and large in the first circle in the company of family, neighbours and entourage. The street people in Beijing today will congregate around an oil-barrel fire, useful for warming-up and for cooking. Elsewhere children gather around a neighbourhood soccer ball. Adults meet at the local dépanneur. The cinéma du quartier, is a veritable institution in Paris during the inter-war years: “Comme à la fête ou au bal, on consommé en commun de l’imaginaire…”.

Voice is the primary means of communication in the first circle. It gives wings to rumour. Talk, les bruits qui courent is a staple of the history of New France. Stories of the alleged unethical practises of merchants, given to speculating in foodstuffs, enraged canadiens. Popular scuttlebutt, eventually circulated news of the unscrupulous goings on of the second highest colonial official, François Bigot. Rumour was rampant in an age when people had sharp tongues and good ears. In Montréal, in 1731, a group of citizens testified that their neighbour, mère Guignolet maintained a house where vice of every description was committed. The Guignolet’s used foul language - “Crême et baptême, Vous êtes une conquine et un putain”. Evidently the witnesses were not deaf. They had good memories and repeated what they heard, in court.

By the second half of the 19th century, webs of written communication criss-cross the St. Lawrence and North America. But talk still runs up and down the parish highways and byways of the Gaspé penisula. The mayor of Douglastown, near Gaspé, was concerned at what his fellow citizens were saying, as they gathered in his store, about the parish priest: “On s’entretient souvent des propos très inconvénients à son égard et presque toujours il s’y trouve quelques protestants. » Bad things were said and they did not always flow from the mouths of Protestants. One woman would publicly tell tall stories of scandal just outside the church of Rivière-à-L’Anguille while the schoolmistress of Cap-des-Rosiers had a remarkable, if vicious, ability to spread gossip: “faite pour semer le vent et souffler la tempête...d’une ambition effrénée, d’une jalousie épouvantable et d’une langue affreuse pour inventer. »

Rumours, gossip can get vicious. Saying the wrong thing within earshot can get a enthusiastic talker in trouble. The widow of a farmer in St-Benoit, Lower Canada, 2 October 1844, Rose Vendette, was take to court by Lawyer L.T. Groulx, for having allegedly stated in a village inn, previous September, that Groulx was like a parasite (crève faim), living off trials and court proceedings at the popular expense; that all lawyers are cheaters, and that none of them can ever get to heaven.

The rumour mill is a constant of modern Canadian history and works in tandem with the press. Cordelia Viau was the organist at the parish church of Saint-Canut (Mirabel), north of Montréal. She was married to Isidore Poirier a carpenter would not infrequently worked in the U.S. for months, years at a time. While her husband was away she took up with another man, named Sam. Fellow villagers became aware of the relationship, it was difficult to be discrete in such close quarters. Someone talked to the parish priest who in turn wrote Poirier, insisting he come home. He did and during the winter of 1897-98 he was murdered. All eyes within the village turned on Cordelia + Sam. The outside investigors were made aware of the village news. The press got involved, including L’Égalité a newspaper based in the nearby town of Saint-Jérôme. Eventually the Montreal papers latch onto the story.

The motion for mistrial, on various counts was successful. The lawyer for the defence argued that public opinion throughout the north shore district of Terrebonne was solidly against Cordelia; terrible things were being spread around about the defendant and her supporters. It would be impossible to hold a fair trial within the district, because there was so much bias against her. The crown could only add, in response, that were Cordelia to be tried in another district public opinion would be just as hostile if not worse. So evidently word about the murder etc, was getting around the newspapers were doing their job.

A few decades later the Western front, writes World War One Historian Tim Cook, was an ideal breeding ground for rumour. The men were scared, they frequently spent days doing nothing. With little concrete news they devised a rumour mill which whiled away the time and allowed them to make sense of it all. The latrines were hubs of news. There were rumours about why the mail was late; that the men were about to be given leave; the war was about to end; the Germans had new weapons that clogged rifles. It was even alleged that les boches were feeding their troops the fat from dead bodies, so scarce were foodstuffs; the latter story was planted by British spies presumably to boost morale.

Talk is a constant of modern life not just in the country, talk isn’t always so bad. The day-to-day conduct of city life, wrests on a foundation of informal socialializing. City people need a certain amount of contact, outside the home, in order to go about their daily lives. But they do not want too much. They do not want people prying into their private business. The solution is the sidewalk: a conversational consensus, a place where you can interact with other people with no strings attached. The range of sidewalk encounters varies. The odd glance, tip of the hat, quick smile can, over time build into a bona fide conversation, perhaps while waiting in line for the bus. Jane Jacobs cites a study of Puerto Rican citizens of New York, which showed, that what people know of one another is invariably gained from public contact out on the sidewalk.

A dramatic event, in a local setting can set tongues wagging. F.R. Scott, wrily observed the scene on Clarke Street in starchy Westmount after a laundry truck accidentally crashed into a maple tree:
Normally we do not speak to one another on this avenue,
But the excitement made us suddenly neighbours.
People exchanged remarks
Who had never been introduced
And for a while we were quite human.

A fire or fallen branch on the power line down the street, are local events engaging our attention. But within the first circle outside events intrude. They are discussed long before the six o’clock news. A study conducted shortly after the assassination of John Kennedy (1963) stated that “Person to person communication as the first source of events has its primary role in the diffusion of events which receive maximum and minimum attention from the populace.” The study complemented observations made during the 1940 U.S. election by Katz and Lazarfield who argued that voters are not so much influenced by what they read-hear in the media, rather they are influenced by local opinion leaders who interact with people in face-t-face situations.

I recall that seven years ago someone walked into my office and told me that a skyscraper in New York had just fallen down. Preposterous, I said, before reaching for my radio. The news spread rapidly up and down the corridors of the museum. The coffee break was a long one, as dozens of us spent time conversing and looking incredulously up at the television. How do you first hear about big news? Would it be from someone else?

The Outer Circle
In the outer circle the exigencies of distance, frequency and volume are such that it is necessary to create an infrastructure which empowers the messengers and speeds them and the message along their way. Various systems have been devised in order to sustain communication: including post, telegraph, telephone, satellite and internet. There is a good deal of writing in circulation, even by cell. Modern networks allow media to conduct business, witness the pervasiveness of advertising in the press, on billboards and web taglines. Communication through the mass media is experienced collectively, sequentially. As messages are sent the information is processed. The feedback eventually surfaces but usually in a round-about way. Communication is complex, mediated and interactive. What goes around comes around, but it takes time. (Except by cell)

In communication the mother of all invention is the human willingness to communicate no matter the circumstance. On slave plantations in the ante-bellum American south, quilts were sewn and hung out on a nearby fence, ostensibly so they could be aired. In fact they served as mnemonic devices with different patterns designed to convey a specific message to fellow slaves intending to escape and travel along the Underground Railroad. The monkey wrench quilt pattern meant it was time to gather the tools needed for the journey. The tumbling boxes pattern signified that the escape was imminent. Once the journey began, slaves moved along an interlocking network which eventually landed them across the border in Upper Canada.

What matters is human willingness, not technology: case in point: the telephone: originally created as a tool of business for men, it is turned buy women into a tool of domestic communication for everyone.

By the mid 19th century the largest interlocking communication network in North America was the post. The significance of the post is staring us right in the face, yet so many observers have preferred to highlight other developments, notably the advent of the electric telegraph in the 1840s. McNeill and McNeill in their survey of world history thus highlight the speed of telegraph communication, “For man hath grasp the thunderbolt and made of it a slave”. Yet the telegraph was not, from the get-go, an open and accessible system. It did not become a popular medium of communication, in the U. S., until 1910.

The post meanwhile, in Canada and elsewhere was a popular medium. Osborne-Pyke, documented the onset of the postal revolution in the province of Canada during the 1850s. Similarly Henkin examines the new culture of national connectedness which emerged in the U.S. during the mid 19th century period. The means consisted of a cheap and comprehensive postal system. Whereas beforehand the post primarily sustained the movement of newspapers and mercantile information by the 1850s it became a medium dominated by the exchange of personal correspondance - including pictures - on a massive scale. The post office kept up with the transient population which migrated out west during the California Gold Rush (1849); or left home to fight Mexicans in 1848 and Southern rebels during the U.S. Civil War. No other medium was capable of so servicing interpersonal communication.

The U.S. was on the move by the 1850s. Canada’s systematic westward projection would not come until the 1870s and 1880s. The prairies would eventually emerge both as a region with communication needs of its own, and a bridge to the west coast. This is not to suggest that there was no communication out west at this time. The correspondence of William Lane, employee of the HBC stationed in Moose Factory, shows that news travelled through the west regularly, albeit laboriously.

William’s brother Richard wrote from Fort Garry on New Year’s Eve 1844; the letter was to travel along with the rest of the English mail sent to the Hudson Bay for shipment overseas in spring. Lane’s correspondence refers to native couriers: “Please write to me by the first Indian that may come this way”, wrote one correspondent in 1850. Boats, canoes travel between fur posts. Letter-writers pen quick messages in order not to miss the opportunity to send a message via someone destined for another factory. The outside world did penetrate the prairie. A letter sent in February of 1846 refers to the epidemic at Red River which nonetheless pales in comparison with events in Ireland and Scotland. The news was at times local and banal, at times surprising. Nathanial Logan reacted to Lane’s of October 4 1850 in forceful terms: “I was in such a state that I nearly shit my bricks.”

The 1880s saw a fundamental transformation in the geography and geo-politics of communication. The west was becoming modernized and settled with new peoples and new means of communication. The old pattern of seasonal expresses, beyond the region; of piggy-backing notes and letters on the person of travellers was increasingly obsolete. The West was traversed with telegraph wires – the first were laid down as far west as Edmonton, by the Dominion Government in the 1870s. A transcontinental railway was being built the last spike of which was nailed late in the fall of 1885. Post offices dotted the countryside along the CPR line and in the north from Batoche to Lacombe.

Communication progress in the west was ultimately less a matter of technology than an expression of brute force in response to the Métis insurrection of 1885 and the policy of westward settlement which helped spark it. Force was exercised despite technical limitations. Arriving on the scene in mid April, the general sent to put down the rebellion found there was no ferry at Clark’s Crossing. A scow was eventually procured for the purpose of moving a body of troops onto the west bank of the South Saskatchewan. The telegraph line was not in good shape. Many of the poles between Prince Albert and Clark’s Crossing had rotted. A series of huts stocked with firewood and hay, was built in order to accommodate the inevitable repair crews. The general made daily use of the telegraph. Updates were sent to Ottawa and instructions arrived by return message.

The military put the telegraph to good use, as did the coterie of newspaper correspondents sent to cover the Rebellion. Guerre oblige there was censorship of the press. The officer in command of the Battleford expedition, further west, perused the copy of the reporter of the Montréal Witness prior to despatch. The commander of the Batoche expedition exercised some control as well. On May 15th a scout came into the telegraph office at Clark’s Crossing with a command from the General that news of Riel’s capture was not to be made public on the wire. One of the journalists refused to comply with the ban. He left, returned within the hour and announced that he had found a courier prepared to carry his despatch to the nearest office 60 miles away in Humbolt. The agent thanked him for the information and promptly telegraphed his counterpart in Humbolt instructing him not to send the despatch when and if it arrived. The gag order was rescinded perhaps by end of day for news that Riel had been taken appeared in the May 16 Saturday edition of the Toronto Globe.

There was a post office in Batoche, the main Métis camp. Located next to the church in the school house, on a bluff commanding the South Saskatchewan River, it was run by reverend Father Moulin, with the probable assistance of the school mistress. The idea of having a post office in Batoche was sound. The two nearest ones, Stobart and Grandin were on the western side of the South Saskatchewan. Access to the river was especially complicated when the ice was running. In the spring of 1883, the mail-men were obliged to leave their horses behind on the east bank. Upon reaching the other side, couriers faced the daunting talk of trekking through mud and ascending the steep slope of the west bank on foot.

The valley of the North Saskatchewan, at Edmonton, is a steep-banked affair as well. In winter pedestrians and teams could cross on the river’s frozen surface but come April, as in 1893, this could be dangerous; the ice showed signs of breaking, the water was rising. We could really use a bridge, opined the Edmonton Bulletin. Population in 1890 was probably less than 50 but the founding fathers were sure Edmonton had a grand destiny.

The population numbered some 4200 in 1901 and a whopping 53,000 in 1916: i.e. within 15 years. In terms of infrastructure Edmonton received every thing in short order: a new bridge, a power house, railway connections on both sides of the river, telephone, telegraph, tram and, in 1910, a de luxe 4-story post office, featuring a 130 foot clock tower and a staff of 42 clerks and 15 letter carriers. The new post office was built because the previous one burnt down in 1907.

The fire started in the basement shortly before noon. Someone phoned the alarm into fire department which was the customary way of doing things. (out of total of 77 fire incidents in 1907: 33 were made known to the fire department advised by phone, 15 by electronic firebox; 7 times by messenger. Most of the morning mail had been sorted, letter carriers were about distributing it to the homes and people of Edmonton. The street was black with people, some volunteering their assistance, but most just looking on and sometimes applauding the courage of firefighters. The area was cordoned off by a rope, policemen ensured that no one touched the goods emptied from the various neighbouring commercial premises, piled out in the street, and the kept the crowd under control. The post office was a loss, although thankfully most of the morning mail had been sorted, letter carriers were about distributing it to the homes and people of Edmonton. There had been some concern that the telephone building would go up but that didn’t happen. These nearby premises were damaged: a tailor shop, lawyer office, physician, butcher, printer, photographer and the Bijoux Theatre. City center power supply was cut off from noon to 3 p.m. in order to permit the use of an auxiliary engine serving the main water-pumping engine.

In this description I think we see many elements of communication: the crowd spectators, the telephone (as building as fire alarm), the post office, the photographer and Bijoux Theatre (cinema). They are all linked to a common power supply and a common culture of urban communication.

Large post offices would grace the streets of other prairie towns and cities during the key boom era of 1890 to 1920. Along with the troops, newspapers, telegraph and news wire, the post helped ensure that the west was won, for civilization.