ars later, the
Mounted Police stood guard over the railway which was the first to link
together with steel the scattered Provinces of the new Confederation and
the construction of which within a given time was required to get
British Columbia to become part of Canada. Thus were these red-coated
men nation-builders, in that it was under their protection that the vast
enterprise was carried forward to completion.

It is not unexpectedly then that we come across two special letters from
the builders of the great railway expressing their warm appreciation of
the work of the Police. The first is from that remarkable man, Mr. W. C.
Van Horne, who was afterwards President of the Railway, and who was
knighted for his distinguished services to the Empire as a builder of
railways. Van Horne was a somewhat extraordinary composite. I recall
having the privilege of being under his guidance around the fine art
gallery of Lord Strathcona in Montreal, and had evidence not only of his
genial companionship, but of his being an art connoisseur as well as a
skilled user of the brush himself. Socially and in his home he was full
of comradeship and bright joviality, but as a railroader he was as
inflexible and apparently unemotional as the material with which he
worked. He was not given to gushing letters, so that the following from
him from his office as General Manager of date January 1, 1883, is
noteworthy:

"DEAR SIR,--Our work of construction for the year 1882 has just
closed, and I cannot permit the occasion to pass without
acknowledging the obligations of the company to the North-West
Mounted Police, whose zeal and industry in preventing traffic in
liquor and preserving order along the line of construction have
contributed so much to the successful prosecution of the work.
Indeed, without the assistance of the officers and men of the
splendid Force under your command it would have been impossible to
have accomplished as much as we did. On no great work within my
knowledge, where so many men have been employed, has such perfect
order prevailed. On behalf of the company and of all their
officers, I wish to return thanks and to acknowledge particularly
our obligations to yourself and Major Walsh.

"I am, sir,
"Yours very truly,
"W. C. VAN HORNE,
"_General Manager_."

"Lieutenant-Colonel A. G. IRVINE,