s.

Superintendent Perry, who with the good assistance of Inspector Cuthbert
commanded in the Prince Albert district in 1888, made some specially
valuable recommendations as to the future care of the Indians, and
praised the work of the missionaries amongst them. He said, "The hope of
improvement in the Indian lies in the training of the rising generation,
and it is to be hoped that before long the children will be taken in
hand." And Perry's recommendation then made as to Industrial Schools
bore fruit not many years later to the great advantage of the Indian and
the country as well. Thus were the Police doing social service work as
their duties proceeded.

An interesting side-light is thrown on the changing conditions of the
West by our finding that in the late eighties a detachment of Police was
sent by request from that Province into southern Manitoba. This
detachment, under Inspector J. A. McGibbon (recently Assistant
Commissioner at Regina, now retired), who had done important work at
Moose Mountain and other far western points, had headquarters at Morden.
The business of this detachment was to patrol the whole country near the
boundary line, to grant special "Let Passes" to people who were entitled
to cross backwards and forwards, to prevent wood being taken from the
Canadian side by Dakota settlers, and generally to stand for law and
order. In connection with other work I was up and down that region a
good deal in those days, and recall the sense of general security the
scattered settlers had because of the presence of McGibbon and his men.

After five years in command of the Prince Albert district, which had
been the critical storm centre around which the winds of the Riel
rebellion had beaten fiercely, Inspector A. B. Perry, before changing to
another command, makes another valuable contribution to the development
of Western history when he writes some special paragraphs in regard to
the future of the half-breeds. Game was disappearing and the occupation
of freighting on the prairie was being rendered useless by the incoming
of railways. Perry says, "The mass of the half-breed population must
therefore turn their attention to other methods of making a living. They
have no alternative: farming must become their occupation in earnest.
The English and Scotch half-breeds have already done this successfully;
but very few of French descent have yet made any real attempt at it."
Perry was right. These people had the