the favourable notice of the railway officials and others _en
route_." In preparation for the march westward to the foothills of the
Rockies the three divisions "A," "B," and "C" that had been quartered
for the winter at Lower Fort Garry left that point on June 7, 1874, and
were at the rendezvous at Dufferin near the boundary line to greet the
Commissioner and the three divisions "D," "E," and "F," which had come
through as related from Toronto.

Just before leaving Lower Fort Garry with the original divisions,
Inspector James Farquharson McLeod had been appointed Assistant
Commissioner of the Force. Thus one of the noted figures in the after
history of Western Canada came upon the scene of his future work and
triumphs. McLeod had served as Assistant Brigade Major in Wolseley's Red
River expedition and for his services then received the brevet rank of
Lieut.-Colonel and the C.M.G. He was originally from Calgarry in
Scotland (hence the name of the city of Calgary in Alberta in his
honour) and had all the judicial faculty of the Scot coupled with the
ardour of his Highland ancestry. His absolute reliability and fearless
fairness gave him an influence over the Indians in later days that can
only be described as extraordinary, and the time came when that
commanding power over the warlike Blackfeet stood Canada in good stead.

Commissioner French lost no time in getting his men into shape at the
rendezvous. From the divisions he brought with him he drafted fifty men
to bring the original divisions up to strength. He arranged the night
camp with the Eastern horses inside the zariba of wagons, and the
Western horses, mostly broncos, on the outside--an arrangement that
turned out well in view of a stampede that took place. The occasion of
the stampede (and there is nothing more fearful than a stampede of
maddened animals) was a terrific thunderstorm, which transformed the
prairie into a sea of electric flame and sent bolts crashing into the
zariba amidst the horses that were tied to the wagons. Sergt.-Major Sam
B. Steele (that was then his rank), who was riding near this enclosure,
thus vividly described the scene: "A thunder-bolt fell in the midst of
the horses. Terrified, they broke their fastenings, and made for the
side of the corral. The six men on guard were trampled under foot as
they tried to stop them. The maddened beasts overturned the huge
wagons, dashed through a row of tents, scattered everything, and made
for the