0 miles from
the starting-point at Dufferin. Near here the Commissioner established
what he called Cripple Camp for the maimed and halt, both of man and
beast, for already the hardship of the route had begun to take its toll.
But there was no time to lose, and French throughout was insistent on
getting forward, for the way was long, and it was necessary to get out
to the Cypress Hills country, get some shelters erected for the men and
horses, and lay in some stores of provisions. By the end of August they
were pretty well to their destination. In the meantime, Colonel French
had gone over the line to Fort Benton, Montana, the nearest telegraphic
point in those days, secured some stores and learned from Ottawa that
after arrival at the foot-hill points, he was to leave Assistant
Commissioner MacLeod in charge and return himself with "E" and "D"
Divisions to Fort Pelly or Swan River, as the headquarters of the Force.
While Colonel French was in Montana for a few days several half-breed
buffalo-hunters visited the Police camp and told some ferocious stories
about the desperadoes who were entrenched out in the cattle-stealing and
boot-legging belt waiting to dispute possession with the new-comers. The
scarlet-coated men took in all they said and smiled. Forts "Whoop-Up,"
"Stand-off" and the rest, with some of the outlaws in garrison, would
have been a welcome diversion after the hardships they had experienced.

Perhaps the leading incident of this particular part of the big trek was
the discovery by the Commissioner of Jerry Potts, a short, heavy-set,
taciturn man, half Scot and half Piegan, a wonderful plainsman, skilled
in the language of the Indian tribes and a past-master in all the lore
of the prairies. His father was an Edinburgh Scot, who was killed in
Missouri by an Indian, and it is said that Jerry, though a mere boy,
followed the Indian into camp and shot him. Anyway, Jerry Potts became a
splendid help to the Police, a trainer of scouts, a matchless diplomat
with the Indians, an incomparable interpreter, and a highly respected
guide who, without consulting maps, seemed to know the way by instinct
either in summer or winter. He began to be useful as soon as he took
service with the Force in that fall of 1874. He guided them to the best
feeding-places for the horses and cattle, and to the watering-places
which were so constantly needed. And when, a few days after he came, the
column struck herds of innumerable buffal