Continued from My Canadian Rockies Trip, Part 1

After the eventful visit to the Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo-Jump described in the last post, we arrived at the Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village at Pincher Creek, a small town in southwestern Alberta.

A Little History

John George “Kootenai” Brown was born in Ireland in 1839. He served in the British army in India during The Revolt of 1857 (aka the Sepoy Mutiny). Eventually he made his way to Western Canada and traded with the Kootenai First Nation earning his nickname “Kootenai”. He was a multi-faceted individual; trader, hunter, tourist guide and later, park warden. The Pioneer Village bearing his name was established in 1966 to preserve the frontier heritage of that era. The well preserved cabins with period memorabilia evoke that historic time.

In the 1800s when prospectors were roaming the land, pincers were a valuable implement used for shoeing horses, pulling teeth and a myriad other uses. One such prospector lost his in a creek. Years later the rusty pincers were found and the town at the site was named Pincher Creek in 1868. (I double checked— Pincher Creek is spelt with an h).

Kootenai Brown Pioneer Village

We were greeted at the entrance by a charming young woman in a straw hat and a clipboard. Other men and women in period costumes took us around and explained the various exhibits. We saw rustic, one-roomed log cabins with wood-fired stoves, cooking utensils, ironing boards and articles used in every day life in those times.

There were several stuffed animal heads on the walls and pelts on the beds, a reminder of the abundant wild life in the area at that time.

I looked around and imagined how life must have been in this pioneer settlement nearly two hundred years ago with a large family cooped in a single cramped cabin through the long, long, frigid winters. It must have been hard with food scarce, but they took it in their stride, and even prospered. Yet today, living in large, centrally heated and air-conditioned houses, with ample food, we complain constantly. Trips like these give a new perspective to life.

The North West Mounted Police (NWMP) established in 1873 were tasked with maintaining law and order in the new territories of western Canada. Not surprisingly, they had a post in this village. I saw one such cabin. It was spartan with a model of a walrus-mustached officer, his red tunic, riding boots and buffalo-skin winter coat. The new frontier was a rough place and these officers must have had their hands full maintaining law and order in the huge territory. These paramilitary forces eventually coalesced into the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, the colorful, red-jacketed, photogenic “Mounties” of today.

We had dinner in this pleasant, rustic setting. I selected the spicy vegetarian chili over the hamburger. It turned out to be surprisingly tasty. For dessert we had mixed berry and rhubarb cobbler with ice cream. A local singer entertained us with songs as the light gradually faded from the sky. Summer days are long in the northern latitudes. It was getting late as we headed for our hotel and to bed.

I fell asleep dreaming of glaciers and my trip for the next day.

Next post: Waterton Lake, Logan Pass and Glacier National Park.