Battle of Frenchman's Butte - The Battle

The Battle

Early on the morning of May 28, the Cree warriors divided into two groups. Wandering Spirit, the Cree war chief, led some 200 warriors to positions in the trenches and rifle pits, while Little Poplar remained with a second group to protect the camp, some two miles away. General Strange arrived opposite the Cree position at six in the morning and opened fire with a piece of artillery. The Cree responded, opening fire on Strange's units. Some Canadian troops tried to cross the valley, but they found the bottom covered in muskeg. On top of this, there was a steep, open hillside in front of the Cree, making any frontal assault suicidal. Strange pulled his forces back and deployed them along the bottom of the valley. The two units of NWMP formed the left flank. To their right was the 65th battalion of Montreal, with the Winnipeg Light Infantry in the centre, while the right flank was formed by the Alberta Mounted Rifles.

The two sides exchanged fire for three hours. Cree rifle fire wounded some of the Canadian troops in the valley, while the Canadian artillery put holes in the hillside, damaging the trenches. Eventually, General Strange ordered Major Sam Steele to lead the NWMP north and outflank the Cree. The Cree saw this, and Wandering Spirit led a group of warriors along the tops of the hills, parallel to Steele, and occasionally opened fire. This caused the NWMP to believe that the Cree's lines were much longer than they actually were, so Steele turned back. Around the same time, some Cree warriors managed to outflank the Alberta Mounted Rifles and almost captured the supply train. Afraid of being attacked from behind, General Strange ordered his force to retreat. The Canadians withdrew to Fort Pitt after three hours of fighting. The Cree slipped away later that day, initiating the final stage of the rebellion, as more than 1,000 men searched the woods for Big Bear's band.

On May 29, near Frenchman's Butte Inspector S.B. Steele made contact with an Indian scouting party. Steele's scouts called out to the party and were fired upon. Steele's troops returned fire and killed the first Indian casualty of the war. They rode down with a friend to view the remains and found his body on top the hill where he evidently had been dragged by the scout. His body was stripped of all clothing with the rope (cut short to about one yard in length) still around his neck, which had cut into his jaw. He was a huge fine looking Indian, 'Ma-me-nook'by name. The scout who had captured his mount(a swift-footed black stallion belonging to the HBCo) had galloped around the prairie with the rope attached to his saddle pommel, trailing the body in the grass in circles, the trails of which were still visible. He had thus been left exposed for days before being buried; and his body from the intense heat, was huge in size when I saw him. I requested to have him buried. " H.A. MacKay, memories, HBCo archives and Glenbow Archives.