The picturesque Frenchman River twists like a scalded snake through a deep valley across southern Saskatchewan. In places, high, dry bluffs edge the valley, and green vegetation stands stark against the grey cliffs. We discovered this place while on a picture and fact collecting tour for my scenic travel guide Canada: Beyond the Far Horizons.
Nestled along the shore, hemmed in on one side by the bluffs, is the quiet community of Eastend. This site had been the approximate location of an 1870’s Hudson Bay Trading Post. After the Sioux had dealt out appropriate justice to George Custer’s troops at the Battle of the Little Big Horn River by wiping them off the map for their intrusions upon Indian traditional land, they decided to strategically slip away into Canada.
Once in Canada they were not allowed to do whatever they wanted. The North West Mounted Police (NWMP) had already built Fort Walsh in the Cypress Hills to try and stop whisky traders from south of the border and to keep the peace. The Mounted Police sent a small detachment of the force east to monitor and control the visiting Sioux Indians. Later they moved their post to the area of the old Trading Post which was the east end of the NWMP’s area and the name became “Eastend”.
The Frenchman River carved deeply into the rolling plains. But hidden deep in the soil and rock below the surface are the fossilized bones of the dinosaurs. Over the years people had picked up large numbers of bones and fossils and the citizens of Eastend determined there was a growing need for a home to bring these fossil finds together where they could be identified and viewed.
If you have time, drive to the Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park that crosses the borders of Alberta, and Saskatchewan. There you will find relaxing campsites, and a chance to visit Fort Walsh. All in all, this is a nice place to visit.
For more than four decades James Stoness has travelled the roads of North America, photographing and writing about what he has seen. His travel articles and beautiful pictures have been published in several magazines and newspapers. He is also the author of five western novels.