THE MAKING OF THE CANADIAN WEST; BEING THE REMINISCENCES OF AN EYE-WITNESS.

Toronto: Coles, 1973. 230 pp, 8 5/8" H. Burgundy cloth with black title block, gilt lettering/banding on spine, gilt lettering/banding on front board - one of the Coles Canadian Collection. B&w photographs, drawings. A facsimile of the edition published by William Briggs, Toronto, 1898. "As a boy, R.G. MacBeth witnessed the struggle we now know as the Riel Rebellion. His account begins with the barring to the new Canadian governor of the highway between Fort Garry and the border on October 21, 1869, and ends with the triumphant return of the Winnipeg Light Infantry to Winnipeg in 1885. Written from 'notes made nightly at the camp-fire' while the author took part in the military campaign, the story is dramatic and authentic. However, there is more here than simply sources for the military or political historian. The book brings to life the drama of frontier days. The remarkable men who shaped the West walk again: Ambroise Lepine, Riel's huge lieutenant, 'the only one who manifested anything like manliness after it was over'; Dr. John Shultz, who escaped from the rebels by running six miles on an injured leg through arctic temperatures; Donald A. Smith, the commissioner from Ottawa, 'a man of rare skill and tact'; Riel himself, who 'felt the wine of a new movement in his system'. The heart-breaking struggle of these men and their contemporaries to create a new land is graphically portrayed." Dust jacket has light edge rubbing, small tear (archivally taped) with creases at top of front flap-fold.. Facsimile Edition.. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Very Good-.