The Papaschase reserve was cancelled just as the C&E Railway line was being built through it. The reserve only partially surveyed on the ground ran from present-day Southgate Mall and Malmo to Millwoods. The C&E, built in 1890/1891, ran from the CPR track in Calgary north to the Edmonton area. Its route at the Edmonton end, especially where it stopped - its end of steel - was pivotal to its effect on and usefulness to Edmonton.
The reserve stretched across the land south of Edmonton the most direct route between Edmonton and Calgary.
What would happen?
Where would the line be laid?
And what was the connection between the end of the reserve and the building of the line?
On page 29 of Old Strathcona: Edmonton's Southside Roots I say that Dick Garneau "wrote that the C&E Railway around 1888 tried to obtain a right-of-way through the [Papaschase] reserve" but that the reserve's leaders refused.
1888 seems too early so I did more research.
I found reference in Edmonton Bulletin (of June 28, 1890) on the Edmonton Bulletin-versus-Calgary Herald skirmish on shenanigans concerning determination of where C&E would cross N. Sask River.
The article referred to past accusations (not seen) that the reserve would be used as profit machine of speculators, but the article corrected this impression, saying the reserve had still not been sold so was not in private hands.
And of course the C&E never did cross the river so the choice of crossing was a non-issue.
The line came north along present-day 103rd Street right through the reserve and ended at present-day Saskatchewan Drive on the south side of the river, not making good connection to Edmonton, built around the old fur trade post on the northside. The growth of Strathcona on the south side (not part of the reserve land by this point) was the eventual outcome of the line's construction.
Edmonton Bulletin Oct 4, 1890 says railway line being surveyed through "Indian reserve on South Side" (the Papaschase reserve).
Its surrender was made official later that same month, on Oct. 24. The land was not immediately made available to speculators -- the land was not put on auction and sold off until two years later, says my Strathcona book.
I could not find any reference of discussion between C&E and the band.
Dick Garneau's version has the fault that Ellerslie did not exist at that time. At least it does not seem to be mentioned in the Edmonton Bulletin at all, at all in 1888 to 1890.
Latter-day Ellerslie may have made economic sense to the railway line, still all the traffic to Edmonton would go there, to be transhipped expensively by horse and cart. And the end of steel would have formed up as a large centre while Strathcona, equally "bald prairie" at the time, would suffer from on-going competition with Edmonton for all the ensuing years. The railways really did not serve Edmonton well, even with its end of steel at Strathcona (and did much of its business and contributed to urban growth (the sprouting up of Wetaskiwin, Red Deer, etc.) south along the line). And by 1905 Edmonton had two of its own rail-lines operating separately from the C&E line anyway.
But his version is otherwise likely.
The C&E line did go through Bear's hill reserve. There the local band(s) objected but did nothing to stop the survey being done, according to the Edmonton Bulletin. But it would have been ongoing friction.
The C&E was likely to want to avoid conflict and was likely to have made threats of relocating. (I think Randy Lawrence, in his section of my Strathcona book, said one potential crossing was at the mouth of the Whitemud). And the location of the line was critical to Edmonton's development so until it was actually laid in place, the railway company held massive leverage on Edmonton townspeople and officials (such as Frank Oliver). And perhaps the leverage did push Frank Oliver et all to close down the reserve.
But Edmonton Bulletin does not seem to say anything about it. Of course the Bulletin was owned by Frank Oliver, so we must take that omission with grain of salt.
Thanks for reading.
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