The Temperance life in Saskatoon - Archie Brown

Well Hello!  I am Archie Brown.  A number of years ago I used to homestead in the Saskatoon area of what is now called 'Saskatchewan'.  Back then, we just called it "the NorthWest Territory" as it was sparsely populated, and even had its own half-breed (the Canadians call them 'the Metis') rebellion (in reality, this so-called 'rebellion' was simply an isolated matter dealt with soundly by Middleton and his men from Ontario).

It's been a few years now since I lived in Saskatoon so I decide to write a letter to a friend of mine to share some greater detail into my experience.  If you click here, you will be able to read the whole thing yourself, but these next 4 recordings are simply my way of expressing to you what life was like for a simple person like me on the Canadian prairies.  I hope you enjoy it - I know I sure did!


Here is a story about what our food situation sometimes consisted of due to our isolation.


Things got a little "heated" during the days of Louis Riel.  We were a little concerned about the local Dakotas under Chief Whitecap, but this never amounted to much.  In truth, most of the excursion never amounted to much for any of us in Saskatoon.


While sometimes life felt fairly lonesome out on the prairie, there always seemed like there was something worthwhile to do with some good friends around to pass the time.


While the advertisements given by the Temperance Colonization Society of Toronto seemed to indicate the land was good for cereal farming, the reality was much different.  In the end my land became worthless so I packed up what I had left and headed south of Saskatoon to the Dundurn area.



I have fond memories of my time in the great NorthWest!  There are a number of other stories I haven't shared here such as some of the encounters we had with the Indians (there is one story about an old Indian skull that still amuses me to this day!).  I hope you've enjoyed this little walk through my social life (limited as it was) in Saskatoon and if you ever come down my way, be sure to look me up!