Rebellion, 1885 - Twentieth Anniversary of Cut Knife / Description of Fight by an Eye-Witness
Database ID | 24505 | |
Institution | University of Saskatchewan Archives | |
Fonds/Collection | J.E. Murray fonds | |
Series | MG60_E | |
File/Item Reference | MG60_E-IV-A-8 (Vol. 58) | |
Date of creation | 11 May 1885 | |
Physical description/extent | 1 article; 4 pages of textual records | |
Number of images | 4 | |
Historical note | On 2 May 1885, during the Northwest Rebellion, Cree and Assiniboine natives defeated 300 soldiers commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel William Otter in the Battle of Cut Knife. Using a limited number of men, war chief Fine Day virtually surrounded and pinned down Otter's force on an exposed plain. After 6 hours of fighting, Otter retreated as Cree Chief Poundmaker held the warriors back. Eight of Otter's force died; 5 or 6 natives were killed. The battlefield is on the Poundmaker Reserve, about 40 km west of Battleford, SK, just north of Cut Knife Hill, a feature named for a Sarcee warrior who died near there. A cairn sits near the middle of the battlefield, near Chief Poundmaker's grave. His body was moved to the site in 1967 from Blackfoot Crossing, Alberta, where he died in 1886. | |
Scope and content | A transcribed newspaper article from the Saskatchewan Herald of 11 May 1885. It describes in pro-Otter terms the battle between Lt. Col. Otter's troops and those of Chief Poundmaker at Cut Knife Hill. Item found within folder 1 of file Rebellion, 1885. | |
Copyright holder | Public domain | |
Copyright expiry date | Public domain | |
Type | Archival | |
Primary Media | Textual documents | |
Specific document types | Articles | |
Provenance Access Point | Murray, Jean Elizabeth, 1901-1981 | |
Place | Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada Cut Knife Hill, Saskatchewan, Canada | |
Treaty boundaries | Treaty 6 | |
Cultural region | Plains | |
Names | Herchmer, Lawrence William, 1840-1915 (Lt.-Col.) Otter, William Dillon, 1843-1929 pihtikowa-nahapÄwiyin pihtikwÄn-ayapÄ«wÄ«yan Poundmaker, ca. 1842-1886 (Chief) | |
Subject | Northwest Resistance Law Enforcement -- NWMP News and Reporting -- Articles Battle descriptions | |
Date Range(s) | 1880-1889 | |
Permanent Link | https://digital.scaa.sk.ca/ourlegacy/permalink/24505 |