THUNDER BAY – Red River Expedition Soldiers are singing their lungs out to an accompanying bugle and fiddle, with the man at left providing the beat with this hands.
These soldiers obviously had much to celebrate.
They had just won a great victory in battle and were on their way home to wives, girlfriends and families. These were the soldiers of General Middleton’s army returning from the North West after suppressing the Second Riel Rebellion in 1885.
They are in Port Arthur, due to leave for the east by ship the following day. And the building they are in was called The Bazaar, a general store and, in this case, a makeshift tavern and dining hall, on the south-west corner of South Cumberland and Park Streets. The building, which later housed Lowery’s and more recently the North City Outdoor Store, still stands today (though it appears in rough shape) making it one of the city’s oldest.
A Moment with the Museum:
Text by Tory Tronrud, Thunder Bay Museum
Photo courtesy of the Thunder Bay Museum