Sir William Francis Butler (1838–1910) was an Irish-born officer in the British Army, traveller, and author whose military career took him to Canada, Africa, India, and South Africa. Stationed in British North America from 1867, he participated in the Red River Expedition of 1870 and subsequently undertook extensive journeys through the North-West, recording his observations in a series of travel narratives that remain valuable accounts of the region before large-scale settlement.
Originally published in 1872, this is Butler's account of his journey across the Canadian North-West following the Red River Expedition. Travelling through the Red River Settlement, the Saskatchewan country, and into present-day Alberta, he records his meetings with Métis, First Nations, Hudson's Bay Company officials, missionaries, and settlers, together with detailed observations of the landscape, wildlife, transportation, and daily life. The volume also includes Butler's account of his meeting with Louis Riel at Fort Garry and reproduces his 1871 report on conditions in the North-West.
