James Morrow Walsh
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James Morrow Walsh, (22 May 1840 – 25 July 1905) was a North West Mounted Police (NWMP) officer and the first Commissioner of the Yukon Territory.
Born in Prescott, Ontario, after the Cypress Hills Massacre resulted in the creation of the NWMP, Superintendent Walsh was sent established Fort Walsh in the Cypress Hills in what is now Saskatchewan in 1875, naming it after himself. His main role in southern Saskatchewan was to keep an eye on Sitting Bull who had taken refuge in Canada at Wood Mountain after the Battle of Little Big Horn. Walsh earned Sitting Bull's trust while staying at the Wood Mountain NWMP post, and successfully kept the peace. By the summer of 1877, Walsh, although still in command of Fort Walsh, spent little time there. His headquarters became the Wood Mountain post, among Sitting Bull and the 5,000 Sioux. But he did not fulfill his basic mission, which was to convince Sitting Bull to return to the U.S.. He was transferred to Fort Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan in 1880 and reluctantly resigned three years later.
In August 1897, during the height of the Klondike Gold Rush, Walsh was appointed Commissioner of the newly-created Yukon Territory. He resigned soon after in 1898 and remained until his successor, William Ogilvie returned to the Yukon. He died in Brockville, Ontario in 1905.
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| Preceded by: office created |
Commissioner of the Yukon Territory 1897–1898 |
Succeeded by: William Ogilvie |
