Cypress Hills Massacre, The

The Cypress Hills Massacre edited by Robert Clipperton Published by The Saskatchewan Archaeological Society Review by Keith Foster $35.00 ISBN 978-0-9691420-9-6 Everyone loves a good mystery. Even more, everyone loves finding the solution to a mystery. This is what archaeologist Donalee Deck strives to achieve as she digs for answers by literally digging up the past. Her report forms the bulk of material in The Cypress Hills Massacre, edited by Robert Clipperton. By using ground-penetrating radar, Deck was able to document previously unknown structures and other archaeological features at Abel Farwell’s trading post, originally known as Fort Farwell, in the Cypress Hills region of what is now southwestern Saskatchewan. Her digs helped determine when the fort was constructed, what it looked like, and what daily life was like. The outline of the massacre is generally known. On June 1, 1873, American wolf hunters slaughtered several Assiniboine families camped near the fort. The details leading up to this event, and its aftermath, are not so well known. The unprovoked assault on Canadian soil caused an international incident, resulting in an extradition trial for the accused. Thomas R. Cox, secretary of the American Board of Indian Commissioners, wrote from Bozeman, Montana in…