Riding on the Cowcatcher

Last Friday, we had a party at the museum to mark the end of our year-long celebration of the 50th Anniversary of the Revelstoke Museum & Archives Association. Close to 80 people came out to enjoy refreshments, see our new panel on the history of the museum and take part in a challenging scavenger hunt. We were pleased to present 13 of our long-standing volunteers with certificates and Williamson's Lake posters to thank them for their many years of outstanding service.

During the evening, I told a story regarding Sir John A. Macdonald and Lady Macdonald's trip across the newly-built Canadian Pacific Railway in 1886. They arrived in Donald, B.C. (just this side of Golden) in July 22, 1886. Their visit was described by Elsie Spragge, a journalist and wife of Arthur Godfrey Molson Spragge, a lawyer who was establishing his practice in Donald and Golden. This account was written by Elsie Spragge in her book, “From Ontario to the Pacific by CPR” published in 1887.

“They arrived by special train at two o’clock, Lady Macdonald creating an immense sensation, as the engine drew near the crowded platform, by her occupancy of a well-cushioned seat immediately above the cow-catcher; she had made the whole trip from the summit down the Kicking House Pass on this commanding post of observation, and subsequently continued her journey to Port Moody without any change of base (they not travelling by night), a feat which will doubtless become historical. Sir John and Lady Macdonald spent only half an hour at the station, just long enough to receive a handsomely engrossed address presented by Judge Vowell, Stipendiary Magistrate and Gold Commissioner of the Kootenay District, on behalf of the residents of Donald." The cowcatcher was the metal grille or frame projecting from the front of a locomotive which served to clear the track of obstructions.

Elsie and Arthur Spragge later settled in Revelstoke, where Arthur continued to practice law. His law office was at the back of the Molson's Bank building, at the corner of Mackenzie Avenue and First Street. In June of 1898, Arthur Spragge went missing, and when it was discovered that he had retreived his gun from the provincial constable and had been last seen near the river bank, it was assumed that he had committed suicide. His body was not found until September of that year. In the meantime, Elsie Spragge moved to Toronto, and later to Banff, where she continued to make a name for herself as a journalist.