True and Fascinating Canadian History
Vet of the Month : November 2009
Reg.#1683, NWMP Constable Charles J. Lennox
RCMP Vets. Ottawa, ON
November is the month of the dead. Soldiers are immersed with death and some war veterans try to forget how close they came to meeting it. Well on in age, Vets recall friends who did not come home. Loneliness is no companion. Our Vet of the Month story tells of a NWMP who joined the Force in November. Later on, his career ended in November. He disappeared and was found dead in an isolated cabin some years later. (J. J. Healy)
The birth date of NWMP Constable Charles J. Lennox is not been knwon, but it is known that he joined the NWMP on November 2, 1885 and that he served for about five years. After his police service in Alberta and Saskatchewan he purchased his discharge on November 1, 1890.
Little is known about Lennox's life after leaving the NWMP except that he wanted to be left alone. Years later, Charles Lennox's body was found. It appeared that he had lived alone in an old wilderness cabin when he died unexpectedly on March 1, 1896.
RIP
His cabin was located in a very lonely and isolated spot at the east end of Deadman's Lake, AB -- one theory is that the name was officially given to the lake after the discovery of Constable Lennox's body.
The Charles Lennox gravesite is on crown land and leased today by Mr. Roy Scammell, Friend of the Force. To be more precise, his property is 5 miles south and 1.5 miles west of Cadogan, AB. Mr. Scammell has lived in the area since 1955 and he has leased the land where Cst. Lennox was buried for decades.
According to Mr. Scammell, the Lennox grave was once marked by a long-necked beer bottle turned upside down and pushed into the ground. He also believes that there was once a wooden cross on Cst. Lennox's grave. In 1981, a medal fence guard was erected by the Spence's Historical Site Society to prevent damage to the grave by roaming livestock.
Mr. Scammel recalled that years ago he found squared off pieces of lumber near the Lennox grave. He thought the discovery of the lumber was consistent with the existence of the old Lennox cabin. The cabin is also referred to in a local Alberta History Book titled "A Treasury of Memories".
The specific excerpt is entitled, "A Cabin And A Grave'.: The excerpt states "...in 1891 NWMP records stated that regular patrols went out as far as Sounding Lake...". The Sounding Lake route was used by the NWMP for travel between Fort MacLeod, AB and Battleford, SK.
There is little reason to doubt that other travellers used this preferred route across the plains as well. Wandering Indians, trappers and others probably passed through.
One person at least must have chosen this area as a place to live, for in 1896, an Indian was hunting at Sounding Lake and discovered a cabin about seven miles north-west of the Lake. Nearby was a grave. An investigation by Sergeant Mills revealed a carefully prepared grave on a ridge about 75 feet from the cabin.
The headstone indicated that Charles Lennox, an ex-member of the NWMP was buried there. A note in the cabin said that a man, Adsik, had arrived at the Lake in October and left for Medicine Hat on April 10. Lennox had died March 1."
Access to the Lennox grave site is through private property. The landowner and Lessee, Mr. Roy Scammell (directly above in photo) can definitely be deemed a 'Friend of the Force.'
David A. Guy, Guy & Associates Ltd.
P.O. Box 360, Edgerton, AB. T0B 1K0
E-Mail: daguy@wy-com.ca
*David: Thank you very much for this most unusual story. And I'm pleased also that you also brought it to our attention.
Vets and our Friends sometimes must travel far afield to find the location of a deceased member's grave. There are times when valid identification cannot be given to these forgotten souls.
Reporting from Fort Healy,
J. J. Healy
November 23, 2009
