Portrait of William Bleasdell Cameron
Photo: William Beaswell Cameron · Wikimedia Commons

Author

William Bleasdell Cameron

Canadian survivor of the Frog Lake Massacre (1862-1951)

Born
July 26, 1862, Trenton
Died
March 4, 1951, Meadow Lake
Occupation
Editor

Life and work

William Bleasdell Cameron (1862–1951) was a Canadian author. He is best known as being one of the survivors of the Frog Lake Massacre, and his book The War Trail of Big Bear that recounts his experiences of the massacre and his captivity. He was born July 26, 1862, in Trenton, Canada West.

In 1885 he was working as a clerk for the Hudson's Bay Company store at Frog Lake in the District of Saskatchewan, North-West Territories. He survived the Frog Lake Massacre of the North-West Rebellion on April 2, 1885, and was held captive for two months by Big Bear's band of Cree.

After being freed he was attached to Major General Thomas Bland Strange's column and later was awarded the North West Canada Medal for his role as a scout and guide.(pages 51–52)

Cameron was in Regina in 1885 during the trial of Big Bear, where he testified in Big Bear's defence. He testified he had heard Big Bear try to stop the massacre at Frog Lake.

Cameron founded and edited the newspaper Vermilion Signal, served on the town council of Vermilion, Alberta, and was briefly editor of the magazine Field and Stream, New York.

He died in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, on March 4, 1951, of double pneumonia at age 88. The inscription on his headstone reads "G. Scout, William B. Cameron, Northwest Field Force, 4th March, 1951—Rest In Peace."(p. 155)

Text: “William Bleasdell Cameron”, from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, under the license CC BY-SA 4.0. Dates and facts: Wikidata.

Collection

Books by William Bleasdell Cameron

1 book