A Conversation with Mr. Samuel Dunseith...

On Friday, April 9, 2004, Constable John Mitchell, RCMP and Mr. Stephen Budge travelled to the Wallaceburg area to meet with Mr. Samuel Dunseith, his lovely wife, Grace and some of their family. Mr. Dunseith recounted several occassions where he met with Samuel Horner in his later years.

This is a picture of Sam Horner from the Dunseith family. The young lad in the picture is most likely Sam Dunseith. He particularly recalled the day before Mr. Horner passed away. Apparently in his later years, Mr. Horner seldom left his bed & "never crossed the street", but on this occassion, he needed the help of Mr. Dunseith's mother, a nurse. Samuel Horner's sister, Lena (Selena), had passed away during the night and Mrs. Dunseith went to see what she could do, instructing young Mr. Dunseith (then 8) to make Mr. Horner a cup of tea... Mr. Dunseith also recounted several times when he was sent by his mother to provide a meal for Mr. Horner. He would find him lying in his bed in his longjohns. He described the room in terms that made the listeners think of a museum. Mr. Horner kept all the treasures of his engagement in the NWMP about him. Hanging off the two foot posts of his bed were his carbine and his Adams revolver. Mr. Dunseith added that his father and Mr. Horner were friends and that regularly his father would bring home the guns to clean & oil them.

After Mr. Horner's (and Miss Selena Horner's) funeral, their brother, James Walker Horner, (of Philadelphia) was cleaning out their home on Birmingham Street. In the course of this action, a number of items were tossed out of Mr. Horner's second story bedroom window which young Sam Dunseith acquired as souvenirs of his friend. In particular he mentioned a Blackfoot Indian Mocassin and a pipe stem (which he has since donated to the Walpole Island Museum) and this picture:

Staff-Sergeant Horner is on the left end, second row. From other pictures of this sort in the Glenbow Archives, the location can be identified as Fort Walsh. Sam Horner was stationed there from 1878 to 1882.

Mr. Dunseith and his family attended the rededication May 6 and were seated in the VIP Section.

Our heartfelt thanks go out to Mr. Dunseith for sharing his experiences with us and to his wife, Grace, for graciously hosting our meeting in their home.

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