Our first stop of the day was Moose Jaw. We went to the show “The Tunnels of Moose Jaw”. We were invited to relive Al Capone’s bootlegging days by playing the role of bootleggers interested in getting involved in the business. We learned how Al came to Canada and how the tunnels were used for brewing and escape. Not that escape was probably needed as the Police Chief seemed to be involved in the criminal activity. Indeed the city was known as the Red Light District of the Prairies.
The tour actually started across the street on the upper floors of what was mostly Capone’s private hotel. The bar setting was amazing in its use of animatronics in the role of the bar tender and the piano player. As we moved continuously deeper into the complex maze of rooms, we were frequently escorted to the next section through secret doors hidden behind a moving fireplace, false back of a closet, a wall that appeared to be cracked but the crack was the edge of the door, and so on. Capone had special chair brought into his office that had a solid steel bullet proof plate up the back. As we travelled through the maze we also worked our way down into the tunnels that had a weapons room, a switch board where all calls were monitored, a gambling room and even an onsite still. Our guides/actors played the role of the owner of the pub (Fannie) and the head of Al’s security (Gus). What was interesting was at the end of the performance the guy who played Gus (Luigi) went out of role and talked about how Al really was; dying at 48 of syphilis.
Moose Jaw, itself has had a very colourful and interesting history. At one time so many bison in the area had been slaughtered that there mountains and mountains of bones. They finally found a company in central Canada that would use the bones to make fertilizer, but there were just not enough rail cars in all of Canada to carry all of the bones. Earlier, Marion made the reference to the “Red Light District of the Prairies” ‘nough said.
The tunnels themselves, go all the way back to when the railroads were being built by mostly Chinese labourers who found that once the rail roads were built, were not really welcome in Canada any longer. Many sought shelter in the tunnels under Moose Jaw. The Museum of Human Rights elaborated on how the Chinese were at one time singled out to have to pay an exorbitant head tax that had the effect of stopping all Chinese immigration into Canada. No other nationality had been treated that way when trying to enter Canada. In 2006, Steven Harper issued a formal apology to the Chinese for the treatment they received from Canada.
We saw a road sign noting that we would soon be coming to the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve. We had no idea of what that was so planned to stop at the information centre on the Reserve but it was closed. Google helped and we learned that this reserve is one of two in Canada, and that there are only 35 worldwide. Over 100,000 shorebirds visit the 3 lakes in the reserve: Chaplin, Old Wives, and Reed. Some nest and others are just passing through. Many stop to feed on brine shrimp that are there. We wondered why some of the lakes had white all around them and we leaned that it was salt… hence the brine shrimp.
Our stop for the night is Swift Current. I called the first name on the list of RV sites on the internet and they had a space. A small park with only 22 sites off the main highway on a dirt road. It did have 30 amp power so we could turn on our air conditioners… helped with the 29 C temperatures. The owner of the place said that they are in the midst of a drought and people are concerned about the changing weather patterns. We had a quick tour of the town and did find a Starbucks……
Oh, and here comes the wind, lightning and rain to lull us off to sleep again.
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
Thanks, that was really informative.
Thanks for the thanks. Wow, there is so much to learn about Canada. There is so much “almost forgotten history” here.