Reading the life story of Sam Steele is like taking a guided tour through Canadian history. His life can be summed up in three words: He was there. He was there at the rebellion at the Red River Settlement. He was there when the first North-West Mounted Police made their long and agonizing trek to the territory they were to control. He was there when they faced Louis Riel in 1885, and when they negotiated the last treaties with the plains Indians. he supervised the construction of the Canadian Pacific Railway, and confronted the chaotic and lawless forces at work in the Yukon Territory during the Gold Rush.