Annual Report of the Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association and Honour Roll 1921 [Observer At Louis Riel's Trial]

The Alberta Land Surveyors’ Association (ALSA) was formed in 1910 as a professional organization for the province’s surveyors. This booklet contains a record of proceedings from the ASLA’s annual meeting held in Calgary on Jan. 17, 1922. The booklet includes reports by committees and officers, summaries of deliberations and motions, and transactions of business. Three papers given at the meeting by former ALSA presidents also appear: L. C. Charlesworth discussed irrigation and drainage, P. N. Johnson presented “The Rights of Possession,” and W. M. Pearce presented “Reminiscences Concerning Surveys From 1869 to 1881.” From hiring First Nations axemen to sleeping with sled dogs for warmth, Pearce’s paper depicts mid-nineteenth century surveying in the North-West. The booklet’s second half contains an Honour Roll as well as obituaries and portraits of eight Alberta surveyors killed in WWI.

As a side note - W.M. Pearce's presentation offers many comments on Metis culture, and the trial of Louis Riel. Pearce being an observer at the Regina spectacle.