In addition to "Cowboy Cavalry", I also have Tolton's "Prairie Warships", the story of Middleton's fiasco of a campaign using paddle wheeler steamships for transport and supply. The Metis must still be laughing .....
The captains, pilots and boatmen of these steamers were recruited by the Brits for their Nile expedition, a tribute to their navigational abilities on shallow waters.
Tolton also authored "Rocky Mountain Rangers" and "The Buffalo Legacy", books I've yet to acquire.
I rank Tolton in the same league as Pierre Berton, making Canadian history enjoyable and readable. I keep hoping that a Canadian film maker like Paul Gross ("Passchendaele" and "Gunless") will make a movie based on one of his books. But securing money for a film with a Canadian theme is difficult. It's a credit to Paul Gross that he did it - twice.
If you want some western history from across the Rockies, look for a copy of Donald Hauka's "McGowan's War", the little known story of an American "filibuster" by the name of Ned McGowan. Ned wanted to incite an insurrection amongst the mainly ex-pat Americans in the Fraser Canyon during the 1858 Gold Rush.
It was the presence and quick action of the Royal Engineers and Royal Marines that stopped this from getting off the ground and preventing annexation of the Colony through the incursion of US troops "to protect US citizens". Again - the stuff of movies.
Looks like this thread needs to be moved to the books & movies page .....