1876- Fort Brisebois- I Think Not
I suspect that our Captain Brisebois may have had an ego
problem. Because after such a great start things soon went down the
tubes. The men started to grumble and there was a great deal of tension
around the place. Soon the threat of mutiny became a real danger.
One of the major complaints was that Brisebois named the fort
after himself with out consulting anyone. We were already Canadians and
weren't about to allow this. A letter was written on February 29,1875
from Fort Macleod by Assistant Commissioner Irvine to Colonel Barton,
the deputy minister in Ottawa. Irvine goes on to explain about the new
post and that Captain Brisebois had given the order that all public
documents should be headed "Fort Brisebois". Irvine said that he had
cancelled the order at once and that on consultation with Captain.
Macleod they had decided to call the place Fort Calgary. This was
supposed to mean "clear running water" in Gaelic. It was to be named
after Calgary Bay on the isle of Mull in Scotland. There is still some
controversy about its authenticity. Some say it means Bay Farms. I
don't speak Gaelic so to me it means home.