Opinions sought ....

[RattlesnakeJack]

Here is a photograph of several unidentified Rocky Mountain Rangers, which was a mounted Provisional Militia unit composed mostly of ranchers and cowboys during Canada's 1885 North West Rebellion.  Two of its three Troops were posted to Medicine Hat, though the unit was raised at Fort MacLeod some 150 miles to the west, in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains.  For that reason, our local CAS club is named "The Rocky Mountain Rangers, No. 4 Troop"  -

(Click on thumbnail to enlarge ...)


As a provisional unit raised for only for this specific emergency, the RMR were not uniformed ...  instead they wore "their own serviceable Western apparel".

My primary reason for posting this rather interesting photo is to ask for opinions on a personal theory of mine.  Although the men in the above photo are unidentified, I believe that the fellow second from the right, so nattily attired in Scout-type garb, may very well be John M. "Rattlesnake Jack" Robson, who was enrolled as a Scout with the RMR and is the namesake of my own Cowboy Action Shooting Alias.  He  served for two years in the NWMP (June 1878 to June 1880) before being discharged at his own request.  Here is a known photograph of Robson taken while he was serving in the NWMP ...

(Click ...)


It is admittedly impossible to be sure if it is the same man, because of the relatively poor quality of the images and also because the "Scout" in the first picture is so heavily bearded (keep in mind that photo was taken 5 or 6 years after the first).   However, the facial hair and garb of this fellow seem rather too flamboyent for a mere Cowboy/Trooper, suggesting to me that he is a Scout ... and there were only three Scouts enrolled at Fort MacLeod, including Robson (a fourth joined at Medicine Hat.  Also, it is definitely not the Chief Scout, "Kootenai" Brown, who was a very well known frontiersman of whom several photographs exist - in fact, Brown looked rather like Buffalo Bill Cody.) 

At any rate, compare these two details and tell me what you think ...

 

[Silver Creek Slim]

The first thing I looked at was the ears. They are different shapes and sizes. Granted, they are on different sides of the heads but both of a person's ear should be very similar.

Slim

[Bull Schmitt]

Rattlesnake,

It can't be the same person. One of them only has a left ear and the other only a right ear.


Bull

[Marshal Deadwood]

Rattlesnake,,,I can 'see in my minds eye' a resemblence.
I dont know any of the history, but it 'could' be the same man indeed.
Wonder if there is a 'flor ren sick' (sp) person that would/could examine the photos without a tremendous charge?

Interesteing indeed,

Marshal Deadwood

[RattlesnakeJack]

The first thing I looked at was the ears. They are different shapes and sizes. Granted, they are on different sides of the heads but both of a person's ear should be very similar

Mmmm .... allowing for the lack of contrast with the background in the NWMP photo and the quantity of hair in the RMR photo, I actually was of the view that the ears were remarkably similar ...   

[Big Dipstick]

Tough to tell in those pics but it looks to me that the nose is different as well as the eyebrows.

[W.T.]

Tough to tell in those pics but it looks to me that the nose is different as well as the eyebrows.

The nose of the bearded gentleman appears to have a slight 'ski jump' profile at the end; eyebrow thickness appears different.

The seated Robson seems to be facing the light source, yet the camera has recorded the eye color as a tone as dark as that of the uniform.  The tone of the bearded man's eye color recorded as significantly lighter than other medium-dark values in the photo. 

Eye shape appears different, and the bearded man appears to have a more pronounced arch to the nostril shape.  The creases descending from the sides of the noses of each appear to be of different shapes.

On the other hand, I never recognize myself when I see a reflection in a shop window...l

[RattlesnakeJack]

I'm starting to be convinced they aren't the same man ... wishful thinking no doubt played a big part in my first impression ...

[Dr. Bob]

FWIW, I would pick the man in the middle of the RMR picture to be RJR.  The ears seem similar.  But, then, what do I know??