02 The Patan Outfit

Blood on the Prairie

Episode Summary

A second crime scene is found by Alexander ‘Sandy’ Peebles, who discovers four more victims just by being a good neighbour. We’ll meet these four men, learn who they are, and begin to piece together potential motives for murder—made more titillating when some surprising evidence ties this new crime scene with the Snyder farm incident that happened only a few miles away.

Episode Highlights

• Intro: 0:00:12
• Rumours and Innuendo: 00:01:07
• Peebles Returns Horses: 00:02:18
• Ignace Patan: 00:03:24
• The Horses Return: 00:07:17
• Peebles & Snyder: 00:08:14
• The Horses’ Third Visit: 00:10:04
• The Men Around the Farm: 00:12:22
• Medical Examiner Arrives: 00:17:12
• A Brief Aside Regarding Names: 00:18:07
• Autopsies and Aspects: 00:19:36
• Timelines: 00:24:39
• Next Episode: 00:27:18

Special Guests

Dr. David Leonard is an expert on Alberta’s northwest Peace River Country history in particular. He published a detailed article about the case in 2010, and further explored the history of the region in his book The Grand Prairie of the Great Northland: The Evolution of a County, 1805-1951, including a specific section about the violence prevalent in the region following the return of soldiers after the First World War. Dr. Leonard sat down with us on several occasions to discuss not only the case, but also the history of our region in and around 1918.

Sources / Historical Material

• Alberta History - Murder on the Prairie: Who Killed Six Immigrant Settlers? by Dr. David Leonard [1]
• The Grande Prairie of the Great Northland - The Evolution of a County 1805 - 1951 by Dr. David Leonard [1]
• Foulest of Murders: The Story of Grande Prairie's 1918 Unsolved Murder of 6 by Wallace Lloyd Tansem [1]
• Pioneers of the Peace [1], 1975. Publisher: Isabel M. Campbell [1, 2] & Grande Prairie and District Old Timers’ Association [1]. Illustrated by Robert C. Guest [1, 2].
• Land Settlement Data, Library and Archives Canada [1]
• Patan Inquest File, Alberta Provincial Archives

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Acknowledgements

Blood on the Prairie is produced by Cris Seppola and Chris Beauchamp.

We'd like to thank the South Peace Regional Archives, the Provincial Archives of Alberta, Alyssa Curry, Karen Simonson, Dr. David Leonard, Brenda Lacroix, the family of Wallace Tansem, Jason Halwa, Al Peterson, Kasper Townes, Gordie Haakstad, Richard Podsada, and Laura Beauchamp.

Blood on the Prairie was developed thanks to funding provided by TELUS STORYHIVE. Special Thanks to Tara Jean Stevens, Jessica Gibson, and the National Screen Institute.

Music used in this episode by Unrealsfx, Sid Acharya, Sivan Talmor, Kyle Preston, Ankori Ramon, Roi Shpigler, Michael Vignola, Brianna Tam, Oakfield, and Ziv Moran.

Our voice actors in this episode included Lyle West, Jordon Fuller, Scott Maitland, Derek Hall, and Cameron Donald.

Blood on the Prairie is available on all major podcast platforms. For show notes and access to archival sources and other documents relating to the case — as well as photographs from both the 1918 era, and the crime scenes in 2021, find us at bloodonthepriaire.com.

About Cris & Chris

Cris Seppola is a content creator based in Grande Prairie, Alberta. While her professional life includes entrepreneurship, marketing, and communications, she also has experience with filmmaking, photography, animation and audio engineering.

Over the past year in particular, Cris has worked with her two co-hosts, Sue and Amanda, in creating and producing Fancy Plants Podcast.

Chris Beauchamp is a photographer, writer, and filmmaker based in Grande Prairie, Alberta. His background includes journalism, communications, and marketing.

His photography work has included corporate, public, and industrial clients, as well as leading Canadian editorial publications.

As a filmmaker, he has written, directed, and produced several short films, documentaries, and commercial projects.

Sponsorship

Blood on the Prairie was developed thanks to funding provided by TELUS STORYHIVE. Special Thanks to Tara Jean Stevens, Jessica Gibson, and the National Screen Institute.

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