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You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at <a href = "https://www.gutenberg.org">www.gutenberg.org</a></pre> +<p>Title: The Romantic Settlement of Lord Selkirk's Colonists</p> +<p> The Pioneers of Manitoba</p> +<p>Author: George Bryce</p> +<p>Release Date: December 19, 2005 [eBook #17358]</p> +<p>Language: English</p> +<p>Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1</p> +<p>***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROMANTIC SETTLEMENT OF LORD SELKIRK'S COLONISTS***</p> +<p> </p> +<h3>E-text prepared by K. D. Thornton<br /> + and the <a href="https://www.pgdp.net/">Project Gutenberg Online Distributed Proofreading Team</a><br /> + from page images generously made available by<br /> + <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/toronto">The Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries</a></h3> +<p> </p> +<table border="0" cellpadding="10" style="background-color: #ccccff;"> + <tr> + <td valign="top"> + Note: + </td> + <td> + Images of the original pages are available through + Internet Archive/Canadian Libraries. See + <a href="http://www.archive.org/details/romantic00brycuoftBi"> + http://www.archive.org/details/romantic00brycuoftBi</a> + </td> + </tr> +</table> + <p> </p> + <hr class="full" /> +<p> </p> + + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/illus_big_006.jpg" ><img class="figcenterh" + src="images/illus_006.jpg" alt="THOMAS, 5TH EARL OF SELKIRK" title="" /> + </a><br /> + <span class="caption">THOMAS, 5TH EARL OF SELKIRK<br /> + The Founder of Red River Colony, 1812.<br /> + From copy of painting by Raeburn, obtained by author from St Mary's Isle, Lord + Selkirk's seat.</span> + </div> +<span class ="pagenum">1</span> + +<hr style='width: 45%;' /> + <h2>The Romantic Settlement</h2> + <h4>OF</h4> + <h1>Lord Selkirk's Colonists</h1> + <br /> + <h3> [The Pioneers of Manitoba]</h3> + <hr style='width: 45%;' /> + <h4>BY</h4> + <h3>DR. GEORGE BRYCE</h3> + <h4>Of Winnipeg</h4> + <h5>President of the Royal Society of Canada, etc., etc.</h5> + <hr style='width: 45%;' /> +<h4>Toronto</h4> +<h3>THE MUSSON BOOK COMPANY</h3> +<h4>Limited</h4><span class ="pagenum">2</span> +<h5>"Copyrighted Canada, 1909, by The Musson Book Company, Limited, Toronto."</h5> +<br /><hr style='width:65%;' /> +<span class ="pagenum">3</span> +<div class="subchap"> + CONTENTS + </div> + <table border="0" width="85%" summary="table of contents"><tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_I"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 1.</a> Patriarch's Story + <div class="poem"><span class="i14">An Extinct Race.<br /></span></div> + <div class="poem"><span class="i14">The Gay Frenchman.<br /></span></div> + <div class="poem"><span class="i14">The Earlier Peoples.<br /></span></div> + <div class="poem"><span class="i14">The Montreal Merchants and Men.<br /></span></div> + <div class="poem"><span class="i14">The Dusky Riders of the Plain.<br /></span></div> + <div class="poem"><span class="i14">The Stately Hudson's Bay Company.<br /></span></div> + </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_I"> 9</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_II"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 2.</a> A Scottish Duel </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_II"> 33</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_III"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 3.</a> Across the Stormy Sea </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_III"> 44</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_IV"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 4.</a> A Winter of Discontent </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_IV"> 58</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_V"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 5.</a> First Foot on Red River Banks </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_V"> 69</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_VI"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 6.</a> Three Desperate Years </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_VI"> 80</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_VII"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 7.</a> Fight and Flight </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_VII"> 95</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 8.</a> No Surrender </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_VIII">107</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_IX"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 9.</a> Seven Oaks Massacre </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_IX">117</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_X"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 10.</a> Afterclaps </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_X">133</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XI"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 11.</a> The Silver Chief Arrives </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_XI">142</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XII"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 12.</a> Soldiers and Swiss </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_XII">152</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 13.</a> English Lion and Canadian Bear Lie Down Together</td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIII">161</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 14.</a> Satrap Rule </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIV">170</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XV"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 15.</a> And the Flood Came </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_XV">178</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI"> <span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 16.</a> The Jolly Governor </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVI">185</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII"> <span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 17.</a> The Oligarchy </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVII">194</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 18.</a> An Ogre of Justice </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_XVIII">202</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 19.</a> A Half-Breed Patriot </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_XIX">210</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XX"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 20.</a> Sayer and Liberty </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_XX">216</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 21.</a> Off to the Buffalo </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXI">224</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 22.</a> What the Stargazers Saw </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXII">232</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 23.</a> Apples of Gold </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIII">239</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 24.</a> Pictures of Silver </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIV">256</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 25.</a> Eden Invaded </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXV">276</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 26.</a> Riel's Rising </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVI">284</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVII"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 27.</a> Lord Strathcona's Hand </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVII">291</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 28.</a> Wolseley's Welcome </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXVIII">300</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIX"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 29.</a> Manitoba in the Making </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXIX">307</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><a href="#CHAPTER_XXX"><span class="smcap">Chapter</span> 30.</a> The Selkirk Centennial </td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#CHAPTER_XXX">315</a></span></td></tr> +<tr><td><span class="smcap"><a href="#APPENDIX">Appendix</a></span></td><td><span class="tocnum"><a href="#APPENDIX">320</a></span></td></tr> +</table><span class="pagenum">4</span><br /> + <span class="pagenum">5</span> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <div class="subchap">PREFACE + </div> + <p>The present work tells the romantic story of the Settlement of Lord Selkirk's + Colonists in Manitoba, and is appropriate and timely in view of the Centennial + celebration of this event which will be held in Winnipeg in 1912.</p> + <p>The author was the first, in his earlier books, to take a stand for justice to be + done to Lord Selkirk as a Colonizer, and he has had the pleasure of seeing the + current of all reliable history turned in Lord Selkirk's favor.</p> + <p>Dr. Doughty, the popular Archivist at Ottawa, has put at the author's disposal a + large amount of Lord Selkirk's correspondence lately received by him, so that many + new, interesting facts about the Settlers' coming are now published for the first + time.</p> + <p>If we are to celebrate the Selkirk Centennial intelligently, it is essential to + know the facts of the trials, oppressions and heartless persecutions through which + the Settlers' passed, to learn what shameful treatment Lord Selkirk received from his + enemies, and to trace the rise<span class ="pagenum">6</span>from misery to comfort of the people of + the Colony.</p> + <p>The story is chiefly confined to Red River Settlement as it existed—a unique + community, which in 1870 became the present Province of Manitoba. It is a sympathetic + study of what one writer has called—"Britain's One Utopia."<span class ="pagenum">7</span></p> + <br /> + + <br /><span class ="pagenum">8</span> + <h2>The Romantic Settlement</h2> +<h4>OF</h4> + <h1>Lord Selkirk's Colonists</h1> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_I" id="CHAPTER_I"></a>CHAPTER I.</h2><span class ="pagenum">9</span> + <div class="subchap">THE EARLIER PEOPLE. + </div> + <br /> + + <div class="subchap">A PATRIARCH'S STORY. + </div> + <p>This is the City of Winnipeg. Its growth has been wonderful. It is the highwater + mark of Canadian enterprise. Its chief thoroughfare, with asphalt pavement, as it + runs southward and approaches the Assiniboine River, has a broad street diverging at + right angles from it to the West. This is Broadway, a most commodious avenue with + four boulevards neatly kept, and four lines of fine young Elm trees. It represents to + us "Unter den Linden" of Berlin, the German Capital.</p> + <p>The wide business thoroughfare Main Street, where it reaches the Assiniboine + River, looks out upon a stream, so called from the wild Assiniboine tribe whose + northern limit it was, and whose name implies the "Sioux" of the Stony Lake. The + Assiniboine River is as large as the<span class ="pagenum">10</span><a name="Page_10" + id="Page_10"></a> Tiber at Rome, and the color of the water justifies its being + compared with the "Yellow Tiber."</p> + <p>The Assiniboine falls into the Red River, a larger stream, also with tawny-colored + water. The point of union of these two rivers was long ago called by the French + voyageurs "Les Fourches," which we have translated into "The Forks."</p> + <p>One morning nearly forty years ago, the writer wandered eastward toward Red River, + from Main Street, down what is now called Lombard Street. Here not far from the bank + of the Red River, stood a wooden house, then of the better class, but now left far + behind by the brick and stone and steel structures of modern Winnipeg.</p> + <p>The house still stands a stained and battered memorial of a past generation. But + on this October morning, of an Indian summer day, the air was so soft, that it seemed + to smell wooingly here, and through the gentle haze, was to be seen sitting on his + verandah, the patriarch of the village, who was as well the genius of the place.</p> + <p>The old man had a fine gray head with the locks very thin, and with his form, not + tall but broad and comfortable to look upon, he occupied an easy chair.</p> + <p>The writer was then quite a young man fresh<span class ="pagenum">11</span><a name="Page_11" + id="Page_11"></a>from College, and with a simple introduction, after the easy manner + of Western Canada, proceeded to hear the story of old Andrew McDermott, the patriarch + of Winnipeg.</p> + <p>"Yes," said Mr. McDermott, "I was among those of the first year of Lord Selkirk's + immigrants. We landed from the Old Country, at York Factory, on Hudson Bay. The first + immigrants reached the banks of the Red River in the year 1812.</p> + <p>"I am a native of Ireland and embarked with Owen Keveny—a bright + Hibernian—a clever writer, and speaker, who, poor fellow, was killed by the + rival Fur Company, and whose murderer, De Reinhard, was tried at Quebec. Of course + the greater number of Lord Selkirk's settlers were Scotchmen, but I have always lived + with them, known them, and find that they trust me rather more than they at times + trust each other. I have been their merchant, contractor, treaty-maker, business + manager, counsellor, adviser, and confidential friend."</p> + <p>"But," said the writer, "as having come to cast in my lot with the people of the + Red River, I should be glad to hear from you about the early times, and especially of + the earlier people of this region, who lived their lives, and came and went, before + the arrival of Lord Selkirk's settlers in 1812." Thus the story-telling began, and + patriarch and questioner made out<span class ="pagenum">12</span><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12"></a> +<span class ="pagenum">13</span><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13"></a> from one source and another the + whole story of the predecessors of the Selkirk Colonists.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <br /> + <a href="images/illus_big_018.jpg" ><img class="figcenterh" + src="images/illus_018.jpg" alt="Mound Builders' Ornaments" title="" /></a><br /> + </div> + <div class="imglist"> + <p class="caption"><span class="smcap">MOUND BUILDERS' ORNAMENTS, ETC.</span><br /> + A. Ornamental gorget of turtle's plastron.<br /> + B. Gorget of sea-shell (1879).<br /> + C. Gorget of buffalo bone.<br /> + D. Breast or arm ornament of very hard bone.<br /> + E. String of beads of birds' leg bones.<br /> + Note cross X.<br /> + F. One of three polished stones used for gaming.<br /> + G. Columella of large sea couch (tropical, used as sinker for + fishing).</p><br /> + </div> + <br /> + + <div class="subchap">AN EXTINCT RACE. + </div> + <p>"Long before the coming of the settler, there lived a race who have now entirely + disappeared. Not very far from the Assiniboine River, where Main Street crosses it, + is now to be seen," said the narrator, "Fort Garry—a fine castellated structure + with stone walls and substantial bastions. A little north of this you may have + noticed a round mound, forty feet across. We opened this mound on one occasion, and + found it to contain a number of human skeletons and articles of various kinds. The + remains are those of a people whom we call 'The Mound Builders,' who ages ago lived + here. Their mounds stood on high places on the river bank and were used for + observation. The enemy approaching could from these mounds easily be seen. They are + also found in good agricultural districts, showing that the race were agriculturists, + and where the fishing is good on the river or lake these mounds occur. The Mound + Builders are the first people of whom we have traces here about. The Indians say that + these Mound Builders are not their ancestors, but are the 'Very Ancient Men.' It is + thought that the last of them passed away some four hundred years ago, just before + the coming of the<span class ="pagenum">14</span><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14"></a>white man. At + that time a fierce whirlwind of conquest passed over North America, which was seen in + the destruction of the Hurons, who lived in Ontario and Quebec. Some of their + implements found were copper, probably brought from Lake Superior, but stone axes, + hammers, and chisels, were commonly used by them. A horn spear, with barbs, and a + fine shell sinker, shows that they lived on fish. Strings of beads and fine pearl + ornaments are readily found. But the most notable thing about these people is that + they were far ahead of the Indians, in that they made pottery, with brightly designed + patterns, which showed some taste. Very likely these Mound Builders were peaceful + people, who, driven out of Mexico many centuries ago, came up the Mississippi, and + from its branches passing into Red River, settled all along its banks. We know but + little of this vanished race. They have left only a few features of their work behind + them. Their name and fame are lost forever.</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"And is this all? an earthen pot,<br /> + </span> <span class="ip">A broken spear, a copper pin<br /> + </span> <span class="ip">Earth's grandest prizes counted in—<br /> + </span> <span class="ip">A burial mound?—the common lot."<br /> + </span> + </div> + </div> + <div class="subchap">THE GAY FRENCHMAN. + </div> + <p>Then the conversation turned upon the early Frenchmen, who came to the West during + the<span class ="pagenum">15</span><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15"></a> days of French Canada, before + Wolfe took Quebec. "Oh! I have no doubt they would make a great ado," said the old + patriarch, "when they came here. The French, you know, are so fond of pageants. But + beyond a few rumors among the old Indians far up the Assiniboine River of their + remembrance of the crosses and of the priests, or black robes, as they call them, I + have never heard anything; these early explorers themselves left few traces. When + they retired from the country, after Canada was taken by Wolfe, the Indians burnt + their forts and tried to destroy every vestige of them. You know the Indian is a + cunning diplomatist. He very soon sees which is the stronger side and takes it. When + the King is dead he is ready to shout, Long live the new King. I have heard that down + on the point, on the south side of the Forks of the two rivers, the Frenchmen built a + fort, but there wasn't a stick or a stone of it left when the Selkirk Colonists came + in 1812. But perhaps you know that part of the story better than I do," ventured the + old patriarch. That is the Story of the French Explorers.</p> + <p>"Oh! Yes," replied the writer, "you know the world of men and things about you; I + know the world of books and journals and letters."</p> + <p>"Let us hear of that," said the patriarch eagerly.<span class ="pagenum">16</span><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16"></a></p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <br /> + <a href="images/illus_big_022.jpg" ><img class="figcenterh" + src="images/illus_022.jpg" alt="Mound Builders Remains" title="" /></a><br /> + </div> + <div class="imglist"> + <span class="caption">A. Native Copper Drill.<br /> + B. Soapstone Conjurer's tube.<br /> + C. Flint Skinning Implement.<br /> + D. Horn Fish Spear.<br /> + E. Native Copper Cutting Knife.<br /> + F. Cup found in Rainy River Mound by the Author, 1884.<br /></span> + <p class="smcap">MOUND BUILDERS' REMAINS</p><br /> + </div> + <p><br /> +<span class ="pagenum">17</span><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17"></a> + </p> + <p>Well, you know the French Explorers were very venturesome. They went, sometimes to + their sorrow, among the wildest tribes of Indians.</p> + <p>A French Captain, named Verandrye, who was born in Lower Canada, came up the great + lakes to trade for furs of the beaver, mink, and musk-rat. When he reached the shore + of Lake Superior, west of where Fort William now stands, an old Indian guide, gave + him a birch bark map, which showed all the streams and water courses from Lake + Superior to Lake of the Woods, and on to Lake Winnipeg. This was when the + "well-beloved" Louis XV. was King of France, and George II. King of England. It was + heroic of Verandrye to face the danger, but he was a soldier who had been twice + wounded in battle in Europe, and had the French love of glory. By carrying his canoes + over the portages, and running the rapids when possible, he came to the head of Rainy + River, went back again with his furs, and after several such journeys, came down the + Winnipeg River from Lake of the Woods, to Lake Winnipeg, and after a while made a + dash across the stormy Lake Winnipeg and came to the Red River. The places were all + unknown, the Indians had never seen a white man in their country, and the French + Captain, with his officers, his men and a priest, found their way <span class ="pagenum">18</span><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18"></a>to the Forks of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers. This + was nearly three-quarters of a century before the first Selkirk Colonists reached Red + River. The French Captain saw only a few Indian teepees at the Forks, and ascended + the Assiniboine. It was a very dry year, and the water in the Assiniboine was so low + that it was with difficulty he managed to pull over the St. James rapids, and reached + where Portage la Prairie now stands, and sixty miles from the site of Winnipeg + claimed the country for his Royal Master. Here he collected the Indians, made them + his friends, and proceeded to build a great fort, and named it after Mary of Poland, + the unfortunate Queen of France—"Fort de la Reine," or Queen's Fort. But he + could not forget "The Forks"—the Winnipeg of to-day—and so gave + instructions to one of his lieutenants to stop with a number of his men at the Forks, + cut down trees, and erect a fort for safety in coming and going up the Assiniboine. + The Frenchmen worked hard, and on the south side of the junction of the Red River + with the Assiniboine, erected Fort Rouge—the Red Fort. This fort, built in + 1738, was the first occupation of the site of the City of Winnipeg. The French + Captain Verandrye, his sons and his men, made further journeys to the far West, even + once coming in sight of the Rocky Mountains. But French Canada was doomed. +<span class ="pagenum">19</span><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19"></a> In twenty years more Wolfe was to + wrench Canada from France and make it British. The whole French force of soldiers, + free traders, and voyageurs were needed at Montreal and Quebec. Not a Frenchman seems + to have remained behind, and for a number of years the way to the West was blocked + up. The canoes went to decay, the portages grew up with weeds and underwood, and the + Western search for furs from Montreal was suspended.</p> + <div class="subchap">THE INDIANS OF THE RED RIVER. + </div> + <p>No man knew the Indian better than Andrew McDermott. No one knew better how to + trade and dicker with the red man of the prairie. He could tell of all the feuds of + tribe with tribe, and of the wonderful skill of the Fur Companies in keeping order + among the Indian bands. The Red River had not, after the departure of the French, + been visited by travellers for well nigh forty years. No doubt bands of Indians had + threaded the waterways, and carried their furs in one year to Pigeon River, on Lake + Superior, or to Fort Churchill, or York Factory on Hudson Bay. It was only some ten + or fifteen years before the coming of the Selkirk Colonists that the fur traders, + though they for forty years had been ascending the Saskatchewan, had visited Red + River at all. No missionary had up to the coming of the<span class ="pagenum">20</span><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20"></a> Colonists ever appeared on the banks of the Red + River. Some ten years before the settler's advent, the fur traders on the upper Red + River had most bitter rivalries and for two or three years the fire water—the + Indian's curse—flowed like a flood. The danger appealed to the traders, and + from a policy of mere self-protection they had decided to give out no strong drink, + unless it might be a slight allowance at Christmas and New Year's time. Red River was + now the central meeting place of four of the great Indian Nations. The Red Pipestone + Quarry down in the land of the Dakotas, and the Roches Percées, on the upper + Souris River, in the land of the wild Assiniboines were sacred shrines. At intervals + all the Indian natives met at these spots, buried for the time being their weapons, + and lived in peace. But Red River, and the country—eastward to the Lake of the + Woods—was really the "marches" where battles and conflicts continually + prevailed. Red River, the Miskouesipi, or Blood Red River of the Chippewas and Crees, + was said to have thus received its name. Andrew McDermott knew all the Indians as + they drew near with curiosity, to see the settlers and to speculate upon the object + of their coming. The Indian despises the man who uses the hoe, and when the Colonists + sought thus to gain a sustenance from the fertile soil of the <span class ="pagenum">21</span><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21"></a>field, they were laughed at by the Indians who caught + the French word "Jardiniers," or gardeners, and applied it to them.</p> + <p>The Colonists were certainly a puzzle to the Red man. To the banks of the Red + River and to the east of Lake Winnipeg had come many of the Chippewas. They were + known on the Red River as Sauteurs, or Saulteaux, or Bungays, because they had come + to the West from Sault Ste. Marie, thinking nothing of the hundreds of miles of + travel along the streams. They were sometimes considered to be the gypsies of the Red + men. It was they coming from the lucid streams emptying into Lake Superior and thence + to Lake Winnipeg, who had called the latter by its name "Win," cloudy or muddy, and + "nipiy" water. When the Colonists arrived, the leading chief of the Chippewas, or + Saulteaux, was Peguis. He became at once the friend of the white man, for he was + always a peaceful, kindly, old Ogemah, or Chieftain.</p> + <p>All the Indians were, at first, kindness itself to the new comers, and they showed + great willingness to supply food to the hungry settlers, and to assist them in + transfer and in taking possession of their own homes.</p> + <p>The Saulteaux Indians while active and helpful were really intruders among the + Crees, a great Indian nation, who in language and blood were their relations. As + proof of this the Crees <span class ="pagenum">22</span><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22"></a>at this + time used horses on the plains. The horse was an importation brought up the valleys + from the Spaniards of Mexico. Seeing his value as a beast of burden, more fit than + the dog which had been formerly used, they coined the word "Mis-ta-tim," or big dog + as the name for the horse. Their Chiefs were, with their names translated into + pronounceable English, "the Premier," "the Black Robe," "the Black Man," while + seemingly Mache Wheskab—"the Noisy Man"—represented the Assiniboines. The + Crees, so well represented by their doughty Chiefs, are a sturdy race. They adapt + themselves readily enough to new conditions. While the northern Indian tribes met the + Colonists, yet in after days, as had frequently taken place in days preceding, bands + of Sioux or Dakotas, came on pilgrimages to the Red River. Long ago when the French + Captain Verandrye voyaged to Lake of the Woods, his son and others of his men, were + attacked by Sioux warriors, and the whole party of whites was massacred in an Island + on the Lake. The writer in a later day, near Winnipeg, met on the highway, a band of + Sioux warriors, on horse-back, with their bodies naked to the waist, and painted with + high color, in token of the fact that they were on the warpath. On occasion it was + the habit of bands of Sioux to find their way to the Red River Valley, and +<span class ="pagenum">23</span><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23"></a>the people did not feel at all + safe, at their hostile attitude, as they bore the name of the "Tigers of the + Plains."</p> + <p>With Saulteaux, Crees, Assiniboines, and Sioux coming freely among them, the + settlers had at first a feeling of decided insecurity.</p> +<span class ="pagenum">--</span><a name="Page--" id="Page--"></a><div class="figcenter"> + <br /> + <a href="images/illus_big_031.jpg" ><img class="figcenterh" + src="images/illus_031.jpg" alt="FOUR CREE CHIEFS OF RUPERTS LAND" title="" /> + </a><br /> + <span class="caption">Osoup Agent<br /> + Atalacoup Kakawistaha Mistawasis<br /> + FOUR CREE CHIEFS OF RUPERT'S LAND</span><br /> + </div> + <div class="subchap">THE MONTREAL MERCHANTS AND MEN. + </div> + <p>But the fur trade paid too well to be left alone by the Montrealers who knew of + Verandrye's exploits on the Ottawa and the Upper Lakes. When Canada became British, + many daring spirits hastened to it from New York and New Jersey States. Montreal + became the home of many young men of Scottish families. Some of their fathers had + fled to the Colonies after the Stuart Prince was defeated at Culloden, and after the + power of the Jacobites was broken. Some of the young men of enterprising spirit were + the sons of officers and men who had fought in the Seven Years' War against France + and now came to claim their share of the conqueror's spoils. Some men were of Yankee + origin, who with their proverbial ability to see a good chance, came to what has + always been Canada's greatest city, on the Island of Montreal. It was only half a + dozen years after Wolfe's great victory, that a great Montreal trader, Alexander + Henry, penetrated the western lakes to Mackinaw—the Island of the Turtle, lying + between Lakes Huron and<span class ="pagenum">24</span><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24"></a> Michigan. + At Sault Ste. Marie, "he fell in with a most noted French Canadian, Trader Cadot, who + had married a Saulteur wife. He became a power among the Indians. With Scottish + shrewdness Henry acquired from the Commandant at Mackinaw the exclusive right to + trade on Lake Superior. He became a partner of Cadot, and they made a voyage as + Canadian Argonauts, to bring back very rich cargoes of fur. They even went up to the + Saskatchewan on Lake Winnipeg. After Henry, came another Scotchman, Thomas Curry, and + made so successful a voyage that he reached the Saskatchewan River, and came back + laden with furs, so that he was now satisfied never to have to go again to the Indian + country. Shortly afterwards James Findlay, another son of the heather, followed up + the fur-traders' route, and reached Saskatchewan. Thus the Northwest Fur Trade became + the almost exclusive possession of the Scottish Merchants of Montreal. With the + master must go the man. And no man on the rivers of North America ever equalled, in + speed, in good temper, and in skill, the French Canadian voyageur. Almost all the + Montreal merchants, the Forsythes, the Richardsons, the McTavishes, the Mackenzies, + and the McGillivrays, spoke the French as fluently as they did their own language. + Thus they became magnetic leaders of the French canoe<span class ="pagenum">25</span><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25"></a>men of the rivers. The voyageurs + clung to them with all the tenacity of a pointer on the scent. There were Nolins, + Falcons, Delormes, Faribaults, Lalondes, Leroux, Trottiers, and hundreds of others, + that followed the route until they became almost a part of the West and retired in + old age, to take up a spot on some beautiful bay, or promontory, and never to return + to "Bas Canada." Those from Montreal to the north of Lake Superior were the pork + eaters, because they lived on dried pork, those west of Lake Superior, "Couriers of + the Woods," and they fed on pemmican, the dried flesh of the buffalo. They were + mighty in strength, daring in spirit, tractable in disposition, eagles in swiftness, + but withal had the simplicity of little children. They made short the weary miles on + the rivers by their smoking "tabac"—the time to smoke a pipe counting a + mile—and by their merry songs, the "Fairy Ducks" and "La Claire Fontaine," + "Malbrouck has gone to the war," or "This is the beautiful French Girl"—ballads + that they still retained from the French of Louis XIV. They were a jolly crew, full + of superstitions of the woods, and leaving behind them records of daring, their names + remain upon the rivers, towns and cities of the Canadian and American Northwest.</p> + <p>Some thirty years before the arrival of the<span class ="pagenum">26</span><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26"></a> Colonists, the Montreal traders found it useful to form a Company. + This was called the North-West Fur Company of Montreal. Having taken large amounts + out of the fur trade, they became the leaders among the merchants of Montreal. The + Company had an energy and ability that made them about the beginning of the + nineteenth century the most influential force in Canadian life. At Fort William and + Lachine their convivial meetings did something to make them forget the perils of the + rapids and whirlpools of the rivers, and the bitterness of the piercing winds of the + northwestern stretches. Familiarly they were known as the "Nor'-Westers." Shortly + before the beginning of the century mentioned, a split took place among the + "Nor'-Westers," and as the bales of merchandise of the old Company had upon them the + initials "N.W.," the new Company, as it was called, marked their packages "XY," these + being the following letters of the alphabet.</p> + <p>Besides these mentioned there were a number of independent merchants, or free + traders. At one time there were at the junction of the Souris and Assiniboine Rivers, + five establishments, two of them being those of free traders or independents. Among + all these Companies the commander of a Fort was called, "The Bourgeois" to suit the + French tongue of the<span class ="pagenum">27</span><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27"></a> men. He was + naturally a man of no small importance.</p> + <div class="subchap">"THE DUSKY RIDERS OF THE PLAINS." + </div> + <p>But the conditions, in which both the traders and the voyageurs lived, brought a + disturbing shadow over the wide plains of the North-West. Now under British rule, the + Fur trade from Montreal became a settled industry. From Curry's time (1766) they + began to erect posts or depots at important points to carry on their trade. Around + these posts the voyageurs built a few cabins and this new centre of trade afforded a + spot for the encampment near by of the Indian teepees made of tanned skins. The + meeting of the savage and the civilized is ever a contact of peril. Among the traders + or officers of the Fur trade a custom grew up—not sanctioned by the + decalogue—but somewhat like the German Morganatic marriage. It was called + "Marriage of the Country." By this in many cases the trader married the Indian wife; + she bore children to him, and afterwards when he retired from the country, she was + given in real marriage to some other voyageur, or other employee, or pensioned off. + It is worthy of note that many of these Indian women became most true and + affectionate spouses. With the voyageurs and laborers the conditions were different. + They could not leave the country, they<span class ="pagenum">28</span><a name="Page_28" + id="Page_28"></a> had become a part of it, and their marriages with the Indian women + were bona fide. Thus it was that during the space from the time of Curry until the + arrival of the Selkirk Colonists upwards of forty years had elapsed, and around the + wide spread posts of the Fur Trading Companies, especially around those of the + prairie, there had grown up families, which were half French and half Indian, or half + English and half Indian. When it could be afforded these children were sent for a + time to Montreal, to be educated, and came back to their native wilds. On the plain + between the Assiniboine and the Saskatchewan, a half-breed community had sprung up. + From their dusky faces they took the name "Bois-Brulés," or "Charcoal Faces," + or referring to their mixed blood, of "Metis," or as exhibiting their importance, + they sought to be called "The New Nation." The blend of French and Indian was in many + respects a natural one. Both are stalwart, active, muscular; both are excitable, + imaginative, ambitious; both are easily amused and devout. The "Bois-Brulés" + growing up among the Indians on the plains naturally possessed many of the features + of the Indian life. The pursuit of their fur-bearing animals was the only industry of + the country. The Bois-Brulés from childhood were familiar with the Indian + pony, knew all his tricks and habits, began to ride with all<span class ="pagenum">29</span><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29"></a> the skill of a desert ranger, were familiar with + fire-arms, took part in the chase of the buffalo on the plains, and were already + trained to make the attack as cavalry on buffalo herds, after the Indian fashion, in + the famous half-circle, where they were to be so successful in their later troubles, + of which we shall speak. Such men as the Grants, Findlays, Lapointes, Bellegardes, + and Falcons were equally skilled in managing the swift canoe, or scouring the plains + on the Indian ponies. We shall see the part which this new element were to play in + the social life and even in the public concerns of the prairies.</p> + <div class="subchap">THE STATELY HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY. + </div> + <p>The last of the elements to come into the valley of the Red River and to precede + the Colonists, was the Hudson's Bay Company—even then, dating back its history + almost a century and a half. They were a dignified and wealthy Company, reaching back + to the times of easy-going Charles II., who gave them their charter. For a hundred + years they lived in self-confidence and prudence in their forts of Churchill and + York, on the shore of Hudson Bay. They were even at times so inhospitable as to deal + with the Indians through an open window of the fort. This was in striking contrast to + the<span class ="pagenum">30</span><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30"></a> "Nor'-Wester" who trusted the + Indians and lived among them with the freest intercourse. For the one hundred years + spoken of, the Indians from the Red River Country, the Saskatchewan, the Red River + and Lake Winnipeg, found their way by the water courses to the shores of the Hudson + Bay. But the enterprise of the Montreal merchants in leaving their forts and trading + in the open with the Indians, prevented the great fleets of canoes, from going down + with their furs, as they had once done to Churchill and York. The English Company + felt the necessity of starting into the interior, and so within six years of the time + of the expedition of Thomas Curry, appeared five hundred miles inland from the Bay, + and erected a fort—Fort Cumberland—a few hundred yards from the + "Nor'-Westers'" Trading House, on the Saskatchewan River. By degrees before the end + of the century almost every place of any importance, in the fur-producing country, + saw the two rival forts built within a mile or two of each other. Shortly before the + end of the 18th Century, the "Nor'-Westers" came into the Red River Valley and built + one or two forts near the 49th parallel, N. lat.—the U.S. boundary of to-day. + But four years after the new Century began, the "Nor'-Westers" decided to occupy the + "Forks" of the Red and Assiniboine River, near where Verandrye's Fort Rouge had +<span class ="pagenum">31</span><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31"></a> been built some sixty years + before. Evidently both companies felt the conflict to be on, in their efforts to + cover all important parts, for they called this Trading House Fort Gibraltar, whose + name has a decided ring of the war-like about it. It is not clear exactly where the + Hudson's Bay post was built, but it is said to have rather faced the Assiniboine than + the Red River, perhaps near where Notre Dame Avenue East, or the Hudson's Bay stores + is to-day. It was probably built a few years after Fort Gibraltar, and was called + "Fidler's Fort." By this time, however, the Hudson's Bay Company, working from their + first post of Cumberland House, pushed on to the Rocky Mountains to engage in the + Titanic struggle which they saw lay ahead of them. One of their most active agents, + in occupying the Red River Valley, was the Englishman Peter Fidler, who was the + surveyor of this district, the master of several forts, and a man who ended his + eventful career by a will made—providing that all of his funds should be kept + at interest until 1962, when they should be divided, as his last chimerical plan + should direct. It thus came about that when the Colonists arrived there were two + Traders' Houses, on the site of the City of Winnipeg of to-day, within a mile of one + another, one representing a New World, and the other an Old World type of mercantile + life. It was plain<span class ="pagenum">32</span><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32"></a> that on the + Plains of Rupert's Land there would come a struggle for the possession of power, if + not for very existence.<span class ="pagenum">33</span><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33"></a></p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_II" id="CHAPTER_II"></a>CHAPTER II.</h2> + <div class="subchap">"A SCOTTISH DUEL." + </div> + <p>Inasmuch as this tale is chiefly one of Scottish and of Colonial life, the story + of the movement from Old Kildonan, on the German Ocean, to New Kildonan, on the + Western Prairies—we may be very sure, that it did not take place without + irritation and opposition and conflict. The Scottish race, while possessing intense + earnestness and energy, often gains its ends by the most thoroughgoing animosity. In + this great emigration movement, there were great new world interests involved, and + champions of the rival parties concerned were two stalwart chieftains, of Scotland's + best blood, both with great powers of leadership and both backed up with abundant + means and strongest influence. It was a duel—indeed a fight, as old Sir Walter + Scott would say, "a l'outrance"—to the bitter end. That the struggle was + between two chieftains—one a Lowlander, the other a Highlander, did not count + for much, for the Lowlander spoke the Gaelic tongue—and he was championing the + interest of Highland men.<span class ="pagenum">34</span><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34"></a></p> + <p>The two men of mark were the Earl of Selkirk and Sir Alexander Mackenzie. Before + showing the origin of the quarrel, it may be well to take a glance at each of the + men.</p> + <p>Thomas, 5th Earl of Selkirk, was the youngest of seven sons, and was born in 1771. + Though he belonged to one of the oldest noble families, of Scotland, yet when he went + to Edinburgh, as a fellow student of Sir Walter Scott, Clerk of Eldon, and David + Douglas, afterward Lord Reston, it was with a view of making his own way in the + world, for there were older brothers between him and the Earldom. He was a young man + of intense earnestness, capable of living in an atmosphere of enthusiasm—always + rather given indeed to take up and advocate new schemes. There was in him the spirit + of service of his Douglas ancestors, of being unwilling to "rust unburnished," and he + was strong in will, "to strive, to seek, to find." This gave the young Douglas a + seeming restlessness, and so he visited the Highlands and learned the Gaelic tongue. + He went to France in the days of the French Revolution, and took great interest in + the Jacobin dreams of progress. The minor title of the House of Selkirk was Daer, and + so the young collegian saw one Daer depart, then another, until at last he held the + title, becoming in 1799 Earl of Selkirk and was confirmed as the master of the +<span class ="pagenum">35</span><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35"></a> beautiful St. Mary's Isle, near + the mouth of the Dee, on Solway Frith. On his visits to the Highlands, it was not + alone the Highland straths and mountains, nor the Highland Chieftain's absolute + mastership of his clan, nor was it the picturesque dress—the "Garb of old + Gaul"—which attracted him. The Earl of Selkirk has been charged by those who + knew little of him with being a man of feudal instincts. His temper was the exact + opposite of this. When he saw his Scottish fellow-countrymen being driven out of + their homes in Sutherlandshire, and sent elsewhere to give way for sheep farmers, and + forest runs, and deer stalking, it touched his heart, and his three Emigration + Movements, the last culminating in the Kildonan Colonists, showed not only what title + and means could do, but showed a kindly and compassionate heart beating under the + starry badge of Earldom.</p> + <p>Rather it was the case that the fur trading oligarchy ensconced in the plains of + the West, could not understand the heart of a philanthropist—of a man who could + work for mere humanity. Up till a few years ago it was the fashion for even + historians, being unable to understand his motive and disposition, to speak of him as + a "kind hearted, but eccentric Scottish nobleman."</p> + <p>Lord Selkirk's active mind led him into va<span class ="pagenum">36</span><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36"></a>rious different spheres of human life. He visited France and studied + the problem of the French Revolution, and while sympathizing with the struggle for + liberty, was alienated as were Wordsworth and hundreds of other British writers and + philanthropists, by the excesses of Robespierre and his French compatriots. When the + Napoleonic wars were at their height, like a true patriot, Lord Selkirk wrote a small + work on the "System of National Defence," anticipating the Volunteer System of the + present day. But his keen mind sought lines of activity as well as of theory. Seeing + his fellow-countrymen, as well as their Irish neighbors, in distress and also + desiring to keep them under the British flag, he planned at his own expense to carry + out the Colonists to America. Even before this effort, reading Alexander Mackenzie's + great book of voyages detailing the discoveries of the Mackenzie River in its course + to the Arctic Sea, and also the first crossing in northern latitudes of the mountains + to the Pacific Ocean—he had applied (1802), to the Imperial Government, for + permission to take a colony to the western extremity of Canada upon the waters which + fall into Lake Winnipeg. This spot, "fertile and having a salubrious climate," he + could reach by way of the Nelson River, running into Hudson Bay. The British + Government refused him the permis<span class ="pagenum">37</span><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37"></a>sion necessary. Lord Selkirk's first visit to Canada was in the year + 1803, in which his colony was placed in Prince Edward Island. Canada was a country + very sparsely settled, but it was then turning its eyes toward Britain, with the hope + of receiving more settlers, for it had just seen settled in Upper Canada a band of + Glengarry Highlanders. Lord Selkirk visited Canada by way of New York. To a man of + his imaginative disposition, the fur trade appealed irresistibly. The picturesque + brigades of the voyageurs hieing away for the summer up the Ottawa toward the land of + which Mackenzie had written, "the Nor'-Wester" garb of capote and moccassin and + snowshoe, and the influence plainly given by this the only remunerative industry of + Montreal, caught his fancy. Then as a British peer and a Scottish Nobleman, the + fun-loving but hard-headed Scottish traders of Montreal took him to their hearts. He + met them at their convivial gatherings, he heard the chanson sung by voyageurs, and + the "habitant" caught his fancy. He was only a little past thirty, and that Canadian + picture could never be effaced from his mind. In after days, these "Lords of the + North" abused Lord Selkirk for spying out their trade, for catching the secrets of + their business which were in the wind, and for making an undue use of what they had + disclosed to him. In this there<span class ="pagenum">38</span><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38"></a> was nothing. His schemes were afire in his own mind long before, his + Montreal experiences but fanned the flame, and led him to send a few Colonists to + Upper Canada to the Settlement to Baldoon. This settlement was, however, of small + account.</p> + <p>In 1808 though inactive he showed his bent by buying up Hudson's Bay Company + stock. During this time projects in agriculture, the condition of the poor, the + safety of the country, and the spread of civilization constantly occupied his active + mind. The Napoleonic war cut off the vast cornfields of America from England, and as + a great historian shows was followed by a terrible pauperization of the laboring + classes.</p> + <p>There is no trace of a desire for aggrandizement, for engaging in the fur trade, + or for going a-field on plans of speculation in the mind of Lord Selkirk. The feuds + of the two branches of the Montreal Fur traders—the Old Northwest and the New + Northwest—which were apparently healed in the year after the Colonization of + Prince Edward Island, were not ended between the two factions of the united company + led by McTavish—called the Premier—on the one hand and Sir Alexander + Mackenzie on the other.</p> + <p>During these ten years of the century, the Hudson's Bay Company had also + established rival posts all over the country. The competi<span class ="pagenum">39</span><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39"></a>tion at times reached bloodshed, and financial ruin + was staring all branches of the fur trade in the face.</p> + <p>It was the depressed condition of the fur trade and the consequent drop in + Hudson's Bay Company shares that appealed to Lord Selkirk, the man of many dreams and + imaginations and he saw the opportunity of finding a home under the prairie skies for + his hapless countrymen. It requires no detail here of how Lord Selkirk bought a + controlling interest in the Hudson's Bay Company's stock, made out his plans of + Emigration, and took steps to send out his hoped-for thousands or tens of thousands + of Highland crofters, or Irish peasants, whoever they might be, if they sought + freedom though bound up with hardship, hope instead of a pauper's grave, the prospect + of independence of life and station in the new world instead of penury and misery + under impossible conditions of life at home. Nor is it a matter of moment to us, how + the struggle began until we have brought before our minds the stalwart figure of Sir + Alexander Mackenzie—Lord Selkirk's great protagonist. Like many a distinguished + man who has made his mark in the new world, and notably our great Lord Strathcona, + who came as a mere lad to Canada, Alexander Mackenzie, a stripling of sixteen, + arrived in Montreal to make his fortune. He<span class ="pagenum">40</span><a name="Page_40" + id="Page_40"></a> was born as the Scottish people say of "kenn't" of "well-to-do" folk + in Stornoway, in the Hebrides. He received a fair education and as a boy had a liking + for the sea. Two partners, Gregory and McLeod, were fighting at Montreal in + opposition to the dominant firm of McTavish and Frobisher. Young Alexander Mackenzie + joined this opposition. So great was his aptitude, that boy as he was, he was + despatched West to lead an expedition to Detroit. Soon he was pushed on to be a + bourgeois, and was appointed at the age of twenty-two to go to the far West fur + country of Athabasca, the vast Northern country which was to be the area of his + discoveries and his fame. His energy and skill were amazing, although like many of + his class, he had to battle against the envy of rivals. After completely planning his + expedition, he made a dash for the Arctic Sea, by way of Mackenzie River, which + he—first of white men—descended, and which bears his name. Finding his + astronomical knowledge defective, he took a year off, and in his native land learned + the use of the instruments needed in exploration. After his return he ascended the + Peace River, crossed the Rocky Mountains, and on a rock on the shore of the Pacific + Ocean in British Columbia, inscribed with vermillion and grease, in large letters, + "Alexander Mackenzie, from Canada, by land, the Twenty-<span class ="pagenum">41</span><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41"></a>second of July, One Thousand Seven Hundred and + Ninety-three." That was his record as the first white man to cross North America, + north of Mexico. A few years afterwards he received the honor of knighthood for his + discoveries. He gained much distinction as a leader, though the great McTavish in his + Company was never very friendly to him. At length he retired, became a representative + in the legislature of Lower Canada, and was for a time a travelling companion of the + Duke of Kent. With a desire for loftier station, he settled in his native land, + married the beautiful and gifted daughter of the House of Seaforth, and from her + enjoyed the property of Avoch, near Inverness.</p> + <p>Three years before the starting of Lord Selkirk's Colonists and before his + marriage with Geddes Mackenzie, Sir Alexander took up his abode in Scotland. He was + the guardian of the rights of the North-West Company and manfully he stood for + them.</p> + <p>Mackenzie was startled when he heard in 1810 of Lord Selkirk's scheme to send his + Colonists to Red River. This he thought to be a plan of the Hudson's Bay Company, to + regain their failing prestige and to strike a blow at the Nor'-Wester trade. To the + fur trader or the rancher, the incoming of the farmer is ever obnoxious. The beaver + and the mink de<span class ="pagenum">42</span><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42"></a>sert the streams + whenever the plowshare disturbs the soil. The deer flee to their coverts, the wolf + and the fox are exterminated, and even the muskrat has a troubled existence when the + dog and cat, the domestic animals, make their appearance. The proposed settlement is + to be opposed, and Lord Selkirk's plans thwarted at any cost. Lord Selkirk had in the + eyes of the Nor'-Westers much presumption, indeed nothing less than to buy out the + great Hudson's Bay Company, which for a century and a half had controlled nearly + one-half of North America. The Nor'-Westers—Alexander Mackenzie, Inglis and + Ellice—made sport of the thing as a dream. But the "eccentric Lord" was buying + up stock and majorities rule in Companies as in the nation. Contempt and abuse gave + place to settled anxiety and in desperation at last the trio of opponents, two days + before the meeting, purchased £2,500 of stock, not enough to appreciably affect + the vote, but enough to give them a footing in the Hudson's Bay Company, and to + secure information of value to them.</p> + <p>The mill of destiny goes slowly round, and Lord Selkirk and his friends are + triumphant. He purchases an enormous tract of land, 116,000 square miles, one-half in + what is now the Province of Manitoba, the other at present included in the States of + Minnesota and North Dakota,<span class ="pagenum">43</span><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43"></a> on the + south side of the boundary line between Canada and the United States. The + Nor'-Westers are frantic; but the fates are against them. The duel has begun! Who + will win? Cunning and misrepresentation are to be employed to check the success of + the Colony, and also local opposition on the other side of the Atlantic, should the + scheme ever come to anything. At present their hope is that it may fall to pieces of + its own weight.</p> + <p>Lord Selkirk's scheme is dazzling almost beyond belief. A territory is his, + purchased out and out, from the Hudson's Bay Company, about four times the area of + Scotland, his native land, and the greater part of it fertile, with the finest + natural soil in the world, waiting for the farmer to give a return in a single year + after his arrival. A territory, not possessed by a foreign people, but under the + British flag! A country yet to be the home of millions! It is worth living to be able + to plant such a tree, which will shelter and bless future generations of mankind. + Financial loss he might have; but he would have fame as his reward.<span class ="pagenum">44</span><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44"></a></p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_III" id="CHAPTER_III"></a>CHAPTER III.</h2> + <div class="subchap">"ACROSS THE STORMY SEA." + </div> + <p>Oh dreadful war! It is not only in the deadly horror of battle, and in the pain + and anguish of men strong and hearty, done to death by human hands. It is not only in + the rotting heap of horses and men, torn to pieces by bullets and shell, and thrust + together within huge pits in one red burial blent. It is not only in the helpless + widow and her brood of dazed and desolate children weeping over the news that comes + from the battlefield, that war become so hideous. It is always, as it was in the time + of the Europe-shadowing Napoleon when for twenty years the wheels of industry in + Britain were stopped. It is always the derangement of business, the increased price + of food for the poor, the decay of trade, the cutting off of supplies, and the + stopping of works of improvement that brings conditions which make poverty so + terrible. Rags! A bed of straw; a crust of bread; the shattered roof; the naked + floor; a deal table; a broken chair! A writer whose boyhood saw the terror, and want, +<span class ="pagenum">45</span><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45"></a> and despair of the last decade of + the Napoleonic War, puts into the mouth of the victim of poverty this terrible + wail:</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"But why do I talk of death?<br /> + </span> <span class="i2">That phantom of grizzly bone;<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">I hardly fear his terrible shape<br /> + </span> <span class="i2">It seems so like my own;<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">It seems so like my own,<br /> + </span> <span class="i2">Because of the fasts I keep;<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">Oh God, that bread should be so dear<br /> + </span> <span class="i2">And flesh and blood so cheap!"<br /> + </span> + </div> + </div> + <p>To the philanthropist or the benevolent sympathiser like Lord Selkirk, who aims at + benefiting suffering humanity, it is not the trouble, the self-sacrifice, or the + spending of money in relief that is the worry, but it is the bitterness, the + suspicion, the unworkableness, and the selfishness of the poverty-stricken themselves + that disturbs and distresses the benefactor's heart. It is often too the + heartlessness and prejudice of those who oppose the benefactor's plans that causes + the generous man anxiety and even at times despair. Poverty in its worst form is a + gaunt and ravenous beast, that bites the hand of friend or foe that is stretched out + toward it. So Lord Selkirk found it, when he undertook to help the poverty-stricken + Celts of the Scottish Highlands and of the West of Ireland. He had the sympathising + heart; he<span class ="pagenum">46</span><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46"></a> had the true vision; and + he had as few others of his time had, the power to plan, the invention to suggest, + and the skill and pluck to overcome difficulties, but the carrying out of his intent + brought him infinite trouble and sorrow. His prospectus, offering the means to the + poverty-stricken people of reaching what he believed to be a home of ultimate plenty + on the banks of the Red River, was an entirely worthy document. His first point is, + that his Colonists will be freemen. No religious tenet will be considered in their + selection. This was even freer that was that of Lord Baltimore's much-vaunted Colony, + on the Atlantic Coast, for Baltimore required that every Colonist should believe in + the doctrine of the Trinity. Then, the offer was to the landless and the penniless + men. Employment was to be supplied; work in the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company, + or free grants of land to actual settlers, or even a sale in fee simple of land for a + mere nominal sum; free passages for the poor, reduced passages for those who had + small means, food provided on the voyage, and the prospect of new world advantages to + all.</p> + <p>But the poor are timid, and they love even their straw-thatched cottages, and it + needs active and decided men to press upon them the advantages which are offered + them. The Emigration Agent is a necessity.<span class ="pagenum">47</span><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47"> + </a></p> + <p>The fur traders' country was at this time well known to many of the partners. It + was by employing or consulting with some of these fur traders that Lord Selkirk + obtained a knowledge of the Western land which he was to acquire. Years before the + Colony began Lord Selkirk had been in correspondence with an officer who belonged to + a well known Catholic family of Highlanders, the Macdonells, who had gone to the + Mohawk district in the United States before the American Revolution, and had + afterwards come to Canada as U.E. Loyalists. One of these, a man of standing and of + executive ability was Miles Macdonell. He had been an officer of the King's Royal + Regiment of New York, and held the rank of Captain of the Canadian Militia. This + officer had a brother in the North-West Fur Company, John Macdonell, who, more than + ten years before, had been in the service of his Company on Red River and whose + Journal had no doubt fallen into the hands of his brother Miles. He had written: + "From the Forks of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers the plains are quite near the + banks, and so extensive that a man may travel to the Rocky Mountains without passing + a wood, a mile long. The soil on the Red River and the Assiniboine is generally a + good soil, susceptible of culture, and capable of bearing rich crops."</p> + <p>He goes on to state, "that the buffalo comes<span class ="pagenum">48</span><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48"> + </a> to the fords of the Assinboil, besides in these rivers are plenty of + sturgeon, catfish, goldeyes, pike and whitefish—the latter so common that men + have been seen to catch thirty or forty a piece while they smoked their pipes." To + reach this land of plenty, which his brother knew so well, Miles Macdonell became the + leader of Lord Selkirk's Colonists. He arrived in Great Britain in the year for the + starting of the Colony, and immediately as being a Roman Catholic in religion went to + the West of Ireland to recommend the Emigration scheme, obtain subscriptions of + stock, and to engage workmen as Colonists. Glasgow was then, as now, the centre of + Scottish industry, and it is to Glasgow that the penniless Highlanders flock in large + numbers for work and residence. Here was a suitable field for the Emigration Agent, + and accordingly one of their countrymen, Captain Roderick McDonald, was sent thither. + The way to Canada was long, the country unknown, and it required all his persuasion + and the power of the Gaelic tongue—an open Sesame to an Highlander's + heart—to persuade many to join the Colonists' bank. It required more. The + Highlander is a bargainer, as the Tourist in the Scottish Highlands knows to this + day. Captain Roderick McDonald was compelled to promise larger wages to clerks and + laborers to induce them to join. He secured less than half<span class ="pagenum">49</span><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49"></a> an hundred men at Stornoway—the trysting + place—and the promises he had made of higher wages were a bone of contention + through the whole voyage.</p> + <p>Perhaps the most effective agent obtained by Lord Selkirk was a returned trader of + the Montreal merchants named Colin Robertson. He had seen the whole western fur + country, and the fact that he had a grievance made him very willing to join Lord + Selkirk in his enterprise.</p> + <p>One of the Nor'-Westers in Saskatchewan a few years before the beginning of Lord + Selkirk's Colony, was "Bras Croche," or crooked-arm McDonald. He was of gentle + Scottish birth, but his own acquaintances declared that he was of a "quarrelsome and + pugnacious disposition." In his district Colin Robertson was a "Bourgeois" in charge + of a station. A quarrel between the two men resulted in Colin Robertson losing his + position, and as we shall see he became one of the most active and serviceable men in + the history of the Colony. Colin Robertson went among his countrymen in the Island of + Lewis and elsewhere.</p> + <p>And now as the time draws nigh for gathering together at a common port, the + Stromness (Orkney), the Glasgow, the Sligo and the Lewis contingents to face the + stormy sea and seek a new untried home, a fierce storm breaks out upon the land. + Evidence accumulates that the<span class ="pagenum">50</span><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50"></a> heat + and opposition of the "Nor'-West" partners—Sir Alexander Mackenzie, Inglis and + Ellice—shown at the general meeting of the Company, were to break out in + numberless hidden and irritating efforts to stop and perhaps render impossible the + whole Colonizing project.</p> + <p>Just as the active agents, Miles Macdonell, Capt. McDonald and Colin Robertson, + had set the heather on fire on behalf of Lord Selkirk's project, so the aid of the + press was used to throw doubt upon the enterprise. Inverness is the Capital of the + Highlanders, and so the "Inverness Journal," containing an effusion signed by + "Highlander," was spread broadcast through the Highlands, the Islands, and the + Orkneys, picturing the dangers of their journey, the hardships of the country, the + deceitfulness of the agents, and the mercenary aims of the noble promoter.</p> + <p>Before Miles Macdonell had cleared the coast of England, he wrote to Lord Selkirk: + "Sir A. (Mackenzie) has pledged himself as so decidedly opposed to this project that + he will try every means in his power to thwart it. Besides, I am convinced he was no + friend to your Lordship before this came upon the carpet."</p> + <p>No doubt Miles Macdonell was correct, and the two Scottish antagonists were face + to face in the conflict. We shall see the means supplied by which the expedition will + be harassed.<span class ="pagenum">51</span><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51"></a> And now the + enterprise is to be set on foot.</p> + <p>For nearly a century and a half the Hudson's Bay Company ships have sailed yearly + from the Thames, and taken the goods of the London merchants to the posts and forts + of Hudson Bay, carrying back rich returns of furs. Sometimes more than one a year has + gone. In 1811 there was the Commodore's ship the "Prince of Wales," with cabin + accommodation and such comforts as ships of that period supplied. A second ship, the + "Eddystone," chartered for special service, accompanied her. These two were intended + to carry out employees and men for the fur trade, as well as the goods.</p> + <p>It must not be forgotten that there was some want of confidence between the + trading side of the Hudson's Bay Company and that which Lord Selkirk represented, in + the Colonizing enterprise. Also at this time the laws in regard to the safety of + vessels, the comfort of passengers, or precautions for health were very lax. While + the records of emigration experiences of British settlers to Canada and the United + States are being recited by men and women yet living in Canada, the want of resource + and the neglect of life and property by Governments and officials up until half a + century ago are heart-sickening. So the third ship of the fleet that was to carry the + first human freight of Manitoba pioneers was the "Edward and Ann." She +<span class ="pagenum">52</span><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52"></a> was a sorry craft, with old sails, + ropes, etc., and very badly manned. She had as a crew only sixteen, including the + captain, mates and three small boys. It was a surprise to Miles Macdonell that the + Company would charter and send her out in such a state. The officers came down to + Gravesend from London and joined their ships, and somewhere about the 25th of June, + 1811, they set sail from Sheerness on their mission, which was to become + historic—not so historic, perhaps, as the Mayflower—but still + sufficiently important to deserve a centennial celebration.</p> + <p>The fleet was, however, to take up its passengers after it had passed Duncansby + Head, on the north of Scotland. But the elements on the North Sea were unpropitious. + Sheerness left behind, the trio of vessels had not passed the coast of Norfolk before + they were driven into Yarmouth Harbor, and there for days they lay held in by adverse + winds. On July 2nd they again started northward, when they were compelled to return + to Yarmouth.</p> + <p>In company they succeeded in reaching Stromness, in the Orkney Isles, in about ten + days. Here the "Prince of Wales" remained and her two companions sailed down to + Stornoway on the 17th.</p> + <p>And now, with the storms of the German Ocean left behind, began the opposition of + the<span class ="pagenum">53</span><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53"></a> "Nor'-Westers." The "Prince of + Wales" brought her contingent from the Orkneys, and on July 25th Miles Macdonell + writes that after all the efforts put forth at all the points he had 125 Colonists + and employees, and these were in a most unsettled state of mind.</p> + <p>Some dispute the wages offered them. One party from Galway had not arrived. Some + are irritated at not being in the quarter of the ship which they desired, and some + anxiety is evident on the part of Miles Macdonell because large advances of money + have been given to a number and he fears that they may desert. The expenses of + assembling the settlers have been very heavy, and now opposition appears. Sir + Alexander's party are doing their work. Mr. Reed, Collector of Customs at Stornoway, + was married to a niece of Sir Alexander Mackenzie, and as collector he throws every + obstacle in the way of Macdonell. He has also taken pains to stir up discontent in + the minds of the Colonists and to advise them not to embark.</p> + <p>Further trouble was caused by a Captain Mackenzie—called "a mean + fellow"—who proved to be a son-in-law of the Collector of Customs Reed, and who + went on board the "Edward and Ann," recruited as soldiers some of the settlers, + himself handing them the enlisting money and then seeking to compel them to leave the + ship with him. Afterwards, Cap<span class ="pagenum">54</span><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54"></a>tain + Mackenzie came on board the "Edward and Ann" and claimed the new recruits, as + deserters from the army. The Customs officials also boarded the emigrant ship and + most officiously proclaimed that if any emigrants were not satisfied, or were not + going of their own free will then they might go ashore, and the scene as described by + Miles Macdonell may be imagined. "Several said they were not willing, and many went + over the ship's side into Captain Mackenzie's boat. One party ran away with the + ship's boat, but were brought back. One man jumped into the sea, and swam for it + until he was picked up by the recruiting boat." The Revenue Cutter's boat was + likewise very active in taking men away, and the collector took some ashore in his + boat with himself. A prominent employee of the promoters of the expedition, Mr. + Moncrieff Blair, who posed as a gentleman, deserted on July 25th, the day before the + sailing of the vessel.</p> + <p>No wonder that Miles Macdonell should write: "My Lord, this is a most unfortunate + business * * * I condole with your Lordship on all these cross accidents."</p> + <p>Thus amid annoyance, opposition, and discouragement did the little fleet set sail, + on July 26th, 1811.</p> + <p>But this time of Napoleonism in Europe affected even the high seas. French + cruisers<span class ="pagenum">55</span><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55"></a> might seize the valuable + cargoes being sent out to York Factory. Accordingly a man-of-war had been detailed to + lead the way. This had caused a part of the delay on the East Coast of England, and + when fairly away from the British Isles and some four hundred miles northwest of + Ireland, the protecting ship turned back, but the sea was so wild that not even a + letter could be handed to the Captain to carry in a message to the promoter.</p> + <p>The journey continued to be boisterous, but once within Hudson straits the weather + turned mild, and the great walls of rock reminded the Highlanders of their + Sutherlandshire West Coast.</p> + <p>They saw no living being as they went through the Strait. Their studies of human + nature were among themselves. Miles Macdonell reports that exclusive of the officers + and crews who embarked at Gravesend, there were of laborers and writers one hundred + and five persons.</p> + <p>Of these there were fifty-three on the "Edward and Ann." Two men of especial note, + representing the clerical and medical professions were on board the Emigrant Ship. + Father Burke, a Roman Catholic priest, who had come away without the permission of + his Bishop was one.</p> + <p>Miles Macdonell did not like him, but he<span class ="pagenum">56</span><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56"> + </a> seems to have been a hearty supporter of the Emigration Scheme and + promised to do great things in Ireland on his return.</p> + <p>When he reached York Factory, Burke did not leave the shore to follow the + Colonists to their homes on the banks of Red River. He married two Scotch + Presbyterians, and while somewhat merry at times had amused the passengers on their + dreary ocean journey. More useful, however, to the passengers was Mr. Edwards, the + ship's doctor.</p> + <p>He had much opportunity for practising his art, both among the Colonists and the + employees.</p> + <p>At times Miles Macdonell endeavored on shipboard to drill his future servants and + settlers, but he found them a very awkward squad—not one had ever handled a gun + or musket. The sea seemed generally too tempestuous in mood for their evolutions. As + the ships approached York Factory the interest increased. The "Eddystone" was + detailed to sail to "Fort Churchill," but was unable to reach it and found her way in + the wake of the other vessels to York Factory. It seemed as if the sea-divinities all + combined to fight against the Colonists, for they did not reach York Factory, the + winter destination, until the 24th of September, having taken sixty-one days on the + voyage from Stornoway, which was declared by the Hud<span class ="pagenum">57</span><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57"></a>son's Bay Company officers to be the longest and latest passage ever + known on Hudson Bay. Then settlers and employees were all landed on the point, near + York Factory, and were sheltered meantime in tents, and as they stood on the shore + they saw on October 5th, the ships that had brought them safely across the stormy sea + pass through a considerable amount of floating ice on their homeward journey to + London.</p> + <p>For one season at least the settlers will face the rigor of this Northern Clime. +<span class ="pagenum">58</span><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58"></a></p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_IV" id="CHAPTER_IV"></a>CHAPTER IV.</h2> + <div class="subchap">A WINTER OF DISCONTENT. + </div> + <p>The Emigrant ship has landed its living freight at Fort Factory, upon the Coast of + Hudson Bay—a shore unoccupied for hundreds of miles except by a few Hudson's + Bay Company forts such as those at the mouth of the Nelson River, and of Fort + Churchill, a hundred miles or more farther north. It was now the end of the season, + and it will not do to trifle with the nip of cold "Boreas" on the shore of Hudson + Bay. The icy winter is at hand, and all know that they will face such temperatures as + they never had seen even among the stormy Hebrides, or in the Northward Orkneys. Lord + Selkirk's dreams are now to be tested. Is the story of the Colony to be an epic or a + drama?</p> + <p>It was by no means the first experiment of facing in an unprepared way the rigors + of a North American winter.</p> + <p>In the fourth year of the Seventeenth Century De Monts, a French Colonizer, had a + band of his countrymen on Douchet's Island, in the<span class ="pagenum">59</span><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59"> + </a> Ste. Croix River, on the borders of New Brunswick. Though fairly + well provided in some ways yet the winter proved so trying that out of the number of + less than eighty, nearly one-half died. The winter was so long, weary and deadly, + that in the spring the survivors of the Colony were moved to Port Royal in Acadia and + the Ste. Croix was given up. This was surely dramatic; this was tragic indeed. But in + the fourth year of this Century, the Tercentenary of this event was celebrated in + Annapolis and St. John, as the writer himself beheld, and the shouts and applause of + gathered thousands made a great and patriotic epic.</p> + <p>Again four years after De Monts, when knowledge of climate and conditions had + become known to the French pioneers, Samuel de Champlain wintered with his crew and a + few settlers on the site of Old Quebec, on the St. Lawrence. Discontent and + dissension led to rebellion, and blood was shed in the execution of the plotters. + Hunger, suffering and the dreadful scurvy attacked the founder's party of less than + thirty, of whom only ten survived, and yet in July of 1908, the writer witnessed the + grand Tercentenary celebration of Champlain's settlement of Quebec, and with the + presence of the Prince of Wales, General Roberts, the idol of the British Army, a + joint fleet, of eleven English, French and American first-<span class ="pagenum">60</span><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60"></a>class Men-of War, with pageantry and music, the Epic + of Champlain was sung at the foot of the great statue erected to his memory.</p> + <p>In the Twentieth year of the Seventeenth Century, a company of very sober folk, + came to the shore of the Atlantic Ocean in a trifling little vessel the "Mayflower," + and brought about one hundred Immigrants from the British Isles to Plymouth Rock to + build up a refuge and a home. What a mighty song of patriotism will burst out when in + a few years the United States hold their Tercentenary of the landing of the Pilgrim + Fathers.</p> + <p>And so we see the first Selkirk Colonists landed on the Hudson Bay numbering at + the outside seventy, a number not greatly different from the French and Pilgrim + Fathers and called on to pass through similar trials in the severe winter of Hudson + Bay. Their experience has been less tragic than that of the other parties spoken of, + but in it the same elements of discomfort, dissension and disease certainly present + themselves. However distressing their winter was, the dramatic conditions passed + away, in a short time we shall be engaged in commemorating the patience and the + heroism of these settlers, and in 1912 we shall sing a new song—the epic of the + Lord Selkirk Colonists.</p> + <p>But to be true we must look more closely at<span class ="pagenum">61</span><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61"> + </a> the trials, and sufferings of the untried, and somewhat turbulent + band, on their way to the Red River.</p> + <p>York Factory as being the port of entry for the southern prairie country was a + place of some importance. As in the largest number of cases, other than a few huts + for workmen, and a few Indian families, the Fort was the only centre of life in the + whole region. Two rivers, the Nelson and the Hayes, enter the Hudson Bay at this + point—the Nelson being the more northerly of the two. Between the two rivers is + really a delta or low swampy tongue of land. On the Nelson's north bank, the land + near the Bay is low, while inland there is a rising height. Five or six different + sites of forts are pointed out at this point. These have been built on during the + history of the Company, which dates back to 1670. In Lord Selkirk's time the factory + was more than half a mile from the Bay and lay between the two rivers. Miles + Macdonell states that it was on "low, miry ground without a ditch." The stagnant + water by which the post was surrounded would be productive of much ill-health, were + there a longer summer. The buildings of the Factory were also badly planned, and + badly constructed, so that the Fort was unsuitable for quartering the Colonists. + Besides this, Messrs. Cook and Auld, the former Governor of York Factory, and the +<span class ="pagenum">62</span><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62"></a> latter chief officer of Fort + Churchill, having the old Hudson's Bay Company's spirit of dislike of Colonists, + decided that the new settlers, being an innovation and an evil, should have separate + quarters built for them at a distance from the Fort.</p> + <p>Poor Colonists! Miles Macdonell is wearied with them in their complaining spirit, + berates them for indolence, and finds fault with their awkwardness as workmen. To + Macdonell, who was a Canadian, accustomed as a soldier and frontiersman to dealing + with canoes, boats, and every means of land transport, the sturdy, steady going + Orkneyman was slow and clumsy.</p> + <p>The inexperienced new settler thus gets rather brusque treatment from the + Colonial, more a good deal than he deserves.</p> + <p>Accordingly it was decided to erect log dwellings for the workmen and the settlers + on the higher ground north of the Nelson River. Several miles distant from the + Factory itself, Spruce trees of considerable size grew along the river, and so all + hands were put to work to have huts or shanties erected to protect the Colonists from + the severe cold of winter, which would soon be upon them, although on October 5th + Miles Macdonell wrote home to Lord Selkirk: "The weather has been mild and pleasant + for some days past."</p> + <p>The erection of suitable houses, that is home<span class ="pagenum">63</span><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63"></a>ly on the exterior, but warm in the coldest weather, was + superintended by Miles Macdonell—himself a Colonial and one aware of the + precautions needing to be taken.</p> + <p>Amid all the troubles and complaints of the winter there were none against the + suitableness of the log dwellings which were erected on the chosen site to which was + given the name, "Nelson Encampment." Winter, however, came in fiercely enough in + November, although again on the 29th of November, Macdonell writes to Cook, Governor + of the Factory: "A mild day enables us to send a boat across the Nelson with the + Express." It was open water on the river.</p> + <p>Macdonell knew well that with the recent arrivals from the Old Land, one of the + greatest dangers would be the weakening and dangerous disease of scurvy. He had + sought for supplies of "Essence of Malt" and "Crystallized Salts of Lemon," and at the + beginning of December as the people were living chiefly on salt provisions and a + short allowance of oatmeal the scurvy made its appearance. Medical care was given by + Mr. Edwards and the disease was at once met. However within a month one-third of the + Immigrants were thus afflicted and the fear was that the malady would go through the + whole Encampment. But the remedy that Champlain found so effective at + Quebec—the juice of the Spruce tree, which grew in abun<span class ="pagenum">64</span><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64"></a>dance around the Encampment—checked the + disease, wherever the obstinacy of the settlers did not prevent its use, for says + Macdonell, "It is not an easy matter to get the Orkneymen to drink it, particularly + the old hands." A smouldering fire of discontent that had been detected on board the + ship on crossing the ocean now broke out into a flame. The Irish and the Orkneymen + could not agree. In February the vigilant leader Macdonell writes: "The Irish + displayed their native propensity and prowess on the first night of the year, by + unmercifully beating some Orkneymen. Too much strong drink was the chief incitement." + This antipathy continued to be a difficulty even until the party arrived at Red + River.</p> + <p>There are signs in his letters, of the constant strain on Miles Macdonell arising + from the difficulties of his position and the waywardness of the Immigrants. At times + he consults with the Hudson's Bay Company's officer, Mr. Hillier, and at others thus + unbosoms himself to Messrs. Cook and Auld. "In this wild, desolate and (I may add) + barren region, excluded at present from all communication with the civilized world, + intelligence of a local kind can alone be expected. Could we join in the sentinel's + cry of 'All is well,' although not affording great changes, it might yet be + satisfactory in our isolated condition. We have as great variety<span class ="pagenum">65</span><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65"></a> as generally happens in this sublunary world, of + which we here form a true epitome, being composed of men of all countries, religions + and tongues."</p> + <p>Plainly Governor Macdonell feels his burdens! However, the culmination of this + officer's troubles did not reach him until a serious rebellion occurred among his + subjects—so mixed and various.</p> + <p>A workman—William Finlay—presumably an Orkneyman, who had been + regularly employed by Miles Macdonell when the scurvy was bad in Mr. Hillier's camp, + refused to obey the health regulations, his one objection being to drink this spruce + decoction. He was immediately dropped from work. A few days afterward supposing the + matter had blown over, Macdonell ordered him to work again. Finlay declined, + whereupon, though under engagement he refused to further obey Macdonell. The Governor + then brought him before Mr. Hillier, who like himself, had been made a magistrate. + His breach of law in this, as in other matters being brought against Finlay he was + sentenced to confinement. There being no prison at York Factory it seemed difficult + to carry out the sentence by his being simply confined with his other companions in + the men's quarters. Accordingly the Governor ordered a single log hut to be + constructed, and this being done, in<span class ="pagenum">66</span><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66"> + </a> it the prisoner was confined. Not a day had entirely passed when a + rebellion arose among some of his compatriots—the Scottish contingent from + Orkney and Glasgow—and a band of thirteen of them surrounded the newly built + hut, set it on fire and as it went up in smoke rescued the prisoner.</p> + <p>The men were arrested and were brought before Macdonell and Hillier, sitting as + magistrates. This was about the end of February. The rebels, however, defied the + authorities, departed carrying Finlay with them and getting possession of a house + took it defiantly for their own use. During their remaining sojourn at York Factory + they subsisted on provisions obtained at the Factory itself and carried by themselves + from the post to the encampment. Governor Macdonell, meantime, decided to send these + rebellious spirits home to Britain for punishment, and not allow them to go on to Red + River.</p> + <p>The possession by the rioters of some five or six stand of firearms, was felt to + be a menace to the peace of the encampment. An effort was made to obtain them by + Macdonell, but "the insurgents," as they were called, secreted the arms and thus kept + possession of them. In June on the rebels being very bold and being unable to get + back across the Nelson River from the Factory for a number of days, they +<span class ="pagenum">67</span><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67"></a> were forced by Mr. Auld, then at + York Factory, to give up their arms and submit or else have their supplies from the + Factory stopped. They were thus compelled to submit and on the receipt of a note from + Mr. Auld to Macdonell, the latter wrote a joyful letter to Lord Selkirk to the effect + that the insurgents had at length come to terms, acknowledged their guilt and thrown + themselves upon the mercy of the Hudson's Bay Committee.</p> + <p>This surrender made it unnecessary to send the body of rioters back to England for + trial.</p> + <p>During the months of later winter Governor Miles Macdonell was specially employed + in building boats for the journey up to Red River. He introduced a style of boat used + on the rivers of New York, his native State. These, however, he complains, were very + badly constructed through the clumsiness and lack of skill of the Colonists and + Company employees, whom he had ordered to build them.</p> + <p>Now on July fourth, 1812, Governor Macdonell, his Colonists, and the Hudson's Bay + officials—Cook and Auld—are all gazing wistfully up the Nelson and Hayes + Rivers, and we have the postscript to the last letter as found in Miles Macdonell + letter book, sent to Lord Selkirk, reading, "Four Irishmen are to be sent home; + Higgins and Hart, for the felonious attack on the Orkneymen; William Gray, non-<span class ="pagenum">68</span><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68"></a>effective, and Hugh Redden, who + lost his arm by the bursting of a gun given him to fire off by Mr. Brown, one of the + Glasgow clerks."<br />(Signed) H. MacD.<br /> + </p> + <p>The expedition left York Factory for the interior on the 6th of July, 1812. +<span class ="pagenum">69</span><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69"></a></p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_V" id="CHAPTER_V"></a>CHAPTER V.</h2> + <div class="subchap">FIRST FOOT ON RED RIVER BANKS. + </div> + <p>The weary winter passing at Nelson Encampment had its bright spots. Miles + Macdonell in the building erected for himself, on the south side of the Nelson River, + kept up his mess, having with him Mr. Hillier, Priest Bourke, Doctor Edwards, and + Messrs. John McLeod, Whitford and Michael Macdonell, officers and clerks. Those + Immigrants who took no part in the rebellion fared well. True, the scurvy seized + several of them, but proved harmless to those who obeyed the orders and took + plentiful potations of spruce beer. With the opening year a fair supply of fresh and + dried venison was supplied by the Indians. In April upwards of thirty deer were + snared or shot by the settlers. Some three thousand deer of several different kinds + crossed the Nelson River within a month. "Fresh venison," writes Macdonell, "was so + plenty that our men would not taste salt meat. We have all got better since we came + to Hudson Bay."</p> + <p>But as in all far northern climates the heat<span class ="pagenum">70</span><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70"> + </a> was great in the months of May and June, and Governor and Colonists + became alike restless to start on the inland journey.</p> + <p>The passing out of the ice in north-flowing rivers is always wearisome for those + who are waiting to ascend. Beginning to melt farther south, the ice at the mouth is + always last to move. Besides, the arrival was anxiously awaited of Bird, Sinclair and + House. By continuous urging of the dull and inefficient workmen to greater effort, + Miles Macdonell had succeeded in securing four boats—none too well + built—but commodious enough to carry his boat-crews, workmen, and + Colonists.</p> + <p>Though Macdonell sought for the selection of the workmen who were to accompany him + to Red River, he was not able to move the Hudson's Bay Company officials. Two days, + however, after arrival of the Company magnates from the interior his men were secured + to him, and he was fully occupied in transporting his stores up the river as far as + the "Rock"—the rapids of the Hill River which here falls into Hayes River. For + a long distance up the river there is a broad stream, one-quarter of a mile wide, + running at the rate of two miles an hour through low banks. The boatmen have a good + steady pull up the river for some sixty miles, and here where the Steel River enters + the Hayes is seen a wide, deep, rapid stream run<span class ="pagenum">71</span><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71"></a>ning about three miles an hour. The banks of this river are of clay + and rising from fifty to one hundred feet, the clay of the banks is so smooth and + white that a traveller has compared them in color to the white, chalk cliffs of + Dover. Thus far though it has required exertion on the part of the boatmen, a good + stretch of a hundred miles from the Factory has been passed without any obstruction + or delay. Now the serious work of the journey begins. The Hill River, as this part of + the river is called, is a series of rapids and portages—where the cargo and + boat have both to be carried around a rapid; of decharges where the cargo has thus to + be carried, and of semi-decharges—where a portion of the cargo only needs to be + removed.</p> + <p>At times waterfalls require to be circuited with great effort. A high mountain or + elevated table-land seen from this river shows the rough country of which these + cascades and rapids are the proof. Here are the White-Mud Falls and other smaller + cataracts. To the expert voyageur such a river has no terrors, but to the raw-hand + the management of such boats is a most toilsome work. The birch-bark canoe is a mere + trifle on the portage, but the heavy York boat capable of carrying three or four tons + is a clumsy lugger. The cargo must be moved, the non-effectives such as the women and + children and the old men must trudge the weary<span class ="pagenum">72</span><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72"> + </a> path, varying from a few hundred yards to several miles along a + rocky, steep and rugged way. When the portage is made the whole force of boatmen and + able-bodied passengers are required to stand by each boat, pull it out of the water, + and then skid or drag or cajole it along till it is thrust into its native element + again. To the willing crofter or Orkney boatmen this was not a great task, but to the + Glasgow immigrant, or the lazy waiter-on-fortune this was hard work. Many + were the oaths of the officers and the complaints and objections of the men when they + were required to grapple with the foaming cascades, the fearful rapids and the + difficult portages of Hill River. Mossy Portage being now past the landing on a rocky + island at the head of the river showed that the first "Hill Difficulty" had been + overcome.</p> + <p>Swampy lake for ten miles gives a comparative rest to the toiling crews, but at + the end of it a short portage passed takes the beleagured party into the mouth of the + Jack Tent River. Day after day with sound sleep when the mosquitoes would permit, the + unwilling voyageurs continued their journey. Ten portages have to be faced and + overcome as the brigade ascends the rapid Jack Tent River, covering a stretch of + seventy miles. The party now find themselves on the surface of Knee Lake, a + considerable sheet of water, but a comparative rest after<span class ="pagenum">73</span><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73"></a> the trials of Jack Tent River. The lake is fifty-six + miles long and at times widens to ten miles across.</p> + <p>But there is trouble just ahead.</p> + <p>The travellers have now come to the celebrated Fall Portage. It is short but + deterrent. The height and ruggedness of the rocks over which cargo and boats have to + be dragged are unusually forbidding. The only consolation to the contemplative soul, + who does not have to portage, is that "The stream is turbulent and unfriendly in the + extreme, but in romantic variety, and in natural beauty nothing can exceed this + picture." High rocks are seen, beetling over the rapids like towers, and are rent + into the most diversified forms, gay with various colored masses, or shaded by + overhanging hills—now there is a tranquil pool lying like a sheet of + silver—now the dash and foam of a cataract—these are but parts of this + picturesque and striking scene.</p> + <p>But Fall Portage was only a culmination, in this fiercely rushing Trout River, for + above it a dozen rapids are to be passed with toilsome energy. After this the party + is rewarded with beautiful islets, and the lake for a length of thirty-five miles + lies in a fertile tract of country. It was formerly appropriately called Holy Lake, + and as a summit lake suggests to the traveller abiding restfulness. To the traders on + their<span class ="pagenum">74</span><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74"></a> route whether passing up or + down the water courses, it was always so. After the long and tedious voyaging it was + their Elysium. Not only are the sweet surroundings of the lake most charming, but the + Indians of the neighborhood have always been noted for their good character, their + docility and their industry.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/illus_big_082.jpg" ><img class="figcenterh" + src="images/illus_082.jpg" alt="ANDREW McDERMOTT, ESQ." title="" /></a><br /> + <span class="caption">ANDREW McDERMOTT, ESQ.<br /> + Greatest Merchant of the Red River Settlement.<br /> + Came to Red River Settlement in 1812.<br /> + Died in Winnipeg in 1881.</span> + </div> + <br /> + + <p>A short delay at Oxford House led to the con<span class ="pagenum">75</span><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75"></a>tinuation of the journey over what was now the roughest, most + desolate, and most trying part of the voyage. On this rough passage, perhaps the most + distressing spot was "Windy Lake," a small but tempestuous sheet. The voyageurs + declare that they never cross "Lac de Vent" without encountering high winds and very + often dangerous storms. Again "the Real Hill Difficulty" is encountered above the + lake at the "Big Hill" portage and rapids—one of the sudden descents of this + alarming stream. Those coming toward Oxford Lake run it at the very risk of their + lives, but the painful portages impress themselves on all going up the "Height of + Land," which is reached after passing through a narrow gorge between hills and + mountains of rocks, the stream dashing headlong down from the mile-long Robinson + Portage.</p> + <p>This region is an elevated, rugged waste, with no signs of animal life about it. + It is the terror of the voyageurs. This eerie tract culminates in the ascending + "Haute de Terre," as the French call it—the dividing ridge between the waters + running eastward to Hudson Bay and those running westward and descending to meet the + Nelson River, on its headlong way to Hudson Bay as well. The obstacle known as the + "Painted Stone" being passed the Colonists' brigade was now on its way to the inland + plain of the Continent.<span class ="pagenum">76</span><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76"></a></p> + <p>The portage led from this string of five small lakes to the head waters of a + trifling, but very interesting stream called the "Echimamish River." A doubtful but + curious explanation has been given of the name. On the stream are ten beaver dams; + which ever of these filled first gave the voyageur the opportunity to launch in his + canoe or boat and go down the little runway to Black Water Creek. It was said that in + consequence it was called "Each-a-Man's" brook, according as each voyageur took the + water with his craft first. The way was now clear, down stream until shortly was seen + the dashing Nelson River, or as it is here called, "The Sea River." When this was + accomplished the Immigrants had only to pull stoutly up stream for forty miles or + more until Norway House, the great Hudson's Bay Fort at the north end of Lake + Winnipeg was reached.</p> + <p>The weary journey—430 miles from York Factory—was thus over and the + worn out, weather beaten, ragged, and foot-sore travellers had come to the lake, + whose name, other than that of Red River, was the only inland word they had ever + heard of before starting on their journey.</p> + <p>It was the first standing place in the country, which was now to have them as its + pioneers.</p> + <p>There is no turning back now. The Rubicon is crossed. Thirty-seven portages lie + between<span class ="pagenum">77</span><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77"></a> them and the dissociable + sea. For better or for worse they will now complete their journey, going on to found + the Settlement which has become so famous.</p> + <p>The appearance of Norway House with its fine site and evidences of trade cheered + the Colonists, and the sight of a body of water like Lake Winnipeg, which can be as + boisterous as the ocean, brought back the loud resounding sea by whose swishing waves + most of the settlers, for all their lives, had been lulled to sleep. It is a great + stormy and dangerous lake—Lake Winnipeg. But for boats to creep along its shore + with the liberty of landing on its sloping banks in case of need it is safe enough. + The season was well past, and haste was needed, but in due time the mouth of the + river—the delta of Red River—was reached. Now they were within forty or + forty-five miles of their destination. At this time the banks of the Red River were + well wooded, though there was open grassy plains lying behind these belts of forest. + There was only one obstruction on their way up the river. This was the "Deer," now + St. Andrew's Rapids, but after their experiences this was nothing, for these rapids + were easily overcome by tracking, that is, by dragging the boats by a line up the + bank.</p> + <p>Up the river they came and rounded what<span class ="pagenum">78</span><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78"></a> we now call Point Douglas, in the City of Winnipeg, a name + afterwards given to mark Lord Selkirk's family name. They had completed a journey of + seven hundred and twenty-eight miles, from York Factory to the site of + Winnipeg—and they had done this in fifty-five days. Now they landed.</p> + <p class="center"><span class="subchap">THE RED LETTER DAY OF THEIR LANDING WAS AUGUST 30TH, 1812.</span></p> + <p>At York Factory the Colonists had met a Hudson's Bay Company officer—Peter + Fidler—on his way to England. He was the surveyor of the Company and a map of + the Colony of which a copy is given by us marks the Colony Gardens, where Governor + Miles Macdonell lived. This spot they chose, and the locality at the foot of Rupert + Street is marked in the City of Winnipeg. A stone's throw further north along the + bank of Red River, Fort Douglas was afterwards built, around which circles much of + this Romantic Settlement Story.</p> + <p>This spot was the centre of the First Settlement of Rupert's Land and to this + first party peculiar interest attaches.</p> + <p>There can only be one Columbus among all the navigators who crossed from Europe to + America; there can only be one Watt among all the inventors and improvers of the + steam engine; only one Newton among those who dis<span class ="pagenum">79</span><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79"></a>cuss the great discovery of the basal law of gravitation.</p> + <p>There can be only one first party of those who laid the foundation of collective + family life in what is now the Province of Manitoba—and what is wider—in + the great Western Canada of to-day. There may have been not many wise men, not many + mighty, not many noble among them, but the long and stormy voyage which they made, + the dangers they endured on the sea, the marvellous land journey they accomplished, + and their taking "seisin of the land," to use William the Conqueror's phrase, + entitles them to recognition and to respectful memory.<span class ="pagenum">80</span><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80"></a></p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_VI" id="CHAPTER_VI"></a>CHAPTER VI.</h2> + <div class="subchap">"THREE DESPERATE YEARS." + </div> + <p>Pioneering to-day is not so serious a matter as it once was. To the frontiers' man + now it involves little risk, and little thought, to dispose of his holding, and make + a dash further West for two or three hundreds of miles across the plains. When he + wishes more land for his growing sons, he "sells out," fits up his commodious covered + wagon, called "the prairie schooner," and with implements, supplies, cattle and + horses, starts on the Western "trail." His wife and children are in high spirits. + When a running stream or spring is reached on the way he stops and camps. His journey + taken when the weather is fine and when the mosquitoes are gone is a diversion. The + writer has seen a family which went through this gypsy-like "moving" no less than + four times. At length the settler finds his location, has it registered in the + nearest Land Office and calls it his. With ready axes, the farmer and his sons cut + down the logs which are to make their dwelling. The children explore the new farm + lying<span class ="pagenum">81</span><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81"></a> covered with its velvet sod, + as it has done for centuries; they gather its flowers, pluck its wild fruits, chase + its wild ducks or grouse or gophers. Health and homely fare make life enjoyable. + Subject to the incidents and interruptions of every day, which follow humanity, it + seems to them a continual picnic.</p> + <p>But how different was the fate of the worn-out Selkirk Colonists. The memory of a + wretched sea voyage, of a long and dreary winter at Nelson Encampment, and of a + fifty-five days' journey of constant hardship along the fur traders' route were + impressed upon their minds. The thought of fierce rivers and the dangers of portage + and cascade still haunted them, and now everything on the banks of Red River was + strange. On their arrival the flowers were blooming, but they were prairie flowers, + and unknown to them. The small Colony houses which they were to occupy would be + uncomfortable. The very sun in the sky seemed alien to them, for the Highland drizzle + was seen no more. The days were bright, the weather warm, the nights cool, and there + was an occasional August thunderstorm, or hailstorm which alarmed them. The traders, + the Indians, the half-breed trappers, and runners were all new to them. Their Gaelic + language, which they claimed as that of Eden, was of little value to them except + where an occasional company-ser<span class ="pagenum">82</span><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82"></a>vant chanced to be a countryman of their own. They were without + money, they were dependent upon Lord Selkirk's agents for shelter and rations. The + land which they hoped to possess was there awaiting them, but they had no means for + purchasing implements, nor were the farming requisites to be found in the country. + Horses there were, but there were only two or three individual cattle within five + hundred miles of them.</p> + <p>If they had sung on their sorrowful leaving, "Lochaber no more," the words were + now turned by their depressed Highland natures into a wail, and they sang in the + words of their old Psalms of "Rouse's" version:</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">By Babel's streams we sat and wept,<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">When Zion we thought on.<br /> + </span> + </div> + </div> + <p>They thought of their crofts and clachans, where if the land was stingy, the gift + of the sea was at hand to supply abundant food.</p> + <p>But this was no time for sighs or regrets.</p> + <p>The Hudson's Bay traders from Brandon House were waiting for expected goods, and + Messrs. Hillier and Heney, who were the Hudson's Bay Company officers for the East + Winnipeg District, had arduous duties ahead of them. But though the orders to prepare + for the Colonists had been sent on in good time,<span class ="pagenum">83</span><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83"> + </a> there was not a single bag of pemmican or any other article of + provision awaiting the hapless settlers. The few French people who were freemen, + lived in what is now the St. Boniface side of the river, were only living from hand + to mouth, and the Company's people were little better provided. The river was the + only resource, and from the scarceness of hooks the supply of fish obtainable was + rather scanty.</p> + <p>As the Colonists and their leader were strangers they desired leisure to select a + suitable location for their buildings. For the time being their camp was at the + Forks, on the east side of the river, a little north of the mouth of the + Assiniboine.</p> + <p>The Governor, Miles Macdonell, on the 4th of September, summoned three of the + North-West Company gentlemen, the free Canadians beside whom they were encamped, and + a number of the Indians to a spectacle similar to that enacted by St. Lawson, at + Sault Ste. Marie, nearly a hundred and fifty years before. The Nor'-Westers had not + permitted their employees to cross the river. Facing, as he did, Fort Gibraltar, + across the river, the Governor directed the patent of Lord Selkirk to his vast + concession to be read, "delivering and seizin were formally taken," and Mr. Heney + translated some part of the Patent into French for<span class ="pagenum">84</span><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84"> + </a> the information of the French Canadians. There was an officers' + guard under arms; colors were flying and after the reading of the Patent all the + artillery belonging to Lord Selkirk, as well as that of the Hudson's Bay Company, + under Mr. Hillier, consisting of six swivel guns, were discharged in a grand + salute.</p> + <p>At the close of the ceremony the gentlemen were invited to the Governor's tent, + and a keg of spirits was turned out for the people.</p> + <p>Having made such disposition as we shall see of the people, Governor Macdonell + went with a boat's crew down the river to make a choice of a place of settlement for + the Colonists. A bull and cow and winter wheat had been brought with the party, and + these were taken to a spot selected after a three days' thorough investigation of + both banks of the river for some miles below the Forks. The place found most eligible + was "an extensive point of land through which fire had run and destroyed the wood, + there being only burnt wood and weeds left." This was afterwards called Point + Douglas.</p> + <p>He had, as we shall see, dispatched the settlers to their wintering place up the + Red River on the 6th of September, and set some half-dozen men, who were to stay at + the Forks, to work clearing the ground for sowing winter<span class ="pagenum">85</span><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85"></a> wheat. An officer was left with the men to trade with + Indians for fish and meat for the support of the workers.</p> + <p>The winter, which is sharp, crisp and decided in all of Rupert's Land, was + approaching, so that their situation began to be desperate.</p> + <p>Governor Macdonell's chief care was for the safety and comfort during the winter + of his helpless Colonists.</p> + <p>Sixty miles up the Red River from the Forks was a settlement of native + people—chiefly French half-breeds—and to this place called Pembina came + in the buffaloes, or if not they were easily reached from this settlement. But the + poor Scottish settlers had no means of transport, and the way seemed long and + desolate to them to venture upon, unaccompanied and unhelped. Governor Macdonell did + his best for them, and succeeded in inducing the Saulteaux Indians, who seemed + friendly, to guide and protect them as they sought Pembina for winter quarters.</p> + <p>The Indians had a few ponies and mounted on these they undertook to conduct the + settlers to their destination. The caravan was grotesquely comical as it departed + southward. The Indians upon their "Shaganappi ponies," as they are called, like + mounted guards protecting the men, women and children of the Colony who trudged + wearily on foot. The Indians were kind<span class ="pagenum">86</span><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86"> + </a> to their charge, but the Redman loves a joke, and often indulges in + "horse-play." The demure Highlander looked unmoved upon the Indian pranks. The + Indians also hold everything they possess on a loose tenure. The Highlander who was + forced to surrender the gun, which his father had carried at the battle of Culloden, + failed to see the humour of the affair, and the Highland woman who was compelled to + give up her gold marriage ring, because some prairie brave wanted it, was unable to + see the ethics of the Saulteaux guide who robbed her. The women became very weary of + their journey, but their mounted guardians only laughed, because they were in the + habit on their long marches of treating their own squaws in the same manner.</p> + <p>To Pembina at length they came—worn out, dusty and despondent. Here they + erected tents or built huts. The settlers reached Pembina on the 11th of September, + and Macdonell and an escort of three men, all on horseback, arrived on the 12th. + Arrived at Pembina Macdonell examined the ground carefully, and selected the point on + the south side of the Pembina River at its juncture with the Red River as a site for + a fort. His men immediately camped here. Great quantities of buffalo meat were + brought in by the French Canadians and Indians. Some of this was sent down to the + Forks to the party which had remained to built a hut at that point<span class ="pagenum">87</span><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87"></a> for stores. At Pembina a storehouse was built + immediately, and having given directions to erect several other buildings, the + Governor returned by boat to the Forks. On the 27th of October Owen Keveny, in charge + of the second detachment of Colonists, arrived with his party, largely of Irishmen. + These men were taken on to Pembina. After great activity the buildings were ready by + the 21st of November to house the whole of the two parties now united in one band of + Colonists. The Governor and officers' quarters were finished on December 27th. + Macdonell reports to Lord Selkirk that "as soon as the place at Pembina took some + form and a decent flagstaff was erected on it, it was called Fort Daer." It is said + that in most years the buffaloes were very numerous and so tame that they came to the + Trader's Fort and rubbed their backs upon its stockaded enclosure. There was this + year plenty of buffalo meat and the Scotch women soon learned to cook it into + "Rubaboo," or "Rowschow," after the manner of the French half-breeds. Toward spring + food was scarcer.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/illus_big_096.jpg" ><img class="figcenterh" + src="images/illus_096.jpg" alt="HON. DONALD GUNN" title="" /></a><br /> + <span class="caption">HON. DONALD GUNN<br /> + Schoolmaster, Naturalist and Legislator.<br /> + York Factory, 1813; Red River, 1823; Died at Little Britain, 1878.</span> + </div> + <p>In May the winterers of Pembina returned to their settlement at the Colony. They + sought to begin the cultivation of their farms, but they were helpless. The tough + prairie sod had to be broken up and worked over, but the only implement which the + Colonist had to use was a<span class ="pagenum">88</span><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88"></a> simple + hoe, the one harrow being incomplete. The crofters were poor farmers, for they were + rather fishermen. But the fish in Red River were scarce in this year, so that even + the fisher's art which they knew was of little avail to them. The summer of 1813 was + thus what the old settlers would call an "Off-Year," for even the small fruits on the + plains<span class ="pagenum">89</span><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89"></a> were far from abundant. + These being scarce, the chief food of the settlers for all that summer through was + the "Prairie turnip." This is a variety of the pea family, known as the Astragalus + esculenta, which with its large taproot grows quite abundantly on the dry plains. An + old-time trader, who was lost for forty days and only able to get the Prairie turnip, + practically subsisted in this way. Along with this the settlers gathered quantities + of a very succulent weed known as "fat-hen," and so were kept alive. The Colonists + knowing now what the soil could produce obtained small quantities of grain and even + with their defective means of cultivation, in the next year demonstrated the + fertility of the soil of the country.</p> + <p>It was somewhat distressing to the Colonists again in 1813 to make the journey of + sixty miles to Pembina, trudging along the prairie trail, but there was no other + resource. The treatment of the Colonists by the "Nor'-Westers" had not thus far been + unfriendly and the Canadian traders had even imported a few cattle, pigs, and poultry + for the use of the settlers, and for these favors Governor Macdonell expressed his + hearty thanks to the Montreal Company. The fatigues and mishaps of the journey to + Pembina were, however, only the beginning of trouble for the winter. The reception by + the French half-breed residents of Pembina was<span class ="pagenum">90</span><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90"> + </a> not now so friendly as that of the previous winter. At first the + Nor'-Wester feeling had been one of contempt for the Colonists and pity for them in + their hunger and miseries. The building of Fort Daer was an evidence of occupation + that caused the jealous Canadian pioneers to pause. The reception of the second + season was thus decidedly cool. The struggling settlers found before the winter was + over that troubles come in troops. Very heavy snows fell in the winter of 1813-14. + This brought two difficulties. It prevented the buffaloes coming freely from the open + plains into the rivers and sheltered spots. The buffalo being a heavy animal is + helpless in the snow. The other difficulty was that the settlers could not go on the + chase with freedom. Unfortunately the Colonists were not able to use the snowshoe as + could the lively Metis. The settlers well nigh perished in seeking the camp whither + the native hunters had gone to follow the buffalo. Indeed the Colonists had the + conviction that a plot to murder two of their most active leaders was laid by the + French half-breeds whose sympathies were all with the "Nor'-Westers."</p> + <p>The climax of feeling was reached when Governor Macdonell, who was with the + Colonists at Pembina, issued a most unwise proclamation, which to the Nor'-Westers + seemed an illegality if not an impertinence. Dependent as the set<span class ="pagenum">91</span><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91"></a>tlers were on the older Company for supplies and + assistance this was nothing less than an act of madness.</p> + <p>By proclamation, on the 8th of January, 1814, Macdonell forbade any traders of + "The Honorable Hudson's Bay Company, the North-West Company, or any individual or + unconnected trader whatever to take out any provisions, either of flesh, grain or + vegetables, from the country.</p> + <p>The embargo was complete.</p> + <p>In Governor Macdonell's defence it should be said that he offered to pay by + British bills for all the provisions taken, at customary rates.</p> + <p>This assertion of sovereignty set on fire the Nor'-Westers and their + sympathizers.</p> + <p>Not only was this extreme step taken, but John Spencer, a subordinate of Macdonell + was sent west to Brandon House, found an entrance into the North-West Fort at the + mouth of the Souris River and seizing some twenty-five tons of dry buffalo meat took + it into his own fort.</p> + <p>It is quite true that Governor Macdonell expected new bands of Colonists and thus + justified himself in his seizure. It is to the credit of the Nor'-Westers that they + restrained themselves and avoided a general conflict, but evidently they only bided + their time.</p> + <p>No breach of the peace occurred however,<span class ="pagenum">92</span><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92"> + </a> before the return of the Colonists from Pembina to the Colony + Houses. The settlers occupied their homes in the best of spirits, and began to sow + their wheat, but they were still greatly checked by the absence of the commonest + implements of farm culture. Had Lord Selkirk known the true state of things on Red + River, he would never have continued to send new bands of Colonists so imperfectly + fitted for dealing with the cultivation of the soil.</p> + <p>The founder's mind had been fired, both by the opposition of Sir Alexander + Mackenzie and by the successful arrival of his two bands of Colonists at the Red + River, to make greater efforts than ever.</p> + <p>This he did by sending out a third party in all nearly a hundred strong, under the + leadership of a very capable man—Archibald Macdonald. This band of settlers in + 1813 were bound on the ship Prince of Wales for York Factory. A very serious attack + of ship fever filled the whole ship's crew with alarm. Several well-known Colonists + died. The Captain, alarmed, refused to go on to his destination, but ran the ship + into Fort Churchill and there disembarked them. Further deaths took place at this + point. In the spring there was no resource but to trudge over the rocky ledges and + forbidding desolation of more than a hundred miles between the Fort Churchill and +<span class ="pagenum">93</span><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93"></a> York Factory. Only the stronger + men and women were selected for the journey. On the 6th of April, 1814, a party of + twenty-one males and twenty females started on this now celebrated tramp. At first + the party began to march in single file, but finding this inconvenient changed to six + abreast. Unaccustomed to snowshoes and sleds the Colonists found the snowy walk very + distressing. Three fell by the way and were carried on by the stronger men. The + weather was very cold. A supply of partridges was given them on starting, and the + party was met by hunters sent from York Factory to meet them, who brought two hundred + partridges, killed by the way. York Factory was reached on the 13th of April. This + band of Colonists were superior to any who had come in the former parties. Many of + them, as we shall see, did not remain in the Colony. A list of this party may be + found in the Appendix. After remaining a month at York Factory, on the 27th of May, + this heroic band went on their way to Red River, and reached their destination in + time to plant potatoes for themselves and others. Comrades left behind at Churchill + found their way to Red River. Lots along Red River were now being taken up by the + settlers, and here they sought to found homes under a northern sky. Old and new + settlers were now hopeful, but their hopes of peace<span class ="pagenum">94</span><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94"> + </a> and happiness were soon to be dashed to pieces.</p> + <p>The arrival of the third year's Colonists provoked still greater opposition. + Feeling had been gradually rising against the new settlers at every new arrival. The + excellence of the later immigrants but led their opponents to be irritated. +<span class ="pagenum">95</span><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95"></a></p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_VII" id="CHAPTER_VII"></a>CHAPTER VII.</h2> + <div class="subchap">FIGHT AND FLIGHT. + </div> + <p>The year 1815 was a year of world-wide disaster. Napoleon's Europe-shadowing wings + had for years been over that continent and he like a ravenous bird had left marks of + his ravages among the most prominent European nations. The world had a breathing + spell for a short time with Napoleon a virtual prisoner in Elba, but now in March of + this year he broke from the perch where he had been tethered and all Europe was again + in terror. The nations were thunderstruck; the alarm was deepened by the appearance + of Olber's great comet, and in their superstition the ignorant were panic-stricken, + while the more religious and informed saw in these terrible events the scenes + pictured in the Apocalypse and maintained that the battle of Armageddon was at hand. + The epoch-marking battle of Waterloo in June of this year was sufficiently near the + picture of blood painted in the Revelation to satisfy the credulous.</p> + <p>But in a remote corner of Rupert's Land,<span class ="pagenum">96</span><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96"> + </a> where the number of the combatants was small and the conditions + exceedingly primitive the comet was alarming enough. The action of Governor Miles + Macdonell in the beginning of 1814, in forbidding the export of food from Rupert's + Land and in interfering with the liberty of the traders, Indians and half-breeds, who + had regarded themselves as outside of law, and as free as the wind of their wild + prairies, produced an open and out-spoken dissent from every class.</p> + <p>The Nor'-Westers took time to consider the grave step of interrupting trade which + Governor Miles Macdonell had taken. Immediate action was impossible. It was four + hundred miles and more from the Colony to the great emporium of the fur trade on Lake + Superior. The annual gathering of the Nor'-Westers was held at Grand Portage, the + terminus of a road nine miles long, built to avoid the rapids of the Pigeon River + which flows into Lake Superior some thirty or forty miles southwest of where Fort + William now stands. This concourse was a notable affair. From distant Athabasca, from + the Saskatchewan, from the Red River and from Lake Winnipeg, the traders gathered in + their gaily decked canoes, to meet the gentlemen from Montreal, who came to count the + gains of the year, and lay out plans for the future. Indians gathered outside +<span class ="pagenum">97</span><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97"></a> of Grand Portage Fort. The + Highland Chieftains were now transformed into factors and traders, and for days they + met in counsel together. Their evenings were spent in the great dining room of the + Fort in revelry. Songs of the voyage were sung and as the excitement grew more + intense the partners would take seats on the floor of the room and each armed with a + sword or poker or pair of tongs unite in the paddle song of "A la Claire Fontaine," + and make merry till far on in the morning. The days were laboriously given to + business and accounts. When the great MacTavish—the head of the + Nor'-Westers—was there he was often opposed by the younger men, yet he ended + the strife with his tyrannical will and silenced all opposition.</p> + <p>The Nor'-Westers at their meeting, July, 1814, under Honorable William + McGillivray, after whom Fort William was named, decided to oppose the Colony and sent + two of their most aggressive men to meet force with force, and to give Miles + Macdonell, the new Dictator, either by arms or by craft, the reward for his tyranny, + as they regarded it.</p> + <p>The whole body of the traders were incensed against Lord Selkirk, for had not one + of the chief Nor'-Wester partners written two years before from London saying, "Lord + Selkirk must be driven to abandon his project,<span class ="pagenum">98</span><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98"> + </a> for his success would strike at the very existence of our + trade."</p> + <p>The two men chosen at the gathering in Grand Portage were well fitted for their + work. Most forward was Alexander Macdonell. On his journey writing to a friend he + said: "Much is expected of us.... So here is at them with all my heart and energy." + But the master-mind was his companion Duncan Cameron who, as a leader, stands out in + the conflicts of the times as a determined man, of great executive ability, but of + fierce and over-bearing disposition. The Nor'-Westers, having planned bloodshed, all + agreed that Duncan Cameron was well chosen. He had been a leading explorer and trader + in the Lake Superior district and knew the fur traders' route as few others did. His + well-nigh thirty years of service made him a man of outstanding influence in the + Company. Moreover, he could be bland and jovial. He had the Celtic adroitness. He + knew how to ingratiate himself with every class and possessed all the devices of an + envoy. His appearance and dress at Red River were notable. Having had some rank as a + U.E. Loyalist leader in the war of 1812, he came to the Forks dressed in a scarlet + military coat with all the accoutrements of a Captain in the Army. He even made + display of his Captain's Commission by posting it at the gate of Fort Gib<span class ="pagenum">99</span><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99"></a>raltar. Of the Fort itself he + took possession as Bourgeois or master and laid his plans in August, 1814, for the + destruction of the Selkirk Colony. Cameron then began a systematic course of + ingratiating himself with the Colonists. Speaking, as he did the Gaelic language, he + appealed with much success to his countrymen. He represented himself as their friend + and stirred up the people of Red River against Selkirk tyranny. He pictured to them + their wrongs, the broken promises of the founder, and the undesirability of remaining + in the Colony. He brought the settlers freely to his table, treating them openly to + the beverage of their native country, and completely captured the hearts of a number + of them. Those, friends of his, he made use of to carry out his deep plans. On the + very day of the issue of the rations, he induced some of the Colonists to demand the + nine small cannon in the Colony store houses. The request was refused by Archibald + Macdonald, the acting Governor. The settlers then went forward, broke open the store + houses and removed the cannon. Macdonald now arrested the leading settler, who had + taken the field pieces, whereupon Cameron, like a small Napoleon, incited his clerks + and men, to invade the Governor's house and release the prisoner. This was done, and + now it may be said that war between the rival Com<span class ="pagenum">100</span><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100"></a>panies + was declared. On the return of Miles Macdonald, Cameron + ordered his arrest. Macdonell refused to acknowledge the lawfulness of this action. + The oily Nor'-Wester Highlander then threatened the people that if the Governor would + not submit to the law, the whole body of settlers would be dispossessed of their + farms and driven away from the banks of Red River. As if to make this threat seem + more real, several loyal settlers were fired at by unseen marksmen.</p> + <p>Once having begun, Cameron was not the man to hesitate. Another Nor'-Wester plan + was put into effect.</p> + <p>Cameron's comrade, Alexander Macdonell, now arrived from the Western plains + leading it was said, a band of Cree Indians. The Crees are stubborn and determined + warriors, but they are also crafty. The proposal by Alexander Macdonell ("Yellow Head + as he was called" to distinguish him), was gravely considered by the Indians. The + Indians respect authority and in this case they were not very sure who had the + authority. The Indians declined the offer, and the report proved untrue.</p> + <p>The Nor'-Westers were, however, strong in their influence over the Chippewas of + Red Lake in Minnesota. Similar propositions were made to the Sand Lake band of this + tribe. Though offered a large reward to go on this expedition<span class ="pagenum">101</span><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101"></a> against the Selkirk settlers, the chief refused the + bribe, and the tribe declined to undertake the enterprise.</p> + <p>Cameron however, knew the importance of keeping up the war-like spirit of his + following, and early in June himself took part in an attack upon the Colony houses. + The affray took place on the edge of the wood near the Governor's residence. Surgeon + White and Burke the store-keeper, narrowly escaped being killed by the shots fired + and four of the servants were actually wounded. Cameron like a real operator + effusively thanked his followers for their grand attack. This state of constant + hostility, ostensibly on account of the refusal of Governor Macdonell to respect the + legal summons served upon him, was ended by the surrender of Miles Macdonell, who was + taken as a prisoner to Montreal, though he was never brought up for trial.</p> + <p>Thus far Cameron had succeeded in his plans. He was an artful plotter. His capture + of Miles Macdonell gave him great prestige. Besides, he had roused feelings of + serious discontent in the minds of nearly all of the Selkirk Colonists. His apparent + sincerity and kindness to them had also won their hearts. He was now to make the + greatest move in the game. This was nothing less than a tempting offer to transfer + the whole of them to the fertile townships<span class ="pagenum">102</span><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102"> + </a> of Upper Canada. He provided all the means of transport, he + promised them free lands in the neighborhood of market towns—two hundred acres + to each family. Any wages due to them by Lord Selkirk he would pay and should + three-quarters of the Colony accept his offer they would have provisions provided for + a year free of cost. When the poor Colonists thought of the bleak, uncultivated + country in which they were, of the inevitable hardships which lay before them, and + saw the dangerous, unsettled state of the Selkirk settlement, they could not well + resist the offer. Furthermore, the schemer did not stop here. As was afterward found + out, George Campbell, the arch-agitator and leader among the disaffected settlers + received a promise of £100, and others of £20 and the like. Further to + allay their fears it was urged that they were going where the British flag was flying + and where the truest loyalty prevailed. It was pointed out that it had been to + prevent any obstacles being raised against their going, that the nine guns had been + seized and were in the custody of the Nor'-Westers. Accordingly full arrangements + were made. A supply of canoes was obtained and on the 15th of June, 1815, no less + than one hundred and forty of the two hundred Colonists on Red River embarked and + drifted down the river on their long canoe voyage<span class ="pagenum">103</span><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103"> + </a> of more than a thousand miles. By the end of July they had gone + over the dangerous Fur traders' route and passing over four or five hundred miles + reached Fort William, near Lake Superior. But their journey was not one-half over. + Along the base of the rugged shores of Lake Superior, through the St. Mary's River, + down the foaming Sault and then along the shores of Georgian Bay, they paddled their + way to Penetanguishene. From this point they crossed southward to Holland Landing, + which is forty miles north of Toronto, and arrived at their destination on the 5th of + September.</p> + <p>It is hard to find a parallel for such a journey. They were a large body, made up + of men, women, and children, continuously journeying for eighty-two days, through an + unsettled and barren country, running dangerous rapids, and exposed to storms with a + poorly organized commissariat, and under fear of pursuit by the agents of Lord + Selkirk, to whom many of them were personally bound. In the township of West + Gwillinbury, north of Toronto, near London, and in the Talbot settlement, near St. + Thomas—all in Upper Canada—they received their lands. Half a century + later, in one of the townships north of Toronto, the writer had pointed out to him a + man named MacBeth weighing two hundred and fifty pounds, of whom it was humourously + told that he had<span class ="pagenum">104</span><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104"></a> been carried + all the way from Red River. The explanation of course was, that he had been brought + as an infant on this famous Hegira of the Selkirk Colonists.</p> + <p>The finishing of Cameron's work on the Red River, was handed over to Alexander + Macdonell. The plan was nothing less than that the settlers remaining should be + driven by force from the banks of Red River. The party led by Macdonell was made up + of Bois-Brulés, under dashing young Cuthbert Grant. On their agile ponies they + appeared like scourging Huns, to drive out the discouraged remnant of Colonists.</p> + <p>Each remaining settler was on the 25th of June served with a notice signed by four + Nor'-Westers, thus:</p> + <p>"All settlers to retire immediately from Red River, and no trace of a settlement + to remain." (Signed) Cuthbert Grant, etc.</p> + <p>Two days after the notice was served the beleaguered settlers, made up of some + thirteen families—in all from forty to sixty persons, who had remained true to + Lord Selkirk and the Colony—went forth from their homes as sadly as the Acadian + refugees from Grand Pré. They were allowed to take with them such belongings + as they had, and in boats and other craft went pensively down Red River with Lake + Winnipeg and Jack River<span class ="pagenum">105</span><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105"></a> in view + as their destination. The house of the Governor, the mill, and the buildings which + the settlers had begun to build upon their lots were all set on fire and + destroyed.</p> + <p>The U.E. Loyalists of Upper Canada and Nova Scotia draw upon our sympathies in + their sufferings of hunger and hardship, but they afford no parallel to the + discouragement, dangers, and dismay of the Selkirk Colonists.</p> + <p>Alexander Macdonell's party of seventy or eighty mounted men easily carried out + this work of destruction. There was one fly in the ointment for them. The small + Hudson's Bay House built by Fidler still remained. Here a daring Celt, John McLeod, + was in charge. Seeing the temper of Macdonell's levy McLeod determined to fortify his + rude castle. Beside the trading house of the Hudson's Bay Company stood the + blacksmith's shop. Hurriedly McLeod, with a cart, carried thither the three-pounder + cannon in his possession, then cut up lengths of chain to be his shot and shell, used + with care his small supply of powder and with three or four men, his only garrison, + stood to his gun and awaited the attack of the Bois-Brulés. Being on horseback + his assailants could not long face his one piece of artillery. It is not known to + what extent the assailants suffered in the skirmish, but John Warren, a gentleman of + the Hudson's Bay Company, was<span class ="pagenum">106</span><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106"> + </a> killed in the encounter. The siege of McLeod's improvised fort + continued for several days, but the defence was successful, and McLeod saved for the + Company £1,000 worth of goods.<span class ="pagenum">107</span><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107"> + </a></p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_VIII" id="CHAPTER_VIII"></a>CHAPTER VIII.</h2> + <div class="subchap">NO SURRENDER. + </div> + <p>The crisis has come. The Colony seems to be blotted out. The affair may appear + small, being nothing more than the defence of the smithy, with one gun and the most + primitive contrivances, yet as Mercutio says of his wound: "'Tis not so deep as a + well, nor so wide as a church door; but it is enough."</p> + <p>The plucky McLeod, with three men held his fort and though the dusky + Bois-brulés on their prairie ponies for a time hovered about yet they did not + dare to approach the spiteful little field piece. The Metis soon betook themselves + westward to their own district of Qu'Appelle.</p> + <p>The danger being over for the present, John McLeod began to restore the Colony + buildings and even to aim at greater things than had been before.</p> + <p>One of the most discouraging things in connection with the Selkirk Colony was the + long sea voyage and the difficult land-journey necessary, not only to gain + assistance, but even to receive information from the founder in<span class ="pagenum">108</span><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108"></a> Britain for the guidance of the officers in Red + River settlement. This being the case McLeod could not wait for orders and so as + being temporarily in charge of the Hudson's Bay Company district at Red River, he + planned a fort and proceeded at once to build a portion of it. Fortunately across the + Red River in what is now the town of St. Boniface, he found the freemen who were + willing to help him. He immediately hired a number of these and began work on the new + fort.</p> + <p>Somewhat lower down the Red River than the Colony gardens he selected a site on + the river banks, now partially fallen in, where George Street at the present days + ends. Here McLeod began to erect a Governor's House, having confidence that the + founder would not desert his Colony. Along with this important project, expecting + that the Colonists would return, he turned his men upon the fields of + grain—small, but to them very precious. The yield in this year was good. He + also erected new fences and cured for the settlers quantities of hay from the swamp + lands.</p> + <p>McLeod states in his diary—of which a copy of the original is in the + Provincial Library in Winnipeg—that Fort Douglas was on the south side of Point + Douglas, so called from Lord Selkirk's family name, and which McLeod has some claim + to have so christened.<span class ="pagenum">109</span><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109"></a> </p> + <p>Meanwhile the Colonists had taken their lonely way by boat or canoe, to the foot + of Lake Winnipeg—not expecting a speedy delivery. They reached their rendezvous + in July. Lord Selkirk knew in a general way that his Colony was in danger and so had + given orders to his faithful officer—Colin Robertson, who had done yeoman + service in collecting his first party in Scotland, but who was now in Canada—to + engage a number of men and with them proceed to Red River settlement to help his + Colonists. That the real state of things was not known to Robertson, or the founder, + appears in the fact that Robertson coming from the East with twenty Canadians, passed + up the Red River to the Forks to get the first news of the dispersing of the + Colonists. With his usual dash their rescuer immediately followed the settlers to + Jack River, found them very much discouraged but persuaded them to return again to + the banks of the Red River. The work of rebuilding other houses which McLeod had not + been able to overtake now went on, and there was the greatest anxiety to hear of Lord + Selkirk's plans.</p> + <p>The Earl of Selkirk had not become in the slightest degree discouraged. Opposition + and failure seemed but to inspire him the more. On the return of Miles Macdonell as a + prisoner to Montreal in the hands of the Nor'-<span class ="pagenum">110</span><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110"> + </a> Wester emmissaries, the founder immediately sought for a competent + successor to Macdonell, and determined to send out the best and strongest party of + settlers that had yet been gathered.</p> + <p>He appointed, backed by all the influence of the Hudson's Bay Company, a retired + officer, Captain Robert Semple. The new Governor was of American origin, born in + Philadelphia, but had been in the British army. He was a distinctly high-class man, + though Masson's estimate is probably true—"A man not very conciliatory, it is + true, but intelligent, honorable and a man of integrity." He was an author of some + note, but as it proved, too good or too inexperienced a man for the lawless region to + which he was sent.</p> + <p>It would have been almost useless to despatch a new Governor to the Red River + settlement unless there had also been obtained a number of settlers to fill the place + of those so skillfully led away by Duncan Cameron. Lord Selkirk now secured the best + band of Emigrants attainable. These were from a rural parish on the East Coast of + Sutherlandshire in Scotland. They were from Helmsdale and from the parish of Kildonan + and the noble founder afterwards conferred this name on their new parish on the banks + of the Red River. The names of Matheson, Bannerman,<span class ="pagenum">111</span><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111"></a> Sutherland, Polson, Gunn and the like show the + sturdy character of this band whose descendents are taking their full part in the + affairs of the Province of Manitoba of to-day. Governor Semple accompanied this party + of about one hundred settlers, and by way of the Hudson Bay route reached the Red + River Settlement in the same year in which they started. They joined the restored + settlers, whom Colin Robertson had placed upon their lands again. With Governor + Semple's contingent came James Sutherland, an elder of the Church of Scotland, who + was authorized to baptize and marry. He was the first ordained man who reached the + Selkirk Colony. The influx of new and old settlers to the Colony, and the imperfect + preparations made for their shelter and sustenance led to the whole Company betaking + itself for the winter to Pembina, where at Fort Daer they might be within reach of + the buffalo herds. Governor Semple accompanied the settlers to Pembina, though + Alexander Macdonell had charge for the winter. In October of 1815, as the settlers + were preparing for their winter quarters, the authorities of the Colony thought it + right to seize Fort Gibraltar, and to retake the field pieces and other property of + the Colony, which the "Nor'-Westers" had captured. This was done and Duncan Cameron + who had returned was also taken prisoner. + +<span class ="pagenum">112</span><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112"></a> +<span class ="pagenum">113</span><a name="Page_113" id="Page_113"></a> Cameron, on his promising to + keep the peace was almost immediately restored to his liberty and to the command of + his fort. The feeling, however, all over the country where there were rival Forts was + not a happy one and gave anxiety to both parties as to the future. After New Year, + 1816, Governor Semple returned from Pembina and counselled with Colin Robertson, as + to the disturbed state of things. They came to the conclusion that the only safe + course was to again capture Fort Gibraltar. This they did about April, 1816, and + again held Cameron as a prisoner. Duncan Cameron was however a dangerous prisoner. + His ingenuity, courage, and force of character were so great that at any time he + might be the centre of a movement among the Metis. It was in consequence decided that + Duncan Cameron should be taken as a captive to England by way of York Factory and be + tried across seas. Colin Robertson was instructed to conduct him to York Factory. No + doubt this was a reprisal for the arrest and banishment meted out to Miles Macdonell. + Cameron was delayed at York Factory on his way to England for more than a year and + after a short stay in Britain returned to Canada. He afterwards obtained damages of + £3,000 for his illegal detention.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/illus_big_122.jpg" ><img class="figcenterw" + src="images/illus_122.jpg" alt="Fort Douglas" title="" /></a> <br /> + <span class="caption">FORT DOUGLAS<br /> + From copy of a Pencil sketch made by Lord Selkirk and obtained by the + author</span> + </div> + <p>But there was future trouble brewing all through the West.<span class ="pagenum">114</span><a name="Page_114" id="Page_114"></a> </p> + <p>The new Governor, however, unaware of the real state of matters in Rupert's Land + and probably ignorant of the claim of Canada to the West, and of the force of a + customary occupation of the land, procured with high-handed zeal a further reprisal. + Before Colin Robertson had gone to conduct Cameron to York Factory the Governor and + Robertson had discussed the advisability of dismantling Fort Gibraltar. To this + course Robertson, knowing the irritation which this would cause to the Nor'-Westers + strongly objected. For the time the proposal was dropped, but when Robertson had + gone, then the Governor proceeded with a force of thirty men to pull down Gibraltar, + which was done in a week. The stockade was taken down, carried to the Red River and + made into a raft. Upon this was piled the material of the buildings, and the whole + was floated to the site of Fort Douglas and used in erecting a new structure and + fully completing the Fort which John McLeod had begun. The same aggressive course was + pursued under orders from the Governor in regard to Pembina House which was captured, + its occupants sent as prisoners to Fort Douglas, and its stores confiscated for the + use of the Colony. The spirit shown by Governor Semple, it is suggested, had + something of the same treatment as that given to the Colonists by the official + classes in England against<span class ="pagenum">115</span><a name="Page_115" id="Page_115"> + </a> which Edmund Burke burst out with such vehemence in his great + orations.</p> + <p>Governor Semple's course would not satisfy Colin Robertson nor would it have been + approved by Lord Selkirk. The course was his own and fully did he afterwards pay the + price for his aggressions.</p> + <p>The last acts of Governor Semple as the report of them was carried westward and + repeated over the camp fires of the Nor'-Westers and their Bois-brulés + horsemen and voyageurs caused the most violent excitement. The Metis claimed a right + in the soil from their Indian mothers. The Indian title had never been extinguished + and afterwards Lord Selkirk found it necessary to make a treaty and satisfy the + Indian claim. The Nor'-Westers were also by a good number of years the first + occupants of the Red River district. The Canadian discovery of the West by French + traders, the daring occupation by Findlay, the Frobishers, Thompson, and Sir + Alexander Mackenzie all from Montreal even to the Arctic and Pacific Oceans, seemed + strong to Canadians as against the undefined and shadowy claim to the soil of Lord + Selkirk and his officers.</p> + <p>Certain signs of coming trouble might have pressed themselves upon Governor + Semple. He had eyes but he saw not.</p> + <p>The Indians, it is true, with their reverence<span class ="pagenum">116</span><a name="Page_116" id="Page_116"> + </a> for King George III., and showing their silver medals with the old + King's face upon them, were disposed to take sides with the British Company. This may + have confirmed Semple in the tyrannical course he had followed, but had he studied + the action of the free traders it might have opened his eyes. Just as certain animals + of the prairie exposed to enemies have an instinctive feeling of coming danger, so + these denizens of the plains felt the approach of trouble, and with their wives and + half-breed children betook themselves—bag and baggage—to the far Western + plains where the buffalo runs, and remained there to let the storm blow past, to + return to the "Forks" in more peaceful times.</p> + <p>Lord Selkirk, Lady Selkirk, with his Lordship's son and two daughters, were on the + other hand drawing nearer to the scene of conflict, as they came to Montreal in the + summer of 1815. In the spring Lord Selkirk started westward to see the vast estate + which he possessed, but alas! only to see it in the throes of division, of excited + passion and of bloody conflict, and to face one of the greatest catastrophes of new + world Colonization.<span class ="pagenum">117</span><a name="Page_117" id="Page_117"></a> </p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_IX" id="CHAPTER_IX"></a>CHAPTER IX.</h2> + <div class="subchap">SEVEN OAKS MASSACRE. + </div> + <p>Semple's course is on trial. Self-assertion and dictation bring their own penalty + with them. That so experienced a leader as Colin Robertson, who had been in both + Companies, who knew the native element, and was acquainted with the daring and + recklessness of the Nor'-Wester leaders, hesitated about demolishing Fort Gibraltar + should have given Governor Semple pause. Ignorance and inexperience sometimes give + men rare courage. But while Semple was self-confident he could not be exonerated from + paying the price of his rashness.</p> + <p>Undoubtedly the Governor knew that the "Nor'-Westers" after their aggressiveness + during the year 1815 were planning an attack upon Fort Douglas and upon the + Colonists. Letters intercepted by the Governor acquainted him with the fact that an + expedition was coming from Fort William in the East to fall upon the devoted Colony; + also a letter from Qu'Appelle written by Cuthbert Grant, the young Bois-<span class ="pagenum">118</span><a name="Page_118" id="Page_118"></a>brulés leader, to John + Dugald Cameron, stated that the native horsemen were coming in the spring from the + Saskatchewan forts to join those of Qu'Appelle, and says the writer, "It is hoped we + shall come off with flying colors, and never to see any of them again in the + Colonizing way in Red River."</p> + <p>The evidence in hand was clear enough to the Governor. He expected the attack, and + as a soldier he took action from the military standpoint in destroying the enemy's + base in levelling their Fort Gibraltar. But on the other hand there was no open war. + The forms of law were being followed by the Nor'-Westers, whose officers were + magistrates, and who held that by the authorization of the British Parliament the + administration of justice in the Western Territories was given over to Canada. The + decision afterwards given in the De Reinhard case in Quebec seems against this + theory, but this was the popular opinion.</p> + <p>Thus it came about that among the Hudson's Bay Company fur traders, who were + somewhat doubtful about Lord Selkirk's movement, and certainly among all the + "Nor'-Westers," who included the French Canadian voyageur population, Governor + Semple's action was looked upon as illegal and unjust in destroying Fort Gibraltar + and appropriating its materials for building up the Colony Headquarters—Fort + Douglas.<span class ="pagenum">119</span><a name="Page_119" id="Page_119"></a> </p> + <p>As the spring opened the wildest rumours of approaching conflict spread through + the whole fifteen hundred miles of country from Fort William on Lake Superior, to the + Prairie Fort, where Edmonton now stands on the North Saskatchewan. The excitement was + especially high in the Qu'Appelle district, some three hundred miles west of Red + River.</p> + <p>As the spring of 1815 opened, all eyes were looking to the action of the "New + Nation" on the Qu'Appelle River as the Bois-brulés under Cuthbert Grant called + themselves. As the whole of these events were afterwards investigated by the law + courts of Upper Canada, there is substantial agreement about the facts. The first + violence of the season is described by Lieutenant Pambrun, a most accurate writer. He + had served in the war of 1812 and gained distinction. On entering the Hudson's Bay + Company service he was sent to Qu'Appelle district. In order to supply food at Fort + Douglas Pambrun started down the river to reach the Fort by descending the + Assiniboine with five boat loads of pemmican and furs. At a landing place in the + river Pambrun's convoy was surrounded and his goods seized by Cuthbert Grant, Pambrun + himself being kept for five days as a prisoner. While in custody Pambrun saw every + evidence of war-like intentions on the part of the half-breeds. Cuthbert Grant fre<span class ="pagenum">120</span><a name="Page_120" id="Page_120"></a>quently announced their + determination to destroy the Selkirk Settlement; in boastful language it was declared + that the Bois-brulés would bow to no authority in Rupert's Land; in their + gatherings they sang French war-songs to keep up the spirit of their corps. There was + a ring of growing nationality in all their utterances.</p> + <p>A start was made late in May for the scene of action. Their prisoner Lieutenant + Pambrun was taken with them and the captured pemmican was carried along as supplies + for the journey.</p> + <p>On the way an episode of some moment occurred. On the river bank a band of Cree + Indians was encamped.</p> + <p>Commander Macdonell addressed the redmen through an interpreter to incite them to + action. A portion of his address was:</p> + <p>My Friends and Relations,—"I address you bashfully, for I have not a pipe of + tobacco to give you.... The English have been spoiling the fair lands which belonged + to you and the Bois-brulés and to which they have no right. They have been + driving away the buffalo. You will soon be poor and miserable if the English stay. + But we will drive them away, if the Indian does not, for the 'Nor'-West' Company and + the Bois-brulés are one. If you (turning<span class ="pagenum">121</span><a name="Page_121" id="Page_121"> + </a> to the chief) and some of your young men will join I shall be + glad."</p> + <p>But the taciturn Indian Chief coldly declined the polite proposal. As the party + passed Brandon House Pambrun saw in the North-West Fort near by, tobacco, tools and + furs, which had been captured by the Nor'-Westers from the Hudson's Bay Company fort. + When Portage la Prairie was reached—about sixty miles from "The + Forks"—the Bois-brulés cavalcade was organized.</p> + <p>The half-breeds were mounted on their prairie steeds and formed a company of sixty + men under command of Cuthbert Grant. Dressed in their blue capotes and encircled by + red sashes the men of this irregular cavalry had an imposing effect, especially as + they were provided with every variety of arms from muskets and pistols down to bows + and arrows. They were all expert riders and could equal in their feats on horseback + the fabled Centaurs.</p> + <p>Down the Portage road which is a prolongation of the great business street of + Winnipeg running to the West, they came. On the 19th of June, 1816, they had arrived + within four miles of the Colony headquarters—Fort Douglas. Here at Boggy Creek, + called also Cat-Fish Creek, a Council of War was held. Some importance has been + attached to their action at this point, as showing their motive. That they +<span class ="pagenum">122</span><a name="Page_122" id="Page_122"></a> did not intend to attack Fort + Douglas has been maintained, else they would not have turned off the Portage Road and + have crossed the prairie to the Northeast. There is nothing in this contention. The + plan of campaign was that the Fort William expedition and they were to meet at some + point on the banks of Red River, before they took further action. Showing how well + both parties had timed their movements, at this very moment those coming from the + East under Trader Alexander McLeod, had reached a small tributary of Red River some + forty miles from Fort Douglas. That they at present wished to avoid Fort Douglas is + certainly true. Governor Semple and his garrison were on the look-out, and the alarm + being given, the party from the Fort sallied forth. Was it to parley? or to + fight?</p> + <p>The events which followed are well told in the evidence given by Mr. John + Pritchard, who afterwards acted as Lord Selkirk's secretary. Mr. Pritchard was the + grandfather of the present Archbishop Matheson of Rupert's Land. His evidence has + been in almost every respect corroborated by other eye-witnesses of this bloody + event:</p> + <p>"On the evening of the 19th of June, 1816, I had been upstairs in my own room, in + Fort Douglas, and about six o'clock I heard the boy at the watch house give the alarm + that the<span class ="pagenum">123</span><a name="Page_123" id="Page_123"></a> Bois-brulés + were coming. A few of us, among whom was Governor Semple—there were perhaps six + altogether—looked through a spyglass, from a place that had been used as a + stable, and we distinctly saw armed persons going along the plains. Shortly after, I + heard the same boy call out, that the party on horseback were making to the + settlers."</p> + <p>"About twenty of us, in obedience to the Governor," who said, 'We must go and see + what these people are,' took our arms. He could only let about twenty go, at least he + told about twenty to follow him, to come with him; there was, however, some confusion + at the time, and I believe a few more than twenty accompanied us. Having proceeded + about half a mile towards the settlement, we saw, behind a point of wood which goes + down to the river, that the party increased very much. Mr. Semple, therefore, sent + one of the people (Mr. Burke) to the Fort for a piece of cannon and as many men as + Mr. Miles Macdonell could spare. Mr. Burke, however, not returning soon, Governor + Semple said, 'Gentlemen, we had better go on, and we accordingly proceeded. We had + not gone far before we saw the Bois-brulés returning towards us, and they + divided into two parties, and surrounded us in the shape of a half-moon or + half-circle. On our way, we met a number of the settlers crying, and speaking in the + Gaelic language, which I do not understand, and they went on to the Fort. went on to + the Fort.<br /> +<span class ="pagenum">124</span> + </p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/illus_big_134.jpg" ><img class="figcenterh" + src="images/illus_134.jpg" alt="RED RIVER SETTLEMENT" title="" /></a><br /> + </div> + <div class="imglist"> + <span class="caption">RED RIVER SETTLEMENT Fac-simile of section of Map + (1818).<br /> + A—Seven Oaks, where Semple fell.<br /> + B—Creek where Metis left Assiniboine.<br /> + C—Frog Plain (since Kildonan church).<br /> + E to F—De Meuron Settlers on Seine.<br /> + G—Half-breeds (St. Boniface of to-day).<br /> + H—Fort Douglas (1815).<br /> + I—Colony Gardens.<br /> + J—Fort Gibraltar (N.W. Co.)<br /> + K—Road followed by Metis.<br /> + L—Dry Cart trail west of Settlers' lots.</span> + </div> + <p><br /> +<span class ="pagenum">125</span><a name="Page_125" id="Page_125"></a></p> + <p>"The party on horseback had got pretty near to us, so that we could discover that + they were painted and disguised in the most hideous manner; upon this, as they were + retreating, a Frenchman named Boucher advanced, waving his hand, riding up to us, and + calling out in broken English, 'What do you want? What do you want?' Governor Semple + said. 'What do <i>you</i> want?' Mr. Burke not coming on with the cannon as soon as + he was expected, the Governor directed the party to proceed onwards; we had not gone + far before we saw the Bois-brulés returning upon us.</p> + <p>"Upon observing that they were so numerous, we had extended our line, and got more + into the open plain; as they advanced, we retreated; but they divided themselves into + two parties, and surrounded us again in the shape of a half-moon."</p> + <p>"Boucher then came out of the ranks of his party, and advanced towards us (he was + on horseback), calling out in broken English, 'What do you want? What do you want?' + Governor Semple answered, 'What do <i>you</i> want?' To which Boucher answered, 'We + want our Fort.' The Governor said, 'Well, go to your Fort.' After that I did not hear + anything that passed, as they were close together. I saw the<span class ="pagenum">126</span><a name="Page_126" id="Page_126"></a> Governor putting his hand on Boucher's gun. + Expecting an attack to be made instantly, I had not been looking at Governor Semple + and Boucher for some time; but just then I happened to turn my head that way, and + immediately I heard a shot, and directly afterwards a general firing. I turned round + upon hearing the shot, and saw Mr. Holte, one of our officers, struggling as if he + were shot. He was on the ground. On their approach, as I have said, we had extended + our line on the plain, by each taking a place at a greater distance from the other. + This had been done by the Governor's orders, and we each took such places as best + suited our individual safety.</p> + <p>"From not seeing the firing begin, I cannot say from whom it first came; but + immediately upon hearing the first shot, I turned and saw Lieut. Holte struggling." + (Several persons present at the affair, such as a blacksmith named Heden, and McKay, + a settler, distinctly state that the first shot fired was from the Bois-brulés + and that by it Lieut. Holte fell).</p> + <p>"As to our attacking our assailants, one of our people, Bruin, I believe, did + propose that we should keep them off; and the Governor turned round and asked who + could be such a rascal as to make such a proposition? and that he should hear no word + of that kind again. The Governor was very much displeased indeed at +<span class ="pagenum">127</span><a name="Page_127" id="Page_127"></a> the suggestion made. A fire was + kept up for several minutes after the first shot, and I saw a number wounded; indeed, + in a few minutes almost all our people were either killed or wounded. I saw Sinclair + and Bruin fall, either wounded or killed; and a Mr. McLean, a little in front + defending himself, but by a second shot I saw him fall.</p> + <p>"At this time I saw Captain Rodgers getting up again, but not observing any of our + people standing, I called out to him, 'Rodgers, for God's sake give yourself up! Give + yourself up!' Captain Rodgers ran toward them, calling out in English and in broken + French, that he surrendered, and that he gave himself up, and praying them to save + his life. Thomas McKay, a Bois-brulés, shot him through the head, and another + Bois-brulés dashed upon him with a knife, using the most horrid imprecations + to him. I did not see the Governor fall. I saw his corpse the next day at the Fort. + When I saw Captain Rodgers fall, I expected to share his fate. As there was a + French-Canadian among those who surrounded me, who had just made an end of my friend, + I said, 'Lavigne, you are a Frenchman, you are a man, you are a Christian. For God's + sake save my life! For God's sake try and save it! I give myself up; I am your + prisoner.' McKay, who was among this party, and who knew me, said, 'You little toad, + what do you do here?'<span class ="pagenum">128</span><a name="Page_128" id="Page_128"></a> He spoke + in French, and called me 'un petit crapaud,' and asked what I did here! I fully + expected then to lose my life. I again appealed to Lavigne, and he joined in + entreating them to spare me. I told them over and over again that I was their + prisoner, and I had something to tell them. They, however, seemed determined to take + my life. They struck at me with their guns, and Lavigne caught some of the blows, and + joined me in entreating for my safety. He told them of my kindness on different + occasions. I remonstrated that I had thrown down my arms and was at their mercy. One + Primeau wished to shoot me; he said I had formerly killed his brother. I begged him + to recollect my former kindness to him at Qu'Appelle. At length they spared me, + telling me I was a little dog, and had not long to live, and that he (Primeau) would + find me when he came back.</p> + <p>"Then I went to Frog Plain (Kildonan), in charge of Boucher. In going to the plain + I was again threatened by one of the party, and saved by Boucher, who conducted me + safely to Frog Plain. I there saw Cuthbert Grant, who told me that they did not + expect to have met us on the plain, but that their intention was to have surprised + the Colony, and that they would have hunted the Colonists like buffaloes. He also + told me they expected to have got round unperceived, and at night would have sur<span class ="pagenum">129</span><a name="Page_129" id="Page_129"></a>rounded the Fort and have shot + everyone who left it; but being seen, their scheme had been destroyed or frustrated. + They were all painted and disfigured so that I did not know many. I should not have + known that Cuthbert Grant was there, though I knew him well, had he not spoken to + me."</p> + <p>"Grant told me that Governor Semple was not mortally wounded by the shot he + received, but that his thigh was broken. He said that he spoke to the Governor after + he was wounded, and had been asked by him to have him taken to the Fort, and as he + was not mortally wounded he thought he might perhaps live. Grant said he could not + take him himself as he had something else to do, but that he would send some person + to convey him on whom he might depend, and that he left him in charge of a + French-Canadian and went away; but that almost directly after he had left him, an + Indian, who, he said, was the only rascal they had, came up and shot him in the + breast, and killed him on the spot.</p> + <p>"The Bois-brulés, who very seldom paint or disguise themselves, were on + this occasion painted as I have been accustomed to see the Indians at their + war-dance; they were very much painted, and disguised in a hideous manner. They gave + the war-whoop when they met Governor Semple and his party; they made a hideous noise + and shouting. I know from Grant,<span class ="pagenum">130</span><a name="Page_130" id="Page_130"> + </a> as well as from other Bois-brulés, and other settlers, that + some of the Colonists had been taken prisoners. Grant told me that they were taken to + weaken the Colony, and prevent its being known that they were there—they having + supposed that they had passed the Fort unobserved.</p> + <p>"Their intention clearly was to pass the Fort. I saw no carts, though I heard they + had carts with them. I saw about five of the settlers prisoners in the camp at Frog + Plain. Grant said to me further: 'You see we have had but one of our people killed, + and how little quarter we have given you. Now, if Fort Douglas is not given up with + all the public property instantly and without resistance, man, women and child will + be put to death.' He said the attack would be made upon it that night, and if a + single shot were fired, that would be a signal for the indiscriminate destruction of + every soul. I was completely satisfied myself that the whole would be destroyed, and + I besought Grant, whom I knew, to suggest or let them try and devise some means to + save the women and children. I represented to him that they could have done no harm + to anybody, whatever he or his party might think the men had. I entreated him to take + compassion on them. I reminded him that they were his father's country-women and in + his deceased father's name, I begged him to take pity and compassion on them and + spare them.<span class ="pagenum">131</span><a name="Page_131" id="Page_131"></a> </p> + <p>At last he said, if all the arms and public property were given up, we should be + allowed to go away. After inducing the Bois-brulés to allow me to go to Fort + Douglas, I met our people; they were long unwilling to give up, but at last our Mr. + Macdonell, who was now in charge consented. We went together to the Frog Plain, and + an inventory of the property was taken when we had returned to the Fort. The Fort was + delivered over to Cuthbert Grant, who gave receipts on each sheet of the inventory + signed 'Cuthbert Grant, acting for the North-West Company.' I remained at Fort + Douglas till the evening of the 22nd, when all proceeded down the river—the + settlers, a second time on their journey into exile.</p> + <p>"The Colonists, it is true, had little now to leave. They were generally employed + in agricultural pursuits, in attending to their farms, and the servants of the + Hudson's Bay Company in their ordinary avocations. They lived in tents or in huts. In + 1816 at Red River there was but one residence, the Governor's which was in Fort + Douglas. The settlers had lived in houses previous to 1815, but in that year these + had been burnt in the attack that had been made upon them. The settlers were employed + during the day time on their land, and used to come up to the Fort to sleep in some + of the buildings in the enclosure. All was now left behind. The<span class ="pagenum">132</span><a name="Page_132" id="Page_132"></a> Bois-brulés victory being now complete, the + messenger was despatched Westward to tell the news far and near."<span class ="pagenum">133</span><a name="Page_133" id="Page_133"></a></p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_X" id="CHAPTER_X"></a>CHAPTER X.</h2> + <div class="subchap">AFTERCLAPS. + </div> + <p>The Seven Oaks affair was the most shocking episode that ever occurred in + North-Western history. The standing of the victims, including a Governor appointed by + the Hudson's Bay Company, his staff men of position, the unexpectedness of the + collision, the suddenness of the attack, the destruction of life, the cruelty and + injustice of the killing, and the barbarous treatment of the bodies of the dead, by + the Bois-brulés war party, fill one with horror, and remind one of scenes of + butchery in dark Africa or the isles of the South Sea.</p> + <p>This is the more remarkable when it is considered that so far as known in the + whole two hundred years and more of the career of the Hudson's Bay and Nor'-Wester + Companies not so many officers and clerks of these two Companies have altogether + perished by violence as in this unfortunate Seven Oaks disaster. No sooner was the + massacre over than the Bois-brulés took possession of Fort Douglas and were + under the command meantime of Cuth<span class ="pagenum">134</span><a name="Page_134" id="Page_134"></a>bert Grant. There was the greatest hilarity among the Metis. This + New Nation had been vindicated. About forty-five men under arms held possession of + the Fort. The dead left upon the field were still exposed there days after the fight + and were torn to pieces by the wild birds and beasts. The body of Governor Semple was + carried to the Fort.</p> + <p>Word was meanwhile sent to Alexander Macdonell the partner who had brought with + him the Qu'Appelle contingent and had waited at Portage la Prairie while Cuthbert + Grant with his followers, chiefly disguised as Indians, had gone on their bloody + work. Macdonell on receiving the news showed great satisfaction. He announced to + those about him that Governor Semple and five of his officers had been killed; and + becoming more enthusiastic shouted with an oath in French that twenty-two of the + English were slain. His company shouted with joy at his announcement. Macdonell then + went to Fort Douglas and took command of it. But what had become of the Eastern + Company from Fort William? Of this a discharged non-commissioned officer, Huerter, of + one of the mercenary regiments which had fought for Britain against the Americans in + the War of 1812 was with them, and gives a good account of the journey. We need only + deal with the ending of the expedition. Coming from Lake<span class ="pagenum">135</span><a name="Page_135" id="Page_135"></a> Winnipeg they reached Nettly Creek two days after + the fight at Seven Oaks, expecting there to get news from the Western levy and + Alexander Macdonell. But no news of that Company having reached them they started in + boats up the Red River to reach the rendezvous agreed on at "Frog Plain," the spot + where Kildonan church stands to-day. From this point they expected to meet with their + Western reinforcement, and to move upon Fort Douglas and capture it, as Governor + Semple had done with Fort Gibraltar. Their commander Archibald Norman McLeod was the + senior officer and would later take command.</p> + <p>They had on the 23rd of June gone but a little way when they were surprised to + meet seven or eight boats laden with men, women and children. These were the fragment + of the Colony which had refused to go with Duncan Cameron down to Upper Canada. They + had been sheltered in the Fort during the time of the fight and now were rudely + driven away from the settlement, according to the announcement of Cuthbert Grant.</p> + <p>McLeod ordered the convoy of boats to stop and the Colonists to disembark. Their + boxes and packages were opened, including the late Governor Semple's trunks, and + examined for papers or letters which might give important information to the captors. + The Western levy<span class ="pagenum">136</span><a name="Page_136" id="Page_136"></a> now joined + them, and gave them full news of what had happened.</p> + <p>The Colonists were then ordered to re-embark and to proceed upon their journey to + their lonely place of banishment whither they had gone the previous year—Jack + River, near Norway House. One of the Bois-brulés followed after them to make + sure that they went upon their long voyage. McLeod's party then pushed on with great + glee to Fort Douglas and were received with discharges of artillery and firearms. + McLeod now took command of the captured Fort.</p> + <p>Huerter, the discharged soldier, formerly mentioned, went to the field of Seven + Oaks about a week after the fight and confirmed Pambrun's account.</p> + <p>A.N. McLeod now became the superior officer in the Fort and made preparation for + defending it. He himself occupied the late Governor Semple's quarters and passed out + compliments to white and native alike, praising them for their daring, their + adroitness and their success. A great meeting was then gathered in the Governor's + apartments and a levee was held at which all of the servants and employees of the + Company were present, and in a speech McLeod told the audience that the English had + no right to build upon their lands without their permission—a new doctrine + surely.<span class ="pagenum">137</span><a name="Page_137" id="Page_137"></a> </p> + <p>Leaving Fort Douglas McLeod with his officers and the Bois-brulés all + mounted, made an imposing procession up to the site of old Fort Gibraltar. Here + Peguis, now the chief of the Saulteaux who had shown such kindness to the settlers + was camped, and to him and his followers McLeod showed his great displeasure. The + Indian always loved the British-man, whom on the west coast he called, "King + Shautshman," or King George's man.</p> + <p>The Indian is taciturn, unemotional, and cautious. He knew that the + Bois-brulés had assumed their garb and committed the outrage of Seven Oaks, + and therefore the tribe were unwilling to be under the stigma being thrown upon them. + When McLeod had failed in his appeal, he laid many sins to their charge. They had + allowed the English to carry away Duncan Cameron to Hudson Bay, they were a band of + dogs, and he would count them always as his enemies if they should hold to their + English friends. Peguis, who was a master diplomat, looked on with attention and held + his peace.</p> + <p>It was now about a week from the time of the massacre. Huerter, the discharged + soldier spoken of, rode down with a party from the Fort to the field of Seven Oaks. + He saw a number of human bodies scattered on the plain, and in most cases the flesh + had been torn off to the bone, evidently by dogs and wolves.<span class ="pagenum">138</span><a name="Page_138" id="Page_138"></a> </p> + <p>Far from discouraging the talkative half-breeds, whose blood was up with the + sights of carnage, McLeod and his fellow-officers expressed their approbation of the + deeds done, and the Bois-brulés became boisterous in detailing their + victories. The worst of the whole, old Deschamps, a French-Canadian, who murdered the + disabled even when they cried for quarter, drew forth as he detailed his valorous + actions to Alexander Macdonell, the exclamation, "What a fine, vigorous old man he + is!" On the evening of this Red-letter day of the visit to the Indian encampment and + to Seven Oaks, a wild and heathenish orgy took place. The Bois-brulés bedecked + their naked bodies with Indian trinkets and executed the dance of victory, as had + done their savage ancestors. The effect of these dances is marvellous. By a + contagious shout they excite each other. They reach a frenzy which communicates + itself with hypnotic effect to the whole dancing circle. At times men tear their + hair, cut their flesh or even mutilate their limbs for life. The "tom-tom," or Indian + drum, adds to the power of monotonous rhythm and to the spirit of excitement and + frenzy.</p> + <p>To the partners McLeod and the others, however much in earnest the actors might + be, it afforded much amusement, and gave hope of a strength and enthusiasm that would + bind them fast to the "Nor'-Wester" side.<span class ="pagenum">139</span><a name="Page_139" id="Page_139"> + </a> </p> + <p>The struggle over and the battle won, while leaving the garrison sufficient to + hold the fort, ten days after the fight the partners and those forming the Northern + brigade, who were to penetrate to the wilds to Athabasca, departed. They were + following down the Red River and Lake Winnipeg, in the very path which the fleeing + Colonists had gone, but they would turn toward the "Grand Rapids" at the spot where + the great river of the West pours into Lake Winnipeg, and by this way speed + themselves to the great hunting fields of the North. The departure of what was called + the Grand Brigade was signalized by an artillery salute from Fort Douglas, which + resounded through the wretched ruins of the houses burnt the previous year, and over + the fields deserted by the Colonists and left to the chattering blackbird and the + howling wolf. Almost every race of people—however small—has its bard. + Among the Bois-brulés was the son of old Pierre Falcon, a French-Canadian, of + some influence among the natives. This young poet was a character. He had the French + vivacity, the prejudice of race, the devotion to the Scotch Fur Company and a + considerable rhyming talent. Many years after Pierre Falcon won the admiration of the + buffalo hunter and was the friend of all the dusky maidens who followed his song of + love or war alike. He it was who sang<span class ="pagenum">140</span><a name="Page_140" id="Page_140"> + </a> the song of his race and helped to keep up the love of fun among + the French people of the Red River. It was reminiscent of victory and also a forecast + of future influence and power. Various versions of Pierre Falcon's song have come + down to us celebrating the victory of Seven Oaks. We give a simple translation of the + bard's effusion:</p> + <div class="poem"> + <p><span class="smcap">Pierre Falcon's Song.</span></p> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Come listen to this song of truth!<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">A song of the brave Bois-brulés,<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">Who at Frog Plain took three captives,<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">Strangers come to rob our country.<br /> + </span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">When dismounting there to rest us,<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">A cry is raised—the English!<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">They are coming to attack us,<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">So we hasten forth to meet them.<br /> + </span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">I looked upon their army,<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">They are motionless and downcast;<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">So, as honor would incline us<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">We desire with them to parley.<br /> + </span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">But their leader, moved with anger,<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">Gives the word to fire upon us;<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">And imperiously repeats it,<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">Rushing on to this destruction.<br /> + </span> + </div> + </div> +<span class ="pagenum">141</span> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Having seen us pass his stronghold,<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">He had thought to strike with terror<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">The Bois-brulés; ah! mistaken,<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">Many of his soldiers perish.<br /> + </span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">But a few escaped the slaughter,<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">Rushing from the field of battle;<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">Oh, to see the English fleeing!<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">Oh, the shouts of their pursuers!<br /> + </span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Who has sung this song of triumph?<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">The good Pierre Falcon had composed it,<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">That the praise of these Bois-brulés<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">Might be evermore recorded.<br /> + </span> + </div> + </div> +<span class ="pagenum">142</span> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XI" id="CHAPTER_XI"></a>CHAPTER XI.</h2> + <div class="subchap">THE SILVER CHIEF ARRIVES. + </div> + <p>The scene changes to the home of the founder of the Colony. The Earl of Selkirk is + living at his interesting seat—St. Mary's Isle, and letter after letter arrives + which has taken many weeks on the road, coming down through trackless prairie, across + the middle and Eastern States of America and reaching him via New York. These letters + continue to increase in being more and more terrible until his island home seems to + be in a state of siege.</p> + <p>St. Mary's Isle lies at the mouth of the Dee on Solway Frith, opposite the town of + Kirkcudbright. Here in 1778 Paul Jones, the so-called pirate in the employ of the + Revolutionary Government in America, had landed, invested the dwelling with his men, + and carried away all the plate and jewels of the House of Selkirk. The Old Manor + House of St. Mary's Isle, with its very thick stone wall on one side, evidently had + been a keep or castle. It was at one time given to the church and became a monastery, + then it was enlarged and im<span class ="pagenum">143</span><a name="Page_143" id="Page_143"></a>proved to become the dwelling of the family of the Douglasses, + which it is to this day.</p> + <p>But now the far cry from Red River reverberated across the Atlantic. The startling + succession of events of 1815 reached the Earl one after another. It was late in the + year when he made up his mind, but taking his Countess, his two daughters and his + only son, Dunbar, a mere boy, and crossing the ocean he heard, on his arrival in New + York, of the complete destruction by flight and expulsion of the people of his + Colony. About the end of October he reached Montreal, but winter was too near to + allow him to travel up the lakes and through the wilds to Red River.</p> + <p>The winter in Montreal was long, but the atmosphere of opposition to Lord Selkirk + in that city, the home of the Nor'-Westers, was more trying to him than the frost and + snow. His every movement was watched. Even the avenues of Government power seemed by + influential Nor'-Westers to be closed against him. An appeal to Sir Gordon Drummond, + the Governor-General, could obtain no more than a promise of a Sergeant and six men + to protect him personally should he go to the far West, and the appointment of + himself as a Justice of the Peace in Upper Canada and the Indian Territory was + grudgingly given.</p> + <p>The active mind of his Lordship occupied the<span class ="pagenum">144</span><a name="Page_144" id="Page_144"> + </a> time of winter well. He planned nothing less than introducing to + the banks of Red River a body of men as settlers, who could, like the returned exiles + to Jerusalem, work with sword in one hand and a tool of industry in the other. The + man of resource finds his material ready made. Two mercenary regiments from + Switzerland which had been fighting England's battles in America had just been + disbanded, and Lord Selkirk at once engaged them to go as settlers, under his pay, to + Red River. From the commanding officer of the larger regiment these have always been + called the "De Meurons." From these two regiments—one at Montreal and the other + at Kingston—he engaged an hundred men, each provided with a musket, and with + rather more than that number of expert voyageurs started in June 16th, 1816, for the + North-West. The route followed by him was up Lake Ontario to Toronto, then across + country to Georgian Bay and through it to Ste. Sault Marie. At Drummond Island, being + the last British garrison toward the West, he got from the Indians news of the + efforts of the Nor'-Westers to involve them in the wars of the whites. The Indians + had, however, resisted all their temptations. Lord Selkirk again overtook his party + and passed through the St. Mary's River into Lake Superior.</p> + <p>Here a new grief awaited him.<span class ="pagenum">145</span><a name="Page_145" id="Page_145"> + </a> </p> + <p>Two canoes coming from Fort William brought him the sad news about Governor Semple + and his party being killed at Seven Oaks, as it did also of the second expulsion of + the Colonists. Lord Selkirk had been intending to go west to where Duluth now stands + and then overland to the Red River.</p> + <p>He now changed his plans and with true Scottish pluck headed directly to Fort + William. Here assaults, arrests and imprisonments took place. It is needless for us + to give the details of this unfortunate affair, except to say that the seizure of the + Fort brought much trouble afterwards to the founder.</p> + <p>Moving some miles up the Kaministiquia River Lord Selkirk made his military + encampment, which bore the name of "Pointe De Meuron."</p> + <p>Plans were soon made for the spring attack on Fort Douglas.</p> + <p>In March, stealthily crossing the silent pathways for upwards of four hundred + miles and striking the Red River some where near the international boundary line, the + De Meurons came northward and made a circuit towards Silver Heights. There, having + constructed ladders, they next made a night attack on Fort Douglas, and being trained + soldiers easily captured it, and restored it to its rightful owner, Lord Selkirk. +<span class ="pagenum">146</span><a name="Page_146" id="Page_146"></a> </p> + <p>On May day, 1817, Lord Selkirk, with his body guard, left Fort William and + following the water-courses arrived at his own Fort in the last week of June. Fort + Douglas was the centre of his Colony, and there he was at once the chief figure of + the picture.</p> + <p>None of the Selkirk Settlers' descendants who are living to-day saw him in Fort + Douglas, but a number who have passed away have told the writer that they remembered + him well. He was tall in stature, thin and refined in appearance. He had a benignant + face, his manner was easy and polite. To the Indians he was especially interesting. + They caught the idea that being a man of title he was in some way closely connected + with their Great Father the King. Because of his generosity to them in making a + treaty, they called him "The Silver Chief." He was the source of their treaty + money.</p> + <p>It is said that some of the last party to reach his Colony had seen him at + Kildonan in Scotland, where he had visited them, and encouraged them in their + departure for the Colony.</p> + <p>His first duties were to the unfortunate settlers, who had been brought back from + Jack River.</p> + <p>Lord Selkirk gathered the Colonists on the spot where the church and burial ground + of St. John's are still found. "The Parish," said he, "shall be Kildonan. Here you + shall build your<span class ="pagenum">147</span><a name="Page_147" id="Page_147"></a> church, and + that lot," he said, pointing to the lot across the little stream called Parsonage + Creek, "is for a school." He was thus planning to carry out the devout imagination of + the greatest religious leader of his nation, John Knox: "A church and a school for + every parish."</p> + <p>Perhaps the most interesting episode in Lord Selkirk's visit was his treaty-making + with the Indians. The plan of securing a strip of land on each side of the river was + said to have been decided to be as much as could be seen by looking under the belly + of a horse out upon the prairie. This was about two miles. Hence the river lots were + generally about two miles long.</p> + <p>His meeting with the Indians was after the manner of a great "Pow-wow." The + Indians are fluent and eloquent speakers, though they indulge in endless + repetitions.</p> + <p>Peguis, the Saulteaux chief, befriended the white man from the beginning. He + denounced the Bois-brulés. He said, "We do not acknowledge these men as an + independent tribe."</p> + <p>"L'Homme Noir," the Assiniboine chief, among other things, said: "We have often + been told you were our enemy, but we hear from your own mouth the words of a true + friend."</p> + <p>"Robe Noire," the Chippewa, tried in lofty style to declare: "Clouds have over-<span class ="pagenum">148</span><a name="Page_148" id="Page_148"></a>whelmed me. I was a long time + in doubt and difficulty, but now I begin to see clearly."</p> + <p>While Lord Selkirk was still in his Colony, the very serious state of things on + the banks of Red River and the pressure of the British Government led to the + appointment, by the Governor-General of Canada, of a most clear-minded and + peace-loving man as Commissioner. This appointment was all the more pleasing on + account of Mr. W.B. Coltman being a resident Canadian of Quebec. Coltman was one man + among a thousand. He was patient and kind and just. Though he had come to the Colony + prejudiced against Lord Selkirk, he found his Lordship so fair and reasonable that he + became much attached to the man represented in Montreal and the far East as a + destructive ogre.</p> + <p>The Commissioner's report covered one hundred pages, and it was in all respects a + model. He thoroughly understood the motives of both parties, and his decisions led to + a perfect era of peace, and moreover in the end to the union of the Hudson's Bay and + Nor'-West Companies.</p> + <p>Lord Selkirk's coming was like a ray of sunshine to the Colonists of Red River. + Being of an intensely religious disposition, the people reminded him afterwards that + the elder who came out in 1815, who was able to baptize and marry, had been carried + away by main force by the Nor'-Westers to Canada in 1818, so that they were +<span class ="pagenum">149</span><a name="Page_149" id="Page_149"></a> without religious services. + They always continued to have prayer meetings and to keep up the pious customs of + their fathers. This practise long survived among them. In repeating his promise of a + clergyman, Lord Selkirk asserted to them: "Selkirk never forfeited his word."</p> + <p>His work done among his Colonists, he left them never to see them again. He went + south from Fort Douglas to the United States, visited, it is said, St. Louis, came to + the Eastern States, and rejoined in Montreal his Countess and children who had in his + absence lived in great anxiety. One of his daughters, afterwards Lady Isabella Hope, + told the writer nearly thirty years ago that she as a girl remembered seeing Lord + Selkirk as he returned from this long journey, coming around the Island into Montreal + Harbor paddled by French voyageurs in swift canoes to his destination. His attention + was immediately given to law suits and actions brought against him in the courts of + Upper Canada. These legal conflicts originated from the troubles about the two + centres—Fort Douglas and Fort William—where the collisions had taken + place. The influence of the Nor'-Westers in Montreal was so great that the U.E. + Loyalists of Upper Canada sympathised with them against the noble philanthropist. + Justice was undoubtedly perverted in Upper Canada in the<span class ="pagenum">150</span><a name="Page_150" id="Page_150"></a> most shameless way. Weak in body at the best, Lord + Selkirk by his misfortunes, losses and legal persecution began to fail in health. + With the sense of having been unjustly defeated, and anxious about his Colonists in + Red River, he returned with his family to Britain to his beloved St. Mary's Isle. He + sought for justice from the British Parliament, but could there get no movement in + his favor. A copy of a letter to him from Sir Walter Scott, his old friend, is in the + hands of the writer, but Sir Walter was himself too ill at the time to lend him aid + in presenting his case before the British public. Heart-broken, he gave up the + struggle. With the Countess and his family he went to the South of France and died on + April 8th, 1820, at Pau, and his bones lie in the Protestant Cemetery of Orthes.</p> + <p>He had not fought in vain. He had broken down single-handed a system of organized + terrorism in the heart of North America, for the Nor'-Westers never rose to strength + again. They united in a few years with the Hudson's Bay Company. He established a + Colony that has thriven; he cherished a lofty vision; he made mistakes in action, in + judgment, and in a too great optimism, but if we understand him aright he bore an + untainted and resolute soul.</p> + <div class="poem"> + <div class="stanza"> +<span class ="pagenum">151</span> + <span class="i0">"Only those are crown'd and sainted<br /> + </span> <span class="ip">Who with grief have been acquainted<br /> + </span> <span class="ip">Making Nations nobler, freer."<br /> + </span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"In their feverish exultations,<br /> + </span> <span class="ip">In their triumph and their yearning,<br /> + </span> <span class="ip">In their passionate pulsations,<br /> + </span> <span class="ip">In their words among the nations<br /> + </span> <span class="ip">The Promethean fire is burning."<br /> + </span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">"But the glories so transcendent<br /> + </span> <span class="ip">That around their memories cluster,<br /> + </span> <span class="ip">And on all their steps attendant,<br /> + </span> <span class="ip">Make their darken'd lives resplendent<br /> + </span> <span class="ip">With such gleams of inward lustre."<br /> + </span> + </div> + </div> +<span class ="pagenum">152</span><a name="Page_152" id="Page_152"></a> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XII" id="CHAPTER_XII"></a>CHAPTER XII.</h2> + <div class="subchap">SOLDIERS AND SWISS. + </div> + <p>Many Canadian Settlements have had a military origin. It was considered a wise, + strategic move in the game of national defence when Colonel Butler and his Rangers, + after the Treaty of Paris, were settled along the Niagara frontier, and when Captain + Grass and other United Empire Loyalists took up their holdings at Kingston and other + points on the boundary line along the St. Lawrence. The town of Perth was the + headquarters of a military settlement in Central Canada. Traces of military + occupation can still be found in such Highland districts of Canada as Pictou, + Glengarry and Zorra, in which last named township the enthusiastic Celt in 1866 + declared that perhaps the Fenians would take Canada, but they could never take Zorra. + Numerous examples can be found all through Canada where there is an aroma of valor + and patriotism surrounding the old army officer or the families of the veterans of + the Napoleonic or Crimean wars.</p> + <p>The settlement of the De Meuron soldiers<span class ="pagenum">153</span><a name="Page_153" id="Page_153"> + </a> opposite Fort Douglas gave some promise of a military flavor to + Selkirk Settlement. But as we shall see it was an ill-advised attempt at + colonization. It was a mistake to settle some hundred or more single men as these + soldiers were without a woman among them, as Lord Selkirk was compelled to do. To + these soldier-colonists he gave lands along the small winding river now called the + Seine, which empties into Red River opposite Point Douglas. Many of the De Meurons + spoke German, and hence for several years the little stream on which they lived was + called German Creek. The writings of the time are full of rather severe criticism of + these bello-agricultural settlers. Of course no one expects an old soldier to be of + much use to a new country. He is usually a lazy settler. His habits of life are + formed in another mould from that of the farm. He is apt to despise the hoe and the + harrow and many even of the half-pay officers who came to hew out a home in the + Canadian forest, never learned to cut down a tree or to hold a plough, though it may + be admitted that they lived a useful life in their sons and daughters, while the + culture and decision of character of the old officer or sturdy veteran were an asset + of great value to the locality in which he settled.</p> + <p>But the De Meurons were not only bachelors, but they came from the peasantry of + Austria<span class ="pagenum">154</span><a name="Page_154" id="Page_154"></a> and Italy, they had not + fought for home and country, and their life of mercenary soldiering had made them + selfish and deceitful. A writer of the time speaks, and evidently with much + prejudice, against the De Meurons. "They were," he says, "a medley of almost all + nations—Germans, French, Italians, Swiss and others. They were bad farmers and + withal very bad subjects; quarrelsome, slothful, famous bottle companions and ready + for any enterprise however lawless and tyrannical." A few years later we find it + stated that they made free with the cattle of their neighbors, and the chronicler + does not hesitate to say that the herds of the De Meurons grew in number in exactly + the same ratio as those of the Scottish settlers decreased.</p> + <p>Some four years after the settlement of the De Meurons a sunburst came upon them + quite unexpectedly.</p> + <p>Lord Selkirk in the very last years of his life planned to bring a band of + Protestant settlers from Switzerland. A Colonel May, late of another of the mercenary + regiments, accepted the duty of going to Switzerland, issuing a very attractive + invitation to settlers, and succeeded in shipping a considerable number of Swiss + families to his so-called Red River paradise.</p> + <p>This band of Colonists, consisting as they did of "watch and clock-makers, pastry + cooks and<span class ="pagenum">155</span><a name="Page_155" id="Page_155"></a> musicians," were + quite unfit for the rough work of the Selkirk Colony. In 1821 they were brought by + way of Hudson Bay, over the same rocky way as the earlier Colonists came. They were + utterly poverty stricken, though honest, and well-behaved. Their only possession of + value was a plenty of handsome daughters. The Swiss families on arrival were placed + under tents nearby Fort Douglas. As soon as possible many of the Swiss settlers were + placed alongside the De Meurons on German Creek. Good Mr. West, who had just been + sent out as chaplain by the Hudson's Bay Company, in place of the minister of their + own faith promised to the Scottish settlers, did a great stroke of work in marrying + the young Swiss girls to the De Meuron bachelors of German Creek. The description of + the way in which the De Meurons invited families having young women in them to the + wifeless cabins is ludicrous. A modern "Sabine raid" was made upon the young damsels, + who were actually carried away to the De Meuron homesteads. The Swiss families which + had the misfortune to have no daughters in them were left to languish in their + comfortless tents. The afflictions of the earlier Selkirk settlers were increased by + the arrival of these settlers. With the Selkirk settlers in their first decade the + first consideration was always food. Till that question is settled no Colony +<span class ="pagenum">156</span><a name="Page_156" id="Page_156"></a> can advance. Probably the most + alarming and hopeless feature of their new colonial life was the appearance of vast + flights of locusts or grasshoppers, which devoured every blade of wheat and grass in + the country. To those who have never seen this plague it is inconceivable. Some + thirty-five years ago in Manitoba the writer witnessed the utter devastation of the + country by these pests. Some thirteen years before the coming of the first Colonists + this plague prevailed. About the end of July, 1818, these riders of the air made + their attack. In this year the Selkirk Colonists were greatly discouraged by the + capture and removal to Canada, by the Nor'-Westers, of Mr. James Sutherland, their + spiritual guide. But their labors now seem likely to be rewarded by a good harvest. + The oats and barley were in ear, when suddenly the invasion came. The vast clouds of + grasshoppers sailing northward from the great Utah desert in the United States, + alighted late in the afternoon of one day and in the morning fields of grain, gardens + with their promise, and every herb in the Settlement were gone, and a waste like a + blasted hearth remained behind. The event was more than a loss of their crops, it + seemed a heaven-struck blow upon their community, and it is said they lifted up their + eyes to heaven, weeping and despairing. The sole return of<span class ="pagenum">157</span><a name="Page_157" id="Page_157"></a> their labors for the season was a few ears of + half-ripened barley which the women saved and carried home in their aprons. There was + no help for it but to retire to Pembina, although there was less fear than formerly + for as a writer of the day says: "The settlers had now become good hunters; they + could kill the buffalo; walk on snowshoes; had trains of dogs trimmed with ribbons, + bells and feathers, in true Indian style; and in other respects were making rapid + steps in the arts of a savage life."</p> + <p>The complete loss of their crops left the settlers even without the seed-wheat + necessary to sow their fields. The nearest point of supply of this necessity was an + agricultural settlement in the State of Minnesota, upwards of five hundred miles + away. Here was a mighty task—to undertake to cross the plains in winter and to + bring back in time for the seeding time in spring the wheat which was necessary. But + the Highlander is not to be deterred by rocky crag or dashing river, or heavy snow in + his own land and he was ready to face this and more in the new world. And so a daring + party went off on snowshoes, and taking three months for their trip, reached the land + of plenty and secured some hundred bushels at the price of ten shillings a + bushel.</p> + <p>The question now was how to transport the wheat through a trackless wilderness. Up + the<span class ="pagenum">158</span><a name="Page_158" id="Page_158"></a> Mississippi River for + hundreds of miles the flat boats constructed for the purpose were painfully + propelled, and passing through the branch known as the Minnesota River the Stony Lake + was reached. This lake is the source of the Minnesota and Red rivers, and being at + high water in the spring it was possible to go through the narrow lake from one river + to the other with the rough boats constructed. The Red River was reached by the + fearless adventurers who brought the "corn out of Egypt." They did not, however, + reach the Red River with their treasure till about the end of June, 1820, and while + the wheat grew well it was sown too late to ripen well, although it gave the settlers + grain enough to sow the fields of the coming year. This expedition cost Lord Selkirk + upwards of a thousand pounds sterling. In the following year the grasshoppers again + visited the Red River fields, but by a sudden movement which, by some of the good + Colonists was interpreted to be a direct interference of Providence on their behalf, + the swarms of intruders passed away never to appear again in the Red River for half a + century.</p> + <p>The presence of the grasshoppers upon the Canadian prairies is one of interest. It + is known that they appeared throughout the territory of Red River a dozen years or so + before the coming of the Selkirk Colonists, also during<span class ="pagenum">159</span><a name="Page_159" id="Page_159"></a> the period we have been describing, and then not + till the period from 1868 to 1875. During the latter half of this period the writer + saw their devastations in Manitoba. The occurrence of the grasshopper at times in all + agricultural districts in America is very different from the grasshopper or locust + plague which we are describing. The red-legged Caloptenus or the Rocky Mountain + locust are provided for lofty flight and pass in myriads over the prairies, lighting + whenever a cloud obscures the sun. At one time the writer saw them in such hordes + that they were found from Winnipeg to Edmonton, over a region about one thousand + miles in breadth. In that year they devoured not only crops and garden products but + almost completely ate up the grass on the prairie to such an extent as to make it + useless for hay. In the year 1875 they appeared, in the main, for the last time in + Manitoba, and in that year their disappearance was as sudden as in the former case of + 1821. Under the wing upon the body of each grasshopper was to be found one or more + scarlet red parasites which drew all the juices from the body of the insect and + produced death. For a third of a century they have been almost unknown, and the area + of cultivated ground in the States of North and South Dakota, where they may supply + their hunger renders it likely that Manitoba will know them no more. It +<span class ="pagenum">160</span><a name="Page_160" id="Page_160"></a> cannot be wondered at that such + continuous disasters made the settler whether Scottish, De Meuron, or Swiss, + extremely discontented. During the period of the scourge, the only resource was to + winter at Pembina in reasonable distance from the buffalo-herds. In one of these + years a number of the Selkirk Colonists did not return to their farms but emigrated + to the United States. As we shall see in a few years after the grasshopper scourge + the flood of the Red River took place, when the De Meurons and Swiss, with one or two + exceptions, disappeared from the Colony and became citizens of the United States. +<span class ="pagenum">161</span><a name="Page_161" id="Page_161"></a> </p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIII" id="CHAPTER_XIII"></a>CHAPTER XIII.</h2> + <div class="subchap">ENGLISH LION AND CANADIAN BEAR LIE DOWN TOGETHER. + </div> + <p>That such violence and bloodshed as that about Fort Douglas, should be seen by + British subjects under the flag which stands for justice and equal rights made + sober-minded Britons blush. While Lord Selkirk's agents on the banks of the Red River + may have been aggressive in pushing their rights, yet to the Canadians was chargeable + the greater part of the bloodshed. This was but natural. To the hunter, the trapper, + and the frontiersman the use of firearms is familiar. The fur trader protects himself + thus from the bear and the panther. The hot blood of the Metis as he careered over + the prairie on his steed boiled up at the least provocation.</p> + <p>But the disheartening law suits through which Lord Selkirk passed in Sandwich, + Toronto, and Montreal, reflected more dishonor on the Canadians than did even the + bloody violence of the Bois-Brulés. The chicanery employed by the Canadian + courts, the procuring<span class ="pagenum">162</span><a name="Page_162" id="Page_162"></a> of + special legislation to adapt the law to Lord Selkirk's case, and the invocation of + the highest social and even clerical influence in Upper Canada for the purpose of + injuring his Lordship will ever remain a blot on earlier Canadian jurisprudence. + Fortunately the rights of man, whether native or foreigner, are now better understood + and more fully protected in Canada than they were in the second decade of the + nineteenth century. Col. Coltman's report, as already stated, was a model of + truthfulness, fair play and freedom from prejudice, and Coltman was a Canadian + appointee.</p> + <p>So grave, however, were the rumours of these events happening on the plains of + Rupert's Land, as they reached Britain that the House of Commons named a committee to + enquire into the troubles. This committee sat in 1819, and the result is a blue-book + of considerable size which exposes the injustice most fully. The violence and + bloodshed which the fur traders now heard of far and near paralyzed the fur trade + carried on by both fur companies, and brought the financial affairs of both companies + to the verge of destruction. Two startling events of the next year produced a great + shock. These were sudden and untimely deaths of the two great opponents—Lord + Selkirk at an early age in France, and Sir Alexander Mackenzie, at his estate in + Scotland, he having been seized<span class ="pagenum">163</span><a name="Page_163" id="Page_163"> + </a> with sudden illness on his way from London. The two men died within + a month of one another in the spring of 1820. Their passing away was surely + impressive. It seemed like an offering to the god of peace in order that the vast + region with its scattered and thunderstruck inhabitants from Lake Superior to the + Pacific Ocean might be saved from the horrors of a cruel war of brother against + brother, and a war which might involve even the cautious but hot-blooded Indian + tribes.</p> + <p>Though the two parties were made up of daring and head-strong men, yet adversity + is a hard but effective teacher.</p> + <p>The Hudson's Bay Company was represented by Andrew Colville, a warm friend of the + house of Selkirk, the opponents by Edward Ellice, a Nor'-Wester. It seemed, indeed, + the very irony of fate that Ellice should be a negotiator for peace. He and his sons + the writer heard spoken of by the late Earl of Selkirk—the son of the + founder—as the bear and cubs. On the other hand the burly directors of the + Hudson's Bay Company possessed with all the confidence of the British Lion, and with + their motto of "Skin for skin" were only brought to a state of peace by the loss of + dividends. Much correspondence passed between the offices of Leadenhall Street and + Suffolk Lane in London, which the two companies occupied, but articles +<span class ="pagenum">164</span><a name="Page_164" id="Page_164"></a> of agreement were not + sufficient to make a union.</p> + <p>All such coalitions to be successful must circle around a single man.</p> + <p>This man was a young Scottish clerk, who had spent a year only in the far + Athabasca district. He had not depended on birth or influence for his advancement, + was not yet wholly immersed in the traditions or prejudices of either company, and + had consequently nothing to unlearn. Montreal became the Canadian headquarters of the + company, but now the annual meeting of the traders where he as Governor presided, was + held at Norway House. The offices in London were united, and thus the affairs of the + fur trade were provided for and outward peace at least was guaranteed. We are, + however, chiefly dealing with the affairs of Assiniboia as Lord Selkirk called it, or + with what was more commonly called Red River Settlement. This belonged to Lord + Selkirk's heirs. The executors were, of course, Hudson's Bay Company grandees. They + were Sir James Montgomery, Mr. Halkett, Andrew Colville, and his brother the + Solicitor-general of Scotland. When the news came of the death of Lord Selkirk, the + mishaps and disturbances of the Colony had been so many, that Hudson's Bay Company, + Nor'-Westers, Settlers, and Freemen all said, "That will end the Colony +<span class ="pagenum">165</span><a name="Page_165" id="Page_165"></a> now!" To the surprise of + everyone the first message from the executors was one of courage, and the + announcement was made that their first aim would be to send six hundred new settlers + to the banks of Red River.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/illus_big_175.jpg" ><img class="figcenterh" + src="images/illus_175.jpg" alt="SEVEN OAKS MONUMENT" title="" /></a><br /> + <span class="caption">SEVEN OAKS MONUMENT<br /> + On Kildonan Road near Winnipeg.</span> + </div> + <p>The angry passions which had been roused<span class ="pagenum">166</span><a name="Page_166" id="Page_166"> + </a> led the English directors to take the very wise step of sending out + two representatives—one from each of the old companies to rearrange all matters + and settle all disputes. The two delegates were Nicholas Garry, the Vice-Governor of + the Hudson's Bay Company, and Simon McGillivray, who bore one of the most influential + names of the Nor'-Wester traders. They were not, however, equally well liked. Garry + was a courteous, fair, and kindly gentleman. He won golden opinions among officers + and settlers alike. McGillivray was suspicious and selfish, so the records of the + time state. They came to the Red River in 1821, and Garry entered particularly into + the arrangement of the Forts at the Forks. The old Fort Douglas was retained as + Colony Fort, and the small Hudson's Bay Company trading house as well as Fort + Gibraltar were absorbed into the new fort which was erected on the banks of the + Assiniboine between Main Street and the bank of the Red River. All the letters and + documents of the time speak of Governor Garry's visits as carrying a gleam of + sunshine wherever he went and it was appropriate that the new fort built in the + following year should bear the name Fort Garry. This was the wooden fort, which still + remained in existence though superseded as a fort in 1850.</p> + <p>At the time of Governor Garry's visit the<span class ="pagenum">167</span><a name="Page_167" id="Page_167"> + </a> population of the settlement may be considered to have been about + five hundred. These were made up of somewhat less than two hundred Selkirk Colonists, + about one hundred De Meurons, a considerable number of French Voyageurs and Freemen, + Swiss Colonists perhaps eighty, and the remainder Orkney, employees of the Hudson's + Bay Company. The Colony was, however, beginning to organize itself. The accounts of + the French settlers are very vague, an occasional name flitting across the page of + history. One family still found on Red River banks, gains celebrity as possessing the + first white woman who came to Rupert's Land. With her husband she had gone to + Edmonton in ——, and had wandered over the prairies. In 1811, with her + husband, she first saw the Forks of Red River and wintered in 1811-12 at Pembina, the + winter which the first band of Colonists spent at York Factory. Lajimoniere became a + fast adherent of Lord Selkirk, and made a famous and most dangerous winter journey + through the wilds alone, carrying letters from Red River to Montreal, delivered them + personally to Lord Selkirk in 1815.</p> + <p>The Lajimonieres received with great delight in 1818 the first Roman Catholic + missionaries who reached Red River. These were sent through Lord Selkirk's influence, + and the large gift of land known as the Seigniory lying east<span class ="pagenum">168</span><a name="Page_168" id="Page_168"></a> of St. Boniface was the reward given to the early + pioneer missionaries—Provencher and Dumoulin, men of great stature and manly + bearing. In the year of their arrival James Sutherland, the Presbyterian chaplain of + the Selkirk Colonists, was taken by the Nor'-Westers to Upper Canada, whither his + son, Haman Sutherland, had gone in 1815 with Duncan Cameron. The Earl of Selkirk had + promised to send to his Scottish Colonists a minister of their own faith. On his + death in France his agent in London was Mr. John Pritchard. Seventeen days after the + death of Lord Selkirk, Rev. John West was appointed to come as chaplain to the + Colonists and the other Protestants of Red River. Pritchard arrived by Hudson's Bay + ship at York Factory 15 Aug., 1820, having Mr. West in company with him.</p> + <p>And now Colville wrote to Alexander Macdonell, the Governor of the Settlement: + "Mr. West goes out and takes with him persons acquainted with making bricks and + pottery." Macdonell was a Roman Catholic, but Colville wrote: "I trust also that by + your example and advice you will encourage all the Protestants, Presbyterians as well + as others to attend divine service as performed by Mr. West. He will also open + schools." As to Mr. West's support a curiosity occurs in one of Mr. West's letters + written in the following year from York<span class ="pagenum">169</span><a name="Page_169" id="Page_169"> + </a> Factory. He speaks of an agreement between Lord Selkirk and the + Selkirk Settlers.</p> + <p>"That the Settlers will use their endeavours for the benefit and support of the + clergyman and shall be chargeable therewith as follows (that is to say): each settler + shall employ himself, his servants, his horses, cattle, carts, carriages and other + things necessary to the purpose on every day and at every place to be appointed by + the clergyman to whom, or whose flock he shall belong, not exceeding at and after the + rate of three days in the spring and three days in the autumn of each year."</p> + <p>This is a gem of ecclesiasticism.</p> + <p>Mr. West says: "I find that it is impracticable to carry the same into effect. + This is attributable to the distance of most of the settlers and the reluctance of + the Scotch Settlers."</p> + <p>Mr. West had made mention of this to Governor Garry.<span class ="pagenum">170</span><a name="Page_170" id="Page_170"></a> </p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIV" id="CHAPTER_XIV"></a>CHAPTER XIV.</h2> + <div class="subchap">SATRAP RULE. + </div> + <p>"Woe to the Nation," says a high authority, "whose King is a child," but far worse + than even having a child-ruler is the fate of a Kingdom or Principality whose ruler + is a hireling. The Roman Empire was ruled in the different provinces by selfish and + dishonest adventurers, who tyrannized over the people, farmed out the revenues, + bribed their favorites and defrauded their masters. Turkish Government or Persian + Rule is to-day an organized system of extortion and oppression by unscrupulous + Satraps. Lord Selkirk's two governors, Miles Macdonell and Robert Semple, had been + removed, the former by capture, the latter by death. Alexander Macdonell in 1816 + became acting governor and was confirmed in office for five or six years afterward. + In his regime the Grasshoppers came and did their destructive work, but the French + people nicknamed him "Governor Sauterelle," Grasshopper Governor, for, says the + historian of this decade he was so called, "because he proved as<span class ="pagenum">171</span><a name="Page_171" id="Page_171"></a> great a destroyer within doors as the grasshoppers + in the fields."</p> + <p>Lord Selkirk had been a most generous and sympathetic founder to his Scottish + Colony. He was not only proprietor of the whole Red River Valley, but he felt himself + responsible for the support and comfort of his Colonists. He had to begin with + supplying food, clothing, implements, arms and ammunition to his settlers. He had + erected buildings for shelter and a store house and fort for the protection of them + and their goods. He had supplied, in a Colony shop, provisions and all requisites to + be purchased by his settlers and on account of their poverty to be charged to their + individual accounts.</p> + <p>George Simpson, who was the new Governor of the United Hudson's Bay Company, was + for two years Macdonell's contemporary, and he in one of his letters says: "Macdonell + is, I am concerned to say, extremely unpopular, despised and held in contempt by + every person connected with the place, he is accused of partiality, dishonesty, + untruth and drunkenness,—in short, by a disrespect of every moral and elevated + feeling."</p> + <p>Alexander Ross says of him, "The officials he kept about him resembled the court + of an Eastern Nabob, with its warriors, serfs, and varlets, and the names they bore + were hardly less pompous, for here were secretaries, assistant secre<span class ="pagenum">172</span><a name="Page_172" id="Page_172"></a>taries, accountants, orderlies, + grooms, cooks and butlers."</p> + <p>Satrap Macdonell held high revels in his time. "From the time the puncheons of rum + reached the colony in the fall, till they were all drunk dry, nothing was to be seen + or heard about Fort Douglas but balling, dancing, rioting and drunkenness in the + barbarous sport of those disorderly times." Macdonell's method of reckoning accounts + was unique. "In place of having recourse to the tedious process of pen and ink the + heel of a bottle was filled with wheat and set on the cask. This contrivance was + called the 'hour glass,' and for every flagon drawn off, a grain of wheat was taken + out of the hour glass, and put aside till the bouse was over."</p> + <p>As was to be expected this disgraceful state of things led to grave frauds in the + dealings with the Colonists, and when Halkett, one of Lord Selkirk's executors, + arrived on Red River to investigate the complaints, a thorough system of "false + entries, erroneous statements and over-charges" was found, and the discontent of the + settlers was removed, though they were all heavily in debt to the Estate.</p> + <p>It had been the object of Lord Selkirk from the beginning of his enterprise to + give employment to his needy Colonists. Various enterprises were begun with this end + in view, but they were all mere bubbles which soon burst.<span class ="pagenum">173</span><a name="Page_173" id="Page_173"></a> John Pritchard, whom Lord Selkirk had taken as his + secretary to London, was largely instrumental in floating the ill-starred scheme + known as the "Buffalo Wool Company." Just as on the shores of the Mediterranean, + shawls were made from the long wool of the goats, so it was thought that shawls could + be made of the hair or wool of the buffalo. A voluminous correspondence given in many + letters of Pritchard's to Lady Selkirk and other ladies of high station and to an + English firm of manufacturers exploiting this project is before us. Sample squares of + the cloth made of buffalo wool were distributed and in certain circles the novelty + from the Red River was the "talk of the town," in London.</p> + <p>On the banks of Red River the scheme took like wild-fire. All Red River people + were to make fortunes. There were to be high wages and work for everybody. Wages were + increased, and men were receiving nearly four dollars a day. Money became plentiful + and provisions became dear and also scarce. The employees, higher and lower, became + intoxicated with their success, as they now also became really intoxicated and fell + into reckless habits. The work was neglected, and the enterprize collapsed. This was + the earliest boom on Red River banks. Failure was sure to follow so mad a scheme. The + buffalo wool cloth which<span class ="pagenum">174</span><a name="Page_174" id="Page_174"></a> it + cost some twelve dollars and a half to manufacture, partly in Red River Settlement + and partly in England, was sold for little more than one dollar a yard. The + £2,000 of capital was all swallowed up, £4,500 of debt to the Hudson's + Bay Company was never paid, the scheme became a laughing stock in England, and + failure and misery followed its collapse in the Colony.</p> + <p>At this time the French-Canadian settlement at Pembina was induced to remove to + St. Boniface on the Red River, where they gathered around their new priest, + Provencher, to whom they became much attached.</p> + <p>The Selkirk Trustees, in every way, continued ungrudgingly to advance the + interests of the Colony, but their plans, though often mere theories failed more from + extravagance and want of good men to execute them than from any other cause.</p> + <p>Believing that farming was the thing needing cultivation in a country with so rich + a soil, the Colonizers began the Hayfield farm on the north bank of the Assiniboine + River, near what is now the outskirts of the City of Winnipeg, a little above the + present Agricultural College buildings. Beginning with an expensive salary for + Manager Laidlaw, the promoters erected ample farm buildings, barns, yards and + stables. Importations were made of well-bred cattle and horses. Several years of mis<span class ="pagenum">175</span><a name="Page_175" id="Page_175"></a>management and helplessness + resulted from this trial of a model farm, and it was given up at a total loss to the + proprietors of £3,500. The Assiniboine Wool Company was next started, but + failed before the first payment of stock took place, without damage to anyone, so + that, as was remarked, there was "much cry and little wool." The Flax and Hemp + Company was the next unfortunate enterprise. This failed on account of there being no + market, so that farmers never reaped the successful crops which they had grown. An + expedition was made to Missouri, under Messrs. Burke and Campbell, to introduce sheep + into the settlement. As the fifteen hundred sheep purchased had to be driven 1,500 + miles to their destination on Red River, only two hundred and fifty of the whole + flock survived. Failure after failure taking place did not prevent the formation of a + Tallow Company, which resulted in the loss of £600 to £1,000, and a + considerable sum was spent also in an abortive attempt to open up a road to Hudson's + Bay, a scheme which Lord Selkirk's letters show, he had in view from the very + beginning of the life of the Colony. The courage and generosity of the executors of + Lord Selkirk shown to all these enterprises reflects the greatest credit upon them. + True, the concession of so wide an area of fertile land was worth it, and the pledges + made to<span class ="pagenum">176</span><a name="Page_176" id="Page_176"></a> the Selkirk settlers + demanded it, but as in hundreds of other enterprises undertaken by British + capitalists on the American continent, the choice of men foreign to the country and + its conditions, the lack of conscience and economy on the part of the agents sent + out, the dissension and jealousy aroused by every such attempt, as well as the + absence of the means of transport by land and sea through the methods supplied by + science to-day, resulted in a series of dismal failures, which placed an undeserved + stigma upon the character of the soil, climate, and resources of Assiniboia. It took + more than fifty years of subsequent effort to remove this impression.</p> + <p>These experiences took place under those governors who succeeded Alexander + Macdonell—the Grasshopper Governor. The first of them was Captain Bulger, an + unfortunate martinet, though a man of good conscience and high ideals. He had a most + uncompromising manner. He quarreled with the Hudson's Bay Company officer at Fort + Garry on the one hand, and with old Indian Chief Peguis on the other. A whole crop of + suggestions made by the Captain on the improvement of the Colony remain in his "Red + River Papers." Bulger's successor was Governor Pelly, a relative of the celebrated + Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company. The new Governor lacked nerve and de<span class ="pagenum">177</span><a name="Page_177" id="Page_177"></a>cision, and was quite unfitted + for his position. His method of dealing with an Indian murderer was long repeated on + Red River as a subject for humor, when he instructed the interpreter to announce to + the criminal: "that he had manifested a disposition subversive of all order, and if + he should not be punished in this world, he would be sure to be punished in the + next." The hopelessness of carrying on the affairs of the Colony apart from those of + the general affairs of the Hudson's Bay Company, was now seen, and on the suggestion + of Governor Simpson, the management was placed in the hands of governors immediately + responsible to the company. This change led to the appointment as Governor of Donald + McKenzie. This old trader had taken part in the formation of the Astor Fur Company, + and was in charge of one of the famous parties, which in 1811 crossed the continent, + as described by Washington Irving. Ross Cox says of this beleaguered party: "Their + concave cheeks, protuberant bones, and tattered garments indicated the dreadful + extent of their privations. The old trader thus case-hardened faced bravely for eight + years the worries of the Colony.<span class ="pagenum">178</span><a name="Page_178" id="Page_178"> + </a> </p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XV" id="CHAPTER_XV"></a>CHAPTER XV.</h2> + <div class="subchap">AND THE FLOOD CAME. + </div> + <p>With fire and flood some of the greatest catastrophies of the world have been + closely connected. The tradition of the Noachian deluge has been found among almost + all peoples. Horace speaks of the mild little Tiber becoming so unruly that the + fishes swam among the tops of the trees upon its banks. Tidal waves devastated the + shores of England and France on several occasions. It is most natural that prairie + rivers should exceed their banks and spread over wide areas of the land. Old Trader + Nolin, one of the first on the prairies, states that a worse flood than that seen by + the Selkirk Settlers took place fifty years before, and there were two other floods + between these two. Each year, according to the tale of the old settlers, the rivers + of the prairies have been becoming wider by denudation, so that each flood tends to + be less. Several conditions seem to be necessary for a flood upon these prairie + rivers. These are a very heavy snowfall during the prairie winter, a late spring in + which the river ice retains its<span class ="pagenum">179</span><a name="Page_179" id="Page_179"> + </a> hold, and a sudden period in the springtime of very hot weather, + these being modified as the years go on by the ever-widening river channel.</p> + <p>The winter of 1825-6 was one of the most terrific ever known in the history of the + Selkirk Settlement. Just before Christmas the first woe occurred. The snow drove the + herds of buffaloes far out upon the prairies from the river encampments and the + wooded shelter. The horses in bands were scattered and lost, dying as they floundered + in the deep snows. Even the hunters were cut off from one another, the hunters' + families were driven hither and thither, and in many cases separated on the wide + snowy plains. Sheriff Ross, who was a visitor from the Settlement to Pembina in the + dreary winter there, describes the scene of horror. "Families here and families there + despairing of life, huddled themselves together for warmth, and in too many cases, + their shelter proved their grave. At first, the heat of their bodies melted the snow; + they became wet, and being without food or fuel, the cold soon penetrated, and in + several instances froze the whole into a body of solid ice. Some again, were found in + a state of wild delirium, frantic, mad; while others were picked up, one here, and + one there, overcome in their fruitless attempts to reach Pembina—some half-way, + some more,<span class ="pagenum">180</span><a name="Page_180" id="Page_180"></a> some less; one woman + was found with an infant on her back, within a quarter of a mile of Pembina. This + poor creature must have travelled, at least, one hundred and twenty-five miles, in + three days and nights, till she sunk at last in the too unequal struggle for life." + Such scenes might be expected in the valleys of the Highlands of Scotland, or amid + the heavy snows of New Brunswick or Quebec, but they were a surprise upon the open + prairie. Some of the settlers had devoured their dogs, raw hides, leather and their + very shoes. The loss of thirty-three lives cast a gloom over the whole + settlement.</p> + <p>Anxiety had been aroused throughout the whole Colony. The St. Lawrence often + overflows its banks at Montreal, the Grand River at Brantford and the Fraser at its + delta, but the rarity of the Red River overflows led the people, after their winter + disaster, to hope that they would escape a flood.</p> + <p>This was not to be.</p> + <p>As the Red River flows northward, the first thaw of spring is usually south of the + American International Boundary line at the head waters of the river which divides + Minnesota and Dakota. In these States the floods are always, in consequence, greater + than they are in Manitoba. In this year the ice held very firm up to the end of + April. On the second of May,<span class ="pagenum">181</span><a name="Page_181" id="Page_181"> + </a> the waters from above rose and lifted the ice which still held in a + mass together some nine feet above the level of the day before. Indians and whites + alike were alarmed. The water overflowed its banks, and still continued to rise at + Fort Garry. The Governor and his family were driven to the upper story of their + residence in the fort, with the water ten feet deep below that.</p> + <p>The whole river bank for miles was a scene of confusion and terror. Every home was + an alarming scene as the flood reached it. The first thought was to save life. Amid + the crying of children, the lowing of cattle and the howling of dogs, parents sought + out all their children to see them safely removed. Parents and grown men and women + fled in fright from their houses, and in many cases without any other garments than + their working clothes. The only hope was to seek out somewhat higher spots more and + more removed from the river. And with them went their cattle and horses.</p> + <p>To those in boats—the stronger and more venturesome men—the task now + came of removing the wheat and oats, what little furniture they possessed and the + necessary cooking utensils.</p> + <p>Blessed, on such occasions, are those who possess little for they shall have no + loss.</p> + <p>As the waters rose, the lake became wider,<span class ="pagenum">182</span><a name="Page_182" id="Page_182"> + </a> and the wind blew the waves to a dangerous height. The ice broke up + and the current increasing dashed this against the buildings, which at length gave + way and all went floating down across the points—ice, log houses with dogs and + cats frantic on their roofs. One eyewitness says: "The most singular spectacle was a + house in flames, drifting along in the night, its one half immersed in water and the + remainder furiously burning."</p> + <p>As the flood of waters widened into a great expanse it became plain that it would + be some time,—if indeed less than several months,—before the waters would + begin to abate, and in the absence of an Ararat on which to rest, the settlers + occupied the rock-bared elevations, the highest Stony Mount, only eighty feet above + the level, with the middle bluff, little Stony Mountain and Bird's Hill, east of the + river. It is interesting to know that Silver Heights and the banks of the Sturgeon + Creek near its mouth, were not submerged and at their various points the Colonists + pitched their tents and sojourned.</p> + <p>In seventeen days from the first rise, the water reached its height, and hope + began immediately to return. On the 22nd of May the waters commenced to assuage, and + twenty days afterward the Settlers were able with difficulty to reach their homes + again.<span class ="pagenum">183</span><a name="Page_183" id="Page_183"></a> </p> + <p>But every disaster has its side of advantage. During the escape of the Settlers to + the heights, the De Meurons, losing all sense of restraint, stole the cattle of the + Settlers and actually sold them meat from their own slaughtered cattle. So intense + was the feeling of the Scottish Settlers against the De Meurons that the Selkirk + Colonists chose another situation and moved to it</p> + <p>Now that the flood was over, the De Meurons and Swiss became more restless than + ever. They decided to move to the United States. The Selkirk Colonists were glad to + see them go, and furnished them, free of cost, sufficient supplies for their journey. + They departed on the 24th of June, their band numbering 243, and the sturdy pioneers + who held to their land shed no tears of sorrow at their going.</p> + <p>With remarkable courage and hope the Settlers returned after what was to some of + them, their fourth Hegira, and immediately planted potatoes and small quantities of + wheat and barley. This grew well and supplied food for them, and in the next two or + three years no less than two hundred and four houses were built. The Settlement, now + freed from dissension, had not gone through its fiery ordeal in vain. The news of a + home for themselves and their dusky wives and half-breed children, had spread over + the whole of Rupert's Land, and<span class ="pagenum">184</span><a name="Page_184" id="Page_184"> + </a> now began, what Lieutenant-Governor Archibald, the first Governor + of Manitoba, afterward spoke of as the floating down the rivers with their wives and + children of the Hudson's Bay Company officers and men to the paradise of Red River. + The great majority of the employees of the Company were Orkneymen. They gradually + took up the most of the Red River lots surveyed, lying below Kildonan, and forming + the Parishes of St. Paul's and St. Andrew's on Red River, down to St. Peter's Indian + Reserve and St. James' and Headingly up the Assiniboine. The French half-breeds who + removed from Pembina and different parts of Rupert's Land, made the great French + parishes of St. Boniface, St. Norbert, St. Vital on the Red River, with St. Charles, + St. Francois Xavier and Baie St. Paul on the Assiniboine. And now of Scottish + Settlers with French and English half-breeds, the population of Red River Settlement + had reached the number of 1,500 souls.<span class ="pagenum">185</span><a name="Page_185" id="Page_185"> + </a> </p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></a>CHAPTER XVI.</h2> + <div class="subchap">THE JOLLY GOVERNOR. + </div> + <p>Great crises in the world's history generally produce the men who solve them. + Cromwell, Washington, Garibaldi—each of them was the movement itself. A wider + philosophy may see that the age or the Community evolves the man, but as Carlyle + shows, it is the man who reacts upon the community, becomes the embodiment of its + ideal, and is the mouthpiece and the right hand of the age which produces him.</p> + <p>That Andrew Colville, a brother-in-law of Lord Selkirk, should select a young + clerk in London and send him out to Athabasca to see the great fur-region of the + Mackenzie River District, is not a wonderful thing, but that after one year of active + service this young man should be chosen to guide the destinies of the great united + fur company, made up of the Hudson's Bay and Nor'-Wester Companies is a wonder.</p> + <p>This was the case with George Simpson, a Scottish youth, who was the illegitimate + son of the maternal uncle of Thomas Simpson, the<span class ="pagenum">186</span><a name="Page_186" id="Page_186"> + </a> famous Arctic explorer, who is known as having followed out a + portion of the coast line of the Arctic Sea.</p> + <p>Anyone can see that from the proverbial energy that is developed in those of + inferior birth, there was here one of Nature's commanding spirits, who would bring + order out of chaos.</p> + <p>Moreover, the fact of his short service in a distant part of the fur country, left + him free from prejudice, gave him an open mind, and permitted him to serve as a young + man when he was yet plastic and adaptable—all this was in his favor.</p> + <p>Governor Simpson was short of stature, but possessed of great energy and + endurance. He was keen in mind and observing in his faculties. Active and determined, + he might at times seem a martinet and a tyrant, but he had at the same time an easy + and pleasant manner that enabled him to attract to himself his servants and + subordinates, but especially the savages with whom he had constantly to have + dealings. His ardent Highland nature led him to rejoice in the picturesque and the + showy, and he was fond of music and of society. Given to change, Simpson became a + great traveller and made a voyage around the world before the days of steam or + railway.</p> + <p>One of the first gatherings of the fur traders, in which the young Governor gained + golden<span class ="pagenum">187</span><a name="Page_187" id="Page_187"></a> opinions, was held at + Norway House, the old resting place of the Selkirk Settlers. This meeting took place + in June, 1823; the minutes of this meeting have been preserved and are interesting. + Such items as, that Bow River Fort at the foot of the Rocky Mountains was abandoned; + that because of prairie fires the buffaloes were far beyond Pembina; that the + Assiniboine Indians had moved to the Saskatchewan for food; that trouble with the + French traders had arisen on account of their determination to trade in furs; that + the French half-breeds had largely moved from Pembina to St. Boniface; that the trade + should be withdrawn from beyond the American Boundary line; that the Sioux Indians + should be discouraged from coming to the Forts to trade; and that the company + intended to take over the Colony from Lord Selkirk's trustees, all came up for + consideration.</p> + <p>These were all important and difficult problems, but the young Governor acted with + such shrewdness and skill, that he completely carried the Council with him, and was + given power to act for the Council during the intervals between its meetings—a + thing most unusual.</p> + <p>The Governor was ubiquitous.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/illus_big_198.jpg" ><img class="figcenterh" + src="images/illus_198.jpg" alt="SIR GEORGE SIMPSON" title="" /></a><br /> + <span class="caption">SIR GEORGE SIMPSON<br /> + Governor of Rupert's Land, 1821-60.</span> + </div> + <p>Now at Moose Factory, then at York; now at Norway House, but every year at Red + River, the Governor saw for himself the needs of the<span class ="pagenum">188</span><a name="Page_188" id="Page_188"></a> country, and the opportunities for advancing the + interests of the Hudson's Bay Company. + Forty times, that is, nearly every year of his Governorship, it is said he + travelled the route between Montreal and Fort Garry, and this by canoe. He drove his + men, who were chiefly French-Canadians, with irritating haste, and it is a story + prevalent among the old Selkirk Settlers, that a stalwart French voyageur, who was a + favorite of the Governor, was once, in<span class ="pagenum">189</span><a name="Page_189" id="Page_189"> + </a> crossing the Lake of the Woods, so infuriated with his master's + urging that he seized the tormentor who was small in stature, by the shoulders, and + with a plentiful use of "sacrés," dipped him into the lake, and then replaced + him in the bottom of the canoe.</p> + <p>It does not fall within the scope of our story to tell of Simpson's journeys + through Rupert's Land, nor of his famous voyage around the world, but there is extant + an account of his methods of appealing to the interest of the Indians and servants of + the company in his notable progresses through the wilds. Some seven years after his + appointment Governor Simpson made a voyage from Hudson Bay, across country to the + Pacific Ocean, namely, from York Factory to Fort Vancouver on the Columbia River. + Fourteen chief officers, factors and traders, and as many more clerks had gathered to + see the chieftain depart. Taking with him a lieutenant—Macdonald, a doctor and + two canoe crews, of nine men each, the jolly Governor with dashing speed ascended the + Hayes River, up which the Selkirk Colonists had laboriously come, receiving as he + left the Factory, loud cheers from all the people gathered, and a salute of seven + guns from the garrison. The French-Canadian voyageurs struck up their boating songs + with glee, and with dashing paddles left the bay behind.<span class ="pagenum">190</span><a name="Page_190" id="Page_190"></a> </p> + <p>The expedition was well provided with supplies, including wine for the gentlemen + and spirits for the men.</p> + <p>The arrival at Norway House was a féte.</p> + <p>Before reaching the Fort the party landed on the shore, and paying much attention + to their toilets, put themselves in proper trim. In full career the canoes dashed + through the deep rocky gorge leading to the Fort, the Governor's canoe, had on its + high prow, conspicuous the French guide, who for the time gave commands. The Governor + always took his Highland piper with him, and now there pealed forth from the canoe + the strident strains of the bagpipes, while from the second canoe sounded the shrill + call of the chief factor's bugle. As the party approached the Fort they saw the Union + Jack with its magic letters H.B.C. floating from the tall flag-staff of Norway pine + erected on Signal Hill. Bands of Indians from all directions were assembled to meet + the great chief or "Kitche Okema," as they called him. Ceasing the pipes and bugle, + the voyageurs sang with lively spirit one of their boat songs, to the great delight + of their old friends, the Indians.</p> + <p>The Governor was in 1839, at a time when Canada was much disturbed in both + Provinces by the Mackenzie-Papineau rebellion, rewarded for the loyalty of his + Company by having knighthood conferred upon him.<span class ="pagenum">191</span><a name="Page_191" id="Page_191"> + </a> </p> + <p>Sir George Simpson's annual visits to Red River Settlement were the bright spots + in the life of the Colony. Never did a Governor get so near the people as did Sir + George. Old settlers tell how when Sir George arrived every grievance, disaster, + suspicion, or bit of gossip was faithfully carried to him, and his patience and + ingenuity were freely exercised in "jollying" the people and giving them + condescending attention.</p> + <p>Sir George married in time, and on occasion brought Lady Simpson, who was a native + of the country, to visit the Red River Settlement. Her presence was taken as a + compliment by the people. Sir George Simpson, like many of the Hudson's Bay Company, + had among all his business engagements the taste for literature. He encouraged the + formation of libraries at the several trading posts, and in his letters throws in a + remark about Sir Walter Scott, or Blackwood's last magazine, or other living topic, + although the means of communication made literature often months late even on the + banks of the Red River. His own effort in producing a book gave rise to a + considerable amount of amusement. After his great journey around the world, he + published an account of his travels in two considerable volumes. It is now no secret + that these were prepared for him by a well-known judge of Red<span class ="pagenum">192</span><a name="Page_192" id="Page_192"></a> River Settlement, of whom we speak more fully in a + later chapter. This double authorship became decidedly inconvenient to Sir George on + the celebrated occasion when he was cited in 1857 to give evidence before the + Committee of the House of Commons as to Rupert's Land. Sir George's experience in + introducing farming into Red River Settlement had been so troublesome, and expensive + as well, that he really believed agriculture would be a failure in the West, and so + he gave his evidence. Unfortunately for him his editor had indulged in his book, in a + pictorial and fulsome description of the Rainy River, as an agricultural region. Mr. + Roebuck quoted this passage and Sir George was in a serious dilemma. If he admitted + it his evidence would seem untrue, if he denied it then he must deny his authorship. + He admitted that the book was somewhat too flattering in its description.</p> + <p>But, take him all in all, Sir George really stood for his duty and his people. He + lifted the fur trade out of a slough of despond, he was kind and charitable to the + people of the Red River Settlement, he was a good administrator and a patriot Briton, + and though as his book tells and local tradition confirms it, he could not escape + from what is called "the witchery of a pretty face," yet he rose to the position on + the whole as a man who sought for the higher<span class ="pagenum">193</span><a name="Page_193" id="Page_193"> + </a> interests of the vast territory under his sway, as well as for the + financial advancement of his company.<br /><span class ="pagenum">194</span><a name="Page_194" id="Page_194"> + </a> </p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVII" id="CHAPTER_XVII"></a>CHAPTER XVII.</h2> + <div class="subchap">THE OLIGARCHY. + </div> + <p>The struggle has always been between the masses and the classes. Privilege always + strives to confine itself to a few. It could not be but that the echoes of the great + British Reform Bill of 1832 should reach even the remote banks of Red River. The + struggle for constitutional freedom was also going on in Upper Canada, as well as in + Lower Canada where the French-Canadians were fighting bitterly for their rights. + Besides all this in the Red River Settlement the existence of a Company store—a + monopoly—could never prove satisfactory to a community of British blood. Had + the Colony shop been ever so justly and honestly conducted it could not be popular, + how much less so must it have been in the hands of Alexander Macdonell, the peculator + and deceiver.</p> + <p>It is true the Company store, of which we speak, was not that of the Hudson's Bay + Company proper, but rather the possession of Lord Selkirk's heirs.<span class ="pagenum">195</span><a name="Page_195" id="Page_195"></a> </p> + <p>Gradually the rulership was coming under the direction of Governor Simpson, though + there was the local Governor who was nominally independent.</p> + <p>Even when Governor Simpson was invoked, it is to be remembered that he and his + company were the embodiment of privilege. But the Governor was a surprisingly shrewd + man. He saw the aspiration after freedom, of both Scottish and French Settlers. True, + gaunt poverty did not stalk along the banks of Red River as it had done in the first + ten years of the Colony, but just because the people were becoming better housed, + better clad, and better fed, were they becoming more independent. The unwillingness + to be controlled was showing itself very distinctly among the French half-breeds as + they grew in numbers and dashed over the prairies on their fiery steeds. They were + hunters, accustomed to the use of firearms and were, therefore, difficult to + restrain.</p> + <p>The Governor's policy clearly defined in his own mind became, for the next ten + years, the policy of the Company. We have seen that the Governor built Lower Fort + Garry, and he regarded this as his residence, nearly twenty miles down the river from + the Forks, which was the centre of French influence. Even before doing this in 1831 + he had, in the year preceding this, as Ross tells us, built a small powder +<span class ="pagenum">196</span><a name="Page_196" id="Page_196"></a> magazine at Upper Fort Garry, + and it goes without saying that rulers do not build powder magazines for the purpose + of ornament.</p> + <p>In 1834, as we learn from Hon. Donald Gunn, who was then a resident of Red River + Settlement, and who has left us his views in the manuscript afterward published + coming up to 1835, a most serious revolt took place among the Metis. Gunn's account + is vivid and interesting.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/illus_big_207.jpg" ><img class="figcenterw" + src="images/illus_207.jpg" alt="FORT GARRY" title="" /></a><br /> + <span class="caption">The Sisters The + Ferry The Forks Fort + Garry Site of Fort Gibraltar<br /> + Pontoon Bridge French + Half-breeds with Ox-carts <br /> + RED AND ASSINIBOINE RIVERS<br /> + FORT GARRY<br /> + (From Oil painting of Mr. W. Frank Lynn made in 1872, now in possession of the + Author.)</span> + </div> + <p>The French half-breeds were entirely dependent upon hunting, trapping or voyaging. + One hundred or one hundred and fifty men were required to transfer goods, furs, etc., + from the boats during the time of open water. Generally they received advances from + the Fur Company at the beginning of summer, for they were always in debt to the + company. On the close of the open season they were paid the balance due them. After a + few days of idleness and gossip the money would be spent and want would begin to + press them. A new engagement with an advance would follow. The agreement was signed, + and so like an endless chain, the natives were always held to the Company's interest. + At Christmas, these workmen received a portion of their advance, and as is well + known, the company relaxed somewhat its rules as to liquor selling at this season. At + this Christmas time of 1834 payments were being made and indul<span class ="pagenum">197</span><a name="Page_197" id="Page_197"></a>gence was + supreme, when a French half-breed named Larocque entered the office of the + accountant, Thomas Simpson, a relative of Sir George, and demanded his pay in a + disrespectful way. Simpson replied somewhat roughly, which led Larocque to insult the + officer of the company. Simpson seized the fire poker and striking Larocque's head + made an ugly wound on his scalp.</p> + <p>Larocque's companions retired without violence, but on returning home, gathered + the violent spirits together, came back to Fort Garry and demanded that Thomas + Simpson should be given up to them for punishment, with the threat that if this were + not granted, they would destroy the Fort, and take Simpson by violence. This being + refused them, the Metis returned to their homes to prepare themselves for action, and + began the war songs and war dances of their savage ancestors in true Indian style. + Governor Christie, the local authority, took with him Chief Factor Cameron, Robert + Logan and Alexander Ross, chief men of the Settlement, and visited the gathering of + the Metis. One of the deputation writes that "they resembled a troop of furies more + than human beings." For some time the mob refused the approaches of the officers of + the Company. At length the quarrel was settled by the Company agreeing to pay the + voyageur's wages in full, and that<span class ="pagenum">198</span><a name="Page_198" + id="Page_198"></a> he should be allowed to remain at home. Probably, however, the most + acceptable part of the concession, was the gift by the Company of a "ten-gallon keg + of rum and tobacco."</p> + <p>Next spring another demonstration was made by the Metis for other demands, but + these were refused.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/illus_big_210.jpg" ><img class="figcenterw" + src="images/illus_210.jpg" alt="Exterior View of Fort Garry" title="" /> + </a><br /> + <span class="caption">Exterior View of Fort Garry</span> + </div> + <p>Then, from every direction came the imperious suggestion that some more effective + form of government should be adopted. This was granted. True, Governor Simpson did + not succeed in satisfying all the Settlers, though in this respect he found it easier + to supply the volatile French-Canadian hunters, than the hard-headed people of + British origin. The method of Governor Simpson, along with the London +<span class ="pagenum">199</span><a name="Page_199" id="Page_199"></a> Board of the Hudson's Bay + Company choosing the Council of Assiniboia, certainly did smack of the age of Henry + VIII. or Charles I. in English history.</p> + <p>The Council consisted of fifteen members, viz.: the Governor-in-Chief Simpson, the + Local Governor Christie, the Roman Catholic Bishop, two Church of England clergymen, + three retired Hudson's Bay Company officers, the leading doctor of the Colony, + Sheriff Ross, Coroner McCallum, and three leading business men, viz.: Pritchard, + Logan and McDermott. It is noticeable that though the French element numbered about + one-half of the people, that only one Councillor besides the Bishop was given them, + and this was Cuthbert Grant, now settled down from the period of his + Bois-brulés impulsiveness to be the Warden of the Plains, with an influence + over the Metis, that can only be described as magical.</p> + <p>Judged by the methods of representative government the Council was rather a + burlesque.</p> + <p>Sheriff Alexander Ross, though a member of the Council, says: "To guard against + foolish and oppressive acts, the sooner the people have a share in their own affairs + the better. It is only fair that those that have to obey the laws should have a voice + in making them."</p> + <p>Hon. Donald Gunn, who was not on the Council, says: "The majority of the Council + thus<span class ="pagenum">200</span><a name="Page_200" id="Page_200"></a> appointed were, no doubt, + the wealthiest men in the Colony and generally well-informed, and yet their + appointment was far from being acceptable to the people who knew that they were + either sinecurists or salaried servants of the Hudson's Bay Company, and consequently + were not the fittest men to legislate for people who retained some faint recollection + of the manner in which the popular branch of the legislature in their native land was + appointed, and who never ceased to inveigh against the arbitrary manner in which the + Governor-in-chief chose the legislators."</p> + <p>Notwithstanding the writer's perfect sympathy with both of these opinions, it is + but fair to state that the Council of Assiniboia did in ordinary times do many things + which were most beneficial and helpful to the Red River Community.</p> + <p>Its most distressing failures were in those things which are very essential. (1) + Being a compromise body it had no power of progressive development, and in the whole + generation of its existence it did practically nothing to advance the public, + intellectual, or moral interests of the people. (2) Perhaps its most serious + breakdown took place, as we shall see, in the failure of its judicial system. + Executive power it had none, as seen in the cases where jail-delivery took place + again and again by the friends of<span class ="pagenum">201</span><a name="Page_201" id="Page_201"></a> the prisoners boldly + extricating whom they would. (3) But most alarming and miserable was its failure to + act in its moribund days, when it allowed, as we shall see, a mob to seize Fort Garry + and bring in an era of disorder which made every self-respecting British subject + blush with shame.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/illus_big_213.jpg" ><img class="figcenterw" + src="images/illus_213.jpg" alt="South and East Faces" title="" /></a><br /> + <span class="caption">South and East Faces, 1840 + From sketch by wife of Governor Finlayson.</span> + </div> + <p><br /> + </p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/illus_big_213a.jpg" ><img class="figcenterw" + src="images/illus_213a.jpg" alt="East Face In 1882, When Fort Was Dismantled" + title="" /></a><br /> + <span class="caption">East Face In 1882, When Fort Was Dismantled<br /> + (From painting in author's possession.)<br /> + x Spot where Scott was Executed.<br /> + FORT GARRY WINTER SCENES</span> + </div> + <br /> + + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XVIII" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"></a>CHAPTER XVIII.</h2><span class ="pagenum">202</span><a name="Page_202" id="Page_202"></a> + <div class="subchap">THE OGRE OF JUSTICE. + </div> + <p>The wild life of the prairie or mountain cultivates a spirit of freedom. When + individuals must become a law unto themselves, when the absence of steamers, + railways, electric power, work-shops, and mills, throws men on their own resources, + they find it irksome to obey the law. They regard its restrictions as tyrannical. The + prairie horse becomes free. He must be caught with the lasso, he needs to be hobbled + near the camp, it is necessary to curb him in his temper, but in his wild state he + can provide for himself. He knows the best pasture and seeks it, he is acquainted + with the water courses and finds them, he returns or not to his stable or covert at + his own sweet will, he fights the wolf or the bear and protects the colts from the + wild beasts.</p> + <p>As is the prairie steed, so to a large extent is his master. He is apt to despise + civilization, prefers his buckskin coat and fringed leggings, and loves the moccasin + rather than the stiff leather shoe.<span class ="pagenum">203</span><a name="Page_203" id="Page_203"> + </a> </p> + <p>With him the idea of sub-division of property is not developed. There are no local + game laws. He shoots large or small game, moose or prairie chicken, whenever he can + find them. He traps on whatever stream he chooses. His idea of personal property is + very liberal. He is large-hearted and bountiful, divides his find of game with his + neighbors, and his shanty has, as he says, "a latch hanging outside the door," for + any wanderer or passing stranger.</p> + <p>This many-sided notion of freedom belongs to all primitive peoples and societies. + Of the Red River Community the French half-breed was of the most unsubdued and + restive type, for he followed the ways of the Indians, while the Selkirk Colonists + and their descendants always professed to be farmers, and hunting was only their + diversion. Moreover, being of Scottish blood, they had been taught to fear God and + honor the King.</p> + <p>We have seen that Governor Simpson had a plan in his mind for gaining control and + preserving order in his own kingdom. His idea of building fortified stone forts is + chiefly seen in the cases of Upper and Lower Forts Garry. Fort Garry was, as we have + seen, well on the way to completion by the time of the French outbreak in connection + with Larocque. And Governor Christie was authorized to go on and construct a still + more elaborate fort at the<span class ="pagenum">204</span><a name="Page_204" id="Page_204"></a> + Forks to replace the wooden Fort Garry built shortly after the union of the + Companies. Thus, a large Fort with numerous buildings, suitable for trade and + residence, was begun in 1835, and around it a substantial stone wall was built. The + dimensions from east to west were 280 feet, and from north to south 240 feet. The + fort faced the Assiniboine River, and each of its corners showed a large and + well-built bastion. The bastions were provided with port holes, and all about the + structure suggested the possibility of an armed struggle. This was begun in the same + year as the formation of the Council of Assiniboia, and was fairly advanced to + completion by 1839. Laws for the government of the people, and the administration of + justice were passed by the Council, in accordance with the opening address of + Governor Simpson, when he said: "The time is at length arrived, when it becomes + necessary to put the administration of justice on a more firm and regular footing + than heretofore."</p> + <p>And now, in 1839, in this Arcadia of Red River there became evident the dreadful + presence of the law in the person of Adam Thom, first Recorder of Rupert's Land, who, + as compared with the humble incomes of the people of Red River, had the enormous + salary of £700 a year bestowed upon him by the Hudson's Bay Company. The plan + was a very real one in<span class ="pagenum">205</span><a name="Page_205" id="Page_205"></a> +Governor Simpson's mind when he took a step so + decided.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/illus_big_219.jpg" ><img class="figcenterh" + src="images/illus_219.jpg" alt="ADAM THOM, LL.D." title="" /></a><br /> + <span class="caption">ADAM THOM, LL.D.<br /> + Recorder and Author.<br /> + Lived in Red River Settlement 1839-1854.</span> + </div> + <p>And the man who had been chosen for this post was no man of putty. He was a + Scotchman of commanding presence, decided opinions and strong will. He was a man of + rather aggressive and combative disposition. The writer met him in London long after + he had retired—and this was some thirty years ago, and though the judge was + then upwards of three score and ten, he was yet a man of force and decision. A + graduate of Aberdeen University, Adam Thom had come to Montreal as a lawyer, and was + for a time on Lord Durham's staff. He had taken high ground against Papineau's + rebellion, and was known as one of the strongest newspaper controversialists of the + time. He was a determined opponent of the French-Canadian rebellion, as he was of + rebellion in any form whatever. Evidently, Governor Simpson chose a man "after his + own heart" for the difficult task, of introducing law and order among the turbulent + Nor'-Westers.</p> + <p>The arrival of the new Judge in the Red River Settlement gave rise to much + comment. The spirit of discontent had strengthened, as we have seen among the + Colonists and English-speaking half-breeds. The Hudson's Bay Company had now + re-bought the land of Assiniboia from Lord Selkirk's heirs. Hitherto +<span class ="pagenum">206</span><a name="Page_206" id="Page_206"></a> it was difficult to find out + precisely who their oppressor was. Now, though Governor Simpson sought by diplomacy + to evade the responsibility, yet the explanation given by the Colonists of the + arrival of Recorder Thom, was that he had come to uphold the Company's pretensions + and to restrict their liberties. According to Ross,the Colonists reasoned that "a man + placed in Recorder Thom's position, liable to be turned out of office at the + Company's pleasure, naturally provokes the doubt whether he could at all times be + proof against the sin of partiality. Is it likely," they said, "that he could always + take the impartial view of a case that might involve in its results his own interests + or deprive him of his daily bread?"</p> + <p>Likewise, on the part of the French half-breeds, there was the same distrust in + regard to the limiting of the privileges which they enjoyed, while along with this it + had been noised about that during the Papineau trouble in Canada, the Judge was no + favorite of the French. The French half-breeds, accordingly, became strongly + prejudiced against the new Recorder.</p> + <p>In the year after the arrival of Recorder Thom, a most startling and mysterious + event—which indeed has never been solved to the present day, happened in the + case of Thomas Simpson, who it will be remembered had roused by his crushing blow on + the head of Larocque, the<span class ="pagenum">207</span><a name="Page_207" id="Page_207"></a> rage + of the whole French half-breed community. The case was that Thomas Simpson, with a + party of natives, had been going southward through Minnesota, ahead of the main body + of sojourners. In a state of frenzy he had shot two of his four companions. The other + two returned to the main body, and got assistance. He was seen to be alive as they + approached him, a shot was heard, and then shots were fired in his direction by those + observing him. Whether he committed suicide or was killed by those approaching, some + of whom were French, will never be known. The fact that he had quarreled with the + French half-breeds, five years before this event, was used to throw suspicion. The + body of Simpson was carried back to St. John's Cemetery in Winnipeg, and it is said + was buried along the wall in token of the belief that he had committed suicide.</p> + <p>What the body of the people had feared in the tightening of the legal restrictions + by the new laws and new officials, did actually take place. The French half-breeds + were, as we have seen, chiefly given to hunting. In theory, the Hudson's Bay Company + possessed <i>all hunting rights under their charter</i>. A French-Canadian, Larant, + and another half-breed also, had the furs, which they had hunted for, forcibly taken + from them by legal authority, while in a third case an offender against the game laws + had been actually<span class ="pagenum">208</span><a name="Page_208" id="Page_208"></a> deported to + York Factory. Alarm was now general among the French half-breeds. Hitherto the + English half-breeds had been loyal to the Company. Alexander Ross gives an incident + worth repeating as to how even the English half-breeds became rebellious. He says: + "One of the Company's officers, residing at a distance, had placed two of his + daughters at the boarding-school in the Settlement. An English half-breed, a comely + well-behaved young man, of respectable connections, was paying his addresses to one + of these young ladies, and had asked her in marriage. The young lady had another + suitor in the person of a Scotch lad, but her affections were in favor of the former, + while her guardian, the chief officer in Red River, preferred the latter. In his zeal + to succeed in the choice he had made for the young lady, this gentleman sent for the + half-breed and reprimanded him for aspiring to the hand of a lady, accustomed, as he + expressed it, to the first society. The young man, without saying a word, put on his + hat and walked out of the room; but being the leading man among his countrymen, the + whole community took fire at the insult. 'This is the way,' said they, 'that we + half-breeds are despised and treated.' From that time they clubbed together in high + dudgeon and joined the French Malcontents against their rulers. The French + half-breeds made a flag for use on<span class ="pagenum">209</span><a name="Page_209" id="Page_209"> + </a> the plains called 'The Papineau Standard.' It is plain that rightly + or wrongly, Recorder Thom has a thorny path to tread."<span class ="pagenum">210</span><a name="Page_210" id="Page_210"></a> </p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XIX" id="CHAPTER_XIX"></a>CHAPTER XIX.</h2> + <div class="subchap">A HALF-BREED PATRIOT. + </div> + <p>Canada looks with patriotic delight not only on her sons who remain at home to + work out the problems of her developing life, but follows with keenest interest those + Canadians who have gone abroad and made a name for themselves, and their country in + other parts of the Empire or the world. Some of these are Judge Haliburton, Satirist; + Roberts and Bliss Carman, Poets; Gilbert Parker, Grant Allen and Barr, Novelists; + Romanes and Newcombe, Scientists; Girouard, Kennedy and Scott in the Army, and many + others who have won laurels in the several walks of life. But Manitoba, or rather Red + River Settlement has also its sons who have gone abroad to do distinguished service + and bring honor to their place of birth. One of them was Alexander K. Isbister, most + commonly known as the donor of upwards of $80,000, given as a Scholarship Fund to the + University of Manitoba, but really more celebrated still, for the service he rendered + his native land. A little less than thirty years ago the writer met Mr. +<span class ="pagenum">211</span><a name="Page_211" id="Page_211"></a> Isbister in London and enjoyed + his hospitality. Isbister was a tall and handsome man, showing distinctly by his + color and high cheekbones that he had Indian blood in his veins. Receiving his early + education in St. John's School, he had gone home to England, taken his degrees, + become a lawyer, and afterward had gone into educational work. He was, at the time of + the visit spoken of, Dean of the College of Preceptors in London, and had much + reputation as an educationalist. But the service he rendered to his native land + out-topped all his other achievements. We have already shown the tendency toward + restriction being developed under Recorder Thom's leadership, in Red River + Settlement. James Sinclair, a member of a most respectable Scotch half-breed family, + had obtained the privilege from the Company to export tallow, the product of the + buffalo, by way of York Factory to England. The venture succeeded, but a second + shipment was held at York Factory for nearly two years, and thus Sinclair was + virtually compelled to sell it to the Company.</p> + <p>Twenty leading half-breeds then appealed to the Hudson's Bay Company to be allowed + to export tallow at a reasonable rate. In 1844 two proclamations were issued, that + before the Company would carry goods for any settler, a declaration from such + settler, and the examination<span class ="pagenum">212</span><a name="Page_212" id="Page_212"></a> of + his correspondence in regard to his dealing in furs would first be necessary. The + native people determined to oppose them. They claimed as having Indian blood, that + they were entitled to aboriginal rights. Twenty leading English-speaking half-breeds, + among them such respectable names as Sinclair, Dease, Vincent, Bird and Garrioch, + demanded from Governor Christie a definite answer as to their position and rights. + The Governor answered with sweet words, but the policy of "thorough" was steadily + pushed forward, and a new land deed was devised by which the land would be forfeited + should the settlers interfere in the fur trade. Next, heavy freights were put on + goods going to England by way of Hudson Bay, and Sinclair, as an agitator, was + refused the privilege of having his freight carried at any price. The spirits of the + English-speaking half-breeds were raised to a pitch of discontent, quite equal to + that of the French half-breeds, although the latter were more noisy and + demonstrative. James Sinclair became the "village Hampden" who stood for his rights + and those of his compeers.</p> + <p>It was at this juncture that the valuable aid of Isbister came to his countrymen. + In 1847 Isbister, with his educated mind, social standing, and valiant spirit led the + way for his people, and with five other half-breeds of Red<span class ="pagenum">213</span><a name="Page_213" id="Page_213"></a> River forwarded a long and able memorial to Earl + Grey, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, bringing the serious charges against + the Company, of neglecting the native people, oppressing all the settlers, and taking + from them their natural rights. A perusal of this document leads us to the opinion + that the charges were exaggerated, but nevertheless they showed how impossible it + was, for a Trading Company, to be at the same time the Government of a country and to + be equitable and high-minded. The Hudson's Bay Company answered this document sent + them by the Imperial Government, and so far relieved themselves of some of the + charges. But the storm raised could not be quieted. Isbister obtained new evidence + and attacked the validity of the Company's Charter. Lord Elgin, the fair-minded + Governor of Canada, claimed that he, in Canada, was too far away from the scene of + dispute to give an authoritative answer, but on the whole he favored the Company. + Lord Elgin, however, based his reply too much upon the statement of Colonel Crofton, + a military officer, who had been sent to Red River. Alexander Ross said of Crofton, + on the other hand, that he was a man "who never studied the art of governing a + people."</p> + <p>But the agitation still gained head.</p> + <p>The mercurial French half-breeds now joined<span class ="pagenum">214</span><a name="Page_214" id="Page_214"> + </a> in the struggle. They forwarded a petition to Her Majesty the + Queen, couched in excellent terms, in the French language, in the main asking that + their right to enjoy the liberty of commerce be given them. This petition was signed + by nine hundred and seventy-seven persons, and virtually represented the whole French + half-breed adult population.</p> + <p>An important episode soon took place among the French, usually known as the "Sayer + Affair." Of this we shall speak in another chapter. The movement, headed by Isbister, + still continued, and led to the serious consideration by the British Government of + the whole situation in Red River Settlement. The impatience of the people of all + classes in Red River led to a new plan of attack. Not being able to influence + sufficiently the British authorities, they forwarded a petition, signed by five + hundred and seventy English-speaking people of Red River Settlement, to the + Legislative Assembly of Canada. The grievances of the people were given in detail. + The reason suggested for the deaf ear which had been given them by the British + Parliament were stated to be "the chicanery of the Hudson's Bay Company, and its + false representations."</p> + <p>Isbister, in all his efforts, gained the unfailing respect and gratitude, not only + of his own race, but very generally of the people of the<span class ="pagenum">215</span><a name="Page_215" id="Page_215"></a> Red River Settlement. Ten years after the petition + of Isbister and his friends had been presented to Earl Grey, a committee of the House + of Commons was sitting to investigate the affairs of the Hudson's Bay Company. It was + a sifting inquiry, in which Gladstone, Roebuck and other friends of liberty, took + part. It, however, took a quarter of a century to bring about the union of Rupert's + Land with Canada, although, as we shall see, in less than five years, a measure of + amelioration came to the oppressed and indignant settlers of Red River. For this the + people of Red River Settlement were largely indebted to the self-denying and + persistent efforts of Alexander Isbister. The old settlers of Kildonan, the French + and English half-breeds of the several parishes, and their descendants as well as the + University of Manitoba and all friends of education ought to keep his memory green + for what he did for them, for as a writer of his own time says, "He gained for + himself a name that will live in days yet to come."<span class ="pagenum">216</span><a name="Page_216" id="Page_216"></a> </p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XX" id="CHAPTER_XX"></a>CHAPTER XX.</h2> + <div class="subchap">SAYER AND LIBERTY. + </div> + <p>Stone forts and ermined judges were not, to the mind of the unbridled and + ungovernable Metis. True, the French mind has a love for show and circumstance and + dignity of demeanor, but the conviction had taken hold of the people of Red River, + and especially of the French half-breeds, that these meant curtailment of their + freedom. They felt the dice were loaded against them.</p> + <p>But, now, in the year after Sinclair and his friends had shown such a firm front + to Governor Christie, and when something like a feudal system was being introduced + into the Red River Settlement, a new surprise came upon French and English alike. + This was immediately after the terrible visitation of a plague, which had cut down + one-sixteenth of the whole population. It was the arrival of a party of the Sixth + Royal Regiment of Foot, along with artillery and engineers, amounting in all to five + hundred souls. The breath of the people was taken away by this demonstration of + force, and a chronicler<span class ="pagenum">217</span><a name="Page_217" id="Page_217"></a> of the + time says: "From the moment they arrived the high tone of lawless defiance and + internal disaffection raised by our people against the laws and the authorities of + the place were reduced to silence." Colonel Crofton, in command of the troops, was + appointed Governor of the Settlement, and he proved a wise and honorable + administrator. The regiment gained golden opinions from the people, and as they spent + during their short stay of two years, a sum of £15,000 in supplies, it was, + indeed, a golden age for the hard-working Colonists. The leaving of the regiment was + regretted by the Colony.</p> + <p>Having now entered on a career of government by force, it would not do to let it + drop. Hence the authorities enlisted in Britain a number of old pensioners, and under + command of Major Caldwell, who was also to act as Governor of the Settlement, sent + out, in each of two successive years, some seventy of these discharged soldiers to + act as guardians of the peace. It was pretty well agreed that these men, to whom were + given holdings of small pieces of land to the west of Fort Garry, now in the St. + James District of Winnipeg, were simply imitators in conduct and disposition of the + De Meurons, who had so vexed the Colonists. Major Caldwell, too, by his lack of + business habits and his selfishness, alienated all the<span class ="pagenum">218</span><a name="Page_218" id="Page_218"></a> leading men of the Colony, so that they refused to + sit with him in Council. It was the common opinion that the turbulence and violence + of the pensioners was so great that, as one of the Company said, "We have more + trouble with the pensioners than with all the rest of the Settlement put together." + The pensioners were certainly absolutely useless for the purpose for which they had + been sent, that is to preserve order in the country. The Metis, at any rate, spoke of + them with derision.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/illus_big_234.jpg" ><img class="figcenterh" + src="images/illus_234.jpg" alt="PLAN OF FORT GARRY" title="" /></a><br /> + <span class="caption">PLAN OF FORT GARRY and of the other forts of Winnipeg.<br /> + 1, Fort Rouge; 2, Fort Douglas; 3, Fort Gibraltar; 4, Fidler's Fort; 5, First Fort + Garry; 6, Fort Garry.</span> + </div> + <p>In the year following the removal of the troops the policy of preventing the + French<span class ="pagenum">219</span><a name="Page_219" id="Page_219"></a> half-breeds from buying + and selling furs with the Indians was being carried out by Judge Thom, the relentless + ogre of the law. Four men of the Metis had been arrested; of these the leader was + William Sayer. He was the half-breed son of an old French bourgeois of the Northwest + Company. He had been liberated on bail, and was to come up for trial in May. The + charge against him was of buying goods with which to go on a trading expedition to + Lake Manitoba.</p> + <p>Possibly the case would be easily disposed of, and most likely dismissed with a + trifling fine, although it was true that Sayer had made a stiff resistance on his + being arrested. This violent resistance was but an example of the bitter and + dangerous spirit that was developing among the Metis.</p> + <p>A brave and restless man was now growing to have a dominating influence over the + French half-breeds. This was Louis Riel, a fierce and noisy revolutionist, ready for + any extremity. He was a French half-breed, was owner of a small flour mill on the + Seine River, and he was the father of the rebel chief of later years. The day fixed + for the Sayer trial by the legal authorities was a most unfortunate one. It was on + May 17th, which on that year was Ascension Day, a day of obligation among the + Catholic people of the Settlement. It was noticeable<span class ="pagenum">220</span><a name="Page_220" id="Page_220"></a> that there was much ferment in the French parishes. + Louis Riel, who was a violent, but effective speaker, of French, Irish and Indian + descent, busied himself in stirring up resistance. The fact that it was a Church day + for the Metis made it easy for them to gather together. This they did by hundreds in + front of the St. Boniface Cathedral, where, piling up their guns, with which all the + men were armed, at the Church door, they then entered and performed their sacred + duties. At the close of the service, Riel, "the miller of the Seine," made a fiery + oration, advocating the rescue of their compatriot Sayer, who was to be held for + trial at the Court House. A French sympathizer said of this public meeting: "Louis + Riel obtained a veritable triumph on that occasion, and long and loud the hurrahs + were repeated by the echoes of the Red River."</p> + <p>And now, under Riel's direction, by a concerted action, movement of the whole body + was made to cross the Red River and march to the Court House, which stood beside the + wall of Fort Garry. To allow the five hundred men to cross easily, Point Douglas was + selected, and here by ferry boats, said to have been provided by James Sinclair, the + English half-breed leader of whom we have spoken, the party crossed, and worked up to + the highest pitch of excitement, stalked up the mile or two to the Court House. +<span class ="pagenum">221</span><a name="Page_221" id="Page_221"></a></p><br /> + <br /> + + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/illus_big_237.jpg" ><img class="figcenterh" + src="images/illus_237.jpg" alt="PLAN OF FORT GARRY" title="" /></a><br /> + <span class="caption">PLAN OF FORT GARRY<br /> + South portion with stone wall and bastions built in 1835.<br /> + North portion with wooden wall and stone north gate still standing, built in + 1850.</span> + </div> + <br /> + + <p>Though somewhat anxious, the Governor and Court officials passed through the + excited crowd which surrounded the Court House. It was expected that the Governor + would order out a guard of pensioners to protect the Court, but he had dispensed with + this, and so he, Recorder<span class ="pagenum">222</span><a name="Page_222" id="Page_222"></a> Thom, + and the Magistrate, took their seats upon the elevated platform of Justice precisely + at eleven o'clock. Sayer's case was called first, but he was held by the Metis + outside of the Court room. Other unimportant business was then taken up until one + o'clock. An Irish relative of old Andrew McDermott, named McLaughlin, attempted to + interfere, but was instantly suppressed. The Court then sent a suggestion to the + Metis that they should appoint a leader with a deputation to enter the Court room + with Sayer and state their case. This proposal was accepted, and James Sinclair, the + English half-breed leader, undertook the duty. Sayer was then brought in, guarded by + twenty of his compatriots, fully armed, while fifty Metis guards stood at the gates + of the Court House enclosure. An attempt was then made to select a jury, but it was + fruitless. Sayer next confessed that he had traded for furs with an Indian. The Court + then gave a verdict of guilty, whereupon Sayer proved that a Hudson's Bay officer + named Harriott, had given him authority to trade. The other three cases against the + Metis were not proceeded with, and Governor, Recorder, officials and spectators all + left the Court room, the mob being of the impression that the prisoners had been + acquitted, and that trading for furs was no longer illegal. Though this was not the + decision yet the crowd so took it up, and made<span class ="pagenum">223</span><a name="Page_223" id="Page_223"> + </a> the welkin ring with shouts (Le Commerce est libre, vive la + liberté) "Commerce is free, long live liberty."</p> + <p>The Metis then crossed the river to St. Boniface, and after much cheering, fired + several salutes with their guns. It was their victory, but it was one in which the + vast mass of the English-speaking rejoiced for the bands of tyranny were broken. + Judge Thom, under instructions from Governor Simpson, never acted as Recorder again, + but was simply Secretary of the Court, and another reigned in his stead. After this + the Court was largely without authority, and as has been said the rescue of prisoners + was not an infrequent occurrence in the future life of the Settlement. +<span class ="pagenum">224</span><a name="Page_224" id="Page_224"></a></p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXI" id="CHAPTER_XXI"></a>CHAPTER XXI.</h2> + <div class="subchap">OFF TO THE BUFFALO. + </div> + <p>Alexander Ross was a Scottish Highlander, who came to Glengarry in Canada, quite a + century ago, joined Astor's expedition, went around Cape Horn and in British Columbia + rose to be an officer in the Northwest Company. He married the daughter of an Indian + Chief at Okanagan, came over the Rocky Mountains, and was given by Sir George Simpson + a free gift of a farm, where Ross and James Streets are now found in Winnipeg. This + land is to-day worth many millions of dollars. Ross was also fond of hunting the + buffalo, and we are fortunate in having his spirited story of 1840.</p> + <div class="subchap">BUFFALO HUNTING. + </div> + <p>In the leafy month of June carts were seen to emerge from every nook and corner of + the Settlement bound for the plains. As they passed us, many things were discovered + to be still wanting, to supply which a halt had to be made at Fort Garry shop; one + wanted this thing, another that, but all on credit. The day of payment was yet to + come; but payment was promised. Many on the present occasion were sup<span class ="pagenum">225</span><a name="Page_225" id="Page_225"></a>plied, many were not; they got + and grumbled, and grumbled and got, till they could get no more; and at last went + off, still grumbling and discontented.</p> + <p>From Fort Garry the cavalcade and camp-followers were crowding on the public road, + and thence, stretching from point to point, till the third day in the evening, when + they reached Pembina, the great rendezvous of such occasions. When the hunters leave + the Settlement it enjoys that relief which a person feels on recovering from a long + and painful sickness. Here, on a level plain, the whole patriarchal camp squatted + down like pilgrims on a journey to the Holy Land, in ancient days: only not so + devout, for neither scrip nor staff were consecrated for the occasion. Here the roll + was called, and general muster taken, when they numbered on the occasion 1,630 souls: + and here the rules and regulations for the journey were finally settled. The + officials for the trip were named and installed into their office, and all without + the aid of writing materials.</p> + <p>The camp occupied as much ground as a modern city, and was formed in a circle: all + the carts were placed side by side, the trams outward. Within this line, the tents + were placed in double, treble rows, at one end; the animals at the other in front of + the tents. This is the order in all dangerous places: but when<span class ="pagenum">226</span><a name="Page_226" id="Page_226"></a> no danger is feared, the animals are kept on the + outside. Thus, the carts formed a strong barrier, not only for securing the people + and the beasts of burden within, but as a place of shelter and defence against an + attack of the enemy without.</p> + <p>There is, however, another appendage belonging to the expedition, and to every + expedition of the kind; and you may be assured they are not the least noisy. We + allude to the dogs or camp followers. On the present occasion they numbered no fewer + than 542; sufficient of themselves to consume no small number of animals a day, for, + like their masters, they dearly relish a bit of buffalo meat.</p> + <p>These animals are kept in summer as they are, about the establishments of the fur + traders, for their services in the winter. In deep snows, when horses cannot + conveniently be used, dogs are very serviceable to the hunters in these parts. The + half-breed, dressed in his wolf costume, tackles two or three sturdy curs into a flat + sled, throws himself on it at full length, and gets among the buffalo unperceived. + Here the bow and arrow play their part to prevent noise; and here the skillful hunter + kills as many as he pleases, and returns to camp without disturbing the band.</p> + <p>But now to our camp again—the largest of its kind perhaps in the world. A + council was held <span class ="pagenum">227</span><a name="Page_227" id="Page_227"></a> for the + nomination of chiefs or officers for conducting the expedition. Two captains were + named, the senior on this occasion being Jean Baptiste Wilkie, an English half-breed + brought up among the French, a man of good sound sense and long experience, and + withal a bold-looking and discreet fellow, a second Nimrod in his way. Besides being + captain, in common with others, he was styled the great war chief or head of the + camp, and on all public occasions he occupied the place of president.</p> + <p>The hoisting of the flag every morning is the signal for raising camp. Half an + hour is the full time allowed to prepare for the march, but if anyone is sick, or + their animals have strayed, notice is sent to the guide, who halts until all is made + right. From the time the flag is hoisted however, till the hour of camping arrives, + it is never taken down. The flag taken down is a signal for encamping, while it is up + the guide is chief of the expedition, captains are subject to him, and the soldiers + of the day are his messengers, he commands all. The moment the flag is lowered his + functions cease and the captains and soldiers' duties commence. They point out the + order of the camp, and every cart as it arrives moves to its appointed place. This + business usually occupies about the same time as raising camp in the morning, for + everything moves with the regularity of clockwork.<span class ="pagenum">228</span><a name="Page_228" id="Page_228"></a> </p> + <p>The captains and other chiefs have agreed on rules to govern the expedition, such + as, that no buffaloes are to be run on Sunday, no party is to lag behind or to go + before, no one may run a buffalo without a general order, etc. The punishment for + breaking the laws are for a first offence: the offender had his saddle and bridle cut + up: for the second, to have the coat taken off his back and cut up: for the third, + the offender was flogged. Any theft was punished by the offender being three times + proclaimed "THIEF," in the middle of the camp.</p> + <p>On the 21st of June, after the priest had performed mass, for many were Roman + Catholics, the flag was unfurled at about six or seven o'clock and the picturesque + line was formed over the prairie, extending some five or six miles towards the + southwest. It was the ninth was gained. This was a journey of about 150 day from + Pembina before the Cheyenne River miles, and on the nineteenth day, at a distance of + 250 miles, the destined hunting grounds were reached. On the 4th of July, since the + encampment was in the United States, the compliment was paid of having the first + buffalo race.</p> + <p>No less than 400 huntsmen, all mounted and anxiously waiting for the word "Start," + took up their position in a line at one end of the camp, while Captain Wilkie issued + his orders.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/illus_big_245.jpg" ><img class="figcenterw" + src="images/illus_245.jpg" alt="HERD OF BUFFALOES FEEDING ON THE HIGH PLAINS" + title="" /></a><br /> + <span class="caption">HERD OF BUFFALOES FEEDING ON THE HIGH PLAINS</span> + </div> + <br /> + <span class ="pagenum">229</span><a name="Page_229" id="Page_229"></a> + <p>At eight o'clock the whole cavalcade broke ground, and made for the buffaloes. + When the horsemen started the buffaloes were about a mile and a half distant, but + when they approached to about four or five hundred yards, the bulls curled their + tails or pawed the ground. In a moment more the herd took flight, and horse and rider + are presently seen bursting upon them, shots are heard, and all is smoke, dust and + hurry, and in less time than we have occupied with a description a thousand carcasses + strew the plain.</p> + <p>When the rush was made, the earth seemed to tremble as the horses started, but + when the animals fled, it was like the shock of an earthquake. The air was darkened, + the rapid firing, at first, soon became more and more faint, and at last died away in + the distance.</p> + <p>In such a run, a good horse and experienced rider will select and kill from ten to + twelve buffaloes at one heat, but in the case before us, the surface was rocky and + full of badger holes. Twenty-three horses and riders were at one moment all sprawling + on the ground, one horse gored by a bull, was killed on the spot, two more were + disabled by the fall. One rider broke his shoulder blade, another burst his gun, and + lost three fingers by the accident, another was struck on the knee by an exhausted + bull. In the evening no less than 1,375 tongues were brought into<span class ="pagenum">230</span><a name="Page_230" id="Page_230"></a> camp. When the run is over the hunter's work is now + retrograde. The last animal killed is the first skinned, and night not unfrequently, + surprises the runner at his work. What then remains is lost and falls to the wolves. + Hundreds of dead buffaloes are often abandoned, for even a thunderstorm, in one hour, + will render the meat useless.</p> + <p>The day of a race is as fatiguing on the hunter as on the horse, but the meat well + in the camp, he enjoys the very luxury of idleness.</p> + <p>Then the task of the women begins, who do all the rest, and what with skins, and + meat and fat, their duty is a most laborious one.</p> + <p>It is to be regretted that much of the meat is wasted. Our expedition killed not + less than 2,500 buffaloes, and out of all these made 375 bags of pemmican, and 240 + bales of dried meat; 750 animals should have made that amount, so that a great + quantity was wasted. Of course, the buffalo skins were saved and had their value.</p> + <p>Our party were now on the Missouri and encamped there. A few traders went to the + nearest American fort, and bartered furs for articles they needed.</p> + <p>After passing a week on the banks of the Missouri we turned to the West, when we + had a few races with various success. We were afterwards led backwards and forwards + at the pleasure of the buffalo herds. They crossed and recrossed<span class ="pagenum">231</span><a name="Page_231" id="Page_231"></a> our path until we had travelled to almost every + point of the compass.</p> + <p>Having had various altercations with the Indians, the party reached Red River, + bringing about 900 lbs. of buffalo meat in each cart, making more than one million + pounds in all. The Hudson's Bay Company took a considerable amount of this, and the + remainder went to supply the wants of the Red River Settlement for another year. +<span class ="pagenum">232</span><a name="Page_232" id="Page_232"></a></p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXII" id="CHAPTER_XXII"></a>CHAPTER XXII.</h2> + <div class="subchap">WHAT THE STARGAZERS SAW. + </div> + <p>The writer remembers meeting in Boston, a good many years ago, a scientific + explorer, who along with two companies, one of whom is the greatest astronomer in the + United States, as an astronomical party in 1860, made a visit through Red River + Settlement, on their way to the North Saskatchewan to observe an eclipse. The + disappointment of the party was very great, for, after travelling three thousand + miles, their fate was "to sit in a marsh and view the eclipse through the clouds, so + heavy was the rain."</p> + <p>The three astronomers have given their account under assumed names in a little + book, of which there are few copies in Canada. Their view of Red River Settlement in + 1860 is a vivid picture.</p> + <p>What an extraordinary Settlement! Here is a Colony of about ten thousand souls + scattered among plantations for thirty miles along the Red and half as many along the + Assiniboine River, almost wholly dependent for intelligence<span class ="pagenum">233</span><a name="Page_233" id="Page_233"></a> from the outer world on one stern-wheeled steamer. + That breaks down; and before word can be sent of their complete isolation, weeks must + pass before the old and painful canoe-route by way of Lake of the Woods can be + opened, or the wagon make its tedious journey to the headwaters of the Red and back, + improvising on the way its own ferries over the swift and deep streams which feed + it.</p> + <p>Finding haste of no avail, and despatching our luggage on carts to the Upper Fort + and centre of the Settlement, twenty miles away, we start there on foot the next day + to view the land and its inhabitants. The road, "the King's road," is a mere + cart-track in the deep loam, taking its independent course on either side of the + houses, all of which front the river in a single wavering line; for the country is + given up absolutely to farming, for which the rich mould, said to be three or four + feet deep, eminently fits it; and the lots each with a narrow frontage at the bank of + the river, extends back two miles into the prairie. All is at a dead level. John + Omand had asked us to dine at his house; but accidentally passing it without + recognizing it from his description, we select a fair representative of the common + class of houses, and ask for dinner. It is a log-cabin, like all of this class (some + far better ones have walls of stone) with a thatched roof and a rough stone and + mortar<span class ="pagenum">234</span><a name="Page_234" id="Page_234"></a> chimney planted against + one wall. Inside is but a single room, well whitewashed, as is indeed the outside and + exceptionally tidy; a bed occupies one corner, a sort of couch another, a rung ladder + leads up to loose boards overhead which form an attic, a trap door in the middle of + the room opens to a small hole in the ground where milk and butter are kept cool; + from the beam is suspended a hammock, used as a cradle for the baby; shelves + singularly hung held a scanty stock of plates, knives and forks; two windows on + either side, covered with mosquito netting, admit the light, and a modicum of air; + chests and boxes supply the place of seats, with here and there a keg by way of + easy-chair. An open fireplace of whitewashed clay gives sign of cheer and warmth in + the long winter, and a half-dozen books for library complete the scene.</p> + <p>Our hosts feel so "highly honored to have such gentlemen enter the + house"—these are their very words—that it is with the greatest difficulty + they are forced to take any compensation for the excellent meal of bread, butter, and + rich cream which they set before us, and to which we do ample justice.</p> + <p>This was not the only interior we saw; we had before called on the single + scientific man of the Settlement, Donald Gunn, and later in the day are forced by a + thunderstorm to seek shelter in the nearest house; where we are also warmly +<span class ="pagenum">235</span><a name="Page_235" id="Page_235"></a> welcomed, and the rain + continuing, are glad to accept the cordial invitations of its inhabitants to pass the + night. This is a larger house, but only the father of the family and his buxom + daughter, Susie, a lively girl of eighteen or nineteen, are at home, the others being + off at the other end of their small farm, where they have temporary shelter during + the harvest.</p> + <p>We have each a chamber to ourselves in the garret, reached in the same primitive + method as before mentioned—and are shown with a dip of buffalo-tallow to our + rooms. The furniture of these consists of a sort of couch, with buffalo skins for + mattress and wolf skins for sheets and coverlet, a chest for a seat, a punch-bowl of + water on a broken chair for a washstand, and a torn bit of rag for towel; while a + barrel covered with a white cloth serves as a centre-table, and is besprinkled with + antique books. Among those in his chamber our naturalist discovers one which appears + to be a catechism of human knowledge containing, among other entertaining and + instructive information as an answer to the question, "What is a shark?" the highly + satisfactory reply that it is "An animal having eighty-eight teeth."</p> + <p>The wants of the Colony were few, the peasantry simple and industrious, and their + lot in life did not seem to them hard. The earth yielded bountifully, and in time of + temporary<span class ="pagenum">236</span><a name="Page_236" id="Page_236"></a> disaster fishing and + hunting stood them in good stead. When they hunt, they go accompanied by Indians, who + live on the outskirts of the Colony. Further and further they have been compelled to + go, until at our visit no buffalo could be found within a hundred miles at + nearest.</p> + <p>The hunt is just over as we reach the Settlement, and every day carts come in + laden with the buffalo meat, hides, and pemmican. The prairie, back from the river, + by Fort Garry, is dotted with carts, lodges and tents. Many are living in rude + shelters formed of the carts themselves, placed back to back, and the sides secured + by hides.</p> + <p>These carts illustrate well the primitive nature and the isolation of the Colony. + They are the vehicles in universal use, and are built on the general pattern of our + one-horse tip-carts, though they do not tip, and not a scrap of iron enters into + them. They are without springs, of course, and rawhide and wooden pins serve to keep + together the pieces out of which they are constructed. As they have no tires, and the + section of the wheel part or crowd together, according to the moisture, a train of + these carts bringing in the products of the hunt is a strange sight. Each cart has + its own peculiar creak, hoarse and grating, and waggles its own individual waggle, + graceless and shaky, on the uneven ground. To add to its oddity, the shafts +<span class ="pagenum">237</span><a name="Page_237" id="Page_237"></a> are heavy, straight beams, + between which is harnessed an ox, the harness of rawhide (shaga-nappi) without + buckles.</p> + <p>Everybody makes for himself what he wishes in this undifferentiated Settlement. We + return in tatters. Not a tailor, nor anything approaching the description of one, + exists here, and a week's search is needed to discover such a being as a shoemaker. A + single store in the Hudson's Bay post at each of the two forts, twenty miles apart, + supplies the goods of the outside world, and the purchaser must furnish the + receptacle for carriage. For small goods this invariably consists, as far as we can + see, of a red bandanna handkerchief, so that purchases have to be small and frequent; + not all of one sort, however, for the native can readily tie up his tea in one + corner, his sugar and buttons in two others, and still have one left for normal uses. + How many handkerchiefs a day are put to use may be judged from the fact that the + average sale of tea at Upper Fort Garry is four large boxes daily—all, be it + remembered, brought by ship to Hudson Bay, and thence by batteaux and portage to the + Red River.</p> + <p>The caravan by which we and a number of others were carried back to civilization + was a stylish enough turnout for Red River. It was supplied by McKinney, the host of + the Royal Hotel of the village of Winnipeg. Three large<span class ="pagenum">238</span><a name="Page_238" id="Page_238"></a> emigrant wagons, with canvas coverings of the most + approved pattern, but of very different hues, drawn each by a yoke of oxen, convey + the patrons of the party, with the exception of a miner, who rides his horse. The + astronomers take the lead under a brown canvas; a theological student for Toronto + University, a gentleman for St. Paul, and others follow under a black canvas full of + holes; and the third wagon with a cover of spotless purity, conveys the ladies of the + party and a clergyman. Behind them follow not only half a dozen Red River carts, with + a most promiscuous assortment of baggage, peltry, and squeak, but also a stray ox and + a pony or two; a number of armed horsemen, and for the first day a cavalcade of + friends giving a Scotch convoy to those who were departing. The astronomers at length + reached St. Paul, when they declare their connection with the world again complete, + after an absence of about three months, during which they had travelled thirty-five + hundred miles.<span class ="pagenum">239</span><a name="Page_239" id="Page_239"></a></p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIII" id="CHAPTER_XXIII"></a>CHAPTER XXIII.</h2> + <div class="subchap">APPLES OF GOLD. + </div> + <p>Shakespeare's play of "As You Like It" is an eulogy of the flight from the highly + formal life of city life to the simplicity of the forest and the retirement of the + plains. Even in the banished Duke, there is a strain of oddity and quaintness. Not + many years after the middle of last century, a Detroit lawyer fled from the troubles + of society and city life to the peaceful plains of secluded Assiniboia. Marrying, + after his arrival, a daughter of one of our best native families, and on her death, a + pure Indian woman, he reared a large family. The poetic spirit of Frank Larned was + never repressed, and we give, with some changes, to suit our purpose, and at times + some divergence from the views expressed, scenes of the Red River Settlement, in + which he, for more than a generation, dwelt.</p> + <div class="subchap">BRITAIN'S ONE UTOPIA—SELKIRKIA. + </div> + <p>That brave old Englishman, Thomas More—afterwards, unhappily for his + head—Lord High Chancellor of England—wrote out, in fair La<span class ="pagenum">240</span><a name="Page_240" id="Page_240"></a>tin,—in his chambers in + the City of London, over three centuries ago—his idea of an Utopia. This, + modest as are its requirements, has yet found no practical illustration, even among + the many seats of the great colonizing race of mankind.</p> + <p>The primitive history of all the colonies that faced the Atlantic—when the + new-found continent first felt the abiding foot of the stranger—from Oglethorpe + to Acadia, reveals, alas! no Utopia. It remained for a later time,—the earlier + half of the present century, amid some severity of climate, and under conditions + without precedent, and incapable of repetition,—to evolve a community in the + heart of the continent, shut away from intercourse with civilized mankind—that + slowly crystalized into a form beyond the ideal of the dreamers—a community, in + the past, known but slightly to the outer world as the Red River Settlement, which is + but the bygone name for the one Utopia of Britain—the clear-cut impress of an + exceptional people living under conditions of excellence unthought of by themselves + until they had passed away.</p> + <div class="subchap">THE UTOPIAN COLONY. + </div> + <p>A people, whose name in the vast domain, was in days by gone, sought out and + coveted by all. Unknown races had rested here and gone away,<span class ="pagenum">241</span><a name="Page_241" id="Page_241"></a> leaving only their careful graves behind them. The + "Mandans"—the brave, the fair, the beautiful, and the "Cheyennes," pressed by + the "Nay-he-owuk," and the "Assin-a-pau-tuk," had quitted their earthen forts on the + banks of the streams and urged their way to the broader tide of the Missouri. More + fatal to the conquerors came afterward, the white man, "Nemesis" of all Indian life, + spying with the instinct of his race, a spot of abounding fertility, where the great + water-reaches stretched from the mountains to the sea, and southward touched almost + the beginning of the great River of the Gulf.</p> + <p>Quick changing his errant camp for barter into a stronghold for the trade, making + the "Niste-y-ak" of the "Crees" his settled home, the white man's grasp of the fair + domain but grew with years. From the seas of the far north came with the men, + fair-haired, blue-eyed women and children. The glamour of the spot, the teeming soil, + the great and lesser game, that swam past,—or wandered by their + doors—soon drew to this Mecca of the Plains and Waters—the roving, + scattered children of the trade—Bourgeois and voyageur alike heading their + lithe and dusky broods. Here touched and fused all habitudes of life, the blended + races, knit by ties conserving every divergence of pursuit, all forms of faith and + thought, free from assail or taint begotten of contact with aught<span class ="pagenum">242</span><a name="Page_242" id="Page_242"></a> other than themselves. A people whose unchecked + primal freedom was afterward strengthened by the light hand of laws that conserved + what they most desired; whose personal relations with their rulers were of such + primitive character as to make the Government in every sense paternal; the petty tax + on imports attending its administration one practically unfelt!</p> + <p>A people whose land was dotted with schools and churches, to whose maintenance + their contributions were so slight as to be unworthy of mention. The three separate + religious denominations, holding widely different tenets—elsewhere the cause of + bitter sectarian feeling,—was with them so unthought of as to give where all + topics were eagerly sought—no room for even fireside discussion. Side by side, + "upon the voyage,"—as they termed their lake or inland trips—the Catholic + and the Protestant knelt and offered up their devotions—following the ways of + their fathers,—no more to be made a subject of dispute than a difference in + color or height.</p> + <p>The cursings and obscenities that taint the air and brutalize life elsewhere, were + in this quaint old settlement unknown. Sweet thought, pure speech, went hand in hand, + clad in nervous, pithy old English, or a "patois" of the French, mellowed and + enlarged by their constant use of<span class ="pagenum">243</span><a name="Page_243" id="Page_243"> + </a> the liquid Indian tongues, flowing like soft-sounding waters about + them, their daily talk came ever welcome to the ear.</p> + <div class="subchap">AN ARCADIA. + </div> + <p>Where locks for doors were unknown, or, known, unused, where a man's word, even in + the transfer of land, was held as his bond—honesty became a necessity. Lawyers + were none. Law was held to be a danger. Still the importance attached by simple minds + to an appearance in public, the amusing belief cherished by some, that, if permitted + to plead his own case, exert his unsuspected powers, there could be but one result, + brought some honest souls to the Red River forum, with matter of much moment, "the + like never heard before." None can read the quaint, minutely-detailed record of these + "causes celébres" that shook the little households as with a great wind, + without a smile, or resist the conviction that no scheme of an English Utopia can + safely be pronounced perfect without some such modest tribunal to afford vent for + that ever-germinating desire for battle inherent in the race.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/illus_big_262.jpg" ><img class="figcenterh" + src="images/illus_262.jpg" alt="ALEXANDER ROSS" title="" /></a><br /> + <span class="caption">ALEXANDER ROSS<br /> + Sheriff and Author.<br /> + Came to Red River Settlement in 1825 from British Columbia. Died in 1856.</span> + </div> + <p>Their manners were natural, cordial, and full of a lightsome heartness that robed + accost with sunshine,—a quietude withal—that rare quality —that + irked them not at all—one gathered from their Indian kin-folk. Their knowledge + of each<span class ="pagenum">244</span><a name="Page_244" id="Page_244"></a> other was simply + universal—their kin ties almost as general. These ties were brightened and + friendships reknit in the holiday season of the year, the leisure of the long + winters, when the far-scattered hewn log houses—small to the eye—were + ever found large enough to hold the welcome arrivals,—greeted with a kiss that + said,<span class ="pagenum">245</span><a name="Page_245" id="Page_245"></a> "I am of your blood." + These widespread affiliations broke down aught like "caste." Wealth or official + position were practically unheeded by a people in no fear of want and unaccustomed to + luxuries, who sought their kinswoman and her brood for themselves, not for what they + had in store. The children and grandchildren of men, however assured in fortune or + position, wove anew equalizing ties, seeking out their mates as they came to hand; + hence a genial, not a downward level, putting to shame fine-spun theories of + democracy in other lands—spun, not worn.</p> + <p>This satisfaction of station—as said—grew out of the slight exertion + necessary for all the wants of life, with unlimited choice of the finest land on the + continent; the waters alive with fish and aquatic fowl; rabbits and prairie fowl at + times by actual cart-load; elk not far, and countless buffalo + behind,—furnishing meat, bedding, clothing and shoes to any who could muster a + cart or go in search; the woods and plains in season, ripe with delicious wild fruit, + for present use or dried for winter,—the whole backed by abundant breadstuffs. + The quota of the farmers along the rivers, whose fertile banks were dotted by + windmills, whose great arms stayed the inconstant winds, and yoked the fickle + couriers to the great car of general plenty.<span class ="pagenum">246</span><a name="Page_246" id="Page_246"> + </a> </p><div class="subchap">A LAND OF PEACE. + </div> + <p>Poverty in one sense certainly existed; age and improvidence are always with us, + but it was not obtrusive, made apparent only towards the close of the long winter, + when some old veteran of the canoe or saddle would make a "grand promenade" through + the Settlement, with his ox and sled, making known his wants, incidentally, at his + different camps among his old friends, finding always before he left his sled made + the heavier by the women's hands. This was simply done; few in the wild country but + had met with sudden exigencies in supply, knew well the need at times of one man to + another, and, when asked for aid, gave willingly. Or it may be that some + large-hearted, jovial son of the chase had overrated his winter store, or underrated + the assiduity of his friends. His recourse in such case being the more carefully + estimated stock of some neighbor, who could in no wise suffer the reproach to lie at + his door, that he had turned his back, in such emergence, upon his good-natured, if + injudicious countryman.</p> + <p>This practical communism—borrowed from the Indians, among whom it was + inviolable—was, in the matter of hospitality, the rule of all, —a + reciprocation of good offices, in the absence of all houses of public entertainment, + becoming<span class ="pagenum">247</span><a name="Page_247" id="Page_247"></a> a social necessity. + The manner of its exercise hearty, a knitting of the people together,—no one + was at a loss for a winter camp when travelling. Every house he saw was his own, the + bustling wife, with welcome in her eyes, eager to assure your comfort. The supper + being laid and dealt sturdily with, the good man's pipe and your own alight and + breathing satisfaction, —a neighbor soul drops in to swell the gale of talk, + that rocks you at last into a restful sleep. How now, my masters! Smacks not this of + Arcady?</p> + <p>Early and universal marriage was the rule. Here you received the blessings of home + in the married life, and the care of offspring. There were thus no defrauded + women—called, by a cruel irony, "old maids"; no isolated, mistaken men, cheated + out of themselves, and robbed of the best training possible for man. This vital fact + was fraught with every good.</p> + <p>On the young birds leaving the parent nest, they only exchanged it for one near at + hand—land for the taking; a house to be built, a wife to be got—a share + of the stock, some tools and simple furniture, and the outfit was complete. The + youngest son remained at home to care for the old father and mother, and to him came + the homestead when they were laid away. The conditions were all faithful, home life + dear indeed.<span class ="pagenum">248</span><a name="Page_248" id="Page_248"></a> </p> + <p>To the Hunters accepting their fall in the chase no wilder thought could scarce be + broached than that of solicitude as to the future of their young. Boys who sat a + horse almost as soon as they could walk, whose earliest plaything was a bow and + arrows; girls as apt in other ways, happy; sustained in their environment with a + faith truly simple and reverent.</p> + <p>With so large an infusion of Norse blood and certain traditions anent "usquebae" + and "barley bree" it would—with so large a liberty—be naturally expected, + a liberal proportion of drouthy souls, but with an abundance of what cheers and + distinctly inebriates in their midst they were a temperate people in its best sense, + with no tippling houses to daily tempt them astray their supplies of spirits were + nearly always for festive occasions. "Regales" after a voyage or weddings that lasted + for days, and these at times under such guard as may be imagined from the presence of + a custodian of the bottle, who exercised with what skill he might his certainly + arduous task of determining instantly when hilarity grew into excess.</p> + <p>This novel feature applies, however, almost entirely to the English-speaking part + of the people. The Gallic and Indian blood of the Hunters disdained such poor toying + with a single cherry and drank and danced and drank and danced again with an abandon, + an ardor and<span class ="pagenum">249</span><a name="Page_249" id="Page_249"></a> full surrender to + the hour characteristic alike of the strength of the heads, the lightness of their + heels and the contempt of any restraint whatever.</p> + <p>These were, however, but the occasional and generous symposiums of health and + vigor that rejects of itself continued indulgence. Our Utopia would be cold and + pallid indeed lacking such expression of redundant strength, and joyful vigor.</p> + <p>Certainly the greatest negative blessing that this exceptional people enjoyed, was + that they had no politics, no vote. The imagination of the average "party man" sinks + to conceive a thing like to this; yet, if an astounding fact to others, no more + gracious one can be conceived for them selves. In the unbroken peace in which they + lived politics would be but throwing the apple of discord in their midst, an + innoculation of disease that they might in the delirium that marked its progress + vehemently discuss remedies to allay it.</p> + <p>Another great negative advantage was the peculiar and admirable intelligence of + the great body of the population. The small circulating collection of books in their + midst attracting little or no attention, their own limited to a Bible or prayer + book,—many not these. With their minds in this normal healthy state, unharassed + by the sordid assail of care, undepressed by any<span class ="pagenum">250</span><a name="Page_250" id="Page_250"> + </a> sense whatever of inferiority, unfrayed by the trituration of the + average book, their powers of apprehension—singularly clear—had full + scope to appropriate and resolve the world about them, which they did to such purpose + as to master every exigence of their lives. Seizing upon the minutest detail + affecting them they mastered as if by intuition all difficult handiwork, making with + but few tools every thing they required from a windmill to a horseshoe.</p> + <p>Their real education was in scenes of travel or adventure in the great unbroken + regions sought out by the fur trade, their retentive memories reproducing by the + winter fireside or summer camp pictures so graphic as to commend themselves to every + ear.</p> + <p>The tender heart and true of the brave old knight, Sir Thomas More, put a ban upon + hunting in his Utopia. Alas and alack for the wayward proclivities of our Utopians, + predaceous creatures all, hunting was to them as the breath of their nostrils, for to + them, unlike the sons of Adam, it was given—with their brothers resting upon + the tranquil river—to lay upon the altar of their homes alike the fruits of the + earth and the spoils of the chase.</p> + <div class="subchap">THE BUFFALO HUNT.</div> + <p>What pen can paint the life of the "Chasseurs of the Great Plains," tell of the + gathering<span class ="pagenum">251</span><a name="Page_251" id="Page_251"></a> of the mighty + Halfbreed clan going forth—each spring and fall—in a tumult of carts and + horsemen to their boundless preserves, the home of the buffaloes, whose outrangers + were the grizzly bear, the branching elk, the flying antelope that skirted the great + columns, the last relieving the heavy rolling gait of the herds by a speed and airy + flight that mocked the eye to follow them, scouting the dull trot of the prowling + wolves—attent upon the motions of their best purveyor—man.</p> + <p>What a going forth was theirs! this array of Hunters, with their wives and little + ones; this new tribe clad in semi-savage garniture, streaming across the plains with + cries of glee and joyance; the riders in their "travoie" of arms and horse + equipment—the vast "brigade" of carts and bands of following horses, kept to + the cavalcade by those reckless jubilants—the boys—seeming a part of the + creatures they bestrode. The sunshine and the flying fleecy clouds, emulous in motion + with the troop below: what life was in it all; what freedom and what breadth!</p> + <p>And as the sun sank apace and the guides and Headmen rode apart on some + o'er-looking height and reined their cattle in, the closing up of the flying squadron + for the evening camp, the great circular camp of these our Scythians proof against + sudden raid crowning the land<span class ="pagenum">252</span><a name="Page_252" id="Page_252"></a>scape far and wide, seen, yet seeing every foe, whose subtle coming + through the short-lived night was watched by eyes as keen as were their own.</p> + <p>When reached, their bellowing, countless quarry: the plain alive and trembling + with their tumult, what tournament of mail-clad knights but was as a stilted play to + this rude shock of man and beast—carrying in a cloud of dust that hid alike the + chaser and the chased, till done their work the frightened herds swept onward and + away, leaving the sward flecked with the huge forms that made the hunters' wealth! + And now! on: fall prosaic from the wild charge, the danger of the fierce + <i>melee</i>!—drifting from the camp the carts appear piled red in a trice with + bosses, tongues, back fat and juicy haunch, a feast unknown to hapless kings.</p> + <p>We but glance at this great feature, that fed so fat our Utopia, leaving to + imagination the return, the trade, the feasting and the fiddle when lusty legs + embossed by "quills" or beads kept up the dance.</p> + <p>The outcome of the "Plain Hunt" was not only a wide spread plenty among the + Hunters on reaching the quiet farmer folk upon the rivers, but also the diffusion of + a sunshine, a tone of generous serenity that sat well on the chivalry of the + chase—the bold riders of the Plain.<span class ="pagenum">253</span><a name="Page_253" id="Page_253"> + </a> </p> + <div class="subchap">THE SUMMER PRAIRIES. + </div> + <p>Beneficent nature nowhere makes her compensations more gratefully felt than in the + summer season of our Utopia of the north, where the purest and most vivifying of + atmospheres hues with a wealth of sunshine the great reaching spaces of verdure + covered with flowers in a profusion rivaling their exquisite beauty. Green waving + copses dot the level sward, and rob the sky line of its sea-like sweep. The winding + rivers, signalled by their wooded banks, upon which rest the comfortable homes of the + dwellers in the "hidden land" guarding their little fields close by where the ranked + grain standing awaits the sickle, turning from green to gold and so unhurried + resting. The shining cattle couched outside in ruminant content or cropping lazily + the succulent feast spread wide before them; the horses wary of approach, just seen + in compact bands upon the verge; the patriarchal windmills—at wide + spaces—signalling to each other their peaceful task; the little groups of + horsemen coming adown the winding road, or stopping to greet some good wife and her + gossip—going abroad in a high-railed cart in quest of trade, or friendly call. + And as the day wanes, the sleek cows, with considered careful walk and placid mien, + wend their way homeward, bearing their heavy udders to the house-<span class ="pagenum">254</span><a name="Page_254" id="Page_254"></a>mother, who, pail in hand awaiting their approach, + pauses for a moment to mark the feathered boaster at her feet, as he makes his + parting vaunt of a day well spent and summons "Partlet" to her vesper perch hard + by.</p> + <p>O'er all the scene there rests a brooding peace, bespeaking tranquil lives, repose + trimmed with the hush of night, and effort healthful and cool as the freshening airs + of morn.</p> + <div class="subchap">L'ENVOI. + </div> + <p>Longfellow—moving all hearts to pity—has painted in "Evangeline" the + enforced dispersion of the French in "Acadia." Who shall tell the homesick pain, the + vain regrets, the looking back of those who peopled our "Acadia"? No voice bids them + away; they melt before the fervor of the time; hasten lest they be 'whelmed by the + great wave of life now rolling towards them. Vain retreat, the waters are out and may + not be stayed. It is fate! it is right, but the travail is sore, the face of the + mother is wet with tears.</p> + <p>This outline sketch proposed is at an end; we have striven to be faithful to the + true lines. There is no obligation to perpetuate unworthy "minutæ." Joy is + immortal! sorrow dies! the petty features are absorbed in the broad ones; those + capable only of conveying truth.</p> + <p>The Red River Settlement in the days ad<span class ="pagenum">255</span><a name="Page_255" id="Page_255"></a>verted to is an idyl simple and pure: a nomadic pastoral, inwrought + with Indian traits and color; our one acted poem in the great national prosaic life. + When the vast country in the far future is teeming with wealth and luxury, this light + rescued and defined will shine adown the fullness of the time with hues all its own. + The story that it tells will be as a sweet refreshment: a dream made possible, called + by those who shared in its great calm, "Britain's One Utopia—Selkirkia." +<span class ="pagenum">256</span><a name="Page_256" id="Page_256"></a> </p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIV" id="CHAPTER_XXIV"></a>CHAPTER XXIV.</h2> + <div class="subchap">PICTURES OF SILVER. + </div> + <p>Lord Selkirk's Colonists never had, as have seen, a bed of roses. Adversity had + dodged their steps from the time that they put the first foot forward toward the new + world—and Stornoway, Fort Churchill, York Factory, Norway House, Pembina and + Fort Douglas start, as we speak of them, a train of bitter memories. Flood and + famine, attack and bloodshed, toil and anxiety were the constant atmosphere, in which + for a generation they existed. Higher civilization is impossible when the struggle + for shelter and bread is too strenuous. Though the ministrations of religion were + supplied within a few years of the beginning of the Colony, yet the Colonists were + not satisfied in this respect till forty years had passed. It was a generation before + the Roman Catholic Church had a Bishop, who held the See of St. Boniface instead of + the title "in the parts of the heathen." It was not before the year 1849 that a + Church of England Bishop arrived, and it was two years after that date when the first + Presbyter<span class ="pagenum">257</span><a name="Page_257" id="Page_257"></a>ian minister came to + be the spiritual head of the Selkirk Colonists. Before this the education and + elevation of the people was represented by a few schools chiefly maintained by + private or church effort. The writer intends to bring out, from selected quotations + from different sources, the few bright spots in the gloom—the pictures of + silver—on a rather dark background.</p> + <div class="subchap">ABBE DUGAS' STORY. + </div> + <p>The good Father's story circles around the first Canadian woman known to have + reached Red River. This was Marie Gaboury, wife of J. Baptiste Lajimoniere, who + reached the Forks in 1811 in the very year when the Colonists were lying at York + Factory. The Lajimonieres spent the winter in Pembina. It was the brave husband of + Marie Gaboury who made the long and lonely journey from Red River to Montreal. The + Abbe says: "J.B. Lajimoniere was engaged by the Governor of Fort Douglas to carry + letters to Lord Selkirk, who was then in Montreal. Lajimoniere said he could go alone + to Montreal, and that he would make every effort to put the letters confided to his + care into Lord Selkirk's hands. Being alone, Madame Lajimoniere left the hut on the + banks of the Assiniboine to become an inmate of Fort Douglas. Lajimoniere is reported + to have urged upon Lord Selkirk in Montreal to send as<span class ="pagenum">258</span><a name="Page_258" id="Page_258"></a> part of his recompense for his long journey, a + priest to be the guide of himself and family. Father Dugas says: (See printed page + 2.)</p> + <p>"Lord Selkirk before his departure had made the Catholic colony on the Red River + sign a petition asking the Bishop of Quebec to send missionaries to evangelize the + country. He presented this petition himself and employed all his influence to have it + granted.</p> + <p>"Though a Protestant Lord Selkirk knew that to found a permanent colony on the Red + River he required the encouragement of religion. Should his application succeed the + missionaries would come with the voyageurs in the following spring and would arrive + in Red River towards the month of July. This thought alone made Madame Lajimoniere + forget her eleven years of loneliness and sorrow.</p> + <p>"Before July the news had spread that the missionaries were coming that very + summer, but as yet the exact date of their arrival was not known. Telegraphs had not + reached this region and moreover the voyageurs were often exposed to delays.</p> + <p>"After waiting patiently, one beautiful morning on the 16th of July, the day of + Our Lady of Mount Carmel, a man came from the foot of the river to warn Fort Douglas + and the neighborhood that two canoes bringing the missionaries were coming up the + river, and that all the<span class ="pagenum">259</span><a name="Page_259" id="Page_259"></a> people + ought to be at the Fort to receive them on their arrival.</p> + <p>"Scarcely was the news made known when men, women and children hurried to the + Fort. Those who had never seen the priests were anxious to contemplate these men of + God of whom they had heard so much. Madame Lajimoniere was not the last to hasten to + the place where the missionaries would land. She took all her little ones with her, + the eldest of whom was Reine, then eleven years old.</p> + <p>"Towards the hour of noon on a beautiful clear day more than one hundred and fifty + persons were gathered on the river bank in front of Fort Douglas. Every eye was on + the turn of the river at the point. It was who should first see the voyageurs. + Suddenly two canoes bearing the Company's flag came in sight. There was a general + shout of joy. The trader of the Fort, Mr. A. McDonald, was a Catholic, and he had + everything prepared to give them a solemn reception. Many shed tears of joy. The + memory of their native land was recalled to the old Canadians who had left their + homes many years before. These old voyageurs who had been constantly called upon to + face death had been deprived of all religious succour during the long years, but they + had not been held by a spirit of impiety. The missionaries were to them the + messengers of God.<span class ="pagenum">260</span><a name="Page_260" id="Page_260"></a> </p> + <p>"The canoes landed in front of Fort Douglas, M. Provencher and his companion both + invested in their cassocks stepped on shore and were welcomed with outstretched hands + by this family, which was henceforth to be theirs.</p> + <p>"They were admired for their manly figures as much as for the novelty of their + costumes. M. Provencher and his companion, M. Severe Dumoulin, were both men of great + stature and both had a majestic carriage. They stood at the top of the bank and after + making the women and children sit down around them M. Provencher addressed some words + to this multitude gathered about him. He spoke very simply and in a fatherly manner. + Madame Lajimoniere who had not listened to the voice of a priest for twelve years + could hardly contain herself for joy. She cried with happiness and forgetting all her + hardships, fancied herself for a moment in the dear parish of Maskinongé where + she had spent such happy peaceful years.</p> + <p>"The missionaries arrived on Thursday, July 16th. M. Provencher having made known + to his new family the aim of his mission wished immediately to begin teaching them + the lessons of Christianity and to bring into the fold the sheep which were + outside.</p> + <p>"While waiting till a house could be built for the missionaries, M. Provencher and + his companion were hospitably entertained at the Fort<span class ="pagenum">261</span><a name="Page_261" id="Page_261"></a> of the Colony. A large room in one of the buildings + of the Fort had been set apart for them, and it was there that they held divine + service. M. Provencher invited all the mothers of families to bring their children + who were under six years of age to the Fort on the following Saturday when they would + receive the happiness of being baptised. All persons above that age who were not + Christians could not receive that sacrament until after being instructed in the + truths of Christianity.</p> + <p>"When M. Provencher had finished speaking the Governor conducted him with M. + Dumoulin into the Fort. Canadians, Metis and Indians feeling very happy retired to + return three days afterwards.</p> + <p>"There were four children in the Lajimoniere family, but only two of them could be + baptised, the others being nine and eleven years of age. On the following Saturday + Madame Lajimoniere with all the other women came to the Fort. The number of children, + including Indians and Metis, amounted to a hundred and Madame Lajimoniere being the + only Christian woman stood Godmother to them all. For a long time all the children in + the colony called her 'Marraine.'</p> + <p>"M. Provencher announced that from the next day the missionaries would begin their + work and that the settlers ought to begin at the<span class ="pagenum">262</span><a name="Page_262" id="Page_262"> + </a> same time to work at the erection of a home for them.</p> + <p>"M. Lajimoniere was one of the first to meet at the place selected and to commence + preparing the materials for the building. The work progressed so rapidly that the + house was ready for occupation by the end of October.</p> + <p>"Madame Lajimoniere rendered every assistance in her power to the + missionaries."</p> + <div class="subchap">HARGRAVE'S TALE. + </div> + <p>With a few changes we shall allow an old friend of the writer, J.J. Hargrave, long + an official of the Hudson's Bay Company, to give the tale of the Church of England in + Red River Settlement. "As we have seen, the Rev. John West came from England to Red + River as chaplain of the Hudson's Bay Company. One of his first works was the + erection of a rude school-house, and the systematic education of a few children. + Chief among the names of the clergymen, who came out from England in the early days + of the Settlement, after Mr. West's return, were Rev. Messrs. Jones, Cochran, Cowley, + McCallum, Smedhurst, James and Hunter. William Cochran is universally regarded in the + Colony as the founder of the English Church in Rupert's Land, and from the date of + his arrival till 1849 all the principal ecclesiastical business done may be said to +<span class ="pagenum">263</span><a name="Page_263" id="Page_263"></a> have received its impetus from + his personal energy. The church in which he began his ministrations was replaced by + the present Cathedral of St. John's. Mr. Cochran then built the first church in St. + Andrew's, at the Rapids, and besides gathered the Indians together and erected their + church at St. Peter's."</p> + <p>In 1849 arrived Bishop David Anderson, an Oxford man. He settled at St. John's, + now in the City of Winnipeg, and occupied "Bishop's Court." After occupying the See + for fifteen years, he retired, and was succeeded by Bishop Machray, whose commanding + figure was known to all early settlers in Winnipeg. He revived St. John's College and + gained fame as an educationalist.</p> + <p>The peculiarly situated nature of the Settlement, extending in a long line of + isolated houses along the banks of the river, and in no place stretching back any + distance on the prairies, render a succession of churches necessary to bring the + opportunity of attending within the reach of the people. Ten Church of England places + of worship exist (1870) on the bank of the river. Of these, eight are within the + legally defined limits of the Colony.</p> + <p>About the middle of December, 1866, Archdeacon John McLean commenced the + celebration of the Church of England service in the village of Winnipeg. The services + were for a<span class ="pagenum">264</span><a name="Page_264" id="Page_264"></a> time held in the + Court House at Fort Garry, and in the autumn of 1868 Holy Trinity Church was opened + in Winnipeg.</p> + <div class="subchap">A SELF-DENYING APOSTLE. + </div> + <p>After many disappointments the cry of the Selkirk Colonists for a minister of + their own faith reached Scotland, and their case was referred to Dr. Robert Burns, of + Toronto, who was further urged to action by Governor Ballenden, of Fort Garry. In + August, 1851, the Rev. John Black, then newly ordained, was sent on by Dr. Burns to + Red River. He was fortunate in becoming attached to a military expedition led by + Governor Ramsey, of Minnesota, going northwest for nearly four hundred miles, from + St. Paul to Pembina.</p> + <p>Leaving the military escort behind, in company with Mr. Bond, who wrote an account + of the trip, Mr. Black floated down Red River in a birch canoe, and in a three-days' + journey they reached the Marion's House in St. Boniface. It is said that it was from + Bond's description of this voyage that the Poet Whittier obtained the information for + the well-known poem.</p> +<span class ="pagenum">265</span><div class="poem"> + <p class="smcap">The Red River Voyageur.</p> + <div class="stanza"><span class="i0">Out and in the river is winding<br /> + </span> <span class="i2">The banks of its long red chain,<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">Through belts of dusky pine land<br /> + </span> <span class="i2">And gusty leagues of plain.<br /> + </span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Only at times a smoky wreath<br /> + </span> <span class="i2">With the drifting cloud-rack joins—<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">The smoke of the hunting lodges<br /> + </span> <span class="i2">Of the wild Assiniboines.<br /> + </span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Drearily blows the north wind,<br /> + </span> <span class="i2">From the land of ice and snow;<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">The eyes that look are uneasy,<br /> + </span> <span class="i2">And heavy the hands that row.<br /> + </span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">And with one foot on the water,<br /> + </span> <span class="i2">And one upon the shore,<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">The Angel's shadow gives warning—<br /> + </span> <span class="i2">That day shall be no more.<br /> + </span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Is it the clang of wild geese?<br /> + </span> <span class="i2">Is it the Indians' yell,<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">That lends to the voice of the North wind<br /> + </span> <span class="i2">The tones of a far-off bell?<br /> + </span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">The Voyageur smiles as he listens<br /> + </span> <span class="i2">To the sound that grows apace;<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">Well he knows the vesper ringing<br /> + </span> <span class="i2">Of the bells of St. Boniface.<br /> + </span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">The bells of the Roman Mission<br /> + </span> <span class="i2">That call from their turrets twain;<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">To the boatmen on the river,<br /> + </span> <span class="i2">To the hunter on the plain.<br /> + </span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> +<span class ="pagenum">266</span> + <span class="i0">Even so on our mortal journey<br /> + </span> <span class="i2">The bitter north winds blow;<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">And thus upon Life's Red River<br /> + </span> <span class="i2">Our hearts, as oarsmen, row.<br /> + </span> + </div> + <div class="stanza"> + <span class="i0">Happy is he who heareth<br /> + </span> <span class="i2">The signal of his release<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">In the bells of the Holy City—<br /> + </span> <span class="i2">The chimes of Eternal peace.<br /> + </span> + </div> + </div> + <p>In the afternoon of the day of their arrival the party crossed from St. Boniface + to Fort Garry, and the missionary well known as Rev. Dr. Black, went to the + hospitable shelter of Alexander Ross, whose daughter he afterward married. Three + hundred of the Selkirk Colonists and their children immediately gathered around Mr. + Black, and though interrupted for a year by the great flood which we have described, + erected in the following year, the stone Church of Kildonan, on the highway some five + miles from Winnipeg. With the help of a small grant from the Hudson's Bay Company, + the Selkirk Colonists erected, free from debt, their church which still remains. Two + other churches were erected by the Presbyterians, and beside each a school. For + several years before the old Colony ceased Mr. Black conducted service in the Court + House near Fort Garry, and in 1868, with the assistance of Cana<span class ="pagenum">267</span><a name="Page_267" id="Page_267"></a>dian friends, erected the small Knox Church on + Portage Avenue, in Winnipeg. This building, though used, was not completed till after + the arrival of the Canadian troops in 1870.</p> + <div class="subchap">EARLY RED RIVER CULTURE. + </div> + <p>Strange as it may seem, the isolated Red River Colony was far from being an + illiterate community. The presence of the officers of the Hudson's Bay Company, the + coming of the clergy of the different churches, who established schools, and the + leisure for reading books supplied by the Red River Library produced a people whose + speech was generally correct, and whose diction was largely modeled on standard books + of literature. Mrs. Marion Bryce has made a sympathetic study of this subject, and we + quote a number of her passages:</p> + <div class="subchap">SCIENTIFIC WORK. + </div> + <p>The duty laid upon the Hudson's Bay Company officers and clerks of keeping for the + benefit of their employers a diary recording everything at their posts that might + make one day differ from another, or indeed that often made every day alike, + cultivated among the officers of the fur trade the powers of observation that were + frequently turned to scientific account, and we find some of them acting as + corresponding members of the Smithsonian Institution in<span class ="pagenum">268</span><a name="Page_268" id="Page_268"></a> Washington. Valuable collections in natural + history have been forwarded to the institution by such observers as the late Hon. + Donald Gunn, the late Mr. Joseph Fortescue, and Mr. Roderick Ross Macfarlane.</p> + <p>Mr. William Barnston, a son of the Mr. Barnston, already mentioned, and a chief + factor at Norway House, about 1854, was very fond of the cultivation of flowers and + the study of botany, and some very valuable specimens of natural history in the + British museum are said to have been of his procuring.</p> + <div class="subchap">LIBRARIES. + </div> + <p>Collections of books were a great means of providing knowledge and contributing to + amusement in the isolated northern trading posts.</p> + <p>The Red River library had its headquarters in St. Andrew's parish, and was for + circulation in the Red River Settlement. It seems to have been chiefly maintained by + donations of books by retired Hudson's Bay Company officers and other settlers. The + Council of Assiniboia once gave a donation of £50 sterling for the purchase of + books to be added to the library. There was one characteristic of this library that + it contained in its catalogue very few works of fiction.<span class ="pagenum">269</span><a name="Page_269" id="Page_269"></a> </p> + <div class="subchap">LITERARY CLUBS. + </div> + <p>In addition to libraries we find that at a later date in the history of the + Settlement, literary clubs were formed. Bishop Anderson and his sister, who arrived + in Red River in 1849, were instrumental in forming a reading club for mutual + improvement, for which the leading magazines were ordered.</p> + <div class="subchap">EDUCATION. + </div> + <p>But we must now speak of more decided organization for the promotion of culture in + Red River. The Selkirk settlers had now (1821) gained a footing in the land and the + banks of the Red River had become the paradise of retired officers of the fur-trading + companies. Happy families were growing up in the homes of the Settlement and + education was necessary. A settled community made it possible for the churches and + church societies in the homeland to do Christian work, both among the Indians and the + white people, and to these institutions the Settlement was indebted for the first + educational efforts made.</p> + <div class="subchap">COMMON SCHOOLS. + </div> + <p>The Rev. John West, the first Episcopal missionary who arrived, in 1820, and his + successors, the Rev. David Jones and Archdeacon Cochrane, as far as they could, + organized common<span class ="pagenum">270</span><a name="Page_270" id="Page_270"></a> schools on the + parochial system. A visitor to the Settlement in 1854, John Ryerson, says that there + were then eight common schools in the country—five of them wholly, or in part, + supported by the Church Missionary Society, two of them depending on the bishop's + individual bounty, and one only, that attached to the Presbyterian congregation, + depending on the fees of the pupils for support. The Governor and Council of + Assiniboia had, a few years before made an appropriation of £130 sterling in + aid of public schools. The Hudson's Bay Company may be said to have given aid to + these schools indirectly by making an annual grant to each missionary of an amount + varying according to circumstances from £150 to £50 sterling. The + Catholics had similar schools for the French population along the banks of the Red + and Assiniboine rivers, and the writer already quoted says that there were seminaries + at St. Boniface, one for boys and one for girls, under the Grey Nuns from + Montreal.</p> + <p>Bishop Anderson, the first bishop of Rupert's Land, was not specially an + educationalist. He turned his attention more to the evangelical work of the church. + Bishop Machray, who came to the country in 1865, has, on the contrary, whilst not + neglecting the duties of a bishop of the church of Christ, always given great + attention to education, and the country is greatly in<span class ="pagenum">271</span><a name="Page_271" id="Page_271"></a>debted to him for the foundations laid. It was his + endeavor after entering on his bishopric to have a parish school wherever there was a + missionary of the Church of England, and in the year 1869 there were 16 schools of + this kind in the different parishes of Rupert's Land. This is bringing us very near + the time of the transfer when our public school system was inaugurated.</p> + <p>Mrs. Jones, the wife of Rev. David Jones, the missionary of Red River, joined her + husband in 1829. She very soon saw the need there was for a boarding and day school + for the sons and daughters of Hudson's Bay Company factors and other settlers in the + Northwest. A school of this kind was opened and in addition to the mission work in + which she assisted her husband, Mrs. Jones devoted herself to the training of the + young people committed to her charge until her death, which occurred somewhat + suddenly in 1836. Mr. and Mrs. Jones were assisted by a governess and tutor from + England and the Church Missionary Society gave financial assistance.</p> + <p>Mr. John Macallum, who was afterwards ordained at Red River, arrived from England + in 1836, as assistant to Mr. Jones. He took charge of the school for young ladies and + also the classical school for the sons of Hudson's Bay factors and traders. He was + assisted by Mrs. Macallum and also had teachers brought out from<span class ="pagenum">272</span><a name="Page_272" id="Page_272"></a> England. He had two daughters who were pupils in + the school, one of whom still survives in British Columbia.</p> + <p>One of the Red River ladies who attended that school when a very little girl says + that the building occupied by it stood near the site of Dean O'Meara's present + residence. The enclosure took in the pretty ravine formed by a creek in the + neighborhood—the ravine that is now bridged by one of our public streets. It + consisted of two large wings, one for the boys and one for the girls, joined together + by a dining hall used by the boys. There were also two pretty gardens in which the + boys and girls could disport themselves separately. The large trees that surrounded + the building have long since disappeared. The young girl spoken of as a pupil seems + to have had her youthful mind captivated by the beauty of the site, and indeed + nowhere could the love of nature be better cultivated than along the bends of the Red + River near St. John's, where groves of majestic trees succeed each other, where the + wild flowers flourish in the sheltered nooks and the fire-flies glance among the + greenery at the close of day and where for sound we have the whip-poor-will lashing + the woods as if impatient of the silence.</p> + <p>Among other schools was one commenced in the early thirties by Mr. John Pritchard, + at one<span class ="pagenum">273</span><a name="Page_273" id="Page_273"></a> time agent of Lord + Selkirk, at a place called "The Elms," on the east side of Red River, opposite + Kildonan Church. Mr. Pritchard was entrusted with the education of the sons of + gentlemen sent all the way from British Columbia and from Washington and Oregon + territories, besides a number belonging to prominent families of Red River and the + Northwest. The Governor and Council of the Hudson's Bay Company granted to Mr. + Pritchard a life annuity of £20 on account of his services in the interests of + religion and education.</p> + <p>On coming to the diocese in 1865 Bishop Machray reorganized the boys' classical + school, and it was opened as a high school in 1866. The bishop gave instruction in a + number of branches himself, paying special attention to mathematics. Archdeacon + McLean had charge of classics and the Rev. Samuel Pritchard conducted the English + branches in what was now called St. John's College.</p> + <p>In connection with the parish school of Kildonan the Rev. John Black, who was, as + we all know, a scholarly man, gave instructions in classics to a number of young men, + who were thus enabled to take their places in Toronto University and in Knox College, + Toronto.</p> + <p>In addition to these schools, Mr. Gunn, of St. Andrew's, afterwards Hon. Donald + Gunn, had for a time a commercial school at his<span class ="pagenum">274</span><a name="Page_274" id="Page_274"> + </a> home for the sons of Hudson's Bay Company factors and traders, so + that they might be fitted for the company's business in which they were to succeed + their fathers.</p> + <div class="subchap">GIRLS' SCHOOLS. + </div> + <p>From the death of Mr. Macallum, 1849, there was a vacancy in the school for girls + until 1851, when Mrs. Mills and her two daughters came from England to assume its + charge. A new building was erected for this school a little further down the river to + which was given the name of St. Cross. This was the same building enlarged with which + we were familiar a few years ago as St. John's Boys' College, and which has lately + been taken down. Mrs. Mills is said to have been very thorough in her instruction and + management. The young ladies were trained in all the social etiquette of the day in + addition to the more solid education imparted. Miss Mills assisted her mother with + the music and modern languages. Miss Harriet Mills, being younger, was more of a + companion to the girls, and accompanied them on walks, in winter on the frozen river, + in summer towards the plain, and unless her maturer years belie the record of her + girlhood we may imagine she was a very lively and agreeable companion. In addition to + her regular school duties Mrs. Mills had a class for girls who were beyond school +<span class ="pagenum">275</span><a name="Page_275" id="Page_275"></a> age. She also gave assistance + in Sunday school work.</p> + <p>The pianos used in these school had to be brought by sea, river and portage by way + of Hudson Bay; one of them is still in possession of Miss Lewis, St. James. The + teachers from England had to traverse the same somewhat discouraging route in coming + into the Settlement. Miss Mills, who came alone a little later than her mother and + sister, traveled from York Factory under the care of Mr. Thomas Sinclair. She always + manifested the highest appreciation of his kindness to her during the way, making his + men cut down and pile up branches around her to protect her from the cold when his + party had to camp out for the night.<span class ="pagenum">276</span><a name="Page_276" id="Page_276"> + </a> </p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXV" id="CHAPTER_XXV"></a>CHAPTER XXV.</h2> + <div class="subchap">EDEN INVADED. + </div> + <p>The conception of Red River Settlement being an Idyllic Paradise was not confined + to the writer, whose picture we have described as "Apples of Gold." It was a + self-contained spot, distant from St. Anthony Falls (now Minneapolis) some four or + five hundred miles, and this was its nearest neighbor of importance. Our astronomers + thus describe it as an orb in space, and the celebrated Milton and Cheadle Expedition + of 1862 looked upon it as an "oasis." It was often represented as being enclosed + behind the Chinese wall of Hudson's Bay Company exclusiveness, and thus as hopelessly + retired. The writer remembers well, when entering Manitoba, in the year after it + ceased to be Red River Settlement, as he called upon the pioneer of his faith, who, + for twenty years, had held his post, the old man said, when youthful plans of + progress were being advanced to him, oh, rest! rest! there are creatures that prefer + lying quietly at the bottom of the pool rather than to be always plunging through the +<span class ="pagenum">277</span><a name="Page_277" id="Page_277"></a> troublous waters. Certainly, to + the old people, there was a feeling of freedom from care, as of its being a + lotus-eater's land—an Utopia; an Eden, before sin entered, and before "man's + disobedience brought death into the world and all our woe."</p> + <p>We are not disposed to press Milton's metaphor any further in regard to the + disturbers who came in upon Frank Larned's peaceful scene.</p> + <p>The time for opening up Rupert's Land was approaching. The agitation of the people + themselves, the constant petitions to Great Britain and Canada called for it. The set + time had come; 1857 was a red letter year in this advance. In that year the British + Parliament appointed a large and powerful committee to investigate all phases of + Rupert's Land, its history; government; geological, climatic, physical, agricultural, + social, and religious conditions. The blue book of that year is a marvel of + intelligent work. In this same year the British Government sent out the + Palliser-Hector Expedition to Rupert's Land to obtain expert evidence in regard to + all these points being considered by the Parliamentary Committee. Also in this year + the Canadian Government dispatched the Dawson-Hind Expedition to obtain detailed + information as to the physical and soil conditions of the prairie region, +<span class ="pagenum">278</span><a name="Page_278" id="Page_278"></a> and it is said that the report + of this party of explorers is one of the most accurate, sane, and useful accounts + ever given of this prairie country.</p> + <p>With all this attention being paid to the country and with the press of Canada + awakened to see the possibility of extending Canada in this direction, it is not to + be wondered at, that adventurous spirits found out this Eden and sought in it for the + tree of life, perchance often finding in it the tree of evil as well as that of + good.</p> + <p>Of course, to the modern philosopher the disturbances of these peaceful seats is + simply the symptom of progress and the struggle that is bound to take place in all + development.</p> + <p>But to the Hudson's Bay Company pessimist, or to the grey-headed sage, the + greatest disturbers of this Eden were two Englishmen, Messrs. Buckingham and + Coldwell, who, in 1859, entered Red River Colony, and established that organ for good + or evil, the newspaper. This first paper was called "The Nor'-Wester." It is amusing + to read the comments upon its entrance made by Hudson's Bay Company writers, both + English and French. The constitution and conduct of the Council of Assiniboia was + certainly the weak point in the Hudson's Bay regime, and the Nor'-Wester kept this + point so constantly before the people<span class ="pagenum">279</span><a name="Page_279" id="Page_279"> + </a> that it was really a thorn in the side of the Company. The + Nor'-Wester, itself, was surely not free from troubles. The Red River Community was + very small, so that it could not very well supply a constituency. Comparatively few + of the people could read, many felt no need of newspapers, and the Company certainly + did not encourage its distribution. It would have been a subject of constant + amusement had the Nor'-Wester been in operation in the days of Judge Thom and his + policy of repression. Mr. Buckingham did not remain long in Red River Settlement. Mr. + Coldwell became the dean of newspaperdom in the Canadian West. The great antagonist + of the Hudson's Bay Company, Dr. John Schultz, a Western Canadian, came to the + Settlement in the same year as The Nor'-Wester—a medical man, he became also a + merchant, a land-owner, a politician, and in this last sphere held many offices. At + times he succeeded in controlling The Nor'-Wester, at other times the Hudson's Bay + Company were able to direct The Nor'-Wester policy; sometimes Mr. James Ross, son of + Sheriff Alexander Ross, was in control, but it may be said that in general its policy + was hostile to that of the Company. About this time of beginnings came along a number + of Americans, or Canadians, who had been in the United States, and these congregated + in the little village, which began to<span class ="pagenum">280</span><a name="Page_280" id="Page_280"> + </a> form at what is now the junction of Main Street and Portage Avenue, + in Winnipeg. Certain Canadians in St. Paul, such as Messrs. N.W. Kittson, and J.J. + Hill, began at this time to take an interest in the trade of Red River Settlement, + and to speak of communication between the Settlement and the outside world. The + demand for transport led a company to bring in a steamer, the Anson Northrup, + afterwards called "The Pioneer," to break the Red River solitude with her scream. The + steamer International was built to run on the river in 1862, and thus the Hudson's + Bay Company was unwittingly joining with The Nor'-Wester in opening up the country to + the world, and sounding the death-knell of the Company's hopes of maintaining + supremacy in Rupert's land.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/illus_big_299.jpg" ><img class="figcenterw" + src="images/illus_299.jpg" alt="The Anson Northrup" title="" /></a><br /> + <span class="caption">THE ANSON NORTHRUP<br /> + The machinery was brought from the Mississippi to the Red River. The name was + changed to Pioneer in 1860. "International," larger boat of similar pattern was + built by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1861. These steamers were run on the Red + River.</span> + </div> + <p>Until this time of arrivals there had been no village of Winnipeg. The first + building back from the McDermott, Ross and Logan buildings on the bank of Red River, + was on the corner of Main and Portage Avenue. Here gathered those, who may be spoken + of as free traders, being rivals of the Hudson's Bay Company Store at Fort Garry. + Another village began a few years after at Point Douglas on Main Street, near the + Canadian Pacific Railway Station of to-day, while at St. John's, on Main Street, was + another nucleus. These were in existence when the old order passed away +<span class ="pagenum">282</span><a name="Page_282" id="Page_282"></a> in 1870, but they are all absorbed into the City of + Winnipeg of to-day. The Hudson's Bay Company, while long attached to its ancient + customs, brought over from the seventeenth century, has fully and heartily adopted + the new order of things. Glorying in the old, it has embraced the new, and has become + thoroughly modern in all its enterprises. It has been a safe and solvent institution + in its whole history. That it has been able to do this is no doubt, largely due to + the enterprise and modern spirit of its great London Governor, who for years watched + over its time of transition in Winnipeg—Donald A. Smith—Lord Strathcona + of to-day.</p> + <p>When the regime of the Hudson's Bay Company is recalled old timers delight to + think of a figure of that time who was an embodiment of the life of the Red River + Settlement from its beginning nearly to its end. This was William Robert Smith, a + blue-coat boy from London, who came out in the Company's service in 1813, served for + a number of years as a clerk, and settled down in Lower Fort Garry District in 1824. + Farming, teaching, catechising for the church, acting precentor, a local + encyclopædia and collector of customs, he passed his versatile life, till in + the year before the Sayer affair, 1848, he became clerk of Court, which place, with + slight interruption, he held for twenty<span class ="pagenum">283</span><a name="Page_283" id="Page_283"> + </a> years. One who knew him says: "From his long residence in the + Settlement, he has seen Governors, Judges, Bishops, and Clergymen, not to mention + such birds of passage as the Company's local officers, come and go, himself remaining + to record their doings to their successors."<span class ="pagenum">284</span><a name="Page_284" id="Page_284"> + </a></p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVI" id="CHAPTER_XXVI"></a>CHAPTER XXVI.</h2> + <div class="subchap">RIEL'S RISING. + </div> + <p>The agitation for freedom which we have described in Red River Settlement, and the + efforts of Canada to introduce Rupert's Land into the newly-formed Dominion of Canada + had, after much effort, and the overcoming of many hindrances, resulted in the + British Government agreeing to transfer this Western territory to Canada, and in the + Hudson's Bay Company accepting a subsidy in full payment of their claim to the + country. This payment was to be paid by Canada. Somewhat careless of the feelings of + the Hudson's Bay Company officers, and also of the views of the old settlers of the + Colony—especially of the French-speaking section—the Dominion Government + sent a reckless body of men to survey the lands near the French settlements and to + rouse animosity in the minds of the Metis.</p> + <p>Now came the Riel Rising.</p> + <div class="poem"><p>Five causes may be stated as leading up to it.</p> + <p> 1. The weakness of the Government of Assiniboia and the sickness and helplessness + of Governor McTavish, whose duty it was to act.<span class ="pagenum">285</span><a name="Page_285" id="Page_285"> + </a> </p> + <p> 2. The rebellious character of the Metis, now irritated anew by the actions of the + surveyors.</p> + <p> 3. The inexplicable blundering and neglect of the Dominion Government at + Ottawa.</p> + <p> 4. A dangerous element in the United States, and especially on the borders of + Minnesota inciting and supporting a disloyal band of Americans in Pembina and + Winnipeg.</p> + <p> 5. A cunning plot to keep Governor McTavish from acting as he should have done, + and to incite the Metis under Riel to open revolt.</p></div> + <p>The drama opened with the appointment of Hon. William McDougall as + Lieutenant-Governor of the Northwest Territories in September, 1869, and his arrival + at Pembina in October. Mr. McDougall was to be appointed Governor by the Dominion + Government as soon as the transfer to Canada of Rupert's Land could be made. + McDougall, on his arrival at the boundary of Minnesota, was served with a notice by + the French half-breeds, not to enter the Territories.</p> + <p>Meanwhile, Louis Riel, son of the old miller of the Seine, and a true son of his + father—but vain and assertive, having the ambition to be a Cæsar or + Napoleon, took the lead. He succeeded in October in getting a few of the Metis +<span class ="pagenum">286</span><a name="Page_286" id="Page_286"></a> to seize the highway at St. + Norbert, some nine miles south of Fort Garry, and in the true style of a Paris + revolt, erected a barricade or barrier to stop all passers-by. It was here that + Governor McTavish failed. He was immediately informed of this illegal act, but did + nothing. Hearing of the obstacle on the highway, two of McDougall's officers came on + towards Fort Garry, and finding the obstruction, one of them gave command, "Remove + that blawsted fence," but the half-breeds refused to obey. The half-breeds seized the + mails and all freight coming along the road coming into the country.</p> + <div class="subchap">THE SCENE SHIFTS TO FORT GARRY. + </div> + <p>It is rumored that Riel was thinking of seizing Fort Garry; an affidavit of the + Chief of Police under the Dominion shows that he urged the master of Fort Garry to + meet the danger, and asked leave to call out special police to protect the Fort, but + no Governor spoke; no one even closed the gate of the Fort as a precaution; its gates + stood wide open to its enemies who seemed to be the friends of its officers.</p> + <p>On November 2nd Riel and a hundred of his Metis followers took possession of Fort + Garry, and without opposition.</p> + <p>Riel now issued a proclamation with the air of Dictator or Deliverer, calling on + the English parishes to elect twelve representatives to meet<span class ="pagenum">287</span><a name="Page_287" id="Page_287"></a> the President and representatives of the + French-speaking population. He likewise summoned them to assemble in twelve days.</p> + <p>McDougall, prospective Governor, on hearing of these things, wrote to Governor + McTavish, calling on him to make proclamation that the rebels should disperse, and a + number of the loyal inhabitants made the same request. The sick and helpless Governor + fourteen days after the seizure of the Fort, and twenty-three days after the date of + the affidavit of the rising, issued a tardy proclamation, condemning the rebels and + calling upon them to disperse.</p> + <p>The convention summoned by Riel, met on November 16th, the English parishes having + been induced to choose delegates. The convention at this meeting could reach no + result and agreed to adjourn to December 1st. The English members saw plainly that + Riel wished the formation of a provisional government, of which he should be + head.</p> + <p>At the adjourned meeting, Riel and his fellows insisted on ruling the meeting and + passed a bill of rights of fifteen clauses. The English representatives refused to + accept the bill of rights, and after vainly trying to make arrangements for the + entrance to the country of Governor McDougall, returned home, ashamed and + discouraged.</p> + <p>Turn now to the condition of things in Pem<span class ="pagenum">288</span><a name="Page_288" id="Page_288"></a>bina, from which prospective Governor McDougall is all this while + viewing the promised land. He and his family are badly housed in Pembina, and he is + of a haughty and imperious disposition.</p> + <p>December 1st was the day on which the transfer being made of the country to + Canada, his proclamation as Governor would come into force. But it so happened on + account of the breaking out of Riel's revolt, the transfer had not been made.</p> + <p>Now came about a thing utterly inexplicable, that Mr. McDougall, a lawyer, a privy + councillor, and an experienced parliamentarian, should, on a mere supposition, issue + his proclamation as Governor. Riel was aware of all the steps being taken by the + Government, and so he and the Metis laughed at the proclamation. McDougall was an + object of pity to his Loyalist friends, and he became a laughing stock for the whole + world.</p> + <p>His proclamation, authorizing Col. Dennis to raise a force in the settlement to + oppose Riel, was of no value, and prevented Col. Dennis from obtaining a loyal force + of any strength, which under ordinary circumstances he would have done.</p> + <p>As all Canada looked at it, the whole thing was a miserable fiasco.</p> + <p>The illegality of McDougall's proclamation<span class ="pagenum">289</span><a name="Page_289" id="Page_289"> + </a> left the loyal Canadians in Winnipeg in a most awkward situation. + One hundred of them had arms in their hands, and they were naturally looked upon by + Riel as dangerous, and as his enemies.</p> + <p>Riel now acted most deceitfully to them. He promised them their freedom, and that + he would negotiate with McDougall and try to settle the whole matter.</p> + <p>On the 7th of December the Canadians surrendered, but with some of them in the + Fort and others in the prison outside the wall, where the Sayer episode had taken + place, Riel coolly broke his truce, while the Metis celebrated their early victory by + numerous potations of rum, from the Hudson's Bay Company Stores, and, of course at + the Company's expense.</p> + <p>Encouraged by his victory and the possession of his prisoners, Riel, now in + Napoleonic fashion, issued a proclamation which it is said was written for him by a + petty American lawyer at Pembina, who was hostile to Britain and Canada.</p> + <p>An evidence of Riel's disloyalty and want of sense was shown by his superseding + the Union Jack and hoisting in its place a new flag—not even the French + tri-color, but one with a fleur-de-lis and shamrocks upon it, no doubt the flag of + the old French regime with additions. He also took possession of Hud<span class ="pagenum">290</span><a name="Page_290" id="Page_290"></a>son's Bay Company funds with + the coolness of a buccaneer, and his manner in refusing personal liberty to people + whom he dared not arrest was overbearing and impertinent.</p> + <p>The inaccessibility of Red River Settlement in winter added much to the anxiety. + No telegraphic connection nearer than St. Paul, some four or five hundred miles, was + possible, even the regular conveyance of the mails could not be relied on. Meanwhile + the Canadian people were in a state of the greatest excitement, and the Government at + Ottawa, well-knowing its mismanagement of the whole affair, was in desperate straits. + To make the situation more serious the only man who could deal with Riel and could + remedy the situation, Bishop Tache, of St. Boniface, was absent at the great conclave + of that year in Rome. The more intelligent French people had no confidence in the + sanity and reasonableness of Riel. He was to them as great a puzzle as he was to the + English. It was a gloomy Christmas time in Red River, and the gloom was increased by + the suspense of not knowing what the Government at Ottawa would do in the + circumstances.<span class ="pagenum">291</span><a name="Page_291" id="Page_291"></a></p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVII" id="CHAPTER_XXVII"></a>CHAPTER XXVII.</h2> + <div class="subchap">LORD STRATHCONA'S HAND. + </div> + <p>On Christmas Day, 1870, John Bruce, who was but a figurehead, resigned his office + of President of the so-called Provisional Government of Red River Settlement, and the + ambitious Louis Riel was chosen in his stead. The Dominion Government had at length, + been awakened to the danger. Divided counsels still prevailed. Two Commissioners, + Grand Vicar Thibault and Col. De Salaberry, arrived at Fort Garry, but they were + safely quartered at the Bishop's palace at St. Boniface, and as they professed to + have no authority, Riel cavalierly set them aside. At this time the American element + in the hamlet of Winnipeg became very offensive. Riel's official organ, "The New + Nation," was edited by an American, Major Robinson. This journal was filled with + articles having such head-lines as "Confederation," "The British-American Provinces," + "Proposed Annexation to the United States," etc., etc. Or, again, "Annexation," + "British Columbia Defying the Dominion," "Annexation our Mani<span class ="pagenum">292</span><a name="Page_292" id="Page_292"></a>fest Destiny." All this was very disagreeable to + the English-speaking people, and highly compromising to Riel.</p> + <p>But the real negociator was at hand, and he not only had the authority to speak + for Canada, but had Scottish prudence and diplomacy, as well as real influence in the + country, from holding the highest position in Canada of any of the officers of the + Hudson's Bay Company. This chief factor was Donald A. Smith, whom we have since + learned to know so well as Lord Strathcona. He, with his secretary, Hardisty, arrived + on December 27th, and went immediately to Fort Garry. Riel demanded of Mr. Smith, the + object of his visit, but received no satisfaction. On being asked for his + credentials, Mr. Smith replied that he had left them at Pembina. Being a high + Hudson's Bay Company officer, he was quartered in Government House, Fort Garry. The + larger portion of the building was occupied by Governor McTavish, the smaller or + official portion became the Commissioner's apartments. Here he was able to observe + events, meet a number of the old settlers, and obtain his information at first hand. + On the 15th of January Riel again demanded the Commissioner's papers; he, indeed, + offered to send to Pembina for them, but Mr. Smith declined the offer. In the + meantime the Commissioner had learned that the Dauphinais Settlement, ly<span class ="pagenum">293</span><a name="Page_293" id="Page_293"></a>ing between Pembina and Fort Garry was loyal. Accordingly, with a + guard, Hardisty started to bring the papers. Riel learned of this, and taking a body + guard with him, went to the Dauphinais house, intending to seize the credentials. + Hardisty arrived with his precious documents. Meanwhile, the Loyalists had made + Riel's men prisoners, and when Riel attempted to interfere, Pierre Laveiller, a loyal + French half-breed, put his loaded pistol to the Dictator's head, and threatened his + life. Sixty or seventy of the Loyalists escorted Hardisty and his papers to Mr. Smith + in Fort Garry.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/illus_big_311.jpg" ><img class="figcenterw" + src="images/illus_311.jpg" alt="FORT GARRY PARK, WINNIPEG" title="" /></a> + <div class="caption"><table class="figcenterw" summary="husky image desc."><tr><td>Train of Huskie + Dogs</td><td align="center">Fort Garry, north + gate </td></tr> + <tr><td> </td><td align="right">(Governor's entrance still standing)<br /> + Toboggan with Hudson Bay trader</td></tr> + <tr><td colspan="2" align="center">IN FORT GARRY PARK, WINNIPEG</td></tr> + <tr><td align="left">Permission Steele & Co., Winnipeg</td><td> </td></tr></table></div> + </div> + <p>Now in possession of his documents, the Commissioner called a general meeting of + the people for January 19th, and one thousand men appeared on that day in the Court + Yard of the Fort. As there was no building in which they could assemble, the meeting + was held in the open air, with the temperature 20° below zero. The people stood + for hours and listened to the proceedings. Commissioner Smith then read the letter of + his appointment, and also a letter from the Governor-General, which announced to the + people that the Imperial Government would see that "perfect good faith would be kept + with the inhabitants of the Red River and the Northwest." The Commissioner then + demanded that Vicar Thibault's commission, which Riel had seized should be read. Riel + re<span class ="pagenum">294</span><a name="Page_294" id="Page_294"></a>fused it, but Mr. Smith stood + firm. At length the Queen's message to the people was proclaimed. One John Burke then + demanded that the prisoners be released and a promise was given. On the second day + the people again assembled, and Mr. Smith then read authoritative letters, one from + the Governor-General to Governor McTavish, and another to Mr. McDougall. It was then + moved by Riel, seconded by Mr. Bannatyre, and carried unanimously, that twenty + representatives should be elected by the English Parishes and twenty by the French, + and that these should meet on January 25th to consider the subjects of Commissioner + Smith's communications, and decide what was best for the welfare of the country. + Speeches were made by the Bishop of Rupert's Land, and Father Richot and Riel closed + the meeting by saying: "I came here with fear ... we are not enemies—but we + came very near being so.... we all have rights. We claim no half rights, mind you, + but all the rights we are entitled to."</p> + <p>Begg, an eye-witness, says: "Immediately after the meeting the utmost good feeling + prevailed. French and English shook hands, and for the first time in many months a + spirit of unity between the two classes of settlers appeared. The elections took + place in due time, but in Winnipeg Mr. Bannatyne, the best citizen of the place, was + beaten by Mr. A.H. Scott,<span class ="pagenum">295</span><a name="Page_295" id="Page_295"></a> and + the greatest annoyance was felt at this by the better citizens on account of his + being an American, and because of the 'New Nation' continuing to advocate + annexation."</p> + <p>On the 25th of January the forty delegates assembled. Much excitement had been + caused at this time among the French by the escape of Dr. Schultz, their great + opponent. Commissioner Smith addressed the Convention. Riel wished him to accept the + original Bill of Rights, but Mr. Smith refused to do this. A proposal was then + brought up by the French Deputies that the proposal made by the Imperial Government + to the Hudson's Bay Company to take over their lands be null and void. This was voted + down by 22 to 17. Riel rose in rage and said: "The devil take it; we must win. The + vote may go as it likes, but the motion must be carried." Riel raged like a madman. + That night, in his fury, he went to the bedside of Governor McTavish, sick as he was, + and it is said, threatened to have him shot at once. Dr. Cowan, the master of the + fort, was arrested, and so was Mr. Bannatyne, the chief merchant, as well as Charles + Nolan, a loyal French delegate.</p> + <p>On the 7th of February the delegates again met, and at this meeting Commissioner + Smith, having the power given him by the Dominion Government, invited the Convention + to send<span class ="pagenum">296</span><a name="Page_296" id="Page_296"></a> delegates to Canada to + meet the Government at Ottawa. Two English delegates, Messrs. Sutherland and Fraser, + not quite sure on this point, visited Governor McTavish for his advise. "Form a + Government, for God's sake," said the Governor, "and restore peace and order in the + Settlement." Being asked, if in such case, he would delegate his authority to anyone, + he hastily replied, "I am dying, I will not delegate my authority to anyone."</p> + <p>The Convention then proceeded to elect a provisional government. Most of the + officers were English, they being better educated and more prominent than the French + members. But when it came to the election of a President, to their disgust Riel was + chosen. Immediately after this, Governor McTavish, Dr. Cowan, and Mr. Bannatyne were + released as prisoners, but Commissioner Smith was a virtual prisoner in his quarters + in the fort, though his influence was still felt at every turn.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/illus_big_317.jpg" ><img class="figcenterh" + src="images/illus_317.jpg" alt="Lord Strathcona and Mount Royal." title="" /> + </a><br /> + <span class="caption">LORD STRATHCONA AND MOUNT ROYAL.<br /> + Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company</span> + </div> + <p>Among the earliest acts of the new provisional government was on February 11th, + the confiscation of Dr. Schultz's property, and of the office of The Norwester + newspaper. The type of The Norwester was said to have been melted into bar lead and + bullets. Judge Black, Father Richot, and A.H. Scott were chosen as delegates to + Ottawa, though the appointment of the last of these, the "American delegate," +<span class ="pagenum">297</span><a name="Page_297" id="Page_297"></a> was very distasteful to the English-speaking people. The success of + Riel led him to dismiss about a quarter of the prisoners in Fort Garry. The fact that + he seemed to hold the remainder as hostages stirred up the English people living + along the Assiniboine.</p> + <p>What is usually called the "Portage la Prairie" Expedition was now organized, to + secure the release of the remaining prisoners. A body, varying from sixty to one + hundred, marched down to Headingly, and were there joined by a number of + English-speaking Canadians and others. They then pushed on to Kildonan Church, where + they were increased by a number of English half-breeds from St. Andrew's and + adjoining parishes. The proposal was to attack the fort and set free the prisoners. + Alarmed at the movement, Riel released all the prisoners in the fort. Their object + being gained, the men of the Kildonan Church camp, who had grown to be six hundred + strong, dissolved, and were proceeding to their homes, when Riel, by an unheard of + act of treachery, arrested some fifty of the Assiniboine party. Among them was Major + Boulton, a former officer of the 100th Regiment. Riel again sought out a victim for + revenge, and intended to execute this prominent man. It was only on the persistent + request of Commissioner Smith and the urgency of Mrs. John Sutherland, whose +<span class ="pagenum">298</span><a name="Page_298" id="Page_298"></a> son had been killed by an + escaping French prisoner at the Kildonan Church camp, that Boulton's life was + spared.</p> + <p>Riel, however, seemed to feel that power was slipping from his hands. He was + criticised on all hands for his treachery and for his arrogance. It is said his + followers were dropping off from him, notwithstanding the luxurious lives they had + been living on the Company's supplies in Fort Garry.</p> + <p>He determined, though with a divided Council, to make an example, and despite the + solicitations of Commissioner Smith, the Rev. George Young, and others, publicly + executed, on the 4th of March, outside of Fort Garry, a young Irish-Canadian named + Thomas Scott. It was a cold-blooded, cruelly-executed and revolting scene—it + was the act of a mad man.</p> + <p>"Whom the Gods destroy they first make mad." The execution of Scott was the + death-knell of Riel's hopes as a ruler. Canada was roused to its centre. Determined + to have no further communication with Riel, and feeling that he had done all that he + could do, Commissioner Smith, on the 18th of March, returned to Canada. On the 8th of + March, Bishop Tache returned from Rome. A few days after Chief Factor Smith's + departure, he was followed to Canada by Father Richot and Mr. Scott, and they shortly + after by Judge Black, accompan<span class ="pagenum">299</span><a name="Page_299" id="Page_299"></a>ied by Major Button. The conflict of opinion was transferred to + Ottawa, and the act constituting the Province of Manitoba was passed. +<span class ="pagenum">300</span><a name="Page_300" id="Page_300"></a></p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXVIII" id="CHAPTER_XXVIII"></a>CHAPTER XXVIII.</h2> + <div class="subchap">WOLSELEY'S WELCOME. + </div> + <p>Canada's military experience, ever since the excitement of the "Trent Affair," had + been in dealing with a persistent band of Irishmen, posing as Fenians, and egged on + by sympathizers in the United States. Now there was trouble, as we have seen, in her + own borders, and though here again, American influence of a hostile nature played its + part, yet it was those connected with one of the two races in Canada who were now + giving trouble in the Northwestern prairies. Such an outbreak was more dangerous than + Fenianism, for to the credit of the Irish in Canada, it should be said that they gave + no countenance to the Fenian intruders. The French people in Quebec, however, had + strong sympathies for their race in the Red River Settlement. No one in Canada + believed that any injustice could be done to either the English or French elements on + the banks of Red River, but Sir George Cartier fought strongly for his own, and was + very unwilling to allow an expedition to go out to Manitoba with hostile intent. Of +<span class ="pagenum">301</span><a name="Page_301" id="Page_301"></a> the two battalions of + volunteers that went out to Red River, one was from Quebec, but one military + authority states that there were not fifty French-Canadians all told in the Quebec + battalion. It had been proposed that Col. Wolseley, who was to command the Red River + Expedition, should be appointed Governor of the new province of Manitoba, but this + was sturdily opposed by the French-Canadian section of the Cabinet, and Hon. Adams G. + Archibald, a Nova Scotian, was appointed to the post of Governor. + Hampered thus, in so far as exercising any civil functions were concerned, Col. + Garnet Wolseley was chosen by the British officer in command in Canada—General + Lindsay—to organize this expedition. Wolseley was very popular, having served + in Burmah, India, the Crimea and China.<span class ="pagenum">302</span><a name="Page_302" id="Page_302"> + </a> The Ontario battalion soon had to refuse applications, and from + Ontario the complement of the Quebec battalion was filled up. It was decided also + that a battalion of regulars, with small bodies of artillery and engineers should + take the lead in the expedition. Thus, a force of 1,200 men was speedily gathered + together and put at the disposal of Colonel Wolseley. Two hundred boats, each some 25 + to 30 feet long, carrying four tons as well as fourteen men as a crew, were built; + the voyageurs numbered some four hundred men. No sooner did the Fenians in the United + States hear of this expedition than they threatened Lower Canada, and spoke of + interrupting the troops as they passed Sault Ste. Marie. The United States also + refused to allow soldiers or munitions of war to pass up their Sault Canal. The + rallying began in May, and though the troops were compelled to debark themselves and + their stores at Sault Ste. Marie, portage them around the Sault and replace them in + the steamers again, yet all the troops were landed at Port Arthur on Lake Superior by + the 21st of June, their officers declaring "our mission is one of peace, and the sole + object of it is to secure Her Majesty's Sovereign authority." Some time was lost in + endeavoring to use land carriage up from Port Arthur as far as Lake Shebandowan. The + difficulties were so great that the scouts were led<span class ="pagenum">303</span><a name="Page_303" id="Page_303"></a> to find another route for the boats up the + Kaministiquia River. In this they were successful; in all this worry from mosquitoes, + black flies and deer flies in millions, the troops preserved their good temper, and + Col. Wolseley said, "I have never been with any body of men in the field so well fed + as this has been." (July 10th.) The real start of the expedition was from Lake + Shebandowan. The three brigades of boats—A. B. and C.—seventeen in all, + got off from Shebandowan shore on the evening of July 16th; by the 4th of August + Rainy River was reached, and at Fort Frances Colonel Wolseley met Captain Butler, who + had acted as intelligence officer, having adroitly passed under Riel's shadow, and + being able now to give the news required. It was still the statement and belief of + Riel that "Wolseley would never reach Fort Garry." Crossing Lake of the Woods the + regular troops were pushed ahead, and on descending Winnipeg River they reached Fort + Alexander and Lake Winnipeg on August 20th. Here Commissioner Donald A. Smith, having + come through in a light canoe, met Colonel Wolseley. After a short delay Colonel + Wolseley's command hastened to the Red River, ascended it, and cautiously approached + Fort Garry. It was still uncertain whether Riel was to oppose the expedition or not. + The troops formed for what emergency might arise, and two small guns were +<span class ="pagenum">304</span><a name="Page_304" id="Page_304"></a> in readiness should they be required. When Fort + Garry was sighted, its guns were mounted, and everything seemed ready for defence. + The officers of the expedition, as they approached it were quite ready for a shot to + be fired from the battlements, but there was no movement, Riel, Lepine, and + O'Donoghue alone, were left of the Metis levy, and as the 60th Rifles drew near the + Fort the three were seen to escape from the river gate and to flee across the bridge + of boats on the Assiniboine River. Capt. Huyshe states that the troops took + possession of the fort with a bloodless victory, the Union Jack was hoisted, three + cheers were given for the Queen and the Riel regime was at an end. The militia + regiments arrived on the 27th of August, and two days afterwards the Imperial troops + started back to their headquarters in Ontario. Captain Buller, who afterward became + so celebrated in South Africa, took his company down the Dawson road to the northwest + angle of the Lake of the Woods, and thus returned eastward, while Colonel McNeil left + the country by way of Red River, through the United States. Shortly afterward, on + September 2nd, Lieutenant-Governor Archibald arrived by the Winnipeg River route, and + began his work.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/illus_big_326.jpg" ><img class="figcenterw" + src="images/illus_326.jpg" alt="Winnipeg in 1871" title="" /></a><br /> + <span class="caption">WINNIPEG IN 1871</span> + </div><br /> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/illus_big_323.jpg" ><img class="figcenterw" + src="images/illus_323.jpg" alt="WINNIPEG IN 1870" title="" /></a><br /> + <span class="caption">WINNIPEG IN 1870</span> + </div> + <p>The joy of all classes of the people was unbounded. The English half-breeds had + been loyal through the whole of the disturbances. Kildonan<span class ="pagenum">306</span><a name="Page_306" id="Page_306"></a> Church had been the headquarters of the Loyalists + in their attempted rally, and after the execution of Scott, the French half-breeds + had gradually dropped off from Riel, until he and his two companions formed a + helpless trio shorn of all power.<span class ="pagenum">307</span><a name="Page_307" id="Page_307"> + </a></p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXIX" id="CHAPTER_XXIX"></a>CHAPTER XXIX.</h2> + <div class="subchap">MANITOBA IN THE MAKING. + </div> + <p>Close in the wake of Wolseley's Expedition, there arrived on the 2nd of September, + Adams G. Archibald, the newly-appointed Governor of the new Province of Manitoba. His + arrival was greeted with joy, for he was a man of high character, and of much + experience in his native Province of Nova Scotia. The two volunteer regiments, the + Quebec and Ontario battalions, were quartered for the winter, the former in Lower + Fort Garry, the latter in Fort Garry. The new Governor took up his abode in Fort + Garry, in the residence with which our story is so familiar. The organization of his + government began at once. The first Government Building stood back from the street in + Winnipeg on the corner of Main Street and McDermott Avenue East, of the present-day. + The Legislative Council—a miniature House of Lords—of seven members, was + appointed, and electoral divisions for the election of members to the Legislative + Assembly were made to the number of twenty-four—twelve French and +<span class ="pagenum">308</span><a name="Page_308" id="Page_308"></a> twelve English. The time for + the opening of Parliament was the spring of 1871. It was a notable day, for the + citizens were much interested in scrutinizing those who were to be their future + rulers. The opening passed off with eclat. During the first session certain + elementary legislation was passed including a short school act. There was yet no + division of parties, and a sufficient cabinet was chosen by the Governor. Thus, + institutions after the model of the mother of Parliaments at Westminster were evolved + and Manitoba—the successor of our Red River Settlement—had conceded to it + the right of local self-government.</p> + <p>In the year of the first parliament of Manitoba it was the fortune of the writer + to take up his abode here. Winnipeg, a village of less than three hundred inhabitants + was in that year, still four hundred miles distant from a railway. From the railway + terminus in Minnesota, the stage coach drawn by four horses with relays every twenty + miles, sped rapidly over prairies, smooth as a lawn to the site of the future city of + the plains.</p> + <p>Since that time well-nigh forty years has passed away. The stage coach, the Red + River cart, and the shaganappi pony are things of the past, and several railways with + richly furnished trains connect St. Paul and Minneapolis with the City of Winnipeg. + More import<span class ="pagenum">309</span><a name="Page_309" id="Page_309"></a>ant, the skill of + the engineer has surpassed what we then even dreamt of in his blasting of rock + cuttings and tunnels through the Archæan rocks to Fort William, and this has + been done by three main trunk lines of railway. The old amphibious route of the fur + traders and of Wolseley's Expedition has been superseded, the tremendous cliffs of + the north shore of Lake Superior have been levelled and the chasm bridged. To the + west the whole wide prairie land has been gridironed by railways all tributary to + Winnipeg, the enormous ascent of the four Rocky Mountain ranges, rising a mile above + the sea, have been crossed by the Canadian Pacific Railway. The giddy heights of the + Fraser River Canyon are traversed, and this is but the beginning, for three other + great corporations are bending their strength to pierce the passes of the Rocky + Mountains to the Pacific Ocean. We see to-day scenes more after the manner of the + Arabian Nights Entertainments than of the humble dream that Lord Selkirk dreamt one + hundred years ago.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/illus_big_332.jpg" ><img class="figcenterh" + src="images/illus_332.jpg" alt="Hon. John Norquay" title="" /></a><br /> + <span class="caption">HON. JOHN NORQUAY<br /> + A native of Red River Settlement.<br /> + Became Cabinet Minister in 1871 afterward Premier of Manitoba.</span> + </div> + <p>The towns and cities of Manitoba have sprung up on every hand where the railway + has gone and these are but the centres of business of twenty thousand farms whose + owners have come to this land, many of them empty-handed, and are now blessed with + competence and in many cases wealth. What a vindication of<span class ="pagenum">311</span><a name="Page_311" id="Page_311"></a> + Lord Selkirk's prospectus of a hundred years ago when he said: "The + soil on the Red River and the Assiniboine is generally a good soil, susceptible of + culture and capable of bearing rich crops." Lord Selkirk's dream is fulfilled, for + his land is fast becoming the grainary of the world. As the traveller of to-day + passes along the railways in the last days of August or early in September, he + beholds the sight of a life-time, in the rattling reapers, each drawn by four great + horses, turning off the golden sheaves of wheat and other cereals. A little later the + giant threshers, driven by steam power, pour forth the precious grain, which is + hurried off to the high elevators for storage, till the railways can carry it to the + markets of the world to feed earth's hungry millions. When the historian recalls the + statement that the few cattle of the early settlers had degenerated in size on + account of the climatic conditions, that the shaganappi pony could never do the work + of the stalwart Clydesdale, and that nothing could result from the straggling flock + of foot-sore and dying sheep, driven by Burke and Campbell from far-distant Missouri, + we look with astonishment at the horses now taken away by hundreds to supply with + chargers the crack cavalry regiments of the Empire, at the vast consignments of + cattle passing through Winnipeg every day to feed the hungry, and flocks of sheep + supplying wool for Eastern manufacturers to clothe the naked.<span class ="pagenum">312</span><a name="Page_312" id="Page_312"></a> </p> + <p>One of the greatest trials of the early Selkirk Settlers was to get schools + sufficient to give the children scattered along the river belt, even the three R's of + education. Kildonan parish manfully raised by subscription the means, unaided by + Government help, to give some opportunity to their children. It is a notable fact + which emerged in the great School Contention of twenty years ago in Manitoba, that + not a dollar had been given to schools as aid by the old Government of Assiniboia. + To-day the glory of Manitoba is its school system. For school buildings, school + organization, attainments of the teachers, and efficient school management, the + schools of Winnipeg are probably unsurpassed in any country, and the same is true of + many other places in the Province. Two Winnipeg schools bear the names of Selkirk and + Isbister. The University of Manitoba, with its seven affiliated colleges and twelve + hundred and forty candidates in 1909 for its several examinations has its seat at the + forks of the Red and Assiniboine Rivers, and one of the colleges is on the very lot + where Lord Selkirk stood and divided up their lands to the Colonists.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/illus_big_335.jpg" ><img class="figcenterh" + src="images/illus_335.jpg" alt="Alexander Isbister, LL.B." title="" /></a><br /> + <span class="caption">ALEXANDER ISBISTER, LL.B.<br /> + Red River Patriot and Benefactor of University of Manitoba.</span> + </div> + <p>One of the most continued and aggressive struggles which Lord Selkirk's Colonists + maintained was seen in the efforts put forth to worship God according to the dictates + of their own consciences, and after the manner of their<span class ="pagenum">313</span><a name="Page_313" id="Page_313"></a> fathers. Their perseverance which showed itself in + the erection of old Kildonan Church in the year immediately after the destructive + flood of 1852, bore fruit in succeeding years. They were always a religious people. + No one can even estimate what their religious disposition did in a +<span class ="pagenum">314</span><a name="Page_314" id="Page_314"></a> miscellaneous gathering of + people who had, being scattered over the posts of the fur traders, been in most + cases, without any religious opportunities whatever, before their coming to settle on + Red River. The sturdy stand for principle which the Selkirk Colonists made created an + atmosphere which has remained until this day. The well-nigh forty years of religious + life of Manitoba has been marked by a good understanding among the several churches, + by an energetic zeal in carrying church services in the very first year of their + settlement to hundreds of new communities. The generosity of the people in erecting + churches for themselves in maintaining among themselves their cherished beliefs, is + in striking contrast to the new settlements of the United States. In the new Western + States the religious movements fell behind the Western march of the immigrant. In the + Canadian West from the very day that old Verandrye took his priest with him, from the + time when the first Colonists brought a devout layman as their religious teacher with + them, from the hour when the stalwart Provencher came, from the era when the + self-denying West visited the Indian camps and Settlers' camp alike, from the time + when the saintly Black came as the natural leader of the Selkirk Colonists, and + during the forty years of the development of Manitoba, the foundations have been laid + in that righteousness which exalteth a nation.<span class ="pagenum">315</span><a name="Page_315" id="Page_315"> + </a> </p> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/illus_big_337.jpg" ><img class="" + src="images/illus_337.jpg" height="25%" alt="symbol" title="symbol" /></a> + </div> + <h2><a name="CHAPTER_XXX" id="CHAPTER_XXX"></a>CHAPTER XXX.</h2> + <p>How strange and wonderful is the web of destiny, which is being woven in our + national, provincial and family life, which we poor mortals are simply the individual + strands.</p> + <p>How marvellous it is to look into the seeds of time—yes, and these may be + small as mustard seeds—which are the smallest of all seeds—and see the + bursting of the husks, the peering out of the plumule, the feeding of the sprout, the + struggle through the clods, the fight with frost and hail and broiling sun, and + canker worm and blight, the growth of the strengthening stem, and then the leaf and + blossoms and fruit! We say it has survived, it becomes a great tree under whose + leaves and under whose branches the fowls of Heaven find shelter. How passing strange + it was to see the seed-thought rise in<span class ="pagenum">316</span><a name="Page_316" id="Page_316"></a> the mind of Lord Selkirk, that suffering humanity transplanted to + another environment might grow out of poverty, into happiness and content. See his + sorrow as he meets with undeserved opposition from rival traders, from slanderous + agents, from bitter articles in the press, from Government officials and even police + officers who strive to break up his immigrant parties. Recall the troubles of the + Nelson Encampment as they reach him in letters and reports. Think of the misery of + knowing thousands of miles away that his Colonists were starving, were being + imprisoned, banished, seduced from their allegiance, and in one notable case that men + of honor, education and standing to the number of twenty, were massacred, while he, + in St. Mary's Isle, in Montreal, or in Fort William, fretted his soul because he + could not reach them with deliverance.</p> + <div class="figcenter"> + <a href="images/illus_big_339.jpg" ><img class="figcenterh" + src="images/illus_339.jpg" alt="Marble Bust of Earl of Selkirk" title="" /> + </a><br /> + <span class="caption">MARBLE BUST OF EARL OF SELKIRK, THE FOUNDER<br /> + By Chantrey, obtained by author from St. Mary's Isle, Lord Selkirk's seat.</span> + </div> + <p>The world looked coldly on and said, "A visionary Scottish nobleman! a dreamer a + hundred years before his time! Is it worth while?" while he himself saw a dream of + sunshine when he visited his Colonists on Red River, when he made allocations for + their separate homes for them, when he pledged his honor and estate that the settlers + might in time be independent, and when he made religious provision for both his + Protestant and Catholic settlers, yet think of the unexampled ferocity with which he + was<span class ="pagenum">317</span><a name="Page_317" id="Page_317"></a> attacked upon his return to Upper Canada, in law suits, and illegal + processes, so that his estates became heavily encumbered, so that he went to France + to pine away and die. The world failed to see any glamour in him, and carelessly + said, what does it profit? Folly has its reward.</p> + <p>Yet the answer. Here is Manitoba to-day, it is the fruitage of all that bitter + sowing time. Next year Manitoba will be in the fortieth year of its history. Its + people have seen pain, strife and defeat, they have gone through excitement and + anxiety and patient waiting, and at times have almost given up the strife. But the + province and its great city, Winnipeg, are the meeting place of the East and West, + the pivotal point of the Dominion. The national life of Canada throbs here with a + steadier beat and a more normal pulse than it does in any other part of Canada, its + dominating Canadian spirit is so hearty and so sprightly, that, it is taking + possession of the scores of different nations coming to us and they feel that we are + their friends and brothers. This, while it may not be the noisy and blatant type of + loyalty is a practical patriotism which is making a united, sane and abiding type of + national character.</p> + <p>Again we answer: Three years from now will be the hundredth year since the landing + on the banks of Red River of the first band of<span class ="pagenum">318</span><a name="Page_318" id="Page_318"> + </a> Selkirk Colonists. It was as we have seen a struggle of an + extraordinarily bitter type. To us it seems that no other American Colony ever had + such a continuous distressing and terrific struggle for existence as had these + Scottish Settlers, but we say it was worth while, judging by the loss to Canada of + the northern portions of the tier of states of Minnesota, North Dakota, Montana and + Washington, which a line from Fond du Lac (Duluth) to the mouth of the Columbia would + have given to us, and which should have been ours. We say that had it not been for + the Selkirk Colonists we would have stood to lose our Canadian West. It was a + settlement nearly a hundred years ago of families of men and women, and children that + gave us the firm claim to what is now the three great provinces of Manitoba, + Saskatchewan and Alberta. Was it not worth while? Was it not worth ten, yes, worth a + hundred times more suffering and discouragement than even the first settlers of Red + River endured to preserve our British connection which the Hudson's Bay Company, + loyal as it was, with its Union Jack floating on every fort, could not have preserved + to us any more than it did in Oregon and Washington. It was the Red River Settlement + that held it for us.</p> + <p>We are beginning to see to-day that Canada could not have become a great and + powerful<span class ="pagenum">319</span><a name="Page_319" id="Page_319"></a> sister nation in the + Empire had the West not been saved to her. The line of possible settlement has been + moving steadily northward in Canada since the days when the French King showed his + contempt for it by calling it "a few arpents of snow." The St. Lawrence route was + regarded as a doubtful line for steamships, Rupert's Land was called a Siberia, but + all this is changing with our Transcontinental and Hudson's Bay railways in prospect. + In territory, resources, and influence the opening up of the West is making Canada + complete. And, if so, we owe it to Lord Selkirk and to Selkirk Settlers, who stood + true to their flag and nationality. Very willingly will we observe the Selkirk + Centennial in 1912. "Many a time and oft" it looked in their case to be one long, + continued and alarming drama, but on the 30th day of August, the day of their landing + on the banks of the Red River, shall we recite the epic of Lord Selkirk's Colonists, + and it will be of the temper of Browning's couplet:</p> + <div class="poem"> + <span class="i0">God's in His Heaven,<br /> + </span> <span class="i0">All's right with the world.<br /> + </span> + </div> +<span class ="pagenum">320</span><a name="Page_320" id="Page_320"></a> + <hr style="width: 65%;" /> + <h2><a name="APPENDIX" id="APPENDIX"></a>APPENDIX</h2> + <p>The author notes the fact that the agents sent out by Lord Selkirk engaged (1) + Labourers for the Company, (2) Settlers for the Red River Settlement. On this account + in the lists given in the archives and other official documents, the labourers were + often sent to the Posts of the Company, and after serving several years often became + settlers. (List given in Manitoba Historical Society Transactions, 33.)</p> + <div class="subchap">A. + </div> + <p>List of men who arrived at Hudson Bay in 1811 and left York Factory for the + interior in July, 1812:</p> + <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" + summary="List of men who arrived at Hudson Bay in 1811"> + <tr> + <td> </td> + <td> Names.</td> + <td> Age.</td> + <td> Whence.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 1</td> + <td> Colin Campbell</td> + <td> 21</td> + <td> Argyle</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 2</td> + <td> John McKay</td> + <td> 22</td> + <td> Rossshire</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 3</td> + <td> John McLennan</td> + <td> 23</td> + <td> Rossshire</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 4</td> + <td> Beth Bethune</td> + <td> 19</td> + <td> Rossshire</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 5</td> + <td> Donald McKay</td> + <td> 17</td> + <td> Rossshire</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 6</td> + <td> William Wallace</td> + <td> 21</td> + <td> Ayr</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 7</td> + <td> John Cooper</td> + <td> 26</td> + <td> Orkney, came to Upper Canada.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 8</td> + <td> Nichol Harper</td> + <td> 34</td> + <td> Orkney</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 9</td> + <td> Magnus Isbister</td> + <td> 21</td> + <td> Orkney, probably father of A.K. Isbister</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 10 </td> + <td> George Gibbon</td> + <td> 50</td> + <td> Orkney</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 11 </td> + <td> Thos. McKim</td> + <td> 38</td> + <td> Sligo</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 12 </td> + <td> Pat Corcoran</td> + <td> 24</td> + <td> Crosmalina</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 13 </td> + <td> John Green</td> + <td> 21</td> + <td> Sligo</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 14 </td> + <td> Pat Quinn</td> + <td> 21</td> + <td> Killala</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 15 </td> + <td> Martin Jordan</td> + <td> 16</td> + <td> Killala</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 16 </td> + <td> John O'Rourke</td> + <td> 20</td> + <td> Killala</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 17 </td> + <td> Anthony McDonnell</td> + <td> 23</td> + <td> Killala</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 18 </td> + <td> James Toomey</td> + <td> 20</td> + <td> Killala</td> + </tr> + </table> + <p>The Author is not aware of the existence of any list of the first settlers other + than these.</p> + <div class="subchap">B. + </div> + <p>Owen Keveny's party (list found in Archives, Ottawa). The total list of + seventy-one was engaged by Keveny in Mull, Broan, Sligo, etc. The following are known + to have come. They reached York Factory 1812, and arrived at Red River October 27th, + 1812:</p> + <p> 1 Andrew McDermott, became the famous Red River merchant.<br /> + 2 John Bourke, a useful man.<br /> + 3 James Warren, died of wounds in 1815.<br /> +<span class ="pagenum">321</span> + 4 Chas. Sweeny.<br /> + 5 James Heron.<br /> + 6 Hugh Swords.<br /> + 7 John Cunningham.<br /> + 8 Michael Hayden Smith, evidently Michael Heden, blacksmith.<br /> + 9 George Holmes.<br /> + 10 Robert McVicar.<br /> + 11 Ed. Castelo.<br /> + 12 Francis Heron.<br /> + 13 James Bruin.<br /> + 14 John McIntyre.<br /> + 15 James Pinkham.<br /> + 16 Donald McDonald.<br /> + 17 Hugh McLean.<br /> + </p> + <div class="subchap">C. + </div> + <p>The Churchill party, which landed from "Prince of Wales" ship convoyed by H.M.S. + "Brazen," at Churchill in August, 1813, and some, marked C-Y., who walked overland on + snowshoes to York Factory in April 14th, 1814, and reached Red River Settlement in + 1814. This whole list is from Manitoba Historical Society Transactions, 33. Those + marked C-Y. are from Archives, Ottawa.</p> + <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" summary="The Churchill party"> + <tr> + <td> </td> + <td>Names. </td> + <td>Age. </td> + <td>Whence. </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 1</td> + <td>George Campbell</td> + <td>25</td> + <td>Archurgle Parish, Creech, Scotland</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 2</td> + <td>Helen, his wife</td> + <td>20</td> + <td>Archurgle</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 3</td> + <td>Bell, his daughter</td> + <td> 1</td> + <td>Archurgle</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 4</td> + <td>John Sutherland</td> + <td>50</td> + <td>Kildonan, died 2nd Sept., at Churchill (a very respectable man)</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 5</td> + <td>Catherine, his wife, C-Y.</td> + <td>46</td> + <td>Kildonan</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 6</td> + <td>George, his son, C-Y.</td> + <td>18</td> + <td>Kildonan</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 7</td> + <td>Donald, his son</td> + <td>16</td> + <td>Kildonan</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 8</td> + <td>Alexander, his son</td> + <td> 9</td> + <td>Kildonan</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 9</td> + <td>Jannet, his daughter, C-Y.</td> + <td>14</td> + <td>Kildonan</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>10 </td> + <td>Angus McKay, C-Y.</td> + <td>24</td> + <td>Kildonan</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>11</td> + <td>Jean, his wife, C-Y.</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td>Kildonan</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>12</td> + <td>Alexander Gunn, C-Y.</td> + <td>50</td> + <td>Kildonan</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>13</td> + <td>Christine, his wife</td> + <td>50</td> + <td>Kildonan, died 20th Sept., Churchill</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>14</td> + <td>William, his son, C-Y.</td> + <td>18</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>15</td> + <td>Donald Bannerman</td> + <td>50</td> + <td>Died 24th Sept., Churchill</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>16</td> + <td>Christine, his wife</td> + <td>44</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>17</td> + <td>William, his son, C-Y.</td> + <td>18</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>18</td> + <td>Donald, his son</td> + <td> 8</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>19</td> + <td>Christine, his daughter, C-Y.</td> + <td>16</td> + <td><span class ="pagenum">322</span><a name="Page_322" id="Page_322"></a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>20</td> + <td>George McDonald</td> + <td>48</td> + <td>Died 1st Sept., 1813, Churchill</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>21</td> + <td>Jannet, his wife</td> + <td>50</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>22</td> + <td>Betty Grey</td> + <td>17</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>23</td> + <td>Catherine Grey</td> + <td>23</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>24</td> + <td>Barbara McBeath, widow</td> + <td>45</td> + <td>Borobal</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>25</td> + <td>Charles, her son</td> + <td>16</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>26</td> + <td>Jenny, her daughter</td> + <td>23</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>27</td> + <td>Andrew McBeath, C-Y.</td> + <td>10</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>28</td> + <td>Jannet, his wife, C-Y.</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>29</td> + <td>William Sutherland</td> + <td>23</td> + <td>Borobal</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>30</td> + <td>Margaret, his wife</td> + <td>15</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>31</td> + <td>Christian, his sister</td> + <td>24</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>32</td> + <td>Donald Gunn</td> + <td>65</td> + <td>Borobal</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>33</td> + <td>Jannet, his wife</td> + <td>50</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>34</td> + <td>Transferred to Eddystone, H.B. Co.</td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>35</td> + <td>George Gunn,</td> + <td>16</td> + <td>Borobal, Parish Kildonan</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + </td> + <td>son of Donald, C-Y</td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>36</td> + <td>Esther, his sister, C-Y.</td> + <td>24</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>37</td> + <td>Catherine, his sister</td> + <td>20</td> + <td>Died 29th August</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>38</td> + <td>Christian, his sister</td> + <td>10</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>39</td> + <td>Angus Gunn</td> + <td>21</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>40</td> + <td>Jannet, his wife</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>41</td> + <td>Robert Sutherland,</td> + <td>17</td> + <td>Borobal</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + </td> + <td>brother of William, C-Y.</td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>42</td> + <td>Elizabeth Frazer, C-Y.</td> + <td>30</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>43</td> + <td>Angus Sutherland</td> + <td>20</td> + <td>Auchraich</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>44</td> + <td>Elizabeth, his mother</td> + <td>60</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>45</td> + <td>Betsy, his sister</td> + <td>18</td> + <td>Died of consumption, Oct. 26th</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>46</td> + <td>Donald Stewart</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td>Parish of Appin, died 20th August, 1813, Churchill</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>47</td> + <td>Catherine, his wife</td> + <td>30</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>48</td> + <td>Margaret, his daughter</td> + <td> 8</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>49</td> + <td>Mary, his daughter</td> + <td> 5</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>50</td> + <td>Ann, his daughter</td> + <td> 2</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>51</td> + <td>John Smith</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td>Kildonan</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>52</td> + <td>Mary, his wife</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>53</td> + <td>John, his son</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>54</td> + <td>Jean, his daughter, C-Y.</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>55</td> + <td>Mary, his daughter</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>56</td> + <td>Alexander Gunn</td> + <td>58</td> + <td>Kildonan, Sutherlandshire</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>57</td> + <td>Elizabeth McKay,</td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + </td> + <td>his niece, C-Y</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>58</td> + <td>Betsy McKay, his niece</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>59</td> + <td>George Bannerman, C-Y.</td> + <td>22</td> + <td> <span class ="pagenum">323</span><a name="Page_323" id="Page_323"></a></td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>60</td> + <td>John Bruce</td> + <td>60</td> + <td>Parish of Clyve</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>61</td> + <td>Alex. Sutherland, C-Y.</td> + <td>24</td> + <td>Parish of Kildonan</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>62</td> + <td>William, his brother</td> + <td>19</td> + <td>Died</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>63</td> + <td>Kate Sutherland, his sister</td> + <td>20</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>64</td> + <td>Haman Sutherland, C-Y.</td> + <td>18</td> + <td>Kenacoil. Settled in Upper Canada in West Gwillimbury.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + <td>He and his sister were children of James Sutherland, catechist</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>65</td> + <td>Barbara, his sister, C-Y.</td> + <td>20</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>66</td> + <td>James McKay, C-Y.</td> + <td>19</td> + <td>Cain</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>67</td> + <td>Ann, his sister, C-Y.</td> + <td>21</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>68</td> + <td>John Matheson</td> + <td>22</td> + <td>Authbreakachy</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>69</td> + <td>Robert Gunn (piper), C-Y.</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td>Kildonan</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>70</td> + <td>Mary, his sister, C-Y.</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>71</td> + <td>Hugh Bannerman, C-Y.</td> + <td>18</td> + <td>Dackabury, Kildonan</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>72</td> + <td>Elizabeth, his sister, C-Y.</td> + <td>20</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>73</td> + <td>Mary Bannerman, C-Y.</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>74</td> + <td>Alex. Bannerman, C-Y.</td> + <td>19</td> + <td>Dackabury, Kildonan</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>75</td> + <td>Christian, his sister, C-Y.</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td>Died January, 1814, from consumption</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>76</td> + <td>John Bannerman</td> + <td>19</td> + <td>Died January, of consumption</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>77</td> + <td>Isabella, his sister, C-Y.</td> + <td>16</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>78</td> + <td>John McPherson, C-Y.</td> + <td>18</td> + <td>Gailable</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>79</td> + <td>Catherine, his sister, C-Y.</td> + <td>26</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>80</td> + <td>Hector McLeod, C-Y.</td> + <td>19</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>81</td> + <td>George Sutherland, C-Y.</td> + <td>18</td> + <td>Borobal</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>82</td> + <td>Adam, his brother, C-Y.</td> + <td>16</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>83</td> + <td>John Murray, C-Y.</td> + <td>21</td> + <td>Sirsgill</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>84</td> + <td>Alex., his brother, C-Y.</td> + <td>19</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>85</td> + <td>Helen Kennedy</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td>Sligo</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>86</td> + <td>Malcolm McEachern</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td>Skibbo, Isla (deserted)</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>87</td> + <td>Mary, his wife</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td>Skibbo, Isla (deserted)</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>88</td> + <td>James McDonald, C-Y.</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td>Inverness, to Fort Augustus</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>89</td> + <td>Hugh McDonald.</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td>To Fort William, died 3rd of August, at sea</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>90</td> + <td>Samuel Lamont, C-Y.</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td>Boromore, Isla</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>91</td> + <td>Alex. Matheson, C-Y.</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td>Kildonan</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>92</td> + <td>John Matheson, C-Y.</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td>Overseer</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>93</td> + <td>John McIntyre,C-Y.</td> + <td> </td> + <td>To Fort William</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + </td> + <td>(entered service of</td> + <td> </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> + </td> + <td>H.B. Co., July, 1814)</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>94</td> + <td>And. Smith</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td>Son of No. 31, Isla</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>95</td> + <td>Edward Shell</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td>Balyshannon</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>96 </td> + <td>Joseph Kerrigan</td> + <td> ..</td> + <td>Balyshannon</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> </td> + <td>Mr. P. La Serre</td> + <td> </td> + <td>Surgeon, died at sea</td> + </tr> + </table> +<span class ="pagenum">324</span><a name="Page_324" id="Page_324"></a> + <div class="subchap">D. + </div> + <p>List of settlers who came with Duncan Cameron from Red River to Canada, 1815. List + prepared by Wm. McGillivray, of Kingston, August 15th, 1815. About one hundred and + forty, probably forty or fifty families, and some single men, arrived at Holland + River, September 6th, 1815.</p> + <p>Made at York (Toronto), September 22nd, 1815.</p> + <div class="subchap">I. OLD MEN. + </div> + <p>Donald Gunn, wife and daughter.<br /> + Alexander Gunn and wife.<br /> + Angus McDonell, wife and two children.<br /> + Neil McKinnon, wife and two boys.<br /> + </p> + <div class="subchap">II. SETTLERS. + </div> + <p>Miles Livingston, wife and two children.<br /> + Angus McKay, wife and one child.<br /> + John Matheson, wife and one child.<br /> + John Matheson, Jr., and wife.<br /> + George Bannerman and wife.<br /> + Andrew McBeath, wife and one child.<br /> + William Sutherland, wife and one child.<br /> + Angus Gunn, wife and one child.<br /> + Alexander Bannerman and wife.<br /> + Robert Sutherland and wife.<br /> + William Bannerman and wife.<br /> + James McKay and wife.<br /> + </p> + <div class="subchap">III. WIDOWS. + </div> + <p>Mrs. Barbara McBeath.<br /> + Mrs. Jeannet Sutherland and two boys.<br /> + Mrs. Elizabeth Sutherland.<br /> + Mrs. Christy Bannerman.<br /> + Mrs. Jeannet McDonell.<br /> + </p> + <div class="subchap">IV. YOUNG WOMEN, UNMARRIED. + </div> + <p>Jane Gray.<br /> + Elizabeth Gray.<br /> + Esther Bannerman.<br /> + Elspeth Gunn.<br /> + Jannet Sutherland.<br /> + Isabella McKinnon.<br /> + ---- McKinnon.<br /> + Catta McDonell.<br /> + Elizabeth McKay.<br /> + </p> + <div class="subchap">V. YOUNG MEN, NOT MARRIED. + </div> + <p>John Murray.<br /> + Alexander Murray.<br /> + William Gunn.<br /> +<span class ="pagenum">325</span><a name="Page_325" id="Page_325"></a> + Hugh Bannerman.<br /> + Hector McLeod.<br /> + George Gunn.<br /> + Charles McBeath.<br /> + Angus Sutherland.<br /> + Thomas Sutherland.<br /> + Alex. Matheson.<br /> + John McPherson.<br /> + Robert Gunn.<br /> + George Sutherland.<br /> + </p> + <div class="subchap">VI. MENTIONED IN ARCHIVES, OTTAWA. + </div> + <p>Miles Livingston.<br /> + James McKay.<br /> + Angus Sutherland.<br /> + John Cooper.<br /> + Mary Bannerman (wife of John McLean).<br /> + Haman Sutherland.<br /> + John Maburry.<br /> + Alex. McLellan.<br /> + </p> + <p>Young people capable of labour generally employed between York and Newmarket. The + old people are stationed at Newmarket for the present. Some of the settlers who have + gone to Montreal not included.</p> + <div class="subchap">E. + </div> + <br /> + <br /> + + <p>List of passengers, chiefly from Old Kildonan, landed at York Factory, August + 26th, 1815. Reached Red River Settlement in same year.</p> + <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" + summary="List of passengers, chiefly from Old Kildonan"> + <tr> + <td> </td> + <td> Names.</td> + <td> Age.</td> + <td> Remarks.</td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 1</td> + <td> James Sutherland</td> + <td> 47</td> + <td> An elder who was authorized by the Church of Scotland to baptize + and marry<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 2</td> + <td> Mary Polson</td> + <td> 48<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 3</td> + <td> James Sutherland</td> + <td> 12<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 4</td> + <td> Janet Sutherland</td> + <td> 16<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 5</td> + <td> Catherine Sutherland</td> + <td> 14<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 6</td> + <td> Isabella Sutherland</td> + <td> 13<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 1</td> + <td> Wm. Sutherland</td> + <td> 54<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 2</td> + <td> Isabell Sutherland</td> + <td> 50<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 3</td> + <td> Jeremiah Sutherland</td> + <td> 15<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 4</td> + <td> Ebenezer Sutherland</td> + <td> 11</td> + <td> At school<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 5</td> + <td> Donald Sutherland</td> + <td> 7</td> + <td> At school<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 6</td> + <td> Helen Sutherland</td> + <td> 12</td> + <td> At school<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 1</td> + <td> Widow Matheson</td> + <td> 60<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 2</td> + <td> John Matheson</td> + <td> 18</td> + <td> School master<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 3</td> + <td> Helen Matheson</td> + <td> 21<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 1</td> + <td> Angus Matheson</td> + <td> 30<br /> + </td> + <td> <span class ="pagenum">326</span><a name="Page_326" id="Page_326"></a> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 2</td> + <td> Christian Matheson</td> + <td> 18<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 1</td> + <td> Alex. Murray</td> + <td> 52<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 2</td> + <td> Ebz. Murray</td> + <td> 54<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 3</td> + <td> James Murray</td> + <td> 16<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 4</td> + <td> Donald Murray</td> + <td> 13<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 5</td> + <td> Catherine Murray</td> + <td> 27<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 6</td> + <td> Christian Murray</td> + <td> 25<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 7</td> + <td> Isabella Murray</td> + <td> 18<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 1</td> + <td> George McKay</td> + <td> 50<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 2</td> + <td> Isabella Matheson</td> + <td> 50<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 3</td> + <td> Roderick McKay</td> + <td> 19<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 4</td> + <td> Robert McKay</td> + <td> 11</td> + <td> At school<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 5</td> + <td> Roberty McKay</td> + <td> 16<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 1</td> + <td> Donald McKay</td> + <td> 31<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 2</td> + <td> John McKay</td> + <td> 1<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 3</td> + <td> Catherine Bruce</td> + <td> 33<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 1</td> + <td> Barbara Gunn</td> + <td> 50<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 2</td> + <td> Wm. Bannerman</td> + <td> 55<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 3</td> + <td> Wm. Bannerman</td> + <td> 16<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 4</td> + <td> Alexander Bannerman </td> + <td> 14<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 5</td> + <td> Donald Bannerman</td> + <td> 8</td> + <td> At school<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 6</td> + <td> George Bannerman</td> + <td> 7</td> + <td> At school<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 7</td> + <td> Ann Bannerman</td> + <td> 19<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 1</td> + <td> Widow Gunn</td> + <td> 40<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 2</td> + <td> Alex. McKay</td> + <td> 16<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 3</td> + <td> Adam McKay</td> + <td> 13<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 4</td> + <td> Robert McKay</td> + <td> 12<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 5</td> + <td> Christian McKay</td> + <td> 19<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 1</td> + <td> John Bannerman</td> + <td> 55<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 2</td> + <td> Catherine McKay</td> + <td> 28<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 3</td> + <td> Alexander Bannerman</td> + <td> 1<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 1</td> + <td> Alex. McBeth</td> + <td> 35<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 2</td> + <td> Christian Gunn</td> + <td> 50<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 3</td> + <td> George McBeth</td> + <td> 16<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 4</td> + <td> Roderick McBeth</td> + <td> 12<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 5</td> + <td> Robert McBeth</td> + <td> 10<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 6</td> + <td> Adam McBeth</td> + <td> 6<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 7</td> + <td> Morrison McBeth</td> + <td> 4<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 8</td> + <td> Margaret McBeth</td> + <td> 18<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 9</td> + <td> Molly McBeth</td> + <td> 18<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td>10 </td> + <td> Christian McBeth</td> + <td> 14<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 1</td> + <td> Alexander Mathewson</td> + <td> 34</td> + <td> Sergeant of the passengers<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 2</td> + <td> Ann Mathewson</td> + <td> 34<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 3</td> + <td> Hugh Mathewson</td> + <td> 10</td> + <td> At school<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 4</td> + <td> Angus Mathewson</td> + <td> 6<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 5</td> + <td> John Mathewson</td> + <td> 1<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 6</td> + <td> Cathern Mathewson</td> + <td> 2<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 1</td> + <td> Alexander Polson</td> + <td> 30<br /> + </td> + <td> <a name="Page_327" id="Page_327"></a> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 6</td> + <td> Catherine Mathewson</td> + <td> 2<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 3</td> + <td> Hugh Polson</td> + <td> 10</td> + <td> At school<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 4</td> + <td> John Polson</td> + <td> 5</td> + <td> At school<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 5</td> + <td> Donald Polson</td> + <td> 1<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 6</td> + <td> Anne Polson</td> + <td> 7<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 1</td> + <td> William McKay</td> + <td> 44</td> + <td> Brought out millstones, embarked at Stromness<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 2</td> + <td> Barbara Sutherland</td> + <td> 35<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 3</td> + <td> Betty McKay</td> + <td> 10</td> + <td> At school<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 4</td> + <td> Dorothy McKay</td> + <td> 4<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 5</td> + <td> Janet McKay</td> + <td> 2<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 1</td> + <td> Joseph Adams</td> + <td> 25</td> + <td> Embarked at Gravesend<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 2</td> + <td> Mary Adams</td> + <td> 23<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 1</td> + <td> Reginald Green</td> + <td> 31</td> + <td> Sergeant of passengers<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 2</td> + <td> George Adams</td> + <td> 19<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 3</td> + <td> Henry Hilliard</td> + <td> 19<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 4</td> + <td> Edward Simmons</td> + <td> 20<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 5</td> + <td> Christian Bannerman</td> + <td> 22<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 6</td> + <td> John Matheson</td> + <td> 22<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 7</td> + <td> Alexander Sutherland</td> + <td> 25</td> + <td> Sergeant of passengers<br /> + </td> + </tr> + <tr> + <td> 8</td> + <td> John McDonald</td> + <td> 22<br /> + </td> + <td> </td> + </tr> + </table> + <span style="margin-left: 1em;">Total—84</span><br /> + + <div class="subchap">F. + </div> + <div class="subchap">THE HONOUR ROLL. + </div> + <p>In Martin's "H.B. Co. Land Tenures" is found a petition to the Prince Regent, + after the troubles of 1816, asking for troops and steps to be taken for their + preservation. As these are those, from all the different parties, who held fast to + Red River Settlement, they are worthy of highest honour. These were the real Kildonan + settlers whom Lord Selkirk saw on his visit in 1817.</p> + <p>Donald Livingston<br /> + George McBeath<br /> + Angus Matheson<br /> + Alex. Sutherland<br /> + George Ross<br /> + Alexander Murray, lot 23<br /> + James Murray<br /> + John Farquharson<br /> + John McLean<br /> + John Bannerman<br /> + George McKay<br /> + Alexander Polson<br /> + Hugh Polson<br /> + Robert McBeath<br /> + Alexander McLean<br /> + George Adams<br /> + Martin Jordon<br /> + Robert McKay<br /> + Wm. McKay<br /> + Alex. Matheson<br /> + John McBeath<br /> + John Sutherland<br /> + Alex. McBeath, an old soldier, 73rd Rgt., lot No. 3<br /> + Christian Gunn (widow)<br /> + Alex. McKay<br /> + William Sutherland<br /> + Alex. Sutherland, Sr.<br /> +<span class ="pagenum">328</span><a name="Page_328" id="Page_328"></a> + James Sutherland<br /> + James Sutherland<br /> + William Bannerman, father of lot 21<br /> + Donald McKay<br /> + John Flett<br /> + John Bruce<br /> + Robert MacKay<br /> + William Bannerman, Jr.<br /> + Roderick McKay<br /> + Ebenezer Sutherland<br /> + Donald Bannerman<br /> + Hugh McLean<br /> + George Bannerman<br /> + Donald Sutherland<br /> + Beth Beathen<br /> + John Matheson<br /> + George Sutherland<br /> + Margaret McLean (widow)<br /> + </p> + <hr style='width: 45%;' /> + <p>ADDENDA AND ERRATA</p><br /> + <p>Page 74.--Andrew McDermott arrived at Red River Settlement in +1812.</p> + <p>Page 148.—Fourth line from the bottom, after the word "him"<br /> + insert "afterwards."<br /></p> + <p>Page 218.—Add to the title of the cut "and of the other forts<br /> + of Winnipeg." 1, Fort Rouge; 2, Fort Douglas;<br /> + 3, Fort Gibraltar; 4, Fidler's Fort; 5, First<br /> + Fort Garry; 6, Fort Garry.<br /></p> + <p>Page 264.—Line 10; 1857 should be 1851.<br /></p> + <p>Page 297 and following pages.—"Major Bulton" should be<br /> + "Major Boulton."<br /></p> + <p>Appendix.—Words "Author's Note" should be, "The author<br /> + notes the fact, etc."<br /></p> + + <div class="subchap">Transcriber's notes:</div> + Addenda and errata, as above, incorporated into the text of the work.<br /> +Page 13.— added ) after fishing<br /> +Page 33.— importants [removed s]<br /> +Page 36.— removed " after Lake Winnipeg.<br /> +Page 41.— comma changed to period: obnoxious. The<br /> +Page 44.— Alexander Mackenize [changed to Mackenzie]<br /> +Page 44.— Porvince [changed to Province]<br /> +Page 61.— removed " after summer." The<br /> +Page 69.— thaat [changed to that]<br /> +Page 118.— daughers [changed to daughters]<br /> +Page 123.— Cat-Fsh [changed to Cat-Fish]<br /> +Page 130.— lfe [changed to life]<br /> +Page 139.— solider [changed to soldier]<br /> +Page 147.— steathily [changed to stealthily]<br /> +Page 151.— pasionate [changed to passionate]<br /> +Page 184.— setters [changed to settlers]<br /> +Page 196.— couuld [changed to could] <br /> +Page 204.— delivry [changed to delivery]<br /> +Page 275.— schools -- added s to "school"<br /> +Page 286.— Noebert changed to Norbert<br /> +Page 319.— The English half-breeds [added hyphen]<br /> +Page 337.— H.M.S.[added period] Brazen<br /> +Page 309.— Begg, an eye-witnss --corrected<br /> +Page 309.— C.-Y. [changed to C-Y.]<br /> +Appendix, Page 329.— changed Settle-Settlement to Settlement<br /> + +<p> </p> +<p> </p> +<hr class="full" /> +<p>***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ROMANTIC SETTLEMENT OF LORD SELKIRK'S COLONISTS***</p> +<p>******* This file should be named 17358-h.txt or 17358-h.zip *******</p> +<p>This and all associated files of various formats will be found in:<br /> +<a href="https://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/1/7/3/5/17358">https://www.gutenberg.org/1/7/3/5/17358</a></p> +<p>Updated editions will replace the previous one--the old editions +will be renamed.</p> + +<p>Creating the works from public domain print editions means that no +one owns a United States copyright in these works, so the Foundation +(and you!) can copy and distribute it in the United States without +permission and without paying copyright royalties. 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