Fort Douglas, Red River.(From a drawing by Lord Selkirk.)
Fort Douglas, Red River.(From a drawing by Lord Selkirk.)
In the spring of 1814, the colonists, after a winter rendered miserable by the jealousy and unfriendliness of the Indians and half-breeds, returned to Red River in a state of great destitution, resolved never to return again to Pembina, no matter what their circumstances.
But a step had been taken during that winter by Governor McDonnell which was to reverberate throughout the English-speaking world. Incensed at the boycotting of the colonists and stirred to action by their condition, he issued from Fort Daer, which was the Company's post erected at Pembina, the following proclamation:
Governor McDonnell's proclamation.
Whereas, the Right Honourable Thomas, Earl of Selkirk, is anxious to provide for the families at present forming settlements on his lands at Red River and those on the way to it, passing the winter at York and Churchill Forts in Hudson's Bay, as also those who are expected to arrive next autumn, rendering it a necessary and indispensable part of my duty to provide for their support. In the yet uncultivated state of the country, the ordinary resources derived from the buffalo and other wild animals hunted within the territory, are not deemed more than adequate for the requisite supply.Whereas, it is hereby ordered that no person trading furs or provisions within the territory for the Honourable the Hudson's Bay Company, or the North-West Company, or any individual or unconnected traders or persons whatever, shall take any provisions, either of flesh, fish, grain or vegetables, procured or raised within the said territory, by water or land carriage, for one twelvemonth from the date hereof, save and except what may be judged necessary for the trading parties at this present time within the territory, to carry them to their respective destinations; and who may, on due application to me, obtain a license for the same.The provisions procured and raised as above shall be taken for the use of the colony; and that no loss shall accrue to the parties concerned, they will be paid for by British bills at the customary rates. And be it hereby further made known that whosoever shall be detected in attempting to convey out, or shall aid or assist in carrying out, or attempting to carry out, any provisions prohibited as above, either by water or land, shall be taken into custody and prosecuted as the laws in such cases direct; and the provisions so taken, as well as any goods and chattels, ofwhat nature soever, which may be taken along with them, and also the craft, carriages and cattle instrumental in conveying away the same to any part out to any settlement on Red River, shall be forfeited.Given under my hand at Fort Daer (Pembina), the 8th day of January, 1814.(Signed) MILES McDONNELL,Governor.(By order of the Governor).(Signed) JOHN SPENCER,Secretary.
Whereas, the Right Honourable Thomas, Earl of Selkirk, is anxious to provide for the families at present forming settlements on his lands at Red River and those on the way to it, passing the winter at York and Churchill Forts in Hudson's Bay, as also those who are expected to arrive next autumn, rendering it a necessary and indispensable part of my duty to provide for their support. In the yet uncultivated state of the country, the ordinary resources derived from the buffalo and other wild animals hunted within the territory, are not deemed more than adequate for the requisite supply.
Whereas, it is hereby ordered that no person trading furs or provisions within the territory for the Honourable the Hudson's Bay Company, or the North-West Company, or any individual or unconnected traders or persons whatever, shall take any provisions, either of flesh, fish, grain or vegetables, procured or raised within the said territory, by water or land carriage, for one twelvemonth from the date hereof, save and except what may be judged necessary for the trading parties at this present time within the territory, to carry them to their respective destinations; and who may, on due application to me, obtain a license for the same.
The provisions procured and raised as above shall be taken for the use of the colony; and that no loss shall accrue to the parties concerned, they will be paid for by British bills at the customary rates. And be it hereby further made known that whosoever shall be detected in attempting to convey out, or shall aid or assist in carrying out, or attempting to carry out, any provisions prohibited as above, either by water or land, shall be taken into custody and prosecuted as the laws in such cases direct; and the provisions so taken, as well as any goods and chattels, ofwhat nature soever, which may be taken along with them, and also the craft, carriages and cattle instrumental in conveying away the same to any part out to any settlement on Red River, shall be forfeited.
Given under my hand at Fort Daer (Pembina), the 8th day of January, 1814.
(Signed) MILES McDONNELL,Governor.(By order of the Governor).
(Signed) JOHN SPENCER,Secretary.
A copy of this proclamation was despatched in all haste to Fort William, where the partners met in the spring. It excited the greatest indignation and bitterness. It was now determined to seduce and inveigle away as many of the colonists as could be induced to join the North-West standard, and after they should have thus diminished their means of defence, to exhort the Indians of Lac Rouge, Fond du Lac and other places, to rise and destroy the settlement. It was likewise their avowed intention to seize the Governor and carry him to Montreal as a prisoner, by way of degrading the authority under which the colony was established, in the eyes of the natives of that country.
Hostilities planned by the North-West concern.
Among the partners of the North-West concern who received their instructions from this general annual meeting at Fort William, were Duncan Cameron and Alexander McDonell, and these were the persons selected by the partnership to superintend and execute the plans entered into against the Red River colony. On the 5th of August the last named person wrote to a fellow-partner at Montreal from one of the portages lying between Lake Superior and the place of his winter destination in the interior, to which he was then proceeding: "You see myself, and our mutual friend, Mr. Cameron, so far on our way to commence open hostilities against the enemy in Red River. Much is expected from us, and if we believe some—perhaps too much. One thing is certain, that we will do our best to defend what we consider our rights in the interior. Something serious will undoubtedly take place. Nothing but the complete downfall of the colony will satisfy some, by fair or foul means—a mostdesirable object if it can be accomplished. So here is at them, with all my heart and energy."
McDonell and his co-partner accordingly proceeded towards their destination, and arrived about the end of August at a trading post (called by them Fort Gibraltar) belonging to the North-West concern, situated at the Forks, within half a mile of the Red River settlement. Cameron remained here during the winter, while his partner, McDonell, proceeded farther into the interior, returning in the month of May with a party of Cree Indians from a considerable distance, for a purpose which is now obvious.
Cameron, to whom his associates appear to have confided the task of opposing, upon the spot, the further progress of colonization, was well qualified to perform such a service. He began by ingratiating himself amongst several of the heads of families in the settlement, and being able to converse with many of them in their native Gaelic tongue, by degrees he gained their confidence and good opinions. He frequently invited them to his house, and, in short, took every means to secure their favour. They saw no reason to suspect his intentions; and thus the influence which he gradually acquired over many of their members, during the autumn and winter, was artfully exerted to make them discontented alike with their situation, their officers, and their prospects. He alarmed them with constant reports which he stated he had received from the interior, that the Indians from a distance were coming in the spring to attack them; and that unless they placed themselves under the protection of the North-West Company, and accepted his offers to take them to Canada, they would never be able to escape from the country or avoid the dangers surrounding them.
The North-West company causes discontent among the settlers.
Prior to the departure of Cameron and McDonell from Fort William for Red River, they had adopted the expedient of providing themselves with British military uniforms. A military coat with a pair of epaulets, the cast-off uniform of a major, which had previously adorned the person of a factor named McLeod, now added to Cameron's dignity. He pretended to bear the King's commission, as did also hiscompanion; and these two worthies occasionally rode around the country in uniform, attended by a numerous suite of clerks and half-breeds, and other servants of the North-West company on horseback. Such imposture and assumed airs of authority would have evoked merely contempt or laughter, but under the circumstances had great weight with the ignorant settlers, who could not but help believing that Cameron and his followers were sanctioned by Government in their position and behaviour. The North-West agents now proceeded to put their plans into execution. The immigrants were alternately bribed, cajoled and threatened into abandoning their settlement on the Red River. To each Cameron engaged to give a free passage to Canada (generally to Montreal), a twelvemonth's supply of provisionsgratisfor themselves and families, while various sums, varying from £15 to £100, were paid or promised to deserters. A pretext being found, Spencer, the sheriff of the colony and a really valuable officer, was taken prisoner under a warrant from a North-West partner, and after a protracted detention sent overland to Montreal.
During the interval between the autumn of 1814 and the spring of 1815, a number of the settlers were seduced and instigated to disloyalty against their benefactors and the Company. A large band of the Bois-Brulés were, during this period, maintained and paraded in arms under Cameron, who, now that the preparatory measures had reached this stage, believed the time ripe for more decisive measures.
Of the ruling spirit amongst the half-breed hordes, mention has already been made. Cuthbert Grant now appeared on the scene and with him some of his choicest dare-devil crew. The return of the settlers to the colony had filled the minds of the Bois-Brulés with rage. The contempt of the wild hunters of the plains for the peaceful tillers of the soil was great. They scorned them for their manual labour; they reproachfully termed them "the workers in gardens," and the phrase, "pork-eaters," formerly applied to the voyageurs east of Fort William, was now used derisively to the Scotchsettlers. All now looked forward to a grand gathering in the spring at "The Forks," to administer a final blow to the infant colony.
The disaffected settlers were therefore, during the temporary absence of a number of those who still continued faithful to their contracts and their duty, incited to rob and pillage a fort belonging to the settlement, and of the cannon set out by the British Government for its defence. Armed sentinels were placed at different doors to prevent opposition, while a part of the Bois-Brulés and servants of the Nor'-Westers, under the command of Cameron, were stationed in arms within the distance of a few hundred feet for the purpose of giving support to the plunderers in case their force should be insufficient. Nine pieces of artillery were thus taken from the settlement and delivered to the North-West party in waiting, who received them with shouts of triumph and conveyed them to their headquarters, Fort Gibraltar. To celebrate this exploit Cameron gave a ball and entertainment to the parties engaged, on the following evening.
Attack on the settlement.
A camp was now established at a place called Frog Plain, about four miles below the settlement, by the servants and partisans of the North-Westers, under the command of McDonell. In June, 1815, after the colony had been thereby deprived of the means of defence, and was in great measure surrounded by its enemies, the whole force of Cameron's post, consisting of half-breeds, servants and North-West clerks, sallied forth to make a combined attack on the settlement. A sharp fire of musketry was kept up for some time on the Governor's house and adjacent buildings. In this attack only four persons belonging to the settlement were wounded, but one died soon after. Several days passed, the men encamped at Frog Plain received orders to march to the settlement, where they erected a battery against the building called the Government House, on which they planted a portion of the cannon previously taken. After a series of attacks and skirmishes, Governor McDonnell was obliged to surrender himself as a prisoner, and under a warrant from a partner in the North-West company,sent to Montreal, charged with an undue arrogance of authority to the detriment of the fur-trade.
But the North-Westers were not yet satisfied. The principal person of the settlement (and one who also held the appointment, from the Hudson's Bay Company, of Governor of the district) was, it is true, in custody; but having got possession of him, peremptory orders were issued to Cameron directing the remaining settlers to leave the Red River. The most wanton acts of aggression followed on the part of Alexander McDonell, who, after Cameron's departure with his prisoner, succeeded to the command at the Forks. The colonists were frequently fired on; the farm-house was broken open and pillaged; a number of farm labourers were arrested; horses were stolen and cattle driven away. On the 22nd of June, another attack with fire-arms was made upon the Governor's house, but the fire was not returned by the dispirited settlers, who now resolved to migrate.
Forced departure of the colonists.
An episode occurring on the very eve of their departure showed clearly upon whose side the Indians of the interior were disposed to range themselves. Two Saulteaux chiefs, with about forty warriors of that nation, arrived at the settlement. Learning the condition of affairs they went over to the North-Westers' fort, and endeavoured to prevail upon McDonell to cease his persecution and allow the colonists to remain. Naturally, their request was refused, although the Indian numbers prevented the North-West official from laughing in their faces. To McLeod, the Hudson's Bay factor at Fort Douglas, the Indians expressed their regret; but considering the armament at the disposal of their foes, could offer them merely the protection of an escort down the river to Lake Winnipeg. The offer was thankfully accepted, and under their Indian escort, the officers and remaining settlers, amounting to about sixty, quitted the settlement, leaving McLeod and three clerks behind. Having in this manner quitted their homes, they proceeded in canoes to the mouth of the Red River, crossed Lake Winnipeg and took up a newabode at a trading-post on Jack River belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company.
The Fur Loft at a Hudson's Bay Post.
The Fur Loft at a Hudson's Bay Post.
The day following their departure, a party of North-West company clerks, servants and half-breeds gathered at the spot, and setting fire to the houses, the mill and the other buildings, burned them to the ground.
Great joy filled the breasts of the North-Westers assembled at Fort William when these brave tidings were conveyed to their ear. These tidings were accompanied by convincing proofs of the great victory gained over the enemy, in the persons of one hundred and thirty-four settlers, including men, women and children. They arrived about the end of July and found many of the partners gathered to receive them. The conduct of Cameron and McDonell met with the most enthusiastic approval. They were again appointed to command at the same stations in the interior, which they had charge of the previous season, with a view to oppose any further attempt to restore the scattered colony on Red River.
Treachery rewarded.
While, however, these marks of approbation were lavished upon the heroes of this work of destruction, the subordinate agents were by no means so liberally rewarded as they had reason to expect. They even complained of being defrauded of their promised hire. Many of the deserters from the colony, however, and those of the settlers whose treachery had proved most useful to the Montreal Company, were well rewarded for their services. One of the most interesting features of this business well deserves to be rescued from oblivion. It is the account-book captured in the following year by Lord Selkirk, together with other papers and effects of the North-West Company at Fort William, and despatched for safe-keeping to Hudson's Bay House, in London. It shows that credits were given to forty-eight of these persons for various articles which they had plundered from the settlement and delivered to Cameron at Fort Gibraltar. These consisted principally of implements of husbandry, working tools, horses, muskets,guns, pistols, etc., etc. Thus in one of the pages appears a credit "for five new guns, £10; for a new common pistol, 15s.; one old gun, 15s.," etc., etc. At the bottom of these accounts were generally added the amounts they were to receive, and did receive, as rewards for their services against the settlement. Several thus obtained larger sums than, in all probability, they had ever been possessed of at any one period in the course of their lives. To many of their accounts were also subjoined, in the handwriting of Cameron and McDonell, brief abstracts of the services which these deserters had, respectively, performed in promoting the destruction of the settlement.
As an illustration of this, honourable mention is made of one of them (in the handwriting of Cameron) in this style: "This man joined our people in February, was a great partisan and very useful to us ever since, and deserves something from the North-West company, say five or six pounds." Of another, "This man was also a great partisan of ours, and made himself very useful to us; he lost his three years' earnings with the Hudson's Bay Company for joining us, and he deserves, at least, about £20." Of another (inscribed by Alexander McDonell): "He was very desperate in our cause this spring and deserves three or four pounds." There are other entries, as follows: "An active, smart fellow. Left the Hudson's Bay Company in April last—a true partisan, steady and brave. Took a most active part in the campaign this spring, and deserves from £15 to £20. He has lost about £20 by leaving the Hudson's Bay Company a month before the expiration of his contract."
"This man left the Hudson's Bay Company in the month of April, owing to which he lost three years' wages. His behaviour towards us has been that of a true partisan—a steady, brave and resolute man; and was something of a leading character among his countrymen, and deserves at least about £20."
Leaves from the account book.
But the truest of all these "partisans" appears to have been one George Campbell. This hitherto obscure personage was accordingly conspicuously honoured, as well as rewarded,by the North-West company. He was seated at table in their common hall at Fort William, next to the partners, and above the clerks of the company. Enviable distinction! But it was but as the shadow of a more tangible and, doubtless, to its recipient, a more valued reward. By the direction of the partnership he received a recompense of £100, paid to him by one of the company's clerks. In the account-book above mentioned appears Cameron's testimony to the merits of this hero. "This (George Campbell) is a very decent man, and a great partisan, who often exposed his life for the North-West company. He has been of very essential service in the transactions of Red River, and deserves at least £100, Halifax; and every other service that can be rendered him by the North-West company. Rather than that his merit and services should go unrewarded, I would give him £100 myself, although I have already been a good deal out of pocket by my campaign to Red River."
One would fain linger in the common-hall, at Fort William, the barbaric splendour and even opulence of whose creature comforts have been painted for us by another and more gifted hand.
How deep the potations, how turbulent the revelry when the flushed cohorts from Red River returned and took their places at the board, conscious of a victory gained over their hated rivals, the Merchants-Adventurers trading into Hudson's Bay, and those miserable colonists despatched by their Governor to begin the peopling of the West! Moreover, tidings now came to swell their joy that the war between Great Britain and America was ended, and so further relieved their dread of disaster. But decisive as their triumph seemed, it was short-lived. Even in the midst of this vulgar wassail the despised settlers had returned, and affairs at Red River were shaping for a tragedy.
A New Brigade of Immigrants—Robert Semple—Cuthbert Grant's Letter—The De Meuron Regiment—Assembling of the Bois-Brulés—Tragedy at Seven Oaks—Selkirk at Fort William—McGillivray Arrested—Arrest of the Northmen—Selkirk proceeds to Red River.
A new brigade of emigrants had sailed from Stromness. Gloomy and portentous was the prospect which greeted them on their arrival. They beheld their comrades and fellow-countrymen of the previous brigade, who had returned from their exile at Jack River, still gazing in wretchedness upon the embers of their late dwellings, seeking to rescue what produce remained in the earth for their winter's subsistence.
The ship which had brought out these immigrants had also carried an able officer of the Company, Robert Semple, a man of parts and culture, who had been appointed to the chief control of all the factories in Rupert's Land.
Influence of the Nor'-Westers over the half-breeds.
The hostile feuds and lawless proceedings of the fur-trading "partisans" had convulsed the whole Indian country throughout its boundaries. The arrival of more immigrants only served to add fresh fuel to the flame. It cannot be denied that between the two rival companies the North-Westers possessed one dangerous advantage, viz., the authority and influence they had over the half-breeds, their own servants, and over many of the more dissolute Indians. "They had so trained and influenced these," says, with great truth, one sober trader writing of those times, "both in the school of mischief, rapine and bloodshed, that no outrage which the unscrupulous ministers of a lawless despotismcould inflict was too extravagant to dread.[99]Posts were pillaged, robberies committed, and valuable lives sacrificed without remorse."
Instead of settling down quietly and cultivating the soil on their arrival, all the immigrants were quickly dispersed in search of a precarious subsistence at Pembina and elsewhere, as had been the case with the first unhappy brigade. They separated, to weather the storms of winter as best they might, hunting and fishing amongst the savages, and enduring every species of privation and suffering which fate could inflict upon them. As soon, however, as the snows of winter were melted, all re-assembled at the colony, and fell to with a will to the task of tilling the ground, and sowing what, alas, the fowls of the air were to reap.
Lord Selkirk arrives in Canada.
For a moment let us turn to Lord Selkirk. On the arrival of this nobleman at New York on his way to Canada to support in person the exertions of his colonists, he received intelligence of their dispersion, and the capture of his lieutenant and agent. He immediately proceeded to Montreal wherehe was apprised of the danger with which the new arrivals were threatened as well as the distress which had overtaken those settlers who had been brought into Canada. The North-West Company had no further use for their services, the expense of bringing them down having already proved sufficiently burdensome. The alluring promises made on the banks of the Red River, of lands, high wages, practical encouragement, were forgotten on the shores of the St. Lawrence. Selkirk was determined upon a rigid enquiry; and steps were taken by his agents in Upper and Lower Canada to that end. While he was thus engaged, information arrived of the re-establishment of the colony, both brigades of immigrants having made a junction at Red River, on the departure of Cameron and McDonell. Lord Selkirk, having despatched a messenger[100]into the interior to advise the settlers of his speedy arrival amongst them, now renewed his endeavour to obtain from the Governor of Canada, Sir Gordon Drummond, some small military protection for the settlers. But his application was refused. One, if not the principal, of the reasons being that Drummond had no desire to lower his popularity by exerting his influence against the partners of the North-West Company. The attempt proving fruitless, a new resource offered itself, and this Selkirk was not loath to seize.
As a result of the termination of hostilities with America, the hired European regiments of De Meuron, Watteville and the Glengarry Fencibles in Canada were reduced. The privates, as well as their officers, were entitled on their discharge to grants of lands in Canada, and in the event of their accepting them, the members of the two first-mentioned regimentswere not to be sent back to Europe. A proposition was put to them and agreed to with alacrity.
Regiment of De Meuron.
The regiments to which these men belonged were part of the body of German mercenaries raised during the Napoleonic wars. Col. De Meuron, one of the most illustrious officers, bequeathed his name to the whole body. Though Germans for the most part, Swiss and Piedmontese were also numbered amongst them. While the great Corsican was languishing at Elba, the De Meurons were equally inactive at Malta, but in the war which had broken out between England and the American States there was plenty of work for their swords. They were shipped to Canada, and in 1816, hostilities having ceased, they were again out of employment.
Lord Selkirk perceived in them an instrument ready to his hand. He sent for their officers, four in number, Captains d'Orsonnens and Matthey, and Lieutenants Fauché and Graffenreith, and informed them he had work in hand. They listened and agreed to his terms on behalf of their men. They hastened in boats up the St. Lawrence, and at Kingston encountered twenty other foreign soldiers belonging to the De Watteville regiment, and also victims of peace. These were engaged on the same terms.
Eighty soldiers and four officers of De Meuron's regiment, twenty of Watteville's, and several of the Glengarry Fencibles, with one of their officers, instead of remaining in Canada, preferred going to the Red River settlement on the terms proposed by Lord Selkirk. They were to receive pay at a certain rate per month for navigating the canoes up to Red River, were to have lands assigned to them at the settlement, and if they did not elect to remain were to be conveyed at his lordship's expense to Europe by way of Hudson's Bay. Whatever we may now think of the motive prompting the employment of these men, it must be conceded that it was effected with propriety and ingenuous formality. The men being discharged could no longer be held soldiers. They retained their clothing, as was usual in such cases, and Lord Selkirk furnished them with arms, as he had done to his othersettlers. Had there existed a disposition to criticise this latter measure, ample justification was to be found in the instructions of the Board of Ordnance, in 1813, to issue some field pieces and a considerable number of muskets and ammunition for the use of the Red River colony.
With this body of men Selkirk proceeded into the interior.
Fort Gibraltar captured.
While he was on the march, the colony on Red River was apprehending alarming consequences. Cameron and McDonell, the two North-West partners, had arrived the previous autumn and been astonished at the temerity of the settlers at returning to the forbidden spot, and measures had at once been taken to molest and discourage them. Thereupon the Hudson's Bay factor, Colin Robertson, who, in Governor McDonnell's absence, had placed himself at their head, planned an attack upon Fort Gibraltar, which he seized by surprise in the month of October. He thus recovered two of the field pieces and thirty stand of arms, which had been abstracted from the settlement in the previous year. In this capture no blood was shed, and although Cameron was taken prisoner he was released upon a promise to behave peaceably in future and was even reinstated in possession of his fort. But this posture of affairs was not long to endure.
At the beginning of March, Governor Semple went west to inspect the forts on the Assiniboine, Lake Manitoba, and Swan Lake, leaving Robertson in command. On the 16th, suspecting a plot on the part of Cameron and his North-Westers, Robertson intercepted some letters, which transformed suspicion into conviction. He therefore attacked the North-West post, took Cameron prisoner, and removed all the arms, trading goods, furs, books and papers, to Fort Douglas.[101]He furthermore informed his enemy that being situated at theconfluence of the two rivers, the Red and the Assiniboine, Fort Gibraltar was the key to the position, and could be in no other hands but those of the lords of the soil. Following up this move, Robertson attacked the North-West post on the Pembina River, captured Bostonnais Pangman, who was in charge, with two clerks and six voyageurs, who were afterwards incarcerated in Fort Douglas. Pursuing his advantage an attempt was made to carry Fort Qu'Appelle. But McDonell, who was in command there, displayed considerable force, and caused the Hudson's Bay people to retire.
About this period five flat-bottomed boats belonging to the Company, laden with pemmican and from thirty to forty packs of furs, under charge of James Sutherland, wereen routeto Fort Douglas. McDonell was advised of the circumstance and seized the whole, while retaining two of the factors, Bird and Pambrun, as prisoners. A canoe was given Sutherland and the others, together with a scanty supply of pemmican, and they were allowed to continue their journey to the fort. On receiving intelligence of this proceeding, as well as of the plots being hatched by the half-breeds and their allies in the West, Robertson concluded that Cameron would be best out of the way; the prisoner was accordingly sent off under guard to York Factory, from whence he reached England seventeen months later. Here he was released without a trial, and soon afterwards returned to Canada, where he spent the remainder of his years.
The enemy were no sooner out of Fort Gibraltar than Robertson had the walls pulled down. All the useful material was rafted down the river to Fort Douglas, where it was employed in new erections within that post.
Plan to exterminate the Red River Settlement.
McDonell now exerted himself to the utmost to assemble the half-breeds from every quarter, for the purpose of a final extermination of the colony at Red River. Many of these were collected from a very distant part of the country; some from Cumberland House and also from the Upper Saskatchewan, at least seven hundred miles from the settlement. Reports had reached the colonists, of whom there were, alltold, about two hundred, that the Bois-Brulés were assembling in all parts of the north for the purpose of driving them away. Each day increased the prevalence of these rumours. The hunters, and the free Canadians who had supplied them with provisions, were terrified at the prospect of the punishment they might receive at the hands of the violent North-Westers.
About the close of May the North-Wester, Alexander McDonell, embarked in his boats with the furs and bags of provisions which he had seized, as above related, from the Hudson's Bay people. He was attended by a body of the half-breeds on horseback, who followed him along the banks of the river.
When the party arrived near the chief Hudson's Bay Company's post, Brandon House, Cuthbert Grant was sent ahead with twenty-five men, who seized the post and pillaged it, not only of all the English goods, together with the furs and provisions belonging to the Company, but also of the private property of their servants, which was distributed amongst the servants and half-breeds. The latter were now eager for the accomplishment of their great desire. Accordingly, on the 18th of June, Cuthbert Grant, Lacerte, Frazer, Hoole and McKay were sent off from Portage la Prairie, with about seventy men, to attack the colony at Red River. McDonell himself, foreseeing the issue, prudently remained behind.[102]
The tidings he anticipated would arrive were not long delayed. On the 20th of June a messenger, covered with sweat, returned from Cuthbert Grant, to report that his party had killed Governor Semple, with five of his officers and sixteen of his people. At this welcome news of the consummation of their fondest hopes, McDonell and the other officers shouted with joy. No time was lost in spreading the story.The unhappy Pambrun, from his confinement, could distinctly hear the cries of the French and half-breeds, which they caught up again and again in a paroxysm of triumph.
"Sacré nom de Dieu! Bonne Nouvelles! Vingt-deux Anglaise de tués!"
Scene of the Red River Tragedy.View larger image
Scene of the Red River Tragedy.
The affair at Seven Oaks.
The story of this tragedy of the plains, to which for a time was cynically applied the term, "battle," has been often and variously narrated; but the facts seem clear enough. Semplethe Governor, was on the point of returning to York Factory on the concerns of the Company, when the rumours of immediate hostility, which have been described, checked his departure. Measures of precaution were adopted and a watch regularly kept to guard against surprise. On the 17th of June, two Cree Indians who had escaped from the party of North-Westers under McDonell, came to the Governor at Fort Douglas, adjoining the settlement, with the intelligence that he would certainly be attacked in two days by the Bois-Brulés, under Cuthbert Grant, who were determined to take the fort, and that if any resistance were made, neither man, woman or child would escape.
Peguis, chief of the Swampy Indians, who came periodically to the district about the mouth of the Red River, also waited on Governor Semple for the purpose of offering the services of his tribe, about seventy in number, to assist in the colonists protection.
A conflict seemed inevitable. On the afternoon of the 19th a man in the watch-house called out that the half-breeds were coming. Governor Semple and his officers surveyed the neighbouring plains through their telescopes and made out the approach of some men on horseback. These were not, however, headed in the direction of the fort, but of the settlement.
The Shooting of Governor Semple.(See page413.)
The Shooting of Governor Semple.(See page413.)
Killing of Governor Semple.
Semple's words were: "We must go out and meet these people; let twenty men follow me." They proceeded by the frequented path leading to the settlement. As they went along they met many of the colonists, who were running towards them, crying: "The half-breeds! The half-breeds!" An advance was made of about one mile, when some persons on horseback were discerned in ambush, close at hand, and the Governor, somewhat uneasy at the signs of their numbers, had just decided to send for a field-piece, when a fearful clamour pierced the air, and he saw it was too late. The half-breeds galloped forward, their faces painted in the most hideous manner,and all dressed in the Indian fashion[103]and surrounded the Hudson's Bay people in the form of a half-moon. As they advanced the latter party retreated, and a North-West employee named Boucher rode up very close to Governor Semple and asked what he wanted there? To this enquiry, which was delivered in a very authoritative and insolent tone, Semple replied by demanding of Boucher what he and his party wanted? Boucher said: "We want our fort," and the Governor's answer was: "Well, go to your fort." In a loud tone came the other's rejoinder: "You damned rascal, you have destroyed our fort." Semple, though a man of extremely mild manners and cultivated mind, flushed with indignation at such an address, and incautiously laid hand upon the bridle of Boucher's horse, according to some; of his gun, according to others. A few high words passed. Two shots rang out in quick succession, by the first of which Holt fell, and by the second Semple was wounded.[104]In a few minutes the field was covered with bleeding forms; almost all Semple's men were either killed or wounded. Save in a single instance no quarter was given; the injured were summarily despatched, and on the bodies of the dead were practised all the revolting horrors which characterize the inhuman heart of the savage.[105]
Vicinity of Fort Douglas.View larger image
Vicinity of Fort Douglas.
In all twenty-one persons were killed, the remaining eight escaping to the woods. Besides Governor Semple, Lieutenant Holt, Captain Rogers, Dr. James White and Dr. Wilkinson, the Governor's private secretary were amongst the dead.
Immediately every human being at Fort Douglas was plunged into confusion and dismay. The survivors, hastily returning, told their fell tale, and men, women and children crowded together seeking protection within its walls. Bourke, and a few of his companions, had succeeded in regaining the fort with the cannon he had taken out. All waited for the expected attack of the North-Westers. An anxious night ensued, but no attack, and it was afterwards learnt that the Bois-Brulés had a wholesome dread of the cannon in the hands of the settlers.
Pritchard, who had been taken prisoner to the camp ground of the main body of the half-breeds, now begged Cuthbert Grant, the leader, to be allowed to go to Fort Douglas. After securing his consent, he met with a refusal on the part of the others, until he gave a promise to bear a message of eviction to the colonists and return. Grant accompanied the prisoner on parole as far as Seven Oaks, where the ground was still strewn with the corpses of the slain.
The Nor'-Westers demand evacuation.
On reaching Fort Douglas, Pritchard informed the unhappy settlers that they must depart, which if they did immediately, a safe escort would be provided them, and they would be permitted to take all their personal effects. They were told that two other groups of North-Westers were daily expected to arrive in the locality, one hailing from the Saskatchewan, and the other party from Lake Superior. It would, therefore, be necessary to send some of the Bois-Brulés with them, to explain the situation.
At first the colonists refused to listen to these terms. Sheriff McDonnell, who was now in charge of the settlement, resolved to hold the fort as long as the men were disposed to guard it. But they were not long of this courageous temper. After fully considering the situation, the settlersconcluded to depart, and after several conferences between the sheriff and Cuthbert Grant, a capitulation was arranged.
An inventory of all the property was taken, and the whole delivered up to the half-breed leader, for the use of the North-West company, each sheet of the inventory being signed as follows:—
"Received on account of the North-West Company by me, Cuthbert Grant, Clerk for the N.-West Co."
Arrest of colonists.
In two days the colonists, in all nearly two hundred, were ready to embark for Hudson's Bay. Albeit they had not been long on the voyage down the river before they were met by Norman McLeod, one of the leading partners of the North-West company, accompanied by a large party in canoes. At sight of the settlers the North-Westers set up an Indian war-whoop, and when they drew sufficiently near, McLeod, who posed as a magistrate, is said to have enquired, "Whether that rascal and scoundrel Robertson was in the boats." The colloquy was followed by a seizure of the accounts and papers of the settlers, including some of Governor Semple's letters. Of these they kept what they deemed proper, the rest being returned. McLeod took his magistracy very seriously, and seems to have regarded the whole party as his prisoners. He expressed neither horror nor regret at the murder of Semple and his companions, but ordered Sheriff McDonnell, Pritchard, Bourke, Corcoran, Heden and McKay to be arrested and put under a strong guard. McDonnell was liberated on bail, but the others were treated for nearly a week with the greatest indignity. Nevertheless, the North-Westers felt themselves in a sorry plight, which, they flattered themselves, a brazen behaviour might alleviate.
The five men thus made prisoners were, after various delays and after two of them had been put in irons, conveyed to Fort William. They had not long been inmates of quarters at this great post, when McLeod and his party arrived there. With him came a number of the Bois-Brulés, Semple's murderers, bearing a portion of the plunder which had beenreserved for the North-West company. Their arrival was the signal for rejoicing. The air was filled with impromptu songs and ballads commemorative of the happy event, which swept away the colony on the Red River. The "complete downfall" desired by the North-West partner seemed to have been consummated.
At that time Fort William was the great emporium of the North-West company. An extensive assortment of merchandise was brought thither every year from Montreal by large canoes or the Company's vessels on the lakes, these returning with the furs to Canada and from thence shipped to England.
It is difficult to imagine, as one visits the spot to-day, that it was once the abode of industry, of gaiety, of opulence and even of splendour. It boasted a fashionable season, which continued from May to late in August, and during this period the fur aristocracy, thebourgeoisieand thecanaille, met and mingled in a picturesque carnival of mirth, feasting and exultation.
It was the meeting-place between the Montreal partners and voyageurs, and those who coursed the boundless expanse of the distant west. To the wintering clerks and partners, after their hardships and fasts in the interior, Fort William seemed a foretaste of Paradise, and a hundred journals of a hundred traders tell again the tale of a dream of distant Fort William, which, in the midst of cold, hunger and desolation, cheered the wanderer's heart and lightened his burdens. For the voyageurs it was all in all. To reach Fort William, enjoy the carnival, and betwixt drink and riotous living dissipate the hard-earned wages of years was to them often the happiness of earth and heaven combined.
Fort William described.
It was in the great dining-hall that there centred the chief glory of Fort William. Of noble proportions was it, and capable of entertaining two hundred persons, and here fully two hundred sat when the news from Red River reached them. Let us attempt to describe the scene. There on a glittering pedestal looked down on the joyous company a marble bust of Simon McTavish; while ever and anon the eye of somestruggling clerk or ambitious partner would be attracted by a row of paintings, depicting to the life the magnates of the North, and rest with ecstasy upon those gleaming eyes and rubicund cheeks, cheerful prophesies of his own roseate future. Not all were portraits of opulent Northmen—other heroes lent the glory of their visages to this spacious hall—the King in his majesty, the Prince Regent, and Admiral the Lord Nelson. A gigantic painting of the memorable battle of the Nile also adorned the walls. At the upper end hung a huge map of the Indian country, drawn by David Thompson, he who had written at the crisis of his career, "To-day I left the services of the Hudson's Bay Company to join the North-West, and may God help me." On this extraordinary production were inscribed in characters bold enough to be seen by the humblestengagéat the farthest end of the great hall, the whole number of the Company's trading posts from Hudson's Bay to the Pacific Ocean, from Sault Ste. Marie to Athabasca and the Great Slave Lake. Many a time and oft while the feast was at its height and the wine bottles of the partners were being broached and the rum puncheons tapped, was a glance cast at some spot on that map which marked months of suffering, the death place of a comrade, the love of an Indian maiden, a thrilling adventure, a cruel massacre, painful solitude, great rejoicing or a bitter disappointment.
But if the scene within was noisy and animated, that without beggared description. Hundreds of voyageurs, soldiers, Indians, and half-breeds were encamped together in the open, holding high revel. They hailed from all over the globe, England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Sweden, Holland, Switzerland, America, the African Gold Coast, the Sandwich Islands, Bengal, Canada, with Creoles, various tribes of Indians, and a mixed progeny of Bois-Brulés or half-breeds! "Here," cries one trader, "were congregated on the shores of the inland sea, within the walls of Fort William, Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Sun-worshippers, men from all parts of the world whose creeds were 'wide as poles asunder,' united in one commonobject, and bowing down before the same idol." Women, soldiers, voyageurs, and Indians, in ever moving medley, danced, sang, drank, and gamboled about the fort on the night when the news came of the tragedy of the Red River.
Meanwhile it will be remembered that the Earl of Selkirk was on his way, with his party of about eighty soldiers, to the scene of this rude rejoicing. When Sault Ste. Marie was reached, the first intelligence of the massacre and destruction of the colony was received, together with the news that some of the settlers and a large part of the property had been transported to Fort William.
Filled with indignation, and determined to demand an explanation of the bloody deed, the Earl pressed on with all haste to the rendezvous of the North-West company, who, all unconscious of his approach, had made no plan either to defend themselves or to arrest his progress.
Selkirk arrives at Fort William.
Upon his arrival in the vicinity many favourable to the Company came out to meet him and relate the present state of affairs. As a magistrate for the country, he secured a number of affidavits, disclosing such circumstances of conspiracy and participation on the part of the North-Westers as determined him, as it was his duty, to issue warrants for their arrest. These were accordingly issued, first for the apprehension of William McGillivray, the principal partner, and next for that of all the other partners.
A great many of the North-West partners were at this time assembled at Fort William, and amongst them was William McGillivray, their principal agent in Canada. Lord Selkirk immediately despatched a message to that gentleman, desiring to know by what authority and for what reason Pritchard, Pambrun, Nolin and others from Red River were detained as prisoners in their hands. McGillivray's response was to grant permission to most of these prisoners to join Selkirk, to whom he denied that they were detained, except as witnesses. The parties thus freed came over, asserting that they had all suffered for some time a rigorous confinement. The intelligencethey conveyed was of such a nature as to induce the Earl to issue warrants for the arrest of most of the North-West partners then at Fort William.
Arrest of the North-West partners.
The first to be arrested was McGillivray, who submitted with the best possible grace to the warrant. Two other partners who came over with him, to offer themselves on bail (which was refused), were also taken in custody. Instructions were now given to constables to again set out in the boats, accompanied by some of the soldiers, to apprehend the other delinquents. On their landing, four or five of the Northmen were standing close to the gate of the fort, surrounded by a considerable body of French-Canadians, Indians and half-breeds in the North-West company's employment. The warrants were in the usual form served upon two of the partners; but when the constable was proceeding to arrest a third, he declared that there should be no further submission to any warrant until McGillivray was liberated. At the same instant an attempt was made to shut the gate and prevent the constables from entering. The fort people had succeeded in shutting one half of the gate, and had almost closed the other by force, when the chief constable called out for help from the soldiers. These to the number of about thirty forthwith rushed to the spot, and forced their way into the stronghold of the Northmen.
The notes of a bugle now rang out across the river. The Earl understood the signal, and a fresh force of about thirty other veterans hurried quickly over the stream to join their comrades. Awed by the apparition of so many arms and uniforms, the North-Westers abandoned further resistance, and thus bloodshed was happily averted. The partner who had refused obedience to the warrant was seized and taken forcibly to the boats, the others submitting peaceably to arrest.
At the time this episode was in progress, there were about two hundred French-Canadians and half-breeds, and sixty or seventy Iroquois Indians in and about the fort.
A warrant having been issued to search for and secure theNorth-West papers, seals were in due course put upon these and guards placed for their security. The arrested men were transported to the Earl's camp; but upon their pledging their word of honour that no further attempt should be made to obstruct the execution of the law, and that all hostile measures should be renounced, they were permitted that same night to return to their apartments at Fort William.
Notwithstanding this, it was discovered next morning that the seals had been broken in several places, and that many letters and papers had been burnt in the kitchen in the course of the night. More than this, a canoe loaded with arms and ammunition had been launched and several barrels of gunpowder had been secretly conveyed from the fort. These were afterwards traced to a place of concealment amongst some brushwood close at hand. About fifty or sixty stand of Indian guns, to all appearance freshly loaded and primed, were found hidden under some hay in a barn adjoining the fort.
Owing to these discoveries, and suspecting treachery on the part of the Canadians and Indians, the greater part of the latter were ordered to evacuate the premises and pitch their tents on the opposite side of the river. Having seen this carried out, and having secured all the canoes of the enemy, Selkirk and his party came over and pitched their tents in front of the fort and mounted guard. Soon after, the North-West prisoners were sent off under escort to York, and finally reached Montreal in a state of mind not difficult to conceive.
Fort William had been captured by Lord Selkirk. He himself, writing in 1817, observes, that "in the execution of his duty as a Magistrate," he had become possessed of "a fort which had served, the last of any in the British dominions, as an asylum for banditti and murderers, and the receptacle for their plunder. A fort which nothing less than the express and special license of his Majesty could authorize subjects to hold. A fort which had served as the capital and seat of Government to the traitorously assumed sovereignty of the North-West. A fort whose possession could have enabled the North-West company to have kept back all evidence of their crimes."
"Heretofore," exclaims the Earl, "those who in the execution of the laws obtained possession of such strongholds as served for the retreat of banditti or murderers, were considered to have rendered a national service, and were rewarded with public gratitude and thanks."
It can hardly be supposed that either the Canadians or the North-West partners were animated by any such sentiments.
"That canting rascal and hypocritical villain, Lord Selkirk, has got possession of our post at Fort William," was the phrase employed by one of the aggrieved partners. "Well, we will have him out of that fort," he pursued amiably, "as the Hudson's Bay knaves shall be cleared, bag and baggage, out of the North-West. And this in short order, mark my words."
Selkirk winters at Fort William.
But his lordship was by no means of so accommodating a temper, nor was there anything to accelerate his abandonment of the post. Finding it too late to continue his journey on to Red River, he despatched a party of his men in advance, and himself resolved to pass the winter as pleasantly and profitably as circumstances would permit at Fort William.
McGillivray and his companions, upon reaching Montreal, were greeted by an assembled host of their friends. Public opinion there was in their favour, whatever it might be in other quarters. On all sides one heard diatribes pronounced against Selkirk and the Hudson's Bay Company, and little sympathy for the victims of the massacre. The North-Westers were instantly admitted to bail, and warrants were sworn out for the Earl's arrest. A constable was sent to Fort William to execute them, but on his arrival found himself made prisoner, and his authority treated with contempt. In a few days he was released and ordered to return to those who had sent him on his unprofitable mission.
Lord Selkirk was by no means idle at Fort William. He sent out parties to capture other North-West posts, and in this way the forts of Fond du Lac, Michipicoten and Lac la Pluie fell into his hands. When the month of May arrived he was ready to take up his journey to the West.
The English Government Intervenes—Selkirk at Red River—Makes a Treaty with the Indians—Hostilities at Peace River—Governor Williams makes Arrests—Franklin at York Factory—The Duke of Richmond Interferes—Trial of Semple's Murderers—Death of Selkirk—Amalgamation.
Tidings of the brutal massacre of the 19th of June, and the subsequent acts of robbery and bloodshed in the wilderness, reached London in due course, awakening the Imperial authorities to the necessity of at once terminating a strife which had now become chronic. In February, 1817, therefore, while Lord Selkirk was still at Fort William, the Governor-General of Canada received a despatch from the Home Government, which contained the following passage:—