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The following dlagrama illustrate the method: Lea cartes, planches, tableeux, etc., peuvent Atre filmAe A des taux da rAduction diff Arents. Lorsque ie document est trop grand pour Atre reproiduit en un soul clichA, 11 est filmA A partir da Tangle supArleur gauche, do geuche A droite, et de haut an bas, an prenent Ie nombre d'Imagas nAcessaira. Les diagrammes suivants Hluatrent Ie mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ...5*/ ; NARRATIVES •i' OF Jo/bft FrUchard, Pierre Chrysologue Pambrun, and Frederick Damien Heurter, wmsncmia Vf^ SSlpreMimul or THE NORTH-WEST COMPANY, AGAINST THE EARL OF SELKIRK'S SETTLEMENT vton '. •<%* RED RIVER. LONDON: JOHN MURRAf, ALBEMARLE STREET^ \ 1819. ^4 -t \ ■^■■ ■ij«i4'' f^fiiW^. '■ ' ;»'j Vj, dO ::-\ \ 'ii'^f'- , '■, O'f:- ry r ' ' • » ! ■ ■ ^ t' , Muf$rt tirtttt Ihymmrktt, Ltnitn. V- '#t W; f.t^ ^I'HE JbUowing Narratives, — the origimds of which are in the poateaaion of the Hudaon^a Bay Con^panyt — were ^rawn up by peraona who were eye'Witneaaea qf the tranaactiona they have de- atribed, and who came recently to thia country for thg purpoae qf givittg^ information on the subject of the extraordinary oceurrencea connected with the Bed Biver Settlement. — Copiea of these Narratives were aubmitted to Hia Majeaty'a Secretary of State for the Colonial Department JUNB, 1819. .M-^'tfA ■*.'^'^ r't'% .;>*%0<'^'> '•^^1*' % ■tituO nA' 'ft NARRATIVE of Mr. John Pritchard, of the Red River Settlement. ruM '<■ 4«»;f » i Ji: In the spring of 1801 I engaged at a clerk in tiie •ervice of what wa» termed the X. Y. or, " New " North- Weit Company" of Montreal, then carrying on the Fur Trade in the interior of North America, in competition with the "Old North-West Com- " pany." .^ ,iiij:;., .t ., Prom Montreal 1 proceeded to Red Rifer, in the neighbourhood of Lake Winipic, where I remained until the year 1805, when the two Companies joined their ftt^ck together in partnership, and since that time Iheir united force has been directed against the traders of the Hudson's Bay Company. The latter Company, during the contest of the Canadian Companies, received no opposition from either of them ; on t ?'? '«oiltrary, both were very desirous of cultivating the friendship of the clerks who represented that Com- piny, in order to induce them to join in opposing tbtir rivals from Canada; and I know of many presents that were given, both by the 01d«nd New CMdrth-West Companies, to the servants of the ^Hiliidion'i Bay Company, with the view of bringing over to their pui'pose. -B ; 8 When th« CaoadiaD Gompaniei yten united, I mentioned thii subject tu Mr. John Haldane, a partner, who wai then at Fort William. He said that DOW, our interests being united, we must direct all our opposition ag^ainst the Hudson's Bay Company, and not allow them to get a footing in the bea?er countries. He then said, he had been so far candid with his former friend of the Hudson's Bay Company in Athabasca, as to tell hiro, that such would t>e the case, and that, great as his former friendship had been, so now would be his enmity. Indeed, the Hudson's Bay servants, by having been perfectly neutral during our contest, had incurred the dis- pleasure of both parties, for, had they supported either of them, the other party would have been unable to continue the competition. After the junction of the Old and New North- West Companies, I was sent into the Nipigon country, to the north of Lake Superior, where I remained four years. The place where I was stationed, was suc- cessively under the direction of Mr. John Dougald Cameron, a clerk, Mr. Duncan Cameron, and Mr. Ronald Cameron, partners of the Company. Another part of the same country was under the management of Mr. John Haldane, the partner, where, assisted by his clerks, Messrs. Angus M'Donell, Aleiander • M'Donell, and Aulay M'Aulay, he committed a variety of criminal violences. Sometimes armed par- ties boarded the Hudson's Bay boats, and forced them to return to the sea coast : at other t'mes they plundered and burnt the trading houses of that Company, wounding, and otherwise ill-treating the i 'i$ '■ n i 'W " i* [Will"* UDited, I iidane« a He laid utt direct Company, le beaver ir candid ^ompaoj d be the hip had leed« the perfectly the dii. ipported ive been North- ounity. Bed four *U fUC- )ougaId nd Mr. toother gement uiisted blander itted a sd par- forced « they r that g the , I ■^rfants who rose in defence of their jsatter't property. These outrages were continued in that quarter until 1809; after which, the Hudson's Bay Company discontinued to send traders to that part of the country. Being in the vicinity, a knowledge of these transactions was communicated to me by the perpe- trators themselves ; who boasted of these violent acts, as meritorious services to the North- West Company. During my residence in the Indian country I have often known Indians, for very slight offences, such as trading with, or hunting for a rival Com- pany, to be severely beaten by partners and servants of the North- West Company, so as to have their limbs broken ; and they have even been frequently put to death by them. In Lake Winipic, Mr. Baptiste Cadotte, a partner, thus killed an Indian, Called the Forgeron. In the Nipigon, Mr. John Dougald Cameron, then a clerk, but now a partner, shot an Indian, called the Canard in his own house. On Lake Superior, Mr. M'Rae, a clerk, killed a man and his wife. Mr. John M'Donell, the Borgne, a partner, killed an Indian at Fort des Prairies. The servants of Mr. Alexander Henry killed another at the same place. Mr. Parries, a clerk, shot an Indian, called the liodge, at Cumberland House : these were all deliberate acts, not done under any necessity of self-defence. I have heard of other Indians having lieeo killed by the traders, before I came into the country, and some others since, the particulars of which I cannot now recal to my memory. At the time the Old and New North- West Com- panies were contesting for the trade, one John fji^V Seferight, a clerk of the X. Y., now in the ler? ice of the Nortb-Weat Compaojf shot a Canadiao« called La Pointe, at Fort des Prairies, ai he wai drifting down the river in a canoe. He did thii in consequence of a previoui quarrel, ai Severight himself informed me. In Athabasca, another clerk of the X. Y., shot a clerk of the North- We. Com* pany, and beat one of bis own men to death, for having made too free with a bottle of rum. These particulars I was informed of by Mr. Charles Cha- boillez, of the Old Compan^r, who had received the intelligence by letter, from his partner Mr. John M'Donell, who was then in charge of the Athabasca department. In the summer of 1809, I visited Fort William, and from thence was sent to Red River, where I remained till the jear 1814. Red River not being a fur country, we had no disputes with the Hudson's Bay traders. Indeed the Norths West Company rather wished to encourage the Hudson's Bay people to come to that river, as it had the effect of drawing their force from the fur countries, and at the same time, took from that place the superabundance of provisions, there collected by the Indians ; which was more than the North- West Company could afford to bring in goods to trade. " In the winter of 1811, it was rumoured that the Earl of Selkirk had an intention of sending penow to form a colony on Red River, but little credit wm then given to the Report. — In 1812, when it was ascertained that the settlers bad actually arrived in Hudson's Bay, it occasioned great. alarm among tbe • f wl cii k ier?ic« •nadiao, I ho wif d thii in ^Terjght ler clerk Com« eatfi, for Tbeie it Chft. ived the r. John habasca ViUim, vhere I being a udton's >aipanj people rawing esame nee of which could at (he inom it WM i was id in BPthe partner! throughout the country, u they considered it eitremely injurious to their interest to have any settlement formed in the interior, which would throw open the trade of the country to the public in gene- ral, and thereby destroy that species of monopoly which the North-West Company had so long exer- cised. In the autumn of the year 1812 I received a letter from Mr. Archibald Norman M'Leod, an agent of the North- West Company, who was then almost a stranger to me. His letter was full of tbe most flattering expressions, and requesting I would favour him with my correspondence, and tell him what I thought of Lord Selkirk's colony, which he believed would not succeed ; indeed he was confident it could not succeed, if we (meaning the clerks in Red River) all did our duty, of which he did not entertain the smallest doubt. • During tbe first two years after Captain Miles Macdonell's arrival with the settlers, I continually resided at Riviere Qu'Appelle; therefore have no other knowledge of what took place at the Settle- ment, than from my correspondence with Mr. Alex- ander M'Donell of the North- West Company. From his letters I learned that he first gained tbe confidence of his brother-in-law Captain Miles Macdonell, whose honourable principles set him above suspecting the treachery of his relation, who, with superior art, set him (Captain Macdonell) and all his officers at variance. He next contrived to get into his bands all the provisions he possibly QouI4; by which means tbe settlers were often in \$ great vrtini, and then he would lometimes send meat to them, in order to gain their affections. By such conduct the servants and settlers became dissatisfied with the management of their governor^ and were, many of them, in the spring of 1813, on the point of going with Alexander M'Donell to Fort William, where he promised they were to be well rewarded for having deserted the service of their employers. This was prevented by timely information having been given to Captain Macdonell. In regard to myself, I considered it my duty, as a faithful servant of the North* West Company, to oppose the Settlement by every fair means in my power, and having (in the winter of 1813-14) re- ceived orders from Mr. John Wills to buy up all the provisions I possibly could ; I did so, giving an advanced price ; by which means I procured one-third more than the quantity usually required for the use of the North-West Company. In the spring of the same year I brought these provisions to Riviere a la Souris, about one hundred and twenty miles above the Settlement, at which place I learnt that Captain Miles Macdonell, as Governor of the district, had issued a proclamation prohibiting the eiport of more provisions than the different traders required for the use of the men employed to transport their merchandise to the respective places of their destination. — This prohi- bition the North- West Company set at defiance, and determined to carry out their provisions by force ; — to effect which, letters were sent to all their trading posts, calling upon all their people to aisemble in send meat By such dissatisfied and were, the point t William, rewarded employers, on having duty, as a npany, to ins in my 1314) re. up all the giving an I one-third or the use ght these e hundred at which lonell, as slamation than the the men e to the lis prohi- ince, and force ; — r trading emble in Red River. — I was ordered to remain at Riviere k la Souris with the provisions, waiting further orders. In the interim Mr. John Spencer arrived as sheriff, bearing with him Governor Macdonell's warrant for the seizure of the provisions, which I thought it my duty to oppose as far as I could without the effusion of blood ; therefore Mr. Spencer was of necessity obliged to make a forcible entry into the fort, and to break the door of the store in which the provisions were ; all which his warrant authorised him to do. — When I arrived at the Forks^ I found a number of the partners and servants of the North- West Com- pany assembled there, with as many Indians as they had been able to collect, but learnt that an amicable arrangement, between them and Captain Macdonell, had taken place^ which was brought about by Mr. John M'Donald, (commonly called Bras Croche) a partner of the North- West Company, who had come from the Rocky Mountains very opportunely, at the moment that other partners and servants were going to make an attack upon Captain Macdonell and his party, then posted on the river side, for the purpose of protecting Mr. Spencer. I do not recollect the particulars of the agreement entered into by the North- West Company, and Captain Miles Macdonell, but all parties, with the exception of Alexander M'Donell, then seemed satisfied, and the Company had as much provisions given them back as they asked for. Some papers of a conciliatory nature were written by me under the direction of the partners present, particularly Mr. John M'Donald (Brat Croche), and Messrs. Duncan Cameron, and ^-•v i Vf' V i ^ ilfV*^^^, **! I- 1 John Dougald Cameron, >vhicb were signed by the parties. Alexander M'Donell vfM mucli dissatisfied M'ith the conduct of his associates^ and said that if John M'Donald had not arrived, that day would have put an end to the colony, as their plan of attack was to well arranged, that Captain Miles Macdonell's party could not have escaped, and he himself would have first fallen, and by his, Alexander M'Donell's, ball. — With the exception of Alexander M'DoneTI, I believe the North -West Gentlemen were sincere in the agreement they had made, and believed it to be advantageous to the concern in general. In consequence Governor Macdonell and his friends were invited to a ball given by the North-West Gentlemen at their house, and the next day they par- took of an entertainment given by the governor at his placc.-'-They likewise spontaneously, sent me with two leather tents, for the service of the colony, ac- companied with an obliging message, that there were others at Riviere k la Souris which he might have, if required. — Nor did these partners express any dis- pleasure when I informed them of my intentions of quitting the service of the North-West Company, and settling in the colony. On the contrary, John Dougald Cameron said, when he had amassed money enough to retire, he would join me there. In fact, I believe at that time those gentlemen considered the colony as permanently established, — ^that further op* position would be useless, — and that it would be their interest to live in terms of amity with the persons conducting it. — But it appeared that when they came to Fort William, Mr. William M'Gillivray taught I iU onl :-;a5*B- tied by the dissatisfied aid that if i&y would 1 of attack acdonell's self would Doneli's, ^'DoncTI, sincere in it to be bis friends rth-West thej par- •vernor at t me with ►lony, ac- here were 1 have, if any dis- ntions of ompanj, y, John i money In fact, ered the ther op- be their persons ycame taught Ihetn a difilereilt ojiinton.^^When I saw hihi at Fori Willkm, he seen i! .iceedin^Ij Angry with his partnir^ on BQcOunt of thij arrangemei^t tiiey had made with Captain Macdonell. When I observed, that a dif* ferent conduct would have led to bloodshed, he re- lili^d, t/itfa a 8tieef'> that he knew better, and that Miles Macdonell would not have burnt a priitiiitg i-^ adding that it was not the value of the provisions he regre(ted> but the insult ofiered to the concern. Aulay M'Aulayj a clerk, having refused to serve out ammuDition to the Indians, for the purpose of attacking Governor Macdoneli's party during the re- cent dispute, he wa« not allowed to come to the general mess4able at Fort William, and the other clerks were ordered not to associate with him. He was afterwards sent to Montreal on a loaded canoe, as a mark of disgrace^ Alexander M'Donell, though a junior clerk, was this year, (1814) made a partner, and I believe was indebted for this eai'ly promotion, to his having dis- tinguifhed himself in various acts of great atrocity, which I have always observed to be a general rule with (be Company, — the most violent characters being the most patronised. While at Fort William I made an offer, through M^. John Haldane, to the agents of the Company, that if they would give me a passage to Red Uiver, 1 would buy goods from them to the amount of the money due to me, the savings of thirteen years ser- vice, — and that I would bind myself in the penalty of a thousand pounds, never to oppose the interest of the Company, in the capacity of an Indian tt-ader. Mr, c t n \ 10 Haldane brought for answer, that after what had taken place, Mr. M'Gillivray, as agent of tlie Com- pany, could not countenance any person settling in Red River ; but if I was determined upon quitting the Indian trade, he would give me a piece of land at York, in Upper Canada, and I should have the full support of the Company. At the same time, a Mr. Blair, then a clerk in the house of M'Tavish, M'Gillivray, and Co. advised me not to attempt returning to Red River contrary to the wishes of the Company, or they would get me murdered on the road. In September of the same year I arrived at Mon- treal, when Mr. Thomas Thain, another agent of the Company, made me an offer of goods to trade at Mii-jillimakanac on my own account, which, at that time, was a very lucrative employment, and we con- tinued in treaty to that effect until I resolved to go to London. Mr. Thain then exacted a promise that I would neither see Lord Selkirk, or the gentlemen of the Hudson's Bay Company, at London, until his friends and mine had met. Soon after this, Mr. Donald M'Kenzie, (whose two brothers were then partners in the house of M'Tavish, M'Gillivray, and Co. and who is now himself a confidential agent of the Company on the River Columbia,) informed me that the North-West Company were determined upon the ruin of the colony at Red River ; that they intended to make Governor Macdonell a prisoner, in order to degrade the autho- rity under which he acted ; and that every specious offer would be made to the settlers to induce them to col lySajEe*, •?«■.»«*.,;. ii-MTJfcW 11 vbat bail tlie Com- iiiVmg io quitting >f land at the full c, a Mr. 'Tavish, attempt fs of the d on the it Mon- itofthe trade at > at that we con- ^ to go ise that itlenien ntil his (whose use of « now on the -West . :oIony ernor kUtho- icious sni to come to Canada. He also informed me that Daniel M'Kenzie had received orders to send the Indians of Fond du Lac, and Leech Lake, to assist in the de- struction of the Settlement. Mr. Donald M'Kenzie had been at Red River the preceeding spring, and seemed to feel most sensibly for the deplorable state of those poor people, who were thus doomed to fall a sacrifice. This information gave me great concern. I communicated the same to Mr. Colin Robertson, an agent of the Hudson's Bay Company, who was then in Montreal, and we both waited upon Mr. M'Kenzie, who persisted in the correctness of his statement. — Mr. John McDonald (Bras Croche), the brother-in-law of Mr. William M'GiUivray, also advised me, in a friendly manner, to relinquish the idea of settling ic Red River, for that the colony would be broken up, — that the North- West Company would bring all the settlers away, — and that Mr. M'Lean's family were already secured, who would induce the others to follow them. i^ltiuf . In the hope of preventing the evil by warning Governor Macdonell of the danger which menaced the Settlement, I undertook a journey to Red River by the circuitous route of Hudson's Bay, a distance of near four thousand miles, the greatest part of which I performed on snow-shoes, bawling after me, upon a sledge, provisions and every other requisite to serve me for twenty and thirty days at a time. — I set out from Montreal on the 28th October 1814, and arrived at Red River on the 15th April ensuing, where I had the mortification to find thai the prediction of Mr. J 12 M'Ken3ne was in part accomplished. Mr. Spencer the sheriflf had been made a prisoner and sent away by the North- West Company: a large portion of the settlers and servants seduced by the promises, or inti- midated by the threats, of Mr. Duncan Cameron, one of the partners, had joined his people. Some of these Cameron had sent to the North- West Company's post at Bas dc la Riviere Winipic, and others to Leech Lake, but the greatest number, and the most vicious characters, were retained by him at his fort called Ofbraltar, about a mile aboye the Settlement. In the absence of the Governor those deluded men had been sent with a written order from Cameron, to rob the Government House of the artillery, which had been sent from England for the protection of the Settlement, and which they carried away to his fbrt, escorted by himself along with Mr. John Dougald Cameron, another partner, and a number of the clerks and servants of the Company ; thus depriving the settlers, and servants that remained faithful to their engagements, of the means of repelling the hostile attacks which Cameron led them to expect from the Indians. The day after my arrival Governor Miles Macdonell was arrested by the warrant of Archibald Norman M*Leod, Esq. magistrate for the Indian territories, and an agent of the North- West Company, for an alleged breach of the peace, but the constable did not attempt to enforce his warrant to the extent of carrying away his captive. * About eight days after I arrived at the Settlement '• Spencer t awa^ by n of the or inti- eron, one B of these ny*8 post Leech t vicious t called snt. In nen had I* to rob ich had I of the his fbrt, ^ougaM ic clerks ing the to their hostile om the :doneli orman itories, for an •ie did eni of Bment 1 received (Vom Governor Macdonell a lot of land, which I immediately began to cultivate on my own account as a settler. ^ About the end of May, Mr. Alexander M'Donell of the North- West Company, came with a number of boats and men from the river Qu'Appelle. He likewise brought with him some Indians of the Cree nation, who inhabit the plains in the neighbourhood of that river. These Indians were kept in a state of intoxication for some time, in the North-West fort, and then allowed to visit the governor uf the Settle- ment, of whom they inquired what his intentions were; and, when he had explained to them his views, they expressed great satisfaction, and wished him suc- cess, adding, that the Settlement bad nothing to fear from them, though they had been brought for the purpose of making war upon him. Some rum was offered to them which they declined to taste, until we had taken some ourselves. On being asked if they thought the liquor was poisoned, they said they be- lieved it was not ; but they had been cautioned not to drink of it, as we put poison in our liquor. The governor then offered them a keg of liquor, with some tobacco, ammunition, and clothing for their families, which they refused to accept, fearing, as they said, the displeasure of the North-West Gentlemen, and thereby to luse the reward which had been promised them. The morning on which the Indians left the place, almost all our plough horses were shot with arrows, which was done by the half-breed servants of the North- West Company, (as they themselves afterwards »/ a li ' (i ' 1 i J I IP \l i informed me) in order io intimidate the lettleri, and impress them with the idea of the hpstile diiposition of the Indians, who (Cameron was continually sayiqg) would soon drive them awajr from the country. After the attempt to arrest Governor MacdoQell, Cameron began to issue orders to the servants and settlers, threatening them with vengeance if they did not deliver up the governor. He stated himself to be the commanding officer in Red River; he wore the uniform of a field-officerj and was generally ac- companied by his subalterns, lieutenant Alexander M'Donell^ and ensign Seraphim Lamarre. These men were constantly parading in military array at the head of a tumultuous rabble of half-breed servants, and others, to the great terror of the peaceable settlers. Our horses were taken from us by these people, they drove our cattle away, and slaughtered the bull in the presenceof Alexander M'Donell himself, who gave orders to his people to fire at Duncan M'Naughton, who had come to their encampment in search of the cows, and it was by the fleetness of his horse alone that he made his escape. At this period, for the first time, the half-breed servants of the North- West Company, assumed a new character, calling themselves the " Bois-brules," and the ** New Nation." They likewise thought proper io issue their orders, menacing us with death if the governor was not delivered up to their masters. Under the direction of Alexander M'Donell, many of the settlers were forcibly taken from their homes to his camp, and there, if they made the least objection to the proposal of going to Canada, he threatened to « me dia thf M oti tb as to Y tl i,i ■■X. ittlerg, and diipotition llj sajipgp) atrjr. lacdoqell, vantf and thejr did lims^lf to wpre the xalljr ac- lexander *|iese men the head ■its, and I settlers. ile, they ! bull in i^hogave ughioa, h of the e alone If-breed 1 anew »/' and proper if the • maiijr mes to Bction led to 15 have them tied up and flogged bj hit half-breedi. Parties from the North- West Company's fort, often tallied out and made attacks with fire-arms^ upon the dwelling-houses of the Settlement, by which Mr. Warren, a clerk belonging to the colony, lost his life, and many others were wounded. A breast-work was thrown up opposite to the governor's house, and one of the pieces of ordnance, which had been stolen from the Settlement, was placed thereon, and was supplied with bar-shot^ which had been forged in the North- West Company's fort, for the avowed purpose of bat- tering down the governor's house, if the governor did not surrender, saying, they must have him dead or alive. At Frog Plain, a few miles below the Settlement, another battery was raised, and mounted with cannon, for the purpose of preventing any canoes or boats leaving the river without the permission of lieutenant Alexander M'Donell being 6r8t obtained, of which he gave public notice in writing to the officers of the Hudson's Bay Company. Towards the end of these outrageous proceedings, the farm-yard of the Govern- ment House was occupied by this banditti of incen- diaries and robbers, and my own house was taken for the head-quarters of their leader, M'Donell. Mr. M'Lean (then confined to his bed by a wound), and others residing upon their farms, were ordered out of their houses or threatened to be burnt in them, and as soon as the houses were vacated they were burnt to the ground. — As the partners of the North- West Company pretended that they had no share in these outrages, and that the half-breeds were acting !1 entirely independent of their control, the gtpntlemflri in charge of the Settlement attempted to iirg^ociati with the half-breeds. On one occasion, when terikia of conciliation had been proposed ti)themj theansYrer, though in their name, Mras in the hand-writing^ of Mr* Alexander M'Donell, and the purport of it wMthat they, (the half-breeds) would not allow the colonisii to remain in the country, but that a limited number of boats and servants of the Hudson's Bay Company should be allowed to come into the river as traders. I cannot recollect the number ; but I remember it was so insignificant, that they would lia\e been en- tirely at the mercy of the North- West Company. Such was the state of things when Mr. Alexander M'Kenzie, an agent of the North-West Company arrived from Montreal, and with him his partner Mr. Simon Fraser. It was then thought advisable to negotiate with those gentlenien for the purpose of re-establishing the peace of the country, but they would listen to no other terms, than the surrender of Governor Macdonell which, with much regret, the settlers submitted to. — But this peacc-ofieriug availed us nothing, and we soon found that to enforce his surrender was a mere pretext for the atrocious con- duct of our enemies. The day on which the governor was carried off, the firing upon our houses was re- newed with unabated fury. — Thus, deprived of our chief magistrate, our servants inveigled awaj', aban- doned by many of our brother settlers, assailed by a lawless banditti bent on our destruction, our cattle destroyed, and our fields laid waste, we were com- pelled to quit the country. i •^••.■"?*<*^ leii teritia Jc tngwer, Iff of Mr- WM that coloniiii 1 numbep ompany (riders, ember it been en* yauy. lexander wtnpany partner Advisable irpose of »ut thej endor vf fret, the availed »rce his us coo- )vernor vas re- of our aban* I by. cattle com- a i *vt The Indians of the neighbouring cointrj, alwftjs friendly, after fruitless attempts to assuage the in- veterate maliceof our enemies, embarked in our boats, and conducted us out of the river ; otherwise it is very probable, the property we carried with us would have become the spoil of the assailants. We parted from these friendly natives on the border of Lake Winipic ; they took leave of us with a speech expres- sive of their affection, and told us to recruit our force and return in strength, and that they also would collect their children, and when the young duck rose from the waters (viz. about the middle of August) they would meet us on the lake, and bring with them all the provisions they could procure. Having crossed the lake, we arrived in the begin- ning of July at Jack River House, a trading post lie- longing to the Hudson's Bay Company, and distant from Red River about three hundred miles. — Soon afterwards Mr. Colin Robertson arrived from Canada, having with him a number of servants, belonging to the Company, and we were made truly happy by his offer of conducting us back to our lands, with the pro- mise of his protection. — After a pleasant passage over the lake, we had the satisfaction once more to behold our fields, which, notwithstanding the devastation our enemies had made, still promised a tolerable harvest. Our true friends and late protectors, — the native In- dians, — greeted our return with every mark of sincere affection and unfeigned joy. a, As a number of settlers were expected to arrive ip 'the autumn from Europe, Mr. Robertson requested me to go to Fort Daer, or Parabina, in the plains, in D ':J'i ii; I 1 ' \ 1 i 1 &' f' I i i r t } order to procure a lufficiency of proTiiioDi for their maintenance; and, in coiiscqufuce, I engaged the hunters necetiary for the object in \iew. In the month of November, Mr. ShcriO' JVI'Donell arrived there, accompanied by families amounting in the whole to one hundred and sixty persons, who found every necessary accommodation, in regard to their lodging, and a store amply supplied, both with fresh and pre- icrvedbeef. A few days previous to the arrival of the seltlcra, I was much surprised to find that the North* W coi «c .ion, i took no further notice of the affair, always carrybg in my mind that those young iiien had been misled ; «ad considering their want of education and little ikii^^wledge of civilization, I made it njy study to con- s'?.' imptiM on their minds, the gr««t good ^« n« Tor iheii 9«ged (he ^' In the hjII arrived the tvfaole >und every ir lodging, > and pre- e lettlora, >rth.Wyere in great dread of the resentment of the North- West Company for the support they had given us. The half-hreeds stationed at the North-West fort at Pambina, began to shew a disposition to violence, and threatened to shoot our hunter Bottenau's horse, and himself too, if he did not desist from running thebuflfaloe. .,4 f^sti^^Y ,*».; »f Fraier'R leron'i to thing less », threat, er of his comply,) in which of mus- )een pur- Robert, ur hours, promise 'If as not inveigle ! much vere as- rpose of icted to . The Bvalent by let- i those isions, Vorth- ?n us. 'ort at lence, iorse, lining In the month of March, Messrs. Fraser and Ucsse arrived at the North-West Company's house, which gave us great uneasiness, as Fraser was repre- sented to be the leader of the half-breeds, and a dar- ing and violent man. On his arrival he sent a threat- ening message to one of my hunters; and whenever an opportunity offered, he was very assiduous in bis endeavours to seduce from us both our servants and settlers. A report was also very current that a party ^ of half-breeds and Cree Indians were expected to ar- '' rive from Fort des Prairies on the Saskatchawan River, as soon as the melting of the snow would admit of their travelling ; and the free Canadians, who were in general anxious for our safety, were con- tinually warning us to be on our guard. — At the same time we were informed that the half-breed ser- vants of the North-West Company, who were then in the plains, were ordered home to their houses. This assemblage of those men gave us the most serious apprehension for the safety of the settlers, and of the servants who were employed to bring provisions to us from the plains. About the 19th March, Hugh M'Lean arrived from the Forks with a letter from Mr. Robertson to Mr. Sheriff M'Donell, informing him that in con- sequence of having discovered the plans of Mr. Ca- meron of the North-West Company, for the destruc- tion of the Settlement, he had taken him prisoner, and possession of his fort. — A few hours after the receipt of Mr. Robertson's letter, Mr. M'Donell as Sheriff* ordered his constables, Duncan M'Naugh^ ton and Patrick Corcoran, to call into his room such •- —^^T-" ~' .!■> ■ «•»■■ *-'' i I' ^!': of the servanti ai he named to them, to whom ho gave arms, and immediately proceeded to the North- West Companj^'s house. Messrs. White, M'Leod, and myself accompanied him. After the sheriff had made prisoners of Pangman, Fraser, and Hesse, he desired Pangman to deliver to him the key of the store, upon which he requested one of the North- West Company's servants to open the door, and de- liver to him all the arms and ammunition, which were conveyed with the prisoners to our fort. An inven- tory was taken of these stores in presence of the prisoners, and signed by the gentlemen of our party ; a copy of which was offered to Pangman, but he re- fused to receive it. — The key of the store was like- wise presented io him by Mr. M'Donell, who said that self-defence, and thesecurity of the people's lives, obliged him to take the steps he had done ; that he (Pangman) might appoint any person in whom he had confidence to transact the business of the North- West Company, and that, far from wishing to molest their trade, he would be ready at all times to give them any protection in hie power. This offer wis repeatedly made, and as often rejected, by Pangman. On the second day the prisoners were sent to thig Forks ; and Mr. James White was ordered to take «n inventory of the North- West Company's property, among which was found a gun, claimed upon the oath of George Sutherland as being his property', of which he had been forcibly deprived the preceding^ spring by Mr. Alexander M'Donell of the North- West Company. — The provisioas found in the North- Welt Company's store-house, ^titt in pirt M: ser^ mat pai •# o whom h« the Norlh- M'Leod, sheriff had Hesse, be key of the the North- r, and de- hich were An inven- ce of (he ur parly; 5>ut he re. was Jike- who said le's lives, ; that he >vhom he B North- 3 molest t" givt fer was ngman. to (he to take Jpertjr, •on the tj, of rortb- I tiie 2S ierved out as rations to their servants^ and the re niaindcr sent down to the North- West Company's partner, Mr. Cameron, at the Forks. When all the North- West Company's servants were about to abandon the House, they requested that we would take charge of the property, which was accordingly brought over to our fort, and afterwards taken down in the boats to Fort Douglas by a written order from Governor Sample to me, stating, tha( in consequence of the North-West Company having seized our property in Peace River, it would be necessary to hold something as a pledge fur its restoration. it may be necessary to state that Pangman was the person who headed the half-breed servants of the North'^West Company, when (hey burnt our houses the preceding spring. Hesse has always been con- nected with the lialf'-brecds in those cruelties they have inflicted upon the settlers, and was of Pangman's party in the winter 1815, when an ambuscade w.as pre- pared iu the plains, for the assassination of Governor Macdonell, and his party. Fraser is the clerk already mentioned ashuvingso violently threatened Mr. John M'Kay, of the Hudson's Bay Company at Riviere Qu'Appelle. - Soon after the taking of Pangman> I learnt that Mr. Robertson had possessed himself of the North-West Company's winter express. His motive for so doing was, as I was informed, to discover the force of the half-breeds, and the manner it* which we were to be attacked. I believe the only letttij that were at that time opened, were tiiu^e 24 addressed to, or fioin, the Agents of the Narlh-Wert Company residing in Red River, and from these (which I have seen) it appeared that the half-breedi were acting entirely under their direction. About the 30tii of April, I left Pambina, and arrived ^vith the settlers, at Fort Douglas, and in the course of two or three days they were placed on their respective lots of land, from the fort dovtrnwards. I here learnt that in consequence of the sorrow which the prisoners Paugman, Hesse, and Eraser, expressed for their past conduct, Governor Semple had liberated them, under a promise of future good behaviour, and after having bound them over to keep the peace. Towards the latter end of May, the Governor, feeling great anxiety for the safety of the provisions which were expected from Qu'Appelle, sent a freemao to Brandon House, in order to obtain intelligence. — The man was five or six days absent, and returned saying he had been intercepted on the road by the North- West Company's servants, and conducted to their establishment at Riviere a la Souris, which ii opposite Brandon House. When in the North-West Company's Fort, the Governor's letter was taken from him, and he was then allowed to visit Mr. Peter Fidler,of the Hudson's Bay Company, upon condition of his bringing back no letter. By a vtrbal message from Mr. Fidler, we learnt that the half-breeds had seized our boats on their leaving Qu'Appelle, and that all the Company's officers and servants were prisoners in the custody of Mr. Alexander M'Donell of the North-Vv est Company. Some time afterwards this was confirmed, by the arrival of the servant! ^ho| proi the that! iitru< oft] 8h( lion I inih-Wett rom these alf-breedi About the ^vith the of two or :tive lots ire learnt prisonert Iheir past m, under ;r having overnor, rovisiooi freeinaa Ifence.— returned 1 b^ the Jcted to vhich it Ih-VVest en from •. Peter ndition lessage ds had e^ and J were Donell wardi ' rvantf ^bi) bdd been liberated, after having signed apiiper pr omisiiig to M'Donell not to take up armt agaiiiiit the North- West Company. These men informed us that the half-breeds were continually vowing the de- trtruction of the settlers, and threatening the servants of the Hudson's Bay Company with death if they should interfere in our behalf. Such was the imprest lion made upon the minds of the free Canadians by this intelligence, that they departed from our neigh- bourhood, and went to the plains. To some of then* vie were indebted for their winter's hunt, and they, fearing we should be driven away, requested of the governor to secure them the payment of what waft due, which he did by giving notes payable either iii Red River, at York Factory, or at Montreal. . The intentions of the half-breed, nnd other servants of the North- West Company, being now clearly as- certained, and our number being too weak to protect both posts. Governor Semple ordered the fort of the North- West Company at the Forks to be demolished, in order that it should not serve (as it had done the year before) as an asylum to an armed banditti of incendiaries and robbers coming a second time for the avowed purpose of attacking the Settlement. — The pickets, and other serviceable wood, was rafted down to the Settlement, for the purpose of strengthening Fort Douglas. About the 16th of June, an Indian named Mous- touche, (who had been brought up amongst white people) arrived and told us, he had made his escape from the half-breeds, who were then encamped at Portagie de la Frairie, (^wo day's journey above Fort i ■*# Douglas) and would assuredly attack us in a day or two. As soon as the Indians heard of this^ two of their chiefs came and held a council with the gover- nor, saying they were come to take their father's ad- vice, and wished to know from him how they were to act ; — that they were certain he would be attack- ed, and if he wanted their assistance, they and their young men were ready to defend him. He desired them not to interfere. Next morning the Indian chiefs came again and said, they were fearful he (the governor) would be driven away, and that they there- fore begged of him^ to give them a little ammunition to support their families in case such an event should take place. — He replied that he did not fear these people at all ; but as there was nothing certain in this life, he should order them a sufficiency of ammuni- tion to support their families during the summer. Some of the free Canadians had likewise offered the governor to take a part with us, but he declined their services, not wishing that they should fight against their countrymen. On the evening of the 19th of June, a man in the watch-house called out that the half-breeds were coming. The governor with some other gentlemen and myself looked through spy-glasses, and I dis- tinctly saw some armed people on horseback passing along the plains. A man then called out " they" (meaning the half-breeds) " are making for the set- ** tiers;" on which the governor said " we roust go and meet these people, let twenty men follow roe." Twenty-eight persons (including myself) immediately joined the governor. We proceeded by the road ■'4 f t in a day or hii> two of the gover- father'a ad- (hejr were be attack. y and their He desired the Indian rful he (the thejr there- in munition ent should Tear these tain in this ' ammuni- ' summer, offered the lined their bt against >an in the eds were entlemen d I dis- c passing " they" the set- it go and w me." ediatelj be road leading down the Settlement^ and as we were going alongj we met many of the settlers running to the fortj crying out^ in great consternation and terror, " the half-breeds, the half-breeds." When we were advanced about three-quarters of a mile along the Settlement, we saw some people on horseback behind a point of woods. On our nearer approach the party seemed more numerous, on which the governor made a halt and sent for a piece of cannon, which, delaying to arrive, he ordered us to advance. Wa had not proceeded far before the half.breeds on horseback, with their faces painted in the most hideous manner, and in the dresses of Indian warriors, came forward and surrounded us in the form of a half-moon, com- pletely cutting off our retreat to the fort. As they advanced, we receded, walking backwards, being in a great measure panic.struck at the sight of an enemy so far superior in numbers, and mounted on horseback. At the time the half-breeds were sur- rounding us, a man of the name of Bruin offering to lire exclaimed " we shall be surrounded, let us keep '* them off." Upon this Governor Semple repri- manded the man severely, and said with a loud voice 'Met no man fire unless I order him." As soon as the half-breeds had formed their cres- cent, a man of the name of Bouch^ rode from the midst of them, and calling out, *' What do you " want?" Governor Semple replied, " What do t/ou " want?'* to which Bouche answered, " We want " our fort." The governor rejoined, ** Go to your '' fort." They were by this time near each other, and sonsc^ucntly spoke too low for me to hear, as I was i 88 :i I I m i a,i a short distance from tliem. 'Ihey seemed to tpeak with much warmth to each other^ and I saw the gover- nor take hold of Bouch^'s gun. At this moment I turned to observe the half-breeds, in another part of the circle^ more immediately opposite to me; but in a few moments I heard the discharge of a gun, and on looking to the spot, I there saw Mr. Holte, one of our party, struggling on the ground, apparently mor- tally wounded. A general volley followed immedi- ately after. •■ ^' From my own observation I cannot say on which oide the first shot was tired, my attention being, at that moment, fixed on a different quarter. But from the knowledge I have of Governor Semple's disposiliou, and after hearing his check to Bruin, I cannut believe that the firing began with him. In. decd^ placed as we then were, it would have been an act of insanity to have began a conflict with those people. They were more than double our number, wounted on horseback, and no retreat left tor us. They, on the other hand, could at any time have rode off, and declined the combat. Altogether it cannot be credited, that twenty-eight persons on foot would have pursued, and attacked in an open plain, sixty-two horsemen. In a few minutes almost all our people were either killed or wounded.— Captain Rogers, having fallen, rose up again and came towards me, when, not seeing one of our party who was not either killed, or dis* abled, I called out to him '' for God's sake give ''yourself up.*' He ran towards the North-West peo- ple for that purpose, myself following him. — He ■was I ther ful, Alei We *»?" 'd to f peak the gover. moment I |er part of jie; but in g»n, and \\te, one of ■nUy mor- immedj. on which >n being, er. But Semple's Bruin, I ini. fn, »ve been ith (hose number, t for us. »e have :ethcr H sons on in open « eithcf fallen, seeing" or dis- e give itpeo- —He t9 was without arms, and raised up his hands, imploring them in broken French, and in English, to be merci- ful, and spare his life : — but Thomas M'Kay (son of Alexander M'Kay a retired partner of the North- West Company) shot him through the head^ exclaim- ing that he (Rogers) was an officer of the colony and « dog. — Another man, who I believe was Henry -Poitras, out open his belly with a knife, with the most •horrid imprecations Fortunately for me, a Canadian, •named Lavigne, joining his entreaties to mine, saved me though with the greatest difficulty, from sharing the fate of my friend at that moment ; — after which I was rescued from death, in the most providential manner, no less than six different times, on my road to, and at, the Frog Plain. When the attack was made, our party consisted of twenty-six persons, Mr. Bourke and another having ioeen sent back for the piece of cannon. — We had twenty-one persons killed, among whom were Gover- nor Semple, Cuptains Rogers, Mr. James White, Surgeon, Mr. Alexander M'Lean, settler, Mr. I. P. Wilkinson, secretary to the Governor, Mr. Unite, formerly a Lieutenant in the Danish or Swedish Navy, and fifteen servants.— -Mr. Bourke the store-kcrper wa» wounded on his return with the cannon, but was carried off on the carriage. A few others escaped by running, but with the exception of myself, no quarter was given to any of us. The knife, axe, or ball, put a period to the existence of the wounded, and on the bodies of the dead were practised all those horrible barbarities that characterise the inhuman heart of the savage. Prom what I saw, and from what I have •^ i'i !; 1 i- s 30 been (old, I do not suppose iat more than onc-fourlh of our party >verc mortally \frounded when they fell« but were most inhumanly butchered afterwards. I was told by Cuthbert Grant that he had found Mr. Seniple l}'ing on his side (his thig^h having been broken) and supporting his head on his hand ; thatoa being told Grant's nantc, Mr. Semple had said, " I am not mortally wounded, and if you could get me con- veyed to the fort, I think I should live." — Grant prOp niised him he would do so, and immediately left him in the care of a Canadian, who afterwards reported that nil Indian, (lie only one in their party, came up and shot Mr. Semple in the breast. — Grant told me that it was himself who gave Mr. Semple h'a (iret wound, which he supposed must have been the one in the thigh, as he immediately fell. The North- West party, I was told, consisted of sixty-two persons, the greatest part of whom were clerks, ami contracted servants of that Company...^ They had one man killed and one wounded. The leaders who headed the party were Cuthbert Grant and Fraser (the liberated prisoner) Antoine Hoole, and Michael Bourrassa ; the two former were clerks, and the two latter interpreters in the service of the North- West Company. — On the field I saw six of the North- West Company's Canadian servants, namely, Bouche, Morrin, Deschamps the elder, Joseph Uupe, Majeaux, and Lavigne, Being brought prisoner to the Frog Plain (about four miles below the Settlement) I there saw Alexander Sutherland, Alexander Murray, and his wife, and two of William Bannerman's children, settlers, and Antl prise befoil V told I ft "'- •m m '■ ■ •mn^^ onc-fourth they fell, vardg, had found ving been d ; that on id, "I am t me con- rrant prop V left him reported came up t loJd me \in 6ret he one in sisted of om were 'Panjr — d. The i Grant i Hoole, e clerks^ ! of the X of the lamcij', Joseph (about xander ^1 and )> and 21 Anthony M'Donell a servant, who wertf likeTviie prisoners. These settlers had been taken prisoners before the appearance of Governor Scmple's party. When I was at the Frog Plain in custody. Grant told me, that an attack would that night be made upon Fort Douglas, and if our people tired a single shot, a general massacre would etisuc. " You see," observed he, ** how little quarter we have shewn you ; " and now, if any further resistance is made, neither " man, woman, nor child shall be spared." — Fraser added in French " Mr. Robertson has called us blacks, '* and he shall see that our hearts will not belie the " colour of our bodies."— Being fully convinced of the inevitable destruction of the settlers, I asked Grant if there were any means by which the lives of the women and children, could be saved, and entreated him to take pity and spare them. — He then said, if we would give up all public property, viz. that of Lord Selkirk, and the Hudson's Bay Company, we should be allowed to depart, and that he would give us a safe escort until we had passed the North-West Com- pany's track in Lake Winipic. This he said was necessary to protect us from two other parties of half-breeds, that were every moment expected to come up the River, one of which he said was commanded by Mr. William Shaw, and the other by Simon, son of the Honourable William M'Gillivray. This pro- position I wished to carry to Mr. Alexander M'Donell, the chief of the Settlement : some of Grant's men however, objected to my return, but, on his assuring them that he could answer for my return, they con- fiented. — Several of them told me to take great care Si ; \ [■ I - i hew I actedj tbat 1 wjU knew it wat impotsible tb make my escape, a;id that if I forfvited my word, 1 should be tortured to death in the most cruel manner. These people were greatly disappointed in not meet- lag with Mr. Robertson, who (as they told me) they would have endeavoured to take alive, and after flaying him, they would have cut his body into small bits, and boiled it afterwards for the dogs. * On my arrival at the fort, the scene of distress I there witnessed was the mo«t painful that can be imagined. The women and children, and relatives of the slain in the horrors of despair, were lamenting the dead, and trembling for their own safety. I must here observe, that when I left the Frog Plain, it was late at night, and that Grant accompanied me, as my protector, almost to the spot on which I had seen my dearest friends fall. The shade of night hid from my view what the dawn of the following day too clearly exposed, — their mangled and disfigured bodies bearing the marks of daggers, knives, and axes, by which many had been dispatched after being wound- ed by fire-arms from a distance ; and most of iht bodies were stripped of their clothing. ' *^ After having gone three times to and froni the Frog Plain, Mr. M'Donell and the half-breed chieft came to an agreement in substance as before related. An inventory of the property being taken, the whole was then delivered up to Cuthbert Grant for the us0 of the North. West Conipany, each sheet of the in- ventory was signed by him, as acting for the North- West Company. On the ^Snd the settlers were much alarmed by a rcp< to tl whij to intel Mic theil son^ ! 1 nposBi'bie f(> my word, I uel manner. 1 not meet- (I me) tbejr and after ^ into f mall f diitreis I lat can be d relatives lamenting y. I must ain, it was me, as my id seen ray hid from g day too red bodies I axes, by g wound- from the sed chieft e related, he whole r the U80 ' the in« B North- »ed by a $ report that the hftlf -breeds intended to offer violence to the woinm of (ho Scltlcmcnt, in consequence of whicli, at thdr roquest, I wuited on Grant and Fraser, to claim their protection. They answered that the intention of llic halt-breeds only related to the wife of Michael lladeti, and promised mc that either they theniHelves would stay at the fort, or send some per- sons, in whom we could trust. "'^ '"*■' *''^'^' ^ ' The first time I returned from the fort to the Frog Plain, I was aceojnpanied part of the way by the Indian (Chiefs, who were poing* with a cart to collect the bodies of the dead, some of which they brought home, and buried in a corner of my garden. Had Governor Semple really been, (as they always called him,) their father, and his friends who had fallen, their brothers, the Indians could not ha\e expressed greater sorrow than they did on this occasion. On the 23rd we were ready to embark, when Grant came to us, and said, he could not allow us to proceed, as Mr. Alexander M'Donell, of the North- West Company, had sent an order for our detention, until bis arrival. This was dreadful news : we were with- out arms, standing upon the beach, surrounded by the ;i murderers of our friends, and in momentary fear of our wives and daughters being violated. — I reproach- ed, entreated, and did all in my power to induce Grant to let us depart. At last, on Mr. Sheriff M'Donell's observing that he plainly perceived that Mr, Alexander M'Donell wished to defraud Grant of the honour of the day, and take all the praise to himself. Grant's pride was hurt, and he, in an intem- perate manner, said, lie would keep his word in spite ■i 34 of M'Donell, and desired us to depart immediately without waiting for the escort, \n, ifhich iw. nt on the hi* partjr B settlers, from the s to have ' side the €low the un-shot, the fort le would ^ surren. Jntal, — 18, thej 8 in the ' would >e, and 35 In every transaction I bad with Grant, he always acted as an agent of the North- West Company, whose cause he was espousing. He never pretended that his motive for taking up arms was on account of any grievance of the half-breeds, but that he was retaliating and revenging the injury done to his em- ployers, the North- West Company, — particularly in having made Mr. Cameron a prisoner, and taking possession of Fort Gibraltar. On the second day after we left Fort Douglas we were intercepted by Mr. Archibald Norman M'Leod of the North- West Company, accompanied by a number of his partners, and two officers of the British army, all conveyed in ten light canoes. I heard Mr. James Hughes of the North- West Company call out " Where is that fellow Semple," to which Mr. M'Donell answered, " He is dead, Sir." Other names were called, and then my own, to which I answered, and was ordered to come on shore. I handed my protection to some gentlemen of Mr. M'Leod's party. Being led to understand that the officers had been sent out by Government, I claimed the protection of one of theni, and was informed by him, that he was there merely as a visitor, but, at the same time, he assured me no one should harm me. From thence I was conveyed in a canoe along with one of the North- WestCompany's clerks to the Riviere aux Morts, at which place the settlers were detained by Mr. M'Leod. While there, some of the part- ners of the North- West Company having made som^ unjust remarks upon my conduct, 1 was urged to ex- press niy feelings with some degree of warrnth, at ( J I I I- |0 tvhich Mr. M'Leod called ouij that if I said ano- ther word about the affairs of the Hudson's Bay and North-West Companies^ he >^ould put me in irons. I was put into a tent« and guarded bj Serjeant Rein- hard, late of the De Meuron regiment, now under sentence of death for having murdered his prisoner the late Owen Keveuy. Next day I was called be- fore Mr. M'Leod, and examined by him in the pre- sence of his partners, Messrs. Leith, M'Lellan, and M'Murray. Mr. M'Leod said, I had been active in taking the North.West Company's clerks at Pambina, and that there were very heavy charges against me. I replied, that I had a justifiable reason for all I had done, and being supported by my conscience I did not fear any responsibility to which the laws of my country would subject me. I also told him^ that I was ready to give him every information relating to my conduct, and that I would scorn to deny any action in which I had borne a part. Mr. Leigh put iiUo my hands a writ- ten note, sayi;ig, that if I gave information I should not be prosecuted, as principals could not be admit- ted as evidence. I told Mr. M'Lcod the idea of criminating others to save myself was repugnant to my feelings, but, without claiming any indul- gence, I would truly answer any question he might put to me. Mr. M'Leod then desired I would re- late the circumstance of taking Pangman and the others at Pambina, which I accordingly did, in sub- stance the same as I have already stated. During my examination, Mr. M'Leod finding mc to perse- vere in some truths, said, he would pull down that A t said aao-. I's B&y and ne in irons, jeant Rein. now under MS prisoner called be- in the pre- -ellan, and taking the , and that I reph'ed, done, and 3t fear any I try would dy to give duct, and ich I had ds a writ- I I should )e admit- le idea of jpugnant ny indul- le might k'ould re- and the in sub- During o perse- wn (hat 37 spirit of mine. He likewise sent for all my papers^ which were perused by himself and partners : they kept of them what they thought proper, and returned to me the rest. He then gave me a subpoena from the Court of King's Bench, Montreal, requiring ^y attendance for the Ist of September, in a cause the ^ing V. John Spencer. I was then ordered back to a tent, and soon after Mr. Sheriff M'Donell was brought in as a prisoner, after which he was bailed to appear the Ist of September, 1817, at Montreal, if re- quired. The settlers were detained a few days at this place, and as soon as they were gone, Mr. Bourke, myself, Patrick Corcoran, Michael Uaden, and Donald M'Key, were placed together in a tent, and a guard of armed men put over us. We remained here five or six days — treated with the greatest in- dignity. We were frequently removed from one tent to another, apparently with a view of exposing us to the contempt of the surrounding spectators, con- sisting of Indians, Half-breeds, and Canadians. When Mrs. Pritchard, who was in a very precarious state of health, and who came to take what she con- sidered a last adieu, under the idea of my going to prison in Canada, and herself thrown on the wide world without a protector, 1 was not allowed to speak to her but in the presence of Serjeant Rein- hard. During our stay at Ihis place, the Indians, unper- ceived by the North -West gentlemen, stole into our tent, and shewed us every token of affection, and commiseration for our situation. They brought medicine to dress Mr. Bourke's wound. As soon as Mr. M'Leod returned from Red River, l M I 1} ' 38 I vfAB conveyed to Bas de la Riviera Winipic^ on board a canoe, in which was Mr. Crebassa a clerk, and the before-mentioned Serjeant Reinhard. The other prisoners were in a batteau, and guarded bj Primeau, an interpreter in the service of the North- West Company, and one of the most violent of the half-breeds, and who had made two different attempts to murder me when I was a prisoner at the Frog Plain. At Bas de la Riviere we were confined in a house guarded by a centinel on the outside, and Serjeant Reinhard within. It very frequently happened that some of the half-breeds were admitted into the house, and paraded about us, and, among others, the In- dian who was said to have killed Governor Semple, and who seemed particularly fond of exhibiting Mr. Senjple's sword, which hung to his side. Soon after we were brought to Bas de la Riviere, it was reported that Captain Miles Macdonell was in the neighbourhood, on his way to Red River. Im- mediately Mr. Archibald M'Lellan and Serjeant Reinhard began to mount cannon on different parts of the fort, and were very often practising them at firing upon the river. At this place I saw some cannon and ammunition, which had been taken by Grant's party from the Settlement on the 19th of June. Reinhard told me, that Captain Macdonnell would not be allowed to pass. I observed, that we prisoners were extremely unfortunate, as in case of a conflict with Captain Macdonell, the half-breeds would very probably murder us. Reinhard replied, that Mr. Alexander M^Donell, who was then in the fort, had said the same thing. > I was detained at Bas de la Riviere till about the «vi_^-;i*M««rE5i3t;s ^Vinipic, on aasa a clerk, ^ard. The guarded bj the North- )lent of the attempts to rog Plain, in a house nd Serjeant >pened that the house, r«* the In- or Serople, Jiting Mr. a Riviere, ell was in ^er. Ira- Serjeant rent parts ' them at >aw some taken hy of June. ould not 'risoners conflict would d, that he fort, out the 39 10th of July. Mr. M'Leod had arrived from the Grand Rapid a few days before. He was much dis- satisfied at a written statement I gave to him of the massacre of the 19th of June, in Red River. He pretended to carry on further proceedings as a magistrate, — some of us he summoned as witnesses ; others he charged with criminal offences; but we were all treated as prisoners. — A party of half-breeds tame into our room and put irons upon the hands of Mr. Bourke, saying, they did that of their own ac- cord, as a punishment for his treatment to Mr. Came- fon; but Mr. M*Leod, the magistrate, and several of bis partners were then in the fort, and, of course, must have sanctioned this act of the half-breeds, which *^ was much aggravated by Mr. Bourke's being thereby disabled from dressing his wound, which was still in a bad state. ; , . . , Mr. Bourke and the other prisoners were embarked on board different canoes, destined to Fort William, tnd, two days after, I was embarked, with Messrs. Simon Fraser, Charles Grant, and Fraser the half- breed chief, who always sat between the other two gentlemen, and messed with them as long as he re- mained in our company. — The second or third day from Bas de la Riviere, we met Mr. Daniel M'Kenzie, who said he was going to Red River, and Fraser, the half-breed chief, embarked with him. — At Lac la Pluie I was at first admitted into the fort, but almost instantly was ordered out again, and put under a tent, at the bottom of the hill, amongst the dirt and filth of the animals of the fort. The 22nd July I arrived at Fort William, where iJ .. I ^1 i'i :^~ ua&L.i»^ IS told to con. « exception of oM that Mr. consider me as e person who imprisonment lot. Ikirk arrived. Soon after "'. and said, same time he isa vowed my go where I 'trate, ques. nts that had o preceding e, the same 8 foregoing^ 'c Hudson's ^G North- 'ons, were ' M'Pher- ''- Wiiham !ci him by er, f saw who had ^rd Sel- s I Wat > hiving 41 were obliged to call in the assistance of Lord SeU kirk's servants to enforce the execution of them. Soon after this I was sent by Lord Selkirk to ob- tain intelligence respecting the fate of the settlers who had been driven away from lied llivcr, and also to carry into the interior a proclamation of His Ex- cellency the Governor in Chief, commanding all pejrsons to keep the peace. Wishing to avoid as much as possible all collision with the North-West ConipaH', , I was passing over the carrying place at Lac la Pluie in the night, when ten armed men rushed out of the bushes, and took me a prisoner to the North-West Company's Fort, where I found Mr* John Dcase in charge of that post. He said that what his men had done was in obedience to his order. After some altercation, and a detention of ||)out twelve hours, Mr. Dease allowed me the choice of proceeding, or returning, at the same time telling me (hat if I persevered I should repent it. Knowing of the preparations at Bas de la Riviere, I determined to rt'turn, ;»nd when I informed Mr. Dease of my intention, he observed I did well, and that I owed my life to his having arrested my pro- gress. J. PRITCHARD, London^ Mh May^ 1819. ■'■«*,-•? tmt tli im in 'j; H * I, NAl nJ * IH': J >1 i I ti -1. « ., : ■ -;.. , . i.l ,:.^ IcngJi ,:. V ■..'■■'_. ^. - 4*4 . Bay C ^'-- •^>..*^ . ^rtsoi - . ' ^ • -. ' ^i-^S *;jil-i^ . Teftit" -. - . : .. . \; ^M^ ibcW \ ■ >- ^ .:>'^^r at Re ' \ . ^ ^ '-: • / »w<»( . lal of ^jv. ^ ai -■■; vi i V'' if -I- ;f-'<4t*^- " . l^ortl e <.. . • , . ■ .!, T,n4ril', , - noem '' ■,', ■ - .'-.^■f'Hu:^ Ijytli ' . - ' ■'- t-= 4 ^ iO^ towa ' -*^' ■'■'' ''^ •■ .v**-? '' 'i .v-;i-v'i -z^* f? ***P' .*.. ■>.,'" "-^ ^ and J T- '- " ■ I".- the - ■'• - , ' " - -"< <*!'/' lig« '■ - . ■ ; ^'^' ' ha^ .* »^ ,■ Co .-:'^.^.' .:--^ = on R Jt tl ■l ii 43 i-i •i' '" :-^'lVB;t, ■"'-^/^■*i,,' '-*^^i-M •' i-JV j'- IS? ' yl^ ■i4:;. riv. 1- NARRATIVE of Pierre Chrysoloque ^1 Fambrun of Montreal, ^' rmerly Lieute- ^^ nant in the Voltigeur Corps of Lower r' Canada. ii '*+^^"'^' ^JJ^TT ri i 4i ^e proceeded to thelZT ^' """""""■• Fo'k', .bout the t„e„S ; !"" """*" "' "■« taken care of 1^ '"""""' '"'' "''o had Ti.e,e Je . e^JaZLr ."'V'"'' '''•"'"'•'"- rival, and proved ver. 7 f ' """" °" *>"" "- "' "'""en, aa I understood harf h... / fifteen or ,Ufeen bushel, of „i, " ' ""^ ^« »bout of barley and pea, .„rf !. *"' '''~'" '*" '"'•fceJ. tte Colony, several of the Zl u ! '""""• "^ ; "-■> o«„ lo,, but he erf; If",.'''' T" «"""» •J-froyed b, the horse, of tS brtn* "T "'" '"nning l„„,e therein. "^'f-bfeed. and other, ^hen Governor slm V ^*'""'''« »'" •'«''"y. 'on. about hrcK' tl '*' ""'"■ " "" ^o' that place and I ! ''"'Ration, came up to O-fferent 'o t ' TZT '''" "" ' '"" «» "> « -fter which I retu 1 '"""""" '*"" «*'' «'>«" ; ti-ued ,,. that le "m T'" '" '''"'""'■«> •>><1 CO -ond of i?';;;,''."»<' "" -"out the ..«»*, Po^t at Pa^bin. .a, ILtVr,-! "'!.'1<"«' ^e, J Shenao;-"«;-»aj aod muar^, he Co- up to to the vers ; con- silt V- Vest the ing; 45 provisions in the Plains, but was sent for about ihd 90th March, and was requested by him to convey Oown lo Fort Douglas, Peter Pan|rman (dit Bosto- iMUs) Hrssc, Alexander Eraser, and Cotonohaye^ Hlur lialf-breeds whom he had deemrd it necessary liidelaiM as prisoners, in consequence of his being in- fiirmfd that the said half-breeds were appearing to ISsemble in a hostile manner, and had used threats to IHrevent their hunters continuing to provide food for me Settlement. In consequence I conveyed the said ^ur persons as prisoners to Fort Douglas, where I \ldielivered them to Mr. Colin Robertson ; and, a tew 4ays afterwards, Cotonohaye and Alexander Fraser were set at liberty, on promising, in my presence^ thaf they would not join any party assembling to injure the Colony, and the other two \;ere in like manner discharged, rome time afterwards, as I understood^ a£Ler entering into a similar engagement. On the 12th day of April 1816, I was sent by Governor Semplc to the Hudson's Bay trading post at Qu' Appellc, being furnished with a letter of instructions of which the following is a copy : — ; " Mr. Pambrun, Fort Douglas, IZtk April, 181 6. "••1 SIR, t€ (( (I is Having received intelligence from va- rious quarters that the agents of the North* West Company intend attempting to intercept our boats in their passage from Qu'Appelle hither, you will proceed as soon as possible with the men whom Mr. Robertson will place under your orders to Brandon House. When there, you will concert '"'J '.) 46 I t 1 t / I to proceed to QuAppelle „";!"?'" •""-«. J- either ce. however 1 '" " ^"^"^ «.t e„.i,e„ wir;„T, ;rr°'*"''''"«f-" you carefully .void every uhJ'u'"^. *»'' «'■•« fi" bju,.ified b^theeonZcUf ! °"""'' """' half-breed, h.vi..^ been orde "^r' ""'""«•• The French Fort .t SnlLl""' """"""'"e.t ,he committed by (hen, „uTw '-I" °' """"'''J ■""t'd by im«edi.,r . d , 7"*"" •• '«»»- ''•'ed accordingly. "7,;-^; """ '"P^'W or ret.. -oderation. an! !be cooTe/i:'"' "■•' "- Ponents. will p„ve„t .' """» "^ our op- »««» " "'•^y then»elvc, „.Ld "^"^ '^°" "" ^""C «--«'-faimttheC„,o„^„^;j"«c'edviolene- •^ '^^^ ^»ver, and were ft It «r rr re (r «f »f rf cr re fr «r € tt tt deciding H-ii, "^y ^i«ii that **'''^J'. uiitii »«niie«. The ^'^hle at the *»'* hostilitjr ■'*' «« com- «fi:«nt« of '<* or reta. *^ our op- '«tufbance <'»«* th0 ken part ut con/ft ■jJM i 47' PI£. rurnished with ammunition and other supplies by Alexander M'Donell, a partner of the North- West 'Company, then in charge of the said Company's post at Qu'Appelle. In the beginning of May« 'Mr. James Sutherland, commanding at the Hudson's 'Bay post, embarked, with myself and twenty-two •iien, in five boats loaded with twenty-two packs of ffbrs, and about six hundred bags of pcmmican, and ■fk quantity of dried and salt provisions, and twcnty- 'threc stand of arms. ^^ As we were going down the river, about the 12tli 5«f May, and had entered a rapid where we were em- 'barrasHcd with the difficulties of the navigation, we were attacked by a party of about forty-nine ser- vants of the North- West Company, partly Cana- dians, and partly half-breeds, who were lying tn wait for us ashore, under the command of Cuthbert Grant, Thomas M'Kay, Roderick M'Kenzie, and Peter Pangman Bostonois, clerks or interpreters of the North- West Company, and Brisbois, a guide. They took us prisoners, and brought us to the fort of the North- West Company, where I saw Mr. Alexander M'DoneU, who avowed that it was by his order that Grant and the others had taken, and forcibly seized us, and our property. The said M'Donell also declared, that it was his intention to starve the colonists and servants of the Hudson's Bay Company, till he should make them surrender, and that it was with a view to starve them that he had taken the pemmican or provisions, which Sutherland was conveying to the Colony; When the servants of the Hudson's Bay Company had 48 ll' |1 been kept prisoners at M'Donell's post for five dajd, the said Alexander M'Donell liberated them all, except myself, after ha'^ing made them promise not to take up arms against the North- West Company. During the time I remained prisoner at Qu'Ap- pelle, a party of half-hreeds, under the command of Michael Bourassa, arrived from the Saskatchewan. Alexander M'Donell's party received tliem with a salute of small arms, and the flags were hoisted. I saw a blacksmith, by the name of Gardepie, a serrant in the employ of the North- West Company, at that time employed in their fort, making lances and daggers ; also repairing guns and pisstols for the different half-breeds then going upon the expedition for the destruction of the colony. At the latter end of the month of May the party left Qu'Appelle, under Alexander M'Donell's command. They were armed each with a gun, pistol, bow and arrows, lance, and dagger. They also took with them two brass swivels, which ( was told by Alexander M'Donell and others, were taken from the Colony the year before. During their stay at Qu'Appelle, their whole amusement was in shooting at the mark, singing war songs, practising with their lances, and telling each other how they would kill the English — meaning the settlers — and they also often told me they were going to kill them like rabbits. Towards the end of May, Alexander M'Donell embarked and proceeded down the river in the boati previously taken, and other boats, which were es- corted by a party of half-breeds on horseback, who followed by land, carrying witli him the provisions *Rd fur] 1 was ihcy>v< M'Dei Colon: vdiicb KorCu- Qoe anj Hiver lM*Do from Indiai from in pr India inters mean of it •N9»4wlM«*4 them aJl, mise not Qu'Ap. "and of tcliewan, w with a hoisted, ^epie, a ompanj, iances 8 ior the Pedition t'er end ^Ppeiie, ^y were arrows, I pelle, mark, >i and glish line 49 llnd furs which his people had taken on the 12th. I was made to embark in one of the boats, and as tbej were coming down the river I heard Alexander M'Dcnell say, that the business of last year at the Colony wa« but a trifle in comparison with thai iivbich would take place this year; and that the North-West Company, and half-breeds^ were now one and the same. At the Forks of the Assiniboine Itiver we encamped waiting the arrival of Allan M'Donell, who was expected to join us with a party from Swan River. The day after his arrival an Indian chief, who was encamped a short distance from us, was sent for, and Mr. Alexander M'Donell, ill presence of many of his people, addressed the Indian and some of his men in French, and it was interpreted in the Indian language by Joseph Pri- meau. I heard the whole speech, and the purport of it was as follows : — " My Friends and Relations, " I address you with bashful ness, for not having '' more tobacco to present you. It is the English " people who are the cause of it. They have " stopped the supplies that were coming for you. " You know who I mean — those that make you " believe that they are cultivating the lands for the " good of the Indians — but don't you believe them. " They are spoiling the lands that belong to you " and to your relations the Metifs only. They are " driving among the bulfaloe, and will render the " Indians poor and miserable, but the North- West *' Company will drive them away, since the Indians " did not choose to do it. If the settlers resist, the " ground shall be drenched with their blood. None II m 50 " should be spared ;~wc do n.^ ^ . " ^"ce of the Indians Zf ."''^ "'' «'»"♦' Wr,e. B„„ho„„e Mi'"'!:; ^"«"*' ^-^ A"*- Hoole, and about th r." ,1 """ '^*"^' the North-Wcst Company al "' * "'"'' "^ Towards the evening aI ' „H " 7'^ "^ C«„.di.„,. O'"" b, the name f To" t' '^T *"•' " ^'»•■ "ho escorted me a, prisZlrr' " ""' "P'"' «» "■« -..he, intrr:. '"L^i'-^*'-*- % post at Brandon House hln k " ""''"'"'• "ed to the North-Welf f T"^ ^' f">V^yc„. SooOs, provision,, andtl „ H^' '""•""'"» "' «•"- P'ny- Part of that nr„n '""' % Com- the N„r,h-VVest serlnT'"'' "" d-vWed among Affer (his M'Donell divided I.' r d". Cuthbert Gr«„r r J'" '^'^'' '"'o W- gadc Hool were ^'•ant. La CcrU Fr ga( 11 ""». were annoin^prf # ' '** '^es, and Se rK.I . '" '^'"'"«"d ^i/re, Seraphim La aser, and rent bri- n^er M'Doneli: Tbe .^^ T'' " ''^"'^-^ one hundred and (wen^ 1 , "^ «'""""'ed vincn (anjoiigst M ho m were • r&'t :« P we wouJrf r ^0"W join p'es of the r«n House, WerJVl'Do- ''«"^> Louis '«« M'Ka^, J wag left J' a c'erk of fCanadians. *n«'aCana- ^'^e lapid^ •^«8t fort ^ Hudson '« '«" bj' the ' ^•'»e pro- ^aj post "^f^y car. of fur,, ^^fty be- ir Con,, aniong. ' fo bfi- ' and ^ bri- W common Indians, who were related to some of j^ half-breeds, ) who were with Alexander M'Do- Vfilf, Mr. M'Doncll then proceeded in his expe- ^liltion as far as Portage des Prairies, within about fiitty miles of the colony, and, on arriving there, the Pfovisions and furs were brought ashore, and the bl^s of peramican arranged in a square fcrm so as fl form a rampart, or small fort, guarded by two |»rass swivels, which, as I was informed by M'Donell lumself, as well as others, had been taken from the colony the year before. About the 18th of June, two days after their Arrival at Portage des Prairies, Alexander M'Donell tent Cuthhert Grant, Alexander Fraser, Antoine Hoole, ar ^ Thomas M'Kay, with between sixty and seventy irhn Sive^ ^'DoneiJ »t of hig »ne8 nou- i^eter ^e haif- oF one; hat his ^«t not U and hat a« jW be ' sent i« the 63 er M'Kenzie, arrived as agents for the Northi West Company ( as the engages told me ) and also James Leith, John M'Donald, Hugh M'Gillis, John M'Laughlin, Simon Fraser, Archibald M'Lcl- laa, John Duncan Campbell^ and John Haldane, ill partners of the North- West Company, together ipith Thomas M'Murray, a partner or clerk, and Allen M'Donell, then a clerk, but now a partner, ^f the Company, as I have been informed. All these gertlemcn treated the half-breeds with great dis- tinction, after their arrival. On or about the 26th of June, 1816, a council was held by them with the half* breeds who were assembled at the distance of about an arpent ( 64 yards) from the fort. . This council was held just after dinner; and I saw every one of the partners, whose names I have before- mentioned, go from the fort to the assembled half- breeds, to whom Archibald Norman M*Leod made a speech and gave presents. I was also going to the assembly to hear the speech, but was met by one of the clerki of the North-West Company, who de- sired me to walk back, with a view, I supposed, of preventing my hearing what was said. When at table where the partners were assembled, I heard, at diftercnt times, several of tl»<^ half-breeds mention their havina: killed, and assisted in killing, the colonists, and the partners always expressed themselves pleased with what hud been done; and I have heard, at different times, every one of the partners before-mentioned express his approbation of the conduct of the half-breeds towards the colo- nists, and thrir own satisfaction at being hi posses- n\ w „^ V 414 *^n of the fort & fort, at a few ,od8 di.#» "■■ '" '''«'" of th. "■*• At Port William I *^ ''**" "'"ed affainrt Company, ^b, ^ .2 ' /"^ "" North-vC ">ej' were coDcerned .n F *"' Pfe«eoce Colonj,, and ,-„ t,„. 7 '" "-e attack up„„ , J ''"?-"'«■ 1 .1.0 ..rft P T""' *"•?'« and the P-k. Of f„r, taken frl: m"' y^- »a„, „f 2e P*"*- and also at the Z7 *""'<"''»«' fat Qu'aT "-""I into one Of J ^•' «"• B'-don Ho^ti'; ^^»7«V, where /.i """ "^ ">« A'orth VV. ttfJ'alf-breedand Cal ""'^' '"""• Some 'f ^''^^ ^-pan;t£rd';r '"''' -^ *"« ^"'^ been engaged in the M- ''""'mm^ c^.^ 7"firia*. and °'^ongiog to front of the 'w superiq. '^^^ aod ex-^ *°^ speech 'tnmed in ^ulioftfte ' freemen *o that Prisoner, "e balf- i-VVe»t reaencc »n the d the »/'the I'Ap. use) V.st B of pth- ■•■iip 55 lack against ihe Colony^ (and "who had not got presents at Red River ) received at Fort William presents of clotliing of the same description as those given at Red River, and they informed me ihut the same was an extraordinary allowance given fir their good conduct at that plaice, and bestowed ,Sf' \ Ni 1 # " 1 A obi Gc pel sel c1< th( I pa mi €€ I< IV c c • II ]■> l^ARRATIVE of Frederick Damien .|> Heurter, late Acting Serjeant-Major, and ^4Clerk in the Regiment of De Meuron. I A SHORT time before the regiment was reduced^ I obtained my discharge, by order of Lieutenant- General Sir Gordon Drummond, after my enlisted period of seven years was expired ; and engaged my- self at Montreal in April 1816, for three years, as a clerk in the service of the North- West Company, at the yearly salary of £. 100. — Before I left that place I was told by Mr. Archibald Norman M*Leod, a partner of the said Company, that I must by all means take with me to the Indian country, the regi- mentals that I had, saying, " We shall have occasion " to chew a little military practice in the interior." I embarked at La Chine the 2d of May, with Alexander M'Ken^ie, commonly called the Emperor, Daniel M'Kenzie, and Robert Henry^ partners, and Donald M'Kenzie, Thomas M'Murray, John Dease, Charles Grant, and John Ferris, clerks of the North- West Company, and also Charles Reinhard, late a Serjeant in De Meuron's raiment, who likewise obtained his discharge, before the regiment was reduced, anu also t r Hi in ■H^.^ 4«>>CV<«V % ifor by by nu ib. It- il- Lac U Plui« remained behind at Bas de la Riviere, but moat of them accompanied the brigade in their own canoes. Being delayed by the wind a day and a half at Portage dci Fran9oi8, the brigade did not ar- rive at Riviere aux Morti, (called by the English, Netley Greek, about forty miles from Red River Settlement,) till the 2 Ist of June, ut three P. M. when the brigade stopped and encamped in the evening. After we arrived at Netley Creek, Charles Reinhard and I were ordered by M'Leod, and Alexander M'Kenzie, to take charge of the two field pieces, and prepare cartridges for them ; and Alexander M'Kenzie told me that this was the place where the necessary arrangements were to be made for the at- tack upon the Colony. When I remarked that their force was too weak to make an attack, M'Ken- zie replied, that they were not weak, — that they then expected all the brigades from the North, — that Mr. John M' Donald was to come from Swan River with about forty men, to form the rear guard, — and that there was another partner of the name of Alex- ander M'Donell to come down from the Qu'Appelle River with at least eighty half-breeds, who were to make the first attack on the colony. The brigade waited, as far as I could judge, for the arrival of the expected canoes, till the morning %n the 83rd of June, and then set out without them tm the Colony. They had gone but a short distance when they were met by seven or eight boats convey- ing a number of men, women and children^ who, as I soon heard, were the settlers and others driven from the Colony, under the charge of Mr. Alexander «8 M'Doaell the Sheriff A. .-^ "SK Archibald No™„ m [1" t' '"^ « •"» •« the ..„e time!! T "''""' "^ »• ^O'- and prep J'C :^^„"'*'-' «» •<«- 0.^ great ha,te. 4^ JS! ' ''"* *^.y *derick gman, irassa, inter- s and Nor- lage- iame 65 use of the property it contained, as I had observed them to do at any of the posts belonging to the North- West Company, and as they had done with any property which lawfully belonged to them. The half-breeds on their part were entirely under the oi- ders and control of M'Leod, and his partners, and as subservient to their commands as I had observed any other clerks or servants of the North- West Company to be, and on the present occasion they were received and treated by M'Leod and his partners, as faithful servants who had rendered a most important service to the Company, by which they were employed. On my arrival, I went into the principal house at the place, where I found Archibald Norman M^Leod, -and most of hisjpartners, in the apartments which had been lately occupied by Governor Semple, in which still remained a quantity of books and some other ar- ticles which, I was informed/ and believe, to have been chiefly the property of that gentleman. All the half-breeds were then assembled in a large outer room, which had served as a mess-room for the officers of the Colony, when such of the half- breeds, and others as were not actually at table with the partners, were called into the Governor's apartment, where I saw Archibald Norman M'Leod, (in presence of Alexander M'Kenzie, John M'Laugblin, and most of their party,) shake them heartily by the hand, give them each a dram, express the happiness he felt at seeing them, and thank them for what they had done, and for their atiachmeat to the North- West Company. 66 % Next 6gy the half^ireeds, and other lervaHti <>f tlie iNfortb-Weit Company, were assembled behind the principal house at Fort Douglas, when Archibald Norman M'Leod, in presence of Alexander M'Kenzje, John M'Laughlin, and most of his partners above* named, made a speech, in which he told the half- breeds, and others who had b sen engaged in the affiur of the 19th of June, that he was very happy to lee them assembled there, — that they had defended them- selves and their lands well, — that the English had no right whatever to build upon their lands without their permission, — that he had brought with him clothing for forty of them, — that he did not expect to meet so many of them there, but that the rest should receive the like articles on the arrival of the canoes in the fall. He then exhorted them to continue to defend their lands, and to prevent the t^nglish from comings into the River any more, and, after this speech, M'Leud said to me, ** What do you think of these fellows, Mr. Heurter.., — do you think his Lordship will ever get the better of them ?" M'Leod went, accompanied by Alexander M'Kenzit, and all his partners, and the half-breeds and others on horseback, to the Forks, where he made a speech, through an interpreter named Joseph Primaux, to two Sautoux chiefs, named Peguisse, and L'Homme Noir, or the Black Man, and their bands, in which I heard him reproach them for having refused to take i^ arms against the Colony when called upon to do 80>and for having allowed the English to take Duncan Cameron and send him away a prisoner. lie called €t (t 1 1 •' S 67 them a b«nd of dogs, and threatened to punish them very letoreljr if they ever dared to befriend the English a|;ain. ' I rode the same day to the field, where Governor ^mptti and many people had lately lost their lives, in company with Archibald Norman M'Leod, Alexander M'Kenzie, John M'Donald, John M'Laughlin, Leith, Campbell, and M'Lellan, with the half-breeds and other servants of the Company, who had been, as I was informed, employed on that occasion, — all on horseback. At this period, scarcely a week ader the 19th of June, I saw a number of human bodies scattered about the plain, and nearly redrced to skeletons, there being very little flesh then adhering to the bones, and I was informed, on the spot, that many of the bodies had been partly devoured by dogs or wolves.— This spectacle, at which I was greatly fhocked, was viewed with every mark of satisfaction, and even of exultation, by the persons by whom I was •eeompanied on this occasion. All were laughing heartily at the jests which each strove to pass. The half-breeds were eagerly confounding to point out to the approbation of their masters their particular feats OR the 19th of June, which were listened to with pleasure, but I particularly remarked that the appro- bation of Archibald Norman M'Leod, Alexander M'Kenzie, and John M' Donald, seemed to be the priBcipal object of the desire of the half-breeds and others, and was lavishly bestowed on such as pointed out to them the deeds of cruelty by which they claimed dhf* letion. — There was one grave, said to be that of Dtoncan M'Naughton, a servant of the Hudson's Bay 68 •U \ ' ^ . ' Companj^ cIo«e io the path on which I rode towardt the place where Governor Sample and the rest of hii followers were killed^ and, in passing that grave« John M'Donald, partner of the North-West Conipanj, said to nie, " There lies a great rascal, who well " deserved the fate he met with, — I knew him in his " own country." — But I have since been informed, that this M'Naughton did not eiceed twentj-six years of age, and that John M'Donaid has been thirty years in America. In pasiting the ssnie grave, ou the way back to the fort, Johti M'Laughlin, partnei of the North>West Companv^ pointed out to roe a iopot, at a considerable distance, from wliich Michiiel Boura'iSi had shot Diinrun M'Naughton while running aloug tb. path towards the fort, and asked, v^ith much a>j>p.iri nt satisfaction, if I did not thii.k it was an excciii nt shot. — Alexander M'Oonell, partiiei of the North-West Company, praised to M'Leod and his other partners, an old Canadian^ named Francois Deschamps, as a person who had viistinguished himself by his zeal in their service. Tbis Deschamps is generally reputed and believed to have 'ommitted acts of cruelty in murdering the wounded when calling for quarter ; and, in recount*- ing the deeds of this man to bis partner's, Alexander M'Donell remarked, " what a fine vigorous old man ''he is." There was a scene of rejoicing the same evening at the fort, the half-breeds being painted and dancing naked, in the manner of savages, to the great amuse- ment of their masters. I had not seen the half-breedi painted on any other occ^sion^ and from my own strii anul Thip froi par] ,.„ _ -ti^'ji*. !>«■■. . ■ kDOwledge I can state that it is not their usual custom. The day after Tisiting the field, orders were given for destroying a schooner belonging to the Colony. Hugh M'Gillis, a partner of the North- Weitt Company, superintended the unrigging and stripping the schooner of cordage, blocks, iron-work, and fi Vmt articles, which could be turned to any use. Thtj ' vas done at the water side, just below and in front of Fort Douglas, and all ^he last-mentioned partners, namely, Archibald Norman M'Leod, 1^1'Kcnzie, M'Donald, M'Laughlin, Leith, Haldane, Campbell, M 'Leilan, Henry, and Fraser, were present at the fort while this work was performing, and looking on with approbation. These articles were lodged by the direction of M'Gillis, in the stores of the fort, and the planks of the deck were also torn up, and conveyed to the fort, and one of the masts was erected as a flag-staif at Fort Douglas, where it now stands. Orders were at last given to set fire to the hull when the wind should favour, which was accordingly done by the half-breeds, a few days afterwards, by immediate direction from Alexander M'Donell, when the wind blew from the northward. ' During the time that Archibald Norman M'Leod, Alexander M'Kenzie, and their partners, were at Fort Douglas, Cuthbert Grant, Alexander Fraser, Antoine Hoole, Peter Paugman Bastonois, Louis Lacerte, Michael Bourassa, Robert Montour, William Shaw, Antoine Hoole, Francis Deschamps, Rodrick M'Kenzie, and Thomas M'Kay, half-breeds and derksj or interpreters in the service of the North* West Company, as weH aa old Francois Descbampi . i 3 ;.( 70 tboTe*niehiioMd« all of tfhoM, at wai stftlad to me as the time, (except Peter Pangman^ William Sbaw, Rodrick M'Kenzie, and Robert Moiltoor) kad been engaged in the affair of the )9th of Juiie^ daily sat down at the same table with the partners abofe- named, of the North- West Company, at whkk Archibald Norman M'Leod was president ; and Ihcj usually messed at the same table with tbc partners of the Company whenever they were together, the same at other clerks and interpreters in the Companj^s employment. On the 28tb or 29th of June, Archibald Nornnn M'Leod, Alexander M'Kenaie, and all (he partnen of the North-WestCompaay above-mentiorifcd, (excapt Archibald M'Ldlan, and Alexander M'Donell) set off for the Grand Rapids of the Saskatcfaawen^ with a brigade of seven or eight canoes, and a boat* Jokn M'Laughlin, and Alexander Fraser thebaic breed, embarked in the boat, taking withr theor tkc two brass field-pieces wbich had been brought fron Bas de la Riv^rr, witi^ a stock of ammunition^ rouad and grape shot, which I delivered to them iiroin tfta stores of the cobmy. The departure of the gtand brigiide (of which Arck^ld Nonnan M'Igeod seened to take the ebwf command) was sakitedhnoAh disebsigite ol'artillefy from Fort Douglas. The s&«m dat^, Jolia George M'Tavisb, and Joftn Stewart, partners of tUe NMth*West Company, arrrtcd, attd at^ remuu4i|; ibeut an hour wttb M'Donell and M'Leilan, wmH •way agai% with jeretff appearaoce of being hifU^ pieaacd at seeingtkc fori, aaid pceperty si oaataioed^ ■atbair peMeHioik. Afew day»aft«twardr, Alexiader :^-^^' i^-^^Ki^VZJ.'.^ '* ^vVft^'titJ"--"-" '"^'T'Vt-:, T-',-^ . < u * - ' " "f^^ n ft' -J^^ i Kt ^ tJll^m f-'m m*^ 71 to me beira i*y lat |abofe- whieJi lertof M'DomH ind Archibald M'Lellan «et out^ leaving Sctraphim Lamare in char^ of Fort Douglas, where Cutbb«rt Grant and other halftbreeds, to the niiiiber of about forty, a)io remained, i;vitb orders to prevent tbn EogHsh from returning, and (besides keeping a gmird at the fort) to keep a piquet guard at the Image PUlin, about twelve miles lower down on the bank of tb« river, of which I took the command myself, for the first four days, by order of Alexander M'DonelK In the month of July, a cow and bull belonging to the Colony, were killed by Cuthbcrt Grant, for the use of the clerks and servants of the North- West Company, at Fort Douglas. — I have often heard Francis Deschanps (the son) boast that he had put to death Mr. Wilkinson, the Secretary of Governor Semple. I once asked him, in what manner he bad put Mr. Wilkinson to death. He told me that he shot him betwixt the two shoulders. A half-breed named Holms, who had stripped Mr. Wilkinson of hie clothes, when layii^ dead on the ground, and who wore Mr. Wilkiiison's coat, at that time was then standing before us. Deschamp pointed out to me with hh 6ngers in the coat, saying, *' Voici I'endroit '' oik ma balle ec' zMv^t." I then asked him again, if it was a considerable distance from which he shot hinif He said it was quite a short distance ,* that Mr. Wilkinson was running before him towards the fort* but as he, Deschamps, was a beUer runner than Mr, Wilkinson, he soon overtouk him, and then he to4>k a good aim at Um, and killed him. I have also bc^rd Michael Bourassa say, that he (Bourassa) had kilVeid DOQCan M'Naugbton. Antoine Hoolehasalso I . n 72 deicribed to me, and to otheri in mj hearing, the manner in which he killed one of the English, named (u I believe) lYiHiam Moore. Hoole informed me that be bad placed himself under cover of some pickets, which were round a grave near the place where Governor Semple was killed, and that he then saw the said person, "William Moore, as (I believe) attempting to save himself bj flight, and in so doing descend into a gully which crosses the path, and which is about fifty jards distant from the grave ; — that during the time the said person was passing the gully, he was concealed from the sight of Hoole, who, waiting till he saw him running up the opposite bank of the gully, then took deliberate aim from behind the picket, and killed him on the spot. It is usual with the half-breeds and others aforesaid, to speak with execration against the English as persona whom they would glory in putting to death, and I have many times observed Cuthbert Grant, and others of them, levelling their guns at any object, and saying if that were an Englishman^ how soon I should do for him. On the 19th or 20th of July, I had gone to the Frog Plain, in company with Cuthbert Grant, by land,--« canoe with five half-breeds at the same time going down by water, in which it was intended that I should proceed to Bas de la Riviere Winipic. — As I was about to embark, a light canoe came in sight, upon which Grant ordered the men to take to arms, saying he thought it was a canoe of the English, he himself taking his station at the edge of the river, with a pistol in each hand, which be held behind his backi 7$ When the canoe cam^ near, H was found to he Dnnfiel M*Kcnzie a partner, and Alexander Fraser above- mentioned, a half-brccd and clerk, of the Nortu- West Company, from Bas de la Rivitire, who were joyfully received by Grant and the other half-breeds, and shook hands with them all. I heard Grant tefl M 'Kenzie that if the canoe had belonged to the Engllsfi, he was prepared to fire upon it. M'Kenzie told nre that he was soon to go back to Bas de fa Hividre, and that I might tukc a passage in his canoe. The canoe intended for mc, \vas ordered to proceed without me, and I returned to Fort Douglas by land, in company with Daniel M'Kenzie, Grant, and Fraser. — On the way, Cuthbert Grant and Alexander Fraser pointed out to Daniel M'Kenzie the place where the colonists had been killed on the I'Qth of June, and the remains of the slain which were stilT unburied. No orders had been given for that purpose by any of the sixteen or eighteen North- West partners above-named, who bad been at the place, and I know that the bones remained nnburied the whole summer and vnnter, till the following spring, when, after the snow was melted, they were mterred by some of the settlers who had returned from Jack River. Daniel M'Kenzie seemed to me to be somewliat affected by the flight of the remains of the dead, and doubtful' of th« consequences that might result from their destruc- tion. On approaching Fort Douglas the half-breeds came oot to meet Daniel M'Kenzie, and saluted his arrival with fire-arms, and were received by him, as they had been by all the partners, with every mark of approbation and satisfaction at their conduct, L r After two daji Daniel M'Kenzie prepared to go away, and being informed that a freeman named Beautineau, who had bunted for the Colony the pre- ceding winter, was at a place eight or nine miles off, he lent me with orders to bring him before him as a magistrate for the Indian Territories, giving me a printed copy of the opinions of three English lawyers, to wit, Henry Brougham and others, concerning the Charter of the Hudson's Bay Company, which Daniel M'Kenzie told me would convince the said Beauti- neau that I had a right to take him prisoner, for that he would not know the difference between it and a warrant, not knowing how to read or to write. I accordingly arrested the said Beautineau, au Nom de la Loi, thinking it would not be right, as I car- ried only the opinion of lawyers, to arrest him in the King's name, and brought him before the said magis- trate, who, in the presence of the half-breeds and other servants of the North-West Company, and the freemen at the place, abused him for having assisted the English, the enemies of the North- West Com- pany. Daniel M'Kenzie then made roe read and translate to the assembled half-breeds, and other servants of the North- West Company, and the free- men about the place, his commission from Sir Gordon Drummond as a magistrate for the Indian Territories. He then made Beautineau bring his baggage to the side of the river, the canoe being already in the wa- ter, and threatened to carry him off from his family a prisoner to Montreal, for his desertion of the in- terests of the North-West Company, and for bunting for the Colony ; but at last he was discharged on 75 Gliding lecurity for hii good behaviour, which wai given by Antoine Hcole, who, ai above-mentioned, had coufeiied the murder of the person named W. Moore, as I believe, and took upon himielf to be reiponiible for the good conduct of Beautineau, who was charged with no offence whatever. After thii, and before parting with Beautineau hii priioner, the magistrate went with him into the apartment of the late Governor Semple, when they both got drunk together, and he was afterwards supported to enable him to reach his canoe. The half-breeds, Roderick M'Kencie, and Alex- ander Fraser, and myself, accompanied Daniel M'Kenzie to the Bas de la Riviere Winipic. where we found the above-mentioned Archibald M'Ldllan, partner, Lacerte the half-breed, and Charles Rein- bard clerk, of the North- West Company, and about six or eight other half-bretds. A ball was given to the half-breeds in the evening by M'Kenzie and M'Lellan, and their drinking and singing was kept up nearly the whole night. During the ball I wai for some time in an adjoining room, with Daniel M'Kcnzie, and Archibald M'Lellan, and they fre- quently went with a glass full of wine into the room where the half-breeds were dancing, and drank " k " la sant6 de tous les Bois-brules." Towards morning, Alexander Fraser stabbed with a knife one of the half-breeds in a quarrel, but not mortally; and Fraser wtnt away the next day with Daniel M'Ken- zie for Lac la Fluie. — I left Bas de la Riviere, the 28th of July, and returned to Red River. Alexander M'DoaelU partner of the North-West Company, arrived at Fort Douglas the 3rd of Sep* tember^ when he was received with discharges of artil- lery, and treated the half-breeds with a ball and plenty to drink, the same evening. Next day news arrived, that Peter Fidier, a trader in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company had arrived, with an aS' sortment of goods at Lake Manitoba, having sent word to the freemen to go and receive some payments due to them ; when this was reported to Alexander M'Donell, he said ^' Que Diable qu'est-ce qu'il a k faire la, il faut ailer le pilier." The sarn^ day he told me to hold myself in readiness to go next morn- ing with a party of half-breeds to pillage the said Petet Fidier, to which I made no answer. He had also spoken to Francis Deschanips (father and son), for the same purpose. An hour or two afterwards, Joseph Primaux, the haif-breed and interpreter, ar- rived with another man from Bas de la Riviere, with a letter from John Stuart, partner of the North ■ West Company, informing Alexander M'Donell that the Earl of Selkirk had arrested Mr. M'Gillivray and several of their partners, and taken possession of Fort William. Next day the free Canadians, about twelve in number, were assembled together with some of the half-breeds and other servants of the North-West Company, when M'Donell told the freemen that they must promise to take arms to defend the country, and to prevent the English, or the Earl of Selkirk, from entering the river, and told those that were unwilling to make this promise to pack up their baggage and quit the country directly. Most 77 of the freemen, rather than quit the country and leave their families, promised to hold theraBelfes at the disposal of the North -West Company, and to take up arms when required by Alexander M'Donell* Accordingly M'Donell sent some of them, the same or next day, with a party of half-breeds under the command of Seraphim Lamare^ clerk of the North- West Company, with orders, which were given in my hearing, to pillage Mr. Fidler : — I then set out for Bas de la Riviere with Alexander M'Donell, and with from twenty to twenty-five half-breeds, clerks and servants of the North- West Company, and from twenty to twenty-five Indians, of whom Mf^icabo was the chief. At Bas de la Riviere a council was held by Archibald M'Lellan and Alexander M'Donell, at which I was present ; also Cuthbert Grant, Cadotte, Reinhard, William Shaw, Bastonois Pangman, and several other half- breeds, about twenty in all, and in which M*Donell and Bastonois proposed to the half-breeds to proceed to Fort William, for the purpose of taking it, and in case they should meet the Earl of Selkirk or any of his people in the way, Alexander M'Donell pro- posf*d to them to place themselves in ambush near tie river, and fire upon, and sink them while engaged in passing the rapids ; and I remember that the Chute de Bonnet was particularly mentioned as a place where they might all be easily destroyed. A half-breed named La Plante, from the Saskatchewan, spoke in reply, saying, that he understood Lord Selkirk was guarded by a party of the King's troops ; that for his part he would never fight against them ; and that rather than be guilty of guch things, he vrould take a buffaloe robe about him and live like an Indian in the plains. The rest followed the ex- ample of La Plante, and most of them refused to ad- vance farther than Bas de la Riviere. At last Archi- bald M'Lellan and Charles Reinhard, and Cuthbert Grant and Joseph Cadotte, two half-breeds and clerks of the North-West Company, got a few half-breeds and other servants of that Company to go with them as far as Lac la Pluie in a light canoe, for the purpose, as I understood, of obtaining intelli- gence. After the canoe was gone, Alexander M'Donell told me that it was a great pity that the half-breeds had refused to go, for that he had in- tended to send me to the vicinity of Fort William, to speak secretly to the men of De Meuron's regiment in Lord Selkirk's service, and to endeavour to seduce them to desert and join the North West Company ; and that it was his plan to have offered them a re- ward of £bOO collectively, and double wages indi- vidually, if they would consent to abandon the Earl of Selkirk ; and that he would then have retaken Fort William, and brought the De Meurons to win- ter at Red River if they chose. While I was at Bas de la Riviere, a letter was brought by Thomas M'Kay, half-breed and clerk in the service of the North-West Company, from Seraphiui Lamare, informing Alexander M'Donell that his party was not strong enough to pillage Peter Fidler, the Indians having shewn a disposition to pro- tect him ; and that he had in consequence returned with his party to Fort Douglas mthout accomplish. ing the object of his orders, after advancing as far as the North -West Company's post at River Blanche on Lake Manitoba. Upon receipt of this information, Alexander M'Donell sent twelve or fifteen half-breeds to reinforce Lamare's party, with orders to proceed u-new and fpillage Mr. Fidler. While at Bas de la Riviere the table was sometimes furnished with veal, which, I was informed, was part of some calves which had been taken from Mr. Keveney, of the Hudson's Bay Company in the River Wiiiipic, on his way from Albany Factory to Red River Settlement, where these calves were sent for a breed. Some time after the departure of Mr. M'Lellan and the others from Bas de la Riviere, an Indian, named Joseph, who, as I was informed, had been sent towards Lac la Pluie with Mr. Keveney in cus- tody, arrived in a small canoe with a letter from John Dease, clerk of the North-West Company at that place, which letter had been opened, as I understood, oy Archibald M'Lellan on the way, and in which I saw written with pencil, in the hand-writ- ing of Archibald M'Lellan, " Mr. Keveney has dis- *' appeared, don't be anxious about him." In the same canoe a Canadian, Jean B. Wells, arrived with a trunk and writing desk, sent by Charles Reinhard with a message that I should take care of them for him. The trunk was open and contained a fine blue coat, four fine linen shirts, and some other gentle man's clothing, and the writing desk was locked and in a canvas cover, on which I observed the name of Mr. Keveney. I then suspected that some- thing had befallen Mr. Keveney. Shortly after 3{ I * '*J 80 wards, on entering my room I fotmd Alexander Fraser the half-breed, taking the things out, and rummaging tl^ trunk, under pretence that he was looking for papers. Next morning I sent the trunk and writing desk to the room of Alexander M'Donell, not wishing to take any charge of them, because the trunk was delivered to me open. Soon after they were sent back to me with orders from Mr. M'DoneFl, to send them f o Red River in a boat going thither. At the sar" i time tv/o boats, one of them Mr. Keve- ney's, and five canoes, were sent to Red River. A day or two before I left Bas de la Riviere, I was callec aside by one Lorin, an interpreter in the service of the North- West Company, who told me as a secret, which he said he had learnt from the Indian last-mentioned, and which he charged me not to mcn- tron, that Mr. Keveney had been murdered by Charles Reinhard, and Mainville, one of the half-breeds, who had gone iu the canoe with Archibald M'Lellan* I arrived with Alexander M'Donell at Fort Dou~ glas about the 20th of September. A few days after- wards. Seraphim Lamarc returned from his plunder- ing expedition, and I heard him tell to Alexander M'Donell that he had distributed part of the plun- der to the men employed on that service, and de- livered the rest in charge, on account of the Nortiiw West Company to Toussaint Vandrie, an interpreter and trader in their service, and in charge of their po0t in River Blanche, Lake Manitoba. On or abcut the 26th of Septembf Archibald M'Lcllaa arrived at Fort Douglas with Cuthbert Grant, Jo- seph Cadotte, Mainville, Montour, Versaille, and u 81 mder I one Rochon a Canadian. I asked Archibald M^LeU and I ^*" what had become of Charles Reinhard^ and wai yraa I *»ld J" reply that he had been left at Lac la Pluifc frunk I ^ith two men and a small canoe^ with orders to he )nell, I on the look-out, and to come off with intelligence :ause I on the approach of Lord Selkirk or any of his people, they I About the same time, a Canadian freeman, i:amed )nefl, I J. B. Davis, who has a family at Red River, arrived Ither. from Jack River, whither he had made a voyage in the Lcve- lervice of the Hudson's Bay C ompany. Alexander M'Donell sent for him, and I know that Davis passed the night in irons., in one of the bastions of the fort, and he went with me a few days afterwards to Riviere alaSouris, when M'Donell engaged him i in the service of the North-West Company against his will. Davis wintered with me at La Souris afore- said, and frequently complained to me of the manner in which he had been used by Alexander M'Donell^ and expressed his wishes to obtain redress. A few days after their return from Bas de la Riviere to Fort Douglas, Alexander M'Donell and Archi- bald M'Lellan, assembled about twenty or thirty Indians, among wl'.om was thn old Soutaux Chief cal- led the Premier, or Grandes Oreilles, when Alexander M'Donell made a speech, of which Joseph Cadotte was interpreter, in which he exhorted the Indians to take courage, to place confuience in the North- West Com- pany, who would aUva)8 l)efr!cnd them, and supply their wants, and told them, that if they allowed the English to return to the river, they would bring sol- diers with them, who would destroy them, their women, and children ; but not to be afraid because i^. I M ■-^^ the North- West Company would protect them^ and would never allow the English to return. About the same time, whilst at Fort Douglas^ Lorin, inter- preter in the service of the North- West Company, came to me and told me that Alexander M'Doneli wanted the blue coat that was in Mr. Keyeney's trunk. The trunk being in the store, I told Lorin to take the coat out of it, and I went with him to M'Doneirs tent, when I saw the coat delivered in M'Doneirs presence to his mistress, who is the daughter of the said liOrin^ p.ad who immediately put the coat into one of M'Donell's trunks, among his clothes. M'Doneli then told me that the clothes remaining in Mi*. T^PYcney's trunk were to be kept for Charles Reinha; u The clothes remained in the store till I was ordered Ij \rchibald M'Lellan to give them to a half-breed for a horse which he was purchasing for Reinhard, in compliance with a request from him for that purpose. '- ' ^ On the 1st of October I set out with Alexander M'Doneli, Cuthbert Grant, and others, for Riviere a la Souris, of which post I took charge. Previous to our arrival there, we remained two days at Portage de Prairie, from which place I was ordered by Alex- ander M'Doneli, accompanied by six half-breeds, to proceed to the mouth of River Blanche (Lake Mani- toba) where there was a trading po^t of the North- West Company in charge of Toussaint Yaudrie, »\i interpreter and trader in the Company's service, to take an inventory of the goods of which Mr. Peter Fidler, of the Hudson's Bay Company, had lately ' ' been plundered, aod to order Yaudrie to abandon *feU the trading post at River Blanche^ and proceed to Fort Douglas with the stolen goods. M'Donell and Cutbbert Grant proceeded to Qu' Appelle River^ taking with them from Fort Douglas one brass field piece, three-pounder, belonging to Government^ a small brass swivel belonging to the Colony, about twelve or fifteen military muskets and bayonets, and a quantity of round and grape shof, with ammu- nition for the artillery.— Ten or twelve days after- wards, news arrived that Captain D'Orsennem had taken possession of Lac la Pluie, and that Charles Reinhard had been apprehended. . ., M'Lellan having invited me to visit him at fort Douglas OQ Christmas, I did so, and while there, I observed a trunk of clothes, belonging to, and left by Charles Reinhard on his leaving Bas de la Riviere, out of which Joseph Cadotie, who had the keys, bad taken several articles belonging to Reinhard, for which reason, I resolved to take the trunk with me, to take care of it for Reinhard. — When I was about to take it, Archibald M'Lellan desired me to put the clothes into a cassette which he had in the store, and which had belonged to Mr. Keveney, and contained the articles beretufuic-nientioned, as given for a horse, and to give him tbe trunk in exchange for the said cassette, for fear, as he said, that the English should come and recoghise ihe cassette in his possession, but that at La Souris it would be out of their way. Archibald M'Lellan, for the same reason also, told me to take away Mr. Kevcney's writing desk. By Aittiniboine, a half-breed servant of the Nortb-Wett Company, M'Lellan wrote a letter to Alexander 1" ( I i& ■f «4 M'Donell to send ten or twelve half-breeds for the defence of Fort Douglas, and to send a few to Pam- 'bina to be on the look-out, and to give warning of the approach of any of Lord Selkirk's people. — The said Assiniboine returned to La Souris from 'Qu'Appelle River on the 13th, and told me, that Cuthbeft Grant was coming with about twenty half- breeds to reinforce Fort Douglas. Three days afterwards, one La Pointe and three other men arrived at La Souris, as (hey stated, from SaiiH Sainte Marie, by way of Fond du Lac, and brought newst that the English from Lac la Pluie hsCl passed Pambina, and it was believed had taken Fort Douglas. Cuthbek't Grant and his party arrived at La Souris the 22nd of January, and having heard •La Pointe's news, determined to proceed and see wheiLher Fort Douglas had been really taken or not. Cuthbert Grant asked me to accompany him, saying, de threw it into the « ^- '« ^"f ',. ^ost of the party .. ce. .acre. P^^'^^^'^^b^t Cadotte urged them '^'•'^"'rirune'troadhy.hichthepcople on, ..ymg that he knew t^ ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ ftom the fort u.ua Uy «en «o ^^^^ ^ .^ could easily be tf ».P'7;';rty, but Ver«.ille ^ife and returned w.th the pa y, .b.olutely refused to return. ^^ ^^ °" "'• 'ttlX- Fort Dougla., the Ugimoniere, fifteen m ^^^^^^^^^ ^,,^ party took four me», w.thtor g ^^^^^ ^^^^ hadcomefromthefort and were gg ^^^^^^ for meat ; and the »me ev^n g, ^^ ^ ^^ and La Pointe went, a, Calot ^^ ^ house of a f'~;;;;t g "^ ^pliit. which had keg of powder, and two keg been concealed there i"'h«'»»;^ t„ „turo to Next day I set out -"''*;;/» ] ^ Cadotte La Souris with the four V"!;, n^RWer with and Cuthbert Grant went to Qu Appe i: m the psLTiy, aud returned ugaiii to La Souris on the 19th of February, with twenty-six halCbrcedSj with the design of going to Fort Douglas, and demanding the liberation of Archibuld M'Lelian, Seraphim Lamar^ and Mainvilie (wiio were utere detained as prisoners for the murder of Kevene)r, and other crimes) and, if possible, to recapture the fort. Cuthbert Grant ordered the Canadian servants of the North** West Company at La Souris, to take arms and join the party, but they all refused, though he threatened to send them to Montreal, and to have them punished for disobeying the orders of their Burgeois. A free Canadian, named Marsolet, ^wished to keep bis son a half-breed from going on the expedition, remarking that he did not think it right to make war on subjects of the same Crown ; Cuthbert Grant in consequence threatened to take Marsolet himself along, as well as his son, and to tie him on a sledge, punish him, and even to blow out his brains. — Joseph CadotLe, who had once held a lieutenant's com mission in the Indian Department (the same for v.hu<«e apprehension on account of the murder of Ki veoey, a reward has been offered by proclamation) proposed to hold a ^'ourt-Martial on Marsolet, which was accordingly uone without delay. Cuthbert Grant was president, Louis Lacerte, Autoine Hoole, Peter Pangman Bastonois, Robert Montour, Frani^ois Deschanips the son, and I, were members of the said court. Joiieph Cadotte (who, as well as several of the members, was intoxicated) appointed himself judge advocate, saying, Jbe was best qualified for that office, by having a good tongue.— Marsolet being brought before the Cow:*, 87 and required to itate his reasons for refusing io allow his son to do his hiiy, and to procerd with the party under Mr. Gran* s command, said that he thought it wrong to male war against the subjects of the same Crfi^n ; and that he had heard tiie Proclamation of the Governor-Gcncrul read, which was to put an end to all disturbances in the country, and to bring the disorderly to justic 2 ; that matters were now in the hands of the law, and that they would do well to remain quiet and to let the law decide.—- Lacerte then accused Marsoirt of the crime of preventing Iiis son doing bis duty to his Burgeois, called him abusive names, threatened to tie him on a sledge, and drag him along, and even to blow out his brains. Cadotte, who was much in liquor, addressed Marsolet and told him that his son was ens^aged in a good cause ; that he ought io take an example by the gentlemen present ; that they would not be engaged in a bad cause; that they would be applauded and rewarded by Government for their services ; that he himself had been in the service of Government, and that he possessed sufficient influence to procure them ample rewards. To this, Marsolet leplied, that though he was then alone, he would never consent to his son going on such a service, but that if they took him by force, he could not help it, and then withdrew, remarking that " Contre la force il n'y a pas de *' resistance." On the same occasion, Antoine Hoole said, in presence of Marsolet, *' II faut en tuer ** quelq jes-unes, pour montrer un exemple a ceux ** r>;ui ne veulent pas iious joindre, pour faire marcher '* I2S autres," and likewise heard Francis Deschamps 't ) : i*' i i ::m»r*m*^ ,^^ ^^^ .0^, \^^< IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ^o 1.0 I.I 1.25 m B2.2 ■ 40 lit mi 2.0 HMb Hiotographic Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STRUT WnSTH.N.Y. 14SM (716)172-4903 ^•v ^5^ <^ \ ^^^><^^\ <> M y the ion uj, that he had already killed lome ofiht Bioglisbi and he hoped to kill still more of them. Another free Canadian^ named Ammelin, i/vho had two soni half-breeds, likewise refused to allow them to go with the party, saying, that he would rather have his head taken off his shoulders, than that thej should go. When this was reported to Guthberl Grant, he said it did not signi^, that he would take them along. Having received a letter from Alexander M'Donell, ordering me to go with Grant if required, I ingly set out with the party on the 22nd of < and> on passing certain freemen's tents near the post of La Souris, Cuthbert Grant forced Ammelin's two sons to join the party. The lad having at first said he must have his father's consent, was asked by Joseph Cadotte how old he was, and having replied, that he was twenty, the said Cadotte told. him, that he was old enough to act for himself, and should not mind his father, and accordingly took, him on ; but his younger brother was allowed by Cuthbert Grant to remain in case his father, who was in bad health, might require his services. At Portage des Prairies, the party met one Desloges coming from Fort Douglas, who informed some of the party that there were many people at thefort, that it was well guarded and 80 strong (hat they could not expect to take it. Upon this, many of the party wanted to return, but Joseph Cadotte would not allow it, and upbraided them with cowardice. In the afternoon (2nd March), the party encamped on the Assiniboine River, at a place called Pointc ■'M aux Chines, a little above the Forks. When the encampment was made^ Cuthbert Grant, and Joseph Cadotte, ordered the men to take their arms and follow them to the freemen's houses near the Forks, to see if they could take prisoners any of the people from Fort Douglas. None were found except some Canadian servants of the North- West Company, (who had been in the fort, when it was taken by Lord Sel- kirk's people,) a freeman, and some women and children, — all of whom were conveyed to the encamp- ment. Cuthbert Grant sent a freeman named Saussice to the fort with a letter, and after receiving the answer. Grant told the half-breeds that the Governor had refused to deliver up the prisoners, and that he had challenged the people in the fort to come out and fight them at eight o'clock next morning. The same evening, a cow and a heifer belonging to the Colony, were brought to the camp, which Cadotte immediately killed with an axe with great exultation. Next day, (3rd of March,) Cadotte proposed to go to the Frog Plain, and there to watch for an oppor- tunity of attacking the settlers expected from Jack River, and likewise to send a party to take Bas de la Riviere. This plan was opposed by Cuthbert Grant and bj me, on the score of want of provisions, and then Cadotte sent out parties to bring in all the cattle and horses they could find belonging to the Colony, say- ing that if he could find plenty of provisions, he would lie about the fort, and shoot every person that should TCDture out. The parties in quest of the cat- tle only found one cow, which Cadotte immediately dispatched, at he had done the others. On the 4th N 'F/' '■»"■ . !i(l(l|J4.l)fjH! fJV W >■ IM'i^dW. ff-:; ,f1 :- 90 of MarcL^ the provisions being nearly out^ it became necessary for the party to return. Cadotte then pro- posed to go to Panibitia, and to k\\\ a party of Lord Sel- kirk's people who were there, saying that they must not return home without striking a blow to maintain their warlike reputation, and he accordingly made ase> lection of men for that purpose. About nine o'clock, A. M. the party set out, and, at the separation of the roads for La Souris and Pambina, happening to to be in front I took the track to the former place, and was followed by Cuthbert Grant, who came next to me, but Joseph Cadotte struck into the path for Pambina, and called to the men to follow him, but observing Grant and me go towards La Souris, they all refused, and the plan was therefore given up. I was present when the proclamation of the Gover- nor-General of the 16th of July was read by Cuthbert Grant, Joseph Cadotte, and others, to the illiterate half-breeds, and other servants of the N3rth-We8t Company, and the proclamation, and other papers, were read so as to produce an impression suitable to their own views. When I read the said proclamation as it was printed, the half-breeds and others remarked a great difference from what they had understood its meaning to be before, and this circumstance gave rise to suspicion among the leaders of the half-breeds, that I was not zealous in their cause. This suspicion was increased by some letters in the German language having passed between me and Jacob Witschy, late sergeant of De Meuron's regiment, and now in the service of the Earl of Selkirk. It soon canae to my 'i mim t became lien pro- Lord Sel. ley must maintain ladease- o'clock, ration of ening to er place, lo came into the > follow ards La herefore Gover- luthbert i literate h-West papers, iable to mation marked :ood its ive rise ireeds^ ipicion iguage y, late in the to my 91 knowledge that some of the half-breeds had remarked I was very reserved, and had not done any thing to distinguish myself in the service, — that there must be something secret in my correspondence with Witschy, —and that they had resolved to report their suspi- cions to the aforesaid Alexander M'Donell, the part- ner in charge of the department. I had long per- ceived that it was impossible for me to continue in the service of the North-West Company without being forced by my superiors into the commission of crimes, or being exposed to their vengeance if I re- fused obedience. I likewise suffered uneasiness for the necessity I was under of associating with persons who boasted of having murdered their fellow-subjects, M and pillaged and burnt their property. If there had been any independent magistrate in the country, I would have made application to him, but there was none except those who belonged to the North-West Company, and I bad not, for months, the means of effecting my escape. The first moment I thought I could escape in safety, I quitted Riviere a la Souris, and came to Fort Douglas at Red River, on the 23rd of March last, when I stated to Miles Macdonell, Esquire, the Governor of the Settlement, all the before-mentioned facts which I had witnessed in the service of the North-West Company, and I also took an early opportunity uf desiring the same information to be laid before His Majesty's Commissioners on their arrival at Red River. .i (SigDcd) F. D. H£URT£R. 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