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Les diagrammes suivants illustrant la m^thoda. « • 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 ^ rW , aNADA NATIONAL LIBRARY BIBLIOTHEQIJE NATIONALE r ro^ rr v< k NARRATITIS ' i % - , M ^■ ,i i .1 ;l 1 r I *^', '^bft'ft-*-" J* * P£ ^# „^ k^llk -.■J ?•*] ^ '^1 li: o f i „**^' NARRATIVE 99 OCCURRENCES IN THR INDIAN COUNTRIES OF NORTH AMERICA, SINCE THE CONNEXION OF :i '» :< d THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF SELKIRK WITH Tns HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY, AND HI9 ATTEMPT TO ESTABUSH A COLONY ON THE RED RIVER; WITH A DETAILED ACCOUNT \ OP HIS LORDSHIP'S MILITARY EXPEDITION TO, AND SUBSEQUENT PROCEEDINGS AT FORT WILLIAM, IN UPPER CANAD.V LONDON: miJfTED BY B. HeMirtAN, BOW-STRFFT, COVENT-OARDJ N, Printer to Hii Roy«l Highness the Prince Regent. SOLD BY T. EGERTON, WHITEHALL; NORNAVILLE AND PBLL, NEW bond-street; AND J. RICHARDSON, ROYAL EXCHANGE. I8J7. 7i 139"51 Ul a 4 1 r ••■3- .#^. ' , 'V ,'.JI -#>■* «., X' .. \f ' i;>:i ^.v^^- ■.•-.^r->F'Mii'y-iJO : u T ■-■ r »]>i:iV^ 'rrn-/ •T'-^ ^:-'iiif^i| ',« ■ ', ''■• t » '11! t\i/i: i.'li,);J; , ti» /"-U .1:! - 'A **!.'= J. ■«■!,■*■ ■M^»rt«-l.fSV^/%*rt»B-.j,^\,U %,- 'J > i.^oa V^ - ] m i ^'1 i>£ If j>iju tiivni bm. PREFACE, - ,.,0/. After the appearance of Lord Selkirk's Pam- phlet, entitled, " A Sketch of the British Fur " Trade in North America; with Observations re- " lative to the North- West Company of Mon- " treal/'and some other Publications which issued from the press about the same time on the same subject, the Author of the following pages had proposed to reply to them ; but Sir Alexander M'Kenzie, to whose authority Lord Selkirk so often appeals, and whom he su often misrepresents, was desirous of taking up the discussion ; an in- tention, the execution of which, circumstances alone have hitherto delayed. TTpon further consi- deration of the subsequent transactions in which ''Lord Selkirk was involved, and of the unfortunate occurrences in the Interior of the Nortk- tVest Country, all of which must become the subject of examination in Courts of Justice in Eng- land, it was deemed unfair by the Representatives bf the North-West Coihpany, to jibtblish an ex paftis' itSLtemeui of evidence, -v^rhich tnfght iufti- ¥ I. di I) V i^ « IV PREFACE. ence public opinion before the merits of the caKe could be lenfallv investigated. After the notice, however, which had been taken of these transactions in the public prints and jour- nals, particularly in the 31st Number of the Quar- terly Review, in which the most offensive parts of Lord Selkirk's statements were republished, with remarks calculated to mislead the public mind, and to prejudge the merits of the questions at issue, it becanie impossible longer to defer submitting to the Public a faithful Narrative of the Proceedings of the Earl of Selkirk in North America ; from which it will be seen, with what truth or justice he is entitled to assume the character of an Ac- cuser, and in represent himself as the object of un- provoked aggression. The Representatives of the North- West Com- pany have been furnished by their Constituents with the most ample materials for their defence ; and their longer silence would be injurious to themselves, and unjust to tlieir Connexions in Canada. The following detail of. facts and occur- rences since Lord Selkirk's connexion with the Indian Trade and the Hudson's Bay Company, has therefore been hastily thrown together, and, as far as th« Author has either knowledge or iaformation* 'A i r-— =^Y rf^y>T^ieBW *iitffn^ PREFACE. V is u correct account c. lliem. It Iiuh been noccs- sury to throw the Documents proving tlicirautlicn- ticity, into an Appendix, which is annexed to the publication. To that Appendix the reader s atten- tion iK earnestly entreated ; and it will bo found to contain positive proof of almost every fact asserted in the text. Whether, after perusing it, the opi- nion expressed by the Quarterly Review, *' that no " one will doubt that Lord Selkirk is an amiable, *^ honourablej and intelligent man," will obtain universal and unqualified assent, the Author will not take upon hjimself to determine. He is at all events confident, that few persons, not even ex- cepting the Reviewers, after an attentive perusal of the evidence to .substantiate the statements of Lord Selkirk's own conduct in the transactions hereafter related, will agree to find, without other proof than his Liordship's assertions, iwhat the Reviewers themselves term) Lord Selkirk's Bill of Indictment against his Rivals in Trade. If indeed the lite- rary judges alluded to had kept in mind the salu- tary iqaxim, of hearing both sides before decid- ing, tli^y would hardly have given currency to his .Lqrd^ip's libels against respectable Merchants in this qpuntry and their Constituents in Canada, far ^ ' l\ less have added fresh aiid unfounded criminations of their own to his Lordtihi(> s interested and sus- picious invectives. The following extract from that Review : '* At Montreal, we presume, he writes his < Sketch of the u Fur Trade,' which is well calculated to bring down pub- '< lie indignation on the heads of those who conduct, or who ** are concerned in it. The pains that appear to be taken, " and the plans that are laid, to seduce the Inoflfensive savages " into habits of vice, in order that the * TraHprs' nmy the ** more easily exercise a brutal tyranny over them j and the <* ferocious and unfeeling conduct of the Canadian Rivals in " the Fur Trade towards each other, setting at defiance all re- " ligion, morality, and law, are stated in such terms and on ** such evidence, that they are not only * deserving the early " attention of the public,' but will command it, and we " doubt not, call forth the immediate interference of the " Legislature"-—' is both, as to any evidence given in Lord Selkirk's pamphlet, as in fact, untrue. " '^ ' Sir A!exander M'Kenzie has certainly accused (he Traders wliu peuetruted into the country imme- diately after the conriuest of Canada, of violence and excesses ; but he has also shewn, that the pre- sent Association was formed to repress those irregu- larities and enormities, and although subsequently to the formation of that Association, an opposition took place in the Trade, which to a certain de- gree renewed those scenes; yet on the junction '\ra»'? PREFACE. vii of the two partiofl, they immediately ccaRed, and until Lord Selkirk's interference, tranquillity and peace were univcrMally established. The Quarterly Review supposcH Lord Selkirk to have been the fir»t person to complain of the law- less proceedings he denounces. The Office of the Colonial Secretary would shew abundant proof of complaints preferred against such abuses, and bo^ ynnd complaints, of substantial remedies proposed to remove the cause of them. The Act of the 43rd of the King, was passed at the earnest entreaty of the Merchants in England, interested in the Trade. Their characters are not unknown, and they can refer to their conduct before the Public, for proof no less equivocal than any that can be advanced by Lord Selkirk, of their zeal and exertions to promote the true interests of philanthropy and hu- manity. His Lordship has, however, thought proper to bring directly against them, a charge, (one of the most heavy to be found in his libel), of encouraging the use of spirituous liquors among the Indian Tribes, or at least, of opposing any regulations which might be proposed to limit or prohibit it. Of the falsehood of rhis accusation, vin PREFACE. L hf '' fc:; r -I ^1 i it is in their power to bring abundant proof. Some years ago, when they could little expect his Lord- ships views were different from those ascribed to him by his present supporters, severaj meetings took place between the Noble Lord and some of the persons in London, to whom he has alluded, the object of which was, to consider and adopt suggestions and regulations, for the prevention of a practice, in truth, as little consonant to the in- terests, as to the feelings of the Gentlemen accused. At one of these meetings Mi. Wilberforce was present, and he will probably have some recollec- tion of the readiness expressed hy the Canadian Merchants, to concur in any practicable plan, by which so desirable an arrangement could be ef- fected, but that they then doubted, as they still doubt, the efficacy, and therefore the policy, of any legislative interference in the matter. They stated, and they know that it would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to enforce the provisions of an Act of Parliament, which might be readily obeyed by one class of persons, and evaded by another. There are certain Indians, or rather mixed population of Indians and Canadians, in the Plains, on whom the Traders are dependant for I -'1 V PKEFACfi. IX food, and with whose habits and customs it would be dangerous, suddenly to interfere. If such in- terference were to take place, the Trade must be exposed to the rivalship of American Citizens on the Mississouri, who would have little scruple in making use of any means to acquire or pre- serve an influence otherwise unattainable. Subse- quently, indeed, the very Colony established by Lord Selkirk, would have rendered any legisla- tive provisions inefficient. Does his Lordship really suppose it would have been possible to pre- vent his Colonists, such as they are descried to be, from clandestinely distilling their grain, (for which they could have no sale or demand), when they cannot be deterred from doing so at home, with all the vigilance and severity which the Law can exercise to prevent this practice? If, however, the use of spirituous liquors could not be wholly dis- pensed with, or prohibited, it might &t least, by judicious regulations, and a proper understanding between the Traders, be restrained ; and this, at the meeting which took place, as above men- tioned, the Merchants offered their best endea- vours to effect. Great improvements had taken place in this b2 1^- f: - I- p.- ■ ' X VKEtiAQB. ■' respect bofore Lord Selkirk's interference, which it is essential to state, tjiat he may not lay claim ta the little merit the reviled Fur Traders are enti- tled to on the subject. It was shewn by accounts produced at the meeting, that the quantity of spi- rituous liquors introduced into the North-West Country, had in the two preceding year& been re- duced from 50,000 to 10,000 gallons; no great quantity, considering tliere were at tlmt time 2000 white persons in their employment, o^ which die greater number were to pass the winter in a Sibe- rian climate. It is true, they had succeeded in so rapidly and effectually reducing the quantity, in consequence of the union of ^' 3 Companies ; but aflter that union, it was tlic first reform they made, conscious 'Uiat th^ success of their Trade, and the security of their persons and property, were equally promoted with their own wishes on the subject, by moral improvement in the habits of tbe Indians. Will the reader believe, or rather^ will the Editors. of the Quarterly Review believe, that at that very meetings the Merchants, stated, and were ready to prove, that the introduction of spirituous liquors amongst any tribe or nation of Indians discovered for the fhrst time in their reutote researches by PREFACE. Xb tlie North- West Company, was strictly prohibited? Indeed, so faithfully has this principle been main- tained, that to this hour the use of it is unlmown to them. So much it was necessary to observe in this Preface, in answer to the unfounded calumnies on this interesting subject. The Author is less solicitous upon the other points urged by Lord Selkirk and his friends : the Courts of Justice in Canada will have no difficulty in rebutting the charges by which they are assailed; and the Editors of the Quarterly Review must surely be aware, that if such transactions as are detailed in this pamphlet by Lord Selkirk, are justified by truth, an appeal to His Majesty's Government, for the reform of abuses so scandalous, or the pub- lic exposure of them by Lord Selkirk in his place in Parliament, would have been a much more proper course for the Noble Lord to pursue, than that he has thought it not beneath the dignity of his station to adopt. The colouring attempted to be given to the lamentable scene in which Mr. Semple perished^ will be remoKred^by, the fact»o£ the case, as detailed in^ the Nanratiye ; and it i» hardly necessary to* refiito! tke miisEepresentation' on/ this subject^, into m xii PllEFACK. vi i ?-o ■t;«* t^.| f:^ Iv. which Lord Selkirk's friend in the Quarterly Re- view has been led by his zeal in the cause, and of which Lord Selkirk himself is not guilty. It is stated, that when his Lordship received intelli- gence of this event at Montreal^ he engaged, and took with him, the Meuron soldiers, to ensure the apprehension of the persons engaged in it. This happens to be utterly destitute of truth : Lord Sel- kirk, without any knowledge of this transaction, or the least reason to presume (unless indeed from the instructions he had given, which might produce such mischief) J that any affray or quarrel could have taken place, engaged these mercenaries at Montreal, for the purposes to which their services were afterwards applied. - *•* ' . '.*' . This fatal catastrophe has, however, been art- fully improved by Lord Selkirk. He seems to have expected, that the public compassion for the tragical death of an amiable and meritorious in- dividual, would shield his Lordship's prior usurp- ations and subsequent outrages, from all investi- gation. He hoped that those, to whom in a body he ascribed the premeditated murder of that Gen- . tleman, would be so overpowered by the clamour against their own imputed guilt, that they should raise ther voice in vain to seek justice and indem- I, PREFACE. XIU rii(iratIou for his Lordship's unparalleled invasions of their rights and property. . .-. The delusion of these artifices and misrepresen- tations, however, will speedily pass away; and Lord Selkirk, after preferring charges, for M'hich there does not exist a shadow of proof, will, in his turn, be called upon to answer for having ad- vanced such an unfounded accusation. In the mean time, while Lord Selkirk exhibits the me- lancholy incident of Mr. Semple's death with theatrical decorations, to excite the )X)pular feel- ing oi this country in his own favour, the Members of the North-West Company sincerely regret the fate of a man, who appears to have been qualified to be a useful and honourable member of society, and who fell a sacrifice to the implicit fidelity with which he seems to have executed the commission with which he was entrusted. Mr. Semple ap- pears to have been convinced that he was defend- ing the sacred legal rights of his employer; and that to have permitted the Servants of the North- West Company to have used the liberty of pas- sage on the soil claimed by Lord Selkirk, as they and their predecessors had done for near a cen- turi/t would have been a violation of his duty. The feeling of devotion and fidelity was honour- • If !:■- I I II !l; t y.U ) f 5? f XIV PREFACE. able to Mr. Seniple, but if in trutli he was made the instrument of illeg:a1, unwarranted, and forci- ble agressions, upon the undoubted rights of his fellow-subjects, it is to be lamented, that such a man should have fallen in asserting the unfounded claims of others. The Writer is aware, that this Preface has ex- tended to an unusual length, but he trusts that the reasons stated will be admitted as a sufficient apo- logy. The object of the following pages, is not to refute the charges and calumnies of Lord Sel- kirk against the North- West Company in general, but to exhibit a faithful Narrative of the occur- rences which had taken place, since the Earl of Selkirk was first brought into their neighbourhood by his political or commercial speculations. Other parts of Lord Selkirk's publication will receive the refutation of which they are so capable. In exe*. cuting the task which the Author has undertaken, he has aimed chiefly at truth and accuracy in his statement of facts; and he trusts^ that the faults cf arrangement and style, which must be discerned in this publication, will be overlooked in the composition of one who has not been accustomed to write for the Publie. « '■-^:n- JV- /, M A^^:^■ A ' (i --■ i^jt^-j X^ />' »v NARRATIVE, Previous to the year 180C, tlic ^ 1#' K<^«'K;rk had been enffao-ed in various lando •■'mc'olomz-^ ing speculations in British North America, in the prosecution of whicFi he visited Canada. In the course of 'his travels, his attention was naturally directed to the situation of the Trade, and parti-% cularly to that carried on with tlje Indians in the barter of Manufactured Goods and other ar- ticles, for Furs and Peltries, which, ever since the discovery and establishment of the Colony by the French, had been considered the chief branch of its commerce. During his Lordship's residence in Montreal, he was received with the hospitality which so much characterizes the inhabitants of that city ; and to none was he indebted for more pointed attenticii and civility, than to the Merchants connected with the Fur Trade, and more especially the Partners of the North- West Company. His enquiries into the nature and extent of the trade, and their par- licular Flstablishment, which had always been an B > ' ^.^ \l ", > ■ i [■< .^?J 1: n objeet of curiosity to strangers visiting Canadu, ^vere readily answered by these Gentlemen, who withheld no information which could gratify the libera! and useful researches of a noble traveller. They remarked at the time, that these enquiries were more extended tliiin usual ; but they little expected thiil their confidential communications to a person expressing his admiratioii at the result of theh" exeriicns, and his sincere friendship and thankful acknowledgments to themselves, should have awakened the spirit of self-interest, which has subsequently been so apparent; still less did they suppose they were placing means in the hands of a conmicrcial rival, to be applied first in oppo- sition to their trade, and, after the failure of that experiment, in an attempt to eflcct the ruin of their establishment. On the Noble Lord's return to England, he pro- secuted with much anxiety the enquiries he had commenced in Canada, connected with this sub- ject ; and the situation of the Hudson's Bay Com- pany, with the great advantages under which the iFur Trade might be conducted from Hudson's Bay, when compared with the obstacles and diffi- culties opposed to the Canadian Merchants, soon presented themselves to his discernment. The route to the remote and most valuable trading stations in the North-West Country was nearly two thousand miles more distant by interior communication, i'rom Montreal than from Hud- sons Bay; and it was evident, if the assumed l'-. I: t' Canacfn , en, who itify t\ui raveller, ncjuirics cy little itions to result of lip and should , which less did le hands n oppo- of that ruin oi' he pro- he had his suh- ly Com- tiich the ludson's nd dim- its, soon it. The trading s nearly interior m Hud- assumed >i(^hts of this Chartered Company to the e.v- ansive commerce and narirfution of the Bay were legal, by a strict enforcement of (hem, (he whole Fur Trade might be diverted into that channel. His Lordship communicated his ideas on the subject, thoujSfh very partially, to a gentle- man then in England, who had been long inte- rested in the North- West Company, and to whom the public are indebted for a description of the country, and of his own voyages and discoveries. In consequence of this communication, an agree- ment was subsequently entered into by Lord Sel- kirk and this gentleman, to speculate in the Stock of the Hudson's Bay Company, without any defi- nite object on the part of his Lordship's associate, beyond possibly a re-sale at an enhanced price, when a sufficient amount should have been pro- cui'ed to enable them to exercise a beneficial influ- ence in the management of the Company's con- cerns, and thereby to increase the value of their stock. The moment was peculiarly favourable for their purpose: the Stock of the Company had fallen from 250 per cent, to between 50 and 60, in con- sequence of misfortune, or mismanagement of their affairs, which were in a state of rapid decay, and considered bordering upon insolvency, no Divi- dend having been paid for several years. Under such circumstances, considerable purchases were easily made by the parties; but his Lordship'it b2 t vi«;\vft btromin^ enlarged with tlic extended know - lcdj;c ho ol)(ained of the supposed rights conferred upon the Company by Charter, a disagreement took place iti to the tiuther ol)jects they had ori- ciiiully iiiviL'vv; and, after some ley,al proceed- inji^s, an arrangement was made between the par- ties, by which Lord Selkirk became proprietor of the greatest part of the Stock acquired on their joint account. Being thus disengaged from any connection which could interfere with his views, and having established for himself a sufficient footing in the affairs of the Company, Lord Selkirk extended his purchases to the amount nearly of 40,000/. the whole amount of the Company's Stock being rather under 100,000/. Several Members of the Com- mittee immediately made Avay for the appointment of his near relatives and friends to the Direction, and from this period, his Lordship may be consi- dered as possessing an unlimited influence and controul in the management of the affairs, and disposal of the property of the Company. Although more activity was perceived in the general conduct of their concerns, some time elapsed before his Lordship's ultimate objects and plans were dis- closed ; but his preparations being then made, a General Court was convened by public notice, in the month of May IHll. The Proprietors were informed at this Meeting, that the Governor and Committee considered it beneficial to their gene- i;*v *> 5 lI know- onlerred recnient lad ori- proceed- the par- rietor of )n their iineciion I having in the nded his 00/. the ig ratlier e Com- )intment irection, )e consi- ncc and irs, and Llthough conduct fore his ere dis- made, a >tice, in rs were cnor and ir gene- i ral intcve8t», to grant to his Lortiship in fuc sini< pie, about 116,000 square miles of wluit irn.t supposed to be their territory, on condition that lie should estabiiA>h a Colony on the Grant, and furnish, on certain terms, trutri aMioii<2; the Settlers, such labourers as are required by the Company in their trade. The Proprietors did nut sec in these conditions any sufRcient con- sideration for the Grant ; and every one pre- sent, with the exception of the Noble Lord and the Committee, signed and delivered a Pro- test* against it to the Court. Notwithstanding this opposition the Grant was conHrmed, and his Lordship became the ideal proprietor of a domain exceeding in extent the kingdom of England, with only one objection to the title, tliat with respect to the right of the grantors, they had equal power to assign him a similar kingdom in the moon. In addition to the Protest offered by the Proprie- tors, remonstrances were made against the wild and hopeless project of establishing the proposed Colony, by every person interested in the trade of the country ; and it may be desirable here to state the situation and circumstances, under the full knowledge of which, Lord Selkirk determined to persevere in his schemes. The distance between the spot where the first Settlement was afterwards formed, and York Fac- tory, in Hudson's Bay, the point of communication • Appendix, No. I. i^ ■ i H with the sea, in, by actual admeatiurcment, 720 inilc»: and llie navigation, mucIi an it is, maybe eallcd open between tiio niontlis of Juno and Oc- tober; but during much of that KeuHon, the brooks, forming the comnnmication, are nearly dry, and the whole route is only practicable in small boats or canoes. The journey, or voyage, is performed by loaded boats in about thirty days, and pro- visions must be taken for the whole time, as none are to be procured on the route. There are nu- merous portan^cs, M'here the boats or canoes, in the best senson, must be carried or hauled over tho land*. The distance of the Red River fVom Lake Superior, is rather greater than from Hudson's Bay: and from Montreal, by tho nearest route, (that of Lake Su^ierior), about 2300 miles. The distance from the nearest inhabited part of Upper Canada, which may possibly bo another Colony of Lord Selkirk's, called Ball-Down, is about 1600 miles. It must be very obvious, from the distances here described, and the difficulty of com- munication, which is only practicable in birch«p Dark canoes, that no market could be found, be- yond the immediate consumption of the Colonists, for the agricultural produce of a Settlement so situated. The climate is undoubtedly healthy, al- though during winter the severity of the frost, and prevailing gales of wind, is very great : the Forks of the Red River being situated in latitude 50 * See particulars in Appendix, No. III. Admeasurement made by Mr. ThoDipson, Geographer to the North- West Company. ... V West, about three clogrccs norih of Quehoc. The country in the nel^libourhood of tlic pro^K)»(cd Settlement, consists ol * v^ensivo plains, and the soil, excepting partially on the banks of the rivers, is light and unpio luctivc. The scarcity of wood, in a country in < \rry other situa- tion abounding with u, is the best proof of the quality of the soil, the natural produce of which is only a coarse benty grass, the food of innumerable herds of buifaloo which are fed on the plains. Different tribes of Indians are scattered over this district, and establish themselves in hunt- ing parties and encampments, to procure provi- sions for the Traders of the North-West and Hud- son's Bay Companies, who have several Forts or Posts there, maintained more for this object than for that of procuring Peltries ; there is also some trade in Furs, principally wolf and fox-skins ; and occasionally Indians from the head of the Missis- sippi, and the Mississouri Rivers, bring the pro- duce of their hunt to trade at the Red River Establishments. All these natives arc much mo- lested, and frequently attacked by other bands of the plains, called, from their habits, les Pillenrs, or Plunderers; who, from living in a country abounding with horses, which enable them to lead a wandering and predatory life, and being well supplied with food and clothing from the herds of buffaloo in the plains, are independent of assist- ance from, and connexion with the Traders. Their ■J /', i I it' i li I' (( tc (( ii 8 incursions are rapid and destmctive, and the na- ture of the country permits them to cover their retreat, by setting fire to the grass, which is often done for this pur^jose, and in their defence, by the natives. A gentleman describing this practice, says, " I have often seen the grass set on fire, both from tlie drunken freak of a capricious Indian, and to cover the retreat of a war-party ; and in high gales of wind, the flames spreading with the rapidity of a horse in a round gallop, till five or six hundred square miles were burnt without interruption." The Fur Traders of all parties were not back- Avard in representing to Lord Selkirk and the Committee of the Hudson s Bay Company, their objections to their attempt to colonize this remote and inhospitable region, which might in its con- sequences endanger their interests and security. It was proposed to send out poor and ignorant Set- tlers, who could be subject to no legal controul, and unaccustomed to the manners and habits of the Indians, always jealous of agricultural en- croachment on their hunting grounds. . The Traders, especially those connected with Canada, had, by long intercourse, acquired the confidence of those Tribes ; they were acquainted with their manners, and knew how to avoid the occasions of dissention and irritation, which the ignorance of strangers so frequently ministers to their jealous and irritable character. It was ob' l-'V". 9 vioiis to them that an attempt by a body of Eng- lishmen, to establish a Colony in the licart of the Indian Territory, was in itseh' pregnant with danger to all those by whom these regions were frequented. When the probable result of the attempt was contemplated — when it was consi- dered that the new Settlers, compelled by want, disgust, and despair, might be brought into col- lision with the Indian Tribes, and the mixed po- pulation sprung from the intercourse of the Trad- ers with the Indian women, and some of whom are engaged in the service of the North- West Company — it was easy to see, that this extrava- gant scheme subjected the Trader equally with the Colonist, to extreme hazard and danger. To the North- West Company this establishment was peculiarly objectionable : they denied the right, either of the Hudson's Bay Company or Lord Selkirk, to any jmrt of the Territory ceded to him, of which their predecessors and themselves had been in oceupaiiy lor at least a century. They were aware, that it was further intended to enforce against them tlie penalties provided by the Char- ter, of seizure of their persons and confiscation of their property, as interlopers on the Territories ab- surdly claimed by the Company; and they saw in the terms on which the Grant w^as made, that the establishment of this Colony was only a pretext to induce Settlers to emigrate, and thus to introduce into the country at an inconsiderable expence, a sufficient number of persons to carry into effect c i f ^* ■:t I. . ^' "/' p-ii ^*1 m file Noble Lord s plan£ of aggression aiid competi- tion against their trade. Tlie North- West Company was founded in 1783. by an association of Traders, prior to that time en- gaged in rival undertakings, and who, on the con- quest of Canada, following the footsteps of their predecessors, die French Colonists, had engaged in the trade. Every Legal Opinion* they liad been able to obtain, strengtheneil their determi- nation to resist these proceedings ; and the follow- ing Abstract of the History and Discovery of the Country, will show the grounds on which they founded their op|X)sition, and will appear at least to justify it, till a legal decision had been obtained by the Hudson's Bay Company, or Lord Selkirk, in confirmation of the validity of their claims. Hudson^s Bay had been discovered prior to the attempt in which Hudson perished in 1610 ; but from the voyage of Sir Thomas Button in 1611, till the year 1667, it appears to have been wholly neglected by (lie Engii.sh government and nationi*. In the latter vear, the conununication between Canada and the Bay was discovered by two Ca- nadian gentlemen, Messrs. Raddlason anfl De Grosolliers, who weie conducted thither across the country by Indians. Succeeding in tliis, they returned to Quebec, and offered the mercliynts to conduct ships to Hudson's Bay, the proximity of * Aptw ndix, Nos. TV. V. VI. . . t toct iiiiiribo \'oyaj:,ts, >o). ii. pp. 245—286. I; \ 11 uhifli fo file priiicifwil Fur districts, was now as- ccrtuiiied. This prf>posal was rejected, as well as a 8iibse(]|uent one to the French government at Paris : there they wore persuaded by the Englisli Atnlxtssnclor to ;y,• t! M i i ' • '.^ i, 1 ^'7 >• ; f 'if ^ 14 The provisions of the Charier are in iJiemeelves, if legal, sufficiently extenisive ; but even Uie Grant contained in it, is only of Countries '" not oeeU'- *' pied or discovcii'd by the Subjects of any. other '• Christian Prince or State ," and it is perfectly evident from the tacts above stated, that this could not include uii_y pjut of the property ceded to Lord Selkirk. The Grant commences only at l^ake Win- nipic, at least 700 mileK distant Irom either of the oviginal Kstablishuients of the Company in the I5a}, and extends some hundred miles into the territory of the United States, blotting from thi> map entirely the intermcdifUe dependencies of Canada. The Earl of Selkirk's title appeared to the Ca- nadians totally destitute of all authority, either from the legality of tlic Grant in point of law, or the powers of tlie Grantors as to the subject mat- ter. He found others, at least in long undisputed occupation of wliat lie claimed by virtue of an ob- solete Charter, emanating from a prerogative which was extremely questionable ; and which certainly has never in any instance been exercised by the Crown, nor recognized as legal by any judicial decision since the Revolution. The North- West Company, therefore, candidly stated their objections, both to the Hudson's Bay Company and to Government, and their determi- nation to maintain their own rights and posses- sions : at the same time they added, that however (nuch they regretted the adoption of such measures i ■( ' ■w» 15 tiie Grant tlOt Ot'CU- aii^ other s jx;ifectly this could icl to Lord •ake Win- tlier of the ny in tlic into the from, the eucies of o the Ca- ity, eitlier »f law, or »ject mat- ntiiispuicd of ajfi ob- ive vvliicli certainly ;d by the judicial candidly ion's Bay determi- d posses- however measures on the part of the Hudson's Bay Company, they would be on all occasions ready to alleviate the distress of their unfortunate countrymen, wlio were doomed, as Colonists, io become victiHis to Lord Selkirk's visionary speculations. They further again expressly declared, that they would neitlier acknowledj^e the exclusive rights of trade, or power of jurisdiction, claimed by the Hudson's Bay Com- pany ; and that, until they sliould receive from His Majcstys Ministers, a distinct iutimation that tiiesc rights were recognized and admitted 1^ Go- vernment, they would resist any attempts to scv/jt their property or persons, or to dispossess them of their trade, under these pretences. ivotwitlistanding the impediments which thus appeared to the undertaking, cither afraid of the result of a legal investigation into the merits ^»^ the case, or determined, at all events, to hazard the speculation on his own judgment, Lord Sel- kirk proceeded in the prosecution of bis plans. In order to form his Establislunent, be began by addressing himself to the spirit of emigration wliich has long prevailed in somepartsof Scotland and Ire- land. Agents were employed in both countries to circulate Advertisements*, holding out the most fal- lacious prospects to Settlers in his intended Colony. The climate and soil were r« )resented as su{ierior to any in British North America : the culture of hemp and wool, held out as an inducement to the • Appendix, No. II, \ I * y 16 agriculturist, wbenliis Lordship must have known, it was impossible to tiuns|[)ort the former to the sea, and that the plains, w here the ilocks were to be maintained, are prineipally characterized bv the immen.«e troops of wolves which infest them. Liberty of conscience, freedom from taxes and tithes, and ail the temptations of a Land of Pro- tnise, are painted in the most jL^lowinj^ colours, to induce these wretched people to abandon their country; and, in the winter of 1^<10 and J.SI1, a number of poor Irishmen were got together at Sligo, and sent to Stornaway, in the Island of Lewes, where they joined other Immigrants who had been inlisted or crimped in Scotland. Some respectable families of a better class, com- fortably situated in their own country, were also tempted by the offers of townships in the CJrant, and the misrepresentations held out in the Pro- spectus, to join the expedition. From gome of these, who had been induced to sell their little all to embark in the speculation, Lord Selkirk re- ceived the money arising from the sale, to account for it in land at the rate of 5s. per acre ; although he must have been well aware, that this was above the price paid for excellent land in the best inhabited parts of Upper Canada *. These Emigrants embarked in the spring of 1811, on board the Hudson's Bay Company's * Amongst many other Affidavits of the unfortiuinte people who were so deceived, one by George Campbell, will be found in tlie Ap- pendix, No, VII. i'- I h ; Iiavp known, liner to the iiks wore to LCterized by infetst thcin. I taxes niul 2nd of Pi'O' colours, to undoii their ind J811, a toj^ether at o l.sland oi" grants wlio id. class, com- , were also the Grant, II the Pro- m some of ilr little all Selkirk re- to account ; althouoh . this was in the best spring of Company's te people who ind in tlie Ap- 4 i I 17 ships, and consisted of about 25 Uiinilics, under the command of Mr. Miles Macdonell, appointed Governov of the Colony, whose name will be suf- ficiently conspicuous in the further account of his employer's proceedings. Their engagements were ditt'erent: some to pay for their passages by laliour for the Hudson's B.iy Company ; others, who had funds for that purpose, in money; and all were to be provided with food and maintenance till they reached the Colonv. On tlieir arrival at York Fort, it was too late to attempt the journey that season; and those only who are acquainted with the severity of the winter in such a climate, can form any idea of the miseries and wretchedness to which these poor people were exposed. There were no houses or huts prepared lor their recep- tion, and those which >vere contrived afterwards for their shelter, left them still exposed to the cold fogs and sea damps peculiar to the climate — tlie Trailers of the Hudson's Bay Company living iii the Factory, had no intimalioii to provide provi- sions for their maintenance; and the scantiness and badness of tlieir food, soon added sickness and disease to the other miseries of their situation. The following extract of a letter written from the spot, may convey some faint idea of their sufferings : — " Take a view of the state of one '' family, and it will shew you what the sufferings • ' of these people are : an old Highlander, his wife, • ' and five children, the vounaest eisrht or niae ) h '., younc i|^h ,'.; m IS *' years of ape, poor, nnd ronseqtiontly badly pro- " vided with clolliing to cncoiiiilci' (he rijjfonrs of '' arliniatc, where tlie hottest .sumnier i eycr (hjuvs " the ground to any coiisiderahio depth — see thit* " family, .sitting on tlie d.niip i>Tonnd. IVee/ino- Ibr " want of sufficient coverinp;', pinched and faiuish- " ing (or want of food ; nnd the poor woman had " to take the well-worn rug from her own misera- " ble pallet, to sell for a little oat-meal to give " her dying children, and in vain, for two of them " did not survive this scene of misery." — If this was the state of one fiimily, the miseries of the other Emigrants during their winter's residence at York Fort, may be conceived. The task of proceeding to the Red Rivrr, was still to be un:hbourhood. The In- dians, attracted bv the eeremonv, wore no sooner iiil'onned of its intent, than they evi)ressed them- selves hostile to the Kstablishnient, as had been IbreseoM, and liiietold wh(Mi it Wiis projected. The Settlers had to prepare themselves for the en- suiiijj^ winter, which already approached, and although the climate was less rigorous than that of York Fort, still, unprovided as they were with houses, clothing, or Ibod, they could not but look forward to their situation with dismay. It was impossible to maintain them in a body, nor could the most active of the men procure subsistence by travelling over the immense lakes of snow in the plains, for want of 'deer-skin and snow-* shoes, like persons who had been accustomed to the Fur Tratle of the country. The iamilies were accordingly distributer!, as there was a chance of escaping famine, some in the Forts of the Hud- jon's Bay Comprmy, others in the huts of Free" meu*i and in the families of friendly Indians, who * Canadians, or oilicrs, who having been employed in tlie ser- vice of the Tiaders, and havini/ beco/ne accustomed to the Indiun mode of life, or attached to intive women, remain in the country, after beinj; di^chanred from their eniiagements, and are called Free-men, to distinguish them fiom liieir countrymen who tire servanU. '' *] *l ^ '( 11 .< 1, 20 {•cnniKed (hem lo lake slioltcr in their trnfa, eaU- Ing thoni Nhives, from fhe exfreine wretchediieHB of their siluntiun, Nvhi<'h litiil reiidorefl lliem more the objects ortiieircom|)iif.siMn tiiiil conleinpt, than of iheir iiimily 'J'hone nl.w who lived in the hoiiMCH with tlie Ciovenior, (suiVereil iiiiich, niid many eon Id nut hiuo .sin'vi\ed the winter, havi(h the Traders; but these were soon forgotten wl»cn his difficulties, diminished, and he was aware all his zeal was re- quired in carrying into effect , by active measures, the views of his employer. **4 21 Tliu trade of holh (KirtleH dtiriiK;^ tliiK winter was ctirried on as iisiuil ; the IIiuison'M Bay Com- paii^y did not attempt any extcnMion of their Posts to the westward, and every thin j^ remained quid in the country. liliuly in (h(> .sprint^ of IH13, when he iiad so far* by the assistance of the North-AVest Traders* overcome tlie dilNculties oC his situation the pre- cedinjif winter, Mr. MacdoneUs conduct, which had hitherto been rather teni|)orixin^ than iViendly^ became less equivocal. In lus capacity of Gover- nor, and Representative of Lord Selkirk, he told the Indians, they must take to him alone, tor sale, their provisions or |)eltries, bein^ the pro- duce of lauds of which his Lordship was pro- prietor, and on which, conse present tbrce of the Hudson's Bay Company's people and the Colonists, did not, it is true, create much alarm, as to their immediate danger, but it was im|)ossible to judge to what extent both might be reinforced, and they were now alarmed that the doctrine of right, sought to be established, niiglit be enforced by violence, when sufficient means were placed at the disposal of the GoverQor. H '7*^: 1 i 22 While Mr. Macdoiiell was thus employed at the Red Rivev, Lord Selkirk was not less active in ob- taining fresh recruits of Settlers, followinj^ the mode which has hefore been explained ; and he got togelher, in the spring of LSI 2, at Stornaway, a considerable number, who were cndiarkeels were a cargoes Imigrants iped and xt broke I, carried joard, or or York ased by year at cen pos- lose who /er, pro- to the Colony, wliere they arrived early in the winter of 1813, and formed a large accession to the num- bers of the Settlement. Tlieir sufferings were still great during the season ; but more pains hav- ing been taken to provide for their subsistence, they were, in that respect, in a state of comfort, compared with their situation the preceding winter. Being now more independent of assistance from the Canadian Traders, and encouraged by this fifreat addition to the numbers of his establishi* ment, Mr. Miles Macdonell lost no time in form-*- ing his determination as to his futurp proceedings. Early in the winter, information had been received on the Red River, by the North-West Expresses, of the successes of the Americans at Detroit, and on Lake Erie, and that there was great probability of all resources from Canada being cut olf, which rendered the existence of the North-West Com- pany's PosCs precarious, and endangered the whole system of their Trade. Tbis opportunity of commencing his operations against the Canadian Traders, in pursuance, as will hereafter be shewn, of the general instructiuns of Lord Selkirk, was eagerly taken advantage of by his Governor : his principal establishment was fixed, so as to enable him to intercept the com- munication by which canoes with provisions might be sent to meet the people, employed in the remote stations, in Lake Winnipic, on their route to and from the principal depot on Lake Superior ; and if ■'% tl .( '{ r t J'/' OA the intercourse with Canada should be intercepted, not only the canoe-nion from the Northern Posts, but those from the nearer districts, would be obliged to fall back on the Red River department for subsistence. At this moment of imminent danger to their concerns, a general system of ag- gression and violence against their property, and their sei*vants, was begun by Mr. Macdcmell. — Under pretence that all the provisions raised in the country were required for the maintenance of the Colonists, parties of Settlers were sent to inter- cept the convoys of the Traders on their way to the Posts ; their boats and canoes navigating the river were fired at from the Fort, and from bat- teries erected on the banks ; brought to, and ri- gorously searched, and wherever provisions of any description could be found, they were plundered without hesitation. When it became necessary, in consequence of these outrages, to conce^d the property, warrants were issued to apprehend the servants of the Company, on frivolous and vex- atious pretences; but the object of all their exami- nations, when brought before the Governor in his magisterial capacity, was to discover the deposits where provisions were removed or concealed. — Great pains were taken to impress upon the minds pf th<3se servants, and the Indians, that the ruiw of the North -We.'^t Company was at hand, and that it would l)e equally dangerous, and useless, to resist such coercive measures as the Governo^r e. '4 fe 25 icepteil, 1 Posts, 3ul(i be )artment iiminent n of ag- rtv, and lonell. — id in tlio e of tlie :o inter- way to iting the rom bat- and ri- is of any lundered jcessary, ceil the lend the md vex- 1' exami- )r in his deposits ealed. — le minds the ruiii nd, and useless, jovernor had it in his power to apply, to drive them entirely from the country *. The Partner of the North- West Company in charge of the Red River department, was placed by the conduct of Mr. Macdonell in the most dis- tressing situation : still aware of the necessity of providing against a danger which threatened the entire ruin of their trade, he made every exertion to protect and secure in his Posts the provisions ha had collected, and the other property under his charge ; and the means of precaution and defence he resorted to, soon produced the following Pro- clamation from the soi-disant Governor of '* Ossi- '^niboia." "PROCLAMATION. ;, > " Whereas the Governor and Company of Hudson's Bay *' have ceded to the Right Honourable Thomas Earl of Sel- *' kirk, his Heirs and Successors, for ever, all that tract of *' land or territory, bounded by a line running as follows, viz. *' Beginning on the western shore of the Lake Winnipic, at a " point in fifty-two degrees and thirty minutes north latitude, *' and thence running due west to the Lake Winnipiquarhish, ♦• otherwise called Little Winnipic; then in a southerly di- " rcction through the said Lake, so as to strike its western ** shore in latitude fifty-two degrees ; then due west to the ** place where the parallel of forty-two degrees north lati- ' The best evidence of these, and the future transactions, is that of t)ic persons engaged in them, under the orders of Macdonell, which will be found in the Affidavits in the Appendix, viz. Jamen Toomy's, No. VIII;— James Pinkman's, No. IX;— Hugh Swords', No. X;— .lames Goldon's, No. XI;— William Wallace's, ^o. XII. 6 26 ^ n ** tude intersects the western branch of the Red River, " otherwise called Assiniboin River ; then due south from ** that point of intersection to the height of hind which ** separates the waters running into Hudson's Bay from " those of the Mississouri and Mississippi Rivers ; tiien in " an easterly direction along the height of land to the source ** of the River Winnipic, (meaning by such last nnint'd river, " the principal branch of the waters whicii unite in the Lake " Saginagae) ; thence along the main streams of those wa- " ters, and the middle of the several lakes through which "they flow, to the mouth of the Winnipic River; and *' thence in a northerly direction, through the middle of the " Lake Winnipic, to the place of beginning, which territory " is called Ossiniboia, and of which I, the undersigned, " have been duly appointed Governor. " And whereas the welfare of the families at present form- " ing Settlements on the Red River, within the said territory, " with those on their way to it, passing the winter at York " or Churchill Forts, in Hudson's Bay, as also those who ** are expected to arrive next autumn, renders it a necessary " and indispensible part of my duty to provide for their sup- " port. In the yet uncultivated state of the country, the or- ** dinary resources derived from the buffalo and other wild " animals hunted within the territory, are not deemed more ** than adequate for the requisite supply, wherefore it is hcre- " by ordered, that no person trading in Furs or Provisions *' within the territory for the Honourable Hudson's Bay Com- ^* pany, the North- West Conipany, or any Individual, or " unconnected Traders or persons whatever, shall take out any " provisions, either of flesh, dried meat, grain, or vegetables, " procured or raised within the said territory, by water or land - " carriage, for one twelvemonth frpm the date hereof, save " and except what may be judg-ed necessary for the trading ** parties at this present within the territory, to carry them •^ to their respective destinations, and who may, on due ap- lied River, !iouth from land which Bay from rs ; tlien in ► the source mined river, in the Lake f those wa- ough which River ; and iddic of the ich territory indersigned, esent form- lid territory, iter at York ) those who a necessary tr their sup- itry, the or- l otlicr wild eemed more re it is licre- r Provisions 's Bay Com - dividual, or takeout any vegetables, aterorland- I ere of, save the trading carry them on due ap> *( 27 " plication to me, obtain a license for the sanie. The pro- " visions procured and raised as above, shall be taken for the •* use of the Colony, and that no loss may accrue to the par- " ties concerned, they will be psiid for by British Bills at the " customary rates. And be it hereby further made known, " that whoever shall be detected in attempting to convey *^ out, or shall aid or assist in conveying out, or attempt- " ing to carry out, any provisions prohibited as above, eitlier by water or land-carriage, shall be taken into custody^ " and prosecuted as the laws in such cases direct, and the " provision so taken, as well as any goods or chattels of *' what nature so ever, which may be taken along with them, " and also the craft, carriages, and cattle, instrumental in ** conveying away the same, to any part but the Settlement ** on lied River, shall be forfeited. '* Given under my hand at Fort Daer, (Pembina), tht ^* 8th day of January, J 814. (Signed) « MILES MACDONELIo Gownor. " By order of the Governor, (Signed) " John Spencbr, Secretary." Every thing now wore an alarming aspect to the Traders. With a view evidently of executing the threats contained in the Proclamation, the Governor regularly trained his people to the use ^ fire-arms, both musketry and artillery ; and it will scarcely be credited, that the latter was supplied to Lord Selkirk by Government, on the pretence urged by him, that it was necessary for the defenoe of his Colony against the Americans*. He had * The following extract from Mr. Mitet Macdonell's Letter to Mr. Cameron, is the best evidence on tkwksubject : **Do you know that Government furnished us last year fron) the fi2 If "■'% 28 also succeeded in making some impression on the minds of the Natives, that he acted under a direct, and not an assumed authority from His Majesty's GoTcrnment ; and being appointed in Canada, at the desire of Lord Selkirk, a Magistrate for the Indian Territories, he made no scruple of applying, according to his discretion and to existing cir- cumstances, the authority best suited to the vex- atious and oppressive system he had been directed to enforce. A detail of the various acts of outrage com- mitted by Mr. Macdonell this winter, would be equally tedious and unnecessary ; but as one in par- ticular led to his apprehension to take his trial in Lower Canada, under the provisions of the Act of the 43rd of the King, which he was appointed a Magistrate to enforce, it is essential to state it, that the proceedings subsequently adopted with respect to this transaction, may be understood. Under the circumstances before mentioned, the North-West Partner had accumulated a supply of provisions at one of their Posts on the river, called Riviere la Soiirie, upon which the subsistence of their people now principally depended. The Go- U: J ** Royal Arsenal at Woolwich, witli a fine train of light field brass ar- " tillery, carriages, laboratory btores, fixed ammunition, &c. complete, " and also with 200 muskets, and 500 rounds of ball cartridges for each : " all these are now at York Fort, except a small part brought here. " We have also clothing sutiicient for a corps: that of itseif should butb- " ciently prove to the most sceptical, that we are under the protection " of Government." 1 on the a direct, Majesty's iiada, at B for the ipplying, Ling cir- I the vex- directed ige com- vould be le in par- is trial in lie Act of pointed a I 3tate it, ted with stood. Dned, the supply of er, called stence of The Go- [ield brass ar- kc. complete, iges for each ; brought here, f should butti- he protection 29 vernor had long directed his attention to this depot, and within a few days after tlie date of his Procla- mation, under the pretext that it had been dis- obeyed, sent a person named John Spencer, whom he called, or iiad appointed, Sherift' for Lord SeU kirli's Territory, to seize the Fort. SjHjncer find- ing resistance made by the persons in charge, and that there might be difficulty in executing his orders, and having some scruple about enforcing tliem without more particular instnictions, re- turned, and reported these circumstances to his employer. Macdonell immediately issued his VVar- rant in a legal form, lor the seizure of the Provi- sions (under which authority, of Governor or Ma- gistrate, was not mentioned, nor is it mate- terial), which he delivered to the Sheriff, and reinforcing his former party with an additional number of armed men, directed him, according to the expression in his Warrant, " to break " open posts, locks, and doors," which might im- pede his proceeding. The party in charge of the Post being intimidated, made no further resist- ance than retiring within the stockades, and shut- ting the gate of the Fort. Spencer, in execu- tion of tlie Warrant, directed his men to cut down tlie pickets with their axes, and entering the store by force of arms, plundered it of all the provi- sions it contained, consisting of 600 packages of dried meat and fat, weighing about 85 lbs. each, which were taken to the Hudson's Bay Company's Fort. /' , !? i : '(, I 30 Soon after this robbery, the people of the Nortii- West Company assembled, on their route from their different wintering-posts, at the dej>6t, where they expecteil their usual supply of provisions to carry them on to Fort Wifliam, and, being accrompanicd by numerous bands of Indians*, over whom they )iad an entire influence, might easily have recovered possession of their property, and retaliated with security on that of their opponents, had they been inclined to follow what I^rd Selkirk, in his pam- phlet, asserts to be the custom of the country, to decide their diflerence witli his servants by the nrfe of Indian law. They, however, adopted a very different line of conduct, and to gain time to consult their friends at Fort William, temporized so far as to consent to receive back from Mr. Mac- donell, on the condition even of repayment in the course of the autumn, part of the provisions of which they had been robbed. Thus enabled to proceed on their voyage, they arrived with the re- turns of the season at Lake Superior. At Fort William, the general rendezvous, they were met by their Partners from Montreal, and those from other parts of the Interior ; and every account concurred, that a like violent system had been adopted by the servants of the Hudson's Bay Company throughout the country. It appeared alsjo evident, from a letter of instructions ifrom '* Tbe Speech of one of the Indian Chiefs, wlio was present on this occasion, is given in the Appendix, No. Xltt. and will prove the auility then possessed by the Nortli-Wcst Company to retaltaU Mr. Macdoneli's violences, hnd it been their inteation. 4 i. w SI Lord Selkirk to one of their principal Agents, which fell into the possesHion of the Traders, that these proceedings emanated from his Lordship, with a determination to insist upon his supposed rights, by forcibly ejecting the Canadians from their possessions on who*^ \e Hudson's Bay Com« pany atisiimed as ihoir exclusivo territory and prO" perty. This letter, addressed to a person sent to discover and occupy a remote post on the con- fines of AtliJibasca, wliere the Hudson's Bay Com« pany had never till then formed an establish- ment, states the possibility that this attempt may meet with opposition from tlie Tmders, and contains the following directions, which are best given in his Lordship^s own words : " You must give them" (the Canadians) *' solemn warn- ing, that the land belongs to the Hudson's Bay Company, and that they must remove from it ; after this warning they should not be allowed to cut any timber either for building or fuel ; what they have cut sliould be openly and forcibly seised^ and their buildings destroyed. In like manner they should be warned not to fish in your waters, and if they put down nets, seize thorn as you would in England those of a poacher. Wc are so fully advised of the unimpeachable va- lidity of these rights of property, that there can be no scruple in enforcing them, wherever you have the physical means. If they make a for- cible resistance, they are acting illegally, aiid <( (( <( ti (( (( (( (( <( <( u i( <( I n .(( M it 32 " are responsible for theconBequencesofwhat tlirw do, wliilo you arc safe, so lonjyf as you take only '* the rcusonabic awl necessary means of enforc- " inpf that which is your ric^ht." His Lordship was perfectly informed, that the poor people inhabiting tliis wretched climate, aro dependent rni (ish entirely for their subsistence dur- ing^ winter, and that the cold is so intense, as fre- quently to freeze mercury in the open air. Spirit thermometers are generally used, gmduated do\^ n to 60" below Zero of Fahrenheit's scale. With all this information before them, and aware that the gasconading-, and successful depre- dations of Mr. Macdonell had already produced a considerable efieoi, by diminishing the impression of their consequence and power on the minds of the Indians, and of their own servants, on which the prosperity of their trade and their personal safety in a great measure depended, the North- West Company came to the deteruiination of re- sisting to the utmost of their means, the feather violences of their opponents, and, if possible, to make an example of Mr. Macdonell, and his She- riff, Mr. Spencer, by procuring their arrest and trial at Montreal, for the offences they had com- mitted in the spring of this yea!r. Mr. Cameron, one of their Partners, a man of determined resolu- tion,, but unfortunately of an irritable temper, was^ entrusted with the execution of these measures of self-defence, and the conduct of the Red River de-\ hat tfifv like only cnforc- ihitt the latc, are nee ihir- , us f^ce- Spirit ed do\>ii ni, and il depre- ►duced a ipression ininds of n which ftersonal North- in of re- » further lible, to lis 8iie- est and d roin- arncron, resolu- er, wa.» sures of iver de-s pnrtiiient ; and, matters having been so arranged, I ho (hfleront wintering Partners proceeded to their stations in I he Interior, Mr. Cameron being pro- vi(h'd with Warrants ag;iiiist Mr. Macdonell and Mr. Spencer, ^ranted urn lor the authority of the 43rd of the King, upon the intbrnmtion of per- sons wlio liad been eye-witnesses of tiieir proceed- ings. But few Settlers had been sent out to Hudson's liay in the preceding spring, in consequence, it is understood, of Lord Selkirk's disappointment in noL obtaining a license for a ship, under an Act of Parliament passed duriug the winter, to obviate the difficulties he had before experienced in this respect, called The Hudson's Bay Ships PasseU' ffers' Act. By the provisions of this Law, it wa» required that, previous to obtaining the necessary License, the vessel intended to convey an extended number of passengers, should be surveyed, and re- ported sea-wortliy, and fit to receive passengers, by the Commissioners of the Transport Board to the ISoard of Trade. The vessel provided by his Lord- ship ansivering this description in no respect, a License was refused ; and consequently so many Settlers only were sent, as could be accommo- dated on board iie Huclson's Bay Company's ships, and Sisjbrmer experience had shewn to be consist- ent with safety. These Emigrants formed a small addition to the Colony in the autumn of 1814, and the Traders I i II i. I ' i r. V i 3i hiul no sooner rcfuined to their winttrliiff grounds, timn (lisputos arose, a.s inij^ht have been expeeled, !)etucen the parties, Tlie lb lovvinj; le^al notice was soon !;en'e(l upon Mr. Cameron, which Iclt no hopes of any good understanding between liini and Mr. JVIandonell. " District of Omniboia. " To Mr. Duucan Camerov, m ting for the North- ffest Company ut the lunh of the Red River. ** Take Nolico, that by the nuthority and on the behalf " of your Landlordy the Right Honourable Thomas Earl of " Selkirk, I do hereby warn you, and all your Associates of " the North-West Company, to quit the post and prc- '* mises you now occupy at the Forks of Ued River, within " six calendar months from the date herfof. ** Given under my hand, at Red River Settlement, this " twenty-first day of October, 1814. (Signed) « MILES MACDONELL." This was ,succeed<'d by a Oorrospondence rela- tive to the arrangements made by Mr. Cameron's predecessor in the spring, for an excluinge of pro- visions. A great deal has been said and published on this subject against this Gentleman, who possi- bly assumed more consequence in liis situation than was intended, with a view to counteract the effect upon the Indians, of his adversary's misre- presentations ; but the Correspondence seems to 4 I rth- H'ent • the behalf lias Earl of isoclates of i and prc- I'cr, within ment, this ONELL." nee rehi- 'ameron's e of pro- jiiblished lio possi- situation ,eract the s misre- seems to 35 hnvo been conducted on l)otli nides, (undtlic remark nppliox ei|uaily at least to JMacdonell), with more irritahility and attention to party feeling'8, than to temper and diKcretioi;. Similar notices to quit the territories of the lIuds(Mrs Bay Company and Lord Selkirk, were published and proclai:iied throughout the country> and tliere was no doubt of the intention on their part of enforcing them. The conduct of Mac- donell became more outrageouM and violent than ever, not only towards his opponentM, but also to- wards the Settlers under his protection. A great many of the latter, completely tired and disgusted with the experiment they had made, and satisfied it would be impossible to remain with any pros- pect of comfort, applied to Mr. Cameron* and his people, for assistan(.'e to proceed io Canada in the spring. TWis bad been long their intention, but the dilHculty oi' leaving the country was insur- mountable, withoi't the aid of the Nort.h-West C^ompany; and from the time Macdonell heard of their application, they were refused provi.sions for their maintenance, and often put in irons and im- prisoned, i'uv having implored at the North- West Company's Fort, the means of saving themselves from starvation This tyrannical conduct, added • Mr. Cameron is ncciised oflwving lunde use otall the influence he posscssctl witli Ills c'juntrjmeii, to persuade llieiu to desert the Colony. ffthis is the/act, whatever may have been hia motives, every humane perton will rejoice that his influence whs successful. f2 III i ,!'' ^' vi ? 1 1 *i ' '■ i 36 to the disgust of those among the Settlers who had sense to reflect on their situation, and who, aware also of the intention of the North- West Company to submit to no further violence without resistance, considered their safety might be im))licated in the contest which wouUl possibly ensue. Both the trading servants of the Hudson's Bay Company, and the Settlers, continued, us usual, to be trained to the use of fire-arms. They still laboured under great privations, notwithstanding the precautions which had been taken to provide provisions ; and disgusted with the conduct of their Ruler, many of them determined to abandon the Colony altoge- ther. On the approach of spring, they took refuge in the North-West Fort, and alarmed that Macdo- nell might make use of his artillery to blockade the rivers, and prevent their leaving the country, they took possession of all the cannon and ammu- nition, which was delivered up to Mr. Cameron at the same time. • . ■ > Mr. Spencer had been arrested early in the win- ter, on the Warrant issued against him, and sent down to Lake la Pluie : an attempt to rescue him having failed, from the Settlers refusing to make use of their fire-arms against the Canadians. An op- portunity was afterwards taken of serving upon Mr. Macdonell the Warrant against him, to which he refused submission. Outwardly he treated the authority with great contempt, but in the mean- time was busily preparing for measures of defence, 87 ivlio had •, aware Company iistance, 1 in the ioth the ompaiiy, > trained d under cautions )ns; and iVy many f altoge- )k refuffe . Macdo- blockade country, I animu- meron at he win- and sent jcue him make use An op- ng upon to which ated the mean- defence^ if they should be necessary, by any subsequent attempt to secure his person. He posted up no- tices, that his Patron would grant pensfftns to all persons maimed and wounded in his service, ac- cording to their rank, (for he had made several appointments from the step of Captain to Ensign), and threatened the North-Wcst Fort with instant hostilities, taking every opportunity of seizing their people and clerks as prisoners, when Uiey were found in a defenceless situation. About this time he had also been sufficiently ill-advised to quarrel with the Free Canadians, and Half-breeds, on whom he depended for subsistence ; and these people, unaccustomed to the commands of any su- perior, could not brook the treatment they expe- rienced from the Governor, whom they distin- guished by the appellation of Chief of the Gar^ deners. The consequence w^as innumerable scuf- fles and petty frays between (he parties, which the Half-breeds asserted, began by a party of the Settlers firing upon one of theirs, peaceably pro- ceeding along a road with an escort of provisions. The situation of the Colony and its Governor was thus rendered extremely dangerous; and on the arrival of one of the Agents of the North-West Company from Montreal, at the Post on the Red River, on the opening of the navigation, to en- quire into the transactions of the winter, Macdonell surrendered himself quietly prisoner, and was taken in the canoes to Fort William, having been w 38 joined on the route by Mr. Spencer at Liikc la Pluie. J. After t^eir Governor had surrendered hiniselfr the Colonists, in a body, made the moat earnest entreaties for assistance to proceed to Cannda ; and upon a distinct understanding, that notliiug should be expected beyond their transport and provisions as far as York, the seat of Government, in Upper Canada, about fifty families, comprising above one hundred and forty persons, v^ere embarked in the canoes of the North- West Company, and safely landed at their destination. Here their sufferings and miserable condition found some relief in the protection and assistance of the Government, and the public commiseration was drawn to their case, by the zealous interference in their behalf, and active benevolence of the Rev. Dr. Strachan, who shortly afterwards published a Statement*, from 'i j 1 1 I; \ 1 " m i\ * Dr. Strachan's Pamplilct wns afterwards republished in Eitgtand, with tlie following Preface: " As soon as I heard that tlie Kail of Selkirk was comineiiciiig aSet- " tleincnt on the Red River, I determined to warn tlie Public of x\w " deception, and of the great misery which Emigrants must experience " in 5U';h a distant and inliospitiUilc region. But it was ditficult to prur " cure the neces^;vhich prevented the recurrence of them. Before proceeding to the further detail of occur- rences in the Indian Country, and in the Colony, we must refer to the transactions of Lord Selkirk in Great Britain and Canada. Being convinced a determined spirit of resistance had been excited to the aggressions and outrages of his Agents in the Interior, which the present means at their com- mand would not be sufficient to subdue, his Lord- ship now resolved to make a combined effort from Montreal and Hudson's Bay ; and by one great ex- ertion, endeavour either to wrest the Trade entirely from the hands of the Canadians, or reduce his opponents to such terms as he might dictate, by the immense expence and loss his preparations would subject them to. ' In the winter, an Agent of his Lordships, Ibr- inerly a Clerk of the North-West Company, Mr. Colin Robertson, was employed in Canada to raise and fit out an expedition from that Province, to penetrate into the Interior, and oppose the North-West Company's Traders in what are called the Athabasca Posts, far beyond any which the Hudson's Bay Company had yet esta- blished. It was necessary to procure Clerks and {iuides who had before been employed in tlie sftme a ■I I if r 42 country, and these could only be obtained in Ca- nada. Mr. Robertson was therefore diiectcd to engage competent persons of this description, with a proportionate number of canoe-nien, and to pro- vide all the means for their equipment. The ex- pedition was to be dispatched from Montreal early in the spring, for Lake Winnipic, where the ca- noes were to be supplied with the necessuiy out- fit of goods for the Indian Trade, l)ronj>ht in from Hudson's Bay. The object of this scheme was evidently to ob- tain a monopoly of the Fur Trade in every other part of the country, as well as in the territoi"y claimed by the Hudson's Bay Company, and to cause irreparable injury to the Trade of the North- West Company. If it succeeded, their rivals would be enabled, under their Charter of exclusive navi- gation in the Bay, to carry in their outfits, and take out their returns, by a route, as has already been mentioned, between 2 and300U miles shorter than that through which the Canadians were obliged to conduct the Tmde. The Athabasca Country, for which this expedition was intended, was also wholly beyond the boundaries of what, in their otcn construction of 'their claims ^ the Hudson's Bay Company called their territory, as the rivers running through it, chiefly empty themselves by Mackenzie's River into the Frozen Ocean, and the Trading Posts of the North- West Company in this direction, extended aprois^ the ) ?^ f 43 Rocky Mountains, to the waters flowing into the Pacilic. The obstacles presented by the difficulty of tlie route, tiie poverty of the country, and the inclemency of the climate, had hitherto rendered it impenetrable to the less enterprising Traders of the Hudson's Bay Company. The Canadians, who had discovered and formed establishments in it, extending their Posts, in some instances, to such a distance, that communication between them and Montreal coui ' o... take place one " i two years, had hitherto been perfectly secure in the confidence, that the capital of their chartered ri-" vals teas insnjficient to embrace the object of this Trade, in conjunction tvith the others in which it was employed; but his Lordship, (determined to surmount all obstacles), had no hesitation in adding his means to those of his Company, and this expedition was fitted out at an immense cost, which has been but ill repaid by the result of it. To aid these projects, and, if possible, ensure his success, it became also necessary, that the supposed judicial powers of the Hudson's Bay Company, an engine which had only yet been re- sorted to in an equivocal manner by his Lordship and his Governors, should assume a more consist- ent form; and whilst Mr. Colin Robertson was engaged, as has been described, in Canada, his Lordship was no less active in London, in matur- ing his designs fw the effectual prosecutioo of his o 2 I I I V If ' ;i I r h \{ a p 44 schemes. A Case was prepuied and laid before some of the most eminent Legal C'haracters in England (snpprets^inn;, aw must undoubtedly have been the ease, from the hummary manner in whieh the Opinions arc given, many material jwints with respect to the Canadian occupancy of the country, and the intcntJcd application of the mea- sures these Opinions appear to justify), respecting the powers of jurisdiction vested in the Hudson's Bay Company. The Opinion of these eminent persons upon the Case so stated, was certainly in favour of the powers claimed, and that the Hud- son's Bay Compiuiy might, at their discretion, establish such Courts as they judged proper, for the adrainistrtition of justice throughout their TerritO' ries, recommending only some caution as to extreme cases : all mention of the definition of boundaries within which this jurisdiction could be exercised, was carefully omitted, both in the Case, and Opi- nions given upon it. Armed, however, with this qualified sanction of their rights, certain Resolu- . tions were entered into by the Governor and Committee, and submitted afterwards, on the 19th of May, 1815, to the fiirce of a General Meeting, as required by the Charter, for the ap- pointment of a Governor and Council, who, to use the expression of the Resolution, were " to have " paramoimt authority over the whole of the " Company's Territories, and that the Governor, " ?ind any two of his Council, should be competent ^ 46 * to fomi a Court for tlie udminisiiatiou of justice, " and the exercise of the power vested in th«.in by •' the Charter*." The Resolution's were, iis usual, o|)|)Osed by ail the Menibers of the Company pre- sent, except the Noble Lord and the Committee, but these being the majority, opposition was ineffectual. After some di.scussion, the names of ihe peisons apjX)inted to the dilierent oflieevS Nvere also com- municated, and the surpri/e of the persons re- presenting the interests of (he Canadian Traders, who were also Members of the Hudson's Bay Company, may be easily conceived, when they learnt that Mr. Macdonell, against whom war- rants were issued on information upon oath, of acts of felony committed by him, was appointed the Second Person in Command, and administration of Justice, throughout the Territories of the Com- pany. Alarmed at the engine of oppression which was thus preparev»is no jurisdiction vested by the 43rd of the King, under which trialH could take place, in the Courts of Lower ([*anada, in actions for damages in civil cases. All hope, therefore, of bringing' the question to la^uc in Canada, being at an end, the Canadian Merchants again ad- dressed the most urgent applications on the sub* ject to His Majesty's Government*. Lord Selkirk having, in this manner, during the winter, matured his plans in England, and in Canada, tlie different expeditions, headed by Go- vernor Semple from the Bay, and by Colin Robert- sonf from Montreal, proceeded to their destinations. Mr. Robertson, from some experience he had of the country, not liking a journey to Athabasca, sent on the canoes, with about 100 men, under the com- mand of a Mr. Clark, and remained with the Set- tlers from the Red Rivtr, who had gone towards Hudson's Bay in the spring, and whom he found in the vicinity of Lake Winnipic. Mr. Semple ar- rived at York Fort rather late in the season, and having taken under his command the Emigrants who had gone out in the ships of the preceding ♦ See Appendix, No. XW'I. t This Gentleiimii, immediately after Peace hnd taken place be>:.vce« Great Britain and the United States, went to New York, witli tlie view of forming an arrangement with American Citizens to join iiis pa- tron and emplojer, in hia attempts to ruin the North- West Companv, For this purpose he applied to a Gentleman in that country, who, coit- aected with its Government, had made considerable exertions to rival the Canadian Trade previous to the war. Jlir.tX fctAT^ft 4 ll ! I ". year, and beiiip^ joined l>y Robertson and the Co- lonistN on the ronte, the vvliole party iirriviid in September 1815, at the Red River, anri re-enta- bliHhed tiie Colony. The new Governor \v;ih ti Htmncfer to the personal animosities wiiiih had ex- isted between the rival parties in the Interior, and hopes were entertained, from the general character he bore for intej^rity and hinnanity, that, under his administration, violenees would at least have been suspended, till the rijjhts ol* each had been discussed and settled, either by the Courts of Justice, or the Government in Enjj^land. Enthusiastic, however, in the cause of his employers, and persuaded that the Le^^al Authorities under >vhich he had been advised to act, would justify, not only the assuni[)tion, but the immediate exercise of the powers confided to him, he did not hesitate, on assuming: his Govern- ment, to sanction those measures which had b<^lbro been rcsoiM ;jd to, and to authorize others which had been suggested to him, for the complete subjec- tion of the North-West Company and their people. Mr. Robertson, who had abmdoned the Atha- basca expedition, was this winter the principal actor in the scenes which pas!?ed in the neighbour- hood of the Colony, and, in this respect, proved a worthy Ibllowcr of his predecessor, Mr. Mac- donell. • " Early in October, Mr. Cameron, while pnssinn; quietly along a public road, was seized by au armed party, on an accusation of having seduced 49 niul niliccd the Colonists in the spritig to aban- don the Settlement ; but he was soon afterwards, unconditionally, released. Mr. Robertson ap- pears to have about thin time formed a plan, of the same nature as that of Mncdoncll the preced- ing winter, to starve the Canadians into submis- sion ; and it was publicly announced, that mea- sures, which were calculated to carry it into effect, would be taken before the opening of the navigation. On the 17th of March these operaliofs com- menced, by a regular attack, in the night, by an armed force, on Fort Gibraltar, the North- W<[;st Company's Post at the Forks of the Lower Red River, where Mr. ^Cameron and his people were made prisoners*. This was followed by anotbev attack^ on the 20th of the same months on th 5 Post of the River Pembina, where the people were also made prisonersf ; and at both Posts, arms^ ammunition, letters, papers, books, merchan- dize, and about fifty packs of furs were seized^ and confiscated to the uses of Lord Selkirk and the Hudson's Bay Company. Mr. Cameron was sent down prisoner to the Bay, and has not since been heard of. A large force was nex^ dispatch- ed to surprize Mr. ^Alexander IVIacduti 11 at the Riviere Qu'Appile, a Post on the Upper Red River, where a large depot of provisions was * See John Siverigkt and Franf ois Taupier's Affidavits; Appendix* Nos. XV. and XVI. t See Joseph Joiirdawi's aiid Jean B, Gervai»* Affidavits; Appen, ilix, Nos^XVII. and XVIII. V/l> / ^tw/wc I' » 'it i 50 formed for the supply of the NorlFi canoes : but this expedition found Mr. Alexander Macdonell, ulio commanded llierc, belter prepared than the other stations, and the assailants were obliged to retreat quietly without eifecting their object. Mr.. Robertson retained possession of Fort Gib- raltar and the Post at the Pembina River, till tlve arrival of the winter Express of the Norlh-West Company, which he knew was daily expected^ bringing accounts of the situation of the different departments, and the success of their winter- trade. He intercepted this Express, and made no scruple of seizing and opening all the Letters, above 100, whether addressed to the Partners, or other persons attached to the Company. The Forts were then abandoned, and rated to the ground; such of the timber as might be useful to Lord Selkirk's Establishments, being first removed for that purpose. On the i9th of May, some persons in the employment of the North-West Company, without authority from any of the Partners or Agents, hearing of the seizure of the fifty packs of furs at the two Posts, took an opportunity of seizing, by wa.y of retaliation, thirty packs found in a balteuux of the Hudson's Bay Company ; and these furs were afterwards carefully and separately packed and marked^ an4 sent out to Fort William. Some disputes had now taken place between Governor Semple and his coadjutor ; and, disap- pointed in the attempt upon the Post at Riviere 'Q,u'Appele, the former considered it necessary to i'\ 51 cut off the communication between that Post and Lake Winnipic, through which Lake the North- West cauoes from Athabasca, and other remote parts, pass, and are usually supplied with pro> visions from the Red River depots. The lower Posts were already destroyed, and if these cauoes could get no provisions from Qu'AppSle, about bOO meu would be at Mr. Semplc's mercy. A gun-boat, commanded by a Lieut. Holt, wag fitted out on the Lake, and batteries, with cannon mounted, were erected on the banks of the river, !o effect this object. The Canadians saw nothing before them but the prospect of confusion, and the doubtful issue of the conflict that must ensue; but being convinced, from ther plunder of their property at the other Posts, there would t»e no hesitation in seizing ^Iso these, their most valu- able returns, preparations were made to protect them, and expresses were sent to the Interior, to advise the different parties coining out of the country, of their danger, and of the necessity of guarding, by all the means in their power, against it. Being still desirous to prevent an actual con- test between their canoe-men and the people under Governor Semple's orders, an experiment was made by the Canadians, at the time the caooes were expected, to open the communication be- tween Qu'Appele and Lake Winnipic, by land ,- and about fifty Indians and Half-breeds were dis- patched, with an escort of provisions, for that pur- pose. They received ^.xpress orders, and were h3 . ^ f 52 strictly enjoined, to 'pass at a distance behind Fort Douglas, Semple's station, and the Colony, to molest no person, and, if possible, to avoid alt observation* , In pursuance of these directions, the escort proceeded by the edge of a swamp, ( which prevented their making a wider circuit), about four miles from the Fort, with the intention of turning into the usual land-path on the river^ nearly a like distance below : in their progress they met one or two Colonists, whom they de- tained, to prevent information of their route reaching the Fort; and, at the place of their encampment below, a party of them, who had preceded the rest, found some other Colonists fishing, whom they also detained, but did not in the least molest, otherwise than by the restraint of not allowing them to return to give information at the Settlement. Governor Semple, seeing, by a telescope from a look-out on the top of his Fort, the circuit made by the Indians, and probably concluding, if the communication was establish- ed, that his plans would be rendered abortive, determined, in an evil hour for himself, to pur- sue the party, and marched out of the Fort, with twenty-eight men and officers, with great parade in battle array, for this purpose. T|ie Indians and Half-breeds, supposing themselves undisco- vered, and unsuspicious of danger, were much scattered : twenty-four of the number, as has been before stated, having proceeded about two • See Appendix, No. XIX. I i 55 leagues below the others, had begun to encamp : the remaining twenty-six, find tug themselves pur- sued by an armed force, retired to join their com- panions, sendingaCanadianofthename(»f Bouche, who happened to be with them, and who could speak English, toenquire the reason of Iheir pursuit by Semple's party in a hostile manner. Some word« were exchanged, upon which Mr. Scmple suddenly seized the bridle of Bouchif's horse, disarmed hiiD« and ordered htm to be taken prisoner"^. Upon his attempt to escape, the Governor ordered him im- mediately to be fired at, and when his people made some hesitation, seeing the danger they ran in such a conflict, he was more peremptory in his commands, accusing them of cowardice for not immediately obeying. His orders were at last complied with by some of his party, and of the shots fired, one passed close to Bouche's ear, in his flight, and another through the blanket of an Indian, who was advancing after Bouche, in the attitude, and with the language of friendship. Seeinghimself thus treacherously assailed, the In- dian levelled his gun, and fired in return, which example his party followed, and the melancholy and afflicting result of the conflict was, that the Indians rushing in, Mr. Scmple and about twenty of his people lost their lives, and one Ualf- * Tliesc particulars are t.iken from the testimony of Bouclie, who was carried down to iViuntreal, and other persons present in the affray. It has not been deemed adviballe, pending the legal proceedings which the case must give rise to, to publish the evidence of parties who lua^v be implicated. ! II 1* ' I ■■ 54 > :n I't , ^r i^A breed, and one Indian^ on the other side, were killed. Of course the accounts of this most deplorable event, given by Lord Selkirk, attempt to throw tlie blame on the opposite party, and his misrc- presentations have gone so far as to accuse the North- West Company of having dispatched this force, not for the purpose of escorting the provi- sions they had in charge, but for an hostile attack upon Fort Douglas. The facts of the Indians having actually passed that establishment, some part having encamped at about ten miles below the Fort, and who, to the number of twenty- four, did not join in the action, and the conflict having taken place at least four miles below, form a sufficient refutation of the latter part of his accusation : add to this, their studied eftorts to avoid collision by the detour made, and the facts, not even denied by the opposite party, that they marched out and followed the Indians, and fired first upon them, no doubt can remain as to who were the aggressors in this most unfortunate afi^ray. The Indians and Half-breeds were all ou horseback, and dismounting when the fire com> menced, sheltered themselves behind their horses, and took deliberate aim at their antagonists over the horses' backs, which accounts for the destruc- tive result of the contest. After their first fire, according to their usual custom, they rushed ia upon the survivors, and a Half-breed of the name of Crrant, whp appears to have acted as leader of 53 tlie part}', could not even save Mr. Semple from their resentment : while supporting that unfortu- nate Gentleman wounded, in his arms, a Saulteux Indian, in defiance of his efforts and entreaties to spare Mr. Semple's life, shot him through the head, calling out, " You dog, you have been *' the cause of all this, and shall not live." Jua\v: The Indians and Half-breeds fortunately did not carry their resentment beyond the persons actually engaged in the afiVay, or approaching in arms to join it ; and it is an undeniable fact, that not one of the Colonists, or even of those who were pre- viously detained, was personally injured. They were, however, all ordered off the grounds, with a warning not to return, but allowed to retain any private property they possessed : the party plun- dered, and divided amongst themselves, every thing they could iind belonging to Lord Selkirk and the Hudson's Bay Company, and among other articles, they unfortunately met with about SOO fusils, and a large quantity of ammunition. Thus was this devoted Colony for the last time dispersed; and although its dissolution was sooner ur later inevitable, from different causes to tbat which now determined its fate, it could not have been expected that it would be precipitated by so much rashness. As far as the Canadians were concerned, in having employed these people solely for the transport of their provisions, and without the most distant apprehension of the fatal con- flict which ensued, they were entirely blameless. •I » ?. '< K> i 5^1 % 4 ^ ^M I' I n m 5e .11 U: U -■" I"!S) t ^ ^ 3^ M ■f 1, •, h !U| utilcss indeed it could have been expected of thenij not only to respect the territorial rights set up hy Lord Selkirk, but the further extension of power^ in attempting to shut up the water com- munications between countries, over which he does not even claim to extend those rights^ and this at the sacrifice of their whole property, and under the knowledge of the absolute ruin in whicli it would have involved them. After this melancholy affair, the Colonists, to the number of about 180 iouls, complied wil- lingly with the terms prescribed by the Indians, I Iv and were met with in the end of June in eight boats, on their way to the Bay. These people had passed the winter as usual in great misery, until they took possession of the Canadian Forts, where they found plenty of dried meat and potatoes. The Athabasca expedition, which had pro- ceeded under the orders of Mr. Clark, was pro- ductive of results equally disastrous to those en- gaged in it, and, as far as loss of property went, to its projectors. The canoes got into the coun- try too late to find the Indians, and were divided into detachments, at the English River, Peace River, Fort Chipewayan, and at the Slave Lakes, and, having been sent off, with a criminal ne- glect, on the part of their employer^ of the means of subsistence, about twenty people perished by the rigour of the climate and by famine*, and * •Eighteen of these unfortunate men having been dispatched bjr their leader upon an expedition, on snow shoes, io find the Tfinter 57 the others^ about eighty in number, threw them- selveSj with their property, on the protection of the North-West Posts, whose Traders saved them from the horrors of famine, and gave them the means of leaving the country in the spring. While the winter and spring were thus passing in the Indian Country, Lord Selkirk embarked for America, and arrived in Canada, to super* intend the extended operations he meditated for the ensning season, in the full confidence that success would have attended his combinations for the past in the Interior, and that it was only necessary to follow up the blow, to acquire possession of the country to the westward of Lake Superior, and the entire monopoly of its trade. — Mr. Miles Macdonell, against whom, as already mentioned, it was found ineffectual to continue the criminal proceedings which had been instituted, joined his Patron, and was not the less welcome, for the zeal he had before shewn in plundering the Canadians. Preparations were commenced on an extensive quarters, or liui.ting grounds of some Iiulinns with whom he wished to open a trade, the pnrty were unsuccessful in tlieir search, and having lost their way, and consumed all tboir provisions, no means of subsist- ence, and scarce any hope of escape, remained to them. About three weeks after they had been sent on this ill*fated expedition, one of them alone reached Fort Chipewayan (the North- West Company's principal station in Athabasca) ; all the others had perished, and the wretched men who survived the longest, had been reduced to the horrid neces- sity of satisfying their hunger by eating the flesh of their deceased com- panions, till at lei>uth'only one was left to tell the dreadful tale. (Ccw,w«.»< tlS"- .!^ 1 1 l\ [tl l! 1^ v-i .0% .ivi) a. •I" vm ■ I ! li" i^' m h ^i\: rU^} 68 scale, for new expeditions, by the Grand Rivei', and the Lakes, to the North-Wcst ; njcn of all de- scriptions uerc engaged, and a large outfit for the Indian trade, got in readiness. Cunuidering the im- mense waste of property which would ensue, even from a zealous competition for the trade, if it should reach their remote posts, of which they had before sufficient experience in their contests amongst themselves, and still further apprehensive of the violent measures with which i'ley were threatened, from the nature of Lord Selkirk's pro- ceedings, the North-WestCompany now attempted to renew with his Lordship, a treaty they had be- fore, in ISIO, ofl'ered to the Hudson's Bay Company in London, for dividing the Trade, and putting an end to all contention between their Servants. The average returns of the trade of the parties were, about this time, (exclusive of the fisheries in the Bay, in which the Canadians had no desire to be concerned), in the proportion in value of about five to one in favour of the North- West Com- pany, and their most profitable trade, indeed almost the only part which hud been .10, since Lord Selkirk's opposition, was from the Atha- basca country, where their rivals had never pene- trated till the attempt of the preceding season, the result of which was then unknown at Mon- treal. The capital employed in the whole trade, was in the proportion considerably above three to one, taking the Hudson's Bay Company's j^tock iit'"*' h' 59 at its extended amount, nearly 100,000/., and the returns from what this Company call their exclu- sive territories, were probably in the same pro- portion. These data are suflieiently clear ti> f^r^^- blc the reader to form his own opinion of the f iir- ness of the proposals made by both parties, from which, unfortunately^ no arrangement resulted. In the month of December, a communication was made to Lord Selkirk, of the earnest desire of the North-West Company to enter into a ne- gociation, either for a fair division of the Trade, to be conducted under a joint management, or, if that was not deemed eligible by the Hudson's Bay Company, then for a division of Posts and Countries, so that there might be no possibility of further collision. Without entering into the details of tJie negociation, the North-West Com- pany offered, if the future conduct of the whole trade, under such a joint management as could be agreed upon, was acceptable to the Hud- son's Bay Company, that the parlies should be iuterested, the Canadians for two-thirds, and the Hudson's Bay Company for one-third, and that each should furnish, in that proportion, the means and capital, and receive the returns : and if it was found impracticable to nrgociate on this basis, that they would divide the Posts, so as to give the Hudson's Bay Company two- thirds of the trade in all the countries over which thei/ claimed their chartered rights to i2 / c i6 .4 I \ y|< :.fi' ]i << w \ 60 .)• k i I i I » extend, instead of the one-third they actually possessed ; on the stipulation, in return, that the Athabasca trade, and that on the waters flowing towards the Frozen Ocean and the Pacific, should not be encroached upon. In answer to these proposals, which Lord Sel- kirk at once declared to be inadmissible, a coun- ter-proposition was submitted by his Lordship, that the Hudson's Bay Company would be kind enough not to interfere with the Athabasca Posts, if the Canadians would give up entirely all trade in the countries through which any waters passed, flowing towards Hudson's Bay, or, in other words, in any part of the territory of that Company, ac- cording to his construction of its limttSt and two-thirds of the trade of which had been, for the last fifty years, carried on by the Canadians ; and that, for the accommodation of the North- West Company, in the event of their acceding to this stipulation, they should be permitted to re- tain some of their own Posts on the route to Atha- basca in those territories, on condition that they would leave the question of right to Arbitration^ and, if it was given in fayour of the Hudson's Bay Company, that they should be allowed to retain them, with a certain number of acres of land attached to each, for a limited period, on payment of an adequate rent to that Company, as landlords. The Canadians only observed^ in reply to thip 61 ; modest proposition, that they bad icommeiMved the negociation, not >vith the yiew of discussii^ abstract rights, on Mhich subject they retained opinions diametrically opposite to those of the Noble Lord, but with a vievv uf reconciling pre- sent interests, and for the substantial benefit of both parties ; that, of course, they could not consent to give up a country to which they claim- ed even a better title than the Hudso 's Bay Com- pany, by virtue of their original discovery and prior possessiofi, and which, according to the best legal opinions they had been able to obtain, was not included in the Charter, even admitting it9 legality ; and that, as to the offer of leaving the settlement of these rights to Arbitration, ijt conr takied no reciprocity, inasmuch as, if the award was against them, they were deprived of their possessions, and, if jit was in their fayour, it con- ferred no benefit upon them. There had been evidently no desire on the part of Lord Selkirk, in these negociations, to bring them to a satisfactory conclusion ; and his whole conduct, immediately after thejr termination, left no doubt of his determination to carry into effect, by physical force, that part of his proposition which related to dispossessing the Canadians of their property and trade, throughout the assiioicd territories of the Hudson's Bay Company, His Lordship was appointed Justice of the Peace for the Indian Territory and ip Upper Ca- ^i ^ Hi 1' V L 1 1 ( V i' 62 nadt, and a military escort, under the i:. lo u^ a body-guard, consisting of a scrjeant':) lit-tacli- ment of the 37th regiment, was also granted, on his application to the Governor of Canada, for the protection of his person, in the cxpcditio.i Iiu meditated in the spring, to the seat of govern* ment in his new kingdom. That he miglit have means sufficient for his purpose, in addition to about ISO canoe-men, he engaged about 150 fo- reign soldiers, with two Captains and two Su- balterns, of the regiment of De Meuron ; a set of men, whose conduct afterwards sufficiently jus- tified the apprehensions entertained of Ihcni. They had been engaged in different services in Europe and Asia, and were partly formed by de- serters from Buonaparte's armies in Spain. From that country they were sent to America, where the regiment was just disbanded, and were fit instruments for the scenes of pillage and plunder in which they were subsequently engaged*. An account of these preparations, and of the consequences to be apprehended from them, was laid, both before the Government at home, and in Canada, with earnest entreatiesj, on the part of * It is necessary to rem^k liere, tliat tlicse men were hired before even the transactions just related on the Red lliver had taken place, that the attempt made to justify this proceeding, hy connecting it witli providing means of defence for the Colony, should be understood. If these soldiers were intended as an addition to the Colony, their dissi- pated and idle habits would have ensured ita destruction, even had i\ pot previously taken place. 63 the was and irtof before place, I it with 3d. If Imd U tlic Cniiadians, niid their Rcpreseutativcs here, that ut leaU their pcrsoiH and properties might be protfctcd. Relying upon such protection, the Norlh-Wcst Company dispatched tiieir canoes, as usual, in tlie Hpriiig, by the Orand River, without any additional precautions, for Fort William; and about the same time, Mr. Miles Macdonell was dispatched by Lord Selkirk, with the Cana- dians engaged in the service of the Hudson's Ray Compau}', in canoes, to make the best of his way, by Lake Superior, to the Red River, in order that his Lordship might have early intelli- gence from his Colony, of the proceedings during the winter, to meet him on Lake Superior. His Lordship, accompanied by Captains Matthey and D'Orsonnens^ and Lieutenants Graffenreith and Fauche, with about 140 De Meuron soldiers^ dressed in new uniforms for the service, and equipped with all the *' pomp and circumstance '' of war," even to a furnace forlieating cannon balls, took the route by the Lakes, with the inten- tion, it would seem, of engaging some discharged Highlanders of the Glengary Corps, also to fol- low his fortunes. Mr. Miles Macdonell had proceeded with the utmost expedition to Lake Superior^ and had passed on by the usual communication to Lake Winnipic, while the Agents of the North-West Company had arrived at Fort William, and were (i ,1 ! 1 - •'• I I 64 I' • u> % ['< ■' ,j '!• ! ; ^ 'ri'M tC contained an ample supply of arms and ammuni- tion, and was capable of considerable resistance. The whole proceedings of Lord Selkirk at Fort "William are so extraordinary in themselves, as well as so momentous in their consequences to the North-West Company, that they require to be particularly detailed. On the 12th of August, his Lordship came into the River Kaministiguift with four canoes, at- tended by a number of soldiers, and by his guard, with whom he encamped about 800 or 900 yards above the Fort, on the opposite shore. Within two or three hours, eleven boats full of men, in the uniform of De M euron*s Regi- ment, came into the River, and were followed bv one boat and two canoes loaded with r.rms and stores, &c. The troops immediately jumed Lord Selkirk at his encairpment. Cannon were landed, and drawn up, pointed to the T^ort, and i.ails were ready piled beside them, as prepared for a siege and bombardment. On the following day, two persons belonging to his Lordship's suite, named M'Nabb and M'Pherson, came to the Fort about three o'clock k3 'j(\i l3j^i\h '\' i ill*' mi 11 iH i m » > k ill i/d Mf 68 in the afternoon, and having without difficulty obtained admission, tliey arrested Mr. William M'Gillivray, who immediately offered to attend bis Lordship, and, utterly unconscious of any ground for charge, took with him Mr. Kenneth M'Ken- zie, and Dr. M'^Laiighlin, to give bail for him if required. On embarking to cross over to bis Lordship's encampment, they were guarded by above twenty soldiers, who had accompanied M'Nabb and M'Pherson, and on their reaching the opposite shore, they were received by a party of the 37th regiment under arms, who conducted them to Lord Selkirk. Instead of being accepted as bail, Mr. M'Ken- rie and Dr. M'Laughlin were told that they were involved in the same charge with Mr. M'Gilli- vray, which appeared to be some concern or par- ticipation imputed to them in the transactions at the Red River; and his Lordship stated, that all the Partners of the North- West Company, who had been at Fort vVilliam in the year 1814, when the appointment of Mr. Duncan Cameron to their station in the Red River took place, were im- plicated in the alledged crimes. Any attempt at justification was of course use« less; nor was any necessary, for Lord Selkirk must at the moment have been equally convinced as they were themselves, not only of their inno- cence, but even their complete ignorance, of the transactiojis imputed to th^m as crimes. i I (i g n ri u n .« - 69 Military possession was then taken of the Fort^ as is particularly described in the Deposition of Lieutenants Brumby and Misani*^ given in the Appendix^ No. XX., and in the following Jour- nal of Mr. Jasper Yandersluys, a very respecta- ble person, who was employed as Book-keeper to the Agents of the North- West Company, and who, upon the arrest and removal cf all the Partners, as detailed in the Journal, was left at Fort William in charge of their affairs. * Lieutenants Brumby and Misani, whose Deposition is above re- ferred to, are Officers of the late Rsgiment De Meuron, who obtained ]«ave of absence fioin General Sir Gordon Drumniond, at the request of the North- West Company, in order to enable them to visit tlie In- dian Country. This was partly intended to counteract the impression which might l)e made on tlie Indians by seeing Lord Selkirk's body* guanl and military force ; but chiefly in order to enable these Gentle- men to see tlte real state of the country, and to give an impartial report of such occurrences as they might witness. Tiieir testimony, therefore, relative to the military outrages committed at Fort William, is entitled to particular atteution. .is coming from Military Men, totally uacon* npcted with either of the Parties. , _ if^- ■ m 7 [^ 70 Journal of Occurrences at Fort fVilliam, in the District q^' Kaministigiddf commencing the Twejjlh Day qf August, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Sixteen. 'f Fm-tWilHami V2th August, 1 8 15. it Between ten aiid eleven litis morning fbe Earl of Selkirk, accompanied by his body-guard, and others, came up li>e River Kaministigui^ in four canoes. He encamped about 800 or 90(> yards above the Fort, on the opposite shore. Between one and two P. M. he was followed by eleven or twelve boats, each having from twelve to fifteen soldiers on board, all armed, who en- camped about two hundred yards below the EarL The rest of the day past quietly off, though I observed very great activity prevailing in their Camp. 13th August, The morning past very quieliy^ but I observed his Lordship's soldiery cleaning and loading their muskets, and planting their cannon in the direction towards the Fort. In the afternoon, at about two or three o'clock, one M'Nabb came into the Fort, with a Warrant issued by the Earl, and took prisoner Mr. William M'Gillivray, ordering him to accompany him to Lord Selkirk's Encampment. Mr. M'Giilivray immediately obeyed, and Mr. Kenneth Mackenzie and Dr. John M'Laughlin accompanied him, to give bail. No one else in the Fort was in- formed of the circumstaMce, so that, seeing these Gentlemen go over to Lord Selkirk, we itU took it as a favourable sign of an arrangement between the Hudson's Bay and Nortli-West Com- panies being about to take place; and we were proportionably the more surprizf i upo! iierceiving the result. Half an hour after these Gentleiisen were gone, I i>'^ sta)>les to produce their Authority, and to exhibit their Warrant. It will hardly be believed, that this legal demand, which the Earl of Selkirk now endeavours to hold out as a resistance to the exe« oution of the Warrant, served as a signal for attack. Captain D'Orsonnens, the leader of these disbanded, intoxicated, and almost uncontrouled soldiers, cried out " auxarmea, auxarmeaf* and immediately die bugle was sounded, and an armed force of about sixty in number, with loaded muskets and fixed bayonets, rushed forcibly into the Fort, shouting, cursing and swearings and threatening death and destruction to all persons and all pro> perty. The soldiery were strongly countenanced in this by their officers, amongst whom the most conspicuous was the aforesaid Captain D'Orsoimens, next Captain Matthey, Lieutenant Fauche, Lieutenant Grafienreith, and several more. They spread out their troops in every direction, driving the peaceable inhabitants of the Fort before them, and spreading terror and alarm amongst the women and children by their hideous shouts and exclamations. They placed two pieces of canpon in the centre of the Fort, and centinels iu alt quarters. AU this while the aboveuientioned Gentlemen did not otter the least resistance, but on the contrary, patiently submitted to the outrageous and lawless conduct of their assailants ; and they were then carried off to the Earl's Camp, guarded by a\) armed force. Had the least thought been entertained of making resistance, nothing would have been easier than to have dune so, and to have exterminated the whole of Lord Selkirk's band ; for at the time the Elarl made his appearance, we mustered nearly three times the niiniher of his people, and were provided with more than sufficient means of defence; but no such thing was ever contemplated or even suggested, in proof whereof, the sale, and even the usual distribution of liquor to the men, was positively forbidden. The Fort was now left in disorder, and at the discretion of (he intoxicated soldiery ; and if no blood has been spilt on the occa- sion, neither Lord Selkirk nor his people have any cluini to the credit of it. At about eight P. M. our Gentlemen returned. V i. 1 % n :\ '^ i \ I ^ »1 I f 79 111 baviug, aa I understood, engaged to Lord Selkirk to go back tlie next day to his Camp, in order to undergo an exaiiiinalioii. I omitted to mention that, after our Gentlemen had been carried aff, Mr. M'Nabb, one Mr. Allan, (the Earl's medical attendant) accompanied by Captain D'Orsonnens and another, proceeded to the Office of the North-West Company, and there presented a Warrant addressed to the Chief Clerk, with orders to seal up all the papers, which was complied with ; aAer which they went into Mr. M'Gillivray's private room, where they did the same, and subsequently in the rooms of all the before-named Gentlemen. When the Gentlemen returned, they expostulated upon the troops being left in the Fort, and insisted upon their being with- drawn ; which was only partly complied with, and a guard of twenty soldiers was left under the command uf Lieutenant Graf- fenreith. The general terror, the uncertainty as to what were the Earl's designs, and the actn of violence, and infringements oi all right and law, which had already been committed, made us all pass a night of fear and anxiety, 14th August. This rooming Mr. M'GilHvray desired me to draw up a Protest against the acts of viulence committed yesterday ; I had only a quarter of an hour to do it in, and worded it briefly in the fol-> lowing terms : " We the undersigned. Agents and Partner& of the North-West *' Company, being tbb day, the thirteenth of August, I8I6, in a " body assembled at Fort William, in the district of Kaminis- " tigui&, do hereby formally Protest against the violent proceed- " ings done and'comniitted upon our persons and property, at " the above mentioned place in the afternoon of the abov(N " mentioned day, by a troop to the number of between fifty " and sixty disbanded and intoxicated soldiers, formerly belong* *' ing to the Regiment of De Meuron, and at present in the ser- " vice and pay of the Earl of Selkirk, headed by Captain D'Or* " sonnens and Lieutenant Fauche, and afterwards joined by Cap- '* tain Matthey and Lieutenant Graffenreith, who forcibly enterw " ing the Fort Gate, spread out their troops in every direction <* having tkeir bayonets fixed, and shouting a most horrid huaza t i>( 73 «i ll view of the Fort. I followed him. One Chatelain met him, and took him aside. He returned into the Fort, and a heavy shower of rain falling, I took him into Dr. M'Laugli* lin's house for shelter. His Lordship was very inquisitive, enquiring tlit- nunibtr of cattle, tlic produce of the harvest, <.Vc. After the rain he went to his room in the Mess-house, with Captain D'Orsoniiens, Captain Matthey, and his Snrgeon, wh(» in all respects seem to be his chief agents, and principal confi- dants. He came out and asked me to go for Mr. M'Tavish, who came, and complied with his Lonlship's request in explaining the use and contents of all the buildings in the Fort. The bell rung for dinner. The prisoners received their dinners in their rooms. During d'.iiuer Lord Selkirk and his party were very bu.sy about Iht' f nt, und carried ofl" about eighty guns belonging to thft North- West Company. An order was then issued to all onrmen to carry all their canoes into the Foit, and break up their Camp, no one being allowed to encamp or remain any longeron this side the river. His Lordship asked me if 1 knew the Proprietors who were under contiiiemcnt. I answered iti the athrmative. He told me it was necessary they should all be placed in one house, and pointed out the Wintering-house, to the right of the Mess- bouse, as one that \. ild answer this purpose. He wanted me to accompany his constable, M'Nabb, to get the Gentlemen toge- ther, and convey them to their new prison. I took the liberty to observe to his Lordship, that I should tind it rather a difficult task to act in concert with his constable against my Employers, and begged to be excused accepting such a degrading office. Hi»^ ill lite it WU9 1 ii»es«, - dcAks, It there id then all the it ion of out of to take tin met , and a 'LauglH [iiisitive, harvest, ise.witli nn, who al conti- ish, who uing thtt »eU rung rooms. sy about to the our men it Camp, this side tors wht> ive. He le house, le Mess- id me to len toge- liberfy difficult nployers, ice. tli»^ 7."'> t^irdship said he hud plcitty of people of hU own tn p<>rfi>riu Ih's duly, but (hat |>erh)ips they would do it in a leiH delicate manner. I answered hit Loni^hip, that as for that, I hud not the least doubt, but could not poHvihIy c<»niplv with his rc(|iii'«t. Soon after I saw John Macdonald conducted by an armed force from his own room into flu* \Vinterin|{-hon4o; Allan Macdonell was conducted thither in the same manner, and a few moments after, 1 had the mortificatiun to see Mr. AI'GilUvray turned out of his private room with hi.s lugjj;afi;e, and carried away also, guarded by an armed force with fixed bayonets, to the Winter- ing-faonse. The Mess- house l>ein<; now cleared of all our Gen- tlemen, I went in, and found a person of . name of Lorimier, one Chatelain, and the well-known Wil' 'nson all three Agents to his Lordship, regaling themselves in th' ' riv .ite rooms of the Gentlemen who were in prison, and tu seize all amis, under the frivolous pretext, that information had been given that a quantity of papers had been burnt the night before, and a number of arms concealed. I accompanied the searchers to every room. John Macdonald's room being locked, was forcibly broke open witli. an axe by Mr. Allan, Mr. M'Nabb, and Captain D'Orsonnens. The search, sealing of papers and trunks, seizure of arms, &c, lasted till past twelve o'clock at night. ;.;,,. These articles were all sealed in my presence, and next to the Carl's seal I put mine. Tliey were curried to his Lordship's apartment hi the Mess-house. An order was this evening issued in the Ivarl's name, that after nine, no one should a|)pear out of doors under any pretext wbatr ever. . .■ A printed ]Yd\\tr has been posted up at the gate of the Fort, signed by some Montreal Advocates, and purporting to contain the Opinion of those Gentlemen, relative to the Hudson's Bay Chitrter, but which in fact consists of nothing but the dennn* oiation of punishment against all who shall opfKise the measures ' the Earl of Selkirk may think proper to adopt, as Justioe of tha Peace. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I lAO 12.0 us Ki ■ii IL25 i 1.4 I 1.6 V3 /, f -*> Hiotographic .Sciences Corporation 23 WIST MAIN STRKT WEBSTIR.N.Y. 14SS0 (716) •72-4503 \ ^ <^ v\ '4^ . " sist in taking inveutories of the '* goods and property on hand " in the Fort r' " '. ' " That the lately arrived Furs " in the pack-store, being wet " and damaged, require a snffi- *' cient number of men to pro- " vide against any further da- " mages." " That the fences around the " fields have been carried off, " and the gate of one of the " fields in which part of the " cattle was inclosed, broke " open." " He will allow three or four hands, provided tlieir names are given in, and that it does not take too many days." r- ' *' Allowed six hands for this " purpose, provided their nanips " are given in," U'-' , •"'.'■■■'■ This was entered into, but the investigation eluded. I, ,, f M 13 % 78 *' Thai the hay iti the fields " Granted some hands pro- " is rotting, in consequence of ** vided a list be given of tlieir ** the people being stopped from " names," •• their work." ^ -:-l«.lwi ^.rf <.*»v|^ . •i.v.*»>^i ^• ScTeral other representations were madr, arising from the ge- neral conAinon, but on the whole hiti Lordship evaded the fieatcst part of our questions and complaints, and referred us to Kis officers wi command, who, as he plainly said, were better accMstomed to matters of vigilance and precaution than he was himself; but that he would sanction every tlung they decided «pon. After we bad left bis Lordship we applied to the officers in command, and those gentlemcu in their turn, evaded our appli- cation, with the answer, that they were not vested with suffi- cient authority, but would put into execution any commands of the Earl. Having therefore maturely considered the present state of mat- fcfs^ we this aften^oop addressed the following Letter to the Earl; I i ** To the Right Hon. the Earl of Selkirk, ' •• MY LORD, ** Whereas the circumstances occurred at this place have occp- ** sbned a general stand in the regular course of the North* West Company's trade, and we having been appointed as chief Managers of the Concern, during tbe absence of the Agents and Proprietors, we think it an imperative duty on our part to address your Lordship on the subject. *' Our outfits for the Interior have only partly been provided " for. We therefore, on the present occasion, request that your ** Lordship will be pleased to give tbe necessary orders, that *' the dispatches of such merchandize as is required for the " Indian trade, may not be interrupted. " The season being al: ' far advanced, it is of tbe most *' urgent necessity that . Montreal canoes should be sent *' off with the Furs and Peltries at present in store, in conse> " quence of which we also request your Lordship's authority '* for the purpose. «< a « « «< tt u *l 79 ** And as it appears that tlie whole of the traoMotions of this place have been brought to a Btaiul, which iu a very tboct time may cause an ainaccountable confusion, we also a|iply to yonr Lordship for redress in this. " And as your Lordship's severe precautious induce us to think tliat sonie illicit measures are suspected from us, or those under us, we beg leave to assure your Lordship, Uiat what* ever may be reported on this subject, is utterly false and un- founded : That on the contrary, we have used, and shall ooii' tinue to do so, all' our exertions against any infringement of the public tranquillity, which on the present occasioa is oi such high importance. *' We are, ■ -■■-• ■!.•..-. ,; i-..,^'' , .^■,j / < :■: . I .-!. ■'..^ < ,> . «• My Lord, ..ii .■■■, ,i.;. ;•:....>„. . I • " Your Lordship's humble and obedient Servants, ' ''"' ' ^ ' (Signed) " J.C.MTAVISH. ■ " J. VANDERSLUYS." Nothing further remarkable occurred this day. The Earl has been occupied for the greatest part of the day by himself. Daniel Mackenzie's examination, which was expected to have ttdiea place to-day, has again been postponed. I cannot account for tlie reasons of this delay. Besides the two prisoners arrested this uioroing, seven more have been taken, viz. Antoine GonneviUe, Louis Pereau, Joseph Demarrais, Philibert La Deroute, Augustin Le Vignc, Joieph Landry, and Supplice La Pointe dit Desautel. — I'iie two last-meutioned men went into Athabasca last year for the Hudson's Bay Company, and owe their lives to the North- West Company, eighteen of their people having perished with hunger. A deposition by them to this effect is on record. I7th August. At about ten o'clock last night, his Lordship let us know that he wanted a list of all the men on the ground before he went to bed, and that without this document it was impossible for him to answer our letter. We immediately consulted on this, and juade out aud handed his Lordship the list just as he was going 1/ W I fv i. 11- I 80 'i ■' ■'■ to bed. This morning at liaif past four, we were waked by M'Nabb, who brought a message from the Earl, that he wanted to see MTavisb. He informed him that he intended to Mnd off twelve gentlemen to Montreal, and ordered M'Tavisb to get three canoes ready for that purpose. His Lordship would not mention their names. Tlie men intended to conduct the canoes are also kept secret. Walking out of the Fort before breakfast this morning, the Earl addressed* me, and said I must not be surprized that no answer had as yet^been given to our Letter of yesterday, as the NicooTenience which the Nortli-West Company's trade had been put to, must not impede the execution of the law. I observed to his Lordship, that our present situation involved us in great responsibility, and that therefore, I had no doubt his Lordship would favour us with » few lines in answer to our Letter, which he promised to do. After breakfast I addressed the Earl for the purpose of having a seaL removed from one of hiy drawers in the Office, which he complied with, and deputed IVl'iVabb and Dr. Allan to attend. They seized some papers of no value, and sealed them ; but I must not omit to mention, that this bundle contains a Deposition of one Nolin, Clerk to the Hudson's Bay Company, written and signed by himself, in which, amongst other things, he declares, that at the late action at Red River, the Colonists, headed by Mr, Semple, uere the aggressors and first assailants I and that the Half-breeds declared they would not permit any Settlers 09 their grounds, but would admit as many Traders as chose to come. This bundle was marked, sealed* and signed by me on the outside, as containing such a document. It was put by along with the other papers seized before. Finding that, notwithstanding Lord Selkirk's promise to answer our letter, no reply had yet been made, we addressed his Lord* ship again hi the afternoon, as follows: » Mr, H f n To the Ri^ht Bon, the Earl of Selkirk. lr,im .. . "MY LORD, ** Referring to the Letter whicli we had the honour to address ** to you yesterday, we are extremely sorry to find, that until this' the ■•VX.l "lidress 81 *• moment wo have not been favoured with a reply. \Vc therefore " take the liberty to repres^ent a<;ain to your Lordship, the urgency " of seiidlii«; off both our Montreul and North Brigades, and with- " out appealing to the promise your Loid>hip has verbally made " to u gin to discover themselves. It appears, he has only waited for the absence of our gentlemen, to unmask himself, and put his plans in execution. We sent him a message this morning, requesting a!i hitcrview. It was granted. We represented the urgent necessity of sending off our canoes for Montreal and the Interior. His Lordship pretended that he could not'authorizc this without be> ing provided with an invoiee of the goods intended for the Inte- rior; and, although we were convinced he had no right to ask such a thing, yet we complied with it, not in consideration of his person, nor through a servile obedience to his unlawful demands, but for the henef^^ of the Norlli-Wcst Company's trade, and in order to ens«ire the utmost dispatch. When he was in possession of the iiivciice, he demanded to see the goods. We took this as a favourable omen, and exi)ectcd that our entreaties would no longer be lan'(;hcd at, but ullim-ately complied with. In this, however, as well as in all he did, be acted hypocritically ; and this is the man who boasts of the protection he has - '• k'ded the North- West Company's property, by not siitTering his -i Idiers to pillage. I conducted him through all the Dry Goods Stores. He evinced the greatest curiosity in exa!?iining every bit of paper that met his eye. At last he found a book on one of the shelves, upon opening which, he found an account under the title of Shop. He enquired the meaning of this, which I explained to him. He then enquired whether, if his peop'c wanted any articles, I hey would be furnished 1 1 answered, that as far as regarded a few articles which he might personally stand in need of, they would not be M .' 84 , .' ') rfrnsrd; but as for his soldiers, it was iiiiposMblv to do so. He asked lite for tlie tariff. I told liiiii, I could not .justify it to mjself to give it.— " But," said lie, "there maybe some ar- " tides wliiili iiuiy not be thought of, and be remembered " wlieii ! see the tariff." Here, ho\vev« r, his Lordiihip's cun- ning WM too evi:i hh deceiving way of speaking, he gave me some faint iiopcs. After this we applied for the removal of the seals, which were still on our desks hi the Cilice, which was done, and a bundle of papers taken out aud sealed. After dinner we proceeded to repack the trunks and pH|M!rs seixed and sealed on the I'Mli instant and follow* ing days, in order to make them more convenient to be sent oflT. I Ajsistod: and, as in the confusion of the first night, va- rious seals had been put on, I now marked and numbered all the parcels, and seaU'd them with the North-Wesi Compan\'« seal. There were twenty piiroels in all, which were packed in a box. This business heing over, I went to the Oflice, and there, to my great surprize, found the constables, M'Nabb, and M'Pheison, who had got possession of the^key* of all tin- stores and warehouf.es, and were ready to march off with them, I enquired into this extraordinary circumstance, and was told that they had seized the keys in virtue of a Search-warrant istiued by the Earl of Selkirk. I demanded to see this War* rant, which was very reluctantly complied with. When I hi>d perused it, I observed to the constables, that they hud acted contrary to the tenor of the Warrant, and that I therefore pro- tested against tlie illegal taking possession of the keys, and *.. 85 against llivir poHlpoiiing the search till next day. That the Wurrniit very distiiictiy staled, that the cuiislables should rater in the dny time into the Nurlli-VVest Company's houses and ivaiehunsc!!, and there search, ^'c. But that the Warrant by uo nirans authorixcd them to ^n'lu* the keys of those buildings iii llic middle of the day, and carry them off*, because we bad bi'en stupid enough to suffer such lawless acts without reinon- slrutini;. That 1 insisted, therefore, on Itie key? being imme- Atialely returned, and as those of the provisiou stores ivere still in my (lossctoioii, I resolutely refused to give them up, and declared 1 should hold those who lud the superintendence of tho^e stores, ansueruble fur the consequences, in ca!>e they gave way to the illegal demands of tlic cnnstables. Macplier- Aon then went for the Earl, who came in a great passion, en- quiring who had opposed those keys being put uito the custody of his constables. I<:anie forward, and told him it was I, and that us long as I remained in charge of tlie NorlhAVest Com- pany's Concern, I woidd never sanction any such illegal actions; that I did not by any means, intend to op|)ose the execution of U^j^al Warrants, or obstruct the legal measures adopted by him, in his capacity as a Magistrate, but that, at the same time, my duty was imperative, and that us long as I had the power, I would fitand fonvard to protect the property entrusted to wy care, against any illegal attack. The Earl then frivolously pretended Uiut this Warrant could have no effect without his being in possession of uU the keys; adding, that he had studied the laws of his country too well, not to know them better than u foreigner. I observed to his Lordship, that my being a fo- reigner had never been any thing agaimt me, in the eye of every man of sense, and that I certainly confessed I was not lawyer enough to explain in how far he could in this case, and upon this Warrant, extend his authority, but that nothing could be plainer, than that an order to enter in the day time into a certain place, and there to search for certain goods, could not be explained to mean to seize ail the keys of such places, and carry them off. He threatened, that if the keys were not irn- luediately given up, he would force them from me by military n ri 'iJ ,_ h 86 cMreion. I (old hhn that (hey should itot be pu( in liis poa> Nuion (ill he did lo, and I insis(cd upon (he Warrant being put in cxecudon wi(liou( delay ; tb«( i( was full day-ligh( (half- past four T. M.)t and (hat I was ready (o give hiii constables access to any place (hey might desire to search. My deter- iDiDa(ion had (he desired effect: his Lordship lowered bis tone, and we proceeded to (he examination of the provision 8(ores, where none of the goods sought aAer were found, and the keys of (hose buildings remained in our possession. It being now too late to search the other buildings, 1 agreed with the cons(ables, (bat all the keys should remain (his nif;ht in my poaseatioH, locked up in a box, of which they should keep the key, which was done accordingly ; and that we should go on to-morrow morning at six o'clock. Amongst other representations mode this morning to (he Earl, we (old him that if our men remained eight days longer on (he ground, we should be short of provisions : and that our fisherman being prevented from pursuing his avocation, this also very much contributed to diminish the stock of provisions on hand; but as usual, our remoustrunccs had no effect, and no no(ice was taken of (hem. ' ' The Earl now occupies (wo rooms in (he mess-house. Two soldiers, wi(h fixed bayonets, are s(ati(>ned in the hall when we take our mcnis. Daniel Mackenzie is not yet examined : (his is (he ninth diiy of Lis imprisoutnent. 20th August. Before six this morning, we proceeded to search for the $tolen furs* at Braiidon-housc, as the Warrant expresses it. We began with the Dry Good Stores, and no furs being found (here, the keys were delivered up to me, aceording to what had been agreed last night with the Earl. Upon entering the Pur Store, they found a vast quantity of peltries, some packed and others not. They saw the difficulty of (heii' en(erprise, * These were the furs stated before to have been taken on the 19tli May. See page 50. 87 1 and in ot.Ier to put it oft', to kill time, and to throw tiM North-Wc8t Company's Coiiccriit nioru uiid more into cout'ii* «iou, new and urbitrury orders were iMUt*d by Lord Selkirk, to aenrch the sl(»res over uguin which hud just been gone through, under the provoking pretext, that furs pu|K*rs. or oilier ur> tick's luighl be conr«>Hlt>d in the bales of dry goods. I how> ever refusiHl to ii(lii:it tliom aguin, um they hud once ulreudy, iu their capacity us coustHblcs, declared that they were sati*- fied the ohjects of their search were not there. This was re- ported to the Lurl, and at hia Lordship thinks nothing of issuing I'arranta to the first who applies for tUcni, afresh om tfias immediuleli/ made out, which was presented to me be/ore it was dry ; this arbilniry document was of the same tenor as the one menticiied before, only with the additiou of the words^ " and various articles." It certainly required more than u common stock of patience to submit tpsuch a number of wilful provocations: especially where it was evident they originated in interested motives, tht spirit of retaliation, and the vrimiual object tlvcy had in view, of the total destruction of our trade, and where too they were backed by a ferocious band of lawless soldiery, with arms and artillery; where too these illegal actswere all committed under the pretence of Law, and where the only acting Magistrate was at once our violent oppressor, and our interested rival in trade. Though but little acquainted with the British Laws, I cannot allow myself to think they can in any way sanction Lord Selkirk's conduct. And I cannot help remarking here, that at the time of the French Invasion of my own country, I wit- ^lessed much injustice, and a defiance of law and morality, with all the evils accruing to a country overrun by a de- bauched and ferocious military horde, yet I saw no injustice 80 glaring as what was committed by the Earl of Selkirk and his agents here. I have just this moment returned from one of the Wara- lioii&es, where they are searching, as they call it, for papers ov arms in suspicious places, but where they are committing acts which would make a French Douanier blu«h; and all this f i 1: f n \ \ r ^:. ■ 7- '' IJ ■l\ 1 I (. 88 autlioriRd, Instigated, and ordered by a man, vested wiil< the dignitji of a Magistrate, and who hast the honour of bein.'^ a Peer of the Realm of Great Britain. They are cutting open bales packed ready for embarkation, and where it is most clearly evident that nothing they are searching for can becon« ceaTed. Certainly their warrant does not authorize them to take inventories of the contents, in order to promote Lord Selkirk's mercantile views, to turn every thing upside down, and to leave in a confused heap, what had cost many a day's labour to get ready and pack up. I have remonstrated against their conduct, but they Lugh at me. The presence of Lord Selkirk with bis troops, and the absence of all law and right, support them in this behaviour. Capt. Matthey, and M'Pherson the constable, were the actors in this disgrdccful scene. At about one o'clock P. M . Mr. John M'Giltivray arrived from the interior, in company with Archibald M'Gillivray and Willtam Henry. They had scarcely entered the gate when they were stopped, and about tive minutes after a Warrant was served, and John M'Gillivray taken prisoner, confined, and all access to, and communication with him forbidden. Archibald M'Gillivray and William H^nry are Clerks to the North- West Company. At length Daniel Mackenzie has undergone an examination, and was committed to the gaol where the connuon men are confined. A circumstance which cannot be passed unnoticed, and which shows no small degree of effrontery and impudence, is, that when we had complied with Lord Selkirk's request to give np a few rooms for some sick people and women, as we were told, the weather being very !>ad and cold, and those rooms were occupied accordingly ; yet now these same sick people and women are having a dance in one of these rooms, with music, singing, and other annoyances to the peaceable and lawful inhabitants of the Fort. The gentlemen who arrived this raomuig, as before-men- tioned, are deprived of their baggage, which has been locked 89 up by the Earl's orders, probably to be examined. But wby put this off till another day, and keep these periKHis, just ar- rived from a long voyage, from their clean linen and other comforts, just to suit tlie convenience of Lord Selkurk and his constables? Mr. Tait, who has the superintendance of the buildings, &c* in the Fort, represented tbis moiui.is *'^ his Lordship, that his soldiers had carried off and burnt a great part ot the pickets and fences. Lord Selkirk replied, that it was what might na- turalitf be expected, wlun they were not rvpplied with fuel I •...„.,„> . .r.v .... 2l$t August. 1 went to see the Earl this morning, and mentioned to bini that the dry goods stores bad been searched a second time, so that there could not be any longer any obstacle to sending off our goods ; but as usual, new pretexts, and new difficulties were started, and in couseqiiience of this we sent him this afternoon at four o'clock the following Protest. *' We the undersigned, being duly appointed by William " M'Oillivray and Kenneth Mackenzie, Esqrs. Agents for the " North-West Company, to superintend, direct, and govern their " concerns during their and the Proprietors of the said Com- " pany's absence, and having repeatedly represented to the Right " Honourable tiie Earl of Selkirk, at present tlie only acting " Magistrate at this place, as well byword of mouth as in writing, " that it is of the most urgent necessity that the forwarding of " the goods and merchandize, prepared, baled, packed, and *' ready at this place, for various quarters of the Indian Country, " and solely intended for the supply of the Indian or Fur Trade, " should not be obstructed, impeded, nor retarded ; as also that *' the Furs and Peltries, at present stored here ui the North- *' West Company's warehouses, should forthwith, and witlM>ut *' any delay, be sent off forMout;eal, and that in consequence " of this, and for this purpose only, the necessary workmen, whi> *' by notarial agreements are in the service and pay of th6 *' North'West Company, should not be prevented nor hindered " from ftdfilling the duty required of them; and whereas the N i I :>, n u <4 «• It (« (I tt It tt II II II »« <( It It 90 said Right Honourable the Earl of Selkirk has hitherto, through various Warrants in his name issued, caused the above representatious to be witliout effect, and aUo caused a perni* ciuus dela^r in the regular course of the North-West Coiu- pany's trade; and whereas the afore-nientioned Warrants have every one of them been put into execution, and thoroughly carried into effecl, in as far as regards the goods and mer- chandize designed for the Interior, or Indian Country, and the execution of the said Warrants, in. regard to the Furs and Pel- tries aforesaid, and designed for Montreal, been postponed without any legal reason assigned; we the undersigned Super- intendants, and Managers of the North-West Company's Concerns, do therefore jointly and severally, jn the name and behalf of the Proprietdrs, most formally and solemnly Pro* test against the detention of the North-^^ est Company's goods and merchandize, and the obstruction put to their regular trade, and also against all those whom it may concern. " Done at Fort William, in the *' trict of Kaministiguifl, this 21st day of August, in the year of our Lord 1816." , ' ' (Signed) ** J. C. MTAVISH, (L. S.) " J. VANDERSLUYS, (L. S.} Signed, sealed, and deli- •• i'-'.> -..'r.;...- — ; • ,_ " vered, in the presence of ' V " Robert CowiE." I otTered this morning bail fur DunicI Mackenzie, which was refused. '22nd August. Early this morning, before day-light, I believe, a canoe ar- rived with dispatches from Montreal for the Company. They were taken from the guide, and put into the custody of a sol- dier of the 37th regiment. When 1 was informed of this, 1 addressed the Earl of Selkirk as follows : «« To the Right Hon. the Earl of Selkirk, Justice of the Peace] " MY LORD, ** Whereas a canoe arrived tliis morning from Montreal, with ** dispatches for the North-Weit Company, and which have beea «< JV 91 " taken by Captain Matthey from the bearerof thenn, and " placed under the cliarge of a centinel ; we take the liberty to " apply to your Lordship, in order to know the reason of such " proceeding, and to have the aforesaid dispatches delivered up " to us. > "We are, " MyLprd, " Ypur Lordship's humble and obedient Servants, (Signed) " J. C. M'TAVISH. *' J. VANDflRSLUVS." I ' ' . - ■ ' ■ " - . . . After breakfast his Lordship sent word that he wanted to see us. He infornlbd us, that the dispatches had been seized upon the same principle as the other papers of the North- West Company, and were equally liable to be examii^d. I questioned the legality of this, as these dispatches could i;iot have been ioeluded iu his former Warrant, aud no new one having been served. i-u^.^i ij:i;,.-iif .i:. o": v...- ■;. He also communicated to us, that he had received our Protest of yesterday ; adding, that we were ourselves greatly the cause of the delay which was put to the forwarding of the goods, for not having put him in possession of the invoices of the goods intended for the Interior. The hypocrite ! We . have done more than with any degree of propriety we ought to have taken u|)on ourselves. But his mask is only torn as yet, it will soon be completely thrown off. a* ^ At this interview he handed in the following Letter: .- .Kvi> ^ .* i . " Fort Wiiliam, August lSl6, •* GENTIiEMEA, " In order to obviate the possibility of any mistake, I beg " to have yonr answer in writing to this query : — Whether the ** tburty-four packs of Furs marked KR, which you have pointed *' out as those set apart by order of the Agents of the North- " West Company, ure to be given up to the Hudson's Bay Com- *' pany as their property, and whether on thispruiciple, you are N2 h m 1 , ih H *' ready to send them down to Montreal, consigned to Messrs. ** Maitland, Garden and Auldjo, Agents of that Company 1 •• I am, ''»'•■•>• ■■■■'' '-■■■' '- •• Gentlemen, «?w>.-m.; ■ " Your obedient Servant, (Signed) " SELKIRK. " To Meatrs. M'Tavish and Vanderslut/a." After we bad gone to the Office to write an answer to tlie above, his Lordship sent word, Uiat be intended to proceed to the examination of tlie box with dispatches, whicli was done accordingly in our presence. The contents were principally the Proclamations of His Excellency the Governor in Chief, but amongst others, there was a Letter addressed to A. N. M'Leod, which his Lordship broke open and read. It was from John M'Tavish in Montreal, and contained nothing but private matters. Mr. M'Leod being no prisoner, I know not in how far this may be justifiable. Another letter with the Quebec post-mark, and addressed to James Hughes, was put by with the other papers. We represented to the Earl the urgency of forwarding Governor Sherbrooke's Proclamations to our Gentlemen in tlie Interior, and that for this purpose we could get a canoe ready, and select a crew in a very short time; which his Lordship said he would take into consideration. We now sent an answer to the Earl's before-mentioned Letter, which were in the following terms, and handed to him by M'Robb, at eleven o'clock this morning. " T0 the Right Hon. the Earl of Selkirk. ** MY LORD, *' In reply to the Letter which was handed to us this morning, " personally by your Lordship, we beg to state, that the thirty- " four packs of Furs marked R R, which have been set apart " from the other peltries of the North-West Company, cannot *' be given up as Hudson's Bay Company property, but tliat we i 1 93 " are ready to seud them down to Montreal, to the care of " some house unconnected with both Companies, f.r ^i. . We are, xjjtuc.rft' "^ ■i>'% f u* ■ ' ' " My Lord, ■ ** Your Lordsliip's most humble and obedient Servants, (Signed) " J. C. M'TAVISH. V ; i . " J. VANDERSLUYS," While writing this, f receive information that our workmen in the carpenter's house have been turned out, oud the place occupied by nine soldiers, who are making gun-cai riages. After I had ascertained the truth of this report, I commu> nicated the fact to M'Tavish and others. We agreed to apply to the Earl of Selkirk, in his capacity as a Magistrate, and there made oath, that nine men had been ordered by Captain Mattbey, to take possession of tbe North-West Company's car- penter's h^use, and there to make gun-carriages ; that not only our tools were made use of for this purpose, but tliat we had every reason to believe that tlie North-West Company's wood also was converted to it ; — that we considered it as a breach of the peace, and that upon our remonstrating witli Captain Afat- they on the subject, he seemed to put the laws at defiance, by telling us that he would go on with it. That having re- ceived this morning Governor Sherbrooke's Proclamations, we the more insisted upon his Lordship using his authority as a Magistrate to bring Captain Matthey to give an account of his conduct in this respect. Though the Earl's answer was not difficult to be anticipated, yet we made the application to him for our own responsibility. MTavish and myself were the plaintiff's, M'Robb and Cowie, the witnesses. Having repre- sented the facts as above stated to his Lordship, he enlarged much on the subject, but when we pressed more and more upon him, that as a Magistrate, and the only (me in the place, tee would not expert that justice would be re/used us by him, he flew into a passion, saying, that he could not interfere for the North- West Company as he would for any one else, and that he had not the entire controul over these people ; — that • m n i I 1 m 94 * he did not know if tlity would obey bim ; and (hat he did not clioose to risk his own pcrsoml safety for the sake of protecting the North-WcAt Company's property. This evening a soldier asked nie for candles for the guard- house. I told him it was iriot to me he should apply for tliein. He returned, and bis Captain iient me word, that if no candles were supplied he would light a fire in the middle of the Fort. Daniel Mackenzie has been removed from gaol, and is now confined in bis own room. Lieutenants Misani and Brumby left tlie Fort in the afternoon, at about three o'clock. I1iey intend to encamp on the Island till to-morrow morning ten o'clock, in order to con- duct Mr. John M'Gillivray, whom Lord Selkirk intends to lend down to the rest of the prisoners. < > • » This morning the old Warrant was again put m force, ami the trunks of all tlie wintering Clerks searched. t ' ZZrdAugwat. This morning, before six, Mr. Spencer brought a message from his Lordship, that provisions should be given to the crew of a canoe intended to take down two prisoners. To thb objections were made on our part. Lord Selkirk sent a written order for the purpose, of the following tenor : ii.,,y.. «SlB, 't^Ki.t * iJj ,:•/>*.•/ ** Ifpu will please furnish the canoe, now to set out with " Mr. M'Donald and the prisoners going to Montreal, with pro- ^ visions and other accommodations for two gentlemen and the " crew, in the same proportion as usually supplied for that *• voyage. • - ' "I am. Sir, iirsL.ru. " Your obedient Servant, "' "" (Signed) "SELKIRK. " To Mr. J. C. M'taviah." 1 had this morning taken into my possession the key of tho carpenter's shop, as it appeared that his Lordship did not take any steps to investigate our just complaints. MTavish thought 95 it was better to give up the key. Cnpt. Mnttbey told me Mol he W9uld not answtrfor my safety, in case his soldiers took it into their heads to revenge tliemselves upon me, and that there- fore I should take care of myself; the more, an his people had been eo hug accustomed, in Spstin, to scenes of murder and piUage. uj hm^,,- finftiKtHif •,if. t^-y-n,,., .~,.,., w.i Mr. John M'Gillivray was sent off this morning to tlie Island, where the two officers were waiting for him. The canoe re* turned u short time after. In the afternoon, the canoe with the two prisoners (Brisebois and La Vigne} went off, conducted by Archibald M'Donald and Wiiliunison. Iksides the carpenter's shop, the smith's shop has also been taken possession of, and both our wood and iron is made uso of. Our potatoe fields and garden are ransacked by the Earl's people, and our remonstrances against this, laughed at. If the gates are locked, they are broke open, and the pickets and fences destroyed. Qith August. The whole of this day passed without any thing worth men- tioning. His Lordship has not made his appearance at all^ and has beeii writing the whole day. "-''t" A boat arrived to-day for the Earl, with some Glengarys, and Hector M'Donald. ..-,,., Pierre Banza is at liberty, and two or three more, as T un- derstand. Daniel Mackenzie is still in close confinement. 1 I l\ ■'>'>-^'' •• !■•■■:'■ - '.rfv , QSthAugUStf This morning we waited upon the Earl, and insisted noif more than ever, to have his decided answer in regard to our Trade, and to know whether it was his intention to prevent our Goods from going into the Interior, and our Fun to Montreal, and so put a final stop to our business'} With various pre- tences, he sufficiently gave us to understand, that it was hi« determination not to suffer any of our Goods to be sent into the Interior, nor to Fond du Lac; and with regard to the Peltries for Montreal, be had some proposals to make which (these were bis own words) ** Were the result of a very long I ll \i> , ! ** considenttioD.'' But Uforc he could enter into them, he re- quired to see the written document by which Mr. M^Oillivmy had vested in us the power to act without reserve in behalf of the North-West Company, during the absence of the Agents and Proprietors. We told him we had no such document, but thatweconsideredMr.M'Oillivray'swordonlhesubject.givento him personally, 'm (be presence of all the Nortb-Wcst Company's Partners then at Fort William, and in the presence of several other gentlemen, as a sufficient warrant for the approbation of any arrangement on our part. He observed, that he should wish to be provided with a Certificate, signed by the witnesses who were present when Mr. M'Gillivray committed to us the power to act in behalf of the Nortlt-West Company, as he could Aot take upon himself the responsibility of a mere verbal commnnicalion. We complied with this in tlie following words: ■> *' We, the undersigned, du by these Presents declace, that we were present when William M'Gillivmy and Kenneth Mackenzie, Esqrs. Agents regularly appointed for the North- West Company, did, on the morning of the 14th of August, 1816, before the Right Honourable the Earl of Selkirk, and in presence of all the Partners then at Fort William, and in the name of the Company at large, appoint James Chisholm MTavish and Jasper Vandersluys, as Head Clerks, and vested in them full power and autliority to act for the North-West Conqmny during their and the Proprietors' absence. ** u « M 'ors narrowly escaped with their lives*. To create delay, and prolong the con&iement and the sufferings of tlie prisoners, the guard was ordered to convey them to Sandwich, in the Western District of Upper Canada, where the Warrant directed their committal to the common gaol, at a distance o{ 600 miles from the Court which had legal jurisdiction of the case; his Lord- ship having calculated upon their detention at Sandwich for some weeks, before their liberation by writ of Habeas Corpus could take place. Fortunately, however, on their route to Sand- wich, they were obliged to pass through York, and the Judges and Attorney-General being then on Circuit at Kingston, the Governor ordered tlie ' * How far the Earl of Selkirk is legally responiuble for death thus happening, in the prosecution of an unwarrantable act, and while «n inuocent man was under conveyance by his orders in a state of unlaw- ful in'prisoninent, may perhaps be doubtful; but it cannot be doubted, that a heavy moral responsibility attaches to his Lordship in this tran«- actiou. i 111* :1 1 J- I ! ' 1 104 guard to proceed there. The Judges, finding the crimes charged in the Warrant were alledged to have been committed in the Indian Territory^ directed the prisoners to be taken to Montreal, and thus frustrated his Lordship's plan, for sub- jecting these Gentlemen to a prolonged and de- 1 . gradmg imprisonment. * ^ On their arrival at Montreal, they were brought before the Court of King's Bench, and the most vindictive argimients were urged for their commit- ment. The crimes imputed to them were very serious — no less than High-treason, Conspiracy, and Murder ! If there had been a shadow of proof in support of such accusations, the Court must have committed them ; but they were, without he- sitation, admitted to bail. The conduct of Lord Selkirk, in possession of Fort William, was as indefensible as were the means by which he had acquired it. While ven- geance and rivalship against the Proprietors and the Company, were his real motives and feelings, in gratifying those passions he adopted the forms of justice ; and, as if conscious this would avail him little when the day of trial and retribution should arrive, he employed the additional precau- tion of obtaining, by threats or intrigue, from the astonished Clerks left ii^ po&session of the pro- pert;^, their sanction and ostensible warrant for his proceedings. While Mr. Vandersluys remained, he acted with coolness, firnmess, and propriety; 105 but after his departure, the other Clerks, con- founded at the scene passing around them, were induced to fit out canoes manned with their Em- ployers' people, and equipped with their property, to forward his Lordship's expresses to the Interior, and to assist in liis trade ; and it is certainly some apology for them, that u\yon the least demur to the execution of his mandates, a file of men, with fixed bavonets, was at hand, to enforce his Lord- ship's commands. He turned out the people to seek shelter where it could be found, and refused the reiterated entreaties of the remaining Clerks, to permit about sixteen canoes, whose cargoes had been already assorted and made up for the Trade, to proceed to their destination. The Furs on hand, to the value of aoout 60,000/. were already, as ap- pears by his Letter, appropriated to his special in- demnificatirni for losses he had sustained in his own speculations, under the pretence that his projects had been injured by the owners of th» property, ^ir,:,,- v^^r^; o. ;:■• - " .■':■./■,. .■^- ./ -. Knowing the value of tlic North-West Comr pany's ser\'ants who wore to have proceeded in their service to the Interior, for the winter trade, he enticed such of thcni as he ciuld persuade, or de- lude into his service, by pretending a secret autho- rity for all his aggressions on their masters, and by alledging that ho could release them from their ens'aocements. Th(xse whom he could not debauch, were kept in useless inactivity at a grievous ex- pence, at a time when their services were 80 es^ea* p ^\l n, ilH f\ III 100 tial ; some "who resisted these acts, were sent down to Canada, under pretext of being required as wit- nesses on the trial of their masters ; and otliers, his Lordship ordered in the King's name to la- bour in his service. He imprisoned many at plea- sure, in order to terrif;y them into submission, and to extract information, by holding out to them the hope of release, or the tenor of accusation*. , ,, . As soon as intelligence of these lawless proceed- ings was received at Montreal, Mr. Richardson re- paired to Quebec, to lay a full account of the parti- culars before Sir John Sherbrooke ; and Mr. M'Gil- livray followed the moment he wjis liberrted from confinement. . , . ... The Governor listened with attention to the complaints of these Gentlemen, and gave them every assurance that the Provincial Government would afford all the assistance in its power, consistent with justice and impartiality, to those placed under its protection. More was not desired, but they were convinced extraprdinavy measures could alone rescue their property from the lawless ban-, ditti who had possession of it, and whQ, it wa^ evident, could not, on all occasions, be controuled by their leader. The season was rapidly adr vancing, and the North-West Company enter- tained no doubt that the further object of Lord Selkirk (for whidi, indeed, he had already made preparations), was to obtain possession pf the com*. * See the Depositions uf Robert Covvie, and Rpbcrt M'Robb, iu the Appcwtllx, Nos. XXI. ftnd X?vl?'. •• -i 107 munication between Lake Superior and the Inte- rior, and to prevent any information of the occur- rences at Fort William, excepting such as were iavourable to his own objects, reaching the Win- tering Stations. Although the parties he had dis- patched for this purpose were not sufficiently nu- merous to act hostilely against the Trading Posts, still the impression the whole proceeding was cal- culated to produce on all persons having charge of the Company's Concerns, and which could not be removed by correct information, was much to be apprehended ; and Lord Selkirk might succeed, by intimidation, or by reinforcing, in spring, the parties now sent forward to intercept the returns of the winter's trade, which he could either de- tain in the Interior, or send down from Lake Win- nipic to Hudson's Bay. The North-West Com- pany co!ild place no reliance on his Lordship's abstaining from any measures which might com- plete their ruin, and in this manner he might ob- tain possession of their property in the country, to the extent probably of 250,000/. Sir John Sherbrooke, unprepared for an emer- gency he could not contemplate, even from the preceding intelligence of the transactions at the Red River, found it necessary to proceed with ex- treme caution and deliberation. He had proba-, bly no instructions from His Majesty's Ministers, what course to pursue in the disputes which they must have been aware would arise between the parties in tho Indian Country. Upon reference, p2 hi ,1 ' w <*^ A I r iii 108 hoMcver, to tlie Lrgal Autlioritien at Quebec, it >vas found that Fort William, the scene of tliiw last outnige, was sUnafcd in the Wostfrn Distiirf of Upper Canada*, and Sir Jolin Sherbrooke \va8 desirous of consiiUini? Mr. Gore, the Civil Gover- nor of that Province, then at York, resjiectiii}? the measures whicli it migrht l»e expedient for thcin to take jointly, on the occitsion. In the mean time, in the hope that the Gover- nor might be induced promptly to interfere, and io send up an Otiicer with sufficient force and autho- rity, to restore to them possession of their pro- perty, the North- West Company had equipped two brigades of canoes at Montreal, manned with Canadians and Iroquois Indians, to bring down the Furs for embarkation to England. These, with the exception of two canoes left behind to take up the expected Authority, were dispatched under the command of Mr. De Rocheblavc, one of their Partners, to wait at the Sault, St. Mary's, the entrance to Lake Superior, for further direc- tions. When it was ascertained that some delav must take place in the decision of the Government at Quebec, and that Fort Wiiiiam was within the • That Fort William, the scene of Lord Selkirk's last outrage, is within the limits of Canada, and not within the " debatcable ground" of the Hudson's Bay Company, is incontestible. The French had a Fort or Station, called by them Camanittigoi/en, nearly at the place now called Fort William, and upon the river now called Kaministi- gui&, more than u century agou — See Lalioutain's Travels, vol. i. p. 214> of the Eoglisli Trauslution. i 109 jurisdiction of Upper Canada^ Mr. Henry Macken- zie was dispatclicd to that Province with the ne- cessary witnesses, to obtain 'Warrants from the proper Authorities for the apprehension of Lord Selkirk. Mr. M'Giliivray followed towards York, and, on his route, met Governor Gore proceeding to Quebec ; but as the navigation would be closed before any measure could be taken, in consequence of the meeting between the Governors, he deter- mined to follow tlie ordinary legal process for redress. Warrants were granted by a Magistrate of the \A^estern District of Upper Canada, on evi- dence of Lord Selkirk's outrages, and Mr. Smith, the Under Sherilf, with an assistant, was ordered to carry them into execution. They proceeded forthwith to join Mr. De Rocheblave at the Sault, but so much time had been lost in making these various arrangements, that the plan was entirely frustrated by the lateness of the season. > • , Mr. De Rocheblave, with his party, reached the Sauk, St. Mary's, on the 19tli of October; and, having no information of the proceedings at Que- bec or in Upper Canada, as a preliminary mea- sure, he sent on to Fort William, a constable and twelve men with Criminal Warrants issued against Lord Selkirk a^.d the De Meuron Officers, by Dr. Mitchell of St. Josephs. This constable arrived at Fort William on the 7th November, and executed the Warrant, by arresting his Lord- ship and the Foreign Officers. At first his Lord- 4 1 ' ! Ir i 1 no ship hesitated, as to the conduct he should pursue, but possibly considering he had gone too far to recede^ and knowing the constable had not suffi- cient force to compel his submission, he refused obedience to his authority, llie constable was placed under a guard of six soldier:*, who con- stantly attended him while he remained, but in a day or two he was -ordered to leave the Fort*. ^ After dispatching the constable to Fort Wil- liam, Mr. De Rocheblave and his party remained about a fortnight at the Sault, in hopes of obtain- ing further instructions, or authority from Canada ; and at length, the season being far advanced, provisions becoming scarce, and the men growing impatient, they had actually set out on their return to Canada, when, in Lake Huron, they met the Sheriff, Mr. Smith, proceeding to join them. They immediately returned to the Sault, and em- barked on board the North-West Company's Schooner, Invincible, to cross Lake Superior : a gale of wind ensuing, the Schooner was unfortu- nately wrecked, and totally lost on the 18th No- vember. The crew and passengers were saved, but having no other conveyance, and being unable to continue their attempt to reach Fort William, they were obliged to return, and arrived at Mon- treal on the 28th December, after a most fatiguing jourhey, perfoniied chiefly on foot. 'U »/'» hi-1 See Appendix, No. XXIX. ,M ' .•,UJ. , Ill Thug Loitl Selkirk remains for the winter in l^fc-n quiet possession of the North-West Company's Depot and Property ; and it appears further, that he has been extremely active in extending hib de- predations, and taking forcible possession of ail the other Trading Posts and Property within his reach. . , One detachment of De Meuron soldiers was sent to Fond du Lac, the Trading Post on the River St. Louis, which falls into the west end of Lake Superior, within the American territory, as recog- nized in former and recent Treaties, where Mr. Grant, who hod charge, was taken prisoner, and deprived of the property in his possession. The merchandize seized at this station had paid duties to the American Government, and was jointly the property of the Norths-West Company and of Ame- rican Citizens who were interested in this part of the Trade, 't'i^^' f'4 <''• -'" i ; . -j ; Another detachment of his Lordship's soldiers was sent round the Posts on Lake Superior, si- tuated to the eastward of Fort William ; and Mr. . i Mackintosh, the Partner at ^ichipicotonj >yas taken prisoner. .. . During Mr. De Rocheblave's detention at the Sault, waiting for the Sheriff, as already stated, a party of De Meuron soldiers arrived with these Gentlemen in custody, proceeding to Canada, in canoes belonging to the North- West Company, and navigated by their servants. Mi'. De Rophe- ii r i! * '.r I ' I 112 blavc took the canoen from the De Mouron ^iiurJ, but did nut (nrther interfere with then or tlieir prisoners. l*hese lat^t proceeded, however, in their own jttstijication, and surrendered themselves to the Authorities in Lower Canada, where the^ were admitted to bail on the accusations preferred against them. Another party, under the command of Mr. Fid. Icr, was dispatched by Lord Selkirk to seize the North-Wett Company's Post at Lac la Pluie, on the communication from Lake Superior to the In* teriop. Mr. Dease, a Clerk of the North-West Company, who was in charge of this post, refused to surrender it ; and as Mr. Fidler was no<. pre- pared with sufficient means to obtain posses:iiou by force, he was obliged to return, and rep«rit his proceeding to Lord Selkirk. His Lordship, to remedy this fiiilure, sent off Captain D'Orsonnens, with a party of soldiers and two field-pieces, who regularly invested and blockaded tlie place. Mr. Deasc had with him only seven men, who de- pended for their subsistence on fishing, and a quantity of *^ foW ofvoine" a species qf wild rice which had been collected in the swamps c^djoining the Lake during autumn, and deposited till it could be conveyed to the Fort in winter. Being deprived of these supplies by Certain D'Orson- nens' blockade, and that Officer having sent him notice, that he could not be answerable /b-r the eon-' duet of his soldiers,, if they should be further jr$- yf'i « 'M 113 sistted, Mr. Dease was compcllecl, by the Limiiii- stunccs ill which he was placed, to suircnder. This Htation, aO^r Fort William, is the most im- portant to the security of the Trade, as it is situ- ated upon the itnniediate communication to the Interior, and is a chief depot for the stores and provisions of the North- West Company. It is also stated in recent letters, that Lord Sel- kirk had made preparations to erect a Fort be- tween Lake Superior and Lac de la Pluie, at the point where, in his judgment, the Hudson's Bay Company's Territories commence; and that he lias removed from Fort William into the adjacent territory of the United States, one of the wooden buildings or stores belonging to the North-Wcst Company. To both points he was opening winter roads*, and it is understood he intended to remove the property out of the jurisdiction of Canada, as best suited his puriiose, either within the alledged boundaries of the Hudson's Bay Company, or en- tirely beyond the controul of British authority. The Fort between Lake Superior and Lac la Pluie is evidently intended to cut off all commu- nication of the North- West Company's distant Posts with Canada, on the opening of the naviga- tion, and thus, by intercepting supplies, to reduce I ! I i • A tointer road is formed, by merely cutting away trees awA briisli- wood, so OS to open nn avenue through the woods, wbicli becomes a good skigli road, so soon as a buHicient quantity of 'iiiow lias llillen to cover the ground. li fH M I 114 the 'J'ladtM's to siil)iiii{ast, they expect from the mission of these Gentlemen, protection to their Trade for the fu- ture, if the authority they have derived from the l^rovincial Governors shall be fully and amply con- firmed by His Majesty's Ministers. The Commis- sioners only left Montreal for Upper Canada, where it was necessary to obtain their ultimate instructions, on the 8th of November, but, as might have been expected, from the late season, they found it impossible to reach Fort William. Having received their final instnictions at York, tliey however made the attempt, and proceeded by way of Lake Simcoe, towards Lake Huron ; \ Vi 11.") •on; but at the head of the Notawasnga Rivci*, iuiding ice ah'eucl,y tbrincd in considerable (|uautities, they returned to York, t'loni whence they will |)rot!eed in the spring-, and they may |)os.sibty reach Fort William in the be;»inning' oi' June. Il has been justly oba(>rve(l, by a writer in one of the Public Journals of Montreal, that in the discussions which have taken place in print in Canada, Lord Selkirk has derived an atJvuntagc even from the enormity of the otfences of which he stands charged, and that his conduct appears so incredible, that it is diflficult to persuade the pub- lic, that any person in possession of his reason and senses, should have so committed himself. If this remark applies with any force to what has been already stated, the following transaction, which closes so far the history of his Lordship's proceed- ings, (and intelligence of which has only been re- ceived, after the preceding part of the Narrative had been written), requires all the proof which is offered in support of it, to give it even the sanc- tion of probability. Of all the Partners of the North-West Com- pany who were arrested on the mmo chrrges at Fort William, and who joined in the Protest re- cited in Mr. Vandersluys' Journal, Mr. Daniel Mackenzie was alone detained, as it noio appears, to answer an especial purpose of the Noble Lord's. This person had been for several years at variance with his Partners, and after some tedious legal q2 i\ II' < i V. I 116 procccrliii-,*;;'''.?!'■■'■'« i «, ■:.y\^- .=-; '■- • - . b2 i|iF( 'ft The North-West Company have been at nil times ready and anxious to meet questions of ri<(ht in the Courts of this country, and would jrladly have instituted proceedinf^s to ascertain them, if they could have removed the legal impedi- ments in their way. They have directly offered to Government to proceed at their own «xpence to try by scire facias^ or quo u'arranto, the rights of the Hudson's Bay Company ; but this it has been deemed inexpedient to comply with, or to submit the prerogative of the Crown in the case, to discussion in the Courts of Common Law. Plow it will be otherways possible ultimately to decide upon these claims, for a decision cannot be long postponed, they are not aware, unless by some proceeding in Parliamept, either to confirm the Grant without examination, or to provide for its limitation. If the question in this way assumes the shape of expediency and justice, instead of law, the North-West Company have some claims on the consideration of their country, in opposi- tion to those of the Hudson's IJay Company and their Grantee, which even their enemies cannot deny tlicm. , * ; ,, They have, with a spirit of liberjtlity and ex- pence, in many instances unrequited by the result of their undertakings, explored the whole Conti- nent of North America, and ascertained the geo- graphical situation of almost every river and dis- trict of those immense regions. They have re- cently established a considerable and thriving Co- 125 lotiy on the Banks of the Columbia River, on tht Pacific Ocean, in direct communication witli their Settlements in Canada, and are now extending their inland I'rade southward to the Spanish Set- tlements of CaliforP'<», and northward to those of the Russians at iNew Archangel. They have at tliis time upwards of 300 Canadians employed in this Trade, between the Rocky Mountains and th« &«ca ; ami they have dispatched three ships round Cnpc Horn, with supplies, all of which have taken cargoes of Furs from Columbia, for sale to the Canton market in China, i.. , ^. ,.i.. . , They refer, without fear of disappointment, to the various Governors, who have been appointed since the conquest of Canada, to that Province, for an account of their conduct as loyal and useful mem- bers of its community. In the late war, they may at least say their exertions were useful in its de- fence : they raised a corps of Voyageurs, of which they served a& officers, without pay, and without emolument ; and their stores, vessels, and provisions, were always ready at tlie call of the military or naval commanders, for the public service. Tlie iniUiencc of the Fur Traders with the Indians was then duly appreciated, and they had the satisfac- tion of ilnding, that when under their controul, there was neither danger of cruelty* or excess in the employment of these auxiliaries, in the defence of the cmintry. During the war, while the pro- perty of private individuals was respected by the enemy, that of the North- West Company enjoyed m '' J 1S6 f t i' the honourable, although to them imforf iiimfe, (TIh- tinction of confiscation as national property ; nnrl they were on all occasions considered l>y the Ame- rican Government as identified with that of Canada. The attempt at colonization made in the Red River, was, in its origin, objectionable in every respect to the Fur Traders, and tliey do not deny* that (except in the protection and assistance they considered it their duty to afford to their suffer- ing countrymen), after having ascertamed the real object which the plans of Lord Selkirk were in* tended to cover, they have done all in their power to render these schemes abortive ; nor have they scrupled to represent to the Colonists the hazard to which they subjected themselves. Their conduct in this respect they have no hesitation in acknow- ledging ; they had none in informing Lord Sel- kirk, at the time his speculation was projected, of their views with respect to it ; and they will only be convinced that their conduct has been unjusti- fiable, when he shall establish his right to eject them from their possessions and trade, by the Grant made to him ; and when he shall show by what authority he was entitled to form and esta-* blish such a Colony, iu defiance of the King's Proclamation of the 7th October, 1763. The Directors of the Hudson's Bay Company not only disavow all connection with Lord Selkirk, but even a knowledge of his more recent and vio- lent proceedings. They say that he has acted on 127 liifl own responsibility, and that they are not con« corned in the transactions which have taken place out of their territories. This may be true, but these Gentlemen certainly sent out Aji^cnts to en* gage men, and equip expeditions from Canada the preceding year, and it is understood that a largo proportion of the canoe-men who accompanied Lord Selkirk, were their servants. There may have been much rivalship in the Trade of the In- terior, but the Canadians no more expected that this Company, whose Charter was granted for a direct Trade to Hudson's Bay, would attempt to cairy it on from Montreal, than they could expect that the East India Company shoidd send parties from Canton to rival their establishments on the Colum- hia. The whole proceeding, however, there can be little doubt, had but one object — to drive the North- West Company from the Trade, and obtain tlie monopoly of it ; and, however sincere Lord Selkirk may originally have been in his plans of colonization, the Colony was subsequently con- verted into an engine to effect this object, and to expel every Canadian from the Indian Country. It appears further necessary on the part of the North- West Cojrapany, and especially of those ^vho represent ^heir interests in England, that they should acquit themselves of any inattention to those interests, in not having laid before His Majesty's Government every information in their power, and their just claims for the protection of r' 11 1^8 ii 1 1 their persons and property, by the due execution of the laws of their country, as far as this iniglit have been practicable under all the circumstances of the case. The following statement will show they were not supine in this respect. *• ^ "•' 'i'^"! »'• ■ ^i In February 1814, a Memorial was presented to the Secretary of State for the Colonics, stating the difficulties which the American War had oc- casioned to the North- West Trade, and that the only manner in which it could be preserved, would be by opening a direct communication with their Posts through Hudson's Bay ; and in this Memo- rial, the decilsion of His Majesty's Government with respect to the rights of the Hudson's Bay Company, and a definition of the boundaries with- in which these righls were limited, was earnestly prayed for*. Early in 1815, a Letter was received by the North- West Company from the Under Secre- tary for the Colonies, inclosing another from the Earl of Selkirk, in which he required the protec- tion of Government for his Colony, against the doiigers with which it was threatened by the In- dians, at the instigation of the North' West Com- pany: to this the reply, dated the 18th March, 1815, was sent, and a copy of this, as well as some other subsequent applications from the re- presentatives of the North- West Company to Go- vernment, will be found in the Appendix^*. The t :;h:»:' nut in ) .\ ■' • Sec Appendix, No. XXIII. * '• » • ' i>' -^ '*■ ''<'*^ t Sec Appendix, No». XXIV. XXV. XXVI. and XXVII. 129 voibul answers they lereived to tliesc communica- lions were, that (fovcrnnient would attend to the Huhject, which iras one of if rent difficulty; and the North-West Cofiijiany can only add to this State- ment, their «incere regret, Uiat the evils foretold in all their conirair.icutions, have so soojn followed them. I 'i \ It ii POSTSCRIPT. (C i( (( « After the preceding Narrative had been «ent to the Press, a Pamphlet made its appearance in the circle of Lord Selkirk's friends, entitled, Statement respecting Lord Selkirk's SettleoMiit at Kildonan ; its Destruction, in the years 131^ and 1816; and the Massacre of Governor Sem- ple and his Party." — ^A little explanation is only requisite, to convert this candid Statement intQ strong corroborative proof of the general correotnetii of the details contained in the Narrative, so far as the Author of the Pamphlet has been pleased to continue his account of these transactions. The publication commences by deploring, that the plans of colonization prosecuted by hu Lordship, have given rise to much and gross misrepresentation;" which no person, ailer pe- rusing the following remarks on the statements contained in it, will be inclined to doubt. The first observation which it is necessary to notice, is that made on the Protest entered by several Proprietors of Hudson's Bay Company's Stock, against the Grant to Lord Selkirk. There is no difficulty in at once admitting, as far as the admission can be serviceable to his Lordship's case, that the persons connected with the North- West Company, whose names are affixed to the s2 (( f< t( 4; '; *.! 'hllf 132 Protest, became Proprietors of Stock to defeat the designs they A^cre aware, from Sir Alexander Mackenzie's information, were then meditating against their Trade. * The Protest, however, as a Protest of Hudson's Bay Proprietors, must stand on its own merits, and it must always be remem- bered; that it was signbd by every person present at the Meeting, except Lord Selkirk and the Members of the Direction, and that the first sigmi' tures, are those of the two largest holders, (Lord Selkirk always excepted), <>/'/Ae Company's Stock, and who were perfectly unconnected with, and tininfluenced by the wishes or interest of the North- West Company. '> ' • ' ' ' ' ' To proceed to the more material parts of this ** Statement," and taking them in order, we find an account of the " plans adopted for the destruc- tion of his Ix)rdship's Colony, at the annual meeting of the North- West Company's Partners at Fort William, in the summer of 1814." The only difference between this account and that of the North- West Company, is, tliat these plans were adopted by the latter in self-defence ; and the candid and entire omission of the preceding con- duct of his lordship and his Agents, which ren- dered such measures expedient, is fortunately sup- plied in the Narrative, for the information of the public*. It is only necessary to refer to his Lord- (< (( a n l:ii * The North -West Compniiy are little solicitous by what name these plans are called, whether for resistance to the assumed authority and icrritorial rti^hti, of Lord Selkirk, or the Hudson*! Bay Company, or for 133 ship's Letter, " in safe custody,'' of the ISthofp.sa, Narra. June, 1812, the Proclamation of his Governor, of p. b5, Narra- tile 8th Januar}^, 1814, and the outrages and rob- '"'''' beries openly committed by him durii^g the winter, against the persons and the property of the Norlh- West Company, attested by the evidence of Settlers and Servants who were engaged in these affairs, and which appear in the Correspondence between Lord SelJiirlv and Sir Gordon Driimmond, to havti^ lieen proved to His Excellencys satisfaction. If these outrages will not justify the violent lan- guage ascribed to Mr. Alexander Macdonell in his Letter, and in his •delerniination to defend what Mr. Cameron and he, considered tlie rights of the w 12, sm.- Canadians in the Interior, they \\\\\ at least ac- """'* count for it: and in all the subsequent transactions, it will be invariably foimd, that every violence vhich it is alledged has been committed by the Canadians, has heen occasioned by some previous outrage on the part of Lord Selkirk's followers. The account which follows, from page 13 to 32. of Mr. Macd.)nell and Mr. Cameron's conduct iu the Interior, in pro.seiulion of the ^' plans adopted *' for the destruction of the Colony,' bears to souje extent tlie appearance of probability; and it h liot im[!Ossible, both these Gentleiuen had ii^ed their influence with the Settlers, to desert a (.'oloiiv established without Legal Authority, and which was I I I I" . ,5 the debtructiou ot" his Lordahip's Colons/; they only protest ngainst thft word Colony, including the lives and properties of the pour tind iiiiit- fensive persons enj.^aged in it, whom it 1ms constantly been their «*iiest debiie to aid iwui protect. 134 fl |S p. 21, Slate' evidently intended to ruin their interests and trade Did the Noble Lord really suppose that these per- sons would quietly submit to his notice as Land- lord*, to quit the posts they occupied ; or, that they should not provide against the physical means which were accumulating to enforce that notice^ and tvhich they had his own assurance^ woirld be so ap- plied, wherever they were sufficient for the purpose? The case made out by his Lordship against Mr. Ca- meronf, relieves, to a certain degree, the unfevour^ able impression of his conduct which existed even on the minds of his connexions, in consequence of reports spread by the Agents of Lord Selkirk and the Hudson's Bay Company. It has before been asserted in the Narrative, that the canncm were brought to the Colony by the Settlers, and it now appears that they were so brought in consequence of orders issued by Mr. Cameron. This Gentle- man is unfortunately unable to answer the charges of his accusers, from their having illegally confined and sent him to Hudson's Bay ; and these charges are principally grounded on report ; but if he is able to give as satisfactory reasons for the rest of his conduct, as he assigns in his Letter of the 3d April to Mr. Archibald Macdonald, for having * See Narrative, p. 34. t Mr. Cameron was appointed, by a Commission from Sir Geo. Pre- vost, to the rank of Captain in the Indian and Conquered Couniritt, during the mar; but he certainly had no greater right to assume that rank in the Red River, UiaQ the Officers of Governor Macdraell's ap^ poiiUment. 135 authorized the Settlers to take posses«ion of the guns, it will not require much additional justifi- cation. These reasons are not mere allegations ; there are sufficient proofs of the uses to which the utillery had been previously applied. The arrest of Miles Macdonell and Mr. Spencer, and the hardship of these worthy Gentlemen having been tai(en2500 miles to Montreal, where tiiey were not ultimately brought to trial, are circumstances before accounted for : Lord Selkirk, in what he t^rms an '^ explanation of the former's conduct," does not deny the truth of the charges brought against them. His Lordship goes on to give an account of his proceedings in Canada, after his arrival in that Colony. His correspondence with Sir Gordon Drummond will explain itself, and only tends to show, that the miarepresentations under tuhich he had prevailed upon Government at home to aid and assist his schemes, could have no influence where proof was «t hand to correct these misrepre- sentations, and to explain the purposes for which be required a military force, asked ostensibly for the defence of his Colony. Without intending the leiMrt reflection upon any CMioers, whom his Lord- ship wished to select for such a service, it is not unjust to suppose, that a man of military habits aiid unsuspecting disposition, might readily have been ocHiverted, by the very opposite and design- ing cheiaeter of his Xordship, aided by the plau- if \ •\ , I'M i, i: ■ ;t « ■ 1 ' , ; P. 65, i'/a/e. Note, p. 65, Statement. i( (< 136' ^ible authority of high legal opinions upon a case unfairly stated, into an engine for the prosecution of his schemes against his rivals in trade. His ready application of his own military force in aid of his magisterial mandates, at least justifies this inference ; and it is justly remarked by Sir Gor- don Drammond, " that if the lives or property of Lord Selkirk's Settlers are, or may hereafter be endangered, that danger will arise principally " from the conduct of Mr. Miles Macdonell towards *' the Nortli-West Company." A change of ce motives which in- duced His Excellency to refuse his Lordships re- quest, beyond the apparent one they have sug- gested. It appears, however, an application nsade for a guard to protect his person, was readily granted ; and the frank and liberal conduct of the gallant Officer, should at all events have pro- tected ,him from the sneer cast upon what Lord Selkirk terms his " legal opinion" of the powers and authority assumed by Mr. Miles MacdonQlk 337 Ebos liord Sglkiiif really sup{>o^e, upon a favr i(tatem.ent of this case, that the eminent persons he refers to, would sanctiop th^ claims of power set up by ilMs pcrsoJVj qf justify bis exercise, and con- The apolpgy offered, for the engagement of the mercenary force who attended his Lordship on his expedition to the Interior, is worthy attention. These were intended (^t subjects !}, as Farmers and Settlers ; end ^ conceal the fact of their having been sup|jw..d w new unifor^is, i. ^^ .stated, that, '' as usual on their discharge, they retained t\i|iir "clothing." We proceed next to his Lordship's expedition ; his account of the unfortunate coniUct on the Rec) River; and his subsequent proceedings at Foirt William. With respect, first, to the melancholy transac- tions on the Red River ; in the candour tchich per- vades this publicationy as in the account of tho transactions of the former year, all mention of preceding circumstances is totally omitted; an omission without which his Lordship could not expect his partial and interested representation would succeed, with even the most ignorant or prejudiced reader. All mention of the plans laid, not now for thf destruction of the Colony y but for the destruction of the North- West Company's Trade, is studiously avoided : still the intended blockade of the naviga- i; ^1^^ ' 1 ' < ij i 5 ' ^ i • T pcndiz. 138 tion wrs prepared: Fort Gibraltar was taken and destroyed, Mr. Cameron made prisoner, and all Jivef'nnd'Ap- *'^® propcrly, books, papers, &c. of the North- West Company seized and confiscated on the 17th of March : the Fort on the Pembina RiVer, with all the property, was taken on the 20th MarcTi, and Alexander Macdonell's j)ost at Qu'AppHe, sum- moned immediately afterwards. Was it wonder- ful, that after all these outrages, the latter person should assemble such force as he was able, in his own clffeifcp, and to preserve and protect the whole returns of the North- West Company fiom the re- mote stations, from being taken and confiscated, in the same manner as those at the two Provision Posts ? And will any person doubt, from the pre- ceding occurrences, and the subsequent conduct of Lord Selkirk at Fort William, that precautions tcere expedient to prevent his getting possession of a large stake, to hold, even on the most fa- vourable interpretation of his conduct, till his claims were decided? That it was necessary to employ the Half-Brecds and Indians in defence of their property, the North- West Company must lament ; and they must long feel the consequences of having been obliged to resort to their assistance ; but it is poaitiveiy denied, that there was the most remote intention on the part of Alexander Macdo- nell, or any Partner of the North-West Company, to place the lives or property of the Colonists at risk, in any attack or retaliation on the Settle- ment. The account given by Mr. Pritchard, of l< >:( 139 the conflict which ensued, is exactly in unison with that in the Narrative ; and there arc no differences to reconcile in the difterent statements, which in the least authorize the appellation of murderers — given to the parties actually engaged in the affray. Mr. Pritchard*, who certainly cannot be accused of any good will towards the North- West Company (as well as all the other witnesses), admits the facts of Mr. Scmple having marched out and pur- sued the Indians ; of words having passed with Jiouche, in consequence of which Mr. Semple at- tempted to .seize him ; and although he does not admit the first firing to have taken place from Semple s party, he will not go the length of the other two witnesses, Bourke and Heden, in po- sitively affirming the contrary. The latter witness is an ignorant person, whose memory seems to have been refreshed by those who had a case to make out from it, and does not seem much relied upon, even by the Author of the Pamphlet, who says, with respect to this person, " that in the '•' confusion of such a business, one might be dis- " posed to floubt in some degree the minute accu- " racy of the Deponent's information." Lord Selkirk has somewhere said of the testimony of the Colonists, " seduced to the commission of crime •' by Cameron," that it should be received with 1.' • This person had left their service to enter that of Lord Selkirk's: he had charge of the North-West Compnny's post at Riviere La Sourie, which wag plundered hy Spencer and Mticdoiiell, :is detailed in Nos. Vin. IX. and X. of the Appendix to the Narrative. t2 140 N; /. V great sttspicion ; dnd this cautidfi is pftrlicul&rly requisite in the Affidavit of lloUrkc, M'ho Mras at the time under an aecuste lion of fclbny, and who, next to Colin Robertson, acted the principal part in the attack and rdbbery of Fort Gibraltar, and the Post on the Pembina Kiver. What has be- come of the Deposition of NoltUt mentioned in Mr. Vandet'slurjs' Journal, on this subject, and v/hy has it been suppressed? and the present one substituted in its place P It is unfortunate for Lord Selkirk's assertion, that the Indiana and Half- Breeds were 'collected for an attack on the Colony, that some of the evidence he produces directly contradi ' ' • • ^ Mr. M'Leod's Letter is dated on the Sd of June, long previous to the conflict with Semple, which proves the absurdity of the accusations against the parties arrested, of being implicated in that ^i I . c 143 event ; and if the measures which it y/M indis- ponsibh! to have recourse to, on the principle of self-defonre, nre objectionable, they must recoil on the authors and abettors of the outrages which occasioned them. — The same charge is made agniniit Mr. M'Lcod as against Mr. Macdonell, of having received with high gratification the account of Mr.Semple's death, and with the same semblance of probability.— This Gentleman is also accused, and possibly justly, from the ex- pressions in his Letter, of having given orders to intercept a Courier sent by Lord Selkirk by the route of Fond du Lac to the Red River; bift no mention is made of the previous seizure of the Winter Express of the North- West Cotpnnt/, after the destruction of the Posts. — That Presents may have been made to the Indians and Hali> Breeds sent from Fort des Prairies to tl^c assist- ance of Mr. Macdonell, after the destruction of the lower posts, is very natural, even although they may have been engaged in the conflict with Mr. Semple. Whatever may be Lord Pel kirk's, or the North-West Company's opinion of the con- duct of these people in that affair, his Lordship will probably be aware, that it would be rather dangerous to attempt setting up these opinions in payment of the services whic <> were required of them ; another danger, in the employment of such auxiliaries, and anotbrr condemnation of the conduct of those, who, by their attack upon the property aad persons of the North- West Com- Ir t I u 144 ■fii pany^ rendered an appenl to their assistance ne- cessary. 1 - .., , ,. . , .. . i^ '. The early account of these transactions trans- mitted by the North- West Company to their friends in England, is> brought forward umamg the proqfa of their being the aggressors in them, be- caiise> forsooth, these accounts manifest "a restless anxiety" to prove their innocence, befoi^e there was any accusation of guilt. The I M^as written by Mr. Richardson, which is a sufficient assurance to any person who has heard of his najnc and character, that the information which it con- veyed was that which he conscientiously beUevcd« todi as far as he had the power of ascertaiining;, correct and impartial. In the vague stt^fies which first reached Montreal^ of the convict on the Red River, it was said no person connected with Ihc North- West Company W99 within 100 miles of the »pot; and because this report w^ repeated iu England before authentic informatign could iip procured, it is adduced as pir^of of studied ^nd wilful roisrepresent^ttioH. The ^hannc^ through which these Letters came to the fiinowledge ot the Author or Authors of the Paqiphlet, should »lso be attended to : they were sent by the GentWionau to whom they were addressed, as he receive^ them, to the Deputy-Goyeruor of the Hudson's Bay Company, with strong expressions of regret a» to the melancholy iuformatipn they cpntaiped, and in cpmmpn ^Q\ix^^y Xp CQW^^uiS^2^^ '\\ to him. *■». 'J' !' }-•;! J (L (.j(- (1 ■M ' i 145 But little detail of the Noble Lord's expedition, and proceedings at Fort William, is given in the Pamphlet ; tttill, there are some material admis- sions of the motives which induced his Lordship to proceed thither ; and although^ as matter of curiosity, his own account of his subsequent con- duct must be interesting, correct information is not wanting on the subject. To make use of a term applied to Mr. Richard- son's expression of feeling, in his account of the oc- currences at the Red River, we have the *' canting" Letter of bis Lordship to Sir John Sherbrooke. With no other occasion to go near Fort William, it was still necessary he should proceed there, — an interested party, as a Magistrate, to endeavour to bring offenders to justice, or "to allow an " audacious crime to pass unpunished." Was the seat of Government in Upper Canada so far dis- tant from St. Mary's, that no express could be sent to Governor Gore, with information that persons suspected of murder, were assembled at a place within his jurisdiction ; with a request that an immediate investigation should take place, and that the parties against whom any sufficient sus- picion of crime existed, should be apprehended ? Or could there be a doubt that Governor Gore would take instant cognizance of the matter, and if he considered such additional precaution neces- sary, aid the civil force, by the military m His Majesty's service j stationed at St. Joseph's ? u wl If i r ' I i; i 1 ' I ^:4l ^ I 146 ; But his Lordship rightly concluded, he was the most competent aiUhoritjj to promote his own views and purposes, which were so inconsistent not only with all principle of justice, but with every principle of common honesty or morality. — The employment of his military force is the next circumstance to be accounted for, which it is acknowledged, was not accidentally at Fort Wil- liam, but taken there with concerted and pre- meditated design : — What law does his Lordship find to justify such a proceeding, entirely di- vested even of the excuse, if that could be an excuse, of his having hastily resorted to such assistance from feelings of the moment ? — He stands convicted, on his own admission, of hav- ing deliberately employed, in a treasonable man- ner, against the lives and properties of his fel- low subjects, a band of foreign mercenaries, paid, armed, and equipped by himself, in defiance of all law, and in contempt of all acknowledged authority. After his determination to employ such force — look at the application of it — }]e issues Warrants as a Magistrate (was he so authorized in Upper Canada?) to apprehend certain respectable indi- viduals on the heavy charges of treason, conspi- racy, and murder, grounded solely on an infe- rence, that because these persons had authorized, in 1^14, measures of resistance to outrages com- mitted against them by Lord Selkirk and his 147 Agents, tliey must be implicated in the aifair in which Mr. Semple lost his life, two years after- wards. > Although there was not an appearnnce of jus- tice in this proceeding, it was quietly submit- ted to, and a barefaced story, bearing with it its own refutation, of an attempt at resistance, is invented, to justify the assault and capture of Fort William, as recorded in Mr. Vander- sluys' Journal, and the other evidence in the Narrative. — Were not all the prcparatix)ns also made for a storm, the cannon pointed against the Fort, &c. before even the Warrants were issued ? That resistance was not made, is to be ascribed to the "canting" feelings of the Part- ners of the North- West Company : it was not for want of means, nor of a just cause to warrant their being made use of, in resisting the infamous attack upon their property. — The Pamphlet states, and states truly, there were, besides 300 Cana- dians, 70 Iroquois Indians in the Encampment : if a gun had been fired, or the least encourage- ment given to these people to attack Lord Sel- kirk's mercenaries, and a single Indian had fallen in the conflict, it is but too probable, that not one of the opposite parti/ would have outlived it, to record the fate of his companions. — This would have certainly added to the list o£ victims to Lord Selkirk's projects, and possibly to the accusations V 2 I w: k II If Al\ \ I 148 against the North- West Company for another massacre of his Dependants. r His Agents who had been guilty of the former atrocities, were provided with some defence, such as it was, for their conduct, which their Master could not plead in the present case.— When Mr. Miles Macdonel), in 1813 and 1814, openly and publicly seized the persons and property of th© North-West Company, which led to the resist- ance made by Mr. Cameron and Mr. Macdonell ; and when Mr. Scmple and Mr. Robertson cap- lured and destroyed the Provision Posts in 1816, which occasioned the assembling of the Half- Breeds and Indians for the protection of the re- maining property of the North-West Company on the Red River, they were only enforcing the powers of seizure and conjiscation granted hy Charier to the Hudson's Bay Company, and which Lord Selkirk's Agents are instructed, as appears by his own letters, to consider legal, and expedient, wherever their physical means are adequate to the object. Fort William is situated within the acknow- ledged jurisdiction of Upper Canada, and Lord Selkirk therefore cannot even avail himself of the poor defence urged by his satellites for their con- duct. It is not necessary to add to these already pro- tracted remarks, any further observations upon 149 the subsequent conduct of Lord Selkirk. The Author of the preceding Narrative, who had some fears that extreme violences might have been committed by the Partners of the Norlh-Wesl Company in the Interior, from the exaggerated reports uhich had been spread on the subject, finds himself considerably relieved by the case brought against them in the Pamphlet, even with« out hearing their own defeiirc of their conduct. From the testimony produced generally in the Appendix, it is evident the country has continued in a state of more or less party hostility^ since the authority assumed by Mr. Miles Macdonell, and his outrageous proceedings in 1813 : of course^ every quarrel and affray betvieen the Sdttlers and the Freemen, the Half-Breeds or the Indians, i< ascribed to the North- West Company ; and in the numerous Affidavits of the parties who are con* cerned in them, it is invariably said, the North- West Company's people commenced a fire, or re- turned one, as if these conflicts actually took place in consequence of their orders. — Even the examination of the Indian at St. Joseph's, pub- lished by Lord Selkirk, proves that the Natives were originally jealous of the Red Kiver Colony ; and it will not be denied, that the Half- Breeds had invariably expressed their hostility to it *. * An imprcssiun is attempted to be made, that these latter people are a race only known since the establishment of the Norlh-West Company ; but the fact is, that when the Traders first penetrated into that Country, after the Conquest of Canada, tliey found it overrun by y \ VA 'f\ '.it , .1 '( ,1..- Ik 'i, ii\ .1 ■^f ti li I' . ' I I II il ( f >, c. 150 Of all the proceeding \i'hieh have given rise io these publications on both sides, the most painful reflection which occurs, is on the manner in which it has been attempted to justify unlawful acts, by the forms of law and authority. — It may b(? fairly doubted, whether any of the numerous persons in the Interior, whose conduct is implicated in these transactions, was, in respect of information or ac- qnircmcnt, fit to he entrusted with the powers of the Magistrate, and still less at a time, when all parties must have been more or less biassed by a spirit of party and anhnosity. — That the same feelings have had i^me effect on the testimony produced, is quite evident. The witness Nolin i& made> by the two accounts, to swear opposite stories; and, in the deposition ?2ow brought for- ward, he says, a consultation was held between Cameron and his people> to find means of driving persons of this description, some of whom werothen the chief Lctuiers of the different Tribes of Iitdinns in the Ph\i(is, mid inherited the atnues of ttieir Fstthers, *rho had heen the principal Fvencli Coiu^ mnadifiiits, aiul Traders of the District. A Geutlcmuii who was formerly ongaged in the Iiulinn Tcide, au(t who was lately in London, informed the Author, tiuit wheii he first visited the Red River in the yen r 17&4, he was stopped near the Forks by some ot these HaU-Brec i >!: F'J t S' , tj I \ r« ->*-» »^-jiit»i«»r*p*««»»k»'«. ■ »■'■*•mmr'^r'm^Kr'»'*■•9■m^■m^r»'■"'^0»^'"^''^^''^*^'*» '< • C5'i-«'-*S«w«»»»<«»*<»'««««>»wr.;»«ii«"-'« B w>>y»B-"iiwi5i»*^ »''' ' " *« ' ^<*'«''''''*'*»^*'**'*''***''' ■«(i 'I iC .!•-» '» I \ AAI CONTENTS OF APPENDIX. ^fJ0»' PAOk. 1. Protciit of Propricton of the Hudson's Bay Com- ) I paiiy, tgaiiist Uie Grant to Lord Selkirk i : It. Lord Selkirk's Advertisement, and Prospectus of) . the New Colony, i in. AdmeasuFcuient of the Distance and Stations be-*\ tween York Factory and Lord Selkirk's Colony ; f by David Thompson.Geographer to the North- T * West Company, j IV. Questions, and Mr. Bearcroft's Opinion, 10 V. Questions, and Mr. Gibbs' Opininn, January, 1304, 12 VI. Questions, and Ophiion of Sir Arthur Pigott,^ ' ^ Mr. Spaukie, and Mr. Brougham, January, > 13 1816, 3 VII. Affidavit of George Campbell, 21 VIII. James Toomy's Affidavit, 25 IX. James Pinkman's Affidavit, 27 X. Hugh Swords,' Affidavit, 29 XI. James Golden's Affidavit, 32 XII. William Wallace's Affidavit, 33 XIII. Speech of the Grandes Oreilles, a great Chief -% of the Chipeways, made in tho Indian Hall, > 35 at the Forks of Red River, ipth June, 1S14, 3 XIV. Resolutions of the Hudson's Bay Company, 19th ) May, 1815, J ^7 XV. John Siveright's Affidavit, 38 XVI. Francois Taupier's Affidavit, 41 XVII. Joseph Jourdains' Affidavit, „ 43 XVIII. Jean Baptiste Gervais' Affidavit, 44 XIX. Second Affidavit of John Siveright, 47 XX. Deposition of Lieutenants Charles Brumby and ) John Theodore Misani, S ^' M » 1! —»---.; CONTBNTI or APPBNDIX. XXI. Robert M'Robb's Affidavit, "^. ...'....... . i l XXIf. Robert Cowie's Affidavit, 53 XXKI. Memorial uiul Petition of MTuvisli, Fruser and- Co. and fnglis, Eilicu and Co. of London, to tho. Iliglit Honourable the Eurl Bathurst, on their own behalf, and on behalf of other persons • interested in the North-VVe!it Company of Fur Tiiulcrs of Canada, XXIV. Letter to Henry Ooulburn, Esq. from M'Tavish ^ Fraser and Co. and Inglis, Ellicc and Co. iSth >59 March, 1815, 3 XXV. Letter to Henry Goutbiirn, Esq. from M'Tavish, 't Frascr and Co. and Inglis, Ellicc and Co. 29th >62 May, 1815, , ^ XXVI. Letter to Henry Gotdburn, Esq. from MTavish, -y Eraser and Co. and Inglis, Ellice and Co. Ist >67 February, I8l6, * XXVII. Letter to Henry Goulbum, Esq. from M'Tiivish, ^ Eraser and Co. and Inglis, Ellice and Co. 1st > 59 March, 18 16, J XXVIII. Deposition of Daniel Mackenzie 70 XXIX. Deposition of Robert M'Robb, 83 • \- . ...■••« . .'• . .-,. ..i 1. '/ 1;^ ;<. »■;■ •,. /.'i; 01, 1 :. tMih. 53 and' . to , on sons Fur »55 I8tli >59 • • • ^ 59tli >62 • • • Irish, 1st ^67 lst>( iritli, lst>>69 ■ ... 70 • • • 83 I ^ 17 APPENDIX. No. I. Protest of Proprietors of the Hudson's Daij Company i against the Grant to Lord Selkirk. ' To the Honorable the Governor and Company of Adven- turers of England, trading in Hudson's Bay. The Memorial qfthe undernamed Stockholders and Proprietors in the said Company ; That whereas it appears from the Record of the Pro- ceedings of the said Company at their last Meeting, that it is in contemplation to grant to the Right Hon. the Earl of Selkirk, a certain part of the Territory of the said Com- Sany, to him and liis heirs for ever in fee simple : Your lemorialists have taken the same into th(Mr most serious consideration, and availing themselves of the limited period allowed by the adjournment of the said Meeting, submit to your Honorable Body, the grounds and reasons u|X)n which they dissent to any such Grant or alienation of the Com^ pany's property. 1st, Because, waiving all the arguments which occur to them, proving the impolicy of the said Grant, there does not appear to be any adequate consideration stipulated for, between the said Company and the said Earl. The land proposed to be granted, coinprthcnds a territory of about seventy thousand superficial miles, containing about forty- I'l ,1 •I A « f t I if" \:' f 2 ,'s ¥ five milliorts ofartes^ of that part of the territory wlucli irf most valuable, fit for cultivation, and constitutes no incon- siderable portion of the Company's Capital Stock. 2dly, Because, if it be for the benefit of the said Com^ pany, (and there is no evidence of sufficient weight to make it clear to the understandings of your Memorialists), to sell «o large and valuable a portion of tlieir Territory, the pro- per mode of doing so for the interest of the Stockholders, as obviously, that which is usually adopted in the faithful execution of all trusts of a similar nature, namely, to ex- pose it to Public Sale, or at least give such notoriety to the (transaction, as to admit of competition between individuals who may be inclined to purchase. The necessity of sucli ii mode in the present case, is placed beyond all dispute by the fact, that a more valuable consideration than that pro- posed by the said Earl, may now be obtained fox the pro- perty in question. 3dly, Because it does not appear that the said Earl id bound by the condition of the Grant, iu a sufficient penalty, to establish such a Settlement as will produce to the Company any substantial benefits, or to exercise such acts of ownership as may be necessary to the ostensible ob • jects of the Company in making the Grant. In all Grants recently made, of lands by the Crown in British America, provision is made for bo7ia fide Settlements, not a mere no- minal provision to give a colourable pretext for the aliena- tion of public property, but such as to secure the actual residence of one person in proportion to twelve hundred acres. And it has been proved by experience, and is clear to the understanding of your Memorialists, that the fore- going regulation adopted by His Majesty's Government, IS highly expedient and wi^e, and ' vas suggested by the evils which had formerly arisen froa. the possession of a tract of land by one person, who could seldom, even in the vicinity of a populous country, procure a sufficient number of Settlers to satisfy the creditors of the original Grant. If, with all the facilities affi:>rded by a regular and extensive intercourse with Great Britain, it was found impracticable to induce a very considerable number of persons to migrate^ low much more insurmountable must be the difficulty of peopling a region two thousand miles from any sea-port, and out of the reach of all those aids and comforts which are derived from Civil Society. 4thly, Because, upon a fair an4 impartial estimation of the future value and importance of the lands proposed to be granted, and the limited and unproductive consideration to be given by the said Earl, your Memorialists cannot perceive for the said Grant, any other motive than to se- cure to the posterity of the said £arl, at the expence of the Stockholders of the said Con)pany, an immensely valuable landed estate. Sthly, Because, in the event of a settlement of the said Territory, under the controul of any other power than that of the Company, private traffic virould be carried on between the Settlers and the Indians, and clandestinely with Trad- ers from the United States and the Canadas, which no or- dinance of the Company would prevent. Besides, it has been found that colonization is at all times unfavourable to the Fur Trade ; and it is not very apparent to your Me- morialists, that the said Company has full power to exer- cise a final jurisdiction, since various Acts have been passed in contravention of the powers perhaps intended to be im- parted in the Charter, more especially the Act of the 43d of George III. which gives the entire jurisdiction in criminal cases throughout the whole Indian Territory, to His Ma- jesty's Courts of King's Bench, in Upper and Lower Ca- nada. 6thly, Because, under the foregoing circymstances, such a Settlement as that proposed, wouUl, in process of time, erect itself into a distinct interest, adverse to that of the Company, become an asylum for deserters from their ser- vice, and eventually render their authority in practice, a mere utility. 7thly, Because, from the situation of the lands proposed to be granted, and their contiguity to the United States, the intercourse will be greater, and the communication more easy between the Frontier Ports of the United States and the Settlement contemplated, than between tie said Settlement and Fort Nelson ; hence the laws and regula- tions of the Company will be evaded, and every expecta- tion of revenue defeated it its very principle. Sthly, Because your Memorialists do not perceive, that in making such a Grant according to the terms ex- pressed in the agreement to be entered into, sufficient re- gard is had to the difficulties in the way of carrying it into eftect, or the sacrifices which the Company may be called upon to make. These reasons, and many others, which require more full illustration than the shortness of time be- tween the last and present Meeting would permit, appear to your Memorialists sufficiently cqgent to prevent the b2 >i ■■■ 1 \ ^ \l V - Company from inal.. 13 koly Lake, 30 Rivulets and small lakes, five carrying places, 50 Each-away'Man's Brook; in dry seijsons no water "v runs in this brook ; there are ten beaver-dams I kept in repair, and in dry seasons, the canoes, &c. > 28 must wait the brook filling up, as at the foot of i the dam it is frequently as dry as a barn-floor, ,.,.) Hare Luke, this discharges into the Saskatchewina 7 333 Saskatchewina River, and earrylng-place, ...........w. 35 Play Green Lake, < 14 Lake Trempy, by the east side, which is much the shortest, i ♦ 300 Red River, to the Forks, ...^. 4^ Stone Juditn River, to the junction of the Mohse River, a very shoal and tardy navigation, 220 Miles, .... 945 *t u «* ,. . ^latitude 49P 40' Mob.e River lies in ^ j^^^.^^j^, ^o 37' 1 5" yV. Junction of the Red and ( latitude 49° 53' Stone Indian Rivers, I longitude 97* W. The degree of cold at Moijse River junction was, November 28th, .... 20" -v -n!f' "" ?n (Below ^ero, of Fahrenlieit'5 December 1st, .... 32 T ^*^«^""°'«*^ter. 2d, .... 36 J on S:.> , I I, I' i 10 Hciicc the greatest decree of cold, was 68" below tRc frcezin/jf point. The country is suVyect to very heavy galea of wind. From York Factory to Red River, 945 miles, in vsuninier, a canoe of men will rarely be able to find five days provisions in all this distance, but must wholly support then)selvcs on what they laid in store; in winter it is much worse. From York Factory to the mouth of the Red River, the country is cxtrcn)cly forbidding, it is one vast range of rocks, and swamps, and morasses, very many small lakes and ponds, with impenetrable dwarf pines, &c. The wretches that should chance to lose their canoe, must to ex certainty pcrisji. ,,, m 1.1 A \ w tf h\ U No. IV. Mr. Bearcroft's Opinion. Qiics. 1st, Whether the King, without lie co-operatlotr? of tlie other legislative powers, can grant to any Company an exclusive trade for ever, together with a right of seizing tlic person and goods of a fellow subject, without legal pro- cess ; and if not, whether his having illegally granted such advantages and power, does not annul the Charter? j4iis. I am of opinion that the King, without the assent of Parliament, cannot legally gratvt to any Company, or to any individual, an exclusive trade for ever, together with a right to seize the person and goods of subjects, without process of law; and that such a Grant, if made, is illegal, void, and without effect. Ques. 2nd, If this Charter is not valid upon the princi- ple above stated, whether it is not voidable by the Com- pany's neglecting to fulfil the views the King had when he granted it ? J)ifi. If such a Charter could be con«idered legal and va- lid in its commencement, yet it wiU be voidable by Sd. F(i. if the Grantees neglect to endeavour, b^ reasonable and ade(juate means, to carry the purpose of it mto effect. Qhcs. 3id, Wliethcr the grant to them, of the Right of Fishing, is exclusive, or whether the Greenland Fishermen, who have a right to fish at Greenland and the seas adjacent, have not a i Ight to^fish at Hudson's Bay ? Am. 'i'ho Charter in question, as to so much of it as aifccts to ^rant un exclusive trade, aud inflict penalties and «>• M ^' 11 forfeitures, being, as I conceive, illegal and void, I am of opinion, that the Greenland Fishermen, who have n right to fish there, have also a right to fish in Hudson's Bay. Ques. 4th, If an individual invades the Cliartcr, by fish- ing or trading in any of the places granted to the Company, and they seize his people, ship, or goods, whether they have any, and what remedy ? Jus. If the Hudson's Bay Company, or those acting under their authority, shall venture to seize the person, ship, or goods of a British subject fishing there, the action is by action of trespass against the Company, or against the persons who do the act complained of, which action may be brought in any of the Courts of Westminster Hall. Ques. 5t\\, If you should be of opinion, that the Charter is in its present form illegal, which is the best way of attacking it ; by invading the patent, and permitting them to seize or bring an action, and complaining or defending, according to the circumstances, or by applying to Parlia- ment ? /4ns. It is obvious, that the safest way of attacking the Charter, is by applying to Parliament, or by Sci. Fa. though in case of seizure, I cannot help thinking, an action of trespass by the party injured, would be successful. Ques. And generally to advise the parties proposing the present case, who wish to fish and trade in and near Hud- son's Bay (and have sent out a ship which means to winter there, unless cut off by the Company's engines, and only wait for your opinion whether to send several more), for the best ? Ans. Upon the whole of this case, I am strongly inclined to think that the parties interested, if it is an object of Im- portance to them, may venture to carry on the proposed trade immediately. The case of the East India Company and Sandys, determined at such a time, and by such Judges as it was, I cannot take to be law ; and as to the length tie said Charter has been granted and enjoyed, it Is a clear and a well known maxim of law, that which is not valid in the beginnings cannot become so by lapse of time. il I. 1 U (Signed) EDWARD BEARCROFT. c2 Ifi No. V. Mr. Gibbs' Opinion. 1st, Such a Charter may certainly be goo(. in some ease*, but I am of opinion, that the Charter in question was ori- ginally void, because it purports to eonfv r m the Company exclusive privileges of trading, which f t'link the Crown would not grant without the authority of Parliament. In Sandys against the East India Company, Skinn. 132, 165, 197, 22i% the arguments used against their Charter, which was not then confirmed by Act of Parliament, appear to me decisive upon the subject ; and although buth J. Jetferies, and the other Judges of the King's Bench, decided in favour of the Cliarler, I Inve understood that their judg- ment was afterwards reversed in Parliament. Adam S.iiith, in his Wealth of Nations, treats it as an admitted point, that the Charter granted to tlie Hudson's fiay Company, and others of thp like sort, not being con- jfinned l.y Parliament, are void, which I mention not as a legal authority, but only to shew how the question has been generally understood. 2nd, A Charter may be forfeited on this ground. 3rd, 1 should doubt whether they had by this acqui- eseepcc, forfeited their exclusive privilege, if it ever eK,- isted J but this question is immaterial after my answer to thfli first. 4th, If the former were legal, this would be so likewise. ! tl.iak them both legal, on the ground of my answer to the first query. .^Ui, Probably they might prosecute the captain ; but if thi? question were irjaterial, it would be necessary that I should see a copy or abstract of the Charter, before I could answer it. Gth, He might, if there were any legal cause of prose- cution. 7th, I hardly think that they would be held to fall within this act, nor does it signify whether they do or not. If my opinion is well founded, the North-West Company may na- vigate 1' idson's Bay, and carry on their trade as they please, wuhout any fear of legal molestation, in conse- quence of the monopoly claimed by the Hudson's Bay Company under tlieir Charter, and I think they may act as if no such Charter existed. (Signed) V. GIBBS. , lAncoin's Inn, January 7th, 1904. in some cases, ition was orir the Company ik the Crown irliannent. In nn. 132, 165, :iiarter, which appear to me li J. Ji'tt'eries, h, deciiied in it their judg- eats it as an the Hudiion's )t being con- ition not as a stion has beei^ 3und. ly this acqui- if it ever e^- answer to thfii e so likewise, answer to the iptuin; but if ;essary that I iiefore I could luse of prose- to fall within r not. If my ipany may na- trade as they an, in conse- iudson's Bay ey may act as V. GIBBS. 13 No. VI. /n the Matter of the Hudson's Hay Company'a Charter ^ and their Grant to Lord Sdfcirk, (Copy.) Questions, and Opinion of Sir Arthur Pi gott, Mr. Spankie, and Mr. Brougham, Jamiary, I8IG. 1st, Whether the exclusive T iulf, Territories, Powers ' 'i;»rter of Charles the n Act of King VVil- jdh as the Crown was It was, whether it entitles and Privileges, granted ^ Second, confirmed by ihi liam, is a Legal Grant, at warranted in making; a-id ii the C<)m|)any to exclude the Canadian Traders from entering their territory to trade with the Indians, and authorizes tb.e Governors and other Officers appointed by the Company to seize and confiscate the goods of the persons so trading, without the licence of the Company? The prerogative of the Crown to grant an exclusive trade, vas formerly \ery njuvh agitated in the great ease of "the East India Company versus Sandys." The Court of King's Bench, in which Lord JefFeries then presided, held and decided, that such a Grant was Legal. We are not aware that there has since been any decision expressly on this question, in the Courts ofLiw, and most of the Char- ters for exclusive trade, and exclusive piivileges to Com- panies or Associations, have, since the Revolution, received such a degree of Legislative sanction, or recognition, as perhaps to preclude the necessity of any judicial decision on it. Much more moderate opinions were, however, enter- tained concerning the extent of the prerogative, after tlie Revolution, than prevailed in the latter part of the Reign of Charles the Second^ and in the Reign of James the Second; and to those is to be attributed the frequent re- course which, after tlje Revolution, was had to legislative authority in such cases, iand particularly in the very case of this Company, evidenced b^r the temporay Act of the 2d 7StateTriaI»,103. 10 State TriiiU, New liilit. 371, Skinnor, 132, 16T, 1!»7, 'n.r In 4 Uacon's Abr. Moii(i|i a reward for the discovery of a North- West Passage through Hudson's Straits, Enacts, " that nothing therein con- tained, shall any ways extend, or be construed to take away or prejudice any of the Estate, Rights or Privileges, of or belonging to the Governor and Company of Adven- turers of England, trading into Hudson's Bay;" — but this Provision gives no validity whatever to the Charter, and only leaves its effect and authority as they stood before that Act, and entirely unaffected by it. These Parliamentary Proceedings may at least justify the inference, that the extent of the Prerogative in this matter was considered as a subject which admitted of great doubt, in times when the independence of the Judges insured a more temperate and impartial consideration of it. They may, however, be perhaps, considered as too equivocal to afford any certain and conclusive authority on the strict question of Law. Such rights, therefore, as the Hudson's )Bay Company can derive from the Crown alone, under this extraordinary Charter, such as it is, may not be affected by these Proceedings or Declarations, and they may now rest entirely upon, and stand or fall by, the Common Law Pre- rogative of the Crown to make such a Grant. Upon the general question of the right of the Crown to make such a Grant, perhaps it may not be necessary for the present purpose that we should give any opinion. The ri^ht of the Crown merely to erect a Company for Trading by Charter, and makp a grant of Territory in King Charles the Second's reign, may not be disputable : and, on the other hand, besides that this Charter seems to create, or attempt to create, a Joint StocH Companv, and to grant an exclusive right of Trading, there are various clauses in the Charter, particularly those empowering the Company to impose Fines and Penalties, to seize or confiscate Goods and Ships, and seize or arrest- the persons of interL pers^ } I 15 and add compel them to give security in 1000/. &c. &c. whicli sft^j to bo of » 1. *.« Ml 1 1 "^1 J ••.. 1 » 1 simihr description are altogether illegal, and were always so admitted to be, to those in the and among other times, even at the time, when the ex- pa,*ys'°char^ei"i'u tent of the Prerogative in this matter was maintained at jjj^"" ""*' its heiglit, to grant an exclusive right to trade abroad ; and even if by virtue of their Charter they could maintain an ex- clusive right to Trade, we are clearly of opinion, that they and their Officers, Agents, or Servants, could not justify any seizure of goods, imposition of fine or penalty, or arrest or imprisonment of the persons of any of His Ma- jesty's subjects. Probably the Company would have some difiiculty in finding a legal mode of proceeding against any of those who infringe their alledged exclusive rights of Trad- ing, or violate their claimed territory ; for we hold it to be clear, that the methods pointed out by the Charter would be illegal, and could not be supported. But we think that the Hudson's Bay Company and their Grantee, Lord Selkirk, have extended their Territorial Claims much farther than the Charter, or any sound con- struction of it will warrant. Supposing it free from all the objections to which we apprehend it may, in other respects, be liable, the words of Grant pursuing the recital of the Petition of the Grantees, with a very trifling variation, and with none that can affect the construction of the Instru- ment, are of " the sole Trade and Commerce of all those seas, straits, bays, rivers, lakes, creeks, and sounds, in whatever latitude they shall be, that lie within the entrance of the straits, commonly called Hudson's Straits, toge- ther with the lands and territories upon the countrieSy coasts, and confines of the seas, bays^ lakes, rivers, creeks, and * sounds aforesaid" that is within the straits, and these limits are frequently referred to in the subsequent parts of the Charter, and always referred to throughout the Charter, as the " limits aforesaid." There is indeed (p. 10) an extension of the right of Trade, and His Majesty grants that the Company " shall for ever hereafter have, use, and enjoy not only the whole entire and only liberty of Trade and 7raffic, and the whole entire and only liberty, use, and privilege of Trading and Traffic to and from the territories, limits, and places afore- said, but also tlie whole and entire Trade and Traffic to and from all havens, bays, creeks, rivers, lakes, and seas, hito which they may find entrance or passage by water or land, out oj the territories, limits, and places aforesaid, and to and ivith all the natives and people, inhabitants, or which shall inhabit within the territories, limits, and i„,< a H ? < 16 places aforesaidj and to and with all other nations inliabit- ing anv of the coasts adjacent to thcf said territories, limUsf and places aforesaid, which are not already possesse? sa That he also deposited in his Lordihlp's hands the sma of forty-two pounds stt-rling, (for which he also received his JLordsliip's Note), as ])nymont of a triet of land ; his Is, and two or three others, whose names this Deponent dojs not recollect ; that the next morning tliis Deponent was present, when the said Jean Baptiste Desmarrals and the other servants of the North-West Company received from the said Freemen a quantity of provisions, con- twisting of beat meat*, and tallow, as well as fresh meat, with winch the said Jean |}aptisie Desniarrais loaded two or three trains f (being more than one- horse load), aud the said Desniarrais and parly proceeded with the said trains so loaded, towards the North-West Company's Forts at Tur- tle River ; that the said Mr. Warren and the said Michael Macdonell, iinmedialcly ordereu this Deponent and the other servants of the Hudson's Bay Company, to fall in rank and files, to load their muskets with powder and ball, and to screw on their bayonets, and ^ it themselves in array to force tlic said Jean Eaptiste Desniarrais and others, the servants of tlio North-West Company aforesaid, to give up to him this Deponent, and the said JNIr. Warren and Mi- chael Macdonell and j)arty aforesaid, the said provisions then in the possession of the said Jean Baptiste Desmarrais, and the other servants of the North-West Company; that the said Jean BaptistoDcsmarraisand his party, notfinding them- selves strong enough to oppose the said Mr. Warren and the said Michael Macdonell, they took the said provisions from t!io said Desmarrais in the presence of this Deponent; tliat the said Michael Macdonell ordered this Deponent to go and meet the said Captain Miles Macdonell, and inform him of what had just passed between the said Michael Mac- donell and tlie said servants of the North-West Com- pany ; that is to say, to " tell Captain Miles Macdonell, that he, Michael Macdonell, had succeeded in taking the provisions from the servants of the North-West Company by force;" that this Deponent did impart this message to Ca|)tain Miles Macdonell, who replied, " it was all very well ;*' and he the said Captain Miles Macdonell then or- dered this Deponent to return to where the said Mr. Mi- chael Macdonell had taken possession of the said North- West Coinpany's i)rovisions, to tell the said Michael Mac- donell to keep possession of the said provisions until he, the said Captain Miles Macdonell, should arrive there himself; that this Deponent then did return, according to * The BufTalo-meat is prepared by being beat, ot pounded, with tallow, t T'lic trmims, are iledgu drawn vo th« mow by dogs, and lomttinics by nun. 27 »>»ders, and imparted the said last-mentioned message to the said Michael Macdonell ; that this Deponent accom- panied the said Michael Macdonell from Fort \Villlain, on the said Indian Territory, to this place j that tlie said Mi- ciiael Macdonell is now in IMontreal. ■ • (Signed) JAMES X TOOMY. Marli. Sworn before me, at Montreal, this 20th September, 1815, (Signed) A. N. Maclkod, J. P. 1. T. k No. IX. » James PinJcman's Affidavit. Personally came and appeared before me, Archibald Norman Macleod, one of His Majesty's Justices duly ap- pointed for the Indian Territory — James Pinkman, a na- tive of Ireland, now at Montreal, who being duly sworn, dcposeth and snith, that on or about the twenty-ninth day of May, Eighteen Hundred and Fourteen, at the Forks of the Red River, he was ordered by Mr. John Spencer to arm him- self, and to be in readiness to proceed to Portage La Prairie, about two days' journey up the Assiniboine River ; that on the following day he, with two others, under the imme- diate orders of John Sj)enccr, went to the said Portage La Prairie, where they remained a few hours to refresh, after which they proceeded to Brandon House, on the banks of the River La Sourie, where they arrived on the third morn- ing succeeding that of their departure from the Forks; that on their arrival at the said house, he, Mr. John Spen- cer, went to the North-West Fort at that place, making a demand for provisions ; that to the best of his knowledge and recollection, one of those two men who accompanied him from the Forks of the Red River, went with him, Mr. John Spencer, to the said North- West Company's Fprt ; that he cannot pretend to any ^.nowledge of what passed between the person in charge of the Fort and Mr. Jx)hn Spencer, but states, that a letter was written by John Spen- cer, and sent by one of his men to Miles Macdonell ; that he supposed the letter was relative to the provisions, but is e2 < 'I i li : i i 28 not po!ilti\T ; that during five cinys that tlie messenger was ahsi-nt, they remained inactive ;' that on the fifth day the niesseiii:;cr stated, arrived with an answer from Miles Mac- done!!, to this etrect : " that Mr. John Speneer should force his way ;" — That on the afternoon of the same day Mr. John Speneer ordered him, with the aforementioned two men, to emharkand cross the river, which was effected, Mr. IJones, of the Hudson's Bay Company, having ac- companied them, by landing before the gates of the Fort ; that Mr. Joim Speneer retnarked while in th^ boat, that his orders were to take the provisions by force; that on their arrival at the gates of the Fort, which were shut, Mr. John Speneer demanded, in the King's name, that the pro- visions, or pemiean, grease, &c. then in the Fort, should be delivered to him ; that on which, Mr. Prltchard, the per- son in charge of said provisions, &c. desired he, Mr. Spen- cer, woidd wait a few minutes : Mr. Piitchard returned with a small note, which he pushed through the stockades to Mr. John Spencer ; that on Mr. John Spencer's reading the note, he turned round and said, " that will not do ;" to which Mr. Pritchard replied, " then you must force your way, as I will not open the gates;" that lie and the other two men were then ordered by John Spencer to cut down the stockades, and take the said p>. isions, and by force of arms, which they did ; to effect also which, the iron staples of the store were drawn, to open the door, and John Spencer took all the provisions belonging to the North-West Company, in the house and store so broke open, viz. five hundred bags of pemiean, about ninety-six kegs of grease, and about nine bales of dried meat; that this Deponent objected to breaking open the house, and to be aiding in taking the provisions, to which the said John Spencer replied, he must obey his orders ; that these pro- visions, &c. being tuken in the manner stated, were con- veyed across the river to the Hudson's Hay Company's Fort, and there deposited, except two batteaux loads, which were by the said Spencer taken down to the Forks, and delivered to Miles Macdoneil. (Signed) JAMES PINKlVfAN, Sworn this 13th day of September, 1815, at Montreal, before me, (Signed) A. N. Macleod, J. P. 29 No. X. Hugh Swords' Affidavit. Personally came and appeared before me, Arclubald Norman Macleod, one of His Majesty's Justices duly ap- pointed for the Indian Territory — Hugh Swords, a native of Ireland, now at Montreal, deposcth and saith, that in June, 1812, he was engaged to the Hudson's Bay Com- pany for three years; that in the spring of the year 1814, he was at the Red River ; that this Deponent and se- veral other servants of the Hudson's Bay Company were sent for to the house of Miles M'Doncll ; that Miles M'Donell then told him, that he this Deponent and the other men, to the number of eight or nine, were to proceed up the River, under the command of one John Warren, and keep a strict watch of any boat or boats of the North- West Company, with provisions, if they should come down the river ; and if any did come down, that they were to take such boat and boats, and the provisions, by surprize or force, and that Mr. Warren would command them ; that this Deponent and the other servants of the Hudson's Bay Company were furnished with arms and ammunition, that is to say, muskets and bayonets, and ball-cartridges, out of the store of Miles M'Donell ; and Miles M'Donell also told this Deponent and the other servants, that they were to obey the orders of Mr. Spencer. Being so armed, this Deponent and the other men proceeded up the River Assi- niboine, under the command of Mr. Warren ; that they travelled along the River until dark, and then camped ; that that day they saw no appearance of a boat or pro- visions. The next morning Miles M'Donell joined them with a field-piece, and a number of men armed with muskets, where they had camped ; that Miles M'Donell then placed the field-piece in a position, on a point so as to command the passage of the river, and prevent any boats from going down ; that when they were all assembled they formed a pretty large party of men ; that this Depo- nent was ordered into a boat with eight or nine other men, under the command of Mr. Spencer, to go up the river to see if there was any appearance of the boat with the pro- visions coming down ; that they went a few miles up the river, and returned to the point where the camp and cannon li !j !') 1 I \ ■ I i mr so jvcrc, Without having seen any thing of the boat; that that evening, this Deponent and aJl the other men returned to the Fort, where Miles M*Doncll lived; that the next day eight or nine men, of which this Deponent was one, were ordered by Miles M*Donell to arm themselves with muskets and bali-cartridges, which they did, and were ordered again in li boat up the river, under the command of Mr. John Sjjencer, in search of the North-West Company's boat and provisions ; that they went up the River two days' journey j that they found a boat, which they knew to be a boat be- longing to the North-West Company, in a small Bay ; that there were no provisions in the boat, and that it had ap- parently drifted there ; and finding no provisions in the boat, Mr. Spencer ordered the men to search in different parts of the beach, and points of wood, to see where the provisions had been deposited ; that they looked in many places and points, and could not find it, and returned where they left thefr boat ; that that same evening they went up the river by land, and travelled until they came to a lodge, or hut, where they found three Canadians (one Poi- tras and his son, and the other he does not recollect his Battle perfectly, but believes it was one Soucisse) ; that by orders of Mr. Spencer, they took the three Canadians priso- ners, and took them down where the boat was; that next morning Mr. Spencer, this Deponent, and the other men, embarked in the boat with the said three Canadian priso- ners, and returned to Miles M'Donell, and delivered the said Canadian prisoners over to Mr. M*Donell ; that he took them into his own apartments : what passed there this Depo- nent cannot say j towards evening the said Canadians were let at liberty, and they went down and slept in the tents of some Freemen that were encamped on the water side j that next morning this Deponent and another man was ordered to go with the said John Spencer on horseback up to Poi- tras' Lodge, where they had been taken prisoners, and that Poitras would shew them where the provisions were, as this Deponent understood; that they all rode up to Poitras' Lodge, and Poitras pointed out to them, on the other side of the river, the place where the North-West Company's servants had deposited their provisions; that this Deponent the other man, and the said Mr. Spencer, crossed in a wooden canoe, and went to the place pointed out by Poi- tras, and there found the provisions deposited; that the provisions were carefully and securely placed upon wood, and well covered with a leather tent, to prevent them from being injured by the rain or weather ; that diat night> the ol. auid John Spencer, tlils Deponent, and the other man, slept alongside of the provisions, to guard them, or prevent their being removed j that the next day a boat with eight or nine men came up from Miles M'Donell's Fort, to tnke down the said provisions; that when the boat came up, this Deponent and tiie other man took off the covering of the provisions, and found them to be sacks of pemican in good order; thp* they were recognized to be the provisions be- longing to the North- West Company; and that tlie said provisions consisted of 90 or 97 leather bags of pemican, weighing each about 90 pounds ; that is, dried meat and grease pounded together ; that the pemican is considered the best provisions for carrying on the trade ; it will keep for several years, and is obtained at a very considerable ex - pence and trouble, and considered absolutely necessary for bringing the traders and their men out of the Indi m Coun- try, until they can get supplied with other kinds of provi- sions; that this Deponent and the other men, by the direc- tion of the said John Spencer, took the said provisions from the. place where they were so deposited, and put them on board the last-mentioned boat, and conducted it down the river to the Fort of the said Miles M'Donell, and deposited the said provisions in his store ; that he cannot say for what reasons the said provisions were taken, for there was no want of provisions in Miles M'Donell's Fort at the time, especially as the fishing season had commenced. his (Signed) HUGH X SWORDS. Mark. Sworn before me, at Montreal, this 13th day of Septem- ber, 1815, (Signed) A. N. Macleod, J. P, li'.S ?;i I 1 I 'fViji 3t No. XL James Golden's Affidavit. PiciisoNALLY came and appeared before inc, Archibald Norman JNIacIeod^ Esquire, one of the Justices of our I^ord the King, duly appointed for the Indian Territory — James Golden, late of Ireland, County of Sligo, now ut Montreal, and deposeth and saith, That in the Year One Thousand Eight Hundred and Fourteen, lie was commanded to take arms and join the rest of the Settlers, Colonists and Ser- vants of the Hudson's Bay Company (by Holdsworth, one of Miles JM'Donell's servants), which orders were rejected by him this Deponent, with this remark, that he (this De- ponent) would not enter upon such a business, or act in any such manner, but in event of Miles M'DoneH's leading the said party in person ; that upon this reply, Holdsworth went back, and remaining some time absent, returned to said Depo- nent, telling him to take arms and join the said party, which orders this Deponent complied with; that having been furnished with arms and ammunition, this Deponent leaded his piece ready for action; that from Miles M*Do- ncll's dwelling house, said party of Settlers, Colonists and Servants of the Hudson's Bay Company, were commanded and led by said Miles M*Donell and his inferior Officers, to assume a station on the banks of the river, to wait and intercept tlie craft belonging to the North- West Company, then on their way down Red River (or in other words, the Assinlboinc River), with provisions; that to the best of his recollection, the said party consisted on this day, of twenty-five or twenty-six men, well armed and equipt, and one brass field-piece ; that he this Deponent had orders from the inferior officers ta act in like manner with said party, or after the same form of procedure, in compelling the craft of the North-West Company to land ; that the first winter this Deponent and his companions wintered at the Red River, they were assisted by the servants of the North-West Company with provisions, by means whereof many persons belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company and the Colony at Red River, were kept from starving. In consequence of the North-West Company having assisted this Deponent and his comrades with provisions when starv- ing, was this Deponent's chief reason why he refused in 33 chibald ur lA)rd -James ontroal, lousnnd to take nd Ser- tli, one rejected his De- t in any iing the rth went d Depo- d party, t having deponent i M*Do- :iists and imanded Officers, wait and ompany, ords, the best of day, of lipt, and id orders vith said impelling that the ntered at tsof the } whereof Company starving. J assisted icn starv- efused tQ take up arms to take provisions by force, from the persons who had so assisted them ; besides, this Deponent did not wish to enter into a proceeding that he thought illegal and violent. his JAMES X GOLDEN. Mark. (Signed) Sworn before me, this 20th day of September^ 1815, at Montreal, ^Signed) A. N. Macleod, J. P.I.T. No. XII. William Wallace's Affidavit. Personally came and appeared before me, Arcliibald Nurman Macleod, Esquire, one of the Justices of our Lord the King, duly appointed for the Indian Territory — William Wallace, late of Scotland, now at Montreal, deposeth and saith. That this Deponent came out f> )m Scotland in the Year One Thoustind Eight Hundred and Eleven, under an engagement for three years, with Miles M*Donell, as a labourer, to assist in establishing a Colony on the Red River : the first year he worked at Seal's Creek, near York Factory; the next year this Deponent went up to the Red River, with Miles M'Donell and about twenty other persons ; that a Settlement was made there ; that the North- West Com- pany had a Settlement called a Fort, near Miles M'Donell's Settlement ; that the Servants and Settlers of the Hudnon^s liay Company were encouraged, and received succours and help from the servants of the North-West Company ; and that the iirst winter they were there, this Deponent tlrinks they must have starved, if the servants of the North-West Company had not supplied them with provisions ; that the \rescrve you amongst us at the risk of our lives ; for if you cave us, who will have pity on our women and children ? You say, however, that for the i)rcsent, you have come to an understanding with these people, that you have car- ried your point with them. I am glad of it : I thank the Master of Life, that my string of beads will not be stained with the blood of Whites residing on these lands. I should always wish to see you at peace. 1 would love you all, was it possible ; but my heart and my life is at the service of those who have charge of the bones of my Father* and my Brother ; and if you cannot live in peace, and that these Landworkers will not allow you to trade with us as usual, they shall be destroyed, or driven out of the Assiniboinc River. To conlude what I had to say ; I already see a great change. When we were accustomed to encamp round the Forts of our Traders on this river, our Children used to be fed with pounded meat and with grease ; but this spring, hunger and starvation forced us to leave the Fort much sooner than I intended ; for my wish was to remain until the black clouds which appeared hanging over the Fort were dispelled. Some of you, my Children, thought perhaps then, that 1 wislied to get out of tl»e way. But no •, I had no such in- tentions : seeing that you i»ad not a mouthful of provisions, even for your young men^ I was forced to go and seek some* thing for my Children. It was not the sound of bad bircjs that drove me away; my readiness in appearing here to sup- port your cause, ought to be a proof of my attachment to my Iradcrs and to my Children. These are my words, and I have not two mouths. * The bones of Netam, the Great Chief, Father of tiie Speaker, are pre- served on a scailbld at Fort Williuni, and his Son's bones iu the sitme man- ner at Lac hi Phiie. There is always a flag placed over them by the Com- pany, as a mark of distinction, and respect tor the memory of the dead Chiefs. 37 No. XIV. Resolutions of the Hudson's Ray Comi'^nny. Hudson's Hay House^ 19//i Affli/, 18l.'i, At a General Court held this clay, of the CJovernor and Com|>nny of AdvLMturcrs of England trading to Hudson's Bay, for the purpose of taking into considecution an ()rdi« nanre fur the more effectual administration of Justice In the Company's Territories, ])ursuant to a notice of the same, advertised in the London Gazette on Saturday the l^Uli in- stant, the following Resolutions were submitted to the I'ro- prictors, and passed in the afTurmative, viz. Firstf That there shall be appointed a Governor-in-Chief and Council, who shall have paramount authority over the whole of the Company's Tenitories in Hudson's Bay. Secondly, That the Governor, with any two of his Council, shall be competent to form a Council for the administra- tion of Justice, and the exercise of the power vested In them bv Charter. Thirdly, That the Governor of Ossiniboia and the Go- vernor of Moose, within their respective districts, and with any two of tljcir respective Councils, shall have the same power ; but their power shall be suspended while the Governor-in-Chief is actually present for ju- dicial purposes. Fourthly, That a SheritF shall be appointed for each of the districts of Ossiniboia and Moose, and one for the remainder of the Company's Territories, for the execution of all sucli process as shall be directed to them according to law. Fifthly, 'I'hat in case of death or absence of any Coun- cillor or Sherift", the Governor-in-Chief shall appoint a person to do the duty of the office, till the pleasure of the Coniptmy be known. ^y Extracted frcun the Minute Book of the said Company ALEXANDER LEAN, Secretary, 9th June, I8l5. ^11 1 lA i?i m i u M as No. XV. John Sivcright's Affidavit. Province nj Lmcer CanndUj } District of Montreal. j| John SrvKRir.irr, late of the Red River, in the Indinn or North-West Country, in North i\nierica, CientlomaTi, niaketh oath and saith, that lie this Deponent, in and pre- vious to the month of March Inst, was a Clerk in the ser- vice of the North-West Company, ir. the said Indian Terri- tory ; that on the seventeenth day of March last past, Dun- can Cameron, a Partner in the said North-West Company, was residing in a Fort or Estahlishment belonging to the said North-West Conijiany, called Fort Gibraltar, situated at the Forks of the Red River aforesaid ; that the said Dun- can Cameron had the charge of the said Fort, and of the persons in the service of the North-West Company residing in the said Fort ; that between the hours of seven and eight o'clock in the evening of the said seventeenth day of March last past, the said Deponent, one Seraphim La Marre, a Clerk in the service of the North-West Company, and one Joseph I'Aurent, were in the apartment of the said Duncan Cameron in tlie said Fort, with the said Duncan Cameron; that they were sur|)ri/ed and alarmed by the entry of a jwrty of men headed by one Colin Robertson, a ])erson in the service of the lJudson*s Bny Company, or of the Earl of Selkirk ; that the Deponent distinguished one Alexander M'Lean, John P. Kourke, Michel Havden, Martin Jordan, and several other persons in the service of the said Hudson's Bay Company, or of the Earl of Selkirk; that the said Colin Robertson was the leader of the said party ; thai the said Colin Robertson had a drawn sword in his hand ; that the said Alexander M'Lean and the said John P. Bourke, had drawn swords and pistols in their hands, and that the other men of the party were iirmed with guns and fixed bayonets, and pistols in their belts j that the said Colin Robertson, on coming in the said rooms, went up to the said Duncan Cameron and collared him, saying, " I am a man, and will no longer be imposed on," and laid hold of the said Duncan Cameron's sword, which was hanging up against the wall ; and the other persons of the said party took the guns and pistols of the said Duncan 39 a Cameron ; that the suid Duncnn Cameron nskcd the said (Juliii UobcrtHoi) the inoaiuiig uf hist conduct ; to which the said Colin Kobertson rcpliLd, •' You will know by and bye;'* that the said Colin RohoK on then left the snid apnrtinent, and on going out, addr(> the Fort, and deposited in the store ; that two men arrived in the afternoon of the nineteenth of March aforesaid, with the North- West Express, who were immediately put into a room, and an armed guard put over them ; the letters were then taken to the quarters of ttie said Robertson, and this Deponent was conducted by two armed men to Robert- son's quarters, by the orders of the said Robertson ; that the said Robertson opened the packet containing the said letters in tiie presence of this Deponent, and the Deponent saw the said Robertson break open six letters or more, addressed to the said Cameron, one letter addressed to John Dugald Cameron, and one letter addressed to the said La Marre; nnd the said Robertson kept all the letters, about one bun- dled (excepting three letters addressed to this Deponent) ; that this Dei)onent, on the following day, obtained leave to go out of the Fort, and went to Qu'appelle Fort, an esta- blishment of the said North- West Company about one hun- dred leagues distant from Fort Gibraltar ; that Alexander M'Donell, one of the Partners of the said North-West Company, who commanded at the said Qu'appelle For , M-rote a letter to the said Robertson, which the Deponent read, desiring the said Robertson to give up the said Fort Gibraltar, and to leave it in the state in which he had taken it; that this Deponent took the said letter and went to the said Robertson, and delivered it to him ; that this De- jjonent, on or about the tenth day of April last past, left ilje said Fort Gibraltar, at which time the said Cameron was still kept prisoner by the said Robertson ; that when this Deponent passed the Forks of the said Red River this spring, the said Fort Gibraltar was demolished, and no part t)t it remained standing but the ehimnies ; and this De- ponent saw the principal part of the wood and timber of the the said Fort putting up as a Fort round the Settlement of the Earl of Selkirk, or Hudson's Bay Company, at Red n 'ni jonenf, to take conse- o con- tioned, to give lat th6 of the events j 3 nine- a quan- rht into arrived d, with it into a letters on, and Robert- that the d letters int saw jdressed Dugald Marre ; ine hun- onent) ; leave to an csta- >ne hun- lexander th-West le For , lepouent lid Fort ad taken to the his De- )ust, lett vnierou at wheu iver this no part his De- er of the incnt of at Red 41 River aforesaid ; that tliis Deponent was informed, and ve- rily believes, that the Furs belonging to the North-VVest Company, whieh were in the Fort Gibraltar aforesaid at the time the said Robertson took possession of it, were taken down to Hudson's Bay, by the Agents of the said Earl of Selkirk, or of the Hudson's Bay Company, and that the said Furs were of the value of Eight Hundred Pounds cur- rency, or thereabouts ; that this Deponent was also inform- ed, and verily believes, that the said Cameron was sent down to Hudson's Bay by the orders of the Agents of Hud- son's Bay Company, or of the said Earl of Selkirk. JOHN SIVERIGHT. Sworn at the City of Montreal, in the said District, this 30th day of August, IS 10, hoforc me, Fs. RoLLAND. J. l\ No. xvr. Francois Taupier's Affidavit. District dc Montteal. Frak^ois Taupier, de Ste. Theresa, dans le District di: Montreal, laboureur, ayant prete sernient, depose et dit, que dans le mois de Mars dernier il etolt dans le pays haut ou pays sauvage, dans un Fort appartenant a la Compagnie du Nord-Ouest, situe sur Ics Fourches de la JH-oiere liimgc^ appele Fort Gibraltar ; qu'il etoit dans une petite maison en dedans du dit Fort, et au service de Duncan Cameron, un des Associes de la elite Compagnie ; que vers les sept on huit heures du soir il entendit beaucoup du bruit dans Ic dit Fort, qu'il a sorti de la maison sus dite, et a Tentre dans I'appartement du dit Cameron en une maison dans I'en- ccinte du dit Fort ; qu'en y entrant il apper9ut un nomme Bourke, et un nomme M'liCan armes dc sabres et de pis- tolets, mena9ant le dit Cameron et lui preseni ant leurs pis« tolcts. Qu'il y avoit d'autres personnes armecs d;^ns Ic dit G v\ M \\i % i m \ '■■■ 4t i ! '• Fort, qui etoient de la partie d'un nomme Robertson, et qui y sont vcnus avcc lui. Que le dit Bourke, et dit M'Lean, ct les autres personnes armees sont entres dans le dit Fort, sous le commandement du dit Robertson, un dcs Agents dc la Societe de la Baie d'Hudson; qu'il a entcndudire, ct qu'il croit, que le dit Bourke, s'appelle John P. Bourke, le dit M'Lean, Alexander M'Lean, et le dit Robertson, Colin Robertson; que les dites personnes armees qui etoient dans I'appartement sus dit, ont contfaint le Deposant de sortir du dit appartement ; que le Deposant alors entra dans la dite petite maison d'ou il sortoit, et qu' apr^s qu'il y est cntr^ le dit Bourke entra dans I'appartement ou le dit Deposant etoit, mena9ant le Deposant et lui presentant son pistolet ; que lui le Deposant en consequence de la conduite du dit Bourke et des autres personnes avec lui, craignoit pour ss vie J que le nomme Branconnier, une des personnes au ser- vice du dit Cameron fut blcsse au bras par un coup de bay- onette inflige (a ce que le Deposant croit) par une personne sous Ic commandement du dit Robertson ; que le Deposant et les autres personnes au service du Nord-Ouest dans le dit Fort ont ete fait prisonniers, et detenues centre leur volonte, dans le dit Fort, quatre ou cinq jours par les dits Robertson, Bourke, et M'Lcan, et les personnes avec eux ; que le dit Ca- meron resta prisonnicr depuis Ic temps que le dit Robertson est entre dans le Fort, jusqu'h ce que le Dejxjsant soit parti du dit Fort environ cinq jours apres, et qu'il etoit encore alors prisonnier — Que le dit Robertson a pris possession dc tout ce qu'il y avoit dans le dit Fort, appartenant a la Com- pagnie du Nord-Ouest, et de leurs marchandises, d'cnviron trente paquets de pelleteries dela valeurdemillc francs chaque, de leurs armes et ammunitions, et de la plus grande partie de leurs vivres. Que quand le Deposant est passe aux fourches de la Riviere Rouge ce printemps, le dit Fort Gibraltar etoit demoli ; que plusieurs personnes au service de la Societe de la Baie d'Hudson ont info.rme le dit Depo- sant, que le dit Fort avoit ete demoli par les gens de la dit« Societe de la Baie d'Hudson, Sworn at the City of Mon- treal, in the said District, this Hthdayof Septem- ber, ISIfi, before me, Fs. Roll AND. J. P. 43 rson, et ^Iply the people of the North- WesI Company expected from below. (Signed) JOHN SIVERIGHT. Sworn at Montreal, the I'lih .•Sep- tember, 181G, before me. (Signed) Fs. ROLLAND. J. P. d I 1 \ t ', [ i ' V i It i 48 ii; >■ , >■ No. XX. Deposition of JAeutcnants Charles Rrumhif, and John Theodore iMisani. District of Montreal. Charles Brumby, Lieutenant in His INIajcsty's Regi- ment (le Meuron, and John Theodore Misani, also Lieu- tenant in the same regiment, respectively depose and say. That in tlic beginning of May last, they left Montreal, m company \uth Messrs Alexander M'Kenzie, Archibald Norman M'FiCod, and Robert Henry, on a journey to the Indian Teiiitories in N'-rth Amorica ; that being arrived at the distance of ;»bout lifty miles from the Forks of the Red River, in the Indian Territories, on ihe twenty-third of June last, in the morning, they met a number of persons coming frotn that place^ among whom were several of the Colonists of the Settlement of Lord Selkirk, who informed them that a battle had been fought between the Coloi'ists and the half-breed Indians, at tlie distance of a mile and :i half below the Fort or place cf residence of Robert Semple, Esquire, Agent of the Hudson's J5ay Company (called by them, Governor Semple) atlh.e Forks of the Red River, and they understood this battle was fought on the nineteenth ol the said month; that the Deponents proceeded till they reached the place where they un-icrstood that the said Ro- bert Semple liad a Post or Establishment, and there saw !i number of Indians (called half-breeds) and other Indians assembled there ; that the Deponents remained there but a few hours, and returned to Riviere mix Alorts, situated at the distance of about fiftv-four miles from the said Forks oi the Red River, on their way back to Fort William ; that on their arrival at Riviere aiu Mort.s, they suw John M'Do- nald, who was arriving from his wintering gronnds, and also Simon Fraser, who arrived in canoes ; th.'it these two persons could not have been coming from Red River, as these Deponents must have met them coming down the- river on their way to Red River, if they had come by water from that quarter ; and that the said John M'Donald gave these Deponents directions to take some of his provisions, on their return to l^^ort William, at a place which he pointed out to them; that they also met at the same place, John McLaughlin, whom they had left at Fort Wdliam wlieu 49 ij, and i Kegi- Lieu- II hI say, Lrcal, 11) rchibald yr to the lived at tlu' Red third of persons il of the nformed ^oloi'ists le and u Semple, called by vcr, and .■cuth ol till they said llo- re saw a Indiaiiii L'vc but a tuated al Forks of that on 1 M'Do- iids, and licse two liver, as own the by water lahl gave ovisioMS, e pointed ce, Jolm iin wlicu they passed it ; that they met John M'Gillivray in Lake Winipie on the twenty-seventli day of the said month, us they were going to Fort William, coming, us it appeared to these Deponents, and us he informed them, from his wintering quarters ; that the several persons above nan appeared to these L>e|}onents to be cntirelv ignorant of what had tiiken place at the Forks of the Ked River on the nineteenth of the said month of June; ulid these J>c|>onents verily believe, that they were not, and could not have been at that place at the time ; that these Deponents were in- formed that the persons concerned in the North-VVest Trade, generally received their provisions at a place called Le has fie la Rkkrc, that is, the entry of the River Wi- nipie, and that the reason of several of them going up the river as far as the Ric'ierc uuai MorlSy was their disap- jiointment in not receiving their provisions at th« usual place ; that when these Deponents left Montreal, on the first or second of May last, they saw Mr. William M'tiil- livray at that place, and they found him at Fort William on their return from the Red River, where they arrived on the tenth of July last; that on the thirteecnth day of Au- gust, the Deponents being at Fort William, saw two of the boats that had come the preceding day with a {>urty nf men under the Karl of S'*lkirk ; that these two boats were full of soldiers; that Captain D'OrsoniK*ns was in the first boat, and Lieutenant Firuche in the second ; that on their kinding near the gate of the Fort, a person of the name of M'Nabb, and another person of the name of Allen, both uf whom had come in the said boats, approached the gate of the said Fort with Captain D'Orsonnens, who was armed with a swi)rd and pistol, and there spoke to several of the Partners of the North- West Company, who stood at the gate ; that r^ome words passed between them, and these Deponents lieard some of the North-West Company (as they verily believe) say, " Yes, but we cannot admit so many people in the Fort at once." That one half of the gate was then .shut partly. That immediately on uttering the above-men- tioned words, Captain D'Orsonnens caHcd to the men in the boats,- '*'(.'/< avant, unx unnes, vitea!" upon which the men in the boats jumped out, and, with musquets and fixed bayonets, ruslied into the Fort, a bugle at the same time sounding the advance; that a number of the men (voya- gcurs) in the service of the Noplh-VVcst Company, who stood near tlie gate, ran towards their encampment ; that these JX'poiients observed several of the soldiers dragging Mr. John M'Douald towards the boats, swearuig at him, H .■■J* ii! ' \^ 50 im nnt] using violcncp, nnd bcnrd him cry out, " Don't mur- der nic." 'I'lint tlu'.sc Deponents entered llie Fort, where they snw Mr. Allen, and asked him the cause ot such pro- ceodinfrs, who answered, that all would be soon explained, and that the person who had ordered these measures would answer for the consequences, or words to that etT'eet } that a few minutes afterwards, Captiiin Matthey arrived with a reinforcement of soldiers, which the Deponents conceived to have been called for hy the sound of the bugle ; that there were two pieces of cannon in the Fort, which the soldiers planted in the square, and pointed at the gate, and this armed party was immediately in possession of the Fort, as no resistance whatever was olVered to them ; that the Deponents did not see any of the persons in the Fort armed at the time it was so taken possession of hy the said armed party ; that on the same day, the Partners of the North-VVest Conjpany who were in the Fort, nine in num- ber, were arrested, and the Deponents saw several of them conducted as j)rIsoners out of the Fort with a guard, SMiul they returned about eight o'clock in the evening, and the next day they were put in close confinement, with s( iitries ()\erthem; that in the evening of the thirteenth the i/oops were marched out of the Fort, after having been assembled in the square by the sound of the bugle, with the exception t)f twenty men under the command of Lieutenant de (iraf- lenreid, who reuiiiined in the Fort as a guard lor the night '^ that sentries were posted in several plates, and the place luid the appearance of a military post ; that the next morn- ing Captain Matthey returned to tin Fort with a number of armed soldiers, and told Mr. VViMum M'Gillivray on his arrival, that he had brought a reinforcement, as they imderstood that the Gentlemen who had been arrested the preceding day, instead of coivtining themselves to their own rooms, had been going about, and that arms had been ])rcparing, or words to that etfect; that a short tin)e after, the Earl of Selkirk made his entrance into tl\e Fort, accompa- nied by his body-guard, and from that moment the Karl of Selkirk iippcared to take the command ; and some days ufter, he took his quarters in a house formerly occupied by the Genllemen of the North-West Company; nnd some of his people were also tjuartered in other apartments and build- ings within the Fort; that the De])onents also understood, that on the following days, the Hooks and Papers of the North- West Conipatiy had been seized and searched, and saw, at one time, Mr. Allen, Mr. M'Nabb, Mr. M'Fher- son, and Captain D'Orsonnens, searelung for Papers, and i!' t mur- whcrc ?\\ pro- tlaiiicd, ) would t; that [ with a riceived e; that lich the itf, and of the n ; that he Fort the said s of the ill nutn- of them ivd, SMLld ami the sentries le JkOops isdnbled xccption de Graf- 10 nitcht 'r the place xt nioni- i number ivray on as they csted the to their had been n»e after, iccompa- le Karl of ays ai'ter, ci by the me of his nd build- iderstood, rs of the :hed, and M'Pher- pers, and 51 lealing up trunks in diflfcrcnt rooms; the Dcponetits ;tl ; ■mw some of tho !>oldiers employed in n)a1\ing gun-cam in a work-shop formerly used by the Carpenters and nitu wf the North-vVest Company ; that on the twcnty-see«)nd day of the saMU' PHtnth of August, a canoe arrived from Mon- treal with l);^patc•h('s tor ihe North- West Coujpany ; that the Papers or Dispatcltes the men brought were taken from thciii, and theeauiH.* searched ; that some of the things in it were placed in charge of a soldier of the Thirty-seventh Hegiment, one of the body-guard of the said Karl of Sel- kirk ; that it appeared to these Deponents, that from the time of the taking of the Fort, as above-mentioned, until the time the fX'punents left it, the trade and business of the North-VVest Company was entirely stopped j that the Peponents understood the Xorth-West Company were not allowed to sei)d any Goods or Furs out of the Fort, nor could they employ the men in their service, some of whom were destined to go into the interior of the country with goods and ammunition for the Natives, and to supply their different trading posts; others to go down to Montreal with Furs, and other articles for exportation, as the Pepo- nents understood, CHARLES BRUMBY, Lieut. THEODORIi; MISANI, Lieut. Sworn at Montreal, the 16th of Sept. 1816. No. XXI. J^obert iWnqbb's JjffidavU. X)'uitnct of Montreal, Robert M'Robb, of Montreal, in the said district, Gen- tleman, being duly sworn, deposeth pnd saith. That he is a Clerk in the employ of the North-VVest Company, and was at Fort William, in the Indian Territories in North Ame- rica, all the month of August last, and up to the third day of the present month; that on the twelfth day of last month the Earl of Selkirk, with an armed party, passed the Fort, and encamped at the distance of about half a mile above the Fort, on the opposite side of the river ; that the next day this Deponent saw the men composing the above party, cleaning and preparing their muskets, and landing pieces of artillery from their boats; that the same day, tliirteenth, h2 ill 1 m m il iiii' t ,♦/ n., I ■' I J 52 in the afternoon, tins Deponent wfts nt the gnle <,tf tlio I'ort, when two bonts arrived near the Fort, full of armed soldiers; that a person ealled Dr. Allen, John M'Xiibb, Donald JM'Phrrson, and Cant. P. D. D'Orsonnens and Lieut. Gaspard Adolph Fauehe, these two latter formerly Oflfieers in the De Meuron Regiment, and several oilier per- sons, capie up to the gate of the F«)rt, and <\ere about en- tering it, when Mr. John M'DonnId, a Partner of the Nortn-West Company, who stood there at the time, told these persons, that they eould not enter so many people atone time, without shewing their authority; that upon this, one of the above-named Officers called to the soldiers in the ho&l^, " aux orivos !" that the buj^le sounded, and the men rushed in the Fort with fixed bayonets ; that this Deponent observed the above-named Capt. D'Orsonnens hftd a -sword or sabre at his side, and pistols about him, and that the said Lieut. Fauche had a gun or fusjl in his hand at the time they so forcibly entered the Ft)rt with this armed party i that presently after, when in the Fort, this Depo- nent saw Capt. D'Orsonnens and several others of the soldiers about Mr. John M'DonnId : Capt. D'Orsonnens had hold of him by the collar, one of the soldiers held a pistol to his head; Capt. D'Orsonnens ordered him to be dragged out of the Fort ; that this Deponent then heard the said Johp M'Donald say, that he would not go unless they produced their authority; that this armed party was distributed in the Fort, and took possession of every thing in it belonging to the North-West Company, and from that moment, the Fort was completely in the power of the Earl of Selkirk and his armed force, and was still so when this Deponent left the place, on the third day of f?eptcmbcr insiant ; that the Gentlemen, Partners in the Company, being arrested, the Clerks were not allowed to communicate with them, and tlfi; business of the Company was entirely at a stand ; the canoes had been ordered into the Fort, and no goods for the In- terior, rvor Furs and other articles of trade were allowed to be taken out of the Fort; that on the second of this month, this Deponent understood that Mr. M*Tavish, one of the Clerks of the Company, was called upon by the Karl of Sel- kirk for the purpose of letting him see the provision«store; that Mr. Landreaux, another Clerk ofthe Company, wassent with his Lordship, with the keys ofthe store, and opened the doors, and that when his Lordship bad entered the store, he told Mr. Landreaux he would keep the keys, and took them from him, saying that application must be made for provisions to Capt. Matthey ; and that he had before told Mr. MTa- ^3 ^nih, that all the property was distrained i that when thU Deponent left the I'ort the next day, he understood that the keys of the provision«store were still ii) the possession of the Karl of Selkirk ; that this Deponent has also a know- Jedpc, that some days I'cfore, the Earl of Selkirk had given orders that anutnberof the men (niffoi^t* voi/as^eunt) in the service of the North-West Company, should conduct hi* canoes in the interior, and heard his Lordship lell Mr. j\/*Tfivi''ht that he vmsl vot dissuade the ivrn^ and that if he did, icouldbc at his peril; and that he teas informed by I he itien^thal Ihrif jcere commanded in the name of do' xernmeut ; and this Deponent hath hereunto signed liis name. (Signed) ROBERT M'ROIiB, Sworn at Montreal, the 21st Sept. 181G, before inc, (Signed) Rod. M'Kenzif, J. P. und Civil Magitiratr for Indimt I'crritorie*. No. XXII. Robert Cowic's Affidavit. RoBKRT CowiK, now at INIontrcal, Gentleman, duly sworn, deposoth and saith, That he is a Clerk to the North - .West Company ; that last sprincf he w^nt up to Fort \\ il- Jiam with the Honourable William M'Gillivray, and his other employers ; tbat ho was at Fort William on the thir- M'enth day of August, when the Earl of Selkirk, assisted with a large force of .s«>l(licrs anc Mciiron Regiment ; and this Depo- nent verily believes, that this act of violence on the part of the said Earl of Selkirk, was done, the more effectually to get all the men of the North-West Company at Fort William aforesaid into lus power and service, in order to assist him in his ulterior proceeding. . . (Signed) Sworn at Montreal, the 21st day of September, 1816, before me, (Signed) Rod. M'Kenzie, J. P. at:d Civil Magittrate for Indian Territories. ROBERT COWIE. 53 No. XXIIT. •! ? To the Right Honorable Earl Bathurst, UU Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for War and Colonies. The Memorial and Petition of ]\PTavish^ Fraser, and Co., and In^lis^ Ellicct and Co. of Eondon^ Mer- chants^ on their axon behalf ^^ and on behalf of other Persons interested in the North-JVest Companjj/ of Fur Traders of Canada / HVMSLf SHEWtTH, That the events of the late Campaign in Upper Ca- nada, have entirely rut off all communication between the Lower Provinces and the Establishments of the North- West Company in the Interior of the Continent ; and the Americans having obtained the temporary ascendancy on Lake Erie and Lake Huron, it will be impracticable to •send up supplies of goods for the Trade, or the necessary subsistence for the persons conducting it, by the usual route from Montreal to Lake Superior. That your Memorialists have now actually employed In their Service nearly two thousand- persons, including Partners and Clerks, who are dispersed over the immense countries between Lake Superior and the Pacific Ocean, and engaged in the Fur Trade, with the different Indian Nations who inhabit these extensive regions : that your Me- morialists have hitherto respected the supposed rights of the Hudson's Bay Company, by not opening through the Ter- ritories which they claim as their property under their Charter, the more direct and expeditious communication from Lake Winipic to Hudson's Bay, but have been contented for a long series of years to conduct their Trade through the Province of Canada, to their serious inconve- nience and disadvantage. The route from Lake Wini- pic to Montreal, exceeding in distance 2500 miles, and requiring a period of 80 days to effect it, that to Hudson's Bay being only 500 miles, and affording in every respect greater facilities. That the route through Hudson's Bay to the Trading Posts of your Memorialists in the interior, is now the only I y i P I 1 t f! !|:: 14 .'^i ;1 I ) ■■f> i , ' I'. 1 !- 'I ij I : I ;< I 1 56 «fic through whkli they can establish a communication, ancf bring out their returns of the last year's trade ; and they humbly beg leave to represent tor your Lordship, that unless they shall be authorized by His Majesty's Government to transmit, through this route, the provisions for the subsist- cnte of t\itit people, and the supplies necessary for their trade, it must be entirely sacrificed during the war. Although your Memorialists are advised, and have ever contended, that the rights of the Hudson's Bay Company are only nominal, and that tliose conferred by their Char- ter, supposing it to be legal, have become void, by their' non-compliance with the terms required in it, still your Me- morialists have hitherto been averse to enter into any discus- sions on the subject, further than to attempt a treaty with the Company to define their boundaries in the interior, founded on the rights of each party to the benefits of their own discoveries, but which was defeated by the claim set up by the Hudson's Bay Company, to the whole territory through which the different waters flowing into the Bay, passed in their course, and by the recent Grant in Fee Sim- ple to the Earl of Selkirk, of a large tract of land in the in- terior for the purposes of colonization. Your Memorialists have hitherto desisted from troubling- His Majesty's Government on the subject of the Claims of the Hudson's Bay Company, being aware of the interpre- tations which would be put on such an interference, from the jealousy which may naturally be supposed, and actHially does exist between two 'J rading Companies in rivalship with each other ; but as there now appears an indispensible necessity that your' Memorialists should be permitted to carry an their Trade through its natural channel, they beg leave to submit to the consideration of your Lordship, the necessity of some investigation into the rights of the Hud- son's Bay Company, in order that they may be defined atid ascertained. The Charter of the Hudson's Bay Company, if valid in all the privileges it is supposed to confer, would indeed be a singular monopoly in the annals of any coun- try: in virtue of it, the Company claim a perpelual right 10 the exclusive Trade, Navigation, and Fisheries in the Bay, and the absolute property, to be disposed of by deed, under therr Seal, of all the Countries bordering upon Hudson's Bay, and upon all the Rivers and Lakes communicating; with it from the interior. The conditions of this Grant by the Charter are, that they should colonixe and settle the Bay, carry on the Fish- eries, and make discoveries in the interior j instead of which. ^7 ancf previous to the discoveries of your Memorialists, they con- tented themselves with rading such Furs as the Natives brought down to their settlements in the Bay, and have only attempted a communication with the interior, as the enter- prise of your Memorialists made fresh discoveries, and the Servants of the Company tracing their route, have formed establishments after them. They have neithpr colonized the Territory of the Bay, nor carried on the Fisheries to any extent. The Capital of this Company is undefined by their Char- ter, but yoyr Memorialists believe it amounts to about 100,000/. Stock, which Stock has fluctuated, during the last twenty years, from 230 a 50 per cent., and during the last seven years the Directors have neither declared or made any dividend, or laid any statement of their affairs before their Proprietors ; so that the value of the Stock must be now very trifling; and your Memorialists are informed, that the Grant to the Earl of Selkirk was made after the Earl had by himself or his connections, by purchases of Stcck, obtained, a preponderating influence in the direction. The Directors claim also a right from their Charter, when their Stock is insufiicient for the purposes of their trade, to borrow loans by bond under their Seal, which under their present circum- stances, may become highly prejudicial to such of His Ma- jesty's subjects as might be tempted to advance money un- der the supposed authority of the Charter. The predecessors of your Memorialists, who carried on the Fur Trade from Canada to the Countries West of Lake Superior, made their first establishments on that Lake suc- ceeding those of the French Traders in the year 1761, the year after the conquest of Canada by His Majesty's arms, •and gradually, as independent Traders, penetrated further into the interior, in every instance preceding the establish- ments of the Hudson's Bay Company, till the year 1779, when the dilFcrent Traders, for their common saf^ity in a country where they had no protection from tiieir Govern- nient, entered into agreements, and united the Trade under the title of the North- West Company of Canada, and whicli has been continued by different coalitions of contending parties till the present time. The North- West Company has now extended its establishments to the shores of the Pacific, and have recently sent two vessels round Cape Horn, to connect those with the Trade to China, a trade hitherto carried on with avidity by the Americans. The Hudson's Bay Company have slowly followed their movements in the interior, but without the ability to profit by the Trade. I ^' n \ Mi - I > If! I i^ ir m V '^ 1 ■n ,1 s-r' I IV s P t n '. %M m 'lit '''^M 58 The Capital which your Memorialists employ in thle Trade, is much more extensive than that of the Hudson's Bay Company: their returns have, ever since their establish* ment, four times exceeded those of that Company, and they have equally been obtained in barter for British Manufac- tures. The North-West Company and the other British Trader* in Canada, have been the great means of cementing ouf connections with the Indian Nations of the Continent, who are and have always been particularly attached to them. Under these circumstances, and the peculiar situation in which the War has placed them, your Memorialists have it in contemplation to send an Expedition from Quebec to Hudson's Bay, with the requisite supplies for their Traders in the interior, and they have applied to tlie Lords Com- missioners of the Admiralty, for protection to their ships while in the Bay. Your Memorialists have found themselves compelled by the unexpected events of the War, to submit their case to the consideration of your Lordship, and humbly hope for the protection of His Majesty's Government, in their endea- vours to retain this valuable Trade to the Country; and they respectfully pray, should it be inconvenient to your Lordship to take these circumstances into your immediate consideration, that you will be pleased, in the mean time, to recommend to the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty, to grant the Convoy requested, and to give instructions to the Captain of the Ship of War which may be ordered on this service, to protect the property of your Memorialists against any attempts on the part of the armed vessels of ths Hudson's Bay Company, or others, to capture or detain it as a prize, or to obstruct their proceedings, under the alleged plea uf infringing the Law, by a breach of the supposed Chartered Rights of the Hudson's Bay Company. And your Memorialists will ever pray. &c. &c. &c. London f Februart/t 1814. 59 No. XXIV. London^ 18th March^ 1315. Henry Goulburn, Esq. SIR, We have had the honour to receive your Letter of the 2d instant, addressed to the North-West Company, with the enclosed copies of a correspondence between Lord Sellcirk and the Governor and Committee of the Hudson's Bay C ompany, and also the Statement of the Governor and Committee, relative to their grant of Lands to his Lordshipi on the Assiniboin River in North America. As .'\gents in this Country for the North- West Company of Montreal, we lose not a moment in requesting you will assure Lord Bathurst, that the motives imputed to them by Lord Selkirk, are utterly unfounded; and we are persuaded also, the members of that Company stationed in the interior of the North /American Continent, feel ti o much for the miseries, already inflicted upon their unfortunate country- men, the victims of his Lordship's visionary speculations, to add by any action of their winter of 1SI3, should have protected them from the accusal ions now brought against them, especially when j;roundcd upon sucli authority as " a Letter from a Gen- ** tleman who had received information from a Canadian, " relative to the intrij>ues which were going on with the In- " dians." His J.ordship gives the Traders some credit for attention to thcii interest, and he must surely he aware, that tlie Indian hatchet once raised, will not discriminate between a Settler and a Trader : their interests are firmly connected in this respect, and we only trust they may be enabled by their united endeavours to conciliate the Natives, and to ward oft' the danger with which his Lordship's indiscretion lias threatened them. We do not deny that this Colony is looked upon by the Canadian Traders generally as detrimental to their interests, from the reiisons we have stated ; and Lord Selkirk's con- nection with the Hudson's Bay Company (their rivals in this Trade, already involved in ruin, and apparently from the measures they are now taking, having solely in view the destruction also of the Canadian Trade J, has not the effect of reconciling what he supposes their prejudices, as to his views and operations ; and we are equally aware with his Lordship, of all the difficulties which arise from the con- ilicting jealousies of parties so far remote from thecontroul of justice. These jealousies existed previous to his Lord- ship's present undertaking, and to obviate ihcm as far as practicable. His Majesty's Government proposed at our sug- gestion to the Legislature, the Act of the 43rd of the King, under which several Justices of Peace have been appointed, and we hope will be enabled to suppress, by apprehension and conviction of the Offenders in the Courts of Lower Canada, all acts of aggression on either side. In addition to this, we beg you will assure Lord Bathurst, that every advice and exertion in our power will be made use of to the same effect, and we will transmit copies of your communi- cations to us on this subject to Canadit by xhe earliest oppor^ tunity. It becomes, however, distinctly necessary, that a similar conduct should be adopted on the part of the Hudson's Bay Company, and but little proof of that disposition is to be found in the Proclamation of Mr. Miles M'Donell, a person styling himself, by Lord Selkirk's authority, " Gover- nor of Ossiniboia*," and who is really his Lordship's accre- dited Agent. A copy of this Proclamation is enclosed for * A word apparently coined from the name of the Assiniboin, or Stone Radians, who inhabit the country ou the western branch of the Red River, h''- 61 •oni the y when a Gen- anadian, I the In- Tcdit for arc, that between Dnnccted abled by ;, and to liscretion 1 by the interests, rk's con- rivals in itly from view the the effect as to his with his I the con- ^ e controul his Lord- as far as t our sug- the King, appointed, jrehension of Lower n addition that every e of to the communi- iest oppor- : a similar Hudson's sition is to Donell, a ff " Gover- hip's accrc- nclosed for boin, or Stone 5 Red River, liOrd Bathurst's information ; and we can only add, that the authority nssumeJ in it, has been exercised in all its parts against tlie North-West Traders, who, in consequence of strict injunctions to that effect, have submitted to it without resistance. Although we have hitherto abstained from troubling His Majesty's Government on this subject, still we are too happy in the opportunity which your Letter, and the accompanying statement from the Hudson's Bay Company affords us, of laying before Lord Bathurst some information as to the origin and progress of the connection between Lord Sel- kirk and that Company; we take the liberty therefore of aanexing to this Letter a Statement of Facts relative to the Colony ; and as His Majesty's Government has called upon the North-West Company for a refutation of the accusations made against them by I^ord Selkirk, we hope, as their Agents, we may be excused, if on tlieir behalf we respectfully re- quest to be informed, whether this authority assumed by Lord ^^elkirk and his Governor Mr. M'Donell, is at all recognized by His IVlajesty's Government; and if so, whe-" ther to the extent of the powers supposed to be vested in the Hudson's Bay Company by their obsolete Charter, and said to be transferred to his Lordship, with the grant of territory made to him ? We now consider both the Grant and the Authority ille- gal, and we shall be happy if, in the Statement submitted to you for the consideration of Lord Bathurst, sufficient in- formation shall be found, to enable His Majesty's Govern- ment to come to an immediate decision on this subject. • We have only to add further, that for the last century the Canadian Traders have carried on a far more considerable Trade, and for the last thirty years, a Irade of six times the extent, and consequently in the same proportion more bene- ficial to this country, than the Hudson's Bay Company : they have explored and discovered all the countri.-s between Lake Winipic and the Frozen Ocean, on one side, and the Pacific on the other : they have now Establishments on the shores of both Oceans, and with the return of Peace, they have been looking to the extension of their jTrade. Their only obstacle seems to be this unfortunate and im- practicable scheme of colonizing an uninhabitable territory, which will undoubtedly, sooner or later, throw the whole country into war and confusion, after a long period of tran* quillity and peace. We beg to be understood as imputing no improper motives, in all we have stated, to Lord Selkirk. Our conviction is, that his Lordship as sincerely, as singu- il 1 1 I 62 larly, believes in the probability of ultimate success, and alf vre can expect from His lUajesty's Government is, that if they should see it fit to sanction and encourage his Lord- ship's undertaking, they will take adequate measures to pro- tect the Trade of His Majesty's Subjects against the consc- «i::riving their right uninterrupted- ly from their French predecessors by the formal cession of Canada in 1761. Four fifths of the whole trade arising from what is called the North-West Country, (the bounda- ries of which may be defined by Lake Superior to the Soutk and East, the Mississippi and Mississouri Rivers to the South, the Rocky Mountains to the West, and Hudson's Bay and the Frozen Ocean to the North and East, and all which country would be included in the claim of the Hudson's Bay Company, as now contended for by them) has been for near- ly a whole century carried on by Canadian Subjects } and in all instances where the Hudson's Bay Company have extend- ed their establishments beyond the coasts of the Bay, it has been by following the discoveries of the Canadians in the in- terior, and forming posts where the others have preceded them. The only posts to which they can claim the right of original possession, are their establishments on the sea shores of the Bay, and these, if an investigation were to take place, it would be probably decided, are the only situations over which their exclusive privileges could be construed to ex- tend. Supposing, however, that the Company acquired by their Chari-er exclusive territorial and commercial rights in all coun- tries which they claim to belong to them, and their definition of which is before stated ; those rights and privileges must have long since virtually ceased by the disuse of that Charter, and by the non-fulfilment on the part of the Company of the terms on which it was originally granted; and the claims of Territorial JurUdiction avowed in the Resolutions of the Court of Proprietors, would probably not now have been brought forward, had it not been for the circumstances al- ready detailed in our Letter of 1 8th March. But since the Earl of Selkirk's interference in the affairs of the Company, these dormant and obsolete rights haTC been scrutinized with the greatest industry, in order, as it appears to us, that an engine might be invented for the ef> fectual oppression and ruin of his Lordship's rivals hi trade, and for the promotion of those schemes of monopoly and rr t L f / f ' 64, I ■M I fV'. H J ff colonization, which, if success in tlxcm was not absolutely impracticable, could alone prosper by the destruction of the Canadian irade. It is inf ''ruled in pursuance of the Resolutions, to appoiVit Dependants of l^ortl Selkirk and the Hudson's Bay Company, both Judges and Juries in causes between themselves and their opponents. These Judges and Juries so appointed and selected, are to administer impartial justice in causes where their immediate interests must be always in question, and where between the parties there nnist necessarily exist a cer- tain state of rivalship and animosity. The Canadian De- fendants in these suits have never hitherto acknowledged the jurisdiction of their opponents, and will not now feel more dis- posed, from the violence of these measures, to respect its au- thority. The natural consequence of attempting to enforce by the Sheriffs a verdict obtainet.! from such a Court, will be resistance by arms upon the pica of self-defence; and each individual will conceive himself entitled to defend his person and properly against what he considers incompetent and il- legal authority. These disputes must end in bloodshed, and the scene will be in many instances from one to three thou- sand miles from the residence of the Chief Governor of the Hudson's Bay Company, in a country where the strong must prevail against the weak, and where it would scarcely be practicable even to enforce the due execution of acknow- ledged law. The Hudson's Bay Company, in making appointments under the present Resolutions, appear also to have in view those persons for carrying their objects into effect, who may do so'with tht greatest rigour, and whose conduct and cha- racter may not entitle them to a respect which thf* appoint- ment should create. If authority of so grave a nature could be legally exercised, probably it might be safe in the hands of such a resjiectable person as Mr. Semple, nommarcd Go- vernor in Chief of Rupert's Land, although he still must have in view the interests of his employers ; but it scarcely could have been believed, that the Directors should appoint Mr. Miles Mac Donell one of the Chief Governors and Judges, who has hitherto shown himself a most violent par- tizan in the country, and not over scrupulous in the means he has employed to promote the objects of his patron Lord Selkirk. The persons appointed Counsellors and Sheriffs are of a description perfectly unrit for those situations ; pos- sibly they may be able to read and write, but beyond those qualifications, they can possess none fitting them for such 65 lolutcly of the appo?ht nipany, vcs and tccl and } where on, and 5t a cer- ian Vc- :lgcd tlic noredis- :t its aii- 1 enforce t, will be ind each is person It and il- hed, and ree thou- or of the ong must arcely be acknow- )intments in vicMV who may and cha- ?ppoint- ure could le hands larcd Go- still must it scarcely ci appoint mors and olcnt par- he means ron Lord Sheriffs ions-, pos- jond those nfor such trusts, or to have power sucli as the Resolutions of the Hud- sou's liay Company would invest them with, over the lives and properties of their fellow subjects. From Lord Selkirk's aciiuisitiou of the majority of votes, the Hudson's Bay Company may be said to center in one in- dividual. The Governor and Court are merely his agents, and the remaining Proprietors, bound by the sense of the majority, can make no opposition. Without intending the slightest imputation on the Directors, they can have only the option of resign;Aion, in the event of difference of opinion with his Lordship, and the re-election of their successors must depend solely upon his decision. In this manner his Lordship has acquired the immense grant of land before stated, and no attempt till the present one, has ever been before made to take advantage of the supposed Territorial Rights under this Charter. We humbly concciv.*, therefore, that before a title can be secured by length of possession, it ought to be made the subject of enquiry by His Majesty's Government, and directions given to the Attorney-General to eject his Lordship from the occupancy of the land in question at the suit of the Crown, to whom it can alone belong. It is unnecessary to add any remarks on the manifest par- tiality and injustice that must accrue from a jurisdiction so constituted as the one now sought to be established, or fur- ther to detail the serious evil consequences that must ensue from it. We have only therefore to beg, you will be pleased to represent to Earl Bathurst the situation in which the Ca- nad'an Traders and their Servants (to the number of proba- bly iOOO persons, the greatest part of whom have •lieen for the last thirty years, and are now actually resident and tra- ding in the Territories over which the jurisdiction is claimed to extend) will be placed by the operation of this proceed- ing of the Hudson's Bay Company, and to pray on their behalf the interference of His Majesty's Government, to pre- vent the exercise and consequent abusf of this assumed ju- dicial power. We do not deny that violences have been occasionally committed on both sides, and to show that we have some better proof in our possession than that adduced by Lord Selkirk agains. the Servants of the North-West Company, in his Letter to the Governor of tlie Hudson's Bay Company, transmitted by them to Lord Bathurst, and by you to us in your Letter of the 2d March, we inclose a Copy of Instructions from Lord Selkirk, of which we pos- sess the original, to one of the Servants of the Hudson'ii Bay Company, from some parts of which it will appear that his Lordship supposes the Clause in the Charter, authorizing d '/ 66 the Company to make war, and " right and recompense" themselves by hostilities against any persons interrupting or injuring them in their trade within the territories and limits of their Charter, as clVcctual fur his purposes as the authority under whicli he now seeks to establish his jurisdiction. His Lordship's intentions indeed appear in the present proceed- ing more favourable towards the Canadian Traders : it is now proposed, first to obtain a verdict from his Dependants nnd Servants, before the property of his rivals is seized and destroyed ; whereas, in the Letter inclosed, his Lordship directs seizure and destruction upon the sole assertion, that the I'crritory of the Hudson's Bay Company had been vio- lated by mere occupation, which in this particular instance relates to a country where the Canadians have been settled for thirty years, ami where the Hudson's Bay Company had never formed an establishment. Before the undertaking of his Lordship, the disputes al- luded to vv-ere of perpetual occurrence, but they were never of much consequence, and subsided nearly as soon as they arose. Complaints were made from and of both parties, and before they were enquired into, the causes had generally ceased. These disputes certainly too, occasionally led to the commission of crimes, to restrain which, the Act of the 43rd of the King was passed, and which having been put in force by the trial of offenders .>t Montreal, has had a proportion- ate effect. His Lordship's attempt to colonize Assiniboin has also led to more serious difficulties (we allude to the jealousy of the Indian Tribes, as well as to the distresses of the Colonists), and these would probably attend the next attempt of the same nature his Lordship may think it equally prudent to make, either in the interior of Africa or of America. Such difficulties are always attendant on similar undertakings, and form part of the risk of them. We beg, however, to assure Lord Bathurst, that we should be too happyy if a feasible plan to restrain violences could be pointed out by the Hud- son's Bay Company, to concur with them in it, but this has only appeared possible to us by placing those Territories under the jurisdiction of the Canadian Courts, to which they in fact properly belong, and where an equitable admi- nistration of justice is secured to all parties. Perhaps a Charter of Justice from the Crown mi^'ht be resorted to, but whether it is fair to call upon the Public to bear the ex- pence, and whether the same difficulty which is experienced in remote Provinces, of finding competent persons to super- intend the administration of Justice, ought not still more -1^*1 ■ \pcn$c'* ning or d limits ithoritjr n. His )rocccd- rs: it is >endants zed and ^ordship on, that »ecn ^io- instance n settled )any had putcs al- 5re never \ as they rties, and generally ed to the ' the 43rd t in force ■oportioQ- 5 also led isy of the i^olonists), ipt of the rudent to ca. Such ungs, and f to assure a feasible the Hud- it this has Territories to which able admi- Perhaps a esorted t09 ^ar the ex- uperienced s to super- still more 67 f>rciblv apply to the Interior of North America, are poI nts of which Hrs Majesty's Government in their wiiidom will readily determine. We have the Honour to be, &c. (Signed) M'TAVISH, FRASER, & Co. INGLIS, ELLICE, &Co. No. XXVI. London t \st Feb, 181G. Iltnry Goulburrif Eq* SIR, HowBVER unwilling we feel again to trouble you on the subject of the conflicting claims of the Canadian Tra* ders, and the Hudson's liay < ompany and tiie Earl of Sel" kirk, we find ourselves compelled by the following circum- stances, which we beg you will lay before Earl Uathurst, to entreat the interference of His Majesty's Government, that some measures may be taken, at least to prevent the recur- rence of these scenes of violence and animosity, which have unfortunately taken place, and which have terminated, as we predicted in our Letter of the 29th May, 1815, would be the case, in more instances than one, in bloodshed, and the loss of lives. We had hoped this dispute was in a fair train of judicial decision, by the trial of Lord Selkirk's Governor and She- riff, who were committed in Canada for seizing and confis- cating the property of the Canadians } but it now appears (although a True Bill for Larceny has been returned against them by the Grand Jury of Montreal) from the best Legal Opinions in this Country, it will be impossible to proceed further, as the 1 defendants evidently acted under a misappre- hension of authority, and no sufHcient proof can be adduced of a felonious intent. VV e have therefore lost no time in writing to Canada to drop these proceedings, and it is not in our power to substitute in their place any action for damages, as the Act under which their trials might otherwise have be^n conducted, confines the Jurisdiction of the Courts in Canada over the Indian Countries, to criminal cases. K.'J fl I <•'-' i^ii; ! "I Kf )' 'I' h \ m ilie Legal Opinions we have taken upon the whole sub- ject in this Country, are quite decided as to most of the powers granted by the Charter to the Hudson's Bay Com- pany, and especially those under which the Company claim to seize persons and confiscate property ; they also leave no doubt as to the invalidity of the Grant to Lord Selkirk, or to the extension of any grant or power purporting to be made by the Charter, beyond the immediate confines of the Bay. We would willingly, were it in our power, institute any process in this Country, by which the question could be decided, but we are advised it would be scarcely practicable, and if at all so, not in any way from which an immediate or satisfactory decision could be expected, and it is not till we liave perfectly ascertained the difficulties in our way, that we have considered ourselves again justified in intruding the subject on His Majesty's Government. Although we are not disposed to trouble you with any detail on the part of the North-West Company, in answer to the allegations we understand to be adduced by Lord Selkirk, and the Governor and Directors of the Hudson's Bay Company, respecting the conduct of the Canadian Traders in the Interior, during last winter, we cannot omit the opportunity of stating, that we are ready, whenever we may be called upon for that purpose to bring forward sa- tisfactory proof ot the justice of their proceedings, and that if they have been called upon to defend their persons and property, against attempts repeatedly made upon both, under the plea of rights contained in this extraordinary Charter, they have not done so without due regard to the acknowledged Laws of their Country. We do not presume to point out the particular proceeding which in thi$ case would be satisfactory to ourselves : our sole object is to put an end to violences and bloodshed; and we are perfectly satisfied that in the discussion which such proceedings must give rise to, the interests of His Majesty's Canadian Subjficts will at least meet with as favourable consi- deration from His Majesty's Government, as those of their opponents. We have the Honour to be, &c. (Signed) M'TAVISH, FRASER, & Co. INGLIS, ELLICE, & Co. 69 lolc sub- t of the ay Com- ny claim leave no Ikirk, or ig to be tes of the institute could be acticablc, lediate or ot till we ^vay, that uding the with any n answer by Lord Hudson's Canadian nnot omit snever we rward sa- lings, and ir persons pori both, aordinary ird to the MTOceeding elves: our shed; and rhkh such Majesty's able consi- of their :r, &Co. Co. No. XXVIL (Copy.) London i \st Manli^ ISI(J. Ilenn/ Goulournf Esq. SIR, We are unwilling, so soon after our application of the 1st ult. to intrude again, upon the subject of the Hudson's 15ay Company and Earl Selkirk's proceedings in Canada, but the last accounts from that country are of £o alarming a nature, and the season is so far advanced, that we trust you will excuse us for entreating the immediate interference of His Majesty's Government, that some measures may be taken, not only to prevent the recurrence of the scenes which have already taken place in the interior, but the threatened commission of still greater violences, under the newly assumed powers of the Hudson's Bay Company. To aid these further, his Lordship has now been appoint- ed Justice of Peace to act in the Indian Country, under the provisions of the 43rd of the King, and has actually engaged 300 voyageurs in Montreal, to accompany him to the inte- rior on the opening of the navigation, equally to oppose the trade of the Canadians, and we suppose to assist as Consta- bles, in the execution of such legal acts as in his judgment may be applied, with the same intent, and with the best hopes of success, from either of the authorities with which he is now armed. We do not venture to suggest the r<>medy which it may be in their power, or appear eligible to His Majesty's Go- vernment to provide in this case, but we arc certain if some measure is not adopted to define, without delay, the limits, power, and authority of the Hudson's Bay Company, a con- test will ensue in the interior, the results of which will be dreadful, both with respect to loss of lives and property. We take the opportunity of inclosing for your perusal, although, indeed, after all the trouble we have given you on this subject, we can scarcely request your attention to it, i '« I ' 9' 70 copies of a Correspondence which has passed in Canada be- tween Lord Selkirk and the North- W est Company. — The latter have offered in it, as you will see, to give up one whole third of the Trade, for the sake of peace, which is double the amount ever before possessed by the Hudson's Bay Company, or to divide the country by a fair arrange- ment, calculated upon the returns of both parties. Both these offers are rejected, and from the manner in which the correspondence is conducted on his Lordship's part, it is ap- parent that no hope of reconciliation in that country is left. We therefore trust, we may find an excuse with you, from the urgency of the case, in repeating our application on the subject. We have the Honour to be, SlR| Your most obedient Servants, (Signed) M*TAVISH, FRA^ER, & Co* INGLIS, ELLICE, & Co. No. XXVIII. Deposition of Daniel Mackenzie. Daniel Mackenzie, a retired or dormant Partner of the North-West Company, according to the constitution and terms of Partnership thereof, being present at Notawasuga, in tlie Province of Upper Canada, maketh oath, and (af er detailing the capturf* of Fort William by the forcif^n soldiers in the employment of the Earl of Selkirk,* together with the arrest of the Partners, and the seizure of the Papers and Property belonging to the North-West Company, accord- ing to the accounts previously given) further saith. That on or about the eighteenth day of August last past, being the day on which William M'Gillivray, John McLaughlin, Allan Macdonell, Simon Fraser, John M'Donald, Hugh 71 from M'Gillis, Kenneth Mackenzie, and Alexander Mackenzie, were sent off as prisoners from Fort William, he this De- ponent was extremely desirous of accompanying them, and accordingly made several applications to the said Earl of Selkirk for that purpose, who, however, refused such re- quest, and ordered this Deponent to be detained, which was accordingly done, and tlie Deponent was confined for several days afterwards a close prisoner in his own room in Fort William aforesaid — That some days afterwards one M*Pherson, who is in the employ of the said Earl of Sel- kirk, came into this Deponent's room, and searched his trunk, by order, as the said M'Pherson stated, of the said Earl, for the purpose of seeing whether the Deponent had any more papers j and that some days afterwards this De- ponent was, by order of the said Earl, confined a close prisoner in a prison at Fort William aforesaid, which was erected as a common prison for the adjacent parts of the Indian Territory, sometime after the first establishment of the Magistracy for these Territories, where the Deponent was kept in the dark, except as to such light as pervaded '^'j chinks in the building, there being no window in the i^ n;yeon in which he was so confined — ^That whilst this Deponent was so confined in the said dungeon, the said M'Pherson, Miles Macdonell, a Dr. Allan, who was also in the employ of the said Earl, and some others, came fre- quently to him, to persuade him to submit himself in all respects to the said Earl, and to yield obedience to what- ever he might direct, telling the Deponent, that the evi- dence against Inm with regard to the destruction of the Settlement of the Red River was very strong j that it would be a rery serious business for the Deponent ; that the other Partners of the North-West Company were utterly ruined, and would certainly suffer, and that it was a folly for the Deponent to sacrifice himself and his family for persons who did not care for him, and incessantly using other represea- I / 1 ■ H )) I] 'i ■ rH ' -tBi !i "V: n tutlons of the same khul, tending to induce the Deponent to yield llie most implieit submission and obcdienee to whtilevcr they or his Lordship might dictate ; and that the Deponent being at length wearied out with the hardship of his confinement and their importunities, and having ex- pressed to the said Captain D'Orsonnens a disposition to conform himself to their advice in case he was released from the said dungeon, the Deponent was removed therefrom into another building at Fort William aforesaid, where he was still kept confined a close prisoner under a guard — That from tha time of the Deponent's being so removed from the said dungeon, impressed as his mind was with the hardships he had sntFered, the danger in which he imagined his life was, and the constant suggestions and importunities of those around him, he did accordingly yield implicit sub- mission and obedience to whatever they dictated, being frequently also in a state of intoxication, and accord- ingly for a period of six weeks or theroahouts next follow- ing, was in the habit of writing whatever letters or other papers were dictated to him — Tliat the said Miles Mac- donell was very frequently with the Deponerit, to induce him to write or sign different papers, sometimes dictating to him verbally, and making the Deponent write what he so dictated, and at other times bringing him drafts of letters or papers, for the Deponent to copy in his own hand- writ- ing— That amongst various papers which were delivered to the said Deponent by the said Miles Macdonell, the paper- writing hereunto annexed, marked A, is one, the first side whereof is wholly in the hand-writing of the said Miles Macdonell, the former part thereof being a* representation made to the Deponent by the said Miles Macdonell, and the latter part thereof a draft of a letter which was after- wards written by the said Miles Macdonell, to be copied and signed by the Deponent as a letter from him to the said ^arl of Selkirk, and which was accordingly copied and II ■ 73 signed by the Deponent, atid delivefed, as he believes, to the said Ear) — ^That the paper-writing hereunto annexed, marked B, was originally written during the same period of the Deponent's imprisonment, subsequent to his release from the said dungeon at Fort Wilfiam aforesaid, by him, this Deponent, from the verbal dictation of the said Miles Macdonell, who afterwards perused and corrected the same, and accordingly ihade the scvefttl interlineations and altera- tions appearing to have been made therein in the proper hand-wfiting of him the said Miles Macdonell, and di- rected this Deponent t6 copy the same as so altered, which thi^ Deponent accordingly did : And that the Paper-writing hereunto annexed, marked C, is accordingly one of the first Copies thereof so made by this Deponent, by the dirtction of the said Miles Macdonell, which said last-mentioned Paper; marked C, having been again corrected by the said Miles Macdonell, as now appears upon the face thereoty was ultimately ag^in copied by this Deponent by his direc- tion, and signed by the Deponent, and afterwards, as the Deponent believes, tran'smitted to Mr. Cuthbert Grant by the said Earl of Selkirk, the said Miles Macdonell having informed the Deponent that the said Earl was very well pleased with it, or to that or the like effect — That upon one of the visits which the said Miles Macdonell made to the Deponent during the latter part 6f his said imprisonment, the said Miles Macdonell informed hini one day, that it was the request ot tlie said Earl, that he this Dc[>onent should write a letter to his namesake at Nipigon, (mean- ing one Roderick Mackenzie, who was then in charge of the Post there), advising him to keep back the packs in his possession, a^ an indemnification for whatever the Com- pany might be indebted to him, as they were quite ruined, and that perhaps he might find a passage for them by the icay of the Hudson's Bay, but which Letter the Deponent believes he never did in fact write — That on or about the elcvenlU I. m s 74 I f day of October now last past, the said Earl of Selkirk came to the Deponent, liaving provided a canoe at Fort William aforesaid for that purpose, and ordered the Deponent to embark for Montreal, asking him at the same time, whe- ther he had written a circular letter to the Clerks and Part- ners of the North- kFest Company in the interior, to the same purport a^ the one which he had. been desired to write to his namesake; and upon the Deponent answering in the negative, replied, that the Deponent should give the said Miles Macdonell their names, and that he sliould write to them in the name of the Deponent, or to that or the like effect — And the Deponent, Daniel Mackenzie, for himself further saith, that the three several PaiK'r-writings here- unto annexed, marked D, E, and F, were also some of the papers which were so delivered by the said Miles Mac- donell to this Deponent, during the period of such his im- prisonment at Fort William, as hereinbefore mentioned -, the said Paper-writing marked D, being in the hand-writ- jng of the said Miles Macdonell, and the said two Paper- writings marked £, and F, being, as this Deponent be- lieves, in the hand'Writing oj the said Earl of Selkirk ; the two said several Papei'-writings marked D, and E, being drafts of papers, which the said Earl and the said Miles Macdonell required this Deponent to copy, and address to %he said Earl — ^That on or about the nineteenth day of Sep- tember, now last past, and whilst this Deponent remained a prisoner at Fort William as aforesaid, he this Deponent, by the direction of the said Earl of Selkirk, and the said Miles Macdonell, and other persons «i his employment, signed and executed several papers, of some of which the four several Paper-writings hereunto annexed, marked re- spectively, G, H, I, and K, are, as the Deponent be- lieves, respectively true copies, the same being res|>ec- tively copied from papers now in the possession of the Deponent, which he believes to be Duplicates of four 75 of the said papers "so signed and executed by him, which said four icvtral last-nK'nlu*ncd Papers so signed and executed by the Deponent, are at present, as the Depo- nent believes, in tiie possession of the said £arl of Sel- kirk—And the said Deponent, Daniel Mackenzie, for him- self further saith, that having at length, in consequence of such his implicit obedience and submission to all the orders and commands of the said Earl of Selkirk and the persons in his employ, been ultimately discharged from such his imprisonment at Fort William aforesaid, and feel- ing great regret and compunction at his havi.ig been so compelled to c'^ev"' Papers which might possibly be so highly detrim.. ' U to i interests not oni^ f the Depo- nent, but of the other Partners of the said North-West Company, the Deponent, on his arrival at Drummond's Island, which was the nearest place to Fort IViUiam afore- said, at which any Notary^Public resided, went, on or about the eleventh day of November now last past, before Mr. James Gruet, a Notary-Public, and David Mitchell, Esq. a Justice of the Peace, both resident there, and in their presence made and subscribed the Protest or Paper hereunto annexed, marked L, and that the repres,ci)tations therein contained, with regard to the influepce under which this Deponent was induced to execute the several Instruments or other Paper-writings therein mentioned, are in all re- spects true — x\nd the said last-mentioned Deponent, Daniel Mackenzie, for himself further saith, that during one of the conversations which took place between him this Deponent and the said Miles Macdonell, ^uring the time whilst this Deponent was so detained as a prisoner at Fort William aforesaid, during the month of September now last past, the Deponent one day asked the said Miles Macdonell, whether it was possible that the Earl of Selkirk intended to ruin all the Partners in the North-West Company ? who r£plied. No, only the I}eads of them, such as Mr^ fVillian\ l2 I" ! 1 il i a i r^ I m . f t 79 M*GiUiKrayf S'u Alexander Mackenzief and the Great Men at home conmcted with the Company; and that amongst ethers, Mr. Richardson must fall ; but that the Deponent had nothing to fear — And the said Deponent further saith^ that during the period of his said imprisonment at Fort William as aforesaid, amongst other inducements whici) were holden out to the Deponent to yield obedience to the commands of the stud Earl of Selkirk, the said Captain D'Orsonpens came to the Deponent one day, and told him, that if he would follow his Lordship's fortunes, he would give him a Township of ten thousand acres of land, provided he would procure four persons tc settle upon it, and that he might live happily upon it with his family — And the said last-mentioned Deponent for himself further saith, that the whole of the said Establishment called Fort Wil- liam, with its appurtenances, and all the Furs and Merchan- dizes whatsoever in or about the same, of the value, as the Deponent supposes, of from One to Two Hundred Thousand Pounds sterling, are at present, as the Deponent verily believes, in the sole possession of the said Earl of Selkirk. (Signed) DANIEL M*KENZ1E. Sworn at Notawasaga, in the ' • Province of Upper Canada, this 2d December, 1816, > ... ^-i •' before us, W. B. CoLTMANi J. Fletcher. , . ... ^^) ., . ... flhe Reader is requested to observe, that the words printed witjiin crot- chets [ ] were struck through with a pen in tlie MS.; and that the words printed in Italics, arc in the hand-wrriting of Mr. Miles MacdonelL] \sty [You D. M. K. as one of the Partners, represent ilte JV. W. Co. here at present, and being the only one, can act 77 for them mid yourself', tJu] . jill tlie Company*s stores and property here are at your disposal, and your sale of them is legal. By this, you can secure to yourself' all the money ivhicJi tlie Concern owes you, and keep tlie overplus in your jhands, until a legal demand, be made on you to pay to those who viay be entitled to receive the same. You cannot only legally dispose of the goods, and other loose property here, but you may sell the buildings, with tlie soil on which they are built, provided you can find a purchaser. J have been thinking that, as a Partner of the N. W. Co. and the only one here at present, that I can act for then\ and myself; that all the Company's stores cmd property here are at ifiy disposal ; that my sale of them is legal, by which I can sitcure to myself ^^^ '^ money whifih the Con- icern owes me, and keep the overplus in my ha/nds unt'il a legal demand bg made upon m£ to pay to those who may be entitled to receive the same; that I can not only dispose of the goods, and other loose property tliere^ but may also sell fill tlie buildings, with the soil on which they are builtf pro- vided I can find a purclutser, The provisions purchased at Mackinac I have been thinking, that, as a Partner of the North- West Cot, and the only one here at present, tliat I can act for them and myself, and that all the Company's stores and property here are at my disposal [property in Land J. That my sale of them is legal, by which I can secure to myself all the money which the Concern owes me, and keep the overplus in my hands, until a legal demand be made upon me to pay those who may be entitled to receive the same ; thsit I cannot only dispose of the goods, and other loose property here, but may also sell the buildings, with the soil on which they are built, provided I can find a purchaser. i| 78 [The Reader i* requested to obaerve, that in the following Doeumenti, B, and C, the words printed within crotchelK [ ] were itruclc through with a pen in the MS.; and that the words printed in Italics, are Interlineation* in the haud«writing of lyir. Mil«( Macdoiiellt tubstitatcd for the word* struck out.] (B) ■ Fort William, on Lake Superior, Sept. \S\6, Dear [Roderic] Sir, By a canoe that returned from near the Mountain Por- tage, you must have heard of the events that have taken place here. Mr. M'Glllivray, und all the Partners [that were here] including myself, were made prisoners. All the Gentlemen are sent down prisoners, to take their trial at York, U, C. as aidingy abetting, and instigating to mur' der. I only am detained here. The dreadful massacre that has taken piace in Red River, is the principal cause of all this. The N. fV. Co. is ruined beyond a hope, the packs will not go downy nor will goods be permitted to enter, the interior of the Red River being declared in a state of rebellion, hard Selkirk [who is here now] may soften matters in ypur favour, provided you will make a submission in time, and honestly own all that you know about the instigators of this horrid affair. [I have his Lordship's command to tell you so, and I would advise you]. / have heard as much, though not direct from his Lordship, and /would advise you, as your own, and the friend of your deceased father, to [sub- mit to his Lordship's pleasure] come forward immediatehj with some proposal, to save yourself' ^^^^ ^^e in fortunate half-breeds who were guilty of such e)iormities. You should also explain to those deluded [half-breeds] young men, wJtom you may savt, that it was the ambition of others that has [ruined] rendered us all miserable: this is the real truth. / am happy to learn that you endeavoured to save Gov. Sem-t pie's life : this is mttch in your favour, I have told his Lordship all that I knew, or could recollect, There is s^ 79 Proclamation by His Excellency Sir J. C. Sherbrooke, to detect all thuse guilty of otfences coromltted in the Indian Countries. I du not yet know what )u!> Lordsliip intend* to do with myself: the only advice i hav» to give you is, to submit. By Lettvrs and other Papers found here, too am- ple proofs are against us, of tlw part we l\ave been blindiyi led to take in tlie destnution qj' the Colony on Red R (C) Mr. Cuthbert Grant. " ' Dear Sir, By a canoe that returned to the interior from near the Mountain Portage, you must have heard of the events which have taken place here. Mr. M'Gillivray, and all the Partners [including myself] were made prisoners ; all the Gentlemen are sent down prisoners, under a strong guard, to take their trial at York, Upper Canada, as aiding, abet- ting, and instigating to murder— I only am detained, wait- ing Lord Selkirk's pleasure for my disposal. The massacre that has taken place this year in Kcd River is the principal cause of all this. The North-VVcst Company is ruined be- yond a hope; our packs are not to be sent down, nor will goods be permitted to go into the interior, the Red River Department being declared in a state of rebellion. By the evidence of many of' our oun men^ strengthened by that of Letters and other Papers found iierc, too ample proofs 1 fear arc against us, of the part wo have been blindly led to take. In the destruction of the Red River Settlement. Lord Selkirk may perhaps soften matters in your favor, provided you make your submission in time, and honestly own all you know about the instigators of this horrid affair. / have heard as much, though not direct from his Lord- ship ; and as the friend of yourself and your respected deceased father, 1 would advise you to come forward im- mediately with some proposal, to suv yourself and the un- fortunate half-breeds wlio [are] were guilty of such enor- mities j you should also explain to all these deluded young ; \ 80 I w I J $ ■i! 'V i 11 rttf n, wftom fou rtay see, that it was the ambition of others which has rendered us all miserable [(I mention no names). I am happy to learn, ns reported here, that you endea- voured to save the life of Gov. Sempiv : this of course is much in yout favour.] I inclose you the Govcrnor-Gencr«rs I'roclamation, lately received here, several copies of which have been sent enclosed from head-quarters to every Magistrate for the Indian Territories. I also enclose you n copy of Ijaw Opi- nions taken in England, on the H. 13. Charter, and [alio the Law] the Opinions of the bent-injormed Lawyers in Lower Canada, to shew you what small chance we have to go to law, even in the Courts of Canada, as were always held out to us by people who thought themselves wiser than we are. (D) [1 he Original of thii Document ii u'Ao//y iM the Amid-wriling '« Iblti. \ (Signed) DANIKLi MACKENZIE. Signed and scaled in the presence of Js. Gruet, Not'. Piibl'. D. Mitchell, J. P. William Smith, Witness. fif tht /ore- it it deemed No. XXIX. ler of the detained a ers, from during all derange- elkirk and s of Writ- of Furs, it to leave 3tween his Letter to jany were ed by hit he causes 1 hopes of , although have my me during Deposition of Robert AVRobb. Robert M'Robb, of the City of Montreal, in the Pro^ Tince of Iwower Canada, maketh oath and saith. That he was present at Fort William, on the River Kaministiguia, at the time of the capture thereof by the forces under the command of tlie Earl of Selkirk, on or about the thirteenth day of August now last past, and has a knowledge of the general circumstances of that affair, and which took place at Fort William aforesaid from that time to the period when the Deponent left the same for Montreal, which was on or about the third day of September following ; that the De- ponent recollects, amongst other things, that Daniel Mac- kenzie, one of the Partners in the North- West Company, was during that interval imprisoned for several days, by order of the said Harl of Selkirk, in a building belonging to Fort Willian) aforesaid, in which there is no window, and was afterwards confined to a room under the charge of a Sentry, in which latter situation the Deponent left him at the period of this Deponent's quitting the Fort ; and that one Miles Macdonell, and others in the employment of the said Earl of Selkirk, were, during such imprisonment of the said Daniel Mackenzie, frequently in his company; but that the Deponent dees nqt know what passed between them — ^And this Deponent further saith, that he left Mon- treal on or about the fourth day of October now last pasts M 2 84 H in company with Pierre De Rocheblave, one of the Part- ners of the said Nortli-West Company, for the purpose of proceeding to Fort William aforesaid, *1b take possession thereof, and of the stores at that place, which were then in the possession of the said Earl of Selkirk, in case of their procuring any legal compulsory Process or Order from tlie Government for that purpose, which Process or Order ■would, as the Deponent understood, be endeavoured to be procured by some other persons belonging to the said North- West Company, who were gone to York or Sand- wich for that purpose, and with which, if so obtained, they were afterwards to join the said De Rochcblave and the Deponent at Sault St. Marie's, on their way to Fort William; that the said De Rocheblave and the Deponent, with their party, arrived at Sault St. Marie's aforesaid on or about the nineteenth day of the said month of October, where the Deponent remained with the said De Rocheblave, in ex- pectation of the said other persons wlio were to join them with such Process or Order from York or Sandwich, until the twenty-sixth or twenty-seventh day of the said month ; at which time the said Deponent left Sault St. Marie's aforesaid, in order to proceed to Fort William, leaving the said Dc Rocheblave still at Sault St. Marie's, the said other persons who were to bring such Process or Order, not being tlien arrived — And this Deponent further saith, that during his stay at Sault St. Marie's, one Robinson, who was, as the Deponent understood, a constable, or public officer of wme such description, arrived at Sault St. Marie's from Vork, with some Process, which he was, as the Deponent also understood, to serve on the Earl of Selkirk at Fort William, and which was, as the Deponent believes, a Writ of Habeas Corpus for the said Daniel Mackenzie ; and that there was also, during such the Deponent's stay at Sault St. Marie's, a Warrant issued by David Mitchell, Esquire, who is, as the Deponent believes, one of His Majesty's Justices of the Peace for the Western District of Upper Canada, against the snid Kar) of Selkirk, and several other persons, either for Felony, or sonic other ofl'once supposed to iiave been rornmitted by them, in relation to their having so seized and taken possession of Fort William and the pro- perty therein, and which Warrant, it was also intended, shoulfl be executed l)y the said Robinson, on his arrival at Fort William — Tiiat the Deponent accordingly left Sault St. Marie's on or about the said twenty-sixth or twenty- seventh day of October, in company with the said Robinson, and one John Duncan Campbell, a Partner of the said le Part- rpose of )ssession ere tlien case of der from or Order red to be the said or Sand- ned, they and the William; vith their about the where the rCf in ex- join them ich, until d month ; t. Marie's aving the said other not being Jiat during lo was, as officer of tie's from Deponent rk at Fort kes, a Writ ; and that t Sault St. quire, who ,'s Justices er Canachi, er persons, [?d to have having so i the pro- > intended, s arrival at r left Sault or twcntjF- I Robinson, )f the said 85 North-West^ Company, (whom they were to leave at the Pic, on their way up), for the purpose of serving such Habeas Corpus, and executing such Warrant, but without any force to compel obedience thereto, having with them only the crew of the canoe in which they travelled, consist- ing of twelve Canadians and themselves, the three before- mentioned passengers ; that after leaving the said Mr. Camp- bell at the Pic aforesaid, and taking in his stead Mr. John M*Bean, onother Partner of the said North- West Company, they accordingly proceeded to Fort William aforesaid, where they arrived about three o'clock in the afternoon of the se- venth day of November now last past — And this Deponent further saith, that on their so arriving at Fort William, he this Deponent, immediately upon their landing, accom- panied the said Robinson to the house in the said Fort, oc- cupied by the said Earl of Selkirk, where the said Robinson going into the room in which the said Earl there was, ar- rested him, as tiie Deponent believes, in the King's name, under and by virtue of the said Warrant; and having com- mitted him to the custody of Mr. John Warren Dease, another Clerk of the said North-West Company, who was then near the said house, by commanding the said Dease to go in, and take charge of the Prisoner ; and immediately afterwards proceeded to arrest one Captain Matthey, and one John M'Nabb, who were then in other houses within the said Foit, and whose names were, as the Deponent believes, also included in the said Warrant — And this De- ponent saith, that in the evening of the same day, whilst the Deponent, together with the said Robinson and the said John Warren Dease, were in a room called the Council- room, belonging to the said Fort, the said Captain Mat- they came to them, and told them that the Earl of Selkirk had sent him to order them all out of the house, but that as it was a stormy night, his Lordship would permit them to remain in one of the summer-houses, in which there was no fire, during that night ; to which the Deponent and the others, having stated to the said C'aptain Matthey, that they were determined not to quit the house, unless they were forcibly compelled so to do, and that they conceived that he, the said Captain Matthey, being himself legally a prisoner, could have no orders to give them which they ought to obey ; the said Captain Matthey replied, that he should then make use of the means in his power, to enforce obedience to his orders, and immediately left them for the present — That about eight o'clock the same evening^ the said Captain Matthey returned into ^1 '*' 'I m m kK }'.■ 86 the rootn wfiere the I>eponent, the said Robinson, aitd Dense were, bringing in with him seven armed men in the uniform oi the late regiment De Meurony all of them bav* m^ muskets or fusils, and lour ol'them bsyooets fixed, and wtiich armed men the said Captain Matthey accordingly placed as a guard over the Deponent, the said Robinson, and the said John M'Bean, who had also come ashore witU them, and that they all three remained under guard, and, as> the Deponent conceives, in the charge and custody, or under the superintcndance of the said armed m«.*n and others in the same uiviform, who were from time to time sent to relieve them, until the Saturday fbUowing, being the ninth day of the siiid month oi November, at whicb time the De]x>nent left tlie Fort to return to St. Marie's-— That on Friday the eighth day of tl)e said month of No> vember, during the ]>eponcnt's stay at Fort Williiun as atbresnid, the Deponent and his party being in wat>t of provisions, he the said Deponent told the said lilurl of Sel- kirk^ that he understood that the said Earl was in pos.ses» sion of the keys of the North* West Company's stores, and requested that he would deliver them, or direct that they should be delivered to the Deponent, or give orders that the Deponei»t and his party sluMikl be supplied with such articles out of the stores :is they hiul occasion for ; but whidi the said Earl refused, saying that he siqtposed l/ie Ucponent must be mvare that th^ North- fVeitt Compunj^ knd no stores thercy or somewhat ta that or the like effect ; that the l^ponent thereupon told the smd Earl, that he the Deponent had heard of sonte transaction haiving taken |)tlaee Initween him and the said Daniel Mackenzie, but that he did not eoncetve that any sale could be valid that wa& made by a person who wm a jtv'utOHer at the time, and vchf^ kfjui iK'fH ioiijined in the eommon gaol,, and luipt hit a com* thtttaf utate of intaTteatiom ; that the saidEart tlM.>reupon answered, that the Deponent was totally misinformed as to> the facts; to which the Deponent replied, tltat he ka I hinwet/ been mt eye tuitttess i^' the said Daniel Mcu- keiLziti''s conjinementj and of the state hi which lue wu« elwutfit kepl„ until the time of tfte Deimnent's leoti to the Jiepom'nt that he Had to answer, or somewlkat to that or the like etfcct— That on the same day the said Kobinson asked the said Earl, in the presence of tlie said IX'punent, whether he meant to yield obedience to the said Warrant or not; to which the said Earl answered^ that he certainly did not ; tlmt the said Captaiu lVlatU>ey 87 also declared, during the Deponent's stay at Fort William as aforesaid, that if he had known at the tinie of their ap- proach to the Fort, wliat their errand was, he would cer- tainly have shut the gates, and not have permitted them to enter, or have got into a canoe and been off, and that the Deponent and his party might then have whistled for them — And this Deponent further saith, that finding that it was the determination of the said Earl of Selkirk, and the other persons who had been so arrested by the said Robinson, to persist in their refusal to yield obedience to tlie said War- rant, and that instead of being permitted to complete the execution thereof, by bringing away the persons they had so arrested, the said Robinson and the Deponent appeared to be themselves regarded as prisoners, being kept under the charge or superintendauoe of a military guard, as before mentioned ; and being moreover short of provisions, with which the said Earl refused to supply them, the said Ro- binson, and M'Bean, and the Deponent, left Fort William aforesaid on the said ninth day of November now last past, in company together, and returned to Sault St. Marie's, where they arrived on the night of the twenty-fourth day