IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I 1.25 IM 1111125 3.2 1.4 2.0 1.8 lll^ /a /. ■cM ^^^ ^^ "> :/ o / /A Photographic Sciences Corporation 4^ 4 <^ .S5 1. \\ JoilRNAL COMPANY, HaMTINUS, NEBRASKA, . 1887. i TO IHE MEM()R\- OF WILLIAM LEARNED MARCV A Dkmockat oI' TiiK Om) Sciiooi,; a Sta'iksmw Sui'JiRi,ATi vi: AiMi.nN ; thk Contkmi'oi} akv oi (i|- Cmiioux, Ci.av AM) Wkhstk l< : A M > III K Peeroi- Thk.m Am.; and, Best oi' Alt, THE Fearless and Uxco.mi'romising Defender of tite RkjIits oi- Americans A BROAD, THIS LIT fix V(.)LUME IS DEUICATKI) BV Ti IE iVUTIlOR. PREFACE, T IIOMAS PAINE savs, somewhere, that the last part o f a hook, to hf written, is the i)reface II e mif mild demeanor, though of savaj^^'e mood. Moderate in all hi.-, habits, and content With temperance in pleasure, as in food, (Jnick to perceive, and stront; to l)ear, ami meant For something belter, if not wholly good ; ■ His country's wrongs, and his desi)nir to save her. Had stung him from a slave to an enslaver."' — \DeSiription of f.iiinlno in Byron's Don Juan. " I did all 1 could to get free institutions Icr Manitoba. They have those Institutions to-day in Manitoba, and try to iriprove them, while myself who ob- tained them, 1 am forgotten as if 1 were dead." — [/.onis /\ii'/'s .li/ih-ess /o the Jnrv. " .\h ("lod 1 tliat gastly gibbet I how dismal 'tis to see The greu, tall, spectral skeleton, the ladder, and the tree." — [.-/I'Aw//. " I lad Don I'acitico been naturalized at Gibraltar instead of having been born there, he would have been not the less entitled to ' British Protection." '" ' — \^Sir .Uex(Vt(/er Coikhitrn. "Speak, Satire, for there's none can tell like thee. Whether "tis folly, pride, or knavery, That makes thi« discontented land appear Less happy now in times of peace, than war." — [Dffoe. i Tin-: lll.nah o/' Ari'J.. »" My cliaryes upon record will outla.st The brass of both his fpita])li and Idiub.' ' Ktpeni'st thounot,' said Midiael, 'of some past Exa^geralioii? Something which may doom 'I hyself if false, as him if true? Thou wasi 'loo liiltcr — is it not so? — in thy ^loom (Jf passion? ' ' I'a.ssion I ' cried the )iliant(ini dim, ' I loved my country, and I haled him.' '" -[/)/ii/n^i^Uf behvcftt Michael and Junius^ in Hyioiis I'isii'ii «/ Jiiii^nitnf. '• The watchhd caie and mtcreM <>f tliis (Idvcrnment over it> citizens are not relinquished because they are gtice, and humanity, will be demanded for them.'" — [ ricsidfHl i'lri^eliuui' s Mt'ssa;^f tc Cong)-t.^<, Di'icniher (■>, iSS6. " And the i.ord saiil to ( ain : Where is tliy brotiier Aiiel .•' and lie answered : I knuw not; atn I my brother's keeper? And he said to him : What hast thou done? The voiie of thy brother's blood crieth to me from the ^arih." — [iienesis, Cluip. /:■,, t)-io. The Blood of Abel PART THE FIRST. Ultima Thule THE BLOOD OF ABEL. Fart the First, TME NOHIM WES'F " This kiiij; of the ■.ulitiulcs iiccils .in cinjiiic fur liis ()|icralioiis." .. ^ [^/'lOffMO/ /if III, T m: most inipurtaiU |)li\ sii'al (lisisiini of ilic Xoilh AmciiiMii coiitiiKMit is tlu; 'Tcat (.(.Milr, 1)1.1111 \\ hull )ii strrlilu's fiom the Aictic ( )(:i';m, on the North, lo llic (ml) of Mexico, tMi the South. This plain i> hoiindt'd on tho \\'t.'--t 1)\ tlu" Rocky Momitaiiis, ami on the \]:i>\ \>\ tlio Appahicjiian M oiiiitaiii system, \v hich. iiiuuM tlie various names o f A Ijpa- ns ic, lachiau, Allcj^hany, C'atskill, Adiiouchicks, (irccii ^foulllai and White Moiiiilains, exteiuls aioiijr the coast of th( .\thint noitheily,to the water system formed l)y ihe (ireat Laki-s .md the Saint Lawrence River, north of which system the _i,'real plain, leapintj beyond tlie boundaries Nature has fixed in tiie South, stretches out, toward tlie ICast, to Hudson iJay, and South of that bav, in tiie dreai v, fan-shajjed deseit of noifh- crn Labrador, which country is honiuled on the Soutli i>\ the It is hardly exai^jxcration to say, that is. W'otchish Mountaii a person mi^dit walk throufjjh this plain, from the mouth of the Mackenzie River, at its northern to the Delta of the Mis- sissippi at its southern extremify, without meetin*; a percepti- hje rise upon the face of the countrx , Near the centre of ^ .1 10 ////; iiiAum or a/:/:/. till" hasm, h(n\ i'\iM", m a bout alitiidc ^(t^' iiort li. tlu rr i> a bread liiif oiiiilf swell, w itluuit aiiv drlincd fir>l. TI lis \\ aUM-Nlu'd. as ii is (.alUil, stalls fioiti tlu- i-asti'in slope' of the 1 I .aUi' Su|K'ri()r, K 1 IC K ' M ouiitams, and riiiis eastward, tow ai< a little West of wliirh it divides. Its rise is so L^radiial, that the unscietitilie ohseiv er eaii diseo\ I'r llie summit, oiil\' h\ the m-iu'ial i-iuirse of tlu' ri\ers, w hic-ji. di\ er^iii^- at this phut', lilvc the ii\iMs of Mdeii. tlow id a noitheilv or southerly di- iietioii, toward tin' Aielie ( )eeaii or ilu- (iidph. aeeoi diiij^l v as tlu'\ risi' to the North or Soutli of the suminil. It miuhi hesh:i\iui; the edt^i' of Inpei i>;)le to iiiia;.^iue I \\ o drops of rain falliii'4' upon t lie summit of this swell siimdtaiieoiisK , aiul paitiiiL; eompaiiv at the apex of its obtuse an^le; the oiu' to be borne s(Milliward. b\- the Mississippi, to the tepid waters of the (iiil])h; the ^•theI 1>\ Ni'lson Ri\i-r and Hudson Strait to t lie I id/en oeiM'i i>f the North. I' his terrei le wavi> o f d emarea- t loll w,«s onee belie \ ih 1 to be tlie track of the isothermal line of aL;rieultuie, in this reL;ion. Hut here bistor\ has i^iven the he to SI len ee. TI ie eountrx- luulb of the SS''^ ^I'-'JA''-*^" "^ latitu^le 'iiay, | )er- haps, be regarded as ihe linesi fur-produeinq; eounliy in the world It s rock \' sol 1 and se\ ere elimate render it unlit for ay;- ulture. The ten ilorv 1\ iii'-: south of this latitude, and notih of iIm I') th <1 e'jree. between the I \ oek V M ouutaius, am I tl le Si)lli meiidian of lonjj^itude, is a country bearing;- in its womb ^iant possibilities. .\lread\ a lar<;e porlion of it has been redeemed from desolation and sava_i;er\ by the silent, but tellini: labour o{ the rustic toiler. I\ite h.;s destined this to be the <;reat wlu at-j)ro(lucing country of the y^lobe. It re- quires neither the i)eu of a poet, nor the eye of a seer to picture a second Odessa sprin«^iny- up o\i the coast of Hudson Kav. when the beaten iiath of commeice shall lie belwi'en the mouth of t'.ie Mersey antl the mouth of the Nelson. In this country we inii^ht place AustriaTIuii^ary, l^Ui^land and Fiance; and ha\e left sullicienl teiritoiy for a respectable 77//; Mt/rni- ir/.'.v/-. IS I'lnpiic, The careful stiulfut of liist.ii\- will lu-vrr ronsiiiiT its (.-limatc as uiilitatiiiLj against its fiiliiic. Auv poison famil- iar with Ca'sai's ComnRM\tai ios will rcalixi- \\ hat chaiifxcs the scttlcniout of tlu' loimtiv, tin." iniltix atioii of tlu- soil, ami the introduction of' ci\ili/aiion ha\ c wroUL;ht in tlu' climate of ICuropc. Manitohi is in the same laliuideas tlu- southci"t\ part of I'>n;j[lan(l. ^'et the lime was, since the commencenu-nt of onr era. when .upland, t hen a cold and l>arren laml, was in possession of waiulerinj^ triln's \\ hi> iiihahitrd rude hut' ma( le of wicUcr and mud, I'lictcil in chistiMs oi hamli-ts. lil Indian tipis. One such theic was upon the sIkmcs of a ri\i"r bounded on thr ee sK les 1 i\ a trackless forest. 'I"hi ld\ii-I)in, or "the town on the lal \e, s \\ as calle*! L ontrast il \\ i'. h t he 1 oiivlon o f t t)-d.iv I'he pi i(k' of the North-West is its ri\t"is and lak these it licals almost an\ i-ounti\ of the < )ld W'oiKI. I'or the purposes oi this volume the description of oiil\ one of thesi- n\ers is lucessarv. The S;isk;nchc\\ an is ircoirraphicalU and historicallv famous, at once the K hine ami Tiher of ihi' North- \\ est. Its n;ime is eithei" a corruption of, or a deii\ ati\ e trom, the huiian wt)rd KissisUachewan, si^nif viu.u'. iu t he (.'ree lan- t^iiai^e, ''swift curreul." This river, like the Nile, has an u|)per course, consistiiiij; of two hranches. Tlie North luauch rises in (ilacier Lake, a hodv of water, ahout ten miles in leuj^'th by twoui width. King on the east s'.ojH" of theKock\ Moimt- ains, neai- Stdlixan's I'e^k, at an altitude of <>,,^|7 feel ahoxe the level of the sea, neaih the heij^ht of Mom\t Washington. The course of this stri-am is I^ast, past Mount Murchison. a point of land i^^-jSi) ivc[ ahoxe the sea-li'\el a trille hi>_;her than Mount Hhnu. Then, chan^iii^' its course to a more tiortheriv direction, it unites with the south hranch near lon^i- tudi' U)^*'" ij'. ahout \ z'^' iS' east of its source. This hranch is aliout 550 miles i.) lens^th, l()ny;er than the Penobscot, An- (.lrosc()ij^j;in and Mohaxvk rivers combined. Tiie south fork is formed bv the Junction of two little mountain streams, the !,■! I-' Tin-: IIIAJOI) OF Alll.L. Bow Mild I'clly. Ill fact, later cxplonitioii'- ha\c neail\- c-stiib- lishc.l tlie fact, that the liovv is the main stream ; and the other is a mere trihutai v. liow River takes its vise in a tiny lake which descends from a matjnificent glacier, and in a crronj:) of sprin<:^s in the vicinity. After its junction with the Belly it pursues a southerly course till it unites with the Deer Rixei. Thence it pursues a more easterly course till it unites with the north 1 ranch. The latitude of these sources differs a little more than two dejji'rees. From the union of the north and south branches, the nniin stream pursues its course for about 200 ir.iles. I'his course is North- East to parallel Sj'" i then the ri\ er,chan<^in|:^ its course, describes an '.x-bow, takes a gen- eral south-easterlv course to Cedar Lake. The lake is simjily an expansion or \videning of the river, which keeps its course to Lake \\ innipejj;', into the north-west portion of which it empties. In the north-east part of this lake the Nelson Ri\ei" takes its rise; and, after a course of 350 miles, it enters Hud- son Bay. This river is, by many f ct)st. At the session of the Dominion I'arliament foi- i'SS,|, the administration then in ])o\ver, under the Right Honour- able Sir John A. Macdonald, as premier, stood |)ledged l)efore their constituencies for an earlv construction of tlic road. The lailroad company was upon the ragged edge of bank- ruptcy. They could raise money neither in Wall Street noi- London, upon the company's bonds. If they failed in the construction of the road, defeat threatened the government. In this dilemma the \'an Bnren of Canadian j^olitics was e([ual to the emergencs*. lie resorted to what politicians call " log-rolling." His party, under !iis leadership, subsi- dized local roads, and resorted to "ever\ wile that's justi- fied by honoin"," — and some which casuists miglit ([uestion, — until they secured the grant of $30,000,000, taking as security a mortgage upon the road froin Calendar ( near the source of the Matawiii River) westwaril. The opposition character- ized the security as absolutely worthless, because the first one thousand miles of the mortgaged track passeil through, an unproductive country. Considering all tilings, the estal)lish- ment of this great highway was cheaph' purchased. What- i '-' I il P '4 >," 14 77//; nL(u>i) OF m\i:l. e\ei- faults he may ha\('(aiul faults he has in pi'ofiision ), the name of Sir I.)hu A. Macdouakl is forex cr linked with the consuinmation nf this enterprise. In 1S85 tiie capital stock of the road was reduced to $65,000,000. Upon this amount the ^ collateral in the hands of the government, which at four per cent, in- terest, pro\ ides for this. The Canadian I'acitic extends from Montreal 2,609 miles to New Westminster, in British Co- lumbia. It must he confessed (however reluctantly by us Americans), that the route by the Canadian Pacific Railioad has some advantages in its favour, as against the Union Pa- cific and Central Pacific, by Omaha and ()gdeii,to San Fran- cisco. What these advantages are it is foreign to the purjjose to enumerate. Hut the establishment of a branch road from the main line of the Canadian Pacific to the nioutii of the Nelson River, and a line of ocean steamers from thence to Li\ erpool, would be almost the creation of a Xew World in the North- West. What the Canadian Pacific has already achieved for this country there is not sjiace to write-of. It would be the oft-repeated story of towns sj^ringing up, like the Iv\- of Jonas; of town-sites playing the role of Aladdin's. Lamp; and, last, but not least, the sturdy tiller of the soil — the man who comes to sta\' — followineitv oiitoo scjuare miles. It is houiuled on the Scjuth by Assinniboia and Manitoba; on the East by Manitoba, Lake Winnipeg- and the Nelson river; on tlic Norlli bv the i8th correction line of the dominion land-survev into townships, near the 5=5th parallel; and on the West by the line of that sur\ev dividinj^ the foth and 1 ith ranges of townsiiips, west of ihe fourth initial me- ridian, at and along the i i i 1-5 meridian, the same being the eastern l)omidary of Alberta. This district is traversed by the Saskatchewan River, from which its name is ileriveil. It i~ sjiarsely settled, but is a countrv of immei.se resources. It contains the settlements of Piince Albert and Battleford- - the former located ujion the left bank of tlie north fork of the Saskatchewan about 25 miles from its union with the south branch; the latter upon the light bank of the same fork about 150 miles higher up the stream, at the junction with its tributary, the Battle River. Each of these jilaces is a sta- tion of the mounted police, so-called. Between these two stations, a little nearei" to the former than to the latter, is a bend in the river, called the elbow. L^pon the right l)ank of the north branch of the Saskatchewan, about 48 miles from its union with its fellow are the town and fort of Carlton. A line drawn nearly due South from hence, fourteen miles to the south fork, would intersect Batoche, a village, the nucleus o f a half-bi-eed settlement. About half-way betwixP these two places, seven miles from either, is Duck Lake. A proper 77//; MUn II- W'llST. 1!» uiierta fated to outstrip Switzerland as a dairy-lanvcrtu>i-(iencr;il wits empowered to appoint .111 lulininistrator ( so-called ) to execute the fiinclioiis of the ollite. The Lieiiteiiaiit-( iovui iioi's auxiliary coiuicil eoiisisteil of several |)ers()ii.s, not exeeedin^natin^ 1)\ ]Hc)clamation its name and boundaries. Such district was thi ereafter entitled to elect a memlier o f th e council A person tu be a qualilied elector, to vote for a member of the council, must be a male resident in <^ood faith, and a house-holder of atUilt ai^e, within tiie electoral district; and must have resided in such electoral district for twelve months consecutively just prior to the issuance of the writ of election. ^\ liens and unenfranchised Indians were excepted from the ititled above provisions, by special mention. Any person e to vote mioht be a member of the council. When the number of elected members amounted to twen- ty-one, the council was to cease and determine; and such members thereafter were to constituie a legislative assembly. The Lieutenant-Governor and council were authorized under certain restrictions, to pass ordinances for the gover n- m cut of the North-West -Territories. They were further '/•///; soiri II w i:sr. -M empowered to locate the ca]iital t>f the Ni>rth-\\'e>t Terri- tf)I•ie^, ami to chanj^e its location, in flieir tlescretion. The LieuteiiaiU-Ciowi nor received a vcarlv stipeMf $7,(KX), which was puid f)ut of the revenue fund of C.'anaila. The (Jo\ei*nor (of the Dominion) mij^ht from time to time, hv commission under the (Jrcat Seal, appoint one oi more lit and proper persons (not e\ceedin«^ three) l)anisters- at-law, or advocates of live-years' st.mdiu'^, in am of the pro\inces, to he and act a^ stipendiary ma<^istrates within tiie Xortii-W'est Territories, who should hold ollke during- pleasure, and who shoidd leside at sucii place or places a^ mij^ht, fiom time to time, he ordered l)y the (Jo\ernorin council. A stipendiary ma;j^istrate, as the name imports, is a ma<,dstrate w ho receives a sti pend, or pecumai y compensa- tion, for his official services. He is so tlesi<^nated, in contra- distinction of a justice of the peace, wlio receives no pay what- e\er. In the Xorth-West Territories the salary of a stipendiary magistrate was lisechhy law, not to exceed the sum of Jfi^^^ooo, Two of the the n mcum hents were the llonourahle Ilu^-h K ichurdson, who resided and still resides at Rei^'ina, ^Vssinni- hoia; and llonourahle Cliarles Rouleau, who lived at iJattle- ford, now domiciled at Calvary. .Alberta. ' Hotli of these "j^entlemen are law\ers of learniuir and Lfood standiii'r, as well as (i;entlemen of reco^^ni/ed aV>ility and lefmcd culture. Each stipendiary mai> r ()l)t;iiii moiic)- or property l\v false pre- tenses, oi feloniously receiving stolen property, in any case where the \ alue does not, in the opinion of the magistrate, exceed two lumdred dollais. Ci ises of aggravated im< I mal iiioiis assault. 3. Assaults upon females ( except with intent fo commit a I ape), and upon males under fourteen years of age. 'I- I' scape, or assiiult on magistrates. sum- ma In all the cases al)o\e named the charge was tried in a ry way, and without the intervention of a juiv. In all other criminal cases the stipendiary magistrate and a justice of the peace, vv it h the intervention of a jury of six, might ti\' any charge, a'^'ainst any jierson or persons, for anv crime. ,\ person i()u\ icled of any offense |)imish;d)le with death mii;ht appeal to ihc Court of C^ueen's Ui-nch of Manitoha, \\ hich li.ul jurisdiction to confirm the conviction or order a newliial. The pi ocedure upon suih appeal was regulated Iiy thi' ordiiiaiK I' of the Lieutenant-( io\ ernor in council. The (|uesfion of whether / not the common-law liglit of a defendant a^ to henig tried onlv u])on tlie presentnu'Ut of a grand jury, or coroner's infjuesi. in a criminal pio-.ecuii(»n, existed in llu \orth-\\'csi Territories was formerlv a mooted cpiestion amongst lawyers, jJut it was, in that historic year, forever put at rest. The (Queen's Hcnch of Manitoha, in an opinion full of that specious an.d plausihle reasonmg, w Inch intoxicates the understanding, anwe\er, would he foreilack- feet proper, anil the Kenna or Blood Indians. The former retired to the valley of the Alissouri. Here thev were dubbed " Blackfeet," by their new-found enemies, tlie C'low Indians. They are, by a second secession, now divided into three bands. These Indians are great horse-thieves. Thev are, or at least were, originally, Nvorshipers of the sun; and, like the Parsees of Persia and India, who worship the same deity, they ne\er bury their dead. Their number within the British lines is estimated at 6,000; but thi^ is a little uncer- tain. Of the Crees and other tribes, more will be said hereafter. The term half-breed, as used in the North- West, is applied generally to all inhabitants of a mixed origin, and ])articularly to those of a mixetl Indian and Caucasian descent. At the date of the formation of the territories they contained the represent- atives of fourteen civilized nations, and twenty-two Indian tribes. Marriages (mostly of a morganatic nature j uere con- tracted between the civilized men and the savaije women. The amalgamation of the antediluvian days was repeated. The son^ of Gocl seeing the daughters of men, that they were fair, took to themse''.es wives of all which they desired. The Scripture says, that there were giaiUs in those days. So, too, the half-breeds are a race of large, well-formed and power- ful men. Most of them are dark-skinned, though some of ^ Till': y( > R Til- 1 1 7;.s' r. 25 them arc fair. Tlicy arc instinctively travellers. If there is atiythin<.( in the science- of phrenoloj:^y, the half-hreeds of the Xorth-West must, as a rule, have a morhid development of the organ of Locality. Thcv possess many of the Indian characteristics, both as regards instincts and vices. One of the former is the ability of steering across the trackless waste of prairie and forest, and striking an objective point, without any knowledge, sa\'e a gener.'vl one, as to the lay of the coun- tvy. They are, almost exclusively, without education. They nearly all sigri their mark. Like the Indian, they enjoy a Sfood time, and are bent h upon navmg one wnenever ine op- th portunity offers. Most of the half-breeds are descendetl from either Scotch or French f;'.ther' The I-'rench half-breeds are, like their paternal ancesli\-, polite and hospitable. Harriet Heecher Stowe calls the Anglo-Saxons the Uouians of the nineteenth century; and adds that, like the Romans, we ices: and she mentions, as ex- over-ride and opi )ress wea ker r; ample, the Negro, the Hindoo, and the Xorth American Indian. She failed to mention the Irishman. Perhaps* before this book is closed the reader mav c>)nclude that there are others which might have been added to the list. For a long ne, perhaps ever since the separation of the North American colonies from (ireat Britain, there ha\e existed two parties in the L'nited States. This is not in- tended to apply to politics alone. In literature, eticpiette, social life, phiiosojih\', and even theology, there ha\e been the two extremes; On the die hand have been the people affected with Anglo-mania; on the other, those suffering from Anglo-phobia. Of course, all are not affected e([ually willi the one or the other of these diseases. Th ere are (lc!ad- cia 1 t stone, uj)on the Don I'acitico case, depicts this piixileged class in its true light, Tlien the ilistinctif)n between subject aiul citizen was even more marked tnan now To 1 •»e a mere subject of Rt)me meant few of the rights of moilern citizen- ship, except tlie onerous one of paying taxes, from which the citizen was exemj)t. The relative judicial rights of the ])r<'- \ incial subject and citizen can iiol be better illustri^ted th:'n in the trials of Christ anil Taul. The foi'mei was aj^i)rehended, twice luiiried irom one junsiliction to another; summarily tried, put to the tort ure, comlemned and executed all in the short space of twelve hours. On the other hand, Paui, the fortunate native of a free city, sa\ed his back from the tor- turer's lash bv the talismanic sentence: " I apjjeal imto Casar." Rome acquired her provinces through the double avenue of concpiest and becpiest, or device by will. Thus Carthage, Sicilv and (xaul were conquered; while liythinia, Cyrene and Egypt were becjueathed. After the accpiisition of any prov- ince the first thing which Rome sought was the destruction 1- ■ Tiif: X()irrn-\vi:sT. -ii of anythinj.if like political unity. She weeded otit, with a jeal- ous haivl, every hnpcriiitu in impcrio. The .Vchaian League was aViolished. Such a thing as a provincial senate was un- known. The few exceptions which existed under thecnipire may be characterized as mere umbrae parliamciitoniDi^^ — to paraphrase the expression of Tacitus in regard t(j one of Rome's client princes. Rome treated a conquered province exactly as the late Charles Sumner desired to treat the south- ern states of the American Union afj.er the vSla\ e-holders' Rebellion— like so many acres of huid, and so many millions of people. In the case of Macedonia, disregarding ancient land-marks, i^ome tlivided the pro\ince into four arbitrary and isolated fractions, forbidding the inhabitants of different provinces to intermarr\', or even to hold landed j)ropert\ in more than one; of the four pr<)\inccs. It was tiie usual cus- tom to give a province to a bankrupt i)olitical hack, in order that he might retrieve iiis lost fortunes with rapine and pillage. Such extravagances as characterized Hastings and 10\re, and excited the just condemnation of the civilized world, wcie the (lav's doings with Roman proconsuls. In the provincial go\ ernment of (ireat Britain there is much, perhaps, to criticise, but censure will be reserved f< tlie nonce. It is true, that in the frontier provinces of lltr nritannic Majesty the three functions of government arc not well-de- lined. Tiien, too, in the \orth-\Ve^t Territoi ies, I)v legis- lative enactment - oi". rather, b\- judical interpretation there- of,— the common-law right (if atrial by twcKe jurymen- is denied. The right of the defendant in a criminal case, to be tried only upon the presentment of a grand jur\', has also been denied to persons charged with the commissi(3n of of- fenses, in these territories by the same interpretation. As has been stated Ijefore, the right of a trial by jury has been absolutely dispcnsed-with, in certain cases, some of them ■"'Shadows of r.irliaments. L'lnhra ra^ns, shadow of a king, is the vigorous expression which 'I'acitus puts in the mouth of Casennius IVi tns.--[.'/;;;/., .rr., 6. / \ « 9 ' 11 >\ s ! 1 ;y. 28 '/'///; jiLooi) OF A hi: I.. offtMises of a -uni- niary maimer. At first blush, this seems almost like Oriental procedure; hut we should learn not to jutlii^e of thinj^s too hastily. The expression: Tryino^ a man for murder before a justice of the peace ami six jurymen, does sound ridiculous, indeed; and the idea of a justice of the peace (for the term "stipendiary marail, twelve apostles, twehe tables, .'ind there are twelve months in the }ear, and twelve siorus of the Zodiac. As the orij^in of the jury system is lost in the ob- scurity of the Middli' Aj^^es, it is impossible to j^ive atiy rea- son why the particular number twelve was ll\ed upon, aside from the fact of ma<>^ic in the fif:;ures. If a larstance. thai a crowd of rejj^uiators would seize uj)on a poor wretch, torture him into accusino^ himself of a crime, and ban*; him upon tliis confession, when if a rescue had been accomplished, and a jury selected from the same crowd, they wouUl have listened to the vapourin<^s of some pettifo^i^tjer; and closed the farce by accjuittino- the defendant. Talk with any member of a l)and of regulators, and he will plead, in justillcation, the law \ delay. IJetter summary justice to the guilty, than a farcical ac(piittal, or, "That worst of tyrants, an usurping crowd." Any western lawyer with experience in criminal [)ractice knows, that in exer-cising peremptory challenges on behalf of his client, in a criminal case, he does not pay more attention to nationality than to some other things, which the free- ma- sonry of the profession forbids mentioning. Thus is the ancient glory of being tried by one's peers de^^arted. The author is not advocating the abolition of the jury system. Far from it! But, as Judge Taylor has said: A great deal tuo much may be said of rights in-anted by old statutes and charters. \ i i 1 ^Hi \ :0fl ,'? ! i': \\ ■ 1 H ■ !< '' i i |)ii i i, "1 :'i "L I HI If * Miltoa McLaughlin, of West Point, Nel^r. ;i ''■ I 30 77//-; lu.(KH) or Aiir.L. Home (Icnicd lier (kpcndencics jitoxiiicial sciiiitcs. IJiit Euf^hitid ^i ants io Canada a parliament with plenary powers of lej^islalion. Rome extorted, In taxation, from her j)ro\ - inces the entire exjiense of licr home government. En., its all of us wlio studied geo<^rajih\ previous to the year of L,n-aee 1S70, know full well. The company was, by the charter, invested with the ownership of the soil, ant! with <;overnmental pow- ers within the region designated. Construed in the li^ht of its terms, and with respect to previous jj^ranl>, there were gra\'e doubts as to the ri«;ht of the company to all the territorv named; but ihcN' claimeii such right; and, as they grew rich and pcnverful, they as- serted their claim successfully. \Vestward of the territory originally named Rupert's Lantl was that jiortion of Ihitish North America embraced with- in tjie Arctic and Pacitic slopes. This was called the Indian, .ind afterwards the North-West, Territory. In the year 1821 the North-West Company was merged in llie Hudson Hay Company; and the government grantetl tlie latter a monopoly in this territory for twenty-one _\ cars. A new- license was granted, for the same period, in 1S3S. This latter expired in 1859. ^^^^^ ^^^^ company, paying no at- tention to that fact, continued to exercise the franchise, though possessing no special privilege in the premises. .Such war, the condition of things up to the series of events hereinafter related. The history of the Dominion can never be written without a large space is given to Thomas Douglas, fifth earl of Selkirk, whom Professor Bryce raidinii-\vi:sT. 88 iKll. as she pu rsucs her course with the ener•.;!•' LOUIS KIEL 'fy THE BLOOD OF. ABEL, Part the Second, REBEL RIEL. " In men whom men condemn as ill I tind so much of goodness still, In men whom men pronounce divine I find so much of sin and hlot, I hesitate to draw a line Metween the two, where ( iod has not." — [Jo'i'^i'iii Miller. Y, oris RIEL* wa^ l)()in OctobcM- 12, \^\\,\ at Saint ^^^ Hoiiifacc, Ruperrs Land, on tlie western bank of a small creek which nnis into the Red River fiom the East, a little North the site of the present city of Winuipejjf, Tb.is stream is called after that liistoric river the Seine. The stibject of this sketch was the s-on of Louis Riel, senior, and Julie ile Latjimaudiere.t The house in which the child was horn was a small, one-story, straw-thatched, log structure, containinjj; but a single room. A suvv-inill now stands about three rods North the historic spot. Lotiis was the eldest of ele\ en children, five of whom, with the mother, stnvive him. Louis Riel belonged to the '• Metis" or half-breed lace. He waswhat thcv call in northern Xew ICngland a French-Indian. * Pronounced as though sjielled Reyell, with the acceui on tht ia.-.t syllable, f The Annual Cyclopedia for 1SS5, obituary " Kiel," states thn* Louis Kiel was born lN47. This shows of what slufV cyclopedias are made. X Variously spelled. ■Mi 1 ^ I III i ] :'i ! i ! iij 1 f M '-, Ifi ..j^. ' Sf '\ M l\ ;58 71//: n /.(><>/> <}/' AjiKL. Kiel once told agciilleman in New York, that he had traced his ancestors from Sweden, successively, to Germany, France, Ireland, and, finally, to Canatla. The nil me, he said, was originally spelled Riegal. He was the authority for the statement that the Scandinavian form of the name was the patronymic Rielson.* Louis Riel, junior, was the fifth in descent from John iJap- tist Reckhill, (for so the name was Hiherni/cdf j, a native of I.imerick, Ireland, who migrated to Canada in the last decade of the se\enteenth century ; and settled in what is now the province of Quebec. Tn the year 1705 this John Baptist Reckhill, or Riel, at lie I )ui)as, diocese of Montreal, married Louise Cotia, aged twenty years, daughter of Francis Cotta and Joan X'^ ndon. Six sons were the fruit of this union, and they all bore the surname of L'lrelande. The eldest received his father's name Frenchified, and was known as Jean Jiaptiste Riel I)e L'Irelande. lie was baptized ;)t lie Dujjas in lyoy One hundred and Cwo. years thereafter his grandson, bearing the siime name, minus the De L'Irelande, left tlu parish of Ik-rtheir for the North-West. Here b ■ married a half-breed woman; and, iri the year 18 17, they had a son born and bap- tized at CrossiniT Ishmd. in the south branch of the Saskatche- wan, within the limits of the present district bearing that name, and near the seat of the l.wte Half-breed War. This child was nametl Louis, and was the father of the Riel of history. Louis Riel, the elder, was a man of ability and enterprise. He built tlfe first grist-mill, driven by water, in the North- West. I'he history of this achievement is re^iarkable. The streams of ^Manitoba were all either too large or too small for the purpose. The Red and Assinniboine came under the first head. All the tiny creeks tributary to these were to be classed imder the second. What was to be done? Farquhar called Necessity the mother of Invention; and iiis words have * Kiel's speech obj'.cting to the sentence. See the Bhie IJook. j A woid coined hy the autlior. lU'lUEL RfFJ.. 3i) ^' I tWI 1 crystallized into a proverb. The Seine emptied into the Red River at Saint lioniface, and runnini^ parallel with it, or nearly so, was another tributary of the Red called waters of the great river Eu- phrates int'' an artificial lake 1:)V a similar devise. He did it for the purpose of sacking a city, and slaving its inhabitants. The simple half-breed sought to give bread to the eater. Tlie name of the general is immorta! ; that of the miller is forgotten. But so it will ever be as long as mankind honour the destroyer of a kingdom above the benefactor of a commvuiity, and the incendiary more than the architect. As a ju'.'st Xapolon de- serves to rank with Justinian ; but the Coi/c Xapoleon '-tands in thg shadow beside Marengo, Jena and Austerlit/. So even in the case of so humble man as the elder Riel. It was as an agitator and partisan leade?" that he was chieily famous. The reader (^f the lirst part of this volume will recollect the absorj)tioii of tiie Xorth-West Company by the Iluclson Hay Company. The Hrst of tbese was organized in Alontreal, and was essentialU a French institution. The French half-breeds were linked to it bv ties of race and lan- guage. On the other Hand, after the union, the dcMninant company, which had Scotch ollicers ami was totally .Scotch, was ilislikcd by the French- Indians. They chafed untler its rule. It was an unkind, domineering step-father. The extent of its jurisdiction was doubtful, but its assunijjtions were great. It was the child of favouritism. The very charter to which it traced its existence, was the gift of an ignorant anil proHi- gate king, to a cousin who must be provided-for. The forced ' \ « 'I M i lis I '1 i 1 1 , f 3 i j 3 1 1 1^ 3 i! 1 .V ( \ I $ ml il \ d: 40 Tin: HUM) I) OF Ani:L. li \\\ M construction put by the conijianv upon its charter in\olve'l the ri*(ht to hnids in which the iMerry Monarch had about the same title as liad the Devil in kingdoms offered to Jesus Christ. The Hudson Hay Company was a (^iant monopoly. It inonopoli/ed everything, even the commerce of the coun- try. The half-breeds were free-traders. The American frontier was too near, and the opportunity for gain too great to allow of an\' restrictions. In iS-}..] the company issued an order threatening to refuse transportation, in its boats, of the goods of any person trading on his own accoimt. On the 2oth day of December, 1844, when the infant Louis lacked two days of being two months old, the company assumed the surveillance of the mails, and the right of searching the house of any person suspected of trading on his own accoimt. The French half-breeds refused to submit. The Imperial (ro\- ernment was invoked; and, in 1846 four hunilred sokliers were sent to Fort (jarry, the company's post nt the conilu- ence of the ^Vssinniboine and Retl Rivers, to preserve the peace. The vear 1S48 was the jul)ilee of political agitators. Pliilo- .*• . . . . ' . sophical ie\ (^lulionists, like Mazzini; jiatriotic r.^bels. like Kossutli; political iconoclasts, like Bakounine sprang up, of one accord, all over Euroj^e, like the armed men, after the sowing of the teeth in the classic tale. The I'ope fled, a fugi- tive, to Gaeta. Louis Philippe's throne crumbled and fell. The truth of vShakspere's words : " Uneasy iies the iiead tliat wears a crown,"' came home to the heart of every monarch of Europe. Vic- toria was no exception. In this year, of terrible experiences, all but sixt\ of the troops at Fort Garry were recalled. In the year i84() William vS;iycr, a French half-breed, was arrested, and iodgetl in jail, for trading on his own account. Three others were arrested shortlv afterwards, but were re- learned on bail. The elder Riel summoned his race to form a \ igilance committee, for their protection against the company. REHEI. HIKL 41 This vviis (lone. Sayer was to he hrouj^ht to trial on Ma\' the seventeeth, Ascension Day. On tliatday the half-hiceds attended mass, at the cathedral in Saint lie, riiface; antl then fifty (jf them crossed the river to l'\)rt (iarr\- Til ey weie ori^anized; and ready for fij^ht, if necessary. Major Cald- well, actinfj ji^overnor of the company, was otllciatin*^ maj.'is- trate, assisted hv one Thon an E n«jjlishman, imported !)}• Lord Durhaivi, for the purpose of hein^ employed hy tlie company. Before such a tribunal the defendant had small show. Major Caldwell <>raciously informed the half-breeds, that a committee of them would be allowed to assist Sayer in his ilefence. In response to this invitatiow Kii 1 entei"etrales protested, and asserted their authoritv. They could not co[)e with the rebels. Riel compelleil the conii)auy to restore to Sayer the j^^oods taken from him; to i om])ensate him for his loss, and trovd)le; and to j)roclaim free-trade thioucrjiout the colony, and Louis Riel, senior, and his swarthy baiul, had to thank the political fire-eaters of Europe, who made it neces- sary to recall the troops, in 1S48. From the houi of his tri- umph to the day of his death the elder Riel was the champion of his lace. Financially his life was a comparative failure. lie died in 1S64; and his body rests in the Catholic cemetery in Saint Boniface. No bard has sung the praises of this re- mar :abl e man. But, (lurmof the 1 ong winter evenings, nianv an aged half-breed makes the night less long with the story of his exploits in defence of his desjiised clan. Xear his last restmg-place the passmg traxeller mi Ih dit ause and littiuirU repeat those lieautiful lines from Ci ray's l-^leg\', too often tjuoted to need repetition here. V t \ 42 TlfE BLOOD OF Mi EL. W M 'i It is not intended to write anvlhin^ which may V)e called a life of the younger Kiel, a sketch is all that will be attenipteil. The author believes, tliat, before the reader closes this book^ its object will siitHciently appear; and a simple sketch is all that is necessary. Louis Kiel remaineil at Saint Boniface, from tlie date of his birth until the year i-Ss*^; and it was here he recei\ed the rudiments of his education. In narratinjjj the life of a lilstoric personaj^c, cute anecdotes are always in order; and woe be to the sacrilegious iconoclast who dares tt> declare them apocryphal. (Jeorjj^e Washinj^- ton's cherry tree, and Robespierre's wet stockin<(s will always be associated, the one with the name of the l)est, the other with that of the worst of men. Tell, man or myth, shot the apple from the head of his child. It is a pretty story; and, as with the nursery-tale of Santa Claus, we look back with regret to the first time we heard, that it was imtrue. We have no lo\e for the person who told us this piece of Inul news; and associate him with the man who first announced to lis the death of a dear friend. The life of Louis Riel, if it is ever written, w ill not be wantinii^ in these little anecdotes. It is related of him, that, at school, he was aggravated by another boy who wanted to fight him, when he said : ^^ Vou want to figltt. do you? Well, I will go and ask my father,, and if he tells me to fight, I will meet you." It wouUl be well, if every boy would adopt the same rule, providing al- ways, that each one had as good a father as had Louis Riel. The eUler Riel was far above his position in life. He de- sired to give his eldest son a liberal education. Hut his means would not allow it. Dame Fortime, however, raised up a friend, in the person of the Right Reverend I^ishop Alexan- der Tache, the present archbishop of St. l^oniface. This eminent prelate, and distinguished scholar f(nmd a patron for the boy, Madame Masson of Tcrebone, at whose expense he UEHEL lilEL. 43 ^ L J;s was, in the year 185S, sent to the Jesuits' college, at Montreal, where he remained seven years — initil the sprinjic of 1865. Here he conipUted liis chissical course. It is to he presumed that his school life was that of most students. One affectinjif incident is related of him. lie had a class- mate for whom he contracted a lastin<( affection. The attach- ment was mutual. It was like the frieiulship of Damon and Pythias; even as the love of David and Jonathan, amiahle ahove the love of woman. Ilis friend was stricken down of small-pox. The attack was sudden; and the form malignant. Louis refused to leave him; and could not he (lri\en or torn from his side. He remained faithful to ihe last, Ik-fore death the poor youth awoke from his delirium; and hade his faithful watcher a last farewell. VVMiatever may he said of some incidents to he hereinafter related, one loves to turn from their contemplation to this affecting incident in the school-hoy life of Louis Kiel. After finishing his college course, Riel remained one year in Montreal, when he went to Saint Paul, Minnesota, where he was, for a time, engaged as a clerk in a store. Archhishop Tache, in a letter to the author, thus hrieHy epitomizes the tale of his life for the next three years: " Me tried in the West all sorts of business, and failed to secure any success. In 1868 he came t)ack to his native land, and remaineil with his family until the trouble of I S69." Here we may he said to have passed the preliminary part of this little volume; and to have reached that portion of our work which hears less remotely upon the object of this hook. Now, reader, let us have a perfect understanding, at the threshold. No justification of Louis Riel will be attempted. If his conduct is to be condemned, the author will leave that condemnation to the reader. For the purposes of this vol- ume, it will be necessary to give a brief sivetch of his public career which began in 186,9. In giving such a sketch mci- tlental comment can hardly be avoided. But the author begs t 44 Tin: liLooD OF mu:l. n 1*1 the reader to consider ;my oiiinions imvvittii)ay Company had been to the North- West Territories what leadiny the Hudson Hay Company, ceding this \'ast territory, over 2,300,000 square miles in extent, in consideration of les> than $i,5oo,(X)0 of xVmerican mone}'. The. grantors reserved all stations and trading-posts in actual possession at the time of the transfer. There is, in this country, a tract termed the Fertile Belt. This helt contains over three .hundred mill- ions acres. 'IMie coinjjany withheld the title to onl\ one- twentieth of these lands, the reservation to be specified when the lands were surveyed and hlocUed-out for settlement. The deed alst) provideil that all land titles conferred l)y the compan\' up to May 8th, 18O9, shcndd be confirmed; and that the Indian claim, or title, should he liquidated or ex- tinguished by the purchasers. Considering all this in com- parison with the magnitude f)f the grantor^ claim, it looks like a small price. But, viewed as a matter of legal riglit, or even substantial justice, the affair has a different ;'p})ear- ance. In regard to this transfer, the people of the purchased territory were not consulted. They were naturadv anxious in resfard to the situation. At the session of the Dominion Parliament held for 1S69, in Ottawa, an act was passed providing a provisional govern- ment for the acquired territoiy. The Dominion act provitletl, that the colony should be governed by a Lieutenant-Governor and Council in which the people of the province haii no choice. In October of that year. Honourable William Jvlacdougall was appointed the first Lieutenant-Governor. Previous to this, Colonel Dennis had been sent out by the Dominion Government to superintend the survey of the lands ' 4(i /•///•; lii.oon o/' . I /;/;/.. 11 in Assiniiiboia.* Now the half-hrccdscl.iiinetl a certain intei- cst in the lands which were at the lime of Colonel Dennis' \ isit, not transferred. The reasonin<^, in snpport of their claim, vn as not bad. 'Die Indian rij^ht in the soil, was soinelhinv his vixen spouse who forbids him the house until he comes home sober. He alter- nately domineered, raved, w hined and bej^jj^ed. He extem- porized a royal proclamation which excitetl contempt when the fraud was tliscovered. He appointee}, Colonel Dennis his deputy, who, if possible, made a big'iijer ass of himself than his princij)al. Then the (iovernor orevv conciliator\ , and wrote Riel a letter, whiclvwas condescension itself. Finallv, meetin;:^ nothing but rebuff, Macdougall threw up his commission; and returned to Ottawa a disfj^raced and humiliated man. While this ^gubernatorial aspirant was knockin<;^ at the door of his inhospital.le province, the pi"ovince itself was un- dergoing a radical change. In times of political re\olution 'I li " I ?:•! \H TIfh: HlJKth o/' MiHl.. events crowd each other in raj)icl •succession. On the 2rjtl day of November llie insnrj^ents sei/eil upon Fort (tarry, tlie com- pany's post, at the junction of the Assinnihoine and lied Ki\ers. On the twenty-fourth day of that month a ])rovisional ;^overn- nient was orjura- tion of allcLjiance, \vas issued by the new jifovernment. This action alienated the ICnj^lish-sjjeakinj^ people, who were never afterwards fully reconciled. Wearisome details are not <;ermane. Only a few salient points will be touched upon. On the 22nd of December, Riel seized and opened the Hudson Hay Company's safe; and appropriatetl its contents, amountinjjf to a larj^e sum in cash. This proceedin<; has ])een denounced as an act of robbery, liut RiePs conduct, in this affair, will com])are favourably with the conduct of John Jirown at Harper's Ferry. A part)- of iJrown's men, led by .Mexander D. .Stevens, demanded and took Colotiel W'ashintj- ton's watch. After his capture, lirown was cpiestioned in rcj^ard to this affair, and stateil, in terms, that he intended to freely appropriate the property of slave-holders, to carry out his purpose; but that to enrich himself by plunder was not his object. Riel evidently had a like purpose. He intemled to make restitution, or force the Dominion to do the like, as a condition precedent to reconciliation. For he attempted first to negotiate a loan with the company. When refused this, he resorted to force. When he took the money a memoran- dum was left with MacTavish, the company's accountant. No one believes John lirown to have been a robber; neither was Louis Riel. iii:i\i:i. nun. 40 ICjirly \\\ the U'bc'Uioii, Kifl IkkI c;i|vtiiic(l I)r. Si'hiilt/ ;iiul fcrtv-fom ollici' ICnt^li"'li ^ptMUin^ C')lf these \N fte rt'le;i>«c'eeneleited i'lesi- deiit of the new pro\ isional government, with Thomas Ihinn, Secrctarv of Stati-; WiUiam l>. O'l )tino<^rline, Sciritaix' of Treasury, and .\mhro-f the hattles of Lexint^ton and Ihinkii llili. Certaiidy, if Sam- uel Ailams and [ohii liane(),ek were patriots, Louis l^iel and William W, O'l )onoiL:[hue mi^'ht elaim the namr. Cj) to this stan or .1 ,';/•;/>. for what foll(>\v>, the KmiIlts of the Half-breed Revolt inij^ht rank with Holi\ ar and Siure. W^oiild to God, and for their sakes, that the reeoid niii^dit stop here! Hnt the truth must he told. Alas I there is now to he related an e\ent wiiich has hecome sadh Tiistoiical, and historically sail. Amon^ the prisoners captured with ^lajor Boulton was a surveyor, who had been sent out i>v the Dominion jj^overnment, named Thc^nias Scott, an Ontario Orai'LTeman. Tids man, like many public characl(M"s, was sentimentallv one tliinj; and his- toricallv another. Ik- has >erved his purpose, as the hero of more than one dime novel. Scott has been {tainted as a mod- ern Leander the embodiment of chivaluy and devotion. it has been w ritten that Riel lo\ed Scott's Hero, and hence what \\ ill be related anon. lUn i; is not only with tlie novelist th;it riioma^ Scott has been ;i favourite, but with the '-o-called his- torian, that is to sa\. the ciironiclcr of the (ieiius I'loude. Mercer Adam sa\s: . "Thomas Scott, a young Kngli>!i-.speakin<;; Canadian, it seems had l)ecoiiio ulinnsiiiii.s to Kiel in Uie colony, l)y his somewhat ettiisive loyahy and a ratliei reckless disregard of his own life. As an ( )rangenion, the I'enian llai; on I'oit Ciany, to this sturdy Briton, was a hated symliol of disloyalty and an iiritatinj.; eml'lem of rclicllion, Scott's hlood boiled at the slight o( the flaunting llag. and lie became a bitter .md cut spoUen foe of tlu' Catholic usurpers of the government. Captured once by Riel, he refused to acknowledge his authority, and, escaping, defied it Cajilured \ second time, Kiel found him conlirmed in his conuimacy, and he determined toieek his spite upon him. lie ordered a Court-martial of his i)w n choosing, to try his victim, but took care to hear no defence, to allow him no counsel, and to keep him in ignorance of the crime of which he was ac- cused. He did not even know the language and pmpori of the proceedings that were taken a::ainst him. 'Ihe mock trial occured on the evenin.: of the ,^d of March. iS7o, an I la.sted a little over two hours. Its finding was fata! ; Scott \.as sentenced to be shot at ten o'clock thi- ne\t niorninL;." "The sentence fell on the incredulous cars of Kiel's \ictim, but was mi pressed'' by the grim humanits of the utter to send for a cleigyman. ( >n llit fiital morning, the clergyman — the Kev. ( ieorge ^'oung -secured two hours' re.spite for the condenmed loyalist, so as to obtain time to summon those who would intercede for Scott's life, or if unsucces ful, to jirepare tlie unfortunate * According to .\dam's syntax, the sentence received iheiv mpression. nEllEL null. for tieatli. No in'.eices-ioii iwailed; Kiel's W.m'V iifail w^:. vjluluiatc ; aii'l liis victim's death wa^ too sweet reveniie to forego it. Ai noon, in llic court yard of lori (iaiiv. llie rfvoltint; scene, tlie tragic horiui, t -nk pi. ice ; Scott was in v,.-y '.-'til .^liut down like a dot;, and like a do^ \\a> I uiud "■•• Professor Hrvce savs: "^\ilii the ohiect ai>]iarently of awin^' thi' o'hcr inlialiitants into >iil)n)ission, a <,'anadian named Scott was harljaroiisl)' shot hy tlic Moi.sd)rules, under the s^iiise t whom he had a personal grudge, "j AlexajidtT He<^<^ coiiinients on '.iic affair as follows: "( )h 1 shame on the spirit that prompt-.. i such an act ' Was Mercy blind ? I lad Justice fallen asleep, and Wisdom turned her hack u|ion the men who tims un- hesitatingly steejied their hands ni Mood ?^'\ I (jasiiiff fic-rv loinaiici-, ami lloral rhetoric, with .1 passiii; denial, let a few f ac N he lelated. Thonia .f s Scott appears to ia\e heeii a person of \ iolent |)assions, .iiui arliitrarv tenij)er. Like all of his order, he was lilled with lacial h.ite, and re- lijjious prejudice. He had once np hed, offered to allow Scott to return to Ontario on condition of never afterw ard- settinjj^ foot within the Red Ri\er country. This offer wa^ spurned, ant! Scott replied to proffered clemency with taunts of cowartiice, as he chose to term the conduct of the chiefs in spariu]f( the life of Major IJ(\ulton, a man of ecjual courage with Scott, and of tar ^i^reatei* prudenci'. He told Ivcpine, in so many woixls, that the halfdtreeds dare not carr\--out the sentence. 1 le said, fui"ther, that if released the first use he would make of his liherty w o-uld be to kill President Riel. I'^inally, at the expiration of a hrief respite j^ranted for spiritual reasons, the unsuhdued ()rau;2^eman was led out to his doom. Till the last moivient he appears to have expected a reprieve. W hen the .ed in all jijood conscience w hile persecuting Christians e\en unto foreitj^n cities. When Tliomas Paine was in the Lu\eml)our<^, in hourlv expectation of death, lie rememhercd \\ ith satisfac- tion that lie had puhlished an unclean lihel on C"hri^tianit \-, w hich he had j^iven to thi- world with an honest jiurjxise. There can he no manner of douht that Scott deserved a death more i>, incapahle of annihilation,'''' had rexerted to the people for their exerci^-e. So Kiel, as a rej)ie>-entat l\ i- of the people, w as not a rehel, not even a ie\ oluti'-uist. ( iiiizol's Hisluiv (if ('ivili/;U ion. ': : 1 , 1, J i ^\ I \i i ! M THE l)IJn)l) o/' MlEI.. But aside from that, it nii defend it wdieu established. There is much foice in this reasoniui^. 'IMie stronj^est argimient ajj^ainst Kiel's crourse w ilh ret^ard to Scott is based upon the plea of expediency. The shooting of Scott was like the behea(lin«; of Charles Stu- art. Tile act itself was just, thou<^h, j)erhaps, iUejjal and pos- sibly i'mpolitic. W'ashinjjjton condemned Anilre, and denied him even a soldier's death, doomin justifv tlie massacre of l^eterloo, Kiel was right in avoiding the occasion of an armed rising, bv concealing the boil\ of Scott. It is all the difference whose o\ is gored. liritons de- nounced Washington assevercly as tliey have Kiel. Had the colonies been unsuccessful, Washington would ha\ e been a condemned traitoi", instead of an immortal patriot. 'J'hen Would historians ha\e denounced the act of VV'ashington, as they have that of Kiel. Joseph Kiel, brother of Louis, in a letter tf) tjie writer. f, ^ UI'UUIL lilEL m iui(l«r (late of M:iy (}, 1SS7, Iacc of those chiefs, and of the youni:; man of 25 year>, calleil by his nation to the presidency of a yovernnieiii at il^ most critical moment; let him consider all the circumstances; and the i-ritalin;^ oppositicm made to them; and iu' will l)e astonisheii, that they exercised so much clemency. Ne\er did IJiiti'^h histofiaiis ess;i\' a mofe Sis\ phean ta-k than this same attempt to pfodtice a inailvr from the raw ma- terial of a h:irdened, a reckless thoii<;h intrepid riithaii. Riel comj)]aiiied, tliat, althouj^h he had ohtained free insti- tutions for Manitoha, he was foro^otten as thoiij^h he were (lead. IJut for thi^ one sad act, he would have lixed an hon- oured life, the reco<(ni/eil chamiiion of his despised race, and left ;i name scarceh' second to W illiam Tell. Anci \et his act was to he excused, if not justitied, and would liaw met with iini\ersal approhation, hut for the fact thatScotl wa^ an Orangeman. If it is ri<^ht, that the Muse of llistoi\- should castii^ate Kiel for his treatment of Scott, the muse should he im|Kirtial, just aiul etpial in her chastisements. In the words of Macatihiv : " Tiiere shnuld be one \veii;lit and one measure. I 'ociinaiion is always an objectional'Ie mode of punishment. It is the resource of judj^es too indolent and hasty to investi|;ate facts, and to discriminate nicely between shades of i^uilt."* l"oi' e\amj)le, Louis Riel is condemned for I lu" shootiiiL;' of Thomas .Scott, hut let tis insti'iice a few other cases. .\lexander, misnamed the ( Jreat, ordered a hole to hi' made throti^h the heels of Uetis. under the tendon of Achille><; and :i ro|)e to he passed throuoh the hole; and, with this rope tied to a chariot, he catised the hr.i\ i' ijerieral to he drau'ired iiround the walls of (ia/a, until he w;is dead, for no other crime than lovaltv to his sf(\ erei'.;n. This roval m;idman afterwards hoasteil, that, in this affair, he had imit;ited Achil- Kssay on I'yron. • S ' .*)(i Till-: Dl.ooh OF MIEI.. Ics, wlio treated Hector when dead, as he liad treated Hetis while liviii<^. This he-<^oat of Macedon, also caused I'ar- meiiio, the ahlest, 111 avest, most faithful and most conservative of his iifenerals to l)e hntchered withnut llie pretense of a trial; and without other testimony than a confession extoileii, 1)\' the rack, from the craven lips of his recreant son. Alexan- der tortured a philosopher to death who hail the coura<^e to tell him the truth. In a drunken lit he stahhed to death his lifedon<^ friend, the hrother of his own tender nuise. Con- cubina»j^e, (lruid! a Bourbon. \'et Napoleon founrl an apolojjist in a staid New ICnjrland di\ inc. In the M-ar i8.|2 Alexander Slidell Mackenzie, when in coi\imaiid ()( the hri;^ Somers, had on board a striplinj^, of eiijfhteen years, whose head had, ])roiial)ly. been furneil by readinj^" jiiratical romances. This boy related to a shipmate a cock-and-bull story about a conspiracy to kill the com- maiidei', to take the briji^, and con\eit her into a pirate. Fhe \aloious cajitain diil not deem himself safe until the bov Spencer, and two seamen, Cromwell and Small, were dan,^e, acioss the Atlantic. I'or upward of a half ceiitur\ this srlijiiue and de- voted man had laboured in the \orth-West. I'rom an oblate of the Immaculate Conception, in i«S.j^, lie had risen to the ejiiscopal di<^nitv. I lis people knew him; and tlie\ lo\ed him. Deserviuj^ and j)ossessin.ea. The Hishop came. At once a 'rue patriot, and a faithful slu'pherd, he knew that his peojjle IkuI \\ ronj^s. Hut true to that holy patriotism which the church inculcates, he had e\ei tauj^ht them, that the [)o\\ers that are, aie ordained of Cod. Kender \ •' !ii m 5H yV//-; /IUH)I) i)F Mi El.. to Ca-sar ihc things that arc Cu'sni's. Hut curbed l)i' he \vh<> iHimoveth his nci<;hb()iii''s laiul-niarUs. 'I'he Hi-^hop cauu' with- out any poHtical c<>iniiii^si<>ii in his potkL-t. ^'ct l^e broiii^lit \\ ith him int'iiioriiiiihi :inil Irttcis of an olHoial natmi', Thfic was j^ivni to him l)y the L aiKuhaii ^^ox ^i mncnt that \iu\\ rit- tiMi authority mo-i hindint^ ainoiij^st men of hononr. Smh as receiveil "greater promotion for •services less meritorious. lie was afterwards Deputy (^uai- tern)as(er (lencral in Canada, which j^ost he helil for sf\ eial years, hein\ erinneut re s'.lved upon war, (iarnit WOKeiey was selected to lead the Ihidsh forces to the captuie of loit (iarry. In this canipai^ni not a'shot was tired. \'et the c;ip- tm'e of any empty fort was sutVicieiit to earn foi wells ; and thus destroyiiiLj oases in th;it desert country. To char<4e him with \andalisin would he a libel upon Aleric and Albion. Sir (iarnet's greatest achievements have been ai^ainsi n;dps in the countiv. I'^rom its terms it could not be considered a war measure in aiiv sense of the word. R iel himself assi^tedin the printing and cir- culating of this proclamation; to show his lovalty he had hoisted the I niou Jack ahove I-'ort (jaii\. Oii the sugges- !l ! :i !! ill h (>i) 77//; iuj>oi) or Aiii:r.. lion of Sir (icorjifC' ICticiinc Cnrlici- In; was allowtil to ^ovi-rn the country from June _>}, iSyo, to the date of the occnpa- lion ui I'oit (inns' h\ (iainet W'olselev. W'hatex cr {lesiijns others may haxc had, there can l)i- no donht hut thai ihroni^h- out ''le entire (hdiiiihy Kiel liad remained steadfastly loyal to his sovereij^n. I le was actuated l>y the pure t of motives. Hefore the ajjproach of the troops Archbisjiop Tache went to Canada; for wjiat j")nr])ose was left to conjectme. Some said to olit.HU an amiiest\- for Kid, O'l )ono«,d)nc and Lepine. IJul when m the montli of .Aui^nst LCn<;laiurs <;<)reless cham- pion arrived, no amnestv was proclaimed. The trio remem- herinj^ that the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel, refused to trust the clemency of Sir John A. Macdonald. Wolsfle}' intended to come upon the I'^oit in the ni^ht-time, hut a rain prcNented. lie arrived the next day. As he entered the fort at oiH' door, Kii-! and his two comiades left a. the othei'. At one time the pnrsnier and jiursned were onl\ ihiee linn- dretl sards apart. .A fei r\ crossed the iVssinnihoine in means of a hasvscr; this svas cut, |)rol)al'ls- l>s Kiel, to present pur- suit. Kiel and his tsvo companions crosst-d the Ked Kisei l''rom the hanks of Saint Honifaci-, t he Sarslield of the North- West watched that capture of a j^arrisonless fort, svhich was to lift tlie depnts cpiartcrma^ter to be the (irst military hero of a lirst-cla^s ss ar power. The (piarlermaster svas elated svith his sictors. What the feelinj^s of the partisan chief weie can ncsi-r he told. Hoilbdil lookinif dosvn upon (jran:,da Irom tlie pass of the Alpuxarras svonld hardly fuinish a parallel. I Jot h were futritives, hut Hoahdil departed a broken and a mined man,svhile K iel, paradoxical as it may aj)pear, fled a sictor from the scene of his triumph. The trio turned their hoiscs tossard Pembina, svhence Kiel svent to Saint Joseph. 'J'he life of I.ouis Kiel during th.e next fourteen years ssill neser be ssiitten. its historv would be more tliveisitled than ihe roman,ce of (Jil iilas, and hardls less enterlainin;.^. i>ut it is not the task ss Inch the author has essayed. H Eli EL RIEI.. 61 f)ii tlic 2(1 of September, 1870, ArchibaM siu\ee(lei(l .1 IkxIv of two hundred and liftv nun. The Lieutenaut-( io\i-iiior ac- cepted Kiel's services; and leviewed his troops. IK- even prai>ied his lo\altv. lint how was that loyal! v repaid.- And how was the promise of protection kept? Hardly was the daui^er past when, in the i-ariy da\s of ()ctoher, a rewaid of ti\e thousand ilollais wasutfered foi the ancst of Kiel. The promised amnesty was never jirocl.iimed until April, 1^7^^ j^ud when it came it found Louis Kiel .:m outlaw, -o declan-d seven months hefore upon a judt^ment entered because of his failure to appear and answi-r an indictment which char;^ed no Offense whatever.* In the year 1872, an election was alH)ut to take place. The administration wcie anxious to ha\e Kiel out of the country. In tlic month of Fehruarv Archbishop Tache visited the ex- chief at Saint \'ital; and tried to iiuluce him to leaxe the country. Through the j^ersonal iidlueuceof the man to whom * I refer the reader to Appendix H tor the Ibrni of this iiidittiiit'iit ; and to- Houvier's Law I)ictii)naiy for an explanatiun of ilie nieaninu of •' Oiillawry." '»! !^l I! Ill* 77//; IU.ni)l) nr Mu:i.. I ' 5 ! lu' owed r\ fi\ tliiM<4. Kill was indiKcd t') iicct'pl, ;is an in- ik'iniiitv, f"»ii lumdifd p'»imds thrL-i' lumdicd foi hinisi'lf, sindoiic lumdird foi- his family — .ind Um\c I Ik- country. This he did ;)i()hal>ly with about the sa nu' thouj^ht as ju^ui tha left Rome. Tlu' MiMiiey received hy Kiel, at this time, has l)eeu called corruption money. If so, it reflects as little ctedit on the doinn- as upon the leceiver. IJnt Kiel's account of the affair, as well as his subsecpient conduct, sh(»ws that he did not so rej^ard it. I'or more than :i century American children have been tau^jlil to rej,fard I'auldin;;, Williams and Van Wart, the caj)- tors of Major Andre, as honest patriots. I»nt there is more evidence of their corruption than there is against Kiel. I'ublic opinion forced K^iePs return from exile, and he wa>- present at tlie election, lie" was a candidate for Parliament. His election was conceded. Sir (ieorj^e Mtienne C artier was lieaten in Montreal, by one Jette. Kiel was asl7| wi' lie. II" of him at \\ Ooiisockel, K hode Island, where he spent a week with an aunt. In tlie autumn of 1S7S we fnul him in W'ashinjjton, whitlu-r he had ^^nu' recom- mended to Major Ivhnund Mallet. A friend who s.iw him ahont this tiuie, thus descrihcs him in a letter to the author: •'Kiel was, in every way, a perfect peiil'.cmnii. He |)osses.seil talents fur leaderbhip found in Imt few men. lie was horn n liberator. William ' >'I5rifn now in Canada ai)i>cars to me to lie sucli a man as Rid was. He was one ol tluise most polite men I ever knew. His conscience was as lender as a sister ol charity's The man was not of the world He was like a monk in it; c.rir// that ho was like a true kni^hl when tlie i|iiestion oi the Meti.- jie.iple was involved. " At the time Riel came to Washiiif^ton he considere> journev. and the then ion- 1 1 1! ;> %■ '■' r«i i I 64 77//; lu.ooT) OF Alu::.. slant lahcnir of this enthusiast, was to wrest Manitoba from the Dominion. I'^xcessive toil, hittei' disappointment and Ljallinj^^ p(i\ertvso wr(ni}^ht upon his sensitive natiue that rr:i -in was ditlnoned. He had eome to Washin^jton with one tlioiisand dolhu's, the donation of a 'vealthv Canadian. In tiie space of several months he had j^i\en this, piece-me il, to ■• hUnd itahan hei(<;ar wlio sat daih' in front of the !*resl)vterian chnrch on Ninth street. 'I'lius was this hij^li-minded and <;ene:'ons patriot re- thieed at once to niathiess and pemir\ in a ''trainee citv. I>nt (lod jMOvided a friend. Kiel was possessed of the delusion thai he must die f(;r the .val\ alion of his laee. Major Mallet tooK forcible possession of Ids person. Hut lindinL; him mone\li-ss, he was compelled to bnrj-ow cash from leather Keane, now iiishop of Kichmon;l,t() rcMio\ l' the nnfortnnate North. Kiel remained for nineteen months at the IJcaiiport lunatic asvhnn in the prt-\ inee of (^iii.l>ec. I lis ailment was meij^alomania. This word is not fouiul in the dictionai ies. It is dcrl\ed from two ( rieek words, nu'oal(\ j^reat, and n/atn'a^ madness. It is a most pecuhar and deiep- ti\e form of insanitv. Its \ictim mi^ht easLl\- pass for a sane person amongst the iinobser\ ant. The perso!> atllicted with this niental disoiiler imajj^ines himself charj^ed w ith some *;rea'. mission and alt()<;ether a most important j^erson. Kiel was incarcerated uniler the name of La Kochelle. lie remained under the treatment of the medical ^uperint^ndent, Doitor Francis Ko\-. utuii he had recovered, lie vva> dis- cliart^ed from the as\ Inm Januaiv 21, iSyS, Doctor Rav found his ease a most peculiar one, and one reipurin^; careful treatment. To this travs the extreme stupidity and iijnoraiue of the writer. Riel was j)lace(l in the asylu'm b\ tlie pr(nivional '.^'overmiient, upon the certificate of UEUEL HI EL tij its cxamininj:; pl\vsiciaii. The laws tht-rc aio \cry strict to prevent the incarceration of j)crsons other than actual hniatics. Major Mallet of W ashin<(toii, considered him insane at that time, from actual personal knowledge. The oj)inion of this intelli<;ent Christian gentleman is worth that of one hunilred of Sir John .A. MacdonaUTs mercenaiv sycophants. On the dischar<;e of Kiel from Heaupoit Avshim hi- revis- ited Washington, and related his treatnujit, as an insane pa- tient to his alter ciro^VAnwwvK Mallet. Ilissi-cond sojouiii al the capital was less protracti-d. There can he little, if anv, douht, that his recovery was complete. In 1S78 he appears as a farmer at Saint Joseph, Minnesota, where he remained about a year. 'In 1879 he removed to Montana. Here he married a half-hreed girl named Marguerite Bellimense, by whom he had two children. The ilrst of these, John, was born May 9, ii>8j, in a prairie home on the banks of the Mis- souri. This son, though -' born in the Utiited States and sub- ject to the juiisiliction thereof,'' was tlie child of an alien. The father, with characteristic delicacy, had refused to become an American citizen while his term of banishment continued. Afterwards he ileclaietl his intention to become an Amer- ican citizen. In the m(Jiith of March, 1863, he ^^pp''*-'^' to the (.listrict court of the United States at Helena, Montana, and on the sixteentli day of that month he l»ecame a citizen. Levi Jerome and I^. L. Meirill (full C"hristi;iM name unknown) appeared as witnesses. Inuring the same year Riel lemoved to Saint Tctei's Mis- sion, abandoned trapping, b\ w hich he had gainetl a preca- rious li\elihootl, and settled d(;wn to school-teaching, under the direction of the Jesuit fathers. It was at this place tiiat his little daughter, Mary Angelica, was born, September ij, iSS^;. As the last part of this volume will be devoted to Riel, considered as ai\ American citi/en, perhajjs there is tio bcttt;r time tnan the present at which to estimate the man in the absttact. , , y ' 1 1 !! if 4 i it ^p ) aK 1 i ' ■j { w s 1 \ 1 1 1 ■;i|i|i <;<) Tin-: lii.non or Aiu:r. The usual method of v\ei than anv it has been the authorV gootl fortune to hear or tt) read. in: hi: I. ini:i.. ()7 I"' The truth is, that e\ery man ha> !iis separate indix ithiality, anil there is seldom ans' real lesemhlance between men of dif- ferent nationalities or even separate families. Two distinct ])artieles of matter can not till the same space; two distinct characters can not act the same part in the drama of human history. Could we apjiroach the Milky Way its stars would become distinct entities; the sjiace between them would widen imtil what resembles now a fleecy cloud would l>c a vast sys- tcp.i of worlds, or, perhaps, a myriad of systems, with almost inconceivable space between its rolling orbs. So, too. with individuals. \\c may see twi> men who ajjpear to be alike in every particular. Insj)ect them more closely and tiie like- ness departs. Alexander and Charles X 1 1. ; Ciccrt> and liurke ; Washington and Epaminondas; Clootz and Train, each and all, were men of distinctive individualities, resembling each other at a distance; but appearing unicpic in tlu'ir j>ersi)nal characteristics upon a closer inspection. Rochejatjuelein and Cliarles Edward were, each of thei n. relics of a defunct royalt\ ; while Kiel was tiie champion of a despised race. Kiel will, undoubtedU . fill a space in Can- adian historv similai to that of John IbDwn in American his- torv Yet \ ipoleon said that histor\- it but a sciies of lie^ vv agreed u{)on. John IJrown was an illiterate man of fe words, who, whalexer may be said of his judgment, had not about him one scintilla of seHlshness. Kiel liad leceived a classical education; was somewhat loipiacious; and was ;!ctu- ated, in main, In the mos t irenerous of imijulses The position which Kiel IS entitled-to m !iist(M\- aiK 1 h is relations to the government under wliich he lived, resemble those of Ethan Allen. \\o{\\ these men fought for the riglils of settlers to their laml; each contended against a horde of grasping land pirates who were fostered by ICngland; whose entire law of tenantry is but a bat baric relic of feudalism; eact was made a prisoner, and, too, while leadintr !■ rench aiiatlians against British soUliers. Each of these founiled a i«: :i \ -' . i it. I ■ I OH TIN: liijxn) or ahfj.. provincial or Male <^o\ crninciit, tliou^Hi not a nation. Rid contended for what was, not only a jnst claim, but a plain Ie<;al rijrht. Allen foM<^ht for what was jnst, but he met with force and chastised ''with twijrs of the wilderness" otbccrs, charjj^ed with the enforcement of the decree of a court. Hotli Allen and Kiel were siiccessfid. lint the latter died as a con- demned traitor; the other has been justly honoured by havinjj hts bust placed in the oUI hall of representatives as one of wo w honi Vermont deli^^hted to honour. Moth Allen and Kiel speculated with religion. Aside from Allen's peculiar reli- ijjions views, and his outra*^eous jjrofanity, there is little in his life which does not excite our enthusiastic admiration. R iePs j)iivate life was frie from vices. Vov one puldic act he has been condemned. L nfortunate, indeed, is he who, at twenty-fixe years of a»e, rises from the position of a {grocery clerk lobe the ail-but desjjotic ruler of his people. Hut fort- unate does he bci ome who, ha\ inuj thus risen, commits but one act of folly, j^reat lhou<;h that folly be. 'iMie Encyclopa'dia Britannica, in its article, " Ked River," devotes less than a do/en lines to Louis Kiel and his life work. It runs as follows: > ^ " At tile transfer of territorial jurisdiction to the Canadian government in 1S69 tlie lloisl'.rnk's, under a certain T.ouis Kiel, (son of a Frenclnnaii who had built the first mill on the Ke: '' The author of that name was Lhiist, who, Ti- herius, l)eing empoiei, h\ tiie Procurator i'ontius Pihite, suffered deatii."* Thus, witli a single dash of the pen, did the wisest man of liis day and generation i)ass In a name which it would he hlasphemv to compare with any name gi\en under llea\i'n or among men, I'v rants can make lawsfthey can hang, and they can crucify, hut the chroniclers wh(» record their ileeds can not make liistors-, * /'iicifu.u Aniiii/., .\l\, ./y. See, too, Carlyie's Kssay on \'oltaiie. i i .^*. ■< .ill H The Blood of Abel PART THE THIRD. CITIZEN RIEL. ^ Civis Americanus Fuit. i i.| .^ ' I if I 111 THE BLOOD OF ABEL, Part the Third. CITIZEN RIEL. " Is man lik*' a vegetable, a fossil, that he iiuinI belonj^ to a lied of loam, or marl, just as he happens to originate?" —[///(;// Hkttrv lira, k^iiri • .-. SALLr ST ami Saint I,,iikf haNc peipcliiaicd l\\ oi. lions, the i^reatcst of their kiiui. The one wa' •)(. "ii h\ a jmlj^c to ills associates; the othei h\ a j)risoi>er, it'i chains oti his hands. When the iiiiestion of punis' nent, in llie case of the Catihnian conspirators, was before th«. .\ )niaii Senate, Ca-sar adchessed that l)od\ . 1 lis speech on that occa- sion !•>, with the sin<;le exception of I'aiii's defence before Ao-ri()pa, the finest forensic arormnent on record. The great Roman began his address as follows: " It behooves all men, () ('onscript l-athers, who (lelil)cratL'Con(t.rniii>j doubt- ful matters, to he free from hatred, frieiulshiii, anj^crand pity." Tliiis doth it become one to Ik- who wcuiid speak upon llie case of Louis K iel This is no paitN panijihlet. The wiiter speaks as an .\mei- ican to .\mericans. ()n the lOth ila\ of November of the year iSS^, Louis Kiel, an .\merican citi/.cn, wa> hanged at Regiiia, in the North-West Territories, within the Kcain: of Her Britannic Majesty, foi iiigh treason against the crown and dignitv of the C^neeti of (Jreat Britain and Ireland. The * Sallustii l^ellum ('atilinarium, 1.1. II k t Pi 74 /•///•; jtijKih or Ml HI., i i I .ittciitioii of I'rcsidint Clcvflini'l and Sfcrctai y Ifayaiil was called to till- facts, l)Ut tluy rt-fiiscd to act in the i' attcr. The Secietary of State did not consider the matter of Milhciint nnportance to be inentioiie«l in his annual rej)ort. Was this inaction of the I'nited States j^overnnient jnstilied hy the facts in the case? The ^ohitioii of this prol)leni is the snhject he- folf us, • I- or the purpose of this vohnne it hoots little thai Louis Kiel was Catholic or rrotestani ; that lie was of French or «»f (jeriniinic, or of Indian, or of Irish, or of vSwedish extrac- tion; that he was patiiot, fanatu, iniposter or niadnian. l-'oi snch purpose, it matters not whether he he consiilered a John Brown, a Count Cat{liostr(», an Anacharsis Cloot/, a Don Quixote, a (Jeorjje I'rancis Train, or a William Tell. ( )ne proposition is heyond cavd: He was, at his death, an Amer- ican citi/en. That undisputed fact stamped upon him a tli^- nity which neither race, religion, character or condition could obliterate. Cii'is Annrica^ius fuit. Forget all beside. Whether it be termed a freak of Nature, or one of her laws of wliich men talk mui'li and know nothinj^, it is, in either event, a continucnisly recurring fact, that offspring do not par- take in ecjiial proportion, of father's and mother's character- istics. Though always resembling both, in a certain ilegree, the child will hear the likeness of one more than the other. Mulattoes show more strongly the peculiarities of either Af- rican or Caucasian ; Zambos of Negro or Indian; and half- breed of Caucasian or aboriginal. There are few exceptions to this rule. So il may be regardeil as a part of the law of Hereditary. vSome of the half-breeds of the North- West, from their fair comjilexions, Celtic features and suave de- meanor, might easily be mista':en for Frenchmen; while others have the physical and fnental characteristics of their S([uavv mothers. Even the educated Indian, whate\er his opportunities to embrace civilization, has, almost w ithout ex- ception, gravitated to the //// and the breech-clout. Samson i iTi/s/:\ iin:i„ 7ft Occom, the WhittlcKl of tlio forest, ri'tiiMu*uffalo is as inuch a thin^ of the past as the mastodon. Trajiper tales read like the stt)ry of K^omulus and Uemus. Most of the half-hreeds in the Saskatchewan countrv accepted the inevitahle. They settled clown upon the land which, as it was remote from civili/,ati(»n, iu» one wanted. It is a stranj^e l>ut true paradox, that [loverty is the father of propertw There can he no properly in air hecause there i>! plenty of it, ecjually distrihuled all over the world. It is a truism of the C.'ojnmon Law of I^njjfland, that there can he no piopeitv in water. This is true simply hecause, that, wherever that law has prevailed, there has heen plenty of water. But Eniijland's law of land-tenme and landed estates is the most comj)lex part of hey jurisprudence. Why is this? IJecause her territory is small and densely populated. Her people aie Iand-hun< (>/• Mu:i.. vvric imkMowu. Tlic only rcconkil l:m(l purcliJisc i> thcsali- of tlu- (loiililc cave as a Inirial-phuf f(M Sarah, lint tlu- sfi\ - ants of Isaac aiul (icrai stroxc for the posst'ssioti of two Wflls. So in the primitive «hiys of the Norlh-WcNl, hmd was ph-n- teoiis. To use the vernacnhir of the West, the half-hieecU "squatted upon chiims." 'J'hey cleared away the forests, tore up stumps; remove*! the rocks; ploughed the eartli, and made the desert to hlossom like the rose. After thev iiad huilt themselves homes in the wilderness, the coal-l)eds of the Saskatchewan wen- discovered to he profitahle. I'hen came capital. The res<»urces of the countiy, in forest, field and mine, hejj^an to ;ilK»i in lii^ h.iiul, uiorc tl'.,ii< he 'litl luit llu- wntfi' ix .inlici- piitiiiV,'. Al:i>. f"f tlu" jioor lKiIf-1»rc't(l I lie roiiltl uritlicr \vm\ ih'I wiiiV. Hr |)(tiiit»Mca\««: " riie i>e iplf lit lilt oiler ]iniv;iuc> of (nnada hardly kiu'w ilinl tiic ImII brccils li;i.| tiny jjf cvancfs at .ill luilil the '.•vo of ilio lelxlli'ii." I'hc hnij^iia;;e i-^ worthy the asinine doh wliti pinned the Utu-s. Did ni)t know I Why: lleean^e petition upon petiti7j; :iii<1 'I'll }i'ars thereafter, at the time of which we write, they were increased to five hundred men. Thus ditl the poor children of the desert .isk hread; and receive a stone. Tlie council, presiiled overlay Lieutenant -Ciovertior Dowdney, had rect>mmended theit claims. J?ut the orjeat premier ( for threat he is) heard them not. Pharaoh's heart could not iiave heeti harder. Alas I he was soon to L'arn *' how much the wretched ilare." Wheti the historv I mean not such hrd- cm /.!■:. \ nn:i., '^ liant partN pauiplik'ts, as Mercer AdamV really aMe work; \\ hell the history of the North-VVest rehelHoii is written, it will appeal', that few people would have borne what the poor half-hreecK eiuliiied. If it was rea.st.'' Kiel had entered the country with the purest motives. He- fore he commenced his constitutional a<;itation, he \isited the Missiof*!, Saint-Laurent-(irandin ; called upon Father l-'our- inond, who had in charj^e the missions of Saint Lawrence, Saint Anthony of I*adua aiul the .Sacred Heart, lie a^ked the ecclesiastic for his hlessinjj^; and e\er after attended stiiclh to his duties as a Catholic. lie has been charj^^ed with apostasy. 'I'he discussion of this question would be without the purpose of this xolume. If Riel tauf^ht the doctrines ascribed to him, he was, ne\ erthe- less, quite as orthoilox as the Nestorian, l*rester Johti, whose slranj^e career furnished the basis for so many pious letrcnds; and whose ui)toj)iau kiny^dom was tiie object of so maiiv pil- jjrimaj^es. Au indij^nanl coni;re<(ation left the church, whin that unworthy pastor, Nestoi ius, declaretl the Hlcssed \'iraiui(lt(l, but also nuich abused peoj lie. There was trcasun under the law. inth The author, presumptions as if mav seem, will take isMie with the liberal statesman, before the c1o>l. iUit, admittino- the truth of his propositioti, I.,ouis Kiel was j/niltv y 1 loimurablc lid- wnrri lilake, (Hunter, Ko>e .\ < o, Torontui, page 421. (in/. EN RlEl. 81 Nearly thf wliole country settled hv lialf-hrccds of thisscttlc- nicnt in iv*^S5 would be eniltraccd within the surface of a su- perficial isoseles triau«^le, whose hase would be a line drawn from Carletoii to a point a little south-east of (iabriel Duniont's C'rossinjj^, and whose apex would be at I'rince Albert. The distance from (iabriePs Crossin^ half-breed settlement aiound and near liatoche was called Saint Laurent. The wdiole num- i>er of half-brcids in the settlement in i8S^ was less tlian ii\e htindred, and the male adidts capable of bearinj^ arms numliered about sevents'. The little villajj^e of l»at(»che lay about half-way iietwcen Clarke's Crossiui^ and the junction of the two forks, a little nearer the former. The j^^eater |)art of the \illage was on the rJLjht bank. Here were the stores of Kerr Brothers and (ieorge I'^isher. I'pon the left bank were the stores of Walters and Hakei. 1< iel, Dnmoiit ind their followiii}^ to the nund>er of ab;)ut forty men, seized and loi)ted the stores. An account was kept of the ^oods taken. ShortI}' aftfi this outbreak the half-breeds at liatoche were favoured by a visit from Thomas Mackay,*of Prince Albert. This man was a vScotch-Cre^; half-breed of considerable intelli- i^ence who had iniolled himself as .1 Nolunteer for the sup- pression of the revolt. Mackay thus described his mission. lie said that he went to Hatoche: "To see if I could ptjint out to them I the half-breeds | the dane liiin !iy the j^ifts the land I lath won from him and Koine, 'I'he living axe, llio wasting luami, Rent fi)rt'st, hla/iiii; home. ' W'nile the lieiy cliief was speakinjij with so much emphasis and freedom, the w ily antl phlegmatic iJritish >py was drink- ing-in his words, which wouUl be rejiroduced in the court- room at Rcgina. The language of Kiel upon the occasion, as testilied t<^ hy Mackay, w a^ judicially interpreted as the growl which accompanied tlic tiger's jump what lawyers call a part of the ;-<•.> i^cs/ic. Onthe Jjnd of March Sir John .\. Macdonald, the pre- mier, received a ilisj)atch to the effi'cl that Riel aiul a gang of his men, numbering forty in all, had sei/.cd the mail-bags at a wav olVice near Duck Lake, and taken eight horses belong- ing t(» the mail-carrier; that they had j^lundereil several stores; that they were encamped at Duck Lake, and were threaten- ing Fort Caileton; that the wires were down betv\een I'rince Albert and Clarke's C the House of the unwel rossing. The next day he informed come news. The same day ^L'ljor-General Frederick D. MidiUeton had an interview with Adolphe P. Caron, Minister of the Militia Tacitus' Ann., Hk. II.. (> and lO. i iTiZEs mi: I.. K\ and Dcfcncf, ;iiul Icfl that iiijj^lit for \\'iiHiI[)C'<^, wIkmc he ai- livL'd (»i) Friday, the jyth instant, oslensihly on the routine of his department. I'pon the train l)elNveen Ottawa and W'in- nipe<; he heard of the battle of Duck Lake. Major Cro'/.ier, of the mounted pohce, wiih about ei^jhty of that force ann the ground at the Mght. The streu Cro/ier's left, where the Prince Ali>erf volunteers were stationed, and eij^ht of them fell. This was uniioul/t- edly intentional on the i)art of the insm<;ents, as they looked u])on a poliien)an as onl\' actin-^ in hue of hi-dutv; hut thev re^^arded the vv»lunteer as a traitc i \u the common cause. After tlrinj^ for hall an hour, in a hea\y f.ill of sn u>w, I t 1 )ecaiiie i\ ident to C'lc/ier that the half-bree Is were masters of the sit- u.\tion. riu" di^comtited Major ret ealed, v\ ith ji loss of fou'-. teen killed, and nine wounded. The insurj^ent- lost five killed. At Fort L "arlet(»n Cro/ier met Colonel Ir\ ine, with one hun- tlred mounted police. The old fort, whose surrende- had heen i)reviousiv reruse fi ui )on Kiel's denKuul, was ev uni ited anil I. led f> At its destruction it wanted hut two years t conijilete the first century of its existence. The police re- tired down the ri\ei' to I'rince .AIIkmI. The effect of this victory of the half-breeds was to arouse the liulians. Uattleford was l)esie«;ed by tjie Sweet (irass and Poimdmakei- hands of Crees; and the settlers were forced to dee ro the barracks, w bile the Indians looted their houses, actini<^ iJi.ir, whinn Mercer Adam styles tlu' I'onliac of the North- West, exerciseil a tacit dominion o\er all the various hands of Indians n: the \ii.initv of I ohlate fathers. I*'arfard and NLir- chard; John Delanv. f,n m instructor, and | like the tale of Hannah Dustii df Th ron«jjh tlu ciii\ alric coiidiut of tour half-hreeds, p;irticidarl\' of John I'ritchaid, th. est' po(ir women were savei at I'lo^ Lake, the om- which killed Indian A«4ent (J|uinn. That stalwart savaj^e ap- pears to ha\e heen tlu' leal leader of the movement. He ;iiterwaitls pleaded ^nillv of mmder, hefore fudfj^e Rouleau; leceived his sentence, and ju-th suffered the law's exfremest pena!t\ for his terril>le crime. T!ius have the salient features of this terriMe affiiir heiii u'jiven,, All allusi<»ii to it would Ikinc heen avoided, hut for tViv f-.vc<.,Oiat Kiel was charged with l)ein;_j res|.)f>nsihle foi' tiii> niass^iiere. These actusers are v»'.>out as just as weri' the : J H(\ Tin: lii.(Hti) or A/!/:/. i« I4iilli:int ^eniii'ated I'oundmaker to ^«) upon the war-path, ^'el there is plenty of histmical e\ ideuce of the fact. '!'he ethical propriety of a ^entleiuaii of Christian cul- ture insti^atinj^ a lot (jf irresp«)nsihle savajjcs to deeds of hlooil is a matter upon which tlurc outjlit to be hut one opinion. It is, sm'ely, a course of coi;duct whicii could only he justified by the nu»t intense pi(>\ ocation— soniethinjr as terrible as that which provoked the ne«ifi.ocs of .Santo Dominj^i) or the Sans- chulotlcs of I -jSi). Kiel had a bad example set, for him, by such elej;ant <(cntle- men as Doctor Schult/ and (Jeneral hui«joyue. The story of the former has been related in this volume. The latter was far more directly responsible for the muriler of Jane. McCrea than was Louis Kiel foi any outraj^e committed by Pound- maker's baml. Here, ajj^ain, one weijjjht and ime measine are conitncnded, f«>r the Canadian, the iMij^lisbman and the lialf-breed alike. It was out of the cbronoloj^ic al order, to speak of the fnA>^- .sacrc at Frog Lake, ;jt *h\s particul.ir tmie. Hut, leaving thf I iTi/.i:\ ini.i.. M7 cpi^odo, let the c;im|):n<;ii of Midilk'loii, or :i pait of it l»r rou- ^idcrcd. No military history will he .itti'inj)tf<)th Hatlalion. He arrived there the same day, and tin- j.Sth, 2<>th and ^oth were devoted to those preJiminaries indispensahle to a Ion;; march. Students lltlin;; for an American colle<;c usnallv read Ilonu-r's Iliad to the Catalogue of the Ships and stoj) there. I fear such would he the fate of this little hook did the author stop here to Vf'^'*-' *' f \\\\\\ |li|nH'J and was worthy of Ins sire. \ M r I il Tin: lii.ooi) or Mii:f.. l'" ICC I Click I). Middlt'toii ( ;i iiiiiiU' which souikIs well with- out a title) was th(.' tliird son of Major-Cu'iKial C'hailcs Mid- dlctoM of the rejj^ular ann\ . lie \Nas a native of the land of Sarslleld and \\'elliii<^ton, ha\ !/i<^ been horn at IJelfast, C'«iutJly Antrim, Noveniher |, x'^z^. The hid was cilncated at the Royal Military L'un}^' olliier received his baptisni of lire; and an eilucation in guerilla war- fare which was destinet! to dihtinjj;iiish him in his old a;;e. lie was mentioned in dispatches, and received a iredal. Aft- erwards, serving; in the Santhal Kehellion, he was mentioned in dispatches, and received the thanks of the government, lie look part in the suppression of llieSipoy Mntin\' of iS^y and i>S^<). Space forbids a minute account of his honourable record as a soldier, lie ser\ ed at the historic siej^e of Luck- now, with which every schooI-bo\- is familiar. In tlie \ear 1S61, at the lime of the Trent affair, Middleton canie to Can- ada, as Major of the .jijth, wheit' he remained till the with- drawal of tile troops from liie conntrv. lie lias I'eeeived many dci-orations and titles which . mencans ave never learnc'l to \ ahie. W'e believe, with IJuins, that. ''Raidv is bni the guinea's stamp," and-so-forth, and with I'itt, who saiil that Nelson would live in history as the greatest na\al liero the world had ever seen, and none wi. Married men, and widowers haviu;^ childven, Itetwicn the ;i};e>« of ^o an>uld be madi- ii|)(jn the next, except in case of a tjcneral lf\ y, in which e\ent e\erv cili/eu aide to l)ear aruis coidd l>e called out, 'I'he charactei' of Middleton's arms" has already been de- scribed, lie has been tersely and trtdy called *' the brave commaiuler of bravi' men." To this array of prowess and patriotism there was one melaiu'!n>l\ exception. If was ilir liirclini^- Initcher, the black sheep from the American Hock bought with Ilritish }<()ld by the (Queen's factor, Ad()l|)he 1*. Caion. Ob, shamel that tin name of ICnj^Iand's j;r«.at phi- lanlbroi)isl should be borne b\ ihe^houl with the(iallini; <^un. His dishoiU)ure(l name shall not pollute tliis paj^e. ICnjiiflish writers have delijjjhted in styliii'X John I'aul (ones a pirate, who woidd ha\e fou<^ht under the colours of the Dey of Al«jiers, as soon as those of his own Christian nation. r>ui the worst caricatui"e upon tin I'om'naiuler of the IJon liomme l<.ichar V] <^ /a ^ >> ox ^'^ *5^ J> '/ //a Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) S73-4503 iV % \\ •^^s ^-% ^ ■A u €n^ o^ -s^aaajitKij,:^ SK) 77/ A' 1UA)0J> or AHEL. k '■ \ |.f il I : .1 i 1 1 i ! t . 1^ them suffered has made the one a Byiotiic hero, and excites a pan<^ of jiity at the mention of the other's name. There is the same difference hetvveen the Thug with. the (iatling jj^un, and Arnold or Al]), that there is hetvveen a street-walker and the victim of misplaced-conrtdence. The only form of man, in fact or in fiction, which will depict the gladiator of the Saskatchewan, is the ^'ahoo of Swift's creation, ft was'the irony of fate which gave to the second century of our national independence the humiliating spectacle of an Ameucan citizen playing the ro/c of a Hessian. The (iatling gun, named from its inventor, Doctor Richard f. 'Jatling, is an American invention which came a little too late to he of much service in the late war. A description woukl consume too much s{)ace. and be foreign to the pur- pose. Sullice to say, that its utility for frontier warfare is no longer a problem of p3'rotechnics but a fixed fact. 7\ gun of this tlescription was procured [rom the Gatling Company, of which the inventor was president. A carriage-maker from New Haven was foimd to go ;dong and explain its working. This fellow is said to have been a soldier in the United States. If so, history has failed to record his exploits. On the sixth of April, Genera' Middleton set ouv with his army upon the celebrated march from Qu'Appelle to Ba- toche, by way of Touchwould Hills, the great Salt Plain, Humboldt and Clarke's Crossing, the last-named place being his objective pomi upon the Saskatchewan. The distance from Qu'Appelle to Clarke's Crossing is 177 miles. This march was accomplishetl in twelve days, being a trifle less than fifteen miles a dav, includimj halts. VVIien we rclU^ct, that Middleton's tnen were raw recruits; that the weather was inclement, it being the most disagreeable season of the year; that food for man and beast, as well as fuel for cooking, had to be transported; and when all the other draw-backs are remend^ered, Middleton's achievement appears wonderful. The nights were so cold, that the tent-pegs had (JTTZEN RIEL. 01 to be chopped from tiie ground with axes. Vef the scarcity of fuel prevented the, building of fires to warm the \)oox soldiers. " Why," says some indolent lounger, " anybody can conduct a march." No military man would make that remark. Han- nibal's march through Gaul, and his passage of the Alj>s have' done more to immortalize his name than the combined glory of Cannae and Thrasymene. General Middlcton arrived at Clarke's Crossing on the i6th day of April, and the main body of his troops two days later. It is worthy of remark, that, during the entire march, the troops were never harassed by the half-bieeds or their Indian allies. Lord Melgund, General MidtUeton's chief of staff, writes: " They [tlie half-breeds] never attacked a convoy, they never cut the wire behind us, and though Indians, and 'Breeds' are born mounted infantry, who can shoot as well from their horses as on foot, they never harassed us on the march." After some remark about the earliness of the season, lie adds: " It would seem as if they intended only to defend their homes against in- vasion : " * The reader would do well to rememlier this testimonv from the military secretary of the notorious Marquis of Lansdowne. Melgund may be excused for misunderstanding Louis Riel, whom even Father Andre calumniated in the missionarv jour- nals of France. But it will be seen, that Lord Melgimd's heart is not a stranger to generous and charitable thoughts. Two days after General Middleton's arrival at Clarke's Crossing, he sent Colonel Otter, with the troops under his command, to Battleford. This was because of alarming re- ports, received from that quarter. The general's description of t. e passage can not be itn- proved. It is given intact: *The Recent Rebellion in the North- West, Nineteenth Ct-ntury, for .Viigustt 1885. 41 iiii' -; I W 1 i 1 1 .■ i % »2 Tin: DLnol) or Ml HI. V '! " I now (Icteniimed to diviilc my small fmce and move down botli •lides of tlie river, owini; to the apparently correct inforniaticn I had received that Rial's force only nund.ercd about 400 men all told, and the knowledge 1 possessed that Lt.Col. Irvine had over 200 under him at Prince Albert. I commenced cross- inc,' over my left cohuiin, scndint,^ over I'Vonch's scouts and half of lioullon's mounted infantry by the two scows, wliicli were now in working order. 'Ihe second scow 1 procured from Saskatoon, the settlers of which place willingly gave it up fortlie ])ub!ic. service. I would here beg to draw attention to the work done I'y tiie troops toenaide me to cross this column. The scow had to be made watertight ; the wire rope spliced, taken over ant! anchored to the oiher side ; a jilatform and windlass erected on near side, to stae'ch the ro|)e ; oars had to lie made with axes, wharves constructed, roads built down the .steep banks to tiie water edge, whicii was completely blocked by enormou.s blocks of solid ice ini- bedjh hii^h prairie laml. The banks of the stream and the adjacent countr\ are cut by ra\ines, throuprh which-riviilets feed the mainstream from either side. About eiorht miles above Batoche, on the ri<(ht bank of the river is a coidec,'some fortv feet in dej)th. The bottom of the ravine is one-fourth of a mile in width, and heavily timbered. At this point ilie h;ilf-breeds, resolved to make a stand. Du- niont had planned to draw Middlett)n into an ainbuscadc. It was the snare with which .\rminius haddestioved the Roman ■■'■Report, Appendix No. 1, p. 3. ciriZKX lilEL. 93 le^ii^iis under Vaiiu^'. Had it proved successful, the li}• the half-breeds ai liatoche. It is not chiimed that in the w.n upon the Saskatchewan the advanta<^es were all on one side. I'ar fiom it I Thehalf- hreeds jiad tlie ndvanta<^e of heiiin' npoti the defensive, of beiu}^ skilled in prairie warfare, and of l)ein«>^ uiuler the lead- iTship of a chief whose ahility as a partisan commander has hardly been surpassed in the history of the woild. There were other advantaj^es, already mentioned, in tlie nature of the country and the ritle-pits. The Canadians had the advantage oi superior numbers; of arms, ammunition and artillery; of a ciMmnander with a va- ried experience in all kinds of warfare; of the moral force of an established fj^overnment at their backs, antl last, but not least, the (iatlin know where it is, and no shot shall l)c tired on them. I trust to youi liunov not t') put men with them. •' I'Ri'',!). Mn)i;i.Krii(in rem.iiiuiiii llie same, tlic prisoners," riu' i^i'iicral rc])liL'(l, that hi> troops would ccaM.- liiin;; wIk'U the ciR'iny lUcI, and not hcfore. After this Kiel's little hand of j)atiiots foiijriu with tlie coura«;e i^orn of des|)air. Ihit it was all in \ain, the havonet and the (iatlin^^ did the woiK, The \illajre was lanied, KiePs eoinu-il honse was captiiieil; and his piisoneis wen- released. The chief antl his lifiitenant escaped. The latter Hew to thi' I'nited States. Three davs, after \varil, Kiel surrendered hiinsflf to tw() scouts, Ilouric and Annstron^f, This surreiuler was made on the strength of a letter received from (ieneral Middleton, promisin*:^, in effect, as the 'general testified, protection fiom i^umediate violence, and a liial t)y law, ilononrahle Kdward J)Iake connnents as follows: "Now the Honourable Minister of Militia (Adolpiie I'. Caion) referred to wliat he called the evidence with re^anl to the letter of (Jeneral Middleton to Kiel: yet he did not satisfy ine that Kiel did not surrender on that letter. The statement ol Colonel Itoulton was directly to the contrary, and if we remember the whole circumstances of the case — the lime (ieneral Middleton wrote the letter, and the condition of things statedly the First Minister in one of the dis- cussions last ses!%ion as to papers — I do not think that is a fair inference fiom the evidence. Hut the llonourahle Minister said he would jirove the purpose for whicli the letter was {;iven, and he proveeiiiocrats, and ;'/(,■ i-er^i. 'I"he result of this is simply fri^dnful, Sueh a thing as gaining lair play from a judge ol adverse political opinions is not counted on in many parts of the I iiited States. This gives rise to a va- yes! 'l'lii> whole outfit will adjourn till to morrow morning.' " * Tliere is a plain, thoujj^h expressive, Saxon worti of three letters; hut it is more forcible than elej^ant. The writer dis- likes to use it, while the utjly monster almost forces itself upon l)i-> lijjs. Ilail he the style of a Juinus he miu^ht picttire, without naminjj^, a man whose heart could conceive, whose * Manitoba: Its Infancy, Crowth and Present Condition, jiage ,;57. I I! i I 111 •si' I W rii 102 rm: ji/jxn) of aiiij. brain could cn^ciuler, and whose liand couKl pen such fad- loss thiii-l be insisted that he is human. lie held an otlice whose tenure vv as de])eiident upon the ccii captiirod. But all of tlu-se, sa\c Rid, had been chaiLjed simply with treason-felony, a crinie pun- ishable only with pcrjxtual imprisonment, while Riel had been chained with hi*;h treason, the punishment of whii'h was death. The reason for this was so plain that he who runs ma}' read. Hehintl the scenes stood the NemL.is of Tiiom.is Scott. There were in Ontario two thousand ()ran old as the history of wrong and njipression. It has been the standipi; plea, the never-failing resort of despotism. "The great hiHus (aund it a convenient plea wIilmi he resorted the tii^nify of the Roman Senate, Iml desuoyed its indi-peiiUeuie. It gave coumenancc to, and justilied, all the atrocities of the Inijuisiiion in Spain. It forceil out the stilled groans that issued from the Hlack Hole of ("alcutta. It was written in tears upon the liridge of Sighs in X'enice. and pointed to those dark recesses upon whose gloomy thresliolds there was never seen a returning footprint. " It was thejiloa of the austrre and ambitious StralTord, in the days of Charles I. li tilled the IJastile of France, and lent its sanction to the terrible atrocities perpetrated there. It was this plea that snatched the mild, elocpieni and pa- triotic Camille Desmoulins from his young and beautiful wife and hurried him to the guillotine, with thousamls of others, ecpially unolVending and innocent. It was upon this plea liiat the greatest of generals, if not men, -you cannot mis- take me, — I mean him, the presence of whose very ashes, within the last fev/ months, sufticed to stir the hearts of a continent,— it was upon this plea that he abjured the noble wife who had thrown light and gladness around his immbler days, and, by her own lofty energies an eventful life. Upon this, too, he drew around his person the imperial purple. It has in all times, and in every aye, been the foe of liberty, and the indispensable stay of usurjjation. " Where were the chains of despotism ever thrown around the freedom of speech and of the press but on this pleaof statk of NECKSsity? Let the spirit of Charles X. and of his ministers answer. " It is cold, selfish, heartless, and has always l)een rej^ardless of age, sex, condition, services, or any of the incidents of life that appeal to patriotism or humanity. Wherever its authority has been acknowledged, it has assailed men who stood by their country when she needed strong arms and bold hearts, and has assailed them when, maimed and disableil in her service, they could no longer brandish a weapon in her defence. It has afilicted the feeble and de pendent wife for the imaginary faults of the husband. It has stricken down Innocence in its beauty, ^■outh in its freshness. Manhood in its vigor, and Age in its leeljleness and decrepitude. '■■'^' The trial began on the 2oth of July. The prisoner's eoiin- sel made an abortive attempt to obtain a continuance for the purpose of procurino^ testimony. One part of the testimony described in the application was a certificate of Riers natural- ization. An adjournment of one week was finally agreed upon. The question of citizenship was afterwards Jtolally ignored bv counsel and court. Thomas D. Rambatit, of tiie New Yoi k bar, has written a pamphlet of 167 pages. The oliject of the book is the an- tithesis of this. This profoimd writer takes the trouble to inform his readers that, preliminary to the trial of Riel, "No coroner's iiKpiest had been held nor indictment fotmd by the grand jury." What, in the, name of all that is mysterious, would they hold a coroner's inquest upon in a case of high treason! The hotly politic? Such ipiestions are fathomless for ordinary mortals, and must be reserved for members of the New York bar. On the 2Sth day of Jidy the trial began in earnest. Coun- sellor Osier opened on behalf of the Crown. The prosecu- tion called fourteen witnesses, who testified as to the affair at Duck Lake ami the battles of Fish Creek and Batoche. CITI'/.ES' lilEL. 1(|- Doctor \Villou<^hl))-, of Saskatoon, aiul Thomas Macka\ , of Prince All)ert, were the chief witnesses to prove the aninuis of Riel from declarations made liy him. (itneial Fiederick D. Middleton and John \V. Astley were the chief witnesses to prove RieTs leadership and direction of the rebellion. There was mnch documentary evidence, amonuj other thinj^s a letter in RiePs handwriting; found in I'oundniaker's.camp. No proper foundation was laitl for the introduction of tliis tlocument, its recei|)t hy Poundmaker not ha\in>j been shown. When Robinson came to sum-up the case for the Crown he made use of this lanofuage: " My learned frieiui, Mr. Fitzpatrick, must have forgotten n hat i> line to a prisoner when he clian^cd tho>^e who were acting for the Crown with some warnitli for not Iiavini; called I'oundmaker to prove the receipt of that docu- ment. He was good enough at the same time to say that those who were oor.- liucting the case for the Crown were persons who understood (iiir jilay. It was because we did understand fair play, because it would have been improjier tu have called Poundmaker to swear to that, that we di'l not call him. If we had attempted to put i'oundmaker in tlie box to prove the receipt of tiiis document we should have been asking I'oundmaker to declare on his oath his own com plicity in this rebellion, and Poundmaker would have said to us; 'I decline to answer your (|uestions,' and any judge would have said to those wlio acted for the ( 'rown : '( leutlemen, you had no business to put a man in tliat position.' Now that is our answer on the part of tiie Crown to the charge that we didn't call the prisoners to prove their own guilt out of their own muutli." That is to say, when you can not lay the proper foundation for the introduction of a document, von are entitled to |)ut it in any way. The Crown utterly failed to show that either Duck Lake, Fi^h Creek or Hatoche were within the Realm of Her Maj- esty. This was, probably, on tiie theory that Riel was a cit- izen of (ireat Britain, and, conseijuently, the pioof of a venue was not necessary. Several Crown witnesses testitied to RiePs abuse of jirisoners. This was in contradiction of Lord Melgimd, who wrote, that the half-breeds treated their pris- oners well.* ■ * Article in the Nineteenth Century., August, 1885. >u; '•■.! 111 J t-t ... I KK) THE liLOOJ) UF MiKL. When tlic CiDwii witness Nc^lin was l)einji^ cross-examined the defendant interfered in tlie nianafiff Jiient of ilie case hy his lawyers, ohjectinj^ to the plea of insanity. The court held, that once he had counsel he could not interfere. Counsellor (jreenshields opened on behalf of the prisoner. His speech is said to have been an elo(|uent and exhaustive history of the half-breed difficulties. The writer has never been able to procure a copy of it. For same reason the i^oy- ernment at Ottawa have excluded it from their published documents. This reason is plain and clear. The tlefcnce sought to show the state of affairs in the SasUatchew an val- ley, the lea of insanity. Rambaut insists that the preponderance of tes- timony on this point was with the Crown. The rule, that the greater nimiber of witnesses constitute the preponderance, must be something jjeculiar to New York practice. Counsellor Fit/patrick summed-up on behalf of the defend- ant, probably iu as able a manner as the testiiriony would allow. The prisoner was permitted to address the jury in his own behalf. The address is thus described by the Sprivgjield Rc-piiblican^xw the editorial, '' CV7« that he had asked the government for money, that he was going to sell the cause, 'Well,' I said 'this is a most extraordinary thing; it entirely alters the whole complexion of the case.' 'Oh, do not believe it,' said this gentleman who knew. ' Well,' I said, ' I have reason to believe that he has asked for the money.' ' Yes that is quite possil'le, he is quite convinced he has a claim, but flepend upon it, 1 know that it is impos.sible that he can have .isktd for money to deceive or betray his people, or that he would betray their cause. 1 know all the events, which occurred when he was in the provincial government. I know that at the time when he was in power there in iSoq-yo, when he had the resources of the Hudson Hay Company at his command, his own family was in a state of destitution, living down at their place, and he would not allow any portion of what he called* public property to be sent to them at all, even '.o keep them in life, and that same provisional council was obliged to secretly send down a bag of flour or something of that kind to his mother, who had the charge of the family, in order to keep them alive.' " " An Honourable Member — Too thin." "Mr. Blake — Somebody says, that it is too thin. I refer the honourable gentle- men to the honourable member for I'rovencher (Mr. Royal) on that subject."* Judge Richardson, in his charge to the jury, used the fol- h>wing language: " To as: ist you in your deliberations, let me draw your attention to some points suggested to my mind by the evidence. You recollect the statements as to the prisoner's appropriating property, and making prisoners of others simply because they, to his idea, opposed him in his movements. It has been sug- gested l»y the Crown, in reference to the $35,000, that it tends to show that this was all a scheme of the prisoner's to put money in his own pocket. Ik that as it may, one of the witnesses, Nolin speaks distinctly as to the 535,000, and on that branch of his evidence we have his corroborated by the priest I'ather Andre *This speech of the Liberal Leader is a masterpiece of its kind, an eloquent, exhaustive and logical exposition of the Kiel ijuestion. At its close there is no aspect of this awkward affair which is untouched ; and little remains to l)e said upon the subject. i I r 1: ' !■ hi i ^li I f i! I ito Tin: ni.oan or a/i/jl aiul further by Jackson. Tlicii yini have heard the evidence given by Captain Vonnj; as to the conversaliims he iiad with the prisoner. Witness afitr w itne.ss gave evidence as to \\ hat occurred in .March, at the tnne of tlie coninieiuenient of this rebellion, .'^onie of ihcni speak of the prisoner being very irritable when the .subject of religion \va.s i)rought up. It appears, however, that his irritability had passed away when he was coming dt)wn with Captain Voung, as we do not heai- anythintj of it then. Does tiiis show reasoning jiower? " '1 hen at what date can you lix this insanity as having commenced? The theory of the liefence li\es the insaniiv as having commenced only in March, but threats of what he intended to do began in December. Admitting that the insanity only commenced about the time of the breaking out of the rebellion, what does seem strange to me is that these people who were about him, if they had an insane man in their midst, that some of them had not the charity to go before a magistrate and lay an information setting forth that there was an insane man amongst them, and that a breach of the peace was liable to occur at any moment, and that he should be taken care of. I only suggest that to you, not that you are to take it as law, I merely suggest it to you as turning upon the evidence." * , i Such langu'tjTe as that addressed to the jiify froni the bench, would Ipe enough to feverse a conviction in any state of the Ainerican Union. It is not thi: fault of tlie judge so much as of the infernal Englisli custom (xf the judge summing-tip tlie e\Idence; that is, virtually telling the jury how to find. After recei\ing the instructions of the court, the jury re- tired to tleliherate, and while they were out the ]->risoner en- gaged in prayer in the bo.x. lie sat upon each juryman's seat, and prayed fervently; then he sprinkled the seats with holv water. In a half-hour the jury returned a verdict of guilty, with a recommendation to mercy. ^ Riel was asUed, as is usual, if he had anything to say why the sentence of the law should not be pronounced u})on him. He spoUe for two hours with much eloquence, reviewing his . life, and the grievences of his race. But, as in such cases generally, he offered no legal objection to the sentence. The court then addressed the prisoner: "Louis Kiel, after a long consideration of your case, in which you have been defended with as great ability as I think any counsel could have defended you * Epitome of Parliamentary Documents, pp. 211 and 212. CITl/.ES in El.. tit ■n- .ly A , vitli. ycm have been fduiui hy a jury wlio have shown, I mi^ht ahnost .-^ay. ui\- cxampleil patience, giiihy ol n crime, tlie im)si i)ernicii)Ui ami t;rcalest that nuiii can cunniiit; you have been found guihy of hi^h treason, you have hoeu provcaskatclu'«an country, managed to arouse the In- dians and have i)roiight ruin and misery to many families wlioin if you had simply left alone, were in comfort and many of them were on the road to atllu eiice. For what you did, the remarks you have made form no excuse w hatever ; for what you have done the la\\ rei|uiies you to answer. " It i> true tliat tlie jury in merciful consideration, have asUed Iler Majesty to give your case such merciful consitieration as she can hestow upon it. I had almost forgotten that those who are defending you have placed in my iiands a notice that tiie objection which they raised at the opening of the court must not lie forgotten from the records, in order that, if they >ee lit, they may raise the (luestion in the proper ].>lace. \ .at has been done ; but in spite of that ! can not hold out any hope to you that you will succeed in getting entirely free, or that Her Majesty will, after what you have been the cause of doing, open her hand of clemency to you. For me, i h.ive only one more duty to jierforni ; that is, to tell you what the .sentence of the law is upon you. I have, as I nuist, given time to enable yourcaseto be heard. All I can suggest or jidvise you is to pre- pare to meet your end ; that is all the advice or suggestion I can offer. It is my jiainful duty to pass the sentence of the court upon you, and that is that you be taken now from here to the police guard room at Kegina, which is the jail and place from whence you came, and that you be kept there till the i^>th of .Sep- tember next, and on the iSth of September next you be taken to the place a]>- pointed for your execution and there be hanged by the neck till you are dead. .\nd may f jod have mercy on your soul I"- ..V friend of Ricl writes the atilhor, on this part of the trial : " The judge's sentence was accompanied by remarks so brutal that they have been .suppresJied from the ofticial record. See the reports of the contemporary press." • After the condemnatic^n of Riel an appeal was taken to the eoiirt of Queen's Hench of Manitoba. The errors assigned were it! siil)stance: I. That the hiw giving a stipendiary magistrate, with a jus- tice of the peace, and a jury of six power to try a prisoner was contrary to J/rt-i^v/a Charta. II. Tiiat the law required the information to he taken he- . * (^ueen v. Riel, page i66. ■ ')4i /' ' I'll ! i I MH i 112 77//; II LOO I) OF Altr.L. fore a stipendiary magistrate ami a justice of the peace, in- stead of the stipendiary alone. III. That the law re(iuirtHl the niaj^istrate to take the testi- mony in wiitinji; and a short-hand reporter's notes were not a compliance with the statute. IV. Tliat the evidence was insufficient. V. That the powers of the Dominion Parliament were (lelefijated, not plenary; and their act was ultra vires. John S. Ewart, I'rancis X. Lemieux and Charles Fit/pat- rick appeared for Riel. His counsel demanded, that he l)e hroujjjlit to VVinnij)eg, to he present in court, while the appeal was heard, Init this iei|uest was denied. Messrs. Robinson, Osier and Aikens, Queen's Counsellors, appeared for the Crown. 'J'he conviction was sustained, "^rhis ojjiiiion was delivered upon the 9th of September, just nine days before the fatal day. The judjjes, Wallbridsane upon tliat one. This is monomania, a species of insanity reco<^ni/ed in the days of ShaUspere and Cervantes. Every one knows the story related in the secoml })art of Don (Quixote of the licentiate of O-^suna, confincil by his friends in the mad-house at Seville. He was belicNed to have been restored to reason, but, as he was Ieavin«j the asy- lum, in a discomse with a fellow patient, he betrayed the con- dition of the unrestored madman. I'he only testimony of any even apparent value to the sanity of Riel was that of Doctor Jukes. This ^jentleman, in effect, stated that Riel was insane on "jjurely reli ii'ivv tlii^- lcatiue'< «)rthe Ciiiie that liave lllo^l iiitercAt for lite siii • lent of |i()litical st'ioncc, \vc notice, in the lir<«t plaic, tliat nltlion^h the alVidavit of indii'inicnt wa>i evidently pie|iai»'d lu meet llic nlinciidn tli.il Kiel was a nat\nali/i(i Ainciican lili/cn, and tlicittuic no ^utijicl of the <^>ufi'n, tlic coun- sel on i'otli sides omitted all refrrcnce to this fact. It seems to lie generally helieved tliat Kiel was nnturnli/cd duiinj; his residence in the I'nited States If lliis 1)C true, tiierc can l>e no doul'i tli \t he ci-ascd ti> \»- a Mritisli suliject. The eticct ot natiirnli/ati(|ue.stion between tiie I'.n^lish and Amer- ican ^uveiiiments, was delmitely settlvd l>y tlie treaty of iSyn. Kit! was ac- cordin;;ly eiiiitleii lo the same protection which would be due in like case to n native citi/en of the I nited States. When ii hccanii evident that Kiel was ai)oMt tn l)e executed under sentence of the Canadian court, the rnilcd States i;overnment was asketl to interfere in his behalf on ac>ount of his American citi/enshi)) aci|uired during Ills rtsidime in Montana. In this matltr, Major lidmond Mallet of Washin^jton, I >. ( '., acted for Kiel. He lias \erykinilly wriuen nic a letter, in which he ^ucciiu ily narrates his ellorts in.Kiel -, behalf, and the position taken by our t;overnment. He says: '1 lits-t consulted .Mr JJnyard, and he look this position substantially: ," ' I. '1 hat it w.is not the duly of ihe government to ini|uire into the fact of l\iol"s .\inerican citi/en.ship; and, '"J. I iial the i;overnnicni covdd not interfere even if he was mi .\inerican citi/en, either natural or adopted. If a case was brought to the attention of hi- department, it would be examined into; but under no circumstances could the L;overninent, he thout;ht, inlerfeie uidess it was shown conclusively that lie had been discriniinated against iKirini,' his trial by reason of his .\merican citi/( n- .ship. "Wlien it became apparent to me llial the Canadian government had com- mitted itself to the execution of Kiel, under the pressure brought to bear upon it by the ( (range lodges of ( »ntario, I went to the President and appealcil to him to prevent this judicial murder. I based my appeal on the loUowing [grounds]: "I. That Kiel was an American citi/en; that he had been indicted as a liritish citi/en, his American citizenship having been entirely ignored, allhougl; offer had been made to prove the fact by documents captured at the battle of iiatoclie, and then in the (.'anadian government's hands; and that he had been tried by a half jury of six men selected by the judge, and that judge was a mere justice ol the peace. " 2. That Kiel was insane, — and I offered testimony to that efTect, — and " 3. I'hat the authority to put a human being to deatli for any cause what- 1' W I i I i 116 /■///; iiiA)()i> or Mii:i. '1 1 f i "1 HI'' Sili ni soever is aol inlicrent in government, but is delcfjaled from C'khI, and that sucli delegated power can be exercised only in certain lomlitiuns, such a> souiul mind, etc. I'he President sei.mcd nnich interested in the case ; expressed him- self in sympathy with what I told him; Init he considereil it a very L;rave matter to interfere. .At Ia.st 1 asked that he send for Mr. Havard and the lUitish Min- ister, and see if an amicble understanding could be made to save Kiel. Tiie I'resident then said he would consult with the Secretary of State and see w liat could he done. " During the night of the same day the Associated Press announced tliat tiie I'resident had been constrained t' decline interfering in the matter. "The position taken by Secretary iJayarti lests on sound inlcnational law. ( >nr I'overnmcnt wouKI not have been justifieil in interfering in the maimer on the basis of llic case presented 'o the Department of State, .\hhough Kiel was a naturalized .\merican, he owed the <^ueen of Great liritain temporary alle- giance while living within the borders of her realm, and he made himse'd lia'nle foi breach of the criminal law of the land '• Not only had the I'nited .States no right to interfere in Riels belialf, Inn the Canadian court was in the right in ignoring Kiel's citizenship. It was ab- solutely immaterial." There i.^ little doiiht that thefe is a kinship hetweeii the feelings of Afchiinedos as he jumped fioin the hath; of \e\v- toii when the idea of his o^reatest iliscoverv dawned upon hi^ niind; of Colunihiis as he <2;a/ed, for the first time, upon San Salvador, and the feelinjjfs of this judicial Colimilnis ,it the time this forensic truism lirst illumitiateii his cranium, to-wit: ".Mlliough Kiel was a naturalized .\merican, he owed the (Jueen uf (ireat Hritam temporary allegiance while 'iving within the borders of her realm, and he made himself liable for breach of the criminal law of the land." If this proposition was ever even the subject of serious de- bate since the foundation of the work!, the writer is not aw are of it. Mr. Rambaut states another thing, which is imtrue. IM- mond Mallet did not appear or act for Kiel,f who tiied in complete ignorance of the fact that any effort, in his behalf, had been made with the I'resident. Major Mallet was a clei k *See pp. 159-161. f It is not meant to convey the idea that Major Mallet made the only effort in Kiel's l)chalf with the government, lie made, however, trie best presentation of the case. / L'l i ITtZF.y lilEL. 117 in the 'rieasuiy I)e[)artmciit. His coniimniications with tlie I'resiilcMt ami Secretary Nvcie between a tfoveniment otlicial aiui Iiis superiors; aiul were of a confitlential nature. Major Mallet has since heen diicreetly reticent upor. the subject. This is certaintv, however: the attention of Grover Clevelaiul anil his prime minister were called to the case and their inter- leicnce asUeil, anil thev declined to act. Comment will be reserved for the close of this \ olnme. Kiel had been thrice respiteil. In the bevy of moral cow- anU \\ ho composed the cabinet at Ottawa, at cabinet meet- iui^- held Septcndn'r loth, October 22d, and Novendier loth, rcspeitivei\ . Ibit the pieparations for the execution contin- ued. A\\y\ tlic da\- of his doom was at hand.* Chief .Shci wood, of the Dominiim I'olice, arrived at Re- tina upon a special train thce\eninititiu of his iiersonal estate or effect? ^^ 'on cuc)\ rcplicil iv le 1 K 1 1 ia\ e onl v th IS, touchmu: his breast aln)\ e tlie region of the heart. This I yave to mv ountrv liftcen \ ears atro, am 1 it IS a 11 have to i-ixe now le was asked as to his peace of mind and replied: '• I lo UiT a ,41) made mv peace with niy Ciod and am as prepared to die now as 1 can be at an\ time." I'ere Andre, his confessor, then aiiived. Tlic sherit't read the death warrant which Sherwood had hrouijht and left the doomed man with his spii'itual advisei'. Kiel's prison life had set li'^htlv upon him. I'"'or years he had been a total abstainer fioin alcoliol and tobacco, and his ■•■ I lit.' iiccouut of Kiel's lasi Iidmi-s and execution art drawn mostly from the Associateil I'ress ilisjutches. 3 If *" \-\ II A ' I 4 118 '////•; liLOOD OF AHFL '■■' I i|i diet had hccu most absteinious. His life-Ion;^ and {)r()\ crhial urbanity had ikjI forsaken him in prison. lie had given iiis captors no trouble. Father Aiuh'e was ne\er absent from tiie iloomed mim's side, from the reachng of the warrant till the fatal (hop. They prayed together most fervently till three o'clock, when Riel do/ed, and thiallv slept soundlv. In about two iiouis he awoke, and from that time till eight, when the deatli-bell l)e- gan to toll, he pra\ed almost continuously. At li\e o'clock mass was said, and at se\ en the last sacrament was adminis- tered. The scaffold was extended from the rear of the south eiul of the guard-room. It was twelve minutes past eiglit befoi'e those having tickets from the sheriff were admitted to the room. The prisoner was found kneeling upon the Hoor of an upper room, from which iie was to step to the scaffold, Arouiul him were members of the mounted police, Sheriff Chapleau, Deputy Sheriff Gibson, as well as his spiritual ad- visers, Fathers Andre and McWilliams. The ravs of the early sun shone through the rime which covered the small window. The prisoner knelt beside an open window , wliich looked out upon the gallows. He wore a loose wf)olen surtout, dannel shirt, trowsers anil moccasins. Twentv minutes before tjoin": to the scaffold Riel wrote tiie following in French, of which a close translation is given: " Wliat tliere is too presumptuous in my wrilinjjs, I must say that l>y these presents, I subordinate it entirely to the gooil pleasure of my Ood, to the doc. trine of the church, and to the infallible decisions of the Supreme IVntift. I die Catholic, and in the only true faitli. " I.oins I)a\ ID KiKi.. " l6th Nov., 1S85. Retina Jail. " He had before this written a touching letter to his mothei', full of filial devotion. At a qiunter past eight the doomed man received the notice to proceed to the scaffold. He mounted the gallows, from which he was never to descend alive, with the firmness of a r/////;.v /.v/;a U!) Sc;i'\<)l:t ;uul the rcsiji^rialioii of ;i S<>cr;ites. Hi^ :inns were pinioiieil hefore leaviii*^ the ^iiarcl-room. As he walked upon the scaffold, he liinied his face from the spectators, and con- timied prayinj^. Riel ralhed his confessor with, " Couia<;e, pere,"" a(h'essin^ Father An{h"e. He was aihnonished h\' this prjest, to pray for iiis enemies. He prayed for Sir John A. Macdonald; liut added a petition, tliat Canada mif guillotined, said : " My dwelling shall soon l)c in anniliilation, but my name shiill live in the Pan- theon of history." -Saint Paul, also about to be beheaded, wrote to Timothy : " For I am even now reatiy to be sacrificed : and the tiKie of my dissolution is at liand. 1 have fought a <;ood fight ; 1 have finished my course ; I have kept the failh. For the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice, which liie Lord, the just Judge, will render to me at that day." Who is there that, viewinc^ the death of these two men - that is, the stern stoicism of the philosopher and |he sublime faith of the Christian — would not exclaim in the word of Ba- laam; '* Let mv soul die the death of the just, and let my \a^\. end be like to them.*" There was <_rreat indiijnation in Lower Canada at the death of Kiel. Sir John A. AL'icdonald was binned in t;tVi^y in Montreal. The infuriateil mob committed many acts which, three coturies aoro, woidd have been accoimted treason. Lati- mer and Kidley did iiot kiiulle such a lire at SmithHeld, as tlid Riel at Regina. * To pas> from the sublime, to somethin<^ else. Louis Riel, like Louis Kossuth, lio^ured in the dej^raded world of fashion. I'lie name of the niart\ r of Re<£ina ftuMiished an advertise- ment for the hatter; and the ''Riel hat" was the fashion in the Province of Quebec. "J'his reminds one of the hero of Auster- litz being left to quarrel with Sir Hudson Lowe. I>y far the most interesting view to Americans, is the one taken from an international stanil-point. The facts may be briefly summari/ed as follows: On the loth day of October, iSyj, Amb'rose Lepine was capitally con\icted t)f the murder of Scott, at the Manitoba assizes. Louis Riel, a British sid>ject, having been indicted separately for the same crime, and his principal being convicted, was iuljudged to be in contempt in refusing to tiecome amenable to the court; and on the 15111 of the same month, a j>rocess of outlawrv was sued out, and a wari'ant was issued. On the ^ ! \\ III ^ 122 '/'///•; IllAHJh OF MUIL. 1 2th (lay of February, 1875, Minnosty was graiitcil to Kiil on condition of five years' hanishnicnt ; and ff)rfeituie of polit- ical rights. I'ntil this lerni of banishment was ended Louis Riel refused to become an American citi/.en. Eifjht \ ears thereafter, on the sixteenth of March, i^N3, he became an American citi/en by rej^ular naturalization. In the month of July, uS8f\ he crossed the International boundary line for the purpose of enjjfajj^inj"^ in a constitutional a^e of ['resident Cleveland himself will be employed: " The watchful care and interest of this government over its citizens arc not relin'iuished because they are j^one abroad, and if charged with a crime com- mitted in the foreign land, a fair and open trial, conducted with a decent regard for justice and humanity, will be demanded for them."* " < )ut of thy own mouth I judge thee."t I nder this rule laid down by the Presiilent, it was the ihity of his administration to interfere, for the following reasons: Pirst. Riel was not guilty of any act which could be con- sidered treason, when laying the ([uestion of citizenship en- tirely aside. Second. Riel was tried upon the theory that he was a citi- zen of (ireat Britain; and not of the United States. Third. The ([uestion of the pristjuer's sanity or insanity- was never fairly submitted to the jury. Jwurt/i. There was misconduct of the court in instructing the jui'y. Fifth. There was a variance betwetMi the indictment and the proof: I. Waiving, for the nonce, the question of citizenship, Riel was yet not guilty of an act amounting to treason. Xow, what is treason? Treason, in a general sense, is a "breach of allegiance." In a more restricted sense, it is "any act of hos- tility against a state, committed by one who owes allegiance to it." The last tlefinition is less accurate than the following: " The offence of attempting to overthrow the government of the state to which the offender owe>; allegiance, or of betray- ing the state into the hands of a foreign power." The last' definition includes the offence of assassinating the king, or corrupting the queen. For in a monarchical form of govern- ment, the king or tpieen is the personification of legitimate sovereignty.* Consequently, any attempt to take the life of the sovereign, or to corrupt the royal descent is an offence * President Cleveland's message to Congress, December, iS86. fluke, xix., 22. I Uui/.ot's History of Civilization. iJi \ I -'4 77//'; IIIJ)()I> OF AliKL. I 11 * t M^;iiiist the state itself. The charjje of treason, for which Kiel was hied and con\i(ted, was that of levyinj; war against Her Majesty in her Reahn. This species of treason is founded on a very old statute, passed in the reiu;n rf luKvard [11. The lanj^uajj^e of that statute is as follows: "VVIien a man do levy war aj^ainst our lord tlie king in his Realm, or he adherent to the king's enemies in his Reahii, giving; them aid and comfort in the Realm or elsewhere, and thereof i>e provahly attainted of open deed by the people of their condition, that this shall be one ground upon which the party accused of the oltence, and legally proven to have conimilted the otlence. shall be held to be guilty of higli treason." The provisit)n of the Constitution of the I'nited Slates which defines treason, is a sidistantial copy of the old statute of I'Ldward II 1. It is as follows: "Treason against the I'nited States shall consist only in levying war against them, or in adhering to their eriemies, giving them aid and comfort,"^ and-so-forth. The similaritv lietwixt the iMiglisJi statute and the American constitutic^nal enactment renders the judicial in- terpretation of the one of valtie in construing the other. Fort- imately for the citizen, but unfortunately for the legal student, tlie crime of treason has been a stranger to oin- jurisprudence. The I'^nglish decisions arc of less value because tlie judges held their positions tluring the royal pleasure, and royally \\ as interested in maintaining its prerogative. The histor\- of the law of treason is but the record of the triumph of liberty over ilivine right — that bastard eigne of priest-craft and kingcraft. L nder that abominahle despot- ism which invented the /ecrctn rcp-is. it was treason to melt down the statue of an emperor, after it was consecrateil ; 't was adjudged treason. In the reign of Edward IV., a landlord, who kept a iiotel with the sign of the crown, said he woidd make his son heir of the crown, intending .an innocent pint. For this he was hanged, drawn autl cpiartered; and his prcjs- pective heir attainted. lit the same reign the king, while hunting, killed a deer. The owner wished the tleer's horns ♦Constitution of the I'nited States, Article III., Section V . ( nr/.i:s /;//•;/,. 12.) in the kiiij^'s stonuicli. I'or this offence he ^iifferoil death. In the lei^n of the }>freiit " reformer," Hem y \' III., it w ;»•« (lechired to lie treason ft)r a person to believe the kinj^'s mar- riage with Atme of Cleves to he k.;al and valid. Where there were two rivals for the throne the unsuccessful parti- sans suffered death. Jud|^e Brackenridjije says, that, durintf the contest between the houses of Lancaster and York, Knj^land was, for years, n(jthin<^ hut a (iolgotha. The detinition of treason is wliat Macaulay says of the habeas corpus act — "one of the most stringent checks which legislation ever imposed on tyranny."* It is the only definition found in our finulamental law. The fact is significant of the fear which our fathers had for this dangerous plaything of tyrants. • There are two offences which superficial and illogical reasoners are apt to confound. These aie treason and riot. Riot is defined thus: " A tumultuous disturbance of the |teace, by three persons or more, assembling together of their own authority with an intent mutually to assist one another, against any one who shall oppose them, in the execution of some enterprise of a private nature; and afterwartls actually exe- cuting the same in a violent and turbulent manner, to the ter- ror of the people, whether the act intended were lawful or unlawful. ""I- Treason has already been defined. It differs from riot in this: the object of the traitorous proceechngs must be of a public, anil not a private nature; in the particular species of treason charged against Riel, there must be a levying of war. The'c maybe a a assembly of armed men, who maybe furnished with guns, rifles, pistols, bayonets and other weap- ons; they may forcibly resist the conservators of the peace and proceed to the last extremity. But still, unless the object of the assembly be of a public or general nature, there is no treason. The two offences of treason and riot have so many t i \ \\\ i M ! ! i M' i-.*(i 77//; lil.nol) or Mil: I.. inj^rcdiciits in (.•ominon, that one is often inist;ikeii for the otlicr. We often read (»f pi'opU- assenihlinj^ toj^ether; lireakin^ open a jail, and resistinjjj the au.thority of the sheriff, for tlie pur- pose t)f lynchin<^ some ohnoxious criminal. Hnt tliis is not levy iiijjf war. In the year 1863, several thonsaiul of the in- hal)itants of New ^'ork City arose in a hotly in resistance of conscription; they murdered nej^roes; burned an orphan asy- hnn, and nearly mined the Trihunc oHice. \'et no one ever dreamt of accnsinj^ these i)ien of treason. More th in a quarter of a century ale of certain counties organized themselves into bands fo' ihe alleged purpose of protecting their prop- eitv, but for the jjractical purpose of hanging men accused of horse-stealing. These men hail been obliged to sleep in their horse-barns for years, to prevent their animals from being stolen. This became monotonous; they thought the govern- ment was insutricient; and they took the law in their own hands. Without discussing the wisdom or jiolicy of this course, I think no lawyer would risk his reputation in an effort to cjbta'm a conviction of treason against those men. It was held by five judges, that a rise of all the weavers in and about I.(. Ion, for tiie purpose of destroying all engine-looms was not treason. What then is the gravamen of the offence * Edward I). Rand, of Lisbon, N. II., afterwards Circuit Judge. ■ riTi/.i:\ ini'.f.. l-_'7 of irciiNoiir It is tl\;it which must l)f the I'ssc-ntial in<;ri'(nfiit <»f cviTs felony ;iiul cviiy inisdciucaiior, cxcrpt, ptihaps, luiisjiK't', to-wit: the criminal intent (lcvch)|)C(l in a thrcct at- tempt to (.-onimit the particular offence charyjed. j \H\\fc Mrack enri(l«^e, the HlacUstone of I'ennsyh ania, says upon this sul>- ject : "I wouM in llic lii^t place lay aside 'coiistnictivo tioasuiis altoi^ellier, aii«l coiitiiie the law to ;i direct attack upon tiie government, and in the second place I \\*uld conthie it to an attack, (iiiiiiii sithi <)l,niii. Will it not l>e Ciuss then to meditate the oveithrowinj,' the ijovernnienl, and j;o on to execnte it by a resistance to a law, and hy risin^^* for indirect purposes, without a possibility of making proof of an iviiiniis sithTcrfi'udi, or conspiracy to oveillirow ? l,et it lie left to the jury to presume, or infer from the acts themselves, what the inten- tion was ; but let it always be in view as the essence of the act, that there was a directly looking forward in the mind of the person to a subversion of the gov ernment, before it be construcleil treason. Kvery outrage, without this essential ingredient may be repressed and jiunished under the idea of a riot, subjecting to line, pillory, imprisonment, and hard labour. This will be more agreeable to the common sense and feelings of mankind, who niu.st be .struck with a sense that the outrage is a riot, but to whom it cannot be obvious that it was medi- tated as an attempt upon the government itself, amounting to high treason. It is only by deduction and inference, that it becomes so.""' The reader will rememhcr that the Saskatchewan rebellion was local only, and accordinjx to Lortl Melj^iind, the insur- o^ents oidy sought to defend their homes against in\ asion.f W'hv shoidd Riel and his followers he held ji^uilty of trea- son for protectin with them. " Q. Did he tell you what those plans were? A. ^'es, lie did.* " Q. What were they ? A. He said the time had now come when those plans were mature; that his proclamation was at Pembina, and that as soon as he struck the first blow here, that proclamation would go forth and he was to be joined by * A conlradiction. ( rn/.ES liiEi.. I'jii had •ffcct h licve :it if 1(1 <4() cs, lie half-hieeils and Indian^, and that the I'tiitod Staten wan at his I Kick. " Q. Did he tell you anything; more? A. lie said that knowinj^ hin-» and liis past histoi\, I niij^ht know that he meant what he said. " (^. Anythinji else? A. lie said that the time had conie now when he was to ride this country or perish in the at- tempt. "Q. (jo on? A. We had a lonj? conversation then as to the rijfhts of the half-l)reeds, and he laid-out his plans as to the government of the country. " Q. What did he say as to the government of the country? A. They were to have a new go\ ernment in the North- West. It was to be composed of Gotl-fearing men. They would have no such I'arliament as the House at Ottawa. " Q. Anything else? A. Then he stated how he intended to divide the country into seven portions. " Q. In what manner? A. It was to he dividetl into seven jjortions, but as to who were to have the seven, I can not say. " Q. Vou mean to say you can not say how these seven were to be apportioned? A. Yes, lij' mentioned JJavarians, Poles, Italians, Germans, Irish. There was to be a new Irelanil in the North-West. " Q. Anything more? Did he say anything more about himself or his own plans? A. I recollect notliing further, at the present time. "Q. You say he referred to the previous rebellion of 1S70. What did he say in regard to that? \. lie referred to that and he said that that rebellion— the rebellion of fifteen vears ago — would not be a patch upon this one." Any man who will believe that Kiel ever uttered this lan- guage, or, if he did, was serious in its utterance, must discredit Riel's sanity. Such language, too, was inconsistent with his subse(iuent comluct, and that of the half-breeds. The reader will bear in mind, that the author is not the 9 ; ( i irhi uw rur /,7(M>/> ar Aurr liiiiw M.uilonijiiU, \\ lu>s»> abiln\ .is ;» \onvtiiutional l.-u\ ncv is OiMlainlv woUlu ot Uvos^uidon, was «ipo»lo«l ,is s;j> inj;, th;»t tl\iMV \\'.u\ hccn no t'v i«I«mu «> jM>uhu'0\l to sl\i<\v th.il Ivii'Ts in- toiuiou \\ .!•• t»> iU'pOM> ll\i' l^ui'ou. On Jl»i^ vonti.ii \ . lu- --.nil. (h.it (JiM\ri.>l MuKlIolon h;ui tv^jvu ',i-,l (o t!»v- ;;i>\ ii nmi-nl, thai ho »h"^v o\ ou>il Kicrs intention \\ .1-. to l.iki' hin\ ]>iisonri. .u\>l hoKl hnn \\u{\\ the i;i>\ ri iin\;i;u\teil thr hall ^u•^^l:^ their iliMnanvis as lo Knuls. IMns was povilive jmooI. that 1\ \t'l havl wo uiti-niuM* an»l nuuie no vUm»\;uuIs a^jainst ihei'iown. w huh aloni'vvniUl n>nstitt>te hi;> h lioavo»\. It appeat^, t!>.il tlu'inivx nni'\l \\\ V.\\\^\;\n\\ '\\\ ,ii>vu\j; juilnMuent \n the vase. ass»\nu\l evn that this tavt ha«l h».'»>n aih\ntte\l l>\ KieTs nMn\sol at lhiMn\u' o\ thf twal. Kier>» aktion. stiti Nt\, Ma»'.lo\i;;aU. was >«in»pl\ a not. st.r.ti'vi m thv" h-^po that the i;o\iMnnunt wo\4lil hr lev! to aeeo\vl the halt' huN-.l^ then iiijhls.* \i w 1 o\i K' ''> »e aiithoi IN lOijtent to«'iMi witl\ IMatv*. II. \e\t.Kiel was liieJ njn>n tlu> (htoi \ . iluit \w w ;»s .» eiti/en v't (.»>eat Hiit.nn, auvl not ot thv- I nittJ Si.iii-s. ,\s het»Me stateil.the vpustion ot his viti. cM\<»lnp was totalU ii;« lune*!, attiM the nu^tiou tor a eontinnanir w .is ihspi>seil oi. rhon\a l>. Kanih.mt. " V\\. I a\ s, thai the ^piestion w.iswholU innu.ittM i.tl : In the wouU i>t v'^.uni .\ni;nstine, " A\'W.» /i>i'#«A;. r.»».\.» rm/Ai.^f It !>- tine that t»easo\»i\in he eommittevl h\ an .ilien, who is :\ i\UMe vlei\i.en, or .» peison within the jiu isiiiition oi llu's»w tMvtijtMx . tlu' only iveeption w hivh is eiHeil lo luinil, hein>.; in li^eeaseot to«ei>;n .■in\lv»s>»avK>»s, juul ahen enenjies invailiui; l\ \e eout\ti\ These tu>t. Iw lu'lion ot law, are eonsiileteil as l>ein^ within the iniisilietiiM\ oi the so\ e\eii;ntv i\on\ w hieh the\ ate aee) eiiiteil. Tlu- *.eev >iul aie hut the sej\ .nu^ of tl u* so\eieii;nt\ ti> w hieh thix ow e i»llej;ianee. So till as the e;ip;ihililv to eommit the vWteiKC oi Ireasoti is * Ckt..ic.- .*>♦*».'.?. NovfittWrn, tSS-> MiUiary jrpiMl ot r.eneml Muhtlcion. ■ ' i in/r.\ a7a;/. m \\\\\ their is this ihstiuvlion : \\w ;»llfi;iaiu i- ot thi' iosliliM\( .»hcn is tiM\>poi.u\ ; .iitU only »ont»um'N w hiU- hi- !■> »hMniv'»li'»l within \\\c v\ninti \ . Hut [\w {ilK'j^i.iiu c ot \\\c v ili/tii is jui potual, tm- Us> hi> «^\|>,itn.no hiiusi'lf, aiul .itl.uhos ti> hiiw w hru'\ or hci>li»\ hf, \N lu'lhiM in thi' s.uuU »>t S.il);U;io( in tl\o snows ot SihtMiit. In .ill >n>iu'( uunls lot tuMs,M\ the allocation ot \i mu", as m t!u> nitonnation as^aitist Kiil, is a ^iisionKUs alU>;;.»tion ; " At t!u- Kh'.iUin known ;(s I'ish V. loi'k, in tho s.iul N«Mtl\ \\ i-st TiMi itoi ii"s ot I'.ui.iihi, ;nul wilhm this UiMhti," aiul s»» |\Mtlu Piohahls it tho tait »>t tho otton.Un 's v it>. onship ap|HMUil, tho Ni'inu'WvMiM not ho i\uUotial. l»nt, ii\ A oasi' in\ol\in;>, lifo oi !in\h. a fa^t twaloiial tv> tho ostahhshn\ont ot i!»o >4i;i\an»tn o\ v'l"tonoo lan haivU\ hoptrsunu^l a>;ainsi iho «loton«lant. It wouKl sooin, that I'ithiM tl\o vili.'onship oi i!\i> \onni' wouKI \\.\\c to hi- i-s- tahl lsht"/l .IS A Ul.lttOI ot |M .Mt, n sahont ponn ot sjuh |>i oot, w onUl hi> tho oas\ ;nnl nalni.ilont >o ladoi , hoinv.; I lio ntost ml n \o»i" is not in tho w lioU' lovo III ot K lol's t I ial, o\w |ol oi tittlo ol" pioot, th.il lio lOin mitt Oil a sii\i;lo o\ oi I .lot w ilhin tho Koalin of I lot Ih ilannio MajostN . No l.iw \ oi w ill i laim, that a v'lniit oonlil t.iUo iihlioial oovjiu.-anoo ot tlu* faot. that i wiKI stio.iin iinunni" thioui'h a ra\ mo \\ as wiihin tho \inno l.iul in tho iiulivtinont. Tho lawwns who i oil tho oanso .it Ko i^inawoio not tools, anil tho only tational ptosumption is, that thoy woio pioioi'iliii';- upon thi" assumption, that Kiol was a iiti. on ot" V '.in.iila. It van n»>t ho oontoniloil that tho Dominion ^mornmont piooooiloil \ipon tlio thooiv ot' " onoo a iiti/on, ilw.us ;» oiti .en." l'\n this lolii ot toviilalism is, lon^ suui", ovpKuloi!. Tho riiiht o{ o\p iti iation,so lonv; oontoiulcil foi h\ Ami-iioa, w as oonooiloil h\ iiuat Hiitain in tho troat) ol i.S-o.* It has boon aiknoyyloilj^otl h\ tho nalions of oontmonujl F-iiiopc ^^llcc tho I'lonoh KoNolntion.f * IVitci Nlomc on v'iiuciislnp, f li'i'^h i I 1 HUritfiaiiHUM* I I I 132 7//7<; BLOOD OF An EL. It may be contended on behalf of President Cleveland, that, as Riel's counsel never urj^ed the question of his citizen- ship at the trial, and as he never himself petitioned the United Sta;es government, the government was justified in refus- ing to even examine into the cjuestion of his naturalization. This is too absurd for serious refutation. Such a rule would have left Martin Koszta to imprisonment and death. If the Greeks of Homer had acted upon such a theory, they would have been deaf to the " groans and cries of Helen." HI. The point as to Kiel's insanity was never fairly sub- mitted to the jury. He was tried under the old rule, which pres'ailed in England, that upon the question of sanity or in- sani*:y, the burden is upon the defendant. This is the rule which prevails in most of the states of the American L nion; and there is nothing particularly cruel about it. It was shown, that Riel had once been insane. There can be no doubt upon this point, lie was afflicted \vith a most peculiarly deceptive form of insanity. I further appeared, that, at th.e time of the commi sion of the acts c"om[)lained-of, tiie defendant exhibited the same symptoms which were dis- covered at the period of his former allliction. Such a state of facts established, the most careful and pains- taking inciuiry was demantled; the thorough sifting of the facts, and the scrupulous weighing of the proofs. The only witness whose testimony was of any value was Doctor Roy. He unhesl^ntingly pronounced Riel insane. The others had only a few hours' examination upon which to base an opinion which it required months to form with any degree of cer- tainty. After the verdict, the government sought to bolster it up with a batch of cx-parte certificates. It is needless to write upon the value of cx-partc testimony, even where the witness is under oath. Cross-examination, as every lawyer knowF, is the great discoverer of falsehood. IV. The misconduct of the court, in commenting upon the CITIZEN III EI.. i;w testimony, has already been spoken of, in the account of the trial.* V. There v\asa material variance l)et\veen the ip.for Hiailo;^. and the proofs. Each count of the information, upon which Kiel was con- ilemned, contained the foUowinj)^ allegation: *' Together with diveis false traitors, to the said Alexander Davitl Stewart un- known," and-so-forth. Upon this method of pleading, that is, describing a person in an indictment as unknown, Mr. Bishop says: " Suppose it turns out on the evidence that the grand jury were wilfully igno- rant, and might have known the name if they had chosen; then, the reason on vvhi-'h this form o( theallttjation is allowed, failing, the allegation itself will 1*^ held on the trial to be insuHlcient, or to be insufficiently sustained by the proofs adduced. As observed in an English case, 'The want of description is only excused when the name cannot be known.' In other words, since the doctrine which allows this forn'. uf ih*^ allegation rests on necessity, it can be sustained no further than it.> foundation extends. "f This certainly would be necessary in a trial for high trea- son, a crime which, as everv lawver knows, is, like riot and conspiracy, iinpossible for one man to commit alone. It is impossible to l)elie\'e that Alexander David Stewart had not heard of Gabriel Dumont and other half-breeds engaged with Riel. Tlie variance was fatal. In speaking of President Clevelanil, the writer will be mindful of the facts, that that man is, at present, the repre- sentative of over fift}' millions of people; that the citizens who have chosen him as their staiulard-bearer, are the au- thor's coimtr\'men; and constitute, presumabK, one of the most enliglitened nations under heaven; that before being called to this high position, he had been Governor of the great state of New York, receiving, upon his election to that oilice, the largest relative, if not aiisolute majority, of any candidate in the history of our country; that when elected to the presidential chair, Mr. Cleveland \\ as an im- *Page no, this volume, f Criminal Procedure, Vol. I., page 335. W* V,i4 THE BLOOD OF ABEL. known man, whose demise wouUl hardly have caused a local sensation, while his opponent was a man really illustrious; that when elected president his competitor was one of the most famous men in America, with large experience in public affairs. In commenting upon the otHcial conduct of the Secretary of State, the writer will try to bury personal prejudice, and forget, that it was Thomas F. Bayard who said, that Philip IT. Sheridan was unfit to breathe the free air of a republic. '' Thou shalt not speak evil of the prince (jf thy people," is the writer's scriptural motto. An ancient sage was once asked what was the best form of government. He answered, in; substance, that that form of government was the best which treated an injury to the meanest citizen as a wrong to the state itself. A more accu- rate definition could not be framt'd. The excellence of a government is in its substance and not its form. A demagogue elevated to power by an ignorant and clamouring mob, is hardly preferable to the despot ruling by the ancient fiction of divine right. The pages of the Pentateucii and Iliad, as well as the col- umns of the mfxiern newspaper, bear testimony to the will- ingness of a good government to protect the rights of its cit- izens. At the time of the expedition of the four kings. Lot, the nephew of Abraham, was taken prisoner. In those patri- archal days the family was the state. The story is told in the XIV. chapter of Genesis, and it is impossible to improve upon the simplicity of the sacred narrative: " When Ahrain had heard, to-wit, that his brotlier Lot was taken, he num- bered of the servants born in his house, three hundred and eighteen well ap- pointed: and pursued iheni to Dan. And dividing his company, he rushed upon tliem in the night, and defeated them, and pursued them as far as Ilobah, which is on the left hand of Damascus, And he brought back all tlie sub- stance, and Lot his brother with his substance, the women also and the people. And the King of Sodom went out to meet him after he relumed from the CJTl/JLX HI EL. 13."> i J slaughter of Cliodorlahomor, ami of the kiii^s that were with him in the vale of Save, which is the King's vale. But Melchisedech, the Kin<; of Salem, bring- ing forth bread rnd wine, for he was the Priest of the most high (iod, blessed him, and said : Ulessed be Abram Ijy the r.>osl high Clod, who created heaven and earth. .\nd lilessed be the most high (jod, by whose protection the ene- mies are in thy hands. And he gave him the tithes of all. And the King of Sodom said to Al)ram . Give me the persons and the rest take to thyself. And he answered him: I lift up my hand to the Lord (Iod, the most high, the pos- sessor of heaven and earth, that from the very woof-thread unto the shoe-latchet, I will not take of any things that are thine, lest thou say: I have enriched Abram: except suth things as the young men have eaten, and the shares of the men that came with me, Aner, Kscol and Maiiibre: these shall take their sliares." The Mesopotaiiiiati consiclerecl an iiijiify done to one of his kin as an injury to the patriarchal state itself. Paul was apprehended upon the charge of sedition and sac- rilege. He was bound with thongs, and the torturer's lash was about to be administered, when the intimation that the prisoner was a Roman citizen stayed the uplifted hand. The words: Civis Rotnanjis sum^ had such jjower that even a poor tent-maker, in an obscure province of the Roman Empire, could, by their single utterance, save hiinself from the igno- minious discipline of the scourge. An insult to the humblest of Rome's citizens was a wrong to the Empire itself. Turning from scriptural to classic tale, we read of the story of the Grecian Helen, carried off by Paris, the libertine prince of Troy. This rape of Helen was considered, by the whole Achaian race, as an insult, not only to Sparta, whose queen she was, but to Thessalians and Epirots aitd Argives alike. The Greeks fitted out an array of 1,200 vessels, and 100,000 men. This great fleet set sail; but the first time they mistook a part of the Asiatic coast called Teuthrania, for the plains of Troy; and, a storm arising, they were driven back upon the Grecian coast. The scattered fleet was collected at Aulis, upon the coast of Greece. Agamemnon, according to the legend, is informed, that the expedition cannot proceed unless N I 1 i^ S 1^ ft I lt.ft r;5(i THE BLOOD OF AUFL. his (laugher Iphi<;ciiia is sacrillccd to the jj[0(ls. So sacred were the rights of a Grecian, that a \ irj^in's l)lo()(l was not too dear a price to he paid for the ransom of the capti\e princess. Better the death of one woman than the ilishonour (»f another. An injnry done to a frail woman was an insult, not only to her nation, hut to the entire race. In the year 1847 there lived at Athens a Portu<^uese Jew, named Don Pacifico, This man was a native of Gihraltar, hence, hy accident, a native-horn suhject of her Britannic Majesty. It had heen customary amon<^st the Greeks to cel- ehrate l£aster by hurninij an effij^y of Judas Iscariot. But that year the police had heen commanded to prevent it. The disappointed rahhle charj^^ed this to the secret iulhience of the Jews. Boor Don Pacitico happened to live near the spot where the imaginary Judas was annually burned. The un- fortunate Hebrew, heinjj^ the handiest thin*(, was selected by the mob as the devoted object of their wrath. Don Pacifico claimed an indemnity of nearly thirtv-two thousanil pounds. Lord Palmerston was at the head of the foreign olhce. He demanded an immediate settlement. Palmerston became pos- sessed of the idea that the French government was interfer- ing against the claim of Don Pacilico. This nearly invohed England in a war with France. Finally Sir William Parker was ordered to Athens for the purpose of obtaining satisfac- tion. Failing in this, the Admiral blockaded the Piraeeus. The Greek government appealed to France ami Russia, as powers joined with England in a treaty io protect the inde- pemlence of Greece. The powers complained that they had not been consulted in the affair, when they were told, in dip- lomatic language, to mind their own business. During this controversy Lord Stanley introduced resolutions of censure upon the ministry. They were carried in the Upper House. Mr. Roebuck introduced a contrary resolution in the Lower House. This led to one of the most remarkable 'del)ates on . l! i'lTIZEX lUEL. \m record, in which Sir Alexander Cockhurn made liis reputa- tion in support of Pahnerston. 'The minister triumphed, and the right of a despised Israehte to the protection of the tlat; under which he was horn was estal)Hshed. Thus was an injury to a Portuerty; and "planted the standard of Saint (xeorge on the mountains of Rasselas."* All this for the release of ^m obscure subject whose name would have been unknown to fame, but for the fact, that his Queen deemed his imprisonment an insult to Her Majesty. AV'ho of us Americans has not felt his heart swell with pride at the tale of Martin Kosztaj and Captain Ingraham. We can almost forgive Duncan Ingraham for his subsequent trea- son, in view of his plucky contluct at .Smyrna. The tale is familiar to every school-boy. Kostza was a Hungarian who had been engaged in the re- be^lion of 18 |S. Subsequently, in Xew York, he had de- clared his intention of becoming an American citizen. He afterwards went to Smyrna, where he was seized by some persons in the employment of the Austrian consul. Koszta * Disraeli's speech in Parliament upon the ele\ alion of Sir Robert Napier to the peeraj^e, as I'aron Napier of Maj^dala. t Porter Mor-;e on Citizenship, pp. 68-70, loS, 244. I I' t 1/ it las THE BLOOD OF AliEL. was taken out into the harbour, and thrown overboard. He was picked up by an Austrian mati-of-war, and hekl a jiris- oner. The l/nited States consul remonstrated in vain. The United States sloop-of-war Saint Louis, Captain Dun- can N. Ingraham was in the harbour. The chivalrous com- mander instantly demanded Kos/ta's release. Upon beiuf;^ refused, he cleared his vessel for action, when the Austrian commander deemed it prudent to yield. Kos/.ta was given up; and shijjped to the United States. W^illiam L. Marcy, the then Secretary of State, under President Pierce, sustained Captain Ingraham's actioti, in a diplomatic correspondence with M. IIulseman,the charge iV affaires of Austria. We had a government then. Let it be remembered that Koszta had Hed a fugitive from Austria; and while under ban, he had simply declared his intention of becoming an American citizen. Yet so jealous was Pierce's administration of the rights of Americans, that an injury done to one who only intended to become an American citizen was a wrong to the state itself. Mr. Blaine, while Secretary of State, refused to allow a certilicate of naturalization from an American court to be even questioned in a proceeding upon the arl)itration of a claim to indemnity for injury done to the jjroperty of an American citizen in Cuba.* This position was thought to be an extreme and an illegal one. But better, a thousantl to one, such an error than the crime of allowing an American citizen to be hanged i.lmost in sight of our border. The inconsistency of the foreign policy of the present ad- ministration is discerned by a comparison between the case of Louis Riel and that of Augustus K. Cutting. f Cutting was a strolling renegade; a homeless, houseless vag- abond, lie followed the business of a printer, and belonged to a class with which every one is acquainted — miserable * In re Buzzi against Spain. | Foreign Relations of the United States, 1886, pp. 691-708, LlTIZEy lUEL. 139 leeches, who frequent small towns and, callinjjj themselves cilitors, eke out a precarious existence by levying blackmail upon respectable citizens, and periodically nauscatinji^ the puli- lic taste with printed sheets full of false syntax, poor orthog- raphy and worse typo<;raphy. This man was livin*^ at Paso del Norte, Mexico, a place famous as bein<^, for a lonjy time, the seat of the Juarez, gov- ernment; the spot where that jioble patriot made his last stand, and refused to abandon Mexican soil. A gentleman, by the name of Emigdio Medina, purposed starting another newspaper in tiie same town, which he had a right to do. For this crime Cutting abused him through the columns of his paper. El Centincla, For this libel Cutting was brought before the Mexican court. I 'nder the law when the parties agree to and sign a reconciliation the case is tlis- niissed, which was dene in this instance, Mr. Cutting being rec[uired by the court to publish it in his paper, wjiich he did. On the iSth day of June, 1886, Cutting crossed the river to El Paso, Texas, and published the following disgusting piece of solecism in the El Paso IJerald: "ADVERTISEMENT.— A CARD." "El Paso, T^x-.y^o/e- y1> OF m:i:i.. ?>' Tlie f^lory h:nl dcpiirtcd fioni Jcrusalcni ; ;im(I Ichalxxl was written upon Iut walls. The account is the satl sloi)- of the (le^iachition of a people: "lieiciipon tliey sent ior one of tlic ixmtiflcAl trihos, which is cnlleil Kniachiin and cast lots whicli of it should be the hi^jh priest. Hy fortune, the lot so tell as to demonstrate their iui'juity after the plainest manner, for it fell ii|ion one whose name was I'iiannias, the son of Sainuel, of tlu' villaj;e Aplitlia. lie was a man not only unworthy of the hijjiipricsthood, lint tiial ^\\^\ not know well what hi^jh-priesthood was : such a mere rustic was he! Net did they hail this man, without his own consent, out ol the country, as if they were aciinjj a play u])on the stage, and adorned him with a counterfeit face; they also put upon him the sacred garments, and upon every occasion instructed liim what he was to do. This horrid i)iece of wickedness was .sport and pastime with them, but occasioned the other priests, who at a distance saw their law made a jest of, to shed tears and sorely lament the dissolution of such a sacred dii^nity."* There is an old proverh: "Put a beijfjijar on iiorseback, and inito the de\ il he will ride." * Wars of the Jews, Book IV., Chapter III. ; H SOSDIM FISls} ! n "+^ \ Appendices. * i I ■\l\ : I Ifi'; I' i m i -rr~ Arri:xi)/x i. 146 APPENDIX A ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. ICCiNFl"'SS m^•^c•lf no ler oMi\, of 'I'oronto, Canmla. l't>K lACl'S. To Sir FuKuicuu K H. Mipoi.k ion, before named ; Hon- ourable Hi't.M l< u II VKOSON, o{ Re«^ina; joskimi Kn:i, bri>ther of Louis, who writes frt>m Saint X'ital, Manitoba; The Most Reveieml Ai.i;x andku ANroNix Taciik, Arch- bishop i>f Saint IJoniface, aiul Father Kunsiku, the assistant of my friend and pastor, the Kevereiul Joskimi Kiksim;, pastor of Saint Mary's church, West Point. For kiiul words atul \aluable typojjjraphical sug^estion^: To my friend, (niANr Ni:i u;ii, of this city. I must not forj^et my little amanuensis, Zkd Huiiios. lo I 14f) THE liLOOl) OF ABEL. :i: ' ,i IMi 11 f I have read tiie follovvinj^ l)ooks, pamphlets and papers: The Creation of Manitoba, or History of the Red River Troubles, by Alexander Begg. Adam, G. Meiiceu. The North-West : Its History and Its Troubles. Toronto, 1SS5. Canadian Public Documents. The Queen vs. Louis Riel. Ottawa, 1 886. Rebellion in North-West Canada, T'/ie Nineteenth Cent- ury, August, 1885. Mui-vaney, Charles Pelham. History of the North- West Rebellion. Toronto, 1S85. RuNDALL, Thomas. Voyages toward the North-West, 1496 to 1631. Ilakluyt Society Publication. Statutes, Papers, and Canadian Public Documents. Beside the foregoing, I have consulted the files of various newspapers of Canada ami of the United States. I have read: Rebellion Nuinber of the Winnipeg Sun. Speech of Honourable Edward Blake, delivered in House of Commons at Ottawa, March, 1S86. Speech of Honourable Jonx S. D. Thompson, delivered in the House of Commons. Manitoba ; Its Infancy, Growth, and Present Condition, Professor Bryce. Campaign speeches of Honourable Edward Blake, pub- lished in pamphlet form: Hunter, Rose & Co., Toronto. Thomas D. Rambaut's book, and others too numerous to mention. Professor Goodrich, of Burlington, Vt., has the thanks of his old pupil for critical suggestions. I have other sources of information, that I do not feel at liberty to disclose. W. F. B. West Point, 1S87. APPENDIX B, 141 APPENDIX B. [IndMincnf upon Which Ricl Was Outlawed.] If ONI SOIT qui MAL Y PENSE. DJEU ET MOi\ DROIT. CANADA, Province of Manitoba >■ Court Oj if Queen's Bt'nch. [Crown Side.) November Term, 1S73. -^I^IIE jurors for our Lady the Queen, upon their oath, ^ present That Louis Riel, on the fourth day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and seventy, at Upper Fort Garrv, a place then known as being and lying and situate in the district of Assinniboia, in the Red River settle- ment, in Rupert's Land, and now known as being, lying and situate at Winnipeg, in the county of Selkirk, in the Province of Manitoba, Dominion of Canada, feloniously, wilfully and of ftis malice aforethought, die convicted of shooting, stabbing or poisoning, and-so-on, aJ infinitum. ; I ! if (i II ill' M; X: I4S THE II LOO I) OF AliF.L. vidcd, :in(l af outhiwry this lothchiy of I'^ebruary, a.d. 1''S75. [Signed] DANIEI, CASEY, Prothonota'-y (uui (7rik of C/v:c'n and Peace. A /'/'/: x/)ix r 14'.> APPENDIX C. iCojjt/ of tin liccord of A'icPs Nutiiralizatinii.] L\ THE r. S. DISTRK T COIRT OF THE THIRD JlhUlM. DISTRICT OF THE TERR I TOR y OF MO NT A NA . ^ I'KESHM : Hon. 1). S. WADK, Judge. In thk Matter ok thk Ai-i'lication oi- LOUIS DAVID KIEL, an Alien, To Hecome a Citizen oi iiik United Statfjj oi- America. L\' Ori'.N COURT, March Term, A.D. iSSj, this ibt'i day of March, A.D. iS8j, as yet of said Term. IT. appearing to the satisfaction of this court, hy the oaths of E. L. Merrill and Levi Jerome, citizens of the United States of America, witnesses for that purpose; tirst duly sworn and examined, that Louis David Riel, a native of Canada, has resided within the limits and under the jurisdic- tion of the United States live years at least, last past, and within the Territory of Montana for one year last past; and that during all of said five vears' time he has behaved as a man of good moral character, attacheel to the principles of the Constitution of the I'nited States, and well disposed to the good order ami happiness of the same; and it also appearing to the Court, hy competent evidence, that the said applicant has heretofore, and more tlian two years since, and I f- 1.50 TJIE BLOOD OF ABEL. in due form of law, declared his intention to become a citizen of the United States, and having now here, before this Court, taken an oath that he will support the Constitution of the United States of America, and that he doth absohitclv and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity lo every foreign Prince, Potentate, State or Sovereignty what- ever, and particularly to Victoria, Queen of Great Britain. It is therefore ordered, adjudged and decreed, that the said Louis David Kiel be and he is hereliy admitted and declared to be a citizen of the United States of America. D. S. WADE, Judge. Signature: LUUIS DAVID KIEL. it; Ofkice of the Clkkk of the Umtkd ^ ' States District Court of the Thiri^ Judicial District of the Territory [ '''^* ' OF Montana. T, B. K. Tatem, Clerk of the United States District Court of the Third Juciicial District of the Territory of Montana, said court being a court of record, having common law jurisdiction, and a Clerk and Seal, do certify that the above is a true copy of the Act of Naturalization of Louis David Riel as the same appears upon the records of said court now in my ofHce. In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and affixed the seal of the said court this 9th day of [l.s.] October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty-six, and in the year of our Independence the 1 1 ith. B. K. TATEM, CUrk. By C. C;. REYNOLDS, Deputy Clerk. AI\l*EXJ>IX I). 151 APPENDIX D, lfiif()i')na(ion upon Which li id was 'Pried, ConvicfKJ find E.n cn((d.'\ SIXTH (lay of July, in the year of our Lord iSS5,at the town of Regina, in the North-West Territories. Hefore me, Hugh Richardson, one of the Stipendiary Mag- istrates, of the North-West Territories, exercising criminal jurisdiction under the provisions of the North-West Act, iS8o. Louis Riel,you stand charged on oath hefore me, as follows: " The information and complaint of Alexander David Stevyart, of the city of Hamilton, in the Province of Ontario, in the Dominion of Canada, chief of police, taken the sixth day of July, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hun- dred and eighty-Hve, before the undersigned, one of Her ALajestv's Stipendiary Magistrates, in anil for the said North- West Territories of Canada, who saith: "1. That Louis Riel being a subject of Our Lady the ^ueen'^^ not regarding the duty of allegiance, nor having the fear of God in his heart, but being moved and seduced by the instigation of the devil, as a false traitor against our said Lady the Queen, and wholly withdrawing the allegiance, fidelity and obedience which every true antl faithful subject of our said Lady the Queen, should and of right ought to bear towards our said Lady the Queen, in the year aforesaid, on the twenty-sixth day of March, together with divers other false traitors, to the said Alexander David Stewart unknown, armed and arrayed in a warlike manner, that is to say, with * The Italics are mine. T ' ) I HI: 'i v^ ' 1* \ ,; 152 THE nboai) OF AJiEL. guns, rifles, pistols, bayonets and other weapons, beinjr then unlawfully, maliciously ami traitorously assembled and j^ath- ered t(»<:jethor against our said Lady the Queen, at the loLality known as Duck f^ake, in the said the North- West Territories of Canatla, and within this Realm, and did then maliciously and traitorously attempt and endeavour by force and arms to subvert and destroy the constitution and j^overnment of this Realm, as by law established, and deprive and depose our said Lacly the (^ueen of and from the style, honour and kin«;^!y name of the Imperial Crown of this Realm, in contempt of our said Lady the Queen and her laws, to the evil example of all others in the like case offendinj^, contrary to the duty of the allegiance of him. the said Lcniis Rle!, against the form of the statute in such case made and jirovided, and against the jieace of our said Lady the Queen, her Crown and dignity. '* 2. And the said Alexander David Stewart further isaith: That the sakl Louis Riel, being a subject of our Laily the Queen, not regaiding the duty of his allegiance, nor having the fear of God in his heart, but being moveil and seduced by the instigation of the devil, as a false traitor against our Ladv the Queen, and wholly withdrawing the allegiance, fidelity and obedience which every true and faithful subject of our said Lady the Queen should anil of right ought to bear to- wards our said Lady the (^ueen, on the twenty-fourth day of April, in the 3ear aforesaid, together with divers other false traitors, to the said Alexander David Stewart unknown, armed ami arrayed in a warlike manner, that is to say, with guns, rifles, pistols, bayonets and other weapons, being then unlaw- fully, maliciously iWuX traitorously assembled and gathered together against our said Lady the Queen, most wickedly, maliciously and traitorously did levy and make war against our said Lady the Queen, at the locality known as Fish Creek, in the said the North- West Territories of Canada, and within this Realm, and did then maliciously and traitorously attempt and endeavour by force and arms to subvert and de- ,1 rrr.xDix />. 153 stroy the constitution and jjoveniniciit of this Realm, as by hiw established, and deprive aiul cK-jiose our saiti l^ady the Queen of and from the style, honour anil kingly name of the Imperial Crown of this Realm, in contempt of our said Lady the Queen and her laws, to the evil example of all others in the like case offending, contrary to the duty of the allegiance of him, the said Louis Riel, against the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace of our said Lady the Queen, her Crown and dignity. "3. And the saiF AliEI.. I ) 1 '• h contrary to the duty of the allegiance of him, the said Louis i<.iel, ajjfaiiist the form of the statute in such case made and pro\ ided, ami aj^ainst the peace of our said Lady the Queen, her Crown and dignity. "4. And the said Alexander David Stewart further saith: Tliat the said Louis Riel, then living zcithin the Dominion of Canada and under il.>c protection of our Sovereign J^ady the };lnee//*, not rej^archiij^ the duty of his allej^iance, nor having the fear of (iod in his heart, l)ut heinj^ moved at\d seduced by the instigation of the tlevil, as a false traitrr against our said Lady the Queen, and wholly withdrawing; tiie allegiance, fidelity and obedience which he should and of right ought to bear towards our said Latly the Queen, on the twenty-sixth day of ^Llrch,in the year aforesaid, together with di\ers other false traitors, to the said Alexander David Stewart unknown, armed and arrayed in a warlike manner, that is to say, with gu!js, rilles, pistols, bayonets and other weapons, being then unlawfully, maliciou.dy and 'raitorously assembled and gath- ered together against our said Lady the Queen, most wick- edly, maliciously and traitorously did levy and iiake war against our said Lady the Queen, at the locality known as Duck Lake, in the said the North-West Territories of Canada, and within this Realm, and did then maliciously and traitor- ously attempt and endeavour by force and arms to subvert and destroy the constitution and government of this Realm, as . by law established, and depri\e and depose our said Lady the Queen of and from the style, honour and kingl)' name of the Imperial Crown of this Realm, in contempt of oui' said Lady the Queen and her laws, to the evil example of all others in like case offending, contrary to the duty of the allegiance of him, the said Louis Riel, against the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against the peace of our said Lady the Queen, her Crown and dignity. "5. And the said A)e\ander David Stewart further saith: * The Italics are mine. :■ ,. ' \i I. ' i A PPllXDTX I). 16.") That the said Louis Riel,lhcn livin]t( within tlie Doniiiiioji of Canada, and under the protection of our Sovereign Laily the Queen, not re*j:irdin^ the duty of his allefjjiance, nor ha\ inj^ the fear of (jod in his heart, but being moved and seduced by the insti<;ati'>n of the devil, as a false traitor against our said Lady tlie C^ueen, and wholly withdrawinj^ the alle- tciance, fidelity and obi-dience which he should and of right ought t(» bear towards om- said I^ady the Queen, on the twenty-fourth day of April, in the year aforesaid, together with divers other false traitors, to the said Alexander David Stewart unknown, armed and arrayeil in a warlike manner, that is to say, w ith guns, rifles, pistols, bayonets and other weapons, being then uidawfully, maliciously and traitorously assembled and gathered together against our said Lady the Queen, most wickeilly, maliciouslv and traitor'^-..',iy did levy and make war against our said Lady the Queen, at the locality known as Fish Creek, in the said the North-West Territories of Canada, and within this Realm, and did then maliciously and traitorously attempt and endeavour by force and arms to subvert and destroy the constitution and government of this Realm, as by law established, and deprive and depose our said Lady the C^ueen of and from the style, honour and kingly name of the Imperial Crown of this Realm, in contempt of our said Lady the Queen and her laws, to the evil example of all others in like ca>e offetulirig, contrarv to the allegiance of him, the saitl Louis Riel, against the form of the statute in such case made and provided, and against tlie peace of our said Lady the (^uecn, her Crown and dignity. "6. And the said Alexander David Stewart further saith: That the said Louis Riel, then living within the Dominion of Canada, and under the protection of Our Sovereign Lady the Queen, not regarding the duty of his allegiance, nor having the fear of God in his heart, but being moved and seduced by the instigation of the de\ il, as a false traitor against our said Lady the Queen, and wholly withdrawing the allegiance, l.VJ 77/ a; IllJiOl) or MIEL I* p ■ illl ,1 1 \ fidelity and ()l)t'die»ce which he should ;nul of rijjht oujjht t<> bear towards our saiil Lady the Queen, on the ninth, tenth,' eleventh and twelfth days of May, in the year aforesaid, to- gether with divers other false traitors, to the said Alexandci and arrayed in a warlike D m IVKl St ewarl iniknown, arniet annor, that is to say, with jjnns, rilles, pistols, bayonets and other weapons, bein^jf then unlawfully, maliciously and trai- torously assetnl)led and {gathered together a«;aihst om* saitrate III mid fur the Sor'h-U'es/ Tcnilorif.s of ('nvntla. -r : A I' I' i: MUX /:. 157 APPENDIX E. [Oj)f ,1 l.'tf,,' (,/ /,,„iis irirl, /'iift/ishrfl ill (ht Irish W'ui-hf of A'o- i'n/i/>i r-Jl, IKS.').] [The followiiifj is one of the most scathing arniif^nmciits of Iltitish tyranny ever piihlislied, since llm clay Junius indictcil his celeljiated letter to the kinj;.]' 7o the Citizens of the United States i>f Amcrira. pJ^EI.LOVV-MEN:— The outside world has heaid but little * of my pcopli' since the be<^iiiiiiii^ of this war \\\ the North-West Territory, and that little has been related by afjents and apoloj^n'sts of the bloodthirsty Jiritish Etnj)ire. As of old, Eti^^laiurs infernal tnachination of luilschood has been employed to defame our character, to misrepresent our motives, and to branil our soldiers and allies as cruel sava^res. These things I learn from American papers, which come to me through the same channel that I send this to you. • The i:^\\K\. which our enemies have in view is plain. Their object is to prevent good people from extending to us their sympa- thy while they themselves may rob us in the dark and murder us without pity. Of one hundred or more papers that now lie in my tent, The Irish World, I find, is the only true friend we have. In the columns of this far-famed journal, the truth is fully told. England's orghns in the United States and Canada falsely aver that my people have no grievances. To contradict their false statements, I now write to the defender of the oppressed Ml ^t; 158 THE BLOOD OF AliKL. IS' y 'T ... Mr. Patrick Ford, whose Irisii World will publisli a true statement of the facts in all corners of the <(lohe. Our lands in the North-Wot Territory, :ne possession of which was solemnly conllrmed by governnjent fifteen years ago, have since been torn from us, and given to land-grabbers whvj never saw the country -and this after we had cut down forests, plucked up stumps, removed rocks, ploughed and seeded the soil, and built substantial homes for ourseh cs and our chililren. Nearly all the gotul, available lands in this territory (as is the case with the lanils East of the Rocky iVIoimtains) are already in the clutches of ICnglish lords, who have large herds of cattle grazing thereon; and the riches which the>;e lands produce are drained out of the country and sent over to lCi\^'- land to be consumed by a people that fatten on a system that jjauperizes us. This wholesale robbery and burglary has been earned on, ami is still carried on, with the connivance of accursed England. The result is extermination or slavery. iVgainst this mon- strous tyranny we have been forced to rebel. It is not in human nature to (juietly acquiesce in it. In their treatment of us, however, the V)chaviour of the English is not singular. Follow those pirates the world over, and you will find that everywhere, and at all times, they adopt the same tactics, and operate on the same thievish lines, Ireland, India, the Highlands of Scotlaid, Australia, and the isles of the Indian Ocean — all these countries ■••«e the sad evidences, and their native populations are the witnesses of England's land- robberies. Even in the United vStates — and it is a burning shame for the government and the people of that great and free nation to have it to be said — English lords have, within a few short years, grabbed territory enough to form several large states. Alas! for the people of your country ! Alas! for the govern- ment for whose independence and glory the soldiers of George A PPEXDIX K. i5y Washinf,toti fouy:ht bare-foot aj'aiiist the cut-throats and hell-hounds of En<^lami! Alas! that this same evil power should be allowed to return and reconquer so much of your nation without a shot beln*;^ fired or even a word of protest beinuj uttered in the name of the American people I Vcur government, which has allowetl her citizens to be robbetl of their heritage by English lords and English capi- talists, has also given aid and comfort to the English in per- mitting: her (ieneral* Howard to come to Manitoba and the North-West Territory to school the assassins that were sent from Toronto to murder me and my people, and to give the Queen's Own lessons in handling the American Ciatling gun, as well as in granting license to British soldiers and Hritish ammunition intended for our destruction to pass over Amer- ican soil. \\y its conduct in this entire business the adminis- tration at Washington has made the United States the ally of England in fighting a people who are fighting only for homes and firesides. Does it require two powerful nations, such as the United States and England, to put down the Saskatche- wan rebellion ? (j rover Cleveland and .Secretary Hayard have much to answer for. It is now evident, as The Irish World has charged, that these two high ofiicials of the United States are more Eng- lish than American. The animus they have shown towards my people and me for the past two months, as well as the friendship and aid they have extended to our enemies, '"?. but an additional confirmation of what has been charfred against them. Can it be possible that the American people, or any con- siderable portion of them, have any real sympathy with Eng- land? Have they not read, has it not come down to them from bleeding sire to son, of the crimes and the atrocities and fiendish cruelties u hich that wicked power intlictetl upon * Riel was mistaken. This ciealuie was not a general; neither was he a soldier of our governmenf. 160 IIIE BLOOD OF ABEL. \ their patriotic fathers during the Revolution? Of the Amer- ican towns wantonly given to the flames by order of English commanders; of the horrors of the English prison ships, and the barbarities imposed by the English upon American pris- oners of war? Does not American history record the out- rages perpetrated by England upon American commerce and American citizenship which led to the war of 1S12? And is it not still fresh in the memory of men of middle age how, when the republic was engaged in a life-and-death struggle with the slave-holders' rebellion, England gloated over your troubles and sent her sympathy and her money and her armed ships to your enemies to destroy your Union and to bring the American name in disgrace before the world ? Generous minds forgive injuries, but spaniels lick the hand that smites them. The American^ are not spaniels; but there are sycophants and lickspittles in America, nevertheless, and those base natures are but to the honest people of to-day what the Tories were to the honest and patriotic people a century ago. They are not Ar.iericans. A word here to the French and Irish of Canada, and I am done: I beg and pray, that they will not allow themselves to be intluced by any threats or by any blandishments to come out against uf,. Our cause is just, and therefore no just man of any race or nationality ought to stand opposed to us. The enemies who seek our destruction are strangers to justice. They are cruel, treacherous antl bloody. And yet, like the tiger, they are only obeying the instincts of their nature, liut for the Irish people, who for centuries have been robl)ed and massacred and hunted from their island home by the Eng- lish, and whose good name is reviled by the English in all lands, or for the Canadian French, who are subjected to the grossest and most ruffianly abuse from the same, to aid in any way these enemies would be not only wrong but stupid and unnatural. In a little while it will be all over. We may fail. But the APPI'LXDJX n 161 nghts for which we contend will not die. A day of reckon- mg wd come to our enemies and of jubilee to my people. The hated yoke of English domination and arrogance will be broken in this land, and the long-suffering victims of their • njust.ce wdl, with God's blessing, re-enter into the peaceful enjoyments of their possessions. Batoche. N. W. T.. May 6, ,SSj. ^^^^^ ^^^' ' ^^5^B$^«#J 1 1 ff'^-i- 1(>2 Till': liL(H)i) nr m\i:l. APPENDIX F. [n> to satisfy myself, atul, if opportunity affordeil, l)e of service to my compatriots, 1 called on Secretary Hayard this afternoon to t;dk over the matter with him. We discussed the subject together at considerable length. From our interview 1 can say that the following is snl»stantially tiie views of the department of state; of course the form in which it is expressed is my own: I^irst. The American government will not take the initia- tive in examining into Riel's citizenship or the rights there- under.* * This absurdity is without precedent, and devoid of common sense. f': APPENDIX F. \m Svcond. The governincnt has so far iloiic uothiii*^ in the matter, except to iiuiuire of the War Department as to the truth or falsity of a statement to the effect that liiel was cap- tured on American soil. This information was asked for to reply to a New York correspondent who in([uire(l concerning the mattei . The secretary read me his reply, which is unim- portant. y/ii/ii. The government will take no action in the case, unless tlie matter is piesented to its attention in a formal manner, the facts and arguments upon which the interference of the government is invoked to he properly stated in writing. Fourth, The government would not hc' disposed to in- (|uire into or review the proceedings of the court which tried Kiel, nidess it was sljown tnat he was iliscriminated against, /. <•., that he was tried hy harsiier methods than a Canadian citi/en would have heen tried hv.* Fifth. The government recognizes the principle that every coimtrv has a rijiht t(j determine for itself what constitutes treason, and it would not he disposed to question Canada's right to try Riel for treason even though iie he a native or naturalized citizen of the United States. I understand the secretary to say that Kiel's case was like some of the liish so-called revolutionists, so far as it regards this government, aiul that the American government would do all that was proper for Riel as it had done for the others. With these views of the departn^.ent of state hefore us it seems to me that our duty is traced more clearly. ^'ou are aware that I knew Kiel intimately both before and after his becoming insane. Knowing the material he is made of, as well as his intimate views and aspirations, I be- lieve that Tc//t'« he gave himself Mp {^whcn he could have escaped with Dumont) he did so with the detcrmiucd pur- * It is presumed, that if Canaili.in courts were in the hal)il of usiufj torture in the trial of Canucks, Secretary Bayard would not oliject to their using it upon American citizens resident in Canada. 'I i '■\ I 164 77 fE HLOOD OF ABEL. pose of having- himself put to death as the best means of serving his people, and country . I am of the opinion that in madness he acted with an extreme saj^acity which he might have been devoid of with his wits. If Riel is executed, mark me! the children of his executors, in the not-distant future, will erect monuments to his memory. You know the history of Pontiac! Riel is the Pontine of the XIX. century. Yours Truly, EDMONI) MALLET. '1' i ^' f ^»=^ A rpExnrx a. i<« APPENDIX G. [(-'ofiij of L» ft) r from Majoi' J-jIihoih/ Malh t to Mr. 'J'/miiKts J). JiiitiihitiitA Ifhruary i), /SS6. Thoimts n. Ramhatil, F.sif., Nf'o Vorkf A'. )'. DICAR SIR: — ^'()Ul• note llnds me oti the eve of tny tle- paitiiie from the city for a few days, and in the mitlst of such f)ccupati()iis that is really impossible for me to find tile newspaper articles which appeared relative to my efforts to have the U. S. Go\ernmeiit interfere in thj Riel case. ! will now give yon the snb.^tanceof what was done, and if that does not c|i'ite answer yoxw pnrpose, let me know, and I will give you fuller indications next week. I first consultetl Mr. Bayard, and he took this position, sub- stantially : ( I ) That it was not the iluty of the government to inquire into the fact of Riel's American citizenship, and (2) that the government could not interfere even if he was an American citizen, either natural or adopted. If a case was brought to the attention of his department it woukl be examined into, but under no circumstances could the government, he thought, interfere, unless it was shown conclusively that he had been discriminated against ilnring his trial Jw reason of his Ameri- can citizenship. When it became apparent to me that the Canadian Gov- ernment had committed itself to the execution of Riel,uniler the pressure brought to bear upon it by the Orange lodges of Ontario, I went to the president and appealed to him to pre- > 10(i THE liLOOD OF A/iJ'JL. * I' vent this judicial iniirdtT. I basctl my appeal on the follow- ing;: (i) That Riel was an American citizen, that he had heen indicted as a British citi/.en, his American citizenship havin«; heen entirely ij^nored, althou<;h offer had been made to prove the fact by documents captured at the battle of liatoche, and then in the Canadian (iovernment's hands, and that he hatl been tried by a half jur) of six men, selected by the judj^e, and that judj^je was a mere justice of the peace; (2) that Riel was insane; and I offe chj testimony to that effect; and (3) that the authority • pr hui;',an bein^ to dcatlf for any cause whatsoever is noi ;h'.'i'tfcd in government, but is dele- gated from (jod,and thac fiuch ujl^^gated power can be exer- cised only in certain conditions, si.v... is sound miiul,etc. The president seemed much interested in the case, expressed him- self in sympathy with what 1 told him; but he considered it a very grave matter to interfere. At last I asked that he send for Mr. Hayard and the British minister, antl see if an amicable understantliny: could be made to save Riel. The president then said he would consult with the secretary of state and see what could be done. During the night of the same day the Associated Press announced that, to my appeal, the president liail been constrained to ilecline interfering in the matter. Respectfully Yours, i:i)M(^NI) MAI.I.KT. f ' A I' rr. SI) IX If. 187 APPENDIX H [I/t'tft r frtnii Fatlnr Ihttninu*,] Si. Tkikk's Mission, St. Petkr V. ()., Mcjntana, /