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LETTER FROM THE SECRETARY OF WAR, TRANSMITTING Report of Major Wood, relative to his expedition^to Pembina Settlement and the condition of ajfairs on the North-Wcstei*n frontier of the ' '1 erritory of Minnesota. March 19, 1850. Referred to the Committee on Military Aflaiu, and ordered to be printed. * Wak Department, „ - , , , Washington^ F^b. 25, 1850. biR : 1 have the honor to transmit herewith the report i f iVlajor Woods (he officer of the Array despatched to Perabina settlement, or to the Red nver of the North, under the orders of the Secretary of War, in the sum- mer of 1849, with such other documents relating to'said expedition as are m possession of this Department, tendinf to show the condition of affairs on the north-western frontier of the territory of Minnesota, in answer to a resolution of the House of Representatives of the 13th instant. The report of Brevet Capt. John Pope, of the Topographical Corps is daily expected and when obtained will be laid before you. The delay at tending the report of Capt. Pope, it is alleged, has arisen from affliction in his family. I have the honor to be, very respectfully, your obed't serv't, GEORGE W. CRAWFORD, „ -T « Secretary of War. Hon. Howell Cobb, "^ Speaker of tlie House .of Reps. Adjutant General^s Offtck, „ Washington, Jlpril 18th, 1849. ^TR: It is proposed to establish a new military post on or near the Red river of the North and at a distance from Fort Gaines not exceeding 200 miles, lor this purpose it is necessary to make a military examination of that country. You are assigned to this duty, which you will proceed to exe- cute as soon after the receipt of these orders as may be practicable. The military force under your command on the expedition will be the company ot Dragoons (D) now at Fort Snelling and destined for the garrison of lort Gaines. You will proceed to the region of the Red river of the North by the way of Fort Gaines or such other route as you may deem best, and t^asure. Very respectfully, your obed't serv't, (Signed)' 111,^x^1 Cen'l J. E. FLETCiiKn, U. S. Indian Afrcnt. HENRY M. RICE. Sir ral's oin Fort Snklling, jNIin. T., A\>v. \Qtth. 18-19. Tn compliance with instructions received from the Adiutimt-CJcne- ral s offico, dated '- Washington, April 18, 1S49,'' and of whicli a lopy is enclosed, I have the honor to submit the following, as the riMiIt of my examination in the country of the Red river of the North, confming my- seli a^ ,nuch as pos^il 'e to the objects contemplated bv my instructions. i I'e country refe.-red to is not unknown nor unexplored, but has been examined scientifically and geogri.phjcally by some of tlie most distin- guished gentlemen of the age, and reported upon. The late venerable ui.d world-renowned Mr. Ni'ollet, by a reference to his map and re])ort it Will be .seen, has extended his explorations from the Missouri river to the Shayenne river and un to " Devil's lake," near the 49tli i.arallel, and re- lumed by IbHowirig down the ridge that bounds on the west the valley of the \{va\ river, ai.i! not many mile' west of I' '"ail we followed in 'our expedition last summer. its practised eye ami /ealous devotion to science and geography enabled him to present to the world the ])rominent features and resources of that country. ])r. Owen, the distinguished geologist, in the service of the U. States, 10 Doc. No. 51. has made nn examination of Ihe " Red river of the North," from the 49th parallel to its sources ; many others of distinction have also lent their aid in furnishing materials for a full knowledge of that country, so that it now stands presentable, by maps, to a very great degree of accuracy. The route we followed is well known and travelled every summ(>r by large "■ trnins'' of carts from the lied river settlements. In selecting it in preference to the route by " Crow-wing river," I was governed by"dvice that too forcibly impressed itself on my mind to be neglected, and I deem mysell fortunate in the information 1 received before startinf and the ex- cellence of my guide. " The expedition commenced its march from this post on the 6th June, the earliest period we thought the grass sufficient for the subsistence of our horses. It consisted of myself, in command, Dr. Sykes, Act'g Ass't Sur- geon, 2nd Lieut. A. I). Nelson, 6tli Infantrv, Qr. lAIr. and Coin'y, and 2nd Lieut, and Bvt. Capt. John Pope, Top. Engs. Lieut. Nelson had under his charge a mountain howitzer and the train by which our supplies were being transported. Lieut. Gardiner, with Company " D." 1st Dracroons, was to meet me at Sunk ra[)ids. "" _ Our starting was unpropitious ; the rains, commencing on the 4th, cor tinned unintermittingly until our arrival at Sunk rapids on the 11th. The roads were very batl and our teams liail much difficulty in reaching that point, and my observation in that short distance tau'dit me that 1 was not properly outfitted for the expedition. The large, he^ivy wagons were not suita ) e for the roads or country, and I directed the Quarter-master, if possible, to hire or buy light two-horse wagons, and send back the heavv ones, lie succeeded in getting four and we sent back two iieavy wagons. Ihe Dragoon Company, numbering 40, non-commissioned ofjicers, pri- vates, &c., under 1st. Lieut. J. W.^T. Gardiner, and 2nd Lieut. T. F. Castor, 1st Dragoons, arrived at Sunk Rapids on tli ox and cart pass where horses an.l wagons cannot. Ihere are nuinberlt-ss pjuees on this route <:«!li'!l " '!'i.!-j-.>s:-}rcn>!>Ian?e? " and are formed by springs, the water running from tln'm over a bed'of Sim,!, on which a vegrlable mould has been deposited until in some places it IS found three or more feet deep. I Doc. No. 51. U iOth The water running underneath keeps the superincumbent mass moist and unstable, so much so that it can be sometimes shaken for ten or fifteen feet around, and is always miry. From this point we continued our route considerably south of west, and close upon the bank of Sunk river for about live miles, where the Sunk river turns abruptly north, and we had to cross it. The river was much swollen by the heavy rains, and was wide and deep. We launched our ponton-wagon-beds and crossed it, and encamped on the VAresicrn bank. Between this and Cold-water creek we had to make two bridges, and mired dowm over the most of the way, going only five miles in two days ; many little places detaining. us for hours, and requiring almost the constant labor of our men in mud and water. In crossing Sunk river, some twenty of our horses and mules got away and took the road back. On this ac- count, and to give our men and horses some rest from their toils, I con- cluded to remain in camp a day. On the 19th a party returned for our mules and horses, and near the Mississippi met a man bringing them back. The country back from this point to the Mississippi's heavily timbered, with patches of prairie. The road carries us out of the direction, following the prairie which skirts along Sunk river. The land is good, plenty of timber and the best of water, and destined to be the most valuable portion of this territory ; some positions are beautiful; and nearly all good for farming purposes. On the 20th resuming our march over a beautiful prairie, did not go far until another " tremblante" caused us several hours' labor, and again and again until night overtook us on the prairie, and we had to camp in the rain, without wood, and marshes all around us. In the morning we light- ened our loads and passed the slash in our front, sent back after our stores and again moved forward, and with much diiliculty reached " Lake David" near sun-set, going on this day only 3.^ miles, and the day before 8^. The hard pulling of horses and mules had much exhausted them, and broken our chains, &c., so much as to require repairs. We formed a camp on ])avid lake, and had to burn coal to make the repairs necessary. We remained at this point four ilays, hoping the prairie might improve. \\lu'n starting, we had diiliculty in supplying ourselves with picket ropes or laniats lor our horses, and were obliged to lake the common bed- cords. Seeing that we would soon be without the means of securing our horses, as these cords broke easily, J sent Lieutenant Castor and two men back for a new supply. Our dilliculties to this point were principally with the two heavy wagons belonging to the dragoon company, and I would have sent them back anil waited for others, could I possibly have gotten along without them ; they were the ponton-wagons, and were indispensably necessary to the inarch, and did us much good service on the expedition although they caused the men much hard labor. The light two-horse wagon is the most suitable vehicle for transportation in this country, and the one generally in use. The cart is much used by the Red river i)eoplo, but for its economy. It is a simple structure, wiliiout any iron about it, and can \n\ -nade or repaired by each indi.idual. A single ox in harness is the moving power, and one person will drive four of them. Lake David is narrow and long ; its length in tlie direction of norili and south, and drains j)ir into a branch of "Crow river.'" It is about 12 miles from the crossing of Sunk river, 'i'he horse-tly attackeil our horses here, and continued for two days indescribably fierce, and then disappeared; we were not again troubled with them durinVr the ivnedition. 12 Doc. No. 51. ijn the 26th we commenced again our march, over bad roads, or rather, over a bad prairie, which, althouo;h it is urdulating and high, has many drains and level places that were Hooded with water and miry. Seven or qight miles from Lake David, is " Lake Henrie'', resembling much the former, and of about the same extent. They both have heavy strips of timber on their eastern shores. The water is clear and good, and is sup- plied by springs. 1 am told there is plenty of fish in them. The roads continuing very bad for about eight miles further, causing us much labor, annoyance, and delay, we crossed a branch of " Crow river." This is a bold little stream running about south-east, with a muddy bottom on the west side of about two hundred yards, which was very difhcult to pass. From this point for eleven miles we had good roads, to " Lightning lake." This much good road was obtained by following a ridge that divides two branches of " Crow river." The prairie was still almost impassable ; at Lightning lake we arrived in the midst of a heavy rain, and pitched our tents on the borders of a beautiful lake and sought the shelter of them during the continuation of the rain and the most terrible electric explosions. The dragoon company was still behind with the heavy wagons, but Lieutenant Gardiner's servant being with the advance, had pitched his tent. A Hash of lightning struck Lieutenant Gardiner's tent, shivering the tent poles into splinters, and burnt his bedding and clothing as if a red-hot iron had passed over them. My tent was eight or ten paces from Lieutenant Gardiner's, and Captain Pope, Mr. Stille and myself were seated in it, and were knocked from our seats ; but recovering from the shock, we rose and looked out, fearing some person l.^.d been hurt, when we saw Lieutenant Nelson, whose tent was between Lieutenant Gardiner's and mim , lying on his back, out of his tent, in the rain, his hands and arms raised convulsively, gasping and struggling for breath and in the last agonies of apoplexy, produced by concussion of the brain. Dr. Sykes was called in an instant, and by a free use of cold water re -action was excited, his pulse revived and he gave signs of life. As soon as he was able to bear it he was bled, and then soon recovered his senses, to find his right side partially paralyzed ; but in the hands of our attentive and skillful surgeon, a few weeks relieved him from thnt mis- fortune. Nothin^ but the presence of mind and promptness of the doittor, could possibly have resuscitated him. Life seemed to be wholly extinct when the doctor reached him. Every person in camp was more or less affected by the shock. The iron on "the tent-pole, particularly as a point extends above the tent, attracts electricity as a lightning-rod. On account of Lieutenant Nelson's health, and the l)ad condition of the prairies, I remained in camp five days. On the lid of July we again moved forward and went fourteen miles, and encamped on the borders of " White- Bear lake," where we remained waiting for Lieutenant Castor, who joined us on the 1th with our expected supplies. White-Bear lake has an average width of about two miles, and is per- haps eight or ten in length, nearly east and west. In its widest places, near the shore, are many little islands all heavily timbered. This lake is about seventy -Jim miles fiuni Sunk rapids (tuoulii of Asakis river on the maps), and is a beautiful sheet of water, with heavy bodies of timlier around it, alternating witii prairie, which in many jjlaces descends in iiandsome slopes to the water's edge. The lake is fed by springs, and is full of fish. Doc. No. 51. 13 The heavily-timbered highlands, that rang'e parallel with the Missis- sippi, and back some distance from it, edge upon this lake. The prairie is of the best quality, being a rich mixture of vegetable mould with sand, making a warm productive soil. On the north of the lake ihe prairie is broken and irregular, but the east, west, and south borders, lie handsomely for cultivation. Back to Lightning lake (a name given by us, on account of the acci- dent that occurred there), the country is very pretty, mostly prairie, but probably with a sufficient quantity of woodland within reach on the north and east. The immediate vicinity of Lightning lake is a beautifid country for farming. The lake is divided into two parts by a sand-bank of not more than fifty yards in width. The westei'n portion is almost circular and about half a mile in diameter. The eastern division is from a half to a mile in width, and four or five in length, and drains off into Crow river. Heavy bodies of timber lie all around this lake, wiih the exception of the west side, where beautiful prairie spreads out in the distance. The soil is good as could be wished, and some of the most beautiful natural meadows that can be seen in any country. The lakes, as all lakes of any extent in this country, are fed by springs, and have clear pure water, with sandy bottoms. Our men caught immense quantities of fish, prim inally bass and perch of lai ge size. By the use of a small seine we obtained a greater supply than the whole command could consupie. Having observed tliat near these lakes immense quantities of rushes sprang up most luxuriantly, I was led to suppose that springs could be easily reached, atul digging al)out five feet tlirough a rich mould we reached pure sand and a vein of spring water, as clear and cold as ice. We arrived at White-Bear lake on the 3(1 and left it on the'Gth of July, and in the thirty days that intervened since leaving Fort Snelling, we hail, from the Gth to the 13th both inclusive cip;/it days steady rain, from the 14th to the li)th both included six days clear, and then tico days rain, /our clear, lico rain, fire clear, tiro rain, niic clear, foiirtrcn days rain, and .lix- tccn clear. On the -lays marked rainy, we had' sometimes the most terrific storms, when the rain' fell in torrents and the heavens were in a blaze of light, and the thunder broke over us ajipalliiigly. We were driven from the vicinity (if the timlier by the mosquitoes, and our camps on the open prairie, with tlie quantities of iron a!)()ut our wagons, makes lliem the most prominent object arouml ; aud when clouds heavily charged with electricity pass near, such campt; a -e in great danger. On the night of the -tth .July one of these storms visited us, while at White- Bear laki', with all the liiry' the utmost power of the combined elements can inllict. Being on the high open prairie, the thunder broke over us in such smas/titif>' explosions, that for two liours our position was torturing beyond (U-st'ription, many left their tents and stood out regardless of the pelting rain, nor was this an idle or unreasonable apprehension, fin- we had only a lew days before the thunder-bolt amor;- ^ us in its dire elTects, and we knew our camn was the most nrobable object if there was another stray tit' one at leisure. We resumed our march on the Oth of .July, but found the prairies so bad from the dreiichinu; rains that had just fidlen, we were scarcely able lo get along. Little drains that usually contain no water, were now almost 14 Doc. No. 51. swimming, and these occurring every mile or two, witli the miry condition of the ground, rendered our march slow and exhausting to our teams. We made about fourteen miles and camped on what we called Pike lake, a very pretty lake, where the men caught with their seine a great many ■pike. We saw here as at White-Bear Take a great many swan ; one was killed here that weighed 24 pounds. It being the moulting season, they were at our mercy. We remained in camp two days on account of the hiiTh waters and bad condition of the prairie. ° I had ex])ccted 1o turn off more to the north for the purpose of striking Red river, near Otter-Tail lake, but finding the difficulties on the best route almost more than we could successfully encounter I feared to attempt ^ a route which 1 learned was worse. On the 9th we again took up the line of march, and after going about twelve miles over a prairie Ihat was a succession of ups and downs we crossed the_ main bninch of the Chippewa river. It runs almost north and south, is about fifteen yards across, has a rapid current with a rocky bottom, and empties into the St. Peters river five or six miles below " Lac-qui-porte." The highlands just passed over are those dividing the waters of the Mississippi and St. Peter's rivers. After crossing the Chippewa river, in a few hundred yards we came upon the foot of a lake along which we continued for two or three miles and got into the midst of many lakes separated from each other by embankments but they all have outlets, and drain off their waters into 'the Chippewa river. Here we saw an elk, and being the first one that cro.ssed our path, we called this lake Elk lake. It has high and in some places bluff banks, with fine bodies of timber around it and much more covering the highlands off to the east. About fifteen miles farther on, we came upon another large lake, which we called Elbow lake. A name suggested by its shape. This also has timber around its shores. The roads 'had much improved and we got along with fewer interruptions on these highlands. At '' Elbow lake," we met a " war party " of Chippewa Indians, known by the name of « Pillagers " from " Ottef-tail lake," but I shall forbear speaking of them here as I have done of other Indians we had met with. My object being in the first place, to give a description of our march, and the country passed over, and then under separate heads, I shall attempt to present an account of Indians, half-breeds, and a military reconnoissance of the country. About ten miles back we crossed a branch of the Tipsinah, or Pomme- de-terre River. It runs nearly .south, and emi)ties into the St. Peters five or six miles above " Lac-qui-porte," or '• Echo lake." After leaving " ElI)o\v lake," and going four or five miles to a little stream called ''Rabbit river," we met the advance of the Red river "train of carts," about twenty-five in number, and under the charge of a man from Selkirk, or the English settlement. They were loaded with l)eltries and "pemmican," and on their way to St. Pauls, Minnesota Terri- tory. The.se people buy goods at St. Pauls and Galena and take them back to Pembina, when they await an oj)portunity and smuggle them into the settlements on the Krirrlish side. About ten miles farther on, we met Mr. Norinan Kittson, the afent of the fur company of " Chotian June & Co.," established at Pembina. He had about sixfy-Jire carts, loaded with the product of his last winter's busi ncss m furs; going ten miles farther, we came upon Otter-Tail lake Doc. No. 51. 15 condition ur teams. ^ike lake, eat many ; one was ison, they f the hic-ii f strikinpf the best attempt ng about lowns we ost north li a rocky es below iding the 3sing the of a lake midst of 'all have Here we illed this with fine us off to rge lake, riiis also (1 we got 3^ known i forbear net with, irch, and .tempt to sance of Pomme- ters five ) a little ed river irge of a cd with a 1 ern- ke them lem into :igent of na. He r's l)usi ail lake river (as it is called in this country), or Red river of the maps, where it has a direction a little south of west. It runs through the open prairie, with no timber to be seen in any direction, save some small scatterinc^ shrubbery growing immediately on its banks. At the ford, it has a rocky bottom and good banks, is from two to three feet deep and some fd\v yards wide ; we forded it easily and camped on the right bank. Mr. Kittson returned to our camp and remained with us for the night and gave us much information of the country we were en route for. From our first crossing of Red river, we travelled nearly north-west, about twenty-two miles, and struck I\ed river again, ten or" fifteen miles below the mouth of "Bois-de-Sioux river," where it is a much larger and finer strea-i. After ctossing it by pretty deep fording, we follo^ved it down about four miles and made our camp, with the view of exaraininT this point for the establishment of a military post. _ My instructions were to select a site for a military post on the Red river of the North, and at a distance from "Fort Gaines" not to exceed 200 miles. This position is 163 miles from Sunk rapids (mouth of Osakis river) and nearly due west, from Fort Gaines, and perhaps farther from the latter place than the former by any practicable route. The position of our camp, and which I selectetl for that of a post, is on the left bank of Red river, where it runs a little west of north. The prairie comes \\\> to the water's edrre, and extends as far as the eye can reach north, west, and south, with the exception of heavy strips of timber, ^yith openings showing the prairie beyond, along Wild Rice river, which is abovt three miles to the west, running north. Red river makes a bend in our front, forming almost an island on the right bank, thi.:' heavily timbered, and the bends to the right and left of us on the left bank are well timbered. I have carefully examined, with reference to the wants of a military post, and thinkt here is a sufficiency of timber within five miles for all the purposes it might be wished for any number of years. The forest consists chiefiy of elni, oak, ash, haskberry, cotton wood, and some maple, and a variety of small growth I am not familiar with. The oak and ash are of dimensions to be made good lumber. It is to be re- gretted that there is no stone in the country of any descri[)tion. I have seen no stratified rock since I left the Mississ'ippi river. There is an ad- mirable clay for brick, and sand can be had by digging for it, but lime, I presume, cannot be had short of the Mississippi. The prairie is very fertile, and if there is any objection to it, it is that there is not a sufficiency of sand to give it warmth. The grass is very luxuriant, and will be inexhaustible for hay. The water is the river water. The acting Assistant-Surgeon reports it a healthful position. This was the first position, or (he one highest up on the Red river, where there was timber sufiiident for a military jjost. I would have pre- ferred locating it higher up, for reasons that will be given when I come to speak of Indian relations on this frontier. This point is 88 miles from White-bear lake, anil there is but little timber on our route over that distance. Some about Pike lake. Elk lake, mid Elbow lake. The jir.uric gL-nendly is high and undulat- ing, and dotted over with lakes of various dimensions, and there are some running streams. The immediate vicinity of Red river from our first point of crossing to this place is low, and in wet weather, marshy. Here the banks are about 16 Doc. No. 51. 25 feet hi^li, and out of all danfrer from hip;h waters, and the prairie dry, even in the wet season. It is the prettiest location in the country; but this is not high commendation. We set up on this site a post about two feet in diameter, and eight feet above the ground, hewn square, and cut on it in deep letters, " 163 miles to Sunk Rapids. July 14, 1849." On the 15th of July we resumed our march in a direction generally north- west, and travelled nine miles over a high dry prarie to Wild Rice river, which has a bad muddy crossing, and then eleven miles over a low marshy prairie, and, consequently, bad roads, we struck the Shayanne river. This river was much swollen, and had (o be ferried. A raft that Mr. Kittson had constructed for his passage, we thought would answer for ours, with some repairs. We hoped to be able to put the wagon with its load on it and save the trouble of unloading; but the raft was badly constructed, and woidd carry but little, and gave us more trouble than we should have had, if we had commenced with our wagon-beds. Tlie Shayenne is a rapid turbid stream, and was at that time deep, with excellent bodies of timber along its banks. While encamped on this river, early in the morning, our horses being picketed out and made restive by the mosquitoes, took fright at something, broke their larriats, and twenty- six of them left the camp at full run. A party was immediately sent after them, and followed for ten miles, when they caught six of them. They lost all trace of the others, and came in without them. Another party started, and returned the next day about twelve o'clock, bringing back all but one, which we never recovered. Having consumed the 16th in crossing the river, we camped on the north bank of the Shayenne where, during the night, the mosquitoes infested our camp in clouds. Our horses were tortured, and got neither rest nor opportunity to eat during the night. Soon after crossing the Mississippi, the mosquitoes commenced on us, and had gradually increased in numbers and ferocity, and had been anathe- matized, as we thought, sufTicit-ntly for their perdition; but now they choked down every expressior that would consign them to the shades. It was impossible to talk wiihout inhaling them. Starting at 12 ]M., over a level prairie on which the water stood from two inches to two feet almost the entire way, and after going about lour- teen miles, we reached Maple river, which Mr. Kittson had bridged ; but the water being much higher now than when he crossed it, the bridge had disappeared. We camped on its bank in the midst of a terrible thunder- storm, and were honored, as the night before, by countless niimbers of these winged insects that contemn the displeasure, and sing cheerily over the tortures of their victims. We ferried the river, and over the marshes again for about fd'teen miles. We came upon Rush river (Elm river of the maps), where we encamped. Between this point and Maple river, fifteen miles back, we had to ferry two branches, and crossed a third that nearly s vam us. There had been such torrents of rain about this time, that the little branches that ordinarily furnish barely a sufficiency of water to allay the thir'^t^ nt n trriV(>11inir trmn werf ir^"' o\»'im"'>in'T Oiir (pnin linrcoo rjt, this point began to fail, attributable principally to the unceasing annoy;ince of mosquitoes that did not allow them to get their rest at night, nor quietly to feed upon the grass. At Rush river we found higher prairie, and a little relief from the mosquitoes. We had to ferry the river. As our direc- I ! prairie dry, ciountry ; but 3t about two ?, and cut on :9." lerally north- 1 Rice river, I low marshy river. This ; Mr. Kittson 'or ours, with ts load on it structed, and lid have had, le deep, with on this river, de restive by and twenty- ily sent after hem. They tiother party ^ing back all on the north toes infested her rest nor enced on us, been anathe- it now they e shades. r stood from J about lour- bridged ; but le bridge had ible thunder- niimbers of tiheerily over the marshes Elm fiver of Maple river, [ a third that lat the little to allay the inrses nt tins y annoyiuu'.e t, nor quietly irairie, and a A.S our direc- Doc. No. 51. 17 tion diverged from the course of Red river, we were at this point probablv fifteen or twenty miles distant from it, and seeing the high prairie before us, we began to congratulate ou;^elves at the prospect of gettino- out of its bottoms; but we found the elevation that appeared in our front only benches, rismg fifteen or twenty feet, and then spreading out into what are called "dead levels," covered with marshes. About eight miles from Rush river, we came upon a little prairie stream much swollen and deep. We diverged from our track and passed around It, or so nearly so, that we had only some of its branches to cross, which were iordable. On leaving Rush rivej-, we were aware that we had more than torty miles before us of prairie, without a stick of timber, and carried wood with us for one night's encampment. About twenty miles from Rush river, we came upon a cluster of hills Ox considerable elevation, and after ascending them, we could see off to the west and south west their continuation; but in our direction, west of north- they extended but a few miles, and a flat country was still before us 1 wenty miles farther, we struck the south branch of Goose river The banks of this river are seventy-five or more feet in height, and in some places perpendicular. The view from camp is a very handsome one ; the high bluff banks bearing off in the distance, and the bottom dotted with clumps of trees, make a beautiful contrast with the boundless extent of prairie spreading around us in every other direction. On the mornino- after our arrival here, we saw a herd of buffalo, gave them chase, and killed several of them. ' I will send with this report, an account of buffalo-huntint^ on these im- mense prairies, written by the Rev. Mr. Bclcourt, Catholic Missionary at Jrembina. -^ About nineteen miles farther we crossed the main branch of Goose Kiver, travelling over higher and drier prairie ; we also crossed several little branches with abrupt high banks. These abrupt breaks on the streams are confined to the banks; the prairie extending out from them, as If It had been adjusted in its horizontal by a spirit-level. Goino- twenty miles farther we struck Turtle river, and encamped on its northern bank. It IS a small stream, running south of east, with high banks anc some timber in its bottoms. Our encampment was a short distance below a place which bears som resemblance to a rude attempt at a field-work, and it is said to be a placi made for defence by the Red river Chippewa's when they went there to winter as was the case some years ago. This work is of rectanLnilai orm, three sides of it having much the appearance of made embankments, the side facing the river having none. The enclosure is about one acre in extent, and the portion of it at the lower end is sunk ten or more fee below the surrounding country. The elevations forming the contour are ot sand, while the adjacent and exterior ground is a vegetable mould. Ihe whole is now covered with vegetation, but of not so luxuriant a growth as that surrounding it. Had I not heard stories about it I shoula have passed It by, thinking it the uncommon and curious washin<-s of a bluff bank by the heavy rains. " ,p J^V "'■ ^!"T ^'"'"'^ ''^■"' P^""^^^^ "^^ ^^^ '=^i""'^ ^nti Chippewas met here, llie tMoux had come from tlie west, down the river, and encamped the night preceding in a little wood about half-a-mile above. The Chippewa had discovered them, and selected this .old Fort for an ambuscade, an DOC. 51.— 2 I .-WJIW I UI' • 18 Doc. No. 51. ook possession of it in the ni^ht and remained ""f ^"7;;^^, ^ij;^ l^""^ ^ioux were ^vithin their reach, ^vheu a skirmish ensued,, ^'j' ;"' ^^ ^^^^^^^ Phinnewas abandoninrr their work and taking to Ihsrht. Ihe ^bioux \\ere aWt^to one^^ Parties together did not number over ^//y. ^7.::^V^^-^ traveled over high, broken prairie, the roads .ood cros in." Big and Little Salt rivers until the bottoms spread Surao-ain before us, about forty miles from Turtle nver. \\ e camped on ° i.h lidc. on the prabie; we were fearful of going into the bottoms on 'ccoun ot^ the mosquitoes. These pests had become so much worse than Jhey vere when we\llowed them to irritate and anger us, that complain s and i' pleasure changed into merry-making and the ridiculous. Ihe latter mn'ssion could'not be resisted when you saw your tellows in mis- fortmie n ustriously striking out with both hands from morning till night, td ct c y a lie to^alk foAear of ingulfing some handful or two of them, lie sulferincrs of our horses were painful to behold, and irremedvable We i^^ide dfvers smokes about them, which sometimes availed, but at Sll>r mes did no good. On this night, although we were on a h^h m ge and a strong wind was blowing, the mosquitoes were so thick, that being Iriven ao-ainst our tents it sounded like the pattering of rain. %: 'vere at this point within fifty miles of Pemluna, and en. d.ec i n Wcrinnin<- to chun-e to tlie north-east, we had to descend f.om the hills, anScr^s^eJ several" little streams all with heavy bodies of timber on their ''to^^;^Z^'i^^^^^^ we got among what^calb.. r ^n^tit^^s srtr^.£rit is-^^bi^t^j '^:^ we?e wUii" tenTiles of 'our destination, I almost despaired o -er ge^^^^^^ there Our horses were almost exhausted. 'Ihe cons ant hard pulling, the ravnges of mosquitoes, and not being able to feed in quiet, were too '"TLnrLieuTenant Nelson, the quarler-master forward, to pt some cads if possible. They were obtained, and returned to our assistance and on the 1st day of August, 1849,-having been out since the Gth of June,-xNe Irrivcd at Pembimi, ami found the Red river and the Pembina river with ^bout twenf,/ feet rise in them, and overflowing ^^/^ir banks. The tradin- establishment of Mr. Kittson is in the fork of Red and Pem- oina nve? ami north of the Pembina. We left our wacjons on the south Tnk of Pembina river, swam our horses over it, and took our stores, ice, '''it waT witTi difTiculty that we could find dry ground sufficient for the company to pilch their tents. The marshes allorded good grass for oat ^°Mr!' Kittson, when we met him, had kin extensive buildings. The post marking the line is thought not to be accurately on the 49lh parallel, but some two or three hundred yards within our territory. This impression arises from statei.. ^nts said to^have been made by Major Long, as well as English observers, and the cautious- ness they exhibit in settling near the marked line. 1 did not attempt to confirm or correct the position of the post placed by Major Long, for fear of leading to greater errors. But Cajn. Pope got himself into a corres- pondence with the chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company in relation to the boundary line. I forbid him as an ofiicer of the expedition corres- ponding on that subject with any official from the other side of the line. Soon after arriving at Pem"bina, I directed the Qr. Master, Lieut. Nelson, to procure for our horses forage, if possible ; our work horses par- •20 Doc. No. 51. ticulr.rly stcnd in n eed of it they had become weak under their hardship ntrv, he liad to send to Fort Garey, the Tiiere being no grain in the cou...._,., .-- Enrrlish seftbnient, sixty miles below, to obtain snch supplies as he want- ed,'^vvhich on account of the difficulties in bringing them up the river, we did not get until the 15th August. The officers at Fort Garey,"^the gentlemen of the Fur Company, and the c^olonists tendered us cordio'i invitations to visit them, andallbrded us every facility in replenishing f)ur decreasing supplies. The almost incessant rains and the condition of the country prevented us from respondn.g to this politeness, and we can now only offer them our grateful recollection of their kindness, -.ith the hope that we may in our own country sometime have an. opportunity of reciprocating their attentions. The soil at Pembina is a vegetable mould of a foot or two in depth, oa a substratum of clay, and is very productive in the indigenous growth o\ the climate. The prairies are covcreil with a most luxurious growth of grass, and the woodlands with a rank dense thicket of undergrowth and weeds. Agricultural pursuits are rewarded by a bountiful haiwc-t, and there is hardly a product that tne iarmer values that cannot be raised there in abundance. I saw at Mr. Kittson's a lield of brrley and potatoes, and at Uv. Belcourt's a garden, in which were growing all the vegetables most prized by the borticulturist, all of luxuriant growth. The Indian corn I saw seen.ed of a stunted growth, it being in tassel, and the stalk not more tlian two fert high. I was told this was a peculiar kind of corn that did not grow iiigher'aiiy where. There is no farming on our side of the line. The h^lf-'breeds have small gardens about their huts, but the overflow last summer drowned out or injured vegetable life in them. In the vicinity of Fjrt Gafey, the English military post below, I am told there are fine farms. I saw several of those farmers and had much .-.ouversation with them. They gave ine tlie following as the average of their crops : Wheal, 30 to 40 bushels to the acre. Barlev, 40 " 50 Oats," 40 " 50 Potatoes, 200 " 300 Corn does not do well, but c;in be raised in small quantities; wheat is sown in the sjiring and gathered in the fall. Th(\\- have tried the fall-wheat and think it will do well, but th(; former being that generally used in > le country, it is difficult to introduce a diflerent practic". It is one of the peculiarities of these people to discountenance every thing like diangc of luihits, although it may come recommended by improvement. The country cast of Red riwr is a mixture of prairie and woodland, intersected by numero'us st.iams. Its general character, according to the best accounts, is, that it is a good snil, well-timbered, and having plenty of water, but in a wet season, for a time, it is impossible to travel over it or to occupy It, from the marshy nature of the soil. The same remarks apply to the country cast of Red river, through to the Mississip])i, and along our line to Rainy lake and Lake Superior, even the few hiLihla.nds •nark'^d. ihcn- coino under the sann' cntcixory. The country ircst ot' I'.ed ri\cr is a l(;vcl marshy region back about thirty miles to Pembina mountain, which rises into a high jicak near the 49th parallel and ranges oil' nearly south, forming the western bordt r oi the valley of Red rivei, and connects with the liighlands extending ou* fn-rti Lake Tr^ivers, near the head waters of the St. Pelcr's river. u a Doc. No. 51. 21 ;ir hardsbipc. t Garey, the as he want- :he liver, we laiiy, and the •ded us every try prevented ffer them our I may in our eir attentions. > in depth, oa :>us growth of >us 9:ro\vth of lergrowth and I harvc'-t, and )e raised there potatoes, and ■getables most Indian corn I jtalk not more corn that did le of the line, the overflow ; below, I am nd had much Lhe average of ties ; wheat is the fall-wheat ly used in < le is one of the like change of and woodland, cording to the ivint; plenty of ivel over it or rer, through to Superior, even iry. )n hack about peak near the ^tcrn bordt r of exiending ou^ river. We left Pembina on the afternoon of the 26th of August on our return and had lor about fifteen miles the same difficulties to contend with that we encountered gomg out, but at this point the prairie began to improve. There had evidently not been so much rain as at Pembina, and twenty- five or thirty miles farther on the roads became good and we travelled without any serious interruptions, averaging more than tioenty miles a day until we reached Fort Snellmg, the 18th of September, 1849, making the distance Irom Pembina to Fort Snelhng, measured coming down, 471 miles in 23^- (lays. We were fifty-seven days going up. On the morning of the 1st of September we found a heavy frost on the ground, and tnis with numerous others began to affect the grass. Our horses having to labor and travel all day became very weak by the time we reached the Mississippi, on the 14th of September, but gettino- fbnge at Sunk Rapids, on the Mississippi, our horses went through to FoPt Snell- ing with ease. \Ve were three months and twelve days out, travelled nearly a thousand miles without forage (with the exception of a Tew days), had the worst of roads, rivers to swnn almost daily, and the unceasino- annoyance of mos- quitoes, and lost but one horse and one mule. The'horse got away and could not be recovered; the mule died. On returning, we crossed the Shayenne river, higher up than our crossing going, where it emerges from the highlands, lhe crossing is much better. It has a sandy bottom, and IS no. deep, from these hills i. is plainly perceptible they are a part of the range seen in the west on our route back to Pembina. J had prepared at Pembina a cart, knowing a wagon could n .< pass on that rrute, lor the purpose of crossing Red river, near the mo- (h of the Shayenne, and going by the head of the Otter-tail lake to Crow-win.r and fort (janes, but was prevented by an accident. My desire to go on that route arose solely from the wish to report upon it from personal observa- tion, not doubting but that I would find it, ja-t as it had been reported to me, impracticable for wagons." My inabiKty to go was not so much a subject of regret, as I am confident that the best route is the one we took. . i he accident referred to was an injury f received in my loot, while chas- ing buffalo on the 30th of August, which confined me "to the wao-on and crutches for hve or six days, and from uhich I have not yet encirely re- ccovereu. •' In the foregoing I have endeavored to condense as much as possible from my journal a description of the countrv and march, and fear that I have been difruse without accomplishing my object in a satisfactory manner. I will close this portion of my report by the following extracts fr nn my journal, made on reaching the .'Mississippi river. _ September 14th.— Marched 21,', miles, and camped on the Mississippi river. Here our troubles end, and right glad we were, too, once more to see t ns magnificent river. We have been wading, swimmin..-, and plung- ing through dirty little streams dignified with the titles of rivers, until we began to lose the true conception of what a real river was. The country behind us is a most sinirular one, and now to describe it is a problem with me: but from this noint bnek to VVhite-boM.r hike, I th.ink It a better cfMintry tha.i any I liav(; seen in the north. There i^ a -rn-ai deal of prairie— too much— but it is an excellent soil, .md well ndapte.l to the growth of agricultural products, and there is timber sufficient fbr farming purposes, if economically used. 22 Doc. No. 51. From White-Bear lake to Otter-Tail-lake river, there is only timber clustering around a few lakes. The prairie is hilly and dry, and at many points no wood can be seen. At Otter-Tail-lake nver there is no uw, and thence to the crossin^^ of Red river, it is a marsh without a bru h Both banks of Red river are densely covered ^vlth timber, varying in width from half a mile to two miles, and thence to Pembina, genenjUy a tlat marshy country, traversed by streams of the size known as branches, airouo-h called rivers, at intervals of fifteen and twenty miles lliese h ve mall tips of timber along their banks When we get within hfty miles of Pembina, the country is better supplied with wood; but we are back some twenty-five miles from Red river, and close upon the southern ranoe of Pembina mountains. I have never seen a more luxuriant growth of g^ass in any country. The early snows cover the grass and P^-eserve full of nutriment sufficiently for the subsistence of horses and cattle and the immense herds of buffalo that winter m this seemin^,ly inhospitable climate. The horse paws away the snow. The ox and butfalo remove it with the nose. Crossi lo- the Mississippi river at Sank" Rapids, about one mile below the mouth of"theWatab river, we entei the country belonging to the bioux Indians. The Watab river is the southern boundary ot the \\ innebago country. The country along our route to the Shayenne river ^^^^^ by the Sioux, and their right is acknowledged by other tribes with the exception of the portion traversed between the two crossings ot Red river The west of Red river was, and I believe is still claimed by the Sioux ; but a lonff series of conllicts between them and the Chippewas, Lrees, ice, have dispossessed the former and the country north oi \\.^ Shayenne river, is now, and has been for a long period held by the ( Inpi.ewas, and the Shayenne is tacitly acknowledged as the boundary bstween Ihem. T'he Chippewas are in possession of the country from Lake Superior to the Red river, and the Red river country; but they are divided into many bands that claim and exercise an indepen.lency oi each other, llie I liip- pewas of Lake Superior and the Mississippi river claim to be the t uppe- wa nation, and have a chief whom the dilferent bands acknowleilge as //V,s7 in authority. ,• i . .1 i 1 ^,. The general term of "Pillager Chippewas" is applied to the bands oc- cupyiuL^ the country about Otler-Tail lake, Red lake, Pembina and they yield no obedience "to, or acknowledgement of a Imid vhnj. Ihey liave iarticipaled in none of the treaties held with the Chippewas and have re- ceived no annuities from the United Stales. They are a wild roving race of i.eople, with but few wants, and these are supplivd by the country. They know but little of the United States, and have no bonds uniting them with our government, as other tribes have, by the o .ligati.n.s ot treaty slnndations. Tliev live prin.ipallv by the chase, and warlike l.y nature and habit, come oflen in cnnflicl wilh their irre.'oncilable enemies, the Sioux, while hunting on the jilains. The Sessitou and Yankton bands of Sioux living about l/aU.;-(pii-» oru , \\\.j Sin.u> hike, and Lake Travels, are a very numerous and mtractal.le proud and adventurous race of people, who assume, m their own name and ri-rht, to occui.v and control the immense tract of country lying about litg SUme lake, back to the Missouri river, and up the Siiay.;nne river to Devirs lake. Within these limits are the Plains, over which roam the Doc. No. 51. 23 only timber nd at many s no wood, lit a brush, ng in width erally a tiat s branches, les. These within fifty but we are lie southern •iant growth I preserve it 1 cattle, and inhospitable lo remove it le below the ) the Sioux Winnebago ;r is claimed es. with tlie )f Red river. f the Sioux ; ;, Crees, &.C., lyenne river, vvas, and the liem. ' Superior to id into many TheC'hip- tlie t'hippe- nowledge as he bands oc- na, and they They have and have re- d rovinu; race the country, innds uniting )bligati()ns of lI warlike by able enotuies, d;t'-(iui-Porte, (1 intractable, )wn naTiic aiid ing about Hig cnne river to lich roatn the immense herds of Buffalo, that the whole north-west have a mutual inter- est in^ and dependence on, for their subsistence. These Indians know but little of our government, and nothing from any benefits it has bestowed upon them. They disregard our exhortations to the habits and pursuits of civilization. We met, between the Mississippi and White-Bear lake, a few hunting parties of the Winnebagos, and at White-Bear lake, two par- ties of Winneba-gos came to our camp. They were hunting, but none go farther west for fear of falling in with the Sioux. They were desirous of accompanying us, as they could go in safety to see the country farther back, and get among the buifalo, but were not prepared for so long a trip. Near Elbow laka we saw an Indian on the prairie, and stopping him to " talk," others began to appear from cdl sides, and in a few minutes twenty- five of them were around us. They were the Chippewas from Otter-Tail lake. They said they were on a hunt ; but it was evident from their ap- pearance and manner they were a war party. I asked them to follow me into the camp, which they did, and I learned from them that a party of eight or ten were in the advance, seeking an opportunity to retaliate on the Sioux for the murder of a Chippewa woman, which had been committed by them sometime before. They were a fine-looking party of Indians; seemed to be very friendly and glad to see us. I told them the President would be much pleased to see the frontier quiet, and all the Indian tribes disposed to be friendly to- ward one another. They say they act only in self-defence. This band numbers about "fifty warriors; they are friendly with the Mis- sissippi Chippewas, and the Winnebagos. They seem to be well pleased with their home on Otter-Tail lake. They say they get an abundance of game, fish, wild rice, the wild i)ota- to, and make large quantities of maple sugar. I gave them some tobacco, and they gave us a war-dance, and promised to return. We saw no more Indians until we got to Pembina, where I find there are many that regard that as their home. At that time there were but few about, iiolh Indians and half-lireeds had heard of the approach of a mili- tarv force, and had waited a long time at Pembina for its arrival, and not seeing it when expected, imagined it had turned back on account of the unfavorable season. 'I'lie most of them had gone to the plains after bulfalos. Between the lOtli and 2()th of August tiiey began to return, and a large number of them came to see me. I told them I wanted to see them all together, when those that were still absent came in. There are at)out one huiulred and fifty warriors, which would make a total of five or six lumdred Indians thai claim to be Pembina Inihans. 'fhey are almost entirely Chipju-was; a few of them are Crees and Assin- aboines. They were rathei- stragglers than a liand, liaving no chief or organi- zation amongst them. They seemed aware of the advantages of some ruling authority, and had endeavored, on several occasions, to select a cliH'f, but the inidtitudc of aspirants for the first i)lace defeated all their attempts at organi/.ation. When all the hunters returned, they came to see me. There were almut one iiundred w;;fiif>r5 ]>resrnt o\' the "Hcd ri%sistance, for their cuii is. I did not feel authorized to appoint tlieiii, and inteiuU'd to do it conditionally and submit their crcdcnliah to the (jovcinor of INlinnesota Territory, and he Superintendant of Indian Atfairs therein ; but linding that a conditional 1 Doc. No. 51. 25 hip of the ■iuch neces- (1 aid them I the game ed the un- Loux, when itiers might ouhl adopt BS into the tween them igagements •, whenever of another of the de- ind appoint nt amongst iidt as they them, there lie could be at they had e back, and he country ghting with 1 quiet and e Shayenne iver without >ut onn-half in see very liildren will livating the . Bliinkels be obtained es sell very i to appoint ith no jiros- i were throe jnded to me matter over d return the a body, ami led to them. // r///'7'. ])e "ist 2d Id chief. w r'iiii is. I ■onditionally L'rritory, and 1 conditional exercise of authority in the matter would only give rise to fiirlher dissen- sions, I presented these chiefs with appointments, in writing, dating the 24th of August, '49, and gave each of them a medal. I am happy to say that, since my return, Governor Ramsey has approved of my course. After the above narrated ceremony was over, I again spoke to them, and told them what was expected of them in their intercourse with whites, with half-breeds, with each other, and with neighboring tribes. I told the chief what were his duties, and also the sub-chiefs. The Indians had gotten their guns, and, after the " talk" was over, fired a salute to their new authorities, and I believe everybody was satisfied. We saluted the new dignitaries with several discharges from our howitzer. These Indians remain but for a short time about Pembina : their great resort is to the ivest, in the ranges of Pembina and Turtle mountains, where furs and game are yet abundant ; and east of Red river as far as Lac-des- Roseaux, forty or fifty miles, where Mr. Kittson has a branch of his trading establishment. Their reliance for food is principally on the builiilo, but they get some smaller game; and when these resources fail, the supe"*- abundance of fish supplies them, which, as the^' can be caught by the women and children, who are always the most industrious, makes them careless about the future. They go to the "Plains" with the half-breeds after buffalo. While out on one of these excursions last summer, west of the Shayenne river and south of Devil's lake, they fell in with a large hunting narty of Sioux : a conflict ensued, and several were killed on both sides, and many wounded. Many of the Red lake Cliippewas were with them, and the total about one hundred andjifty warriors. The Sioyx were more numerous, and from what I hear were successful in the engagement. Scalps were taken by both parties; and those in possession of them being the first to return to Pcmljina, the scalp-dance, if not to crowded houses, was, to large assemblies, the rage up to the time we left. The scalps are ornamented with ribbons and feathers, and faslenetl to the end of a stick about three feet long. In the dance, the women carry them elevated above the heads of the dancefs. This inspires them in the " mazy " with un- wonted hilarity and enthusiasm. These Indians gather largely of peltries in the winter,* and sell to the traders. Mr. Kittson, I think, has the principal trade with them; and the Indians themselves told me they preferred trading with him. But the Hudson Bay Company, so close by, and dealing in ardent spirits, get many of their furs. I would not state this from the many rumors I liear about this traflic, as the Directors of the Company have thought proper to state that this traffic was banished from their territories, had not the Indians told me that en their return from their hunts, when they had plenty of furs, they were in the habit of going to the English trading-house and having "big drunks," sometimes of a week or two in duration. Acconling to the l)est information 1 could get, the Hudson Bay Company will not sell liquor, but will exchange it for furs: money will not buy it, but fin-s can obtain it without limitation. I do not think this lompany exerrise a very powerful iniluence over the Indians. If they ever did, that influence is now much impaired by a harsh anil illiberal policy towards thcni. The fruliiriKs arc Mot oncouiiiged to viSit the r.ngiish nettleinents down about Fort Garey, and conse(iuently, I am told, rarely go there. At the trading jjosts, when they have no furs, they are not noticed. The Crecs, in what numbers I do' not know, live about the Luke of the Woods, 26 Doc. No. 51. Rainy lake, and extend to Hudson's bay. The largest portion o them live in the English territories ; many of them, united with the Assinabwans, occupy the co"untry west of the Assinabwan river. • ., • i , I saw many of the Red lake Indians. They say they have in their band about 150 warriors. They like the country about Red lake. Ihey say it is swampy, but with some fertile and tillable lands which yield them arg-e quantities of corn and potato: The lake is i led with " white fish," and Lmc yet abundant about it ; all of which, added to their buffalo meat, is ample for their subsistence. They are in constant communication with the Chippewas of the Mississippi. . . , ■ , -n I would respectfully refer to a communication which will accompany this report, from the Rev. IVIr. Belcourt, in relation to the Indians and half- breeds on that frontier. My statements of numbers, &c., are derived trom the In(hans, and they have very indefinite ideas about numbers. I will add, that Mr. Belcourt 'is a Catholic missionary who has resided in that country for eighteen years, has learned the Indian languages spoken on that frontier, has traveled over the most of it, and is perhaps better ac quainted with the people of that region and their peculiarities, than any other man in the country. I found him a polite, educated gentleman, with a self-sacrificing devotion to his high and holy calling, that cannot but excite admiration in a professor of Christianity, and respect trom the un- believer and heathen. His wish for assistance in the pubhcation of his Dictionary of the Chippewa language, is worthy of the tavorahle considera- tion of a liberal government, which is striving in such profitless and nu- merous ivays to ameliorate the condition of these unfortunate people. Half-hreeds. This IS a distinct class of people residing upon our frontier, dilTenng materially from the Indian and the American (citizens of the U. N.,) in manners, customs and pursuits; and in numbers and position of sutlicient importance to be worthy of consideration from our government. 1 hey are the descendants of the earlv cohMiists of that country, by intermarriage witfi the Chippewa, Cree and \4ssinabwan Indians, and ^vel•e, at a period not remote, residents upon our soil in their entire strength. When the line ot the 49th parallel was marked, and the Hudson Bay Company found them- selves located on our soil, the trading-posts of that company were removed down the Red river about sixty miles. The half-breeds being principaly in the employ of that company, and dependent upon them, were obliged to follow. This obligation arose from their inability to get the necessaries ot life from other sources than from the aoner. The authorities refused at first, but afterwards complied. The whole affiur, according to the accounts given me, seemed an at- tempt on the part of the company to maintain their authority, without Doc. No. 51. m )y the wiiy of it be made by ake, altliough country could lake and the liver, Lake of ain, the coun- that distance, e the line at iintry ; and in region, would y\s or prairies, ildin'jj out the steamers, has lossible. The more that has here, has not er. Pembina i U. S. and the ions, I deemed timber, good ible one in the le occupations bat they are at present time it 1 committed on inative. This :;nding over an 1 to a certain promote their iboring nation, iir laws beyond is arisen aloout, •ritories of the An instance, ide, and which feet as follows : : Pembina, sent le hunters and for furs, doubt- ; been found on ^lish settlement Sir. Kittson and the company's and in a body tf this pri^icner. , seemed an at- thority, without wishing to extend beyond their own limits. Mr. Kittson, when visiting the English settlement, was arrested as an accessory, but was not confined or held to bail, a promise being exacted from him to attend his trial when they met. Another case which I believe was reported to Washingtoi>, was: That two soldiers, deserters from the garrison at Fort Garry, had concealed themselves near the trading-house on our side of the line ; that a party of soldiers came up to the line, a few of them passed over and stealthily kept along the bank of the river, and, unobserved, apprehended the deserters and returned. As it was reported to me by people living in U. S. terri- tory, they did not march an armed party across the line and forcibly arrest and carry off citizens of the U. S. I am sorry to say that the liberality of our government on that frontier, is not reciprocated by the Hudson Bay Company. The subsistence of the half-breed population of the English settlements, the Indians, and the employees of the company, is obtained from the buffalo of our plains. Their hunters and trappers prosecute their pursuits irrespective of boundary- lines, and the traffic in ardent spirits with the Indians is permitted on our borders. They deny us all privileges on their territory. The English have a force at Fort Garry, about 60 miles below Pembina. It is composed of pensioners from the English army, numbering about 100 men. These troops are in ;'„e pay of the company, and they are there for the protection and enforcement of" this monopoly. When difficulties were apprehended between Great Britain and the United States about the Oregon boundary line, a regiment of English troops was sent to Fort Garry ; but it has been withdrawn within two or three years. The Adjutant-General in his instructions to me, says that all our frontier posts are established with reference to our Indian relations. With that view of the case, a post at Pembina would be entirely useless. A post there would be to overawe the Indians and half-breeds, and protect our rights on the frontier. The first is not now needed, as both Indians and half-breeds are well disposed towards the U. S., and with no discordant elements, unless freshly sown amongst them, to make difficulties even probable. The second object does not demand the interposition of au- thority, as I find no instances have occurred that seemed like a wish to tresspass upon our rights, unless the habit that the English hunters have of crossing the line after buffalo is an infraction of our rights ; and in that case, I'clo not doubt but that if they were informed that they would be met on the plains and their horses and carts taken from them, they would cease to trouble us on that score. That it would be an advantage to the country to establish a post there, is, in my opinion, problematical. I know that the general impression is that a military post, in a new country, gives a prosperous activity to agri- cultural interests in its vicinity, by the public disbursements that are made. My own experience has shown me, that pursuits about a post are made to conform to the probable wants of the public service, and interests that do not contribute directly to these, languish. Labor and articles of trade have a fictitious value, and from the limited wants of a post a few persons necessarily become monopolists, and the nine out of ten become factious discontents. The half-breed population on that frontier have been too long dependents on the Hudson Bay Companv, which accounts for their present poverty; DOC. 51*. —3 34 Doc. No. 51. and this poverty will cling to them as long as they have a probable chance of supporting themselves without cultivating the soil. They ask for ♦roops to afford them a market ; and I venture to predict that if a post is established there, and this m.-rket that they ask for is not to the extent they anticipate, they will petition for the removal of the troops. As the letter of the Secretary of the Interior to the President, advising the extinguishment of the Indian title and the opening of that country for settlement, was sent to me with my instructions, it may not be inappro- priate in me to say something on that subject. If that country were opened for settlement, and the American and half-breed could go there and locate themselves upon their own lands, with deeds for them that woi'ld place their tenure above the whims of a company or the restrictions that are placed upon residents in an Indian country, it would give them a position that they have never known, but would soon appreciate. Being then citizens of an organized territory, with laws in operation, administered by legalized agents, the country would soon become an orderly and a respected portion of the United States. , • i f A district of country extending thirty or forty miles on both sides ot Red river and the same distance up it, will throw into the market the best or the most desirable portion of the country, and be sufficient for the de- mands there, for a period beyond which it is hardly foresight to attempt to provide. I think it would be folly to expect a large immigration into that country from the U. States. It will settle with the half-breed population and Canadians. This population will be a valuable one, for they are a good class of people, accustomed to the rigors of that climate, and are free from the morbid restlessness that so strongly characterizes the adventurer from 1he United States. The wild Indians that meet on the plains, can be controlled by an occa- sional expedition there ; but I think the greatest bar to quiet on those prairies is found in the warlike spirit and power of the numerous body of Si;»ux hunters issuing from about Lake Travers, and who attempt to control the plains. If it is proposed to prevent these difficulties by means of posts, the best location for one would be at Lake Travers. Jt would act directly upon the Sioux, and, by the exercise of a proper influence over them, the plains would be left in peace. If a post is established at Pembina, it would be unjust to troops, and an injury to our country, to send a small fore;- there. It is near 500 miles from our settlements or posts, and troops would in case of trouble have lo depend entirely on themselves, without the hope of succor, surrounded by Indians and half-breeds. Two hundred and fifty men {five, companies under the present organization,) would be the least force that ought to make its appearance tlicn: ; then, if needed, advantageous results might be obtaineJ. A display of forces on a smaller scale, would only exhibit oiir weakness. In illustration of the foregoing, I will mention an instance that occurred at ImtI (Jarry, the English post below. A half-breed, a supposed offender against the laws of the Fur Company, was arrested for trial. 'I'he half-breeds, to the number of more than live hundred, united and demanded his release. Tin Knglish refused to release him, but di<| not dare to bring him to trial. The half-breeds then consented that his trial might proi-ecd, but the authorities, iimling they could not punishjn case of con- viction, in the face of such a large armed force, abandoned the prosecution and the culprit escaped. Doc. No. 51. 85 •obable chance They ask for at if a post is »t to the extent Dps. ident, advising lat country for at be inappro- country were :ould go there for them that the restrictions Id give them a eciate. Being n, administered orderly and a )n both sides of larket the best lent for the de- it to attempt to ration into that population and they are a good id are free from idventurer from led by an occa- quiet on those merous body of tempt to control means of posts, luld act directly ; over them, the ) troops, and an near 500 miles trouble have lo •, surrounded by [jive companies :e that ought to results might be Dnly ('\liil)it our an instance that ■ccd, a supposed 1 for trial. 'I'he d and demanded did not (hire to ; his trial might \j^n case of con- l the prosecution At Fort Garry they have about 100 pensioners : this force not being able to contend with the formidable array assembled to resist them, were constrained to be passive lookers-on. Now the half-breeds know their power, and the force at Fort Garry is contemptible in their sight, and a discredit to the powder and authority of England. Lake Winnipeg is about 100 miles north of the 49th parallel, and is the basin of water into which Red river debouches. This river, from what 1 learn, is navigable for steamers, from Lake Winnipeg to the mouth of Red lake river. Above this point I have no reliable information, but would judge its navigation would be attended with too many difficulties for it ever to become a channel of trade. Red river, a few miles above the post we put up, is easily fordable ; and from this point down to Red lake river, its tributaries are small, and I would suppose did not swell its channel into a navigable stream. It is narrow, and very crooked. The outlet of Lake Winnepcg is called- Nelson's river, and empties into Hudson's Bay at York Factory, a depot of the Hudson's Bay Company. This river is full of rapids and cannot be navigated by row boats — several portages have to be made. I will add, in concluding my report, and without expecting any import- ance will be attached to it, that I think the system of protecting our fron- tier by small detached posts, is a defective one. As an instance, I will take this frontier where there are four companies of infantry and one of dragoon, making, when the companii;S are full, about 250 men. If this force were at one post, there could be sent into this field, at any time, at least two hundred men. This force would be respectable and influential under all circumstances — expeditions could be made to the " Plains," and amongst the most numerous tribes of Indians. It would be sufficient when excitement arises among Indians at payments &c., to prevent disturbances. Place this force strategetically and the frontier will have a better guard than 1000 men can give, scattered in detachments of one or two com- panies. A post of one company, which will not generally have an aver- age strength of more than forty men ; after deducting from this number the sick, disabled, and those necessary to be left at a post for the security of public property, &c., and twenty-five men will be the most that can be taken into the field. This force is insufficient for any good. Its presence may sometimes prevent difficulties, but if so, it would be solely from the disinclination of the Indians to embroil themselves with the United States, and not from any fears or apprehensions about the result. Seeing these small forces alone (their minds do not carry them beyond) gives them dis- paraging impressions of the ])ower of the ll^niled States. Indians haxe no fixed abode and the location of troops about haunts they may hav< , only causes them to take up others, and the litllr posts that are established are useless. Protection cannot ne given by placing a sentinel at each man's door. Points must be selected, giving the l)est command of the district of country anl;: a;::?y long sc^oum in tl-counuymay^have enabkd me o m-ike as well of the Indian tribes inhabiting it as ol the ^^*»'^V °/ Treeds who side within its borders. To do this properly ^vould c me an X ended .letail, which the short time you intend remaining h,- well as my own duties leave small space tor performance J^^^^^^^^^^^^ thP desire I have to .^ratify you, as well as the happiness it will .illoul me I ' in armanner, he it never so little, either by my writings or othei 'work; hasienM:^ time lor the melioration of the -motion of a people too long miserable, do not permit me to reiuse e"^;^!^^^^^^ ^^^'^^ accordingly be couched in perspicuous and concise •'"K";''R^- , p,„,|,ina 'n'bo Mi,, ":•::, :^ , ' „ 1« ;i»;n" whe,o feed i,„„„„e.U,le he,* „r il,i, „.ri„„ oMain (lic^ir sul.sistcm-.', ro.ilau. vMlliiii llieir i ""!»•' '™" iry '^.oullour lmt.,lr.-,l .niles lr„m .u.rlh lo south, ana more th.in f..e hun- dred utiles from east lo wesl. , ■ , c ,i.;„ r.nun- Although the Chippewas have hern for ages m possession o this coun try, tradition teaches us that it prcMously belonged to the .^loux. IS every sum- energetic and J every priva- , with the un- [nfantry, corn- difficult, and tain howitzer, of inestimable i; 2d lieut. T. paiiy " D," 2d md most faith- lu the informa- )t satisfactorvj 3ted or plainly >, but my own 1 from Iowa, nt, Red River. Doc. No. 51. 37 [NESOTA, t 20lh, 1849. tter of the 12tlj in writing such enabled me to white or half- y would require naining here, as Nevertheless, t will afford me, vritings or other on of a people, My reply will called Pcmbma, travetsed by the ninth parallel of ic height uf land numerable herds i and half-breeds ir limits a coun- re than five bun- ion of this coun- ,he Sioux. The Chippew-as then inhabited the region lying between ne Sault of St. Mary's, from which that tribe takes its name (Sateaux) and Lake Winnepeg ; the Crees, their allies, occupying that from Lake VVinnepeg and other lakes as far as the Kis-is-kad-ji-wan (and not Laskid jewan) river and towards the Assiniboin river, which, running from west to east, debouches into the Red river about 49° 55, which is also designated by the Chippewas as West Red river, also the great Red river ; the banks of which were the field of battle of those warlike ^tribes, who were alike formidable for their numbers. The many and bloody combats which occurred every yaar on these prairies have apparently caused the designation of Red to be given to this river, for neither in its course nor at its source is the water tinged with that color. These plains remained the scene of contention ; never- theless oftener the residence of the Sioux than of the other tribes, until that nation was divided into two bodies, occasioned by dissensions originating in jealousy of the women which proved anfficiently powerful to produce a bloody conflict ending in their becoming irreconcilable enemies even to this day. One of these divisions retained the country and the name of Pmvn, Sioux, while the less powerful and flying party took refuge in the rocky precipices of the Lake of the Woods and assumed the name of ./Issi- nipawn, or Sioux of the Rocks, These last then allied themselves per- manently with the Crees and Chippewas, and by reason of their superior numbers when combined, they forced the Sioux to fly nearly to the Cheyesme river, which is now regarded as the line between these tribes. Although the Crees and Chijipewas were then extremely numerous, they are far from being sufficiently so now to spread over the vast region they temporarily occupy. The small-pox, not very long since, found its way among them, and not only decimated, but in many of their camps, did not even leave one in ten alive. Here on the banks of the Pembina there is not a spot near the river where the plough-share does not throw out of the furrow quantities of human bones, remains of the destructive scourge. Generally speaking, each post of trade has from two to three hundred hunters which would form a jiopuhilion — estimating three as the proportion to one hunter — of nine hundred souls for each three hundred hunters. This granted, taking the posts of Red lake, of Reed lake, of Pembina, and at the source of Pembiim river or Turtle mountain, at the minimum rate sup- posed, say two hundred hunters each at the four places of trade, and we would have a total of about two thousand four hundred souls ; a number which I believe to be less than the truth. The Crees and Assiniboins regard themselves as equally masters of these lands with the Chippewas, having arq\iired them jointly with the latter, at the expense of their blood. Nevertheless, the Mouse river, which, in its course, approaches within thirty miles of the Missouri, and empties itself into the Assiniboin river, about ninety miles from its mouth, would ap- pear to he the tru(! line, which is never passed by the hunters oi the tribe, except perhaps towards its source where it approaches Moose mountain, which is a point where they are accustomed to concentrate, and for the most part reside. The Crees and Assiniboins form sometimes a camp of four or five, hundred lodges, each lodge containing two or three families. All thisigK i:\\c{",\ \v,i''.!-o.',]<\:\i'rM\(^r)^ \\--,i\ placir^g \h'- v,'\n\hi'T of sfii-h at ion to each lodge, I estimate the sum total of these bamls at about five thou- sand. The Chippewas, like all barbarous tribes, are much demoralized, and, 38 Doc. No. 51. above all others, superstitious to excess. All that is marvellous is believed Sout examination, however ridiculous it may be. With them dreams Tre revelaUon , and the bird, man, or monster who is the hero, or the sub- let of thesis regarded a^ a tutelary deity ; and the same is the case ihould t n^ove a stone, a tree, or a serpent. They make an image of wood SothesSbsIance, which is carefully preserved, and which they invoke in ?Lrmoments of sickness, or when pressed by the pangs of hunger. 1 hey make occasional sacrifices, principally of dogs. ipolous- Polvsamv, although common among them, is often the cause ot jealous ies andTvln of suicides. Strong liquors have for them an irre^stible attJacUon! of which fact the English traders, whose desire for gain knows io ToS, take every advantagl thus -^ing the worsM-ssion of these DOor people to subserve their own pecmiary interest. Ihe tralft. in in \oxlITnl drinks is the abhorrence of those missionaries who are conse- crated to^he object of Christianizing these heathens. The Chippewas Semselves notw thstanding their passion for rum, with no desire to depre- ciatT(whlch would little be suspected), look upon it as an infernal means, on he part of English traders, to make use of rum for the purpose of de- spoiling the poor Indians of all they possess, and for such Pnces as they choo e^to give. It is an insult to humanity and to justice, which it should be the glofy of governments to repress. I never ^vould end was I to com- mit to faper all the abominations caused by this traffic on our border. We have m^e application to the English government, ^"^^g ^^^her tmngs for the abolition of this commerce in liquor ; but it seems that with that court nte?est preponderates over the rights of humanity, for a deaf ear has been turned to our demands. The committee of the Hudson Bay Company in England has had the impudence to reply to a petition ot the Bishops of Canada, asking for the abolition of this branch of their trade w h the In- dians, " that they had already ceased it in all the countries under their juri«- d ction '" Who could have supposed such audacious mendacity when we know that one-fifth in value of all their importations last year consisted of '"^The Chippewas who reside upon the line, or thereabouts, are generally miserably poor, sluggards, having no aptitude but for the chase. Ihey neglect all sorts of ?and cilture. They live upon fish in summer, and rab- bits in winter. The moose, the elk, the reindeer, and the bear have be- come very rare, and none but the most skilful hunters can kil enough of these animals to support themselves during the winter. 1 he Red lake Chippewas are the only ones who appreciate the importance of cultivation of the soil, and among them only the women labor in raising corn and potatoes. This tribe or band appears, however, more industriously dis- posed than the others, and more provident of the necessaries ol lile ; anU thev take advantage also of the abundance of maple in their country to Tt^Z:li:^^r^ are much addicted to play, and when assem- bled together in cam)), they pass whr.le days and nights in playing, sing- ing, and beating the drum; for all these go together, and are a^-^-"«nP;\"'^;^ b/grimaces, all of which wouhl appear to a spect^Uor unacqua.ntecUith their customs, as indications oi iren/y. Fnese indr.m-, »ut m,!..^ ••; • •"- sufficienlly industrious to fabricate objects of luxury, seek ev'-u in tht dust for earth of .livers colors wherewilh to paint their faces and bo les m different ways, more or less fantastically, while they braid or twist their Doc. No. 51. 39 IS is believed them dreams », or the sub- I is the case (lage of wood ey invoke in inger. They se of jealous- n irresistible r gain knows ssion of these traffic in in- are conse- e Chippewas sire to depre- ifernal means, urpose of de- )rices as they hich it should was I to cora- ir border. We her things, for vith that court f ear has been y Company in the Bishops of ie with the In- der their juris- acity when we ar consisted of , are generally chase. They nmer, and rab- bear have be- in kill enough The Red lake e of cultivation lising corn and ilustriously dis- cs of life ; and heir country to id when assem- 1 playing, sing- re accompanied acquainted with ita t '"f^ ■■" " " fk evewas and Mandans which has been faithfully observed for six years. We might possibly persuade the former to make a treaty of pacification also with the Sioux, if we could persuade ourselves of the sincerity of the latter. Several essays have been made to eflect this desirable object, but the Chippewas assert that the Sioux are always the first to break their engagements. This fact, taken into consideration with the knowledge possessed by the Chippewas, that the Sioux freciuently kill white men as well as themselves, causes me to believe that any steps that we can take to obtain a peace between these hostile tribes, would be but labor lost. We have but to desire that the government of the United States, whose wisdom is admired by ill! tlie Indian tribes I have visited, even to the Upper Missouri, will declare that it intends to put a stop to hostilities, and will exact peace under the pain of imprisonment or such other punishment as may be judged proper to induce them to keep it. 40 Doc. No. 51. The hunt for fur-bearing and other animals of the woods becoming con- siderably less each year, it is much to be desired that these poor people should bVfmbuedwith 'a taste for cultivation of the soil A ready they wrto feel sensible of the necessity of this step, if not for themselves atkast for their descendants, and it is a blessing to them, vvhich many of them appreciate, that the government is disposed to pay them hberaly for thei lands, the prices of which when received wi 1 serve luc better disposed portion of them, to establish themselves like the whites, and live a civilized life which they all foresee must be embraced sooner or later in snite of their indolence. , . , .• i i ^The Chippewas are commonly attached to their traders, particularly when they remark in them that uprightness and kindness to '^e Indians wWch cause them to be called /a^/ter by the latter. If " - c^outrary, deceit and bad faith appear in their dealings, they are !.> sovereign contempt by the Indians, which is manifested on a occ. • is with that frankTJss which is their characteristic. A chief will say to a Bourgeois (head trader at a postorina district) " You lack for nothing, and yet you have a Innp-inoT for my trash (or rags)." , , , , I aS happy to be able to say that those American traders I have known show far Ee fair dealing and honesty in their trade than the British traders This accounts for the fact, without doubt, that the hones trader that we have at Pembina (Mr. Norman Kittson succeeds so well in his buless, notwithstanding the opposition of the Hudson Bay Company, and in spite of the rum which they make use of in profusion. The half-breeds are much more numerous than the Indians in this De- partment. There are mixed bloods of different tribes which spread them- selves from the stony mountains of the Atlantic Ocean. We have countea he descendants of thirteen different bands, but the very great majority are of Cree or Chippewa extraction and of this majority the Chippewas have ^^Th^half-Ced's are mild, generous, polished in their manners, and ready to do a kindness ; of great uprightness, not over anx.ms «f ^/^coming rich, contenting themselvesNvith the necessaries of 1'^^' P.^ ^^^ '^^^^ ^l vPt T at all times possessed. The greater number are no friends to labor , jet 1 believe this vice to proceed more from a want of encouragemen , and the small prices they receive for their products, than from laziness ; this opin- ion is grounded upon the fact, that they are insensd,le to fatigue and ex- posure, which they endure with lightness of henrt when called upon to do so in the course of their diverse occupations. They have much openness of spirit, and their children manifest good capacity when taught; still ve could wish them to possess a little more perseverance 1 hey are generally gay and fond of enjoyment ; they affect music, there being but a lew, com- laratively speaking, who do not play on the violin. '1 hey are of a fine Z-sical conformaUon, robust and full of health and of a swarthy hue We see but sli<^ht dissensions in their families, which are ior the mos^t part numerous. The men commonly marry at the age of seventeen or eighteen, an? as a general thing are of good morals. The halt-breeds number over five thousand souls. They first established themstdves at Pembina near- the mouth of the river ofthat name, about iHlh, when they had wuij Ihem a resident Cana.lian priest. They had also erected a <^h"reh am were engaged in the cultivation of the soil with great success when Ma or Lon.r visited the country } and having ascertained the latitude, declared it Doc. No. 51. 41 :oming con- poor people 1 ready they themselves, ch many of ;ra liberally J the better ;es, and live • or later in particularly ^^e Indians '-" ;;outrarv, sovereign AS with that a Bourgeois j^et you have have known the British lonest trader 3 well in his y Company, s in this De- ipread them- lave counted majority are ppewas have rs, and ready icoming rich, they arc not labor; yet I nent, and the s ; this opin- iguc and ex- d upon to do uch openness ighl; still we are generally it a few, com- are of a fine swarthy hue. the most part n or eighteen, i number over ^embina, near hey had with 1 rhurrh, and s when Maior de, declared it to be south of 49*^ ; St. Louis being then the nearest American settlement of any size, and the distance to that city being very great, it was out of the question for the residents of Pembina to hold intercourse with it, except by incurring great expense as wel.' as danger. The Hudson Bay Company profited by the inability of the colonists to communicate with the States, to give public notice that all those inhabitants Avho were established on the American side of the line should descend the Red river and make a settle- ment about the mouth of the Assiniboin river, under the penalty in case of failure so to do, of beigg refused all supplies from their store. At that time even more than at present, powder, balls, and net thread for fishing, were articles indispensably necessary to their subsistence. In short they were obliged to submit. Since that period, the half-breeds have always spoken of Pembina as a spot for which they have a strong predelicticn, and regretted the necessity which forced them to leave it. Gradually as the Mississippi settlements have appioached towards us, until* a line of communication has been opened with them within the last three or four years, and the half-breeds have felt the possibility of procuring the necessaries of life from that quar- ter as well as from the British side ; from that time many of them have returned to the place of their birth, happy, at length, to be able to with- draw themselves from a state of vassalage in which they had been held as long as possible, by a company of monopolists held together by a sort of charter which invests them with power beyond control, and of which in our day, there exists no other example. This was the result of a conces- sion made by a king alone without the assent of parliament, and conse- quently null according to the English constitution ; nevertheless is this doubtful power vigorously enforced over a people ignorant, removed to the world's end, and who have consequently no means of making their com- plaints heard by the sovereign. But behold how providential interference has prepared the road ; for while, on the one hand, without foreseeing what was to come to pass, it was decided at Montreal to send a missionary among the Pembina half-breeds; on the other hand, the Congress of the United States have organized the Territory of Minnesota, and have sent troops to examine and, if need be, to protect the settlement at the same point. At this news, the half-breeds leaped with joy, and more than a thousand have caused their names to be inscribed on the list of the settlers at Pembina ; others, not believing the report, wish to see with their eyes that measures have been adopted, which the partisans of the Hudson Bay Company asserted were impossible, be- cause of the poverty of the American government. Before three years shall have elapsed, if the government of the United States in its liberality, and compassionating the situation of a people originally its citizens and for so long a time miserable, will extend its protecting hand to us, more than four thousand souls will soon embrace and enjoy the sweets of liberty, to them hitherto unknown. The half-breeds are rather hunt rs than agriculturalists, and this is owing to their being unable to sell the produce of their farms, while on the other hand, they find it easy to sell the articles obtained in their hunts; still a large number apply themselves to both farming and hunting with 1X1^^.^^ success. Besides the reason already given why the half-breeds wish to reunite themselves to the United States, which is the arbitrary conduct of the Hud- 42 Doc. No. 51. son Bay Company in its government, there are others why a return to Pem- bina is much desired, to wit : . , ^ re. ^^ t r „i,„ First. The British settlement is situated about fifty miles from Lake •Winnepeff. There they begin to plant during the latter part of April or beginning of May ; all the seed springs out of the ground before the end ot the latter month, and while the surface of the lake is stil covered with ice. If it so happens that the wind blows from the north for three or four days, the atmosphere becomes considerably colder, and if it becomes calm during the night all the tender plants are destroyed by frost ; while at the distance of 75 or 80 miles farther south, at Pembina, the cold is not lelt so severely, nor does the frost ever injure the early plants. Experience has shown that European plants which could not be acclimated in the British colony, nour- ish well at Pembina. . ... Second. The half-breed hunters, as well from necessity as from inclma- tion, do not feel that they have a right to pursue this avocation on Ameri- can soil, in order to carry the products of their chase to the British side, which they have been obliged to do heretofore. Apart from this consider- ation, Pembina may be looked upon as the gate to the prairies where the hunts are made, and where the bison abounds. The fishery is also very productive ; and although these natural advantages cannot be regarded as always to be depended on, still they are worthy of being taken into the account in an infant settlement; for should there occur a season ot scarcity we should be glad to have recourse to these means of subsistence. _ Third. There are salt springs to be found in abundance in the neighbor- hood, which might be rendered profitable, not only for the wants of the colony, but of trade with distant parts, so soon as the means of transport- ation are facilitated. , i r u -i i Fourth. The probability of a failure, at an early day, ot wood for bmld- ing as well as fuel, which threatens the British settlement, which will soon be obliged to supply itself from Lake Winnipeg at great expense, is another reason why Pembina is preferred, it being directly en the river; it has above it inexhaustible forests, extending even as far as R-A Lake, trom which wood can be taken down the current in rafts to any anount. Fifth. There are also in near proximity probable, not to say certain in- dications that stone-coal and iron ores will be found to bf. abundant, the working of which, aided by the encouragement which the American gov- ernment knows so well how to afford to its settlements, ma) soon, we Hat- ter ourselves, form an important branch of commerce. Sixth. Pembina is, besides, the point where all the inhabitants ot the north-west will necessarily pass, in communicating with the United States, and is without dispute the only natural road to intercourse with the civilized world. We can come from England by the way of Hudson's Bay but once in a year, and this is across deep abysses, and for so few days only as serve to change the cargo, while from Pembina it would be easy to ascend the Red river in steamboats, as far as the projected settlement at the end oj the Sioux Woods, about 300 miles, thence to the River St. Peters by canals, which could be easily made on the level prairies, and winch are not ob- structed by rocks, thence by the St. Peters river in steamboats. 'in,:„ «^.,f,. ««f.n prsf""'' tKorp vniiljl ho nn immnnse nuantitv of fertile lands easy of cultivation ready to be settled, and the products ot wliicn would be of more importance than those of abundant mines. Seventh. On the two sides of the Red river and of each of its tributaries, Doc. No. 51. 43 n to Pem- rom Lake f April or the end of d with ice. four days, dm during le distance 3 severely, ihown that lony, flour- )in inclina- on Ameri- ritish side, s consider- where the 1 also very egarded as n into the of scarcity ce. B neighbor- ants of the f transport- d for build- ;h will soon e, is another iver; it has Lake, from lunt. r certain in- undant, the erican gov- )on, we flat- tants of the nited States, the civilized Jay but once Dnly as serve ascend the t the end of IS by canals, are not ob- spread out prairies, on which the thick high grass affords evidence of their value, composed, as they are, of light soil, which is destitute of stones. Hay is abundant everywhere, affording many facilities for raising cattle and sheep, which would becora an important item of trade when transportation becomes more easy. Eighth. In fine, the country is exceedingly healthy, afflicted with neither cholera nor fevers ; the winds, which are almost constant, purify the at- mosphere ; and we frequently see cases of longevity which are rare else- where, such as children playing upon the knees of their great-grandfather. Although it sometimes happens that the weather is so cold as to freeze the mercury, this is rarely- the case, and as a general thing, there is much less suffering from cold in these latitudes than there is from the summer heat in the southern States of America. The ground is frozen about the be- ginning of November, and is susceptible of cultivation near the end of April. These are the principal advantages, without taking to account the pre- cious hope of our soon becoming a party to the privileges of children of a republic glorious and powerful, \Vhich calls back the half-breeds to their ancient home, and which will continue to draw to the same place a large number of the employes of the Hudson Bay Company, so soon as they shall have fulfilled their engagements and become once more free. I have already opened two schools for the instruction of the half-breods; one in French and the other in Chippewa, for these tongues, conjointly with the Cree, are the only ones now in use here, and even the French is not much spoken. But the feeble means at my command thus far, do not permit me to put these schools upon a desirable footing. I hope much from the wisdom of those agents of the Government, who shall be charged with appropriating the money to be paid for the lands in this department. One of the principal wants of a new settlement like ours is a court of jus- tice ; afterwards capitalists, or the government itself, to originate works or manufactures which would require the labor of hands, &c. ; then an acces- sion of merchants who could afford to take the fruits of the earth in ex- change for merchandize ; or if these are not accorded us, we wish at least that those persons of influence and of liberal sentiments will use their in- terest with the government to procure for us these advantages, without which this colony must languish. We hope above all that our condition will touch your feelings in such wise as to secure for us your suffrages. I have thus, although in a very imperfect manner, portrayed the charac- ter of our Indians, of the half-breeds, and the state of the country generally, ■which comprise the answer to the three questions contained in your letter, and to which you desired a reply ; I should esteem myself fortunate if in doing so I have met and satisfied your wishes. I am, with consideration, my dear major, your very humble servant, (Signed) G. A. BELCOURT, Majou Wood. Missionary Priest. ity of fertile ;ts of which ts tributaries, am 44 Doc. No. 51. Lettre de M. Belcourt, A.M. C. St. Paul, 25 Nov., 1845. MoN CHER Ami : Je puis maintenant vous parler sciemment de la chasse du bison faite par les habitants de notre pays, ayant pu les accompagner dans une de leurs excursions. Je dois prealablement vous prevenir que la course d'automne est toujours celle ou il y a moins de chasseurs, et cela pour les raisons suivantes. Jne partie des metis, qui n'ont point les moyens d'hiverner dans la colonie, se dispersent de cote et d'autre, compt- ant pour subsister, pendant la saison rigoureuse, sur la chasse de la biche, de I'orignal et de I'ours ; d'autres, esperant gagner davantage a la chasse des ainmaux a pellaterie qu'a celle du bison, survent pour cet objet le cours des rivieres et les bords des lacs : de sorte qu'nn tiers des hommes seuleraent forme le partie de la chasse d'automne. Le retour de la derniere chasse d'ete avait ete pitoyable. Apres une marche tres-longue, par une temperature excessivement chande, tons etai- ent revenus avec le quart de leurs charges, et n'emportant que la mauyaises provisions. Ce malheur etait du plutot a leur manque d'union qii a la rarete des animaux : aussi plusieurs etaient decourages. Ceux-ci cepen- dant reprirent esperance, loisqu'ils apprirent qu'un pretre devait les ac- compagner. Avec la confiance d'un meilleur sort. Ton fit des preparatifs tant a St. Boniface qu'a la prairie du cheval Blanc ; et nous nous mimes en marche, les uns apres les autres, jusqu'ou 9 Septembre ou je parti le dernier. Le rendez-vous etait marque sur la riviere Pembina, non pais a I'ancien establissement, mais a environ une journee de marche plus haut. .3'y arrivai le troisieme jour apres mon depart. Du Sommet de la colline qui s' eleve a plus de 200 pieds au-dessus du niveau de la riviere, je decouvris le camp, compose d'environ 60 loges. II efait place au milieu de prairies, dans lesquelles paissaient environ 300 chevaux et plus de 100 boeufs. Au loin, de jeunes chasseurs, suivant les detours de la riviere, revenaient charges cle g^'bier, tandis que, d'un autre c6t<5, des enfants retournaient au camp- ployant sous le poids de leur peche. Les charrettes se croisaient en tous ^f^ns, transportant du bois de chaufFage, des essieux de reserve, des perches pour les loges, les grils et les cadres. Comme nous allions quitter le bois pour nous lancer sur une prairie immense comme la mer, il fallait se pourvoir de tons ces objets. Jusqu'ici rien de facheux. si ce n'est un violent orage que j'endurai, sub un acci- secoue par dio, sur la montagne de Pembina, et encore n'oserai-je mentionner dent si ordinaire aux voyageurs, si je n'eusse ete fortement sec I'electricite du physicien supreme. Mon cheval fit deux ou trois pirouettes, et demeura abasourda pendant quelques jours. Le 14, par un temps chaud, nous le. '^•mes le camp pour gravir la cote opposee. De la nous apercumes, comme I'ocean avec ses vagues, cetle prairie sans homes, avec ses collines et ses vallons se succedan^ dans une uniformite constante jusqu'au Missouri, j'oserais dire, jusqu'aux Montagnes Rocheuses. II nous fallait ici determiner vers quel point I'horison nous devious nous diriger. Voyant que les chasseurs de la Riviere-llouge ne s'^ etaient pas etabli i^urs quartiers d'hiver au bout de la Montagne a la Fortuc ot sur la Biviere a la Souris ; en consequence nous n'avions point de chance prob- I Doc. No. 51. 45 , 1845. la chasse :)mpagner venir que rs, et cela point les e, compt- : la biche, la chasse t objet le 3 hommes A^pres une tons etai- mauvaises n qii a la -ci cepen- lit les iic- ireparatifs ous mimes e parti le ion pais ft plus haut. ;-(Iessus du loges. II iviron 300 suivant les d'un autre Is de leur du bois de les grils et ;er sur une obiets. ndurai, sub er un acci- secoue par pirouettes, vir la cote igiies, cette t, dans une Montagnes jvious nous etaient pas a montagne evant eux, His avaient ue et sur la liance prob- able en marchant sur leurs brisees. On decida done qu'il fallait prendre une direction mitoyenne, et le S. S. E. d'abord, puis ensui^e le S. S. O. furent admis. Cette route devait nous conduire au sac des Branches, But- tes des Trous, Lac du Diable, Petite Fourche de la Rlviire a la Chayenne, Lac du Bois-blanc, Mason du Chien. L'avis publiquement donne, et des guides nommes, on se mit en marche. Les charrettes, uu norabre de 213, s'avancaient sur trois colonnes, trainees les unes par des boeufs, les autres, par des chevaux. Elles for- maient des lignes beaucoup plus longues qu'on ne Timaginerait d'abord, si I'on ne savait qu'a chacune de ce voitures sont attachees des perches de 15 & 18 pieds de longue'^ur. Cependant des cavaliers se dispersaient dans toutes les directions, et disparaissaient dans I'elorgnement pour ne revenir que le soir au lieu in- digne d'avance poui le campement. Comme d'habiles marins, ces enfants des prairies marchent des journees entieres ii travers des cuteaux et des vallons qui, ii I'oeil de I'ctranger, n'offient rien de distinctif, et ils arrivent le soir, quelquefois meine au ipilieu des tenebres, pricisement au point designe. Nous campames de bonne heure, attendant avec hate le rapport des eclaireurs. Le premier qui parut fat mou chasseur; il n'avait point vu de bisons, mais, en revanche, il apportait deux grues, dont I'une mesurait huit pieds et trois ponces d'enverg\ne. Get oiseau, dont la chair est de mau- vais gout, abonde dans cette partie du pays ; il se nourrit de racines qu'il deterre et qu'il arrache avec son bee. Blesse, il devient un redoutable ad- versaire ; alors portant la tete a. la hauteur d'un homme, il poursuit a son lour le chasseur, et s efTorce de lui arracher les zeux. II est arrive que de jeuncs sauvages ont eu le ventre perce et les intestines devores par cet oiseau furieux. Vers I'entree de la nuit, tous etaient de retour, ii I'exception de deux hommes; I'ou avait remarque des traces toutes fraiches. Le lendemain, le nombre ties decouvrenrs fut plus grand encore. Vers 10 heures du matin, les deux jeunes chasseurs qui avaient decoucho revinrent charges de viando fraiche, et, le soir, cet article dtait en abondance. Mais viande de tanreau n'est pas tres-r.greable au palais, ni trcs-facile ii digerer : cependant ou me servit le raeilleur morceau, la langue ; " car, me dit-ou, vous n'etes pas ac- coutume ii manger de cette viande, et en goutant quelque autre piece vous prendriez le mat de boeuf.''^ Le mal de boeuf, corame ou peut le soupcon- ner, n'est autre chose que I'indigestion. Cette viande paraissait avoir la consistance du cuir, et, comme la mastication n'occupe pas long-temps nes chasseurs bouillants de sante, ils en ttaient parfois les dupes. Enfin nous pensions pouvoir rejoindre le lendemain les troupeaux de vaches. Je ne soignis aux chasseurs, qui laisaient eclator la joie la plus vive et la plus bruyante. Nous avions a peine chemine pendent une demi-heure que nous apercumes une bande de boeufs. On les nconnait, de fort loin, par leur maniere de se tenir beaucoup plus eloignes les uns des autres que ne le font Ips vaches. Nous avan^ions au petit galop, et nous en etions ii sept ou huit arpents, qu' ils paissaient encore paisiblement. Alors nous mimes nos chevaux au pas ; car, si Ton y va doucement, ils ne fuient que lorsnu'on est fort pres d'eux. Toutefois, pcu soucioux de notre visite, ils donnaient des marques de leur raauvaise humeur. Les uns, de leurs pattes de devant, lan9aient dans I'air des tourbillons de poussiere ; d'autres se roulaient sur la cerre comme 46 Doc. No. 51. les chevaux, puis, avec I'agilite d'un lievre, se relavient tout-a-coup. Quelques-uns, plus soigneux de leur gravite, nous regardaient fixement, laissant echapper, de temps en temps, un beuglement sourd et compnme ; les raouvements saccad6s de leur queue nous montraient cependant que notre presence ne leur etait pas plus agreable qu'a leurs compagnons. Enfin le signal est donne ; nous lan9ons nos coursiers, et devant nous fuient avec legerete ces epaisses et lourdes masses. Plusieurs sont ren- verses du premier coup ; d'autres, se sentant mortellement blesses, s'arre- lentfurieux, dechirant la terre ou la frappant des deux pieds de devant, comme des beliers. Sous une touffe serree de poil, leurs yeux etincelent de rage, et avertissent les plus intrepides chasseurs de se tenir a une dis- tance respectueuse. . „ . , . Cette course, qui dura un quart-d'hcuie, etait a peine finie qu on aper9ut un nuage de poussiere qui s'elevait du haut d'une coUine, a plussicurs milles de nous. Je n'avais pas en le temps d'eu demander la cause, que chacun avait saute sur son coursier, et ciiait en galloppant: la vache! la vachef Ten ne prit pas meme le temps d'arracher la langue a une dizaine de gros boeufs, restes morts sur le champ. Bientot tous les cavaliers etaient sur la hauteur d'ou etait parti le signal. Arrive sur les lieux, je m'imaginais voir de pres ce qu'on m annoncait avec tant d'assurance ; mais, ii ma grande surprise, de quelque cote que se dirigeassent raes regards, je n'apercevais rien. Enfin I'on me fit remar- quer, n une distance de dix a douze milles, des points qui, par le mirage, paraissaient etre des arbres; c'etait la ce que nos chasseurs reconnaissaient etre non pas des arbres, ni meme des boeufs, mais des vaches. Tous les chasseurs reunis ici etaient au nombre de 55. Les chevaux semblaient partager la joie et I'ardeur de leurs maitres. Moderer I'aprete du coursier etait chose difficile ; mais moderer celle du cavalier I'etait bien davantage. Le grand point, si I'on veut reussir dans cette chasse, c'est d'avancer fort doucement jusqu'a une distance d'environ deux portees de fusil. Si, comme cela arrive lorsque les chasseurs n'ont personne pour les diriger, les meilleurs coursiers sont lances de loin, les plus faibles ne peuvent plus atteindre leur proie ; de la, discorde, querelles, haines et toutes leurs suites. L-instinct des bisons les porte a s'assembler en masse lorsqu'ils sont at- taques. Les boeufs qui sont eloignes des vaches se reunissent d'abord, puis fuient devant les chevaux jusqu' a ce qu'ils rejoignent les vaches ; celles-ci se rassemblent a leur tour, et fuient devant les premiers, mais avec beaucoup plus de rapidite. Pour atteindre les vaches, il faut done traverser I'epaisse phalange formee par les boeufs, et c'est la ce qu'il y a de plus dangereux. Voici un fait qui vient a I'appui. Pendant la chasse de I'ete dernier, un sauvage, jete loin de son cheval qu'un boeuf avait renverse, fut, pendant pres d'un quart-d'heure, le jouet d'un de ces ani- maux furieux ; tout en fuyant a la course, il lan^ait et relan^ait le mal- heureux chasseur a 15 ou 20 pieds en Pair, le rattrapant toujours sur ses comes. Pour donner une faible idee de I'imraense force de ces animaux, il suffit de dire qu'un d'eux, venant a traverser la file des charrettes, se porta sur une, et d'un coup de come la fit pirouetter deux ou trois fois. Or cette voiture, trainee par un chcval, portait une charge de plus de raille jivr6s« Un autre danger qui n'est pas moindre est celui de se trouver dans la direction des batles ; lan(jees de tout cote, eiles sifflent d'une maniere ef- n )ut-a-coup. fixenient, comprime ; sndant que jnons. jvant nous s sont reu- ses, s'arre- de devant, : etincelent ' a. une dis- 'on aper9ut plussicurs cause, que : vachef la une dizaine liers etaient n'annoncait cote que se ; fit remar- r le mirage, )nnaissaient les chevaux irer I'aprete I'etait bien ;hpsse, c'est c portees de rsonne pour 3 faibles ne s, haines et 'ils sont at- ent d'abord, les vaches; miers, mais il faut done ce qu'il y a nt la chasse boeuf avait I de ces ani- Kjait le mal- ours sur ses es animaux, harrettes, se ou trois fois. ^lus de mille uver dans la nianiere ef- Doc. No. 51. 47 frayante au milieu de tourbillons de poussiore, qui ne permeltent pas de se voir a dix pas. Dernitrement, dans une de ces courses, un horame eut le ventre percc par une balle ; heureusement cette blessure ne fut pas mor- telle. En une autre occasion, la balle traversa le capot, la chemise, la peau et la chair d'un chasseur, et all s'arrtter sur les os de I'estomac. Par bonheur aucun de ces accidents facheux n'a attriste notre voyage. L'on pent croire qu'en viie de tous ces dangers le chasseur ne peut se defendre dune certaine crainte, assez vive pour se peindre sur sa figure. La rapidite avec laquelle ils d(5chargent leur fusil est etonnante : il n'est pas rare de voir trois bisons abattus par le morae chasseur dans I'espace d'un arpent. Quelquesuns meme tirent jusqu'il cinq fois, tandis que leur cheval parcourt cette distance a la course. Voici leur maniere de charger : le premier coup seul est bourre ; pour les suivants, ils amorcent, versent la poudre, puis ayant la bouche pleine de valles, ils en laissent tomber une dans le fusil ; la salive I'y fait attacher a la pondre au ford du canon. Ce- pendantle coursier est abandonne ti lui meme; mais il est si bien dresse, que, lorsque son maitre se penohe d'un cote ou d'un autre, il le comprend, et obeit a I'instant. Apres la premiere course, qui dura environ une demiheure, je comptai 169 vaches. Nous campames pres de ce lieu. lie lendemain, dans une nouvelle course, ou en abattit 177. Le troisieme jour, plusiers cavali«rs se reposerent; ceux qui coururant rapperterent au camp 114 vaches; le quatrieme jour, 168 vaches furent tuees. En tout c'etait 628 vaches. On serait porte a croire que deja nous deviona avoir une charge suffisante pour nas 213 charrettes ; il s'en fallait neanmoins de beaucoup que nous I'eus- sions : car une grande quantite de viandes est perdue par la maniere dont on s'y prend ici pour depecer et preparer la chair du bison. La course finie, le chasseur place I'animal sur les genoux ; puis il lui etend les pattes de derriere : cette position le sontient sur le ventre. On, commence par enlever la petite bosse ; c'est une eminence de chair, d'en- viron trois livres, qui se trouve au haut du con, et tient a la grosse bosse. L'on ouvre ensuite la peau sur le dos, et on la leve ; apres quoi l'on Spare I'animal. Voici les details et la nomenclature de cette operation. 1" Les deux depouilhs se levent sur les cotes, depuis les epaules jusqu' aux hanches : elles sont separees des viandes de dessous par une conche cartilagineuse ou plutot une peau mince ; 2" Les filets, nerfs enveloppes de viande qui lient les palerons aux hanches; 3" Les bricoles, deux bandes de gras qui descendent de dessus les epau- les jusqu'an bas du con ; 4"^ Les petits filet, du con, petits nerfs envelloppes de viande, qui pren- nent naissance vis-u-vis I'extremite des gros filets ; 5" Le dessus de croupe, qui se prend au haut des flancs ; 6" Les des epaules ; 7" Les dessons d'Spaule, lits de viande entre les c6tes du brochet et les epaules ; 8" Le pis, partie grasse qui contient le pis ; elle s'etend sous le ventre et dans les Uancs ; 9" Tjc ventre, partie charnue qui tient an bout des cotes, et sontient les intestines; 10" La pause, que les metis regardent comme un morceau friaud ; 11° La grosse basse, qui a sa plus grande hauteur vis-a-vis Irs palerons j fl'^' 48 Doc. No. 51. elle est formee par des as minces, larges, inclines en arriere, etant dans le .squellette ce qu'est la rangoe d'arotes sur le dos des poissons. Cette partie a un gout deliceux. 12" Le gras on siiifdu dedans du corps ; 13" Les plats-cotes on cotelettes ; 14" La croupe ; 15" Le brocket, viande qui couvre restomac ; IG" La lanque. Le reste demeure sur le champ ; c'est I'heritage des loups. Eparer est une operation qui fait suer le chasseur; nos gens y deploient une habilete et une rapidite vrairaent etonnantes. On en a vu, en dix heures de temps, tuer dix animaux, et les eparer a eux seuls. La forte transpiration les atterant considerablement, ils out le soin de semunir d'un petit baril d'eau, transporto sur les charettes qui voict a la viande. On donne ce nom aux voi- tures qui se rendent au lien de chaise, et qui servent a rapportcr les vian- des au camp. Sans ce secours, ils souffrent horriblcment dc la soif ; le moyen qu'ils emploient pour diminuer ce tourmcnt, est de manger crus les feuillets on les parties cartilagineuses des narines. Si la farin les prend, ils avalent les rognous, qu'on lait cuire en les trempant dans le fiel ; d'au- tres, dit-on ne prennent pas meme, cette precaution et les devorent tout crus. Toutes les viandes sont tranchtos par les femmes, qui les devoulent dans leurs mains, donnant une upaisseur d'un quart de ponce a cette longue laniere, qu'elles etendent ensuite sur des grils, comme des pieces de linge. Ces grils sont formes de petites perches posees horizontalement, et ii deux ou trois rangs, sur des trepieds de bois. Aprcs quelques jours, ces viandes sont scches ; on plie, et on attache en ballots du poids de 60 a. 70 livres, les dessus de croupe, les depouilles, les dessoux d'opaule, les grosses bosses et les ventres. Le reste est pile Ti coups de floaux, des peaux servant d'aire. Cette viande, ayant Cte prealablement exposee a une forte chaleur sur un gril de bois vert, est devenue cassante et facile il reduire en poudre. La graisse de I'interieur, hacliee et fondue dans de grandes chandieres de tole, est vcrsee sur la viande |)iU'e, que Ton brassc avec des pelles jusqu'a ce que toutes les parties soient bien imbibees ; f)uis on emplit de ce melange des sacs de peau, dont on ne s'est pas donne a peine d'oter le poil. On appelle taurcaux ou pimi/cchiijan les sacs ainsi remplis. Si la graisse qu'on a employee est celle du pis, ce sont des tail- rearix fins. Quclques-uns y melent des fruits seches, tels (}ue poires, cerises; on les apelle alors tdiiraaux a graines, T^es gastronomes jugent la premiere cspece bonne ; la seoonde, meilleure ; la troi.sieme, tres-bonne. Pour donner une idee de la diminution de ces viandes, il sufFit de faire observer qu'on ne tin; d'une vache qu'un domi-taureau et les trois-quarts d'un ballot de viande ; de maniere que les plus economes calculent (pfil faut liuit ou dix vachcs pour former une charge. Pour nu'ttre les peaux en pnrchcinni, apres les avoir lendues sin des cadres, ou les gratte en-dedans avec un os aiguise, et en-debors avec une petite gratte Cf)upante, propre a eidever le poil ; c'est la I'ouvrage des femmes. Les hommes concassent les os, (lu'ils font bouillir dans I'eau pour en extraire la graisse de inoelle, emjiloyeu j)Our les frilures. Cette graisse est conservoe dans les vessies des aidmaux. II faut faire consom- mer les os de deux vaches, avant d'obtenir asscz de graisse pour cmplir une vcssie, qui en contient 12 livres. efant dans le Cette partie Eparer est ; une habllete res de temps, nspiration les it baril d'eau, nom aux voi- •tcr les vian- Ic la soif; le inger crus les rin les prend, le fiel ; d'au- devorent tout es devoulent once a cette ne des pieces izontalement, lelques jours, poids de 60 a d epaule, les le floaux, des it exposee a ite et facile il due dans de e Ton brassc en iinbibees ; L^st pas donnt'i les sacs ainsi sont des tau- I (|ue jioires, loint's jugent V, (rt's-bonne. sulFit de f'aire s tniis-cpiarts dculcnt (pfil iducs sin dos lors avec uno lOiivrage des lir dans I'eau turcs. r«!ttc "aire consoni- e pour cinplir Doc. No. 51. 49 Les quadrupedes de ces prairies sont le bison ; le cabris, espece de ga- zelle ; le chevreuil ; le petit chien de prairie, qui tient du renard ; le blai- reau ; le lievre, different de celui des bois qu'il surpasse en grandeur et en agilite ; le rat, ressemblant il I'ecureuil et se multipliant prodigieusement ; le loup, en nombre immense, et dont les hurlements empechent de dorrair, ceux qui n'y sont pas accoutumcs; enfin Pours blanc, dont un individu fut vu, cette annee, au lac du Bois-Blanc, sans qu'on ait pu le tuer. Tandis que nous longions le lac du Diable, nappe d'eau d'environ 10 milles de long sur 2 de large, quelques cavaliers poursuivirent une petite bande de vaches. L'un d'eux etant tombe de sa raonture ne put rejoindre son cheval, qui continua lesteraent la poursuite comme s'il eut du faire grand ravage ; taitt ces animaux ont de passion pour la chasse. Voici un trait d'un autre, coursier plus intelligent. Son maitre, ayant plusiers chevaux, laissa celui-ci, son favori, pour qu'il se reposat, et en partant il recommanda a sa femme de I'attacher ; ce qui ne fut point fait. S'aperce- yant qu'on etait parti sans lui, le noble animal donna apres nous, nous joignit au moment de la course, s'elanca dans la melee, comme s'il eut ete fouette ; puis, suivant la vache dans tous ses detours, il semblait attendre qu'elle tombat. La course 'finie, il s'en revint hennissant aupres de son maitre, qu'il sut bien retrouver, quoique les chasseurs fussent disperses ca et la sur une etendue de plusieurs milles. Quand on charge de campe- ment, les loges se trouvent dans des positions si differentes, qu'un horame cherche quelque-fois long-temps pour retrouver son gite ; mais le cheval, quoiqu'il ait ete laisse libre a (juelque distance, revient a une heure mar- quee ; sans faire aucun detour, il va droit a la loge de son maitre, et frap- pant la porte du pied, il demande imperieusement le prix de la journ6e, sa mesure d'orge. Le 25 nous carapamcs sur la riviere Chayenne, la branche la plus longue de la Riviere-Rouge ; nous y vimes d'immenses troupeaux de vaches. Sur un espa^e d'environ un arpent en superficie, je comptai 220 de ces animaux ; on les bords de cette riviere etaient ainsi converts a perte de vue et dans toutos les directions. Qu'on juge maintenant, s'il est possible, de la richcsse de ces prairies. N'cst-il pas deplorable que la main gene- reuse, (jui depuis si long-temps distribue le pain quotidien a tant de peuples, n'en soit pas encore connue I Les metis chretiens ne sont rien compares ii tant de nations (jui se nourrissent constararaent et exclusivement du produit de cette chasse . Comme j'acconipagnais presque toujours les chasseurs lorsqu'ils quit taient le cam[), je fus t<'moin do leur situation perilleuse dans la premiere course (ju'ils fuent en ce lieu. S'etant mis ii la poursuite d'une nombreuse bande de vaches, ils en etaient an plus fort do I'ordeur et de la vitessc, lors- (ju ils arriverent, ])("le-mele avec ces animaux, sur le haut d'une cote escar- pee et semee de roches, ou culbuterent et roulerent ensemble vaches. che- vaux, cavaliers, dans une telle confusion, qu'on ne pent s'expl:(|uer com- nient aucun d'eux ne soit restu mort sur le couj), ou assomme contre les pierres, ou ('erase par ceauxtpii suivaient. Vhi scul homme perdit connais- sance, et se remit bieiitol ; une couple de chevaux se relevf'rent en boitant- et (iuelays; cette attention plaisait infini- ment aux metis, aci outuraes a n'entcndic prcclicr ijU en langue qu ils comprcnnent. "'■•-'■■ ifiirit;aise. zo Doc. No. 51. •1 r 11 -f f..r.p -,11 nord • nous avions devant nous une Pour notre retour, il fallait -^^^^^^J^J^^^t,. Pendant cette marche. n.arche de dix jours suvune l^^^^^^^^J^^^.i^.^^ue nuit le ihermometre de nous ne pouvions a lu.ueMl^ ItdSns de ze/o : car nous 6tions depour Reamur marquat 3 a 4 ^^g^^ ^u ^^^^ ,^^^^^ empechcs d y vus de bois, que la P^^^^"^^." '7, !'„''' ^^ent, feus Ic loisir d'exarainer des aiouter. Comma nous chimin onsleu^^^^ ^. ^^^^^ ^^ _ '::^^''^^:^^^^'- -^"- " '-''-''' ^"^'^^^^ --r;^ -^ .ud coinme le ^^^-^^^^^^ ^ ^^ ^^ ^^ ^^^ dont elle a ete formoe f /J f I J'^; '^^^ d'un metis, qui, comme moi, Le22. e pns les d^^^^^^' ,^*r^""Ss mrtions du point ou le 48" de .vait deux^ bons chevaux de relai. ^^^-^^P-^tJ^^tvlons a nous diriger lat. N. est coupe par les 9-3 •JV^^"^-^^.' tombames sur un petit vers le N.N.E. A 2 heures ^f ^J^F-^^-^^^^^^ .i^nde fralchc autour du parti de metis -gj-^^;i^",„^;:^; V^Snt le cours d/la journce.nous Lac de Roches ^^^^^^^/^l^'^^Xlet de boeufs. Le soir, noms campumes, vimesdegrandesbandesde^ aches ei „i^,i.^ie. Nous ne pumes sans feu et sans eau, par ^"^^, ^^ ; f ^^'t^e^soif ; bref, notre position prendre de nournture, ce qui ^^'S" ^" .^-^ !'" [^^^^eV du soleil, le lende- Inait telle que nous ^evions etre inat^^ eux . au ^-^^^ \ ^^^;^ ^^^^,,. „,ain, nous aions sur la ^^^^^^T^';;^,^^^ d'apaiser notre La nous trouvames du bois et ^^2^;!^ ^x j/,,^, ,;, ;,.,;,, et le 24, a 11 de Greenwich. Je suis, etc. ,., , Four Snklling, Ortohcr \st, 1849. (Cnpy.) ^ . „,^,, ,,.., T,.,iv;d at this place on MA,iu: I have the honor to "T"-' •>■-"' J.^.^'' ;,,,eji!,tely, in :t^r s;t.tti::i;sju;',:^;;c'a'n;;;p o,- .he ,..uea them embodied on the map. V^V -^v m 10 feet muddy bottom. From follo^vs. From Pe.nbina to Red lake ^^\^^^^(^Ze v\^^^^^ gravelly. Red lake river to Goose "\':^' .^/ ^ j' .^ one mile long half-way From Goose to Shayen river, 9 lect ' ^ foet of water upon it. From between Goose and f^y^!^^2:^;:X^-^-^^-y l-'^- /r^.^" Shayen to post, ai.out (> f^^\t , Ik t m k >, Otter-lail lake is The portion of R-<1 ^^^'^J- ^^^''^^^^''^'^^^ ; \w^ through Leaf shallow, and intersected by """^^\" ^^ ^^^.^ fi'.m a point 20 miles east mouniain. U is heavily |;">''*-'':^'' • ." f "^^^^^^^^ west of Otter- of road to the lake, an.l there is '^^ j ^ ^ \;^'\' 'o ,\,,s Sioux to the road, tail lake. It is swampy Irom he '"° f '' 7. "^^ \ue and the Crow-wing There are three Po^^^f^'^-'^^tr tW cond a^^^^^^^^^ '-^'^'l ^^^^ river: the first about one "V!f. j""J;„!\-,^;,^°r.;\de. but\ery shallow, third about hall-a-miie. \!''' ^^„„;_;,' 4- ^r 5 wide ; its greatest length Otter-tail lake is aboiU ten miles long, ""^ ^ f { f j^j^^i,^; j, Uie Ued in a direction N. 60" E. No islands. As with tne n ant nous une cette marche, n'mometre de Jtions depour- empechcs d'y 'examiner des les sont tres- nc petrifies se le fil de celui i, coinme moi, t ou le 48'; de a nous diriger s sur un petit Ichc autour du journoe, nous oms campames, ous ne pumes , notre position aleil, le lende- notre couchee* d'apaiser notrc ?, et le 24, a 11 7^' 40' long. 0. hcv \st, 1849. at this place on im.acdiately, in le loute pursued ce, you will find : Red river is as y bottom. From ' placos gravelly, le long half-way r upon it. From any laif^e rocks. Otler-lail lake is ;cs through liCaf aint 20 miles east lie west of Otter- sioux to the road. 1(1 the Crow-wing >0 yards -, and the »ut very shallow, its greatest length ssissippi, the Ued t i .1- Doc. No. 51. 53 river is much more heavily timbered on its right than on its left bank. The map I leave for you v.ith Mr. Nelson, contains, 1 think, all you will find necessary in connection with your report. If anything should be wanting, I can communicate it to you from St. Louis. Having thus complied with your instructions, and understanding from Colonel Loomis that you are not soon expected back, I have determined, upon consultation with some of the officers of the post, and in view of the conversations I have had with you on the subject, to repair to St. Louis. I am the more anxious to do so as I learn by letters from home that my father is very sicJc. I have the honor to be, with great res])ect, your obed't serv't, (Signed) JOHN POPE, Bret. Capt. T. E. Brevet Major S. Woods, 6th Infantry, Commanding p.xpcdition to Red river. {Copy.) - Fort Snelling, October '3d, 1849. Gentlemen : It is with mucli regret I find myself unable to furnish you, as you requested, with a detailed account of the expedition of the past summer to the northern portion of your territory. I have been so unwell for several days as 1o be iiu'upable of attending to my own busi- ness here ; and 1 now discover that 1 have barely time to arrange my affairs so as to enable me to depart for Washington on the next boat. regret this the more, as I have traversed portions of the country not before examined ; and am satisfied that nothing more is necessary for the rapid progress of Minnesota, than a fair statement of the numerous advant- ages it otlers to persons immigrating to the west. The fertility of the soil, and the many and valuable water privileges embraced within the bound- aries of this territory, so far exceed anytliing 1 had previously supposed, that I am at a loss to express myself with sullicient force to set before the country, in their true lights, the remarkable features of this portion of the north-west. The Mississippi and Lake Superior on tlie east, the Red river in the center, and the Minnesota or St. Peters on the south, enclose almost an island, unpurallelled for the advantages it olfers to th.e manu- facturer ami farmer. The only diiliculty (ami that is by no means uni- versal,) is the scarcity of wood„ This difficulty is almost eniirely confined to the west side of the Red liver of the north ; hut the heavy timber, abundant on all the numerous tributaries of this stream from the west, almost does away any fear on this subject. The numerous lakes on the maps, so far from indicating a low or swampy region, are surrounded with high rolling country, densely covered with oak, and the other forest trees common to this latitude, and are connected with each other by streams which, with their numerous ra()ids, afford an Inexhaustible water power. These remarks are peculiarly ap])licable to that portion of Minnesota territory embraeed between the mouth of Crow-wing river and the head ot Red river and Red lake. A more beautiful and fertile country than the portion, through which I recently passed, I believe does not exist. The region bor'ering on the lower Red river presents no elevated country, but is compose. . of the richest vegetable mould, three or four feet deep, and requiring hardly any attention to make it produce most abundantly. The " fF M Doc. No. 51. Red river itself is heavily timbered, on both banks, to its point of intersec- tion with the parallel of 49 degrees north latitude, and is navigable for boats of three or four feet draught of water, for four, and some seasons five months in the year, for 500 miles, and to a point within 125 miles of the Mississippi. I cannot, in this short communication, sufficiently set forth to you the vivid and most favorable impressions I have conceived of your territory. I think it merely necessary to show to the world the actual state of thmgs to ensure its rapid advancement. A portion of the pon-' y embraced be- tween Otter-Tail lake, one of the sources of the Mississippi and Red lake, has never been explored. Would it not be advisable for your delegate in Congress to procure, this winter, an appropriation for that purpose'? Having begun the exploration, I shall, during the winter, execute a map, and make a report of the region I have seen. It would, truly, be a pleas- ing duty should I be selected to complete the examination next season. As I feel deeply interested in the prosperity and welfare of the half- breed residents on the northern frontier of your territory, from having ob- served their activity, industry, and law-ebiding character, I am induced to offer +0 your notice, as the persons most proper to bring such a subject to the attention of your legislature, some hints as to the proper course to be adopted tc ensure the protection of the^e people, and the foundation o a successful i>nd prosperous settlement along that border. The success o this settlement I regard as the more important, as it is directly in contact with the possessions of the Hudson's Bay Company, who now exercise a paramount sway within the American territory, and who are, every year, drawing from this country, by their fur trade, an immense revenue. The whole of the Red river settlement was, at one time, within what are now the possessions of the United States ; but as soon as thio fact became known, the half-1: reeds were actually forced, by the Hudson's Bay Com- pany, to remove to the British side of the line. Almost al) the trapping and hunting is now done within the limits of the territory of Minnesota ; and as it has been apparent that no protection was afforded by our govern- ment, and great favors are shown by the company to those residing on English soil, it is not to be wondered at that the greater portion of the I'.alf- breeds continue to leraain north of the line. They are, at present, entirely dependent for their winter's supply of provisions upon the buffalo hunting on this side, and share equal privileges, as matters now stand, with those residing o.i American soil . Three things only are necessary to establish a prosperous and jiopulous settlement on the American side, within your territory, and these can at once be effectc ^-v the action of your legislature, with the aid of your executive and judicial officers : 1st, Let the law against the encroachments of the citizens or subjects of foreign countries upon our terriiories be en- forced ; 2d, Memorialize the general government to extinguish the Inchan title to the lands in that (|uater, and then extend the laws of Minnesota over the people of the settlement, by establishing courts of^ justice, and appointing official persons to regulate their affairs; 3d, Throw open, by means of roads and other facilities, the trade and commerce of the Mississippi, and introduce among them the currency of the United States, now much less valued than the notes of the Hudson's Bay Company, pay- able sixty days after sight in London. These things they certainly have a right to claim ; and I sincerely hope I Doc. No. 51. 55 of intersec- vigable for easons five liles of the to you the ir territory. B of things ibraced be- l Red lake, delegate in ; purpose '? ute a map, be a pleas- season, f the half- having ob- induced to I subject to ;ourse to be undation o ; success o y in contact )w exercise every year, ue. in what are act became Bay Cora- he trapping Minnesota ; our govern- residing on of the I'.alf- mt, entirely alo hunting , with those the legislature of Minnesota will adopt, as early as practicable, some means of alleviating the present condition of these people, and of effecting objects so desirable as those I have mentioned. I ?!m, with great respect, your obedient servant, JOHN POPE. Messrs. McLean & Owens, id populous these can at aid of your jroachments ories be en- ti the Indian i Minnesota justice, and hrow open, lerce of the lited States, npany, pay- icerely hope