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Coloured covers/ Couverture de couleur Coloured pages/ Pages de couleur Covers damaged/ Couverture endommagee Covers restored and/or laminated/ Couverture restaurde et/ou pelliculde Cover title missing/ Le titre de couvertu e manque Coloured maps/ Cartes g^ographiques en couleur Pages damaged/ Pages endommag^es Pages restored and/or laminated/ Pages restaur^es et/ou pellicul^es Pages discoloured, stained or foxed/ Pages d^color^es, tachet^es ou piquees Pages detached/ Pages detachees Coloured ink (i.e. other than blue or black)/ Encre de couleur (i.e. autre que bleue ou noire) Showthrough/ Transparence Coloured plates and/or illustrations/ Planches et/ou illustrations en couleur Bound with other material/ Relie avec d'autres documents Quality of print varies/ Quality inegale de limpression Includes supplementary material/ Comprend du materiel supple. .% i'FiudBK it impossitUn to pro' ey SdNjkh to Montana, I left t] Ueciember &u^ commenced my retui of the S^l^atlbrain. SnoW had and the cold WHr late begun to sho %v. ■■ v-,f ii-^i- i -•^ \ ^ .- ..•Af.. tSj^r. m #■■*- w ■ ^ > , ■r l,-^' Ufc'r. ■^ I I • ^ . ■ •■' . "». •'■;■ ttk ■ The Hon^ ADA*IS O. ARCHIBALD,'* |' ' T ' : V, LIEUT.-GOVERNOR, ' ,. ; "^ .«jj|. , , , ( ., 'Manitoba, Sib, ' ^MBeibrti entering into the qnestionB contained in the written "* t^onH, under which I acted, and before attempting to state db opv the existing situation of affairs in the Saskatchewan, I will bri^fffy 41 to 'the time occupied in travel, to the ro,ute followed, and to-tfe generkl ciBfcumstances attending my journey. f ; v^* f starting from Fort Garry on the 26th October, 1 reached Fort BIu6e at jiiuction of Qu'Appelle and Assiqpboine Rivers on the 30^ of the sul'' month. On the following day I continued my journey tWoPAs QajIflftlAi i, which place was reached on the 9th November, a aete||Uou df two Avy% having occurred upon the banks of the South Saskatcl)«wa]raEAeft, the waters of which were only partially frozen. After, a delay of EHlKysin Owrltou,^, the North Branch of the Sa^atchewan was reported.^t ^r the pi«gt^k|^ -off horsesj and on the mornin^f the 14th NoverabeV I prooead*^ on jny«!reftte eiWjournd^pAtyards Edm*nton. By this time snow had ft of^bOUt two ih«hes o^r the country, which renderi abandon the use of wheals for the transport of baggage, stibsi sled in place of the cart which had hitherto beei»Ufced, altJSti tauied' the same mode of .;*■ ■&:■ m.. conveyance, namely the a^die, Passing the Hudson JBay Compaip^ Posts ,pf Battle "liiver, Foprt fm'^n ^ Victoria, I reached flDienton ■■ ■ ^'i'^ •Findti|ff it impossitUja to pro ley S^h to M(Vitana, I loft December anl commericed my retij of the Saskat and the cold ^a^ 2^^ -.-■ ■• / / lOralBg of tlM Sill DecealK' my thefjaodetei indicated 22 <> ■^ «Bd ^ f flh 'mi ibe 18th It'^elow utitci^f d^gxejoi cold Which ' WM wH remarkftble, but i»hio^%id the efij^t^^T r«^erhig th«Mdk jw a oonlbrtable mode M truMp^rt. • ■/ [^ AflM»g «t Bdn^ton on the 16th Decseipber I exchanged my hones '""C"' !ttl#"^^l' * T'" <:<^1®> "^4<>|' ^* ^^^ December com- ' the winter journey |o Bi|lliTei. The cold, Ibng de- h4!»n in all its-aererity. On tho^iiSnd l^^ettber my thermo- o'el«Ksk in the ^toniing indioated 89 *> heiknr^Gto^ later in the ^y ak^g wind awept t%long reaoltMhtf the Swkatcheiiran River, and |ut8««d*^rell^g OA t|» loe ahnoat h|J!iy|pprtabl^' To note here the long ,d«yi ^|prd«d«j||S||Hll^ great^jralley ((f |^'S«aWM>e'^n> ^^ ^^" <>^ ^^ g^fitwen Sif andW tilrfea app» iffi* ne^lbofeing plains, would prove onjy % ti>ea««^'eOBi4. Little byhtOe (he mowyieemed to dee|^n, day by day the iMMit io^ohtain a more lasting powe|, ^d to bind in. a stijl more solid i MUhMM all Tiaible Matured No^^a^ voice, no^ionnd of tird or beast, ^'H^TlMUiifilM^ to break the mten^te ailence of these vast Bolittfdea of the waH, At length e%ldy in themon^h of February I quitted the T^Pli^liMf atehewah at Cedi^ fiake, crowed the ridge which scp^r- , atea^tiuyit^ of water from Lake ^^nepegossiB, and descending the latter Xakeloi|ro|tpy||^^ Biver, passed ftrom thence to the Northern e:^Binitii:<<||il||||^ Manitoba. Finally on the liSth February I readied the B^entaKt 0&l^ jpoint on South' shore "of Manitoba and two days later arrived at IJM* ©airy.. -■ •%' ''^" '.'■•* ■■"■I ;Oessioh thefl^^H|>f France Albert, Forts a la Gome and Oumberland, the tMts of iiie^^HPoseZiake; Shoal River uid Manitoba House, and with few eicep^SM^qglU^^By^ ice the entire way. -The jouTiwy'f^AMto»0^*«t occupied 119 days and embraced a dis- tance of about 2,700 miles. ""■•, I have now to^iflgw the expression' of my best acknowledgments to' the . Officers of the variOtiBposfar' of t^ie Hudson Bay Company passed en route. To Mr. W. J. Ghrfertie, of Edmonton, to Mr. Richard Hardistry, of VWoria, %^ as Well As to Messn fiackland, SinclMr, Balleuden, Trail, Turner, Belanger, Matheison, McBeath, Munro and McDonald, I am indebted Jor much kindness and ho8|)italjty; and I hay© to thank Mr. Jff- ^ Christie for infor- mation of much value regarding -statistics conuec|id with his District. I have also to offer'lpjjie Revd^ Messrs Lacombe, McDougall, and Nisbetthe expression of iiie obligaijons JWhidi "lam under, towards them, for uniform kindness and hospitality. » r»»*'- /, . ■. ■ .jtoj * . -1^ ', , , * '. "... ". . \ ■ \ 4*^>'*- ■"^- itS H _^ .^ fe r /' < .- I'l • ' A GRAlT .'■'\v^'^''. ?■•- .^,SL # •'» ^ p61^ BtsTinlj in the foreproinj^ poff*'" briefly nllndrtd (o th« timfl ocrnpied in trarol, to the roiile follnvvcd, autl to lU<> i;i>nt>riil circumaUiiooH uttrndin^^ lay jotiriicy, I ivovv pn>po«»< entt'rin^ \ij)j«€t« containt'd in tho writttMi iiiNtriuitions u|ki*^r which I actod, and in thi; firNt inHtriM('(t to lay belort^ you t\uf viowa which I have formod upon the importtint (juostion of the exiHtii>g state of ati'aira in the Saskatchewan. The itistitntipnA of Law and Order, as nnd<>rstood in civilized commu- nities, at^ wholly unknown in the (^ions of the SiiMkatchmvuii, inHoniuch ns tht> country is without an exocnti^ l>ody whatever and destitute of any m«^is to enforce the authority of tkg||^w. i do not mean to assert that crime and outrage are of habitual occur- rence among the people of this Territory, or th it ii state bf anarchy exists .^--jth any particular portion of it, but it is an undoubted liu-t that crimes of the' , most serious nature have been committed, in various places, by persons of mi^ed and native blood, without any vindicatic^n of the Law being possible, and that the position of affairs rests at the present moment not oo the^ist power of an Exeoutive Authority to ^nfosfte obedience, but rather u]>«^fho passive acavpescence of the majorij^ of a scant population who hitherto havelivedJh ignorance of thosei cowioting interests, whi(;h, in more popu- lioas and civiliMd commnnities, tend to anarchy and disorder, But the question may be asked if the Hudson's Bay Company repre- ' Hhe centres round which the half-breed settlers have gathered, how ^en'doei it occur that that body should be destitute of govefning power, and unable to repress crime and outrage ? To this .question I would ^re- ply that the Hudson's Bay Company being a commercial corporation, de- pendent for its profits on the suffrages of the people, is of necessity.cautious in the exercise of repressive powers, that, also, it is exposed in thi Saskat- chewan to the evil i^^J^ence which Free Trade has ever developed among the natiT« races, that, furthumore, it is brought in contact with tribes long remarkable for their lawiMiaess and ferocity, and that, lastly, the ele- ments of disorder in the wholdlWerritory of Saskatchewan are, for many causes, yearly on the inoreaBe.^Pptit before entering upon ^he subject into which tiiis last consideration would lead' me, it will be advisable to glance at the various elements which comptise the population of this Western re- gfon. ,In point of nmnberB, and in the'J^wer which they possess of com- mitting depredation^, the Aboriginal races clafin tho foremost place among Li^habitllitB of the Saska^ewan. These tribes, like the Indians of other portions of Kupert's lialnd and the North West, carry on the pur- suits of konting, bringing the produce of their hunts to barter for the goods " "iitflSudBon's Bay CompanyAbut, unlike the Indians of more Northern rqfions, they subsist almost enurely upon the buffalo, arid they carry on ■ long themselves an unceasing warfare which has long become traditional. ted to regard amrder as honorable war, robbery and pillage as the ;;IOOBt ennobling to manhood, free from all restraint, these ) waj-ring ~V^P9^ Assiuiboines, and Blackfeet form some of the most savage among even? th#«VviWs»Cj»«'Of Western America. e»or Hitherto it may be said that the Crees have looked upon the white man as their friend, but latterly indications have not been wanting to foreshadow a change in this respect — a change which I have found many caused to ac- eoont lor, and which, if the Saskatchewan remains in its present condition. # r- «ii ;^Wtj»t>, / I ft' X'S. maat, 1 fear, deepen into more podtiTe enmity. The boflkio, tk* f«d ■oin I'neanii of iiub«ist«mc«i, ia rapidly diaappearing ; rear by j—t *hm pi r ■Oie IIIfllMlii «i nuijnioMiiiu.i, Mf i-i/iuij v..»-|.|».7— .— B , ,—. -J i"TT yl*i »*Wi which once shook beunath tho tread of countlnaa herda of blaoDC; •!% be- coming denuded of annual lil^, and year by year the affliotk>n of •t»rT«4ioii comi'B with an ever increuaiuK intensity upon the land. There fcra tn«n ■till living who remember to naru hant«d bufi'alo on the ahorea of Lake Mauitoba. U ia abaroely twelve vcara ainoe Fort Kllice, on the Aaiiniboine River, I'ormod one of the principid poata of aapply for t^e Hndaon'a B«y < Company ; and the vaat prairina which flank the Hoathem and Wcirtani ■para of the Toach-wood Hilla, now utterly ailent aod daaerted, are attll Whit« with tlio bonea of th« migratory herda, which) jantil lately, roamed ovor iht'ir surlHc^ti. Nor in thia abaenct* of animal life conlinod to tliu plains of the Ciu'Appell" and of the Upp«r Aaainiboine — all along the line of the North daakatchewan, from Carlton to Udmontou Ilouae, the. same aoaroity revailM, and if further illuatration of thia decreMe of baifalo ib« ivmating 1 would Htutt! that, duriiiff the preaent winter, I traTeraed ih« plains from Uod Uivor to the itocky Mountainn withoat seeing even one solitary ani- mal upon I, '200 miles of prairie. The Indiau ia not alow to attribute thia IfHaening el hia principal food to tlit* presence of the white and b&if-breed settlers, whoso active competition for pt^mican ^valuable as supplying the transport service of the II. B. Go.,) has led to thia all hot total extinction of the bison. Nor dofs ho fail to trace other griflTMicAa — some real, some imaginary . to ih«i sanu' cause. Wherever the half-breed settler or hunter has estab- lished himNelf he hiui re.norted to the use of poison as a means ol destroying the vvulves and foxes which were uomerous on the prairies. This moat pernicious practice has had the ell'ect of greatly embittering the Indiana against the settler, lor not only have large numbers of animals, been nae* leHHly destroyed, inasmuch as fully one-half the animals thus killed are lost to the trapper, but also the poison is frequently communicated to the In- dian dogs, and thus a very important mode of winter transport is loat to the red miin. It is attserted, too, that horses are sometimes poisoned by eating grnsfcie.s wiiich have become tainted by the presence of strychnine, and al- thou^^h this latter assertion may not be true, yet its etiecta are the same, aa the Indian fully believes it. in consequence of these losses a threat has i)een made, very generally, by the natives, against the half-breeds, to the etfect that if the u.se of poison was persisted in the horses belonging to the settlers would be shot. . . Another increasing source of Indian discontent is to be found in the po- licy pursued by the American Government in their settlement of the coun- tries lyiui? South of the Saskatchewan. Throughout the Territories of Dakota uiid ^luiitunu a state of hostility has long existed between the„ Americana and tlu' tribes of Sioux, Blackfoet, and Peagin Indians. This state of hos- tility has latterly been characterized, on the part of the Americans by a war ol extenaination ; and the policy of "clearing out" the red man has now become a recognized portion of Indian warlare. Some of these acts of ex- termination lind their way into the public records, many of them never liud publicity. Among the lormer the attack made during the spring of 1870 by^a lari^e party of troof>s upon a camp of Peagin Indians close to the lirilish boundary line will" bo fresh in the. recollection of Your Excellency. The tribe tlius attacked was suffering severely from small-pox, was sur- pri.setl at day break by the soldiers, who, rushing in upon the tents, de- stroyed 170 men, women, and children, in a few moments. This tribe forms one of the four nations comprist'd in the Biackfeet league, and have their hunting grounds partly on British and partly on American territory. 1 have mentioned the presence of small-po.\ in connection with the^e m- diaus. It is very generally believed in the Saskatchewan that this diseas^ was originally comxuuuicated to the Biackfeet Tribes by Missouri traders* with a view to the accumulition of robes, and this opinion, monstrous though it may appear, has been somewhat verilied l)y the )y^atoru f ress when-treating of the epidemic-last year. As I propo^^ t*' enfer at some leniith into the question of this disease at a. later portion of-this report I now only make allusion to it as forming one of the grievances which the Indian allirms he sutlers at the hands of the white man. , In estimating the causes of Indian discontent as bearing upon the fvf \ 'i S, '^ 1* I ture preservation of peace and order, in the Saskatchewan, and as illustrat- iiifj the growing difficulties which a commercial corporation like the Hud- soy's IJivy Co^npany have to contend against, wheniidtinghialegal capacity, I must now allude to the suliject of Free Trade, The policy of a 'Free ^ Trader in I'urs is essentially a short-sighted one^r-he Iocs not care about the luture— the continuance and partial well-being of the Indian is of no eoiJ'Sequenee to him. His object is to obtain possession of whatever furs the Indian may have at the moment to bafu^r, an« to gain that end he spares 110 edort. Alcohol, discontinued by the Hudson's Bay Company in , their Saskatchewan district for many years, has been freely used of late by ' Free Traders (rom Red Kiver : and aS great competition always exists be- twiM'U the iiiiders and the employes of the Company, the former have not hesitated to circulate among tht( natives the" idea that thfy have suffered much injustice ii; their intercourse with the Company. The events which took place in the Settlement of Red River during the winter of '69 and '70 have also tended to disturb this minds ol' the Indian? — they have heard of cliaimes'of Government, of rebellion and pillage of property, of the occu- pation of lurts Ijelonging to the Hudson Bay Company, .and the stoppage of trade iiud ammunition. Many of these events have been magnilied and distorted — evil disposed persons have not been wanting to spread abroad- amoiur the natives the idea of the downfall of the Company, and the threat- ened immigration of settlers to occupy tht hunting grounds, and drive the Iiidjan fiom the land. All these rumourfe, some of them vague and wild in the extreme, have found ready credence by camp lires, and in Council lodge, aiul thus it is easy to perceive hoW the red man, with many of his old con- victions and beliefs r\xdely shaken" should now be more disturbed aua.dis- contented than he has been at any former period. .' V" ■-■■<■' ) ■ . , ■_■ ' ' In endeavouring to correctly estimate the present condition of Indian affairs in tke Saskatchewan theeflbrts and influence of the various mission- ary bodies ^ust not be overlooked. It has only been during the last twenty [ years that the Plain Tribes have been brought into contact with the indi- viduals whom the contribxTtions of European and Colonial communities • have selit rfut on missions of religion and civilization. Many of these indi- viduals have toiled with untiring energy and undaunted perseverence in the work to which they have devoted themselves, but it is unfortunately true that the jarring 'interests of different religious denomihatioqs have sometimes indijced them to introduce into the field of Indian theology that polemical rancour which so unhappily distinguishes more '^ivilized com- munities. ^ To fully understand the question of missionary enterprise, as bearing upon the Indian tribes of the Saskatchewan Afalley, I must glance for a inoment at the peculiarities in the .mental condition of the Indians which render extreme caution necessary in all intercoiirse betyjeen him and the white man. It is most difficult to'Tlbake the Indian comprehend the true nature of the foreigner with whom he is brought in contact or rather I should say that having his own standard by which he fneasures truth and falsehood, misery and happiness, and all the accompaniments of life, it is almost impossible to induce him to look at the white man, from any point - 'of \'iew but his own. From this point of vi^w everything . is Indian. English, French, Canadians and Americans are so many tribes inhabiting various part's of the world, whose land is bad, and who are not possessed 'of buffald— for this \&st desideratum, they (the striingers) send goods, mis- sies, etc., to the Indians of the Plains. — " Ah !" they say, if it was not for ourhuffalo where would ybu be? You would starve, your bones would whi^i the prairies." It is usel^eteto tell them that sucl^ is not the case, they HM^wer . " where then does *%Il the pemican go tp that you take away in your boat^ and in your carts?" With the Indian, seeing is believing, and his world is the visible one in which his wild life is cast. This being undetstAod, the necessity for caution in communicating with the native "will at once be apparent — yet such caution on the part ofithose who seek the Indians, as missionaries, is not always observed. Too frequently the • language sititable for ci#Iized Society has "been addressed to the R^d mfcn. He is told of Grovernments, and changes in the political world, successive religious systems are laid before him by their various advocates. To-day he is told to belieV^ one religion, to-morrow to have faith in another. Is it any wondei, that^applyip; his own simple tests to so much conflicting ■■■? « .' ■ I. '-. \- '.'■ :;' ■«■■'■; testimony,^ 1KB becomes utterly confused, unsettled and suspicious — to the "White man, as a white man, the Indian has no dislike, on the contrary he is pretty certain to receive him with kindness and friendship, provided j,^, .; always that the new-comer will adopt the native system, join the hunting 1 camp, and live on the plains, but to the white man a» a settler, or hunter^ V!i on, his own account, the Crees and Black feet are in direct antagonism.* . t Ownership, in any particular portion of the soil by an individual is altogether • . • foreign to men, who, in' the a course of single summer, roam over 600 ■ i;,. miles of prairie. In another portion of this report, I hope to refer again , ;■ to the Indian question, when treating upon that clause in my instructions which relates exclusively to Indiay matters. I have alluded here to mis- sionary enterprise, and to the Indian generally, as both subjects are very closely connected with the state of atiairs in the Saskatchewan. Next in importance to the native race is th6 half-breed ^lement in the population which now claims our attention. The persons composing this class are_ chiefly of French do.scent-^origi- nally of no fixed habitation, they have,, within the last few years, been in- duced by their clergy to form scattered settlements along the line of the North Saskatchewan. • Many of them have emigrated from Red River and others are either the discharged servants of the Hudson's Bay Company, or the relatives of persons still in the employment of the t'ompany. In , contradistinction to this latter class they bear the name of "Free Men," and if freedom from all restraint, general inaptitude for settled cmplounent, and loye'for the pursuits of hunting be the characteristics of Free >len then they are eminently entitled to the name they bear. With very few exceptions they have preferred to adopt that exciting but precarious means of living — the chase, to follow the more certain methods of agriculture. Almost the entire summer is spent by them upon the plains, where they carry on the pursuit of the buffalo in large - and well organized bands, bringing the produce of 1 their hunt to trade with the Hudson's Bay Company. > In winter ,they generally reside at their settlements, going to the near- • er plains in small parties, and dragging in the frozen Buffalo meat for the- supply of the Company's posts. This preference for the wild life of the prairies by bringing /them more in contact with their savage brethern, and by removing thorn from the means of acquirijig knowledge and civilization has tended in no small degree to throw them back in the social scale, and to make the establishment of a prosperous colony almost an impo.ssibjlity — even starvation, that most potent inducement to toil, seems powerless to promote habits of industry and agriculture. During the winter season they frequently undergo periods -ot great privation, but like the Indian .they refuse tD credit the gradual extinction of the )>ulfalo, and persist in stfll depending on that animal lor their food: — were I to sum up the general ■ character of the Saskatchewan hall-breed population,! would say: Th^y are gay, idle, dissipated, unreliable and ungrateful, in a measure brave, hasty to form conclusions, and quick to act upo'ii them, possi'ssing extra-" ' f ordinary power of eiidurauce, and capable of undergoing immense fatigue, yet scarcely ever to be depended on in /critical moments,; superstitious and . .__, Ignorant, having a vety deep rooted distaste to a!ny fixed employment, op- posed to the Indian, yet widelyseparated Ij-om the white iiian- altogether a race presenting, I i'eilr, a hoj5oless pro.sp(>ct to those who would attempt • to frame, from such materiiils, a future nationality. 1m the appi'ndix will be found, a statement showing thepopulatiou and extent of the liair-hr»>e(l , settlements in the West. I will here "merely remark that the i)riucii)al 'settlements are to be found in the Upper Saskatchewan, in the vicinity of Edmonton Horuse, at which post their trade is chiefly carried on. - ■ ■ Among the HFrench half-breed population there exists the same politi- cal feeling which is to be found among their ])relluen in Manitoba, and tlie same sentimt^nts which produced the out-break of ISOl'-TO, are undoubtedly — — , existing*n the small communities ^f the Saskatchewan. It is no easy mat- ter to understa;ul how the feeling of distrust towards Canada, and a cer- tain hesitation to accept the Dominion Government, first entered into the ■ mind of the half-breed, but iiiuloubtedly such distrust and hesitation have made themselves apparent in, the IIpi)er Silskatehewau, us in Ked River, though in a much less formidable degr ee, in fact, 1 may fairly close ^ ^v w T this notice of the half-breed population by observing that an exact' counterpart of French political feeling in Manitoba may be found in tha. Territory of the Saskatchewan, but kept in abeyance both by the isolation of the various settlements, as well as by a certain dread of Indian attack which presses equally upon all classeB. Thd next element of which I would speak is fhat composed of the white settler, European and American, not being servants of the Hudson's- Bay Company, AD the present time , this class is nunlerioaJly iiisi^niticant, and were it not that causes might at any moment arise which would rapidly;^ flevelope it into conseqvience It would not now claim more than a ' passing notice. These causes are to be found in the existence of gold throughout a large extent of the Territory Ivinc at the Eastern base of the Rocky Mountains, and in the effect which the discovery of gold fields would have in inducing a rapid movement of miners from the already over worked fields of the Pacific States and British Columbia. For some years back indications of gold, in more or less quantities, hav» been found in almost every river runnmg East from the Mountains. On the Peace, Arthabasca, McLeod, and Pembina, Rivers, all of which drain their waters into the Arctic Ocean, as well as on the North Saskatchewan, Red Deer and Bow River, which shed to Lake Winnipeg, gold has been discovered. The obstacles which the miner has to contend with are, however, very great, and preclude anything but the rcost partial examination of the country. The Blackfeet are especially hostile towards miners aild never hesitate to attack them nor is the miner slow to retaliate ; indeed he has been too fre- quently the aggressor and the records of gold discovery are full of horrible atrocities committed upon the red man. It has only been in the neigh- bourhood of the Forts of the Hudson's Bay Company that continued wash- ing for gold could be carried, on. In the neighbourhood of Edmonton from three to twelve dollars of gold have frequently been " washed '" in a single day by one man, but the nuner is not satisfied with what he calls " dirt washing," and craves lor the more exciting work in the dry diggings where, if the " strike" isgrood, the yield is somelimes enormous. The dif- ficTilty of procTiring provisions or supplies of any kind has also prevented " Prospecting" parties from examining the head waters of the numerous streams whidn form the sources of the North and South Saskatchewan. It is not the high price of provisions that deters the miners from penetrat- inpr these regfions but the absolute impossibility of procuring any. Not- withstftnding the many difficulties which I have enumerated a very deter- mined effort will in all probability be made, during the coming summer, to examine the head waters of the north Branch, of the Saskatchewan. A I»rtT of miners, four in number, crossed the mountains late in the autumn of 1870, and tre now wintering between Edmonton and the Mountain House, having laid in large supplies for the coming season.^ These men speak with confidence of the existence of rich diggings in some portion of the country lying within the outer range of the mountains. From conversa- tions whifth I haye held with these men as well as with others who have partly ii)y estimated the country, I am of opinion that there exists a very strong probability of the discovery of gold fields in the Upper Saskatche- wan st no distant period. Should this opinion be well founded the effect which it will have upon the whole Western territory will be of the utmost, ooaueqnence. ~ ; s . Deqpite the hostility of the Indians inhabiting -the neighbourhood of such discoveries, or the plainaor passes leading to them, a general infl, In the foregoing remarks I have entered at some length into the ques- tion of the materials cduiinising th«' poi)ulation ol' the Saskatchewan With a view todeuion.^trali- that the eondition of all'airs in iluit Territory is the na- tural result ol' many causes, whieii have been gradually developinu them- selves, and which nnvst, of necessity undergo still iurther developments if left in their present stat^>. 1 have endeavoured to point out how tiom the "•rowing wants of the aboriginal inhahilanis — from the conllicting natuie of the iuleresls of the hull'-breed and Indian population, as well as from the I # At Edmonton House, the Head Quarters of the Saskatchewan District, and at the Posts of Victoria, and Fort Tilt, this t4ate of lawlessness is more - apparent than, on. ihe lower i>ortion of the river. Threats ape frequently made use of i)y the Indians anil hall'-breetls, as a means of extorting favor- able terms from the olKeers in charge, the cattle belonging to the Posts, are uselessly killed, and altogether the Hudson's Bay Company may be said to retain tlieir tenure of the Upper Saskatchewan upon a base which appears insecure and unsatisfactory. -%• / » "ij natural constitution of tJ^oltudson's Bay Company, a state of society haa arisen in the Saskatchewan which threatens at no distant day to give rise to grave complicntionH ; and which now has the eflect of rendering life and property insecurt', and preventing the settlement of those fertile regioni which in other respects are so admirably suited to colonization. , As matters at present rest the region of the Saskatchewan is without law7 order, or security, for life or property ; robbery and murder for years have gone unpunished ; Indian ipuBsucres unchecked, even in the close vi- cinity of HudMon's Hay Company I'osts, and all civil and legal iustitations are wholly and entirely unknown. ' I now enter itpon that portionof Your Excellency's Instructions which has reference to the epidemic of Small Pox in the Saskatchewan. It is about fifty years since the first great epidemic of Small Pox sWept over the re- gions of the Missouri and the Saskatchewan, committing great ravages among the tribes of Sioux, Gros-Voutres and Flat Heads upon American Territory ; and among the Crees and Assiniboines of the British. The Blackfeel Indians escaped that epidemic, while on the other hand the As- siniboines, or Stoniesof the Qu'Appelle Plains were almost altogether des- troyed. Since that period the disease appears to hav9^i^6si.stan('i' ol any kintl. lor lli.' ticN of family wcif ("piirkly loosi>nt'd and niolhcrw al>and»>ni'tl llu'ir ln"i[i|i'sf> chiidifn upon tlii> wayside, llcfini; onward (o miuu' ianri.d place ol r.al,((y. Tlu- dislrifi lyiny; Ix'lwtM'U Fort Tilt and Victoria, a di^tuncc of ahoul HO milow, wa« pcihapdthesccno of tho gn-ntcHt suH'crinjf. In thi' inunediatc nciL'hl)orhood of Fort Pitt, two ciiMips of Cn-cH ch- tfthliMht'd tht'inNclvcM, at lii>t in the ho]>.' of ohtuinintf nu'dfcafaN.siNtanco iind failini,' in ihal. for the ollicer in chai'j-e noon exhauHted his slender Hloro. theyaiipeiir to liave end.'avoiired to con\ey the infei'tion into the l''ort, in the belief that hy doiny m> I hey would ceaHc losiiller frtini it ihenisidves, Thf dead bodies were lell nnhuried cIonc k»>t»KiiUK'k«des, and fre(|uenlly IndiiUiH in the worst stay:e of tlW' disease fuiifnt he «ei*»i Iryini,' to force an enlranco into ihc Inijises, or ruhtiiiiy- i)oilion of the Hcai) Ironitheir persons ni^iiiuMt the door handles and window Iraines of the dwellinifs. It is sinttular that only three persons within the fort sliouKI Ikivc been infectetl with the disease, ond 1 can only attribute the i'oni)>aiilive innuunity enjoyed by the rcwi- dtMits at that post to the fact that Mi,'. John Sinclair had taken tho precau- tion early iu the sunnner to vaccinati' all the persons residing there, having obtained the viiccine nuitter from a Salteaux Indian who had been vaccin- ated at thu mission of Prince Albert, i)resided over by Uev. Mr. Nesbit, sonu'tiuie durinif the sprin;^. In this nuitter of vaccination a .very impor- tant ditl'erence appears to have existed between the Upper aiul Lower Sas- katchewan. At the HcttlenuMit of St. Albert near Edmonton tho opinion prevails that vaccination was of little or no avail to check tho spread of the disea-so, while ou the contrary residents on tho lower portion fef the Sas- katchewan assert that they cannot trace asinfj;le case in which ileath had ensued after vaccination had been properly performed. I attribute! this dif- ference of opinion u]ion the benefits resiiltiny: from vaccination to the fact that the vaccine matter used at St. Alt)ert and Edmonton was of a spurious description, having been brought from Fort IJenton, on the Missouri Itiver, by traders during the early summer, and that also it was used when the disease had reached its height, while on the other hand the vaccination car- ried on from Mr. Nesbit's ilission appears to have been commenced early in the spring and also to have been of a genuine description. At the Mission of St .Albert, called also " Big Lake," ^he disease assum- ed'amost malignant form; the infection appears to have been introduced into the settlement from two different sources almost at the same period. The bummer hunting party met the Blackfeet on the plains and visited the Indian camp (then inl'ectea with small pox) for the purpose of making peace and trading. A few days later the disease appeared among them and • swept off half their number in a very short space of time. To such a de- gree of helplessness were they reduced that when the prairie fires broke out in the neighbourhood of their camp they were unable to do anything towards arresting its progress or saving their property. The fire swept through the camp destroying a niimber of horses, carts and tents, and the unfortunate people returned to their homes at Big Lake carrying the di- sease with. them. About the same time some of the Crees also reached the settlement, and the infection thus communicated from both quarters, spread with amazing rapidity. Out of a total population numbering about 900 souls 600 caught the disease, and up to the date of my departure from Ed- monton (22nd December,] 811 deaths had occurred. Nor is this enofmous percentage of deaths very much to be wondered at when we consider the circumstances attending this epidemic. The people huddled together in small hordes, were destitute of medical assistance or of even the most ordi- nary requirements of th\hospital. During the period of delirium inciden- tal to small pox, they freqllently wandered forth at night into the open air, and remained for hours exposed to dew or rain ; in the latter stages of the disease they took no precautions against cold and frequently died from re- lapse produced by exposure, on tho other hand they appear to have suffer- ed but little pain after the primary fever passed away. " I have frequently, says Pere Andre, " asked a man in the last stages of small pox, whose end was close at hand, if he was suffering much pain, and the almost invariable # ♦•w*^ I 11 '!0\ J Thflv doom nl^ ti> havn (li4«(l rolltdj API without Niif- iipott which m uiniiiiHe »[ iriai p<)«i, miki ivIno an no ollit!iiil rt-cord of thi« mall nox would b« complete which laih-d to bring to th« KzRtdUuicy tho andauiited h«iroii«m (lisplayod l»y li youni^ UiiHou'tf Hivy (\)nipniiy, who was in toniponiry chiirifo of tho Sply WM, None whatever riuK, althouKh the liMirlully Nwolfeii appoai'knct) of lhi< far. HcarQely a feature wan yinihUt, would lead lo the nupponition thai BUch a cuuditiou mtut ol uecasaity be »oooinpanied by great pain. ;. Thp oiroamiUucM attending the progrenn Af the epidemic nt Carlton Floum. are worthy of notice both onaccount of theexircm.- virul.-nce which charar of connid^rable dilhculty. Some tribes and (wrtions of tribes suffered much more severely than others. That moat comi>et«nt authority. Tore Lacomb, is of opinion that neither tho Blood nor Ulackfeot Indians had, in proportion to their numbers, as many caaoaltiea m ihe Oreea, whose loaaea may bo Hafely stated at from t!00 to 800 persons. The Luroeea, a small tribe m close alliance with the Black- feet, aaffored very severely, the number of their tents being reduced from to to 12. On the other hand tho Assiniboines or Stonies of the plains, warned by the memory of the former epidemic by which they were almost annihilated, flud at the first approach of tho dw^ease and keepmg far out in the South Kafltorn prairies escaped the infection altogether. The very heiivj loM auffered by the Larceea to which I have jtut alluded, was I apprehend dfia to the fact that the members of this tril>e have long been noted as persons poHsessing enfeebled constitutions as evidenced hy the ftrevalence of goitre almost universally amongHt them. Ah a Hin^rular il- ustration of the intraAitable nature of these Indians I would mention that st the period when the small pox was most destructive among them they •till contiiined to carry on their horse stealing raids against the Crees and half-breeds in the neighbourhood of Victoria Mission. It was not unusual to come upon traces of the disease in the corn fields around the settlement and even the dead bodies of some Lurcees were discovered in the vicinity «, of a river which they had been in the habit of swimming while in tl^e prosecution of their predatory attacks. The Rocky Mountain Stonies are stated to have lost over 60 sonls. The losses sustained by the Blood, Black- feet utd Peagin tribes are merely coi^ectural, bat as their loss in leading men or chie» has been heavy it is only reasonable to presume that the casoaltieB suffered generally by those tribes have been proportionately severe. Only three white persons appear to have fallen victims to the di- seaae ; one, an officer of the Hudson's Bay Company service at Carlton, and two members of the family of the Rev. Mr. McDougall, at Victoria. Alto- gether I should be inclined to estimate the entire loss along the North Sas- Eatohelraii, not including Blood, Blackfeet or Peagin Inditms, at about 1,200 pertons. At the period of my departure from the Saskatchewan, the be- ginning of the present year, the disease which committed such terrible havoc among the scanty population of that region still lingered in many lo<»liti««. On my upward journey to the Kocky Mountains I lud found the Forts of the Hudson's Bay Company free from ilifeoti«i. On my returnjoumey I found cases of small-pox in the Forts of Bdmcmton, Victoria and Pitt — cases which, it is true, were of a milder de- scription thui thoae of the autumn and summer, but which, nevertheless, boded ill for the hoped for disappearance of the plague beneath the snows end cold of winter. With regard to the supply of medicines sent by direc- tion of the Board of Health in Manitoba to the Saskatchewan, I have only to Tenaeik that I conveyed to Edmonton the portion of the supply destined for that e^on. It was found, however, that many of the bottles had been Biiioh it^Jttred by fi»et, and I cannot in any way favourably notice either tile ooBl|NMition or general selection of these supplies. AmoBgetthenutByMdtrviMeofthe epidimic existing in the Upper »■■■ k;,' ■>^'' ^vv.,.-,': »' , I >l :l£. IS \- '1^ Saskatchewan I know of none so touching as that which isv to be found in an asscmblii,'!' of .some 20 111110 orphan chiklron' gathered together beneath . the roofoT the Sisters of charity at the Settlement (if St. Albert. These .(■hiklrcn are'of all races, and cvcu in some instances the sble survivors of what, was lately a immeious liiniily. They are fed, clothed, and taught at the ex- pense of the Mission ; and when we consider that the war which is at present * raging iii France Jias dried up the sources of charity from whence the Mis- ' sions of the r^orth West dcjivcd their chief support, and that th6 present' winter is oi\e ol unusual scarcity mul distress along the North 4Saskatche- wan, then it will he pcvcei\ i'd what a litting object for tlie assistance of other'communities is new existing in this distant orphanage of the North. I cannot close>this notice of the epidemic without alluding to the dancer ■.which will arise in the spring of introducing the infection into Manitooa . .\n soon as the prairie luute bc'couies practicai)le there will.be much tralli(J to and from the SaskaKthewtin — furs and robes will be introduced into the SettleuuMit despii(> the law which prohibits their importation. "Ijhe present tiuarantine establishm.'iit at Rat Creek is situated too net^r to the settlement. . to admit of a sirict eifforceifient of the sanitary regulations. It was only in the mouth of ( )ctobei''l;ist year that a man coming direct from Carlton died at this Rat Creek, wnile his coiupunious, who were also from the same place, and from whoiii he caught l\w. iiifeclion, passed on into the Province. If I miglU suggest the course which ajipears to ine to be the most efficiacious 1 woukl say that a constable stationed ivt FortEllice during the spring and summer months, who would examine freighters, and others, giving them* Bills of Health to enable them to enter the Province, would effectually meet the recjuirements of the .situation. All persons coming from the West are ()l)liged^to pas.s. close, to the neighborhood of Fort Ijllice, This station, is situated about 170 miles West of the Provincial boundary, and about 300 miles Sovith East of the South Saskatchewan — forming the only post of call rupou the road between Carlton and Portage La. Prairie. I have only to add' that unless vaccination is made compulsory among the half-breed inha- bitants they will,\I fear, hi-, slow to avail themselves of it. It miust not,be lorgotten that witnVhe disappearance of the snow from the plains a quan- tity of infected matter — clothing, robes, and pdrtions of skeletons will again become exposed to the atmosphere, and also, that the skins of wolves, etc., collected during the presen/t winter, will be very liable to contain in-' fecti'on of the most virulent description. > — ^ • ■ ■ The portion of Your Excellency's Instructions which has reference to the Indian tribes of the Assiniboine and Saskatchewan regions now claim my attention. ' . ' ly- ' ^ ,, ,. • The aboriginal inhabitants of the country lying between Red River and the Rocky Mountains are divided into tribes of Salteanx, Swampies^, Crees, Assiniboines, or Stonies of the Plains, Blackfeet and Assiniboines of the Mountains. A simpler classification, and, one which will be found more useful when estimating the relative habits of these tribes, is to divide them ■ into two great classes of Prairie Indians and Thickwood Indians — the first comprising the Blaokfeet with their kindred tribes of Bloods, Lurcees, and •Peagins, as also the Crees of the Saskatchewan, and the Assiniboines of the Qu'Appelle ; and the iMt being composed of the Rocky Mountain Stonies, ' the Swampy Crees, and The Salt*aux of the country lying between Manitoba and Fort Ellice. This classification marks in reality the distinctive charac- teristics of ,the Western Indians. On the one hand we find the Prairie Tribes subsisting almost entirely upon the buffalo, assembling together in large camps, acknowledging the leadership .and authority of men con- spicuous by 4heir abilities in war or in the chase, ancj carrying on a per- petual state of warfare with, the other Indians of th« plains. On the other hand we find the Indians of the Woods subsisting by fishing and by the pursuit of mo.ofte and deer, livuig together ill small parties, ad- mitting only a very, nominal authority on the part of one man professing to entertain hostile feelings towards certain races, but rarely developing such feelings into positive hostilities — altogether a much more peacefully disposed people, because less exposed to the dangerous influence of large assemblies^ ■ Commencing with the Saulteaux, I find that they extend Westward- ^im_ 1 ■ • ' ji^'i,' ' ■ I ■* ^^ ■■U„-^-.:-'-- I'rom Portajre la Prairie to Fort Ellice, and from thence North to Fort Felly and tho iici^bourhood of Fort a la Come, where they border. and mix with . the kiiidri'd race of Swampy'or Muskejro Crees. At Portage la Prairie and in tht> vicinity of Fort Ellice a few Sioux Ihave 'appeared since the outbreak in Minnos.ota'and Dakota in 18t>2. It is probable that the number of this tril)o on IJritish tiMritory *vill annually incroftse with the proserufion of rail- road tfuh'vpvisi" and sottlonn^nt in the Northern portion^ol the United States. At present, however, the Sioux are strangers at Fort Ellice, and have not yet assumed those rights of proprietorship' which other tribes, longer resi- , dent, arrogate to themselves. . ... The Saulteaux, who inhabit the' country lying West of Manitoba, par- take partly of the character of Thickwood and partly of Prairie Indians—., the buHiUo no longer exists in that portion of the country, the Indian camps are small, aivd the authority of the chief merely nominal. The language si)()keii by this tribe is the same dialect of the Algonqitin tongue which is u.sed in the Lac la Pluie District and throughout the greater portion of the Settlement. ' • ' . . ■10 ' '-'^i: Passing North-West from Fort Ellice we enter the country of the Cree' Indians, having to the North and East the Thickwood Crees, and to the South and West^the Plain Crees. The former, iindor the various names of Viwampies or Muskego Indians, inhabit the country West of Lake Winnipeg, extiMiding as far as Forts Pelly and a la Corne, and frop the latter place, in > a North- Westerly direction, to Carltoai und Fort Pitt' i Their language, which is similar to that spoken by their consinn, the Plain Crees, is also a dialect of tlie Algonquin tongiie. They are seldom found in large numbers, usually forming camps of from four to ten fiimiliesj They carry on the pursuit of the Moose and red deer, and are, generaliy speaking, expert hunters and trappers. ' ' Bordering the Thickwood • Crees on the South and Wjest 'lies the country of the Plain Crees^-a land of vast treeless expanses, of high rolling prairies, of wooded tracts lying in valleys of many sized streams, in a word the land of the Saskatchewan. A line rutming . direct from the Touthwood Hills to Edmonton House would mea- sure 500 milep in length, yet would lie altogether within the country of the Plain Crees. They inhabit the prairies which extend from the Qu' Appelle to the South Saskatchewan, a portion of territory, which was formerly the land of the Assiniboine, but which becanie the country of the Crees through lapse of time and chance of war. Froin the Elbow of the South Branch of the Saskatchewan the Cree , nation*^ extends in a Wlilt and North West direction to the vicinity df the Peace Hills, some fifty miles south of Edmonton. Along the. entire line there exists'a state of perpetual warfare during the months of Summer and Autumn, for here comm^t)iiB8 the territory over which roams the great Blackfeet tribe, whose ,soat|ietii boundary lies beyond the Missouri River, arid whose western,,|^i^t8 «!«> guarded by the giant., peaks of the Rocky Mountains. Ever flftik^hwin Tribes became known to the fur traders of the North West and Hlw|iitti*s Bay companies there' has existed this state of hostility amongst tliflSi. ,^31i* Crees haA'ing been the first to obtain firearms from the White IJIiaialSs, quickly extended their boundaries, and mo^nng from tli.o Hudson'* Bay and the region of the Lakes overran the plains of the Uppor Saskatchewan. Fragments of other tribes scattered at long intervals through the present ,,country of the Crees attest this conquest, and it is probable that the whole ' Indian territory lying between the Saskatchewan and the American Boundary Line would have been dominated over oy. this tribe had they not found thetnselves opposed by the Great Blackfeet Nation, which dwelt along the sources of the Missouri. ' passing west from Edmonton we enter the Country of the Rooky. •Mountain Stonies, a small tribe of Thickwood Indians dwelling along the .source of the North Saskatchewan and in the outer ranges of the Kocky Mountains. A fragment at^oubt from the once powerful Assiniboine nation, which has found a refuge amidst the forests and mountams of the , West. Tl^is tribe is noted as possessing hunters, and mountain guides of great energy and skill. Although at war with the Blackfeet; coIUsions are 5iRi''«;^^-"^::.4-i.vM- ;;j-.^- \ .#' 14 /? ;;.i?= ■* not frequent between them, ' aa the Assiniboines never go npon war ' parties ; and the Blackfeet rarely venture into the wooded country. Hiving spoken in detail of the Indian tribes inhabiting the line of fertile country lying between Red River aid the Rocky Mountains it only remains for me to allude to the Blackfeet with the conlVdt^ratt! triboH ol' Blood, Lnrcees and Peagins. TheSo tribes inhabit the groat plains lying between the Red Deer River and the Missouri, u vast track of country, which with few exceptions is arid, treeloss and sandy^' a portion of the true American desert, which extends from the Fertile Belt of the Saskatchewan to the borders of Texas. AVith the exception of the Lurcees the other confederate tribes spouk the same lan- guage — the Lurcees, b^ing a branch of the Chipwagans of the North, speak a language peculiar to, themselves, while at the, same time understanding and speaking the Blackfeet tongue. At war with their hercditai y enemies, the Crees, upon their northern and eastern boundaries— at war with Kootanais and Flathead tribes on South' and AVest— at war with As.sinihoines on South-Ea§t and North .West — carrying on predatory excursions against the Americans on the Missouri, this Blackfeet nation forms a people of whom it may truly be said that they are against every man, and that'every man is against them. Essentially a wild, lawless, erring race, wliose natures have received the stamps of the region in which they dwell ; whose knowledge is read from the great book which Day, Night and the Deserl unl'olds to them ; and who yet po'ssess a rude eloquence, a Savage pride, :nid a wild love of freedom of their own. Nor are there other indieation.s wanting to lead to the hope that this tribe may yet be found to l)e callable of yielding to influences to which they have heretofore been strangers, namely, Justice and Kindness. • y ■ . , Inhabiting as the Blackfeet do a large extent of country which from the arid nature of its soil must ever prove useless for purposes of settle- ment and colonization, I do not apprehend that much difhculty will arise ; between them and the Whites, provided always that iheasure.s are, taken to guard against certain po.ssibililies of danyier, and that the Crees are' made to' understand that the Forts and settlements along the Upper Sas- katchewan must-be considered as neutral ground uimn which hostilities cannot be 'waged against the Blackfeet. As matters at present stand, whenever the Blackfeet venture in upon a tradint;- expedition to the Forts of the Hudson's Bay Company they .are generally assaulted by the Crees and savagely murdered. I'ereLacoinhe estimates the numl)er of Blaek- feet kiUed in and around Edmoutun alone during his residence in the. West, at over 40 men, and he hits assured nie that to his knowledge the Blackfeet have never killed a- Cree at tlial plaee, except in sell-dele nee. Mr. W.J. Christie, Chief Factor at Edmonton House, ' conlirnis this state- , ment. He says, '■ The Biaekl'eet respect the wliites more than the Crees do, that is, a Blackl'oot \vill never attempt tlie life of a • Cree at our forts and bands of them are more easily eoiilrolled -trolled in an excitement than Crees. It would hi' easier lor one of us to save th^ life of a Cree among a l>and of IMaikl'eet than it would he to -• save a Blackl'oot in a band of Crees."' In consequenceofthe.se rei)eated assaults in the vicinity of the forts, the Biaekl'eet can with diiricultybe ■ persuaded that t\w Whites are not in active alliance with the Crees. Auv ■ person who studies the geoaTaphieal position of the posts of the Hudson's Bay Company cannot fail toiioiiie the immense exiiiii orcouiiliy interven- ing between the North Saskatchewan aiul theAmenean Houndary Line, in which there exists no fori or tradinir post of the Comjiany. This blank space upon the maps is the country of the Blaekfeel.. Many years ago a post was established upon the Bow Kive'r, in the heart of the Black leet Country, but at that time they were even more lawless than at ])resent, . and the position had to be abandon e'd on aeeouiit oT the expenses necessary 'to keep up a large garrison of servants. Since thaf time (nearly 1*1 fiears aco) the Blackfeet have only iuid the Koeky Mountain House to depend on ' for supplies, and a.sjit is siliuited far IVoni the c«»ntre of their country it only receives a portion of their trade. Thus we lind a v.ei'y active business l-ar- ried on by the Americans upon the Upper Mi.ssouri, ami there can l)e ^ little doubt that the greater portion oi' robes, liuHalo leatiier, iVce., traded by tiie Hlaekl'eet iinds its way dowJi the waters of the Mis.souri, Th-N^jiS also another point connected, with American trade amongst the Blackleei ■•/■ . ■ m W *; .•' ■ J'., to which I desire to draw special attention. Indians viaiting the Monutain House during the Fall of 1870, have spoken of the exj of a trading , post of Americans from Fort Benton, uniili the Belly Rivet, sixty miles within the British Boundary IdMk They have asserted that two American traders, well known on tiM Missouri, named Cnlvorston and Healy, have established themselves at this post, for the purpose of trading Alcohol, Whiskey, and arms and aiBr munition of the most improved description, with the Blackfeet IniUans ; luul that au active trade is being carried on in all these articles, which it is 8ai(l, are constantly smuggled across the Boundary Line by people from Fort Benton. This story is apparently confirmed by the absence of the Blackfeet from the Rocky Mountain House this season, and also from the iiu-t of the arms in qu(>stion (Repeating Rifles) being found in possession of these Indians. 1 he town of Benton on the Missouri River has lone )>een noted for supplying the "Indians with arms and ammunition, to sacA an extent has this trade been carried on, that Miners in Montana, who have suli'erel from Indian attack, have threatened on some occasions to bum Ihe ,^ stores belonging to the traders, if the practice was continued. I have al- leiuly spoken of the great extent of the Blackfeet country; some idea of ihe roiiiiiiiiiifs of these Indians may be gathered from a circumstance con- ii'eeted with the trade of the Rocky Mountain House. During the spring and snmnu'r raids which the Blackfeet make upon the Crees of the middle Sas- katchewan, a number of horses belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company, and to settlers are yearly carried away. It is a general practice for per- sons whose horses have been stolen to send durihg the Fall to the Rocky Mountain House for the missing animals, although that station is ;!i)0 to GOO miles distant from \jthe places where the thefts have been com- mitted. Ii the horse has not perished from th; ill treatment to which he has been su})jected by his captors, he is usually found at the above named station, to which he has been brought for barter in a terribly worn on^ condition. In the appendix marked B will be I'ound information regarding th > localitit's occupied l)y the Indian tribes, the names of the principle chiefs, estimate of numbers in each tribe, and other information'connected ^ with the aboriginal inhabitants, which for sakeof clearness I have arranged W in a tabular form. " . , ' '1 ,?e\ 4* ; It now only remains foi^me to refer to the last clause in the instruc- tions under wliich 1 actecl before entering into an expression of the views which 1 have formed upon the subject of what appears necessary to be done in the interests of peace and order in the Saskatchewan. The Fur trade of the .Saskatchewan District has long been in a declining state, great scarcity of tlie richer descriptions of furs, competition of free traders and the very heavy expenses incxxrred in the maintenance of large estab- lishments, have combined to render the District a source of loss to the Hud- sun's Bay Company. This loss has, I believe, varied annually from <£2,000 to x'0,UOO, but heretofore it has been somewhat counterbalanced by the fact that the Inland Transport Line of the Company was dependent for its sup- l)iv of provisions upon the Buffalo meat, which of late years has only been procurahle in the Sa; triulc huN bt'ou carriea on with iilcoUol, liioi^'ht by ' Free Men from the Hot! Icmciit of ]{ed Kivcr, and diBtrilmted to Morians and others in the Upper Siiskatchewan. This tnide has been productive of the very worst consequencus, but tlie law prohibiting the sale o[ po.sM-ssiou of iiqitoris now widely known throiii,'hout the \Vt;stern territory, and its beueficial oifects have already been experienced. _^ !., These facts speak for themselves. I feel convinced that if the proper means are taken the siippleswion of the liquor traffic of the \Vet>l can be easily accomplished. A very important subject is that which has reference to the communica- tion between the Upper Haskatche wan And Missouri Rivers. ^; m Fort Benton on the Missouri has of late become a place of very consid- erable importance as a poNt lor the supply of the mining districts of Mon- tana. Its geographical position is I'avourable. iStandiii','' at the head of the navigation of the Missouri it commands the trade of Idaho and Mon- tana. A steamboat without i)reaking bulk can go from New Orleans to' Benton, a distance of 4,000 miles. Speaking from the recollection oliulor- mation obtained at Omaha three years ago it takes about 30 days to ascend the river from that town to Benton, the distance being about :J,000 miles. Only boats drawing 2 or 3 feet of water can perform the journey as there are many shoals and shifting sands to obst^^ct heavier vessels. It has been estimated that between 30 or 40 steambosits reached Benton during the course of last summer. The season, for purposes of navigation, may be reckoned as having a duration of about 4 months. Let us now travel North of the American boundary line and see what effect Benton is likely to produce upon the trade of the Saskatchewan. Edmonton lies N. N. W. from Benton about 370 miles. Carlton about the same distance Norih-East. From both Carlton and Edmonton to Fort Wnton the country presents no obstacle whatever to the passage of loaded cftte or waggons, but the road from Edmonton is free from Blackfeet durinsBthe summer mouths, and is better provided with wood and water. For ^e first time in the history of the Saskatchewan carts passed safely from Edmonton to Benton during the coarse of last srtomer. These carts, 10 in number, started from Edmonton in the month ©f May, bringing furs, robes, etc., to the Missouri. They re- turned in month of June with a cargo consisting of flour and alcohol. The furs and robes realized good prices, and altogether the journey was so sucessful as to hold out high inducements to other persons to attempt it daring the coming Summer. Already the Merchants of Benton arc bidding high for the possession of the trade of the Upper Saskatchewan and esti- mates have been received by missionaries offering to deliver goods at Edmonton for 17 (Ameriean currency) per 100 lbs, all risks being insured. In fact it has only been on account of the absence of a . Frontier Custom House that importations of Bonded Goods have not already being made via Benton. l/i Without doubt if the natural outlet to the trade of the Saskatchewan, namely the River Saskatchewan itself, remains in its present neglected state, the trade of the Western Territory will seek a new source, and Benton will become to- Edmonton what St. Paul in Minnesota is to Manitoa. With a view to bringing the regions of the Saskatchewan into a state of order and security and to establish the authority and jurisdiction of the Dominion Government, as well as to promote the colonization of the country known as the " Fertile Belt" and, particularly to guard against thcvdeplor- able evils arising out of an Indian War, I would recommend the following course for the consideration of Your Kxcellency . First— The appointment of a Civil M agistrate or Commissioner, after the model of similsar appointments in Ireland and in India. This official would be required to inake semi- annual tours through the Saskatchewan for the purpose of holding cousts ; he would be assisted in the discharge of his judicial functions by the civil magistrates of the Hudson's Bay Company who have beep already iomiated, «md bv others yet to be appointed from amongst the most influential aud ■^"•aCTKr^i^'v. Tw-'^r :i .■*wfc^,>.^^->i'»'ik.^ ■■■:.- ■aij'.-*".'-f^:y?* ~''^t.-;;r.fi-. f"i> i rpHppcU'd porRoiKi of tho Froneh and Enarlish half-broed population. oUicor should ri'sitlo in thu Upper iSaakatcbewaii. Thia ..■^■7M'' SpcoiuI.— Thf ort^aiiiziition of a woU oquipjwd force of from 100 toliSO mt-n, one third to Ix' mounted— Hpccially recruited tind enj^a>^or iiistmi.'i- lloin s,.l|s \r<>ui C'-' 10«. to X:> pi-r !!♦.• Km II.,, ; p,,tai....H :,s. t.. "m. h l.u>.h..| , aiii-<.i...iiioM, No nppivli.MiMon i, ,.,.,! I),> .•ul.-rtuiu.'.l i|„»i nuoIi H.'ltl.'in.MitN would I'.MUiiiu i.>o|,il.'d cHinldiHlnu.'nt*.. Tlh>r>' iiri- al Mi.' pn-n- iMittimo uiiuiy ixMHonK Mciilt.'iid ihrousfli ih.' HiiKkiitrlh-Wnu who wish l.> htM'oinc riiruiiTH unit n.-HIcin, hut hi'silnt.' to i^i-o iu ll K^.mk .- ..I' |nnt.r- tinn iiiidwTurity. Th.-Hc p.Ms.,UNMiv old ^.TViiulNol ih,. ||ii,Nun\ Itiis Cum. panv who liiivf m^d." uiou.'v, »r IniiilfrN, w hoNi- Iiv.-n h i\ .- Ix.-ii "p i«v,.,| iu tho Ur»'al Went, uud who now dohir.> t(»Ni'lllc r would iiunih,i cItkHM of N.'lilfr h.' lilmful. S'v.TuI olihf .VliMNiouurifN iu lh»< .Siinkad hcwau hiiv.' h<'.'u iu corr.'spoud.'ii.'o with p.-r-ouM iu (iiiuiuhv who d.-Mir.- to N.'.-k ii hum«« iu this Wcsd-m luuil, hut who huv.' h.'fu udviHi-d lo r.'in^iin in iln'iv proi«^nt couutry uutil umttciN hiiv.> hiToun- nion< sritjcd nlou'j llj.' S r-knl- (•ht'wau. The adviiuluu.'n oi Ih,. |,.ciditi..'i« whirh I li:i\ .■ i,p .iji.d ih.^ |iimi'- tiou ot'th.' hrniudicN of ih-' S-isknii-h.-wiui llivcr. ;iud ihi- ui'iuiihourli..o,| oi Kdiiioutou may Ix' Mliit.-d us loll.fWM ; — Juuctiou of N'mlh lUid South l.ian.li — aplatu' of urciit lulun' milijiiiy aud ••ouiiucrciai inipoitaurr, roininaudiim uavigutiou ofhoth riv«'r«— I'lijoyH a .liinatc Nuituhh- to llu' pioduition of -r»'alt and roots, and UHoil of nuHuipa^Mil h-rlility— is HiluaL-d alioul niiil- vvav IhiIwoou Red l{ivcr uud ihi- Rockv Mouutuiuh, and p.'-. ,^<,.s nlnindant uud ('Xc«>lh*ut NUpplics of liuihi-r for huiiiliiiu' and fut-l— in lu'lmr ihi' pn- Hutiu'd interruption to Hti-aiu iiaviifatiou on SaNkatchfwan liivi'r, kiu.wii aN "Coal Falla," uud in Hituutod on direct curt road fr Maiiitohu |.i t'nrltoii. m Edmonton, the confro of the rppiT Haakatchcwnn, aim) the ceutrc oi hirjfe popuhitiuti (half-hrced)— country lyiujjf hctwccn it and Victoria very fertih'— i8 within easy reach of lUackfeet, Cree, uud ANMinihoiiie couutry — HurnmerfroBtB often iujuriouH to wheat, Imt all othfr crops tlirive well, and even wheat is IVecpiciilly a lartrc and i.roductive croiN^^inilx-r for fuel ph-ntv and for l)uildinLrcau heohtaiued in lar^i-e ((Uantitii's |(i iifM*\s diNtaiil — coal in large quautitieu on buu^ of rivur, uudjfold ul from 3 to Iu .iliujid barsl £j^,i ^* Only one other subject rcmninx for oonHideration (I presnniV establishment of rejjulur mail communication itnd steam uaviiratioTNixoi^fd follow the adoption of tht! course I have recomnicndi'd), and, therefore, have not thought lit to introduce thi'Ui ; and to that Mihjeci, I will now allude bofpre ciosinff this Report, whiidi has already renclii-d i)roporlions very much larger tnan I hod anticipated. I refer to the Indian (jueslion and the best mode of dealing with it. As the military protection of the line ol the ■Saskatchewan against Indian attack would he a practical impossibility with- out a very great expenditure of money it beace between the warring tribes of Crees and Blackfeet. I believe that a peace duly entered intoVaqd signed by the chiefs of both nations, in the presence and under the authonty of a Government Commissioner, with that show of ceremony and display so dear to the mind of the Indian, would ♦^ '■,)', 'rp*" 19 i, ^ l)c lastinir in its ofl'orts. Snoh a poaoo should be "made on the basis of resti- lutiou to (iovrrunicni in cast' ol' iol)l)('iv. For instance — during time of pcaci^ i< (ht'o nIi'uIh live horses 'lioni a Blacklbot. In 'that case the particu- lar branch of the Cree nation 4i> wliicli the thief belonged would have to jiive lip /(•// horses trt iJovernnient, uhi(Ji, would be handed over to tlie Hiiickli'cl as rcstilutiHU and atonement. The idea of peace on some siuli undcrstandiiiu' occurred tome in the, Saskatchewan, and I (]uestioned oi^e of the mosi inliuciitial of the Cree (L:hiefs upon the subject. His answci' to in(> was thai his band would agree to such a proposal an'U abide l)y it, but tiiat he could not speak for the other Itands. I would also ' recoimiieiid, lliaf uiediils, .such as th()S(> Saskatchewan. They result from the thought rfnaeijjOrience of many long days of travel through alarge portion of the region to Avhich they have reference. It I were asked from what point of view I- luive looked upon this question, I Would answer — From that point which sees a vast country lying, as it were, silently awaiting the ap- proach of the immense -Wave of human life which rolls unceasingly from Kurope to America. F-ar off as lie the regions of the Saskatchewan from the Atlantic sea-board on which that Wave is thtown, remote as are the fer- tile glades which fringe the Eastern slopes of the Roclcy .Mountains, still that wave oi' human life is destined to" reach those beautiful soUtudes, and to corivert the wild luxuriance of their noyr useless vegetation into all the requirements of civilized existence. And if it be matter-for desire that across this immense continent, resting upon the two greatest oce^s of the world, a powerful nation should arise with the strength and the manhood which niCe and cliniLate and tradition woiild assign to it: A nation which would look with no evil eye upoii %he old mothfef land from whence it sprung, a'nation which^ having no bitter memoritjs to recall would have no idle prejudices to perpetuate; then sui-ely it isVorthy of all toil of hand and bram, on the part of those w^ho to-d over by Kcv. Mr. Ncsbit. "Small posi of Iludsons l!;iv Vmn- ^ ' * paliy with lajge tirm attached. - On north branch ol Sa.skalchf- wan Kiver.'l?.') miles labove junction ol' both branches, ii line ■ ,t soil, plenty of timber, and ^ood wintering irroximl lor, stock ; oO . • . miles east of Carlton, and (JO west of Fort a la Conic. .^ . , «. Whitefiph' Lake. — Enj^lish — Wesleyan Mission — only a few settler.s — soil ^ood — timber plrtity — situated north east of Vietoriii tJO miles. Lac La Biche. — French half-breed, Komah Catholic Mission. Larire farm attached to Missi(m with Watet Grrist Mill, &c. Soil very good and timber abundant ; excelleu^,»4i8ite«y, situatej,! at 70 miles north west from Fort Pitt. .*^^^ ViCTOBlA. — English half-breed, Wesleyan Mission, large farm, soil irood,^ ,', . alogether a rising little colony; situated on north t)runch of 'V* Saskatchewan River, 84 miles below^ Edmonton Missio/Cpn^- sided over, by Rev. J. McDougall. / ■ - V St. Albert. — Frencji halfbreed, Roman Catholic Mission aiid residence J, . ^* of Bishop (Grandin) ; hne church building, school and convent, etc. Pre\'ious to epidemic 900 French, thelargest settlement in , . ' Saskatchewan ; very little farming do7ie, all hunters, &c,, situat- ed 9 miles north of Edmonton, orphanage here. Lao St. Anne.— French half-breed, Roman Catholic, settlers 'mostly emi- grated to St. Albert. Good fishery, a few larms exi.stiiig and » doing well. Timber plenty and soil (as iisual) very good ; .'iO miles north west from Edmonton. Z' ^ SJl \ >-» V .- -[ "v ^ •■:| ^^t S2 't. - . APPENDIX C. Names of persons whose appointment to the CommisBion of the Peace - would be recommended, AH officers of Hudson's Bay Company in charge of Posts. Mr. Chanle tain of St. Albert Mission, Edmonton. Mr. Brazeau, • " . " « Mr. McKenzie, of Victoria. , Mr. Ecarpote, Senr., residing near Carlton Mr. Wm. Borwick! St. Albert Mission, Edmonton. , - ^ Mr. McGillis, residing near Fort Pitt. , . ' ; ; ■ 1 ^^H #?.■ I "X-^ ^ •■ "^ . 28 .-/'.- "r '■ t :^> , '.H' ,, P-- •*i ; : n^- 1 .-^ :^{s' w '^ %. '■ ■V, •, . , * • . APPENDIX D. List of some of thi- crimps which have been committed in Saskatchewan without inVostigution or punishment. Murder ol' a man named Whitl'ord near Rocky Mountains. Murder of George Daniels by George Robertson at White Mud River, near Victoria. Murder of French Half-breed by his'nephew at St. Albert. -^ Murder of two Lurcee Indians by Half-breed close to Edmonton House .Murderous attack upon a small party of Blackfeet Indians (men, wo- men, and children) made by Crees near Edmonton in April, 1870, by which several of the former were killed and wounded. This attack occurred after the safety of these Indians had been purchased from the Crees by the officer of the H. B. Co. in charge at Edmonton, and a guard prorided for their safe passage across the rivers. This guard composed of French half- l)reeds from St. Albert, opened out to right and left when attack commenced and did nolhiug towards baving the lives of the Blackfeet, who were nearly all killed or wounded. There is now living close to Edmonton a woman who beat out the brains of a little child aged two years on this occasion ; iilso a half-breed man who is the foremost instigator to all these atrocities. J]eside these murders and acts of violence, robbery is of continual occur- rence in the Saskatchewan. The outrages specified abbve have all taken place during the last few years. # J- I