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REPRINT: WITH REMARKS ON CERTAIN STRICTURES PUBLISHED IN ENGLAND BY AN OFFICER OF THE EXPEDITIONARY FORCE. ',,*. . . '^ ■*l * • • • ■ * i ' • «•••••• \\ • «'• •••• } l • «*<.• ••*• (Ottawa: PRINTED BY THE TIMES PKINTING & PUBLISHING Co., 38 SPARK.S STREET. 1871. ■-', y: \ fi • • . • • * • ..♦ ••••.•' • • • •• •• ••• • •"•« I ' 1 • • ••• «•• • ••■,« *« • ••• to*** • »' « • * 9^3751 RETURN To an Address of the House of Commons, dated 30th March, 1871, for copy of the Report of Mr. S.J. Dawson, upon the Red River Expedition of 1870 ; also copy of any document submitted by him in reference to the strictures published in England by an Officer of the Expeditionary Force. . By Command. J. C. AIKINS. Secretary of State, Department of the Secretary of State, Ottawa, 5th Ap.il, 18''1. Ottawa, 22nd Mr.rch, 1871. Sir,— In submitting to your notice the following Report on the Rod River Expedition, I beg to express the deep appr'^ciation which I must ever entertain of the cordial and unvarying support which, as beino in charge of the arrangements necessary for the transport of the Expeditiou- ai/ Force through the uninhabited region west of Lake Superior, I ex- perienced from your department, , ■ I have the honor to be, Sir, , Your most obedient servant, S. .1. DAWSON Hon. H. L, Lanoevin, C. B., Minister of Public Works, &c., &c., &j., Oitawa. N REPORT ON THE RED RIVER EXPEDITION OF 1870, BY S!$. J. I>.^"V^»01^\ CIVIL ENGINEER. Early in the winter of last year (1839-70), I received instructions from the Grovernment to provide vessels of a class adapted to the navigation of the waters in the unfrequented region int'?rvening between Lake Superior and the Red River Settlement. A military force had to be sent through on the opening of the navigation, and it was a matter of vital importance that these vessels should be of a character to meet the e::igencies of such tv service. The route for a distance of two hundred miles, had never been tra- versed by any vessel larger or stronger than a bark canoe, and the chief officers of the Hudson's Bay Company, who were supposed to be well acquainted with the coxintry, had declared it to be impracticable to their boats. Among those who gaA'e expression to this opinion was the late Sir George Simpson, Grovernor of the Company, than vrhom no one could pretend to greater experience in navigating the inland waters of British North America. That distinguished gentleman, in a written communication to the Gov- ernment, w^hich was subsequently published, had expressed his belief that the route was practicable only to bark canoes, and that these (as every one acquainted with such vessels mixst concede) were not adapted to the con- veyance of a military force. So general was this opinion as to the character of the route, by Lake Superior, and so firmly fixed had it become, that the Imperial Government on two occasions sent troops by way of Hudson's Bay to Fort Garry, once in 1846, when a wing of the 60th foot was led up from that icy sea by Col. Crofton ; and again in 1857, when several companies of the Canadian Rifles w^ere sent out. Having traversed the route by Lake Superior frequently, I was in a position to explain to the Government that the reports as to its impracta- bility were exaggerated, that it aad been for many years the high-way of the North- West Company of Canada, and that, after the mountainous country ..'4 on th'^ l)orclor!s of Lakf Superior was passed, thorc would he no difTiculty whatever in sending I'orward a force of considera})lo numbers, by moans of >)oats. The suggestions which I had the honor to submit, in this regard, havinir been approved of. the services of the jirincipal l)oat-l)uilders throaahout the I'rovinces of 'Ontario and Quebec v/ere speedily called into reqx\isition. Early in January the first contracts were given out and the work of boat-building went on without interruption until the opening of luiviu'ation. At the same time a number of flat scows were ordered and built for itse in shallow rapids, and every article of outht that could possibly be re- (|uired, whether in the way of rieon Lake and belaud Portage. " Three boat carpenters should accompany the force with is and material to make repairs when necessary •' Provision has already been made by the Government for the con- struction of the huts and stables referred to in the foregoiuir, and sawed lumber has been ordered for those to be built at Thunder Bay. " (Signed,) S. J. D.uvsoN." Fully appreciating the difficx\ltie. to be encountered on a road of forty five miles in length, oi which a secti(.ii of twenty live miles, only, was re- presented as being practicable to waggons, and an additional section of ten miles opened so that oxen with carts or sleds could pass over it. His Excel- lency the Lieutenant General Commanding the Forces determined on sending forward the regular troops to aid in opening and improving the road, and the Colonel in immediate command of the expeditionary Field Force, also, well aware that much work was needed on the road, before the stores could pass over it, recommended certain companies of the troops to be sent forward to aid in its construction. It had been sugsrested to the military aitthorities that the troops micht 2 If 10 pass by land from the Lake of the Woods to Fort G-arry ; but, iii ovdor that they might be hi a position to judg-e for themselves as to whether it wouhl be better to go by that routj or by way of the AVimiipeg, I sent them a memorandum of which the following is a copy : " MEMORANDUM. ' Lake of the Woods to Fokt Garry. "Ottawa, 18 April, J 870. " Accompanying this memorandmti is a rough plan of the Winnipeg Elver made from Track Survey, together with a table of distances, showing the length of the Portages and Navigable sections, respectively, between Rat Portage at the outlet of the Lake of the Woods and Lake Winnipeg. From the Lake of the Woods to Fort Garry are two routes, the one by water, being that just referred to, and the otho^ by land from the " North W^est Angle." " Having regard to the passage of a large body of men with outlit and supplies, the following facts are submitted with a view of supplying in- formation on which an opinion can be based as to which it would be most advantageous to adopt. " The Water Route. "By this route, the distance between Rat Portage, at the outlet of the Lake of the Woods, and Fort Alexander, at the entrance to Lake Winni- peg, is in round )mmbers 149 miles. " In this distance the numlier of Portages is twenty live and their ag- gregate length as ascertained by actual measurement three mdes and six chains. " The Winnipeg River presents no serious difficixlties to the largest class of canoes and it has long been navigated by the Hudson Bay Com- pany's Boats. " In the navigable section*:, the depth of water is sufficient for large boats and there are l)ut lew heavy rapids to be run, and these short. " In several instances the entrances to the carrying places are closo to the brow of the falls, and in such cases boats should be .>vought in with cautio'i, one by one. "As a general rule, with practised guides and skilful boatmen, the Winnipeg may be considered a safe river, or, if an exception exists, it is at the seven portages, which have p'. ways to be passed with great care. " As canoe men, the Indians who frequent the Winnipeg can?iot be f>x- celled, and, as boatmen, many of them have had a good deal of experAMice. " The Winnipeg River, in its general character, may l)e regarded as a series of Lakes separated by short rapids or water-falls! A brief descrip- tion of the ditierent sections will be ibund in the printed slips annexed. " The Land Route. " The country Iving between the Lake of the Woods and Red Ri^'Or is low and swampy, and, except on the route adopted as a line of road, quite 11 impiacticablo, at least it has never yet been passed over in summer, except by a few wandering hunters. Even the Indians traverse it but rarely, and the half-breeds of Eed Eiver ne'er attempt to pass, except in winter. " The distance between the ' North West Ans^Ie' of the Lake of the Woods and Fort Garry, by the bne adopted for a road, is ninety miles — sixty miles being through a wooded country and thirty over open prairie. " Starting from the North West Angle, and proceeding Westward there is, iirst, a section of thirty miles q-aito in a state of nature, and as yet un- opened. This section abounds in swamps and marshes, but is nevertheless practicable for a road. Then follows a stretch of thirty miles of line, new- ly opened through a wooded region, still very swampy, but not so much so as that first refeired to. In this section, the road runs for many miles along a narrow gravelly ridge, with impassable swamps, spreading out to the horizon on either side. The forest country ends at Oak Point settle- ment, and from thence to Fort Garry the distance is thirty miles over open prairie. " It should be mentioned that on the lied River, which has to bo crossed on approaching Fort Garry from the East, there is no bridge. The channel is 40U feet in width and the water deep — carriages are at present crossed by means of a scow. " The Two Routes Compaued ''■ The obstacles to the navigation of the Winnipeg may be briefly summed up as presenting three miles and six chains of land carriage in twenty-five different sections, the lona:est of which is § of a mile in length. " On the other hand, the land roiite presents thirty miles of road to be opened, ninety miles of a march, and a broad irn])ridged river, just in front of a fortress, co cross. " On the land route, moreover, even after the thirty miles of new road were opened, it is probable that there would be difficulty in obtaining the means of transport ; added to which, it would be in the power of the in- surgents, if so disposed, to ofl'er serious opposition, on the march, rnoie es- pecially where the road runs on a narrow gravelly ridge, as described, v\itli impassable swamps on either side. " By tht! Water route, the expedition would carry with it its own means oi h^comotion and crossing rivers. It would be quite out of the po\v^>r of the in.^irgents to offer opposition at any place nearer than Fort Alexander, and, even there, they could not do so unless they should be able to provide themselves with boats in iho Red iiive/* settlement. Neither Lake Winni- peg nor the Win'Mpv>g Rive', can be IpproHched by land, from the direction of Fort Garry, ouac'count of. the impractioablecljaracter of the country, which abocli els in 'bogs and marches. . "The Land routp ,wo,uJcl .be,4'atrguing. to the men, and they would be terribly harrassed \\it;h uiAfctr:, suc^ a^i\ijiusquitoes, black flies, ike among the marshes. " By the AVater route, there would be stiff work on th" portages, but it would not last long at a time, a. x there would be relief on the open and breezy lakes intervening between them. "In the one case, the men woiild reach Fort Garry fatigued with a long march and hard work in road making, in the other they would arrive vigorous and fresh. * "(Signed.) S.J.Dawson." 12 " Lake of the Woods to Fort Garry by way of the Winnipeg River. Ijand Yards. llatrortage Kiver Lea Dalles Kiver Grande De charge Kiver Yellow Mud I'ortage . . . River Pine Portage Kiver Portage de I'lsle Kiver Chute si Jacquot Port.. . River 1st Point des Boia Kiver 2nd Point des Bois River .3rd Point des Bois River filavo Falls Portage. . . . Kiver L't i:nrriero Port;ige. . . River Otter Falls Kiver Yds. chs. f 1st Portage 132 ^ Kiver.. .05 2ndl'ortgel88 Kiver.. .10 SrdPorfge 176 Kiver. . .40 J- .; 4tliPorfge 66 River.. .48 5th Port' ge 88. River. . .05 ethPorfgellO River. . ,60 1 7th Port' ge 132 River 1st GaUis de Bonnet. . . . River 2nd (ialais de Boni.et. . . River . . , CJrand Bonnet Portage. . River Petit Bonnet Portage.. River White Mud Portage.. . . River Ist .Silver Falls Kiver 2nd Silver Falls River Pine Portage Kiver to Fort Alex ander .5 o > c .a H w Water Miles and Cliaius, 286 110 '230' 220 "iio 286 iio 66 660 66 892, 44 REMARKS. Good open portage. 20 Good running. 21. Fine navigable section. 20 Run or portaged, according to height of water. 2.40 In this section two rapids -'Decharge" and Approach with care. ["Steeprock."' 1. A heavy pitch to run or portage. 17.40 "Cave"' rapids Just below portage, shor' run, then Often run. [tine among islands. Fine navigation, two ripples near Chute a Jacquot. 21. 7. .05 "i.ie "4." ' e". ' " "e." Fine after leaving foot of Chute. \ t \ No difficulty, but care required with boats, es- I pecially at head of 2nd portage. J Quiet water. Approach this fall with c?.ution. No impediment. .10 i. No impediment. Always run, but requires e-vperienced guiles. Good, only one little r,ipid to run. 2.08; [-The total distance prist the Seven Port;iges is under three miles. This is the worst, in- deed, the only dangerous part of the Win- nipeg. It is avoided except at low water, by going by the " Pinawa" channel. — See Map. 16.40 Good to Galais de Bonnet. 3 50 Fort AlexaijjJer to Stone Fort 1,122 . . .^''thi4^ the]lonfte^ portage on the route, but it is , ; *.t>Oi"< ; *. ! .• • .' [(veil opened. 10H.'...VV..**^ ... .. ' '.. ..•./ 3^ "i54 "286 264 3.06 chs 3. 3'. ... . » • • < • • • • • • * 1 1 I fc • •■;••] I The t\»® "jSiUr/sf"; RijU hve in close proximity < .J05' t . , ; anol can fce'pa'sSed ift one portage of twenty _6^ 145.45 60. ) five chains. Two little rapids to run. Last portage. (pediment. Through Lake Winni[jeg and up Red River, no im- 13 Si/nojisis. Mls.Chs. " Navigable waters in sections as above, between Rat Portage and Fort Alexander 145.45 Aggregate length of Portages 3.06 Total 148.51 Distances, by Water Route, from Fort Frances to Stone Fort. Mls.Chs. Fort Frances to Lake of the "Woods, no impediment 67. Lake of the "Woods to Rat Portage, no impediment 64. Rat Portage to Fort Alexander, as per table above.. 148.51 Fort Alexander, to Stone Fort, no impediment 60. 339.51 Note. " The seven Portages might be much improved by extending the . carrying places, as follows : Yds. Chs. 1. Let a portage be cut from the head of the first chute, clear through to the foot of the 3rd chute. Its length would be 880 Then quiet water for 40 2. Portage past 4th chute 06 Then quiet water for 48 3. Cut portage by which 5th and 6th chutes can be passed at once 308 Then quiet water to 7th chute 60 4. Portage past 7th chute 132 . 1386 148 "The 7th chute can be run if the water should prove favorable. A few men of the expedition, wi<:h Inc'.ians sent in advance, could soon prepare the portages in the manner above indicated." ii It would be tedious to enumerate all the details of the preliminary arrangements made to facilitate the passage througn a wilderness which atlbrded nothing as the result proved, there was scarcely an possibility be useful omitted, nor a were likely to be called into requisition, civilians sent forward were boat builders with their tools, blacksmiths with portable forges and carpenters with the implements of their trade. "Waggons for the road transport were pro rided by Col. Wily of the Militia Department, and by him, also, wore purchased the supplies of flour of the Expeditionary Force in itself. Suffice to say that, article which could by any mechanic, whose services left behind. Among the m 14 pork anu other provisions i'or the Expedition. It is due to that care iiil and energetic officer to say that the supplies were of excellent quality aad put in packages of size and weight the best adapted to the means of transport. In order to establish and keep up regular communication with the ex- pedition, the Government chartered two steamers — the Chicora and Ala;oma — as mail boars, both well fitted up and adapted for the conveyance of pas- sengers and stores. These steamers w^ere to be paid at a iixed rate, and were to run between Collingwood and Thunder Bay, leaving the former place, alternately, at intervals of live days, throughout the season of navi- gation. Advance of the ExrEDiTioN to Thunder Bay, Lake Superior. The Ali^onia set out on her first trip on the 3rd of May, and by her voyageurs and workmen, to the number of one hundred and forty, w^ere sent forward to Thunder Bay. An agent was at the same time despatch- ed to Sauk Ste. Marie for the purpose of organizing a force to improve the Portage road on the British side, and to provide means of embarkation at the head of the rapids. The Clit'rora left Collingwood on the 7th May, freighted with boats-, stores, supplies and outfit. By this steamer an additional force of 120 workmen and voyageurs was sent forward. On reachmg Sault Ste. Marie, however, the canal, which is on the United States side, was found to be shitt against Canadian Vessels and the Chicorahad, in consequence, to discharge her cargo at the foot of the rapids on the Britisii side. The voyageurs and workmen immediately joined the force which had been oruanized, according to the instructions sent by the yl/g(»?M«, to work on the Portage lioad, and by the rtnited exertions of the two ])arties it was quickly put in good order. At the same time a small wharf was run out at the head of the rapids, to facilitate embarkation, and a scow, v.hich had been brought from Collingwood in fitted pieces, was put together to serve the purpose of conveying troops and stores from the- wharf, were the water was shallow, to A'essels which came to anchor in the-. nxvY. which they had to do at some distance from the shore. In the meantime, the boats were being sent rapidly forward ; those^ which had been built at Quebec and Toronto were brought by railroad to- Collingwood to be there shipped in th(> regular steamers, while a propellor with two schooners in tow, freirevi- ous to our arrival. In order the better to understand the measures adopted for the j)ro- gress of the expedition, it is necessary to have clearly in view the condition and character of the roitte between Prince Arthur's Landing and Sheban- dowan Lake, at which latter place it w'as finally to embark in boats. The distance between these places is forty-five miles by lnud, but for three miles downwards from Shebandowan Lake, to a point now called •' "Ward's Landing" the Matawin River, although presenting a series of .shallow rapids, is navigable io flat scows, or lightly loaded boats. Ward's Landing was. therefore, the point to be attained with the road, as from thence to Shebandowan Lake material and supplies could be conveyed in scows, which had been provided for the purpose. The precise distance between Prince Arthur's Landing, Thunder Bay, and AYard's Landing, is forty-one miles and seventy chains, of which a section of twenty-eight miles was practicable to horses with waggons, on the arrival of the first detachment of the troops. But, for the sake of lucidity in description, let the waggon road be considm-ed as ending at a place called the Matawin Bridge, twa^nty-five miles from Thtmder Bay, as that is th.^ point to which the waggons, in the first instance, actually came. Tliis waggon road v/as succeed.ed by a stretch of twelve miles, roughly opeued, to the Oskondag6, and this, again, by a further section of four miles md seventy chains, end- ing at Ward's Landing. This latter was being cleared on our arrival. There were thus three sections of road, more or less advanced, viz: 25 miles of waggon road, followed by 12 miles of Avhat is known in sitch cases as ox-road, and fotxr miles and 70 chains of road under process of being opened, in all, 41 miles and 70 chains 17 sacked resent- lidable stively,. le Sun- at the ad had o- from ■ which s far aS' PrmcG' Lindsay >nd the le effect ,'hat the sent for- several Astained illy des- s previ- viz : 25 leases as If being. As the river will be frequently referred to, a sketch, shewina: its posi- tion, relative to the road, is hereunto annexed. From Thunder Bay to the Matawin Bridg'e, the distance is, as stated, 25 miles by road. Between the mouth of the Kaministiquin and the same point, it is 45 miles by tlie river, presenting in this distance, 12 miles of quiet water, and 33 miles of shallow rapids, with fiills occurring at intervals. The channel of the river, except in the short navigable sections, is exceedingly rough, paved in some in- stances with boulders of all dimensions and shapes, and in others with sharp schists set on edge. There is little or no danger to men in ascendin^^ these rapids, but every risk to boats. To dran- them up is a mere matter of brute force, but to save bottoms and keels from being torn to shreds, reqxiires great care, and the greatest care cannot prevent them from being seriously damaged. Although the risk to life is small, the labour of drag- ging boats over rocks and stones, which aiibrd but an insecure footing, is excessive and otherwise verv disheartening to the men. From the Matawin bridge to the Oskondage, the distance by the road as already shewn, is 12 miles, by the river it is about 22. From the Matawin Bridge upwards, for a distance of about two miles, to a point called Young's Landing, the river is navigable ; proceeding ui)\vards from the lat- ter point, a series of rapids is encountered, perhaps the most difficult that boats were ever forced over. These continue for eight mil-^ri. mid on this section, none but experienced voyageurs can attempt to pa^s v h boats. The rapids, last referred to, end at a point called Browne's Lane, v. Cauld- ron's Landing, and from thence to the Oskondage, a further distu.^ce of twelve miles, by its v,'indiiigs, the river is navigable to lightly loaded boats. From the Oskondage upwards to Wards Landing four miles and seventy chains, boats and all material were conveyed by waggon. The total distance by land from Thunder Bay to ( )skondage was 37 miles ; by the river between the same points is nearly 70 miles. These descriptions, though tedious, are necessary to the full understanding of the measures adopted for sending forward boats and supplies. In the memorandum siibmitted by me to the military authorities, (see- patre — ) I had pointed out the fact that boats and supplies could at once he sent forward as far as the Matawin Bridge, and while this was beinff. done, it was my intention to have set all the available force of workmen and voyaireurs to improve and open tl o unfinished sections of the line, be- _ yond that place, and I may here remark that this was, without any question, as events proved, the proper course to have adopted. It woiild have saved a vast outlay, and have enabled the Expedition to reach Shebandowan Lake earlier than it did. A few days after the arrival of the first detachment of troops, the ex- periment of sending boats forward by waggons was tried, and it suceeded ad- mirably. The waggons were arranged by means of long reaches (that is, poles of sufficient length to admit of the forward and after wheels l)eing put as much as 18 feet apart), the boats were placed bottom upwards on the waggons, the gunwales resting on blocks fitted to receive and support them, and in this way twenty-eight boats were sent forward tc the Matawiu Bridge, the horses making the round trip, going and returning in three days, and in one instance in two days. Here, then, was proof positive that the boats coTild easilv be sent forward by wagarons. But the means of 3 '« 1 m IK Ivunspovt were at this time limitt'd. juid iiistuad oi' iiicreasiiii>- tlioni, a« miuht oasily have Ix'en done, the boats were ordcrd to the river l)y the Coiniuand- unt ol'the Fiehl force. The distance a.s ah-eady shewn between Tiiunder Day and the Matawiu Bridge is, by hind 2.3 miles and b,- the river 4.") niih>.s. The road was practicable. The river for a distance of 3^5 miles, presented a series of stony rapids with frecjuent porta<4-es on rontjh and rocky i^round. In order to ascertain how the Ijoats would stand the strain to which they ratistof necessity be exposed, in such circumstances, four Hat scows and two stronu" carvel })oats were sent up, manded bv IH of the most experienc- ed of the voyageurs and a company of soldiers. After seven days of unceas- ing toil they had only reached the Kaministaquia Bridge, some twenty miles by the road from Thunder Bay, and from thence to Ihe Matawiu Bridge, it was one continuous ]iull in Hat and stony rapids. On arriving at the latter place, Ihe boats, strong as they were, were found to have been sadly torn and scrai)ed in the rapids, and had to be immediately placed in the hands of the builders for repairs. The scows haA'ing been built specially with a view to such work, were, of course, but little damaged. If all the boats should be exposed to wreck in the channel of a river, lor which ihey v/ere never intended, there was reason to apprehend the most serious consequences as to the future progress of the expedition. "VV'e were but at the outset of the journey, audit was of the utmost importance that they should reach She])andowan Lake, where the final embarkation was to take place, in good order. I thereibre urged strongly upon the offi- cer commanding the Field Force, the expediency of sending to CoUinywood for waggons, where, as the sowing season was over, any number of farmers could be found ready eiujugh to come forward with their teams. This ad- vice was to a certain extent taken, and a limited number of waggons and horses were brought f-. om that place, but the military teams began to fall ,oii', as their drivers said, from starvation, being allowed but military rations. Some 60 of them were in hospital, and there were neither horses nor wag- gons to spare for th(^ ])oats. Seeing therefore that there was nothing for it but the river, I sent voyageurs to improve the portages, and endeavoured to organize some system by which the boats might be in as far as possible saved from damao-e. As the chief responsibility of getting forward the Expedition was thus throven on the voyageurs, at a time when the impression was entertained in some quarters that it must be abandoned, I may be permitted, before proceeding further, to offer some remarks in regard to the men, from w'hom so much was expected, and by whose exertions a very different turn was soon given to the general prospect. The men forming the voyageur force, had been engaged in various parts of the coiintry, and comprised among their number, boatmen and ca- noemen, from the St. Maurice, the Saguenay, and the Ottawa. There were Iroquois from Caughnawaga, and Algonquins from the Lake of Two Moun- tains, Metis from Penetanguishene and Sault Ste. Marie, raftsmen from the Trent, and pure Indians from various points on Lake Superior. The fol- lowing list shews the numbers and the localities whence they came : 19 Ottawa River loO men. St. Maiarice and 8aguenay Rivers 121 '• Penetanguishene, Manitoulin. and various points on Lake Huron 08 " River Trent 114 " St. 'jawrence, Caughnawaga, and St. Regis. ... 09 " Lake Superior Indians, and Hall" lireed.s 117 " Toronto •• 705 raen. The management and organization of '^uch an assemblage, was, oi' course, a matter requiring great care and circumspection. 1 could not ai once turn them over to th:i military. Two classes, utterly unacquainted with each other's hauits a. I mode of life, had to be brought in contact. The one highly disciplined, hut utterly inexperienced in the nature of the work to be undertaken ; tb;' other, rough, ready and inured to hardship, but holding all fixed rules and restraint in abhorrence. t)n the one hand was the soldier, accustomed to obey orders and cheerfully do whatever might bo r qiiired of him, without troubling himself as to its object ; on ttie other, the voyageur, generous and obliaing, l)ut in the habit of thinking and acting for himself; he, at least, would have his views about what he was to do, and how he should do it, and would, without meaning it, be very likely to give oftence to those accustomed to unquestioning obedience. Under these circumstances, and after fully weighing the matter in all its bearings, I conceived it better to keep the voyageurs, for a time at least, as much as possible apart from the military, and place them under officers accustomed to their management. I would thus have an opportunity of organizing them, discharging such as should prove inefficient, and replacing them from among the men on the works; and, by the time Shebandowan Lake was reached, would be in a position to man the boats with picked crews of the most .skilful voyagexirs to be found in the country. The plan of dragging forward the boats by the rocky channel of the river having been determined on, and notwithstanding my remonstrance, persevered in, it remained for me to aid in carrying it out in the manner which, as I have said, would aflbrd the greatest chance of safety to the boats ; the rocky portages were laid with skids, and careful men were sent \vith every brigade whether manned by soldiers or voyageurs. or partly by both. *"^- The following table shews the number of boats sent by the river to the Matawin bridge, or rather to Young's Landing, and how manned : 20 Statemknt sliowinu' luunhor of Boats .siMit from Tlmndor Bay l)y Kaiiiin- isliqiiia liivor. and luuiihor ol' mt'ii engaged in iorwarding them. Date of Depntuie. No. of Boiit.s. No. oC Voyageurs. 18 47 44 51 45 20 30 7 44 17 50 16 32 26 95 No. of Soldiers. ISTO June 6. . . . 6 G 4 9 6 3 3 1 4 8 9 10 8 5 14 5 101 50 " 10 40 "11 <■ 14 40 "20 " 21 " 21. "21 .1 •>•) " 24 1 70 40 " 20 60 July I . . . . 35 •' 4 " 4 " 6 1 36 50 50 556 471 11 (■( lr( 111 w From the point called '• Young's Landing" for eight miles upwards, the river, as already exj)lained, is exceedingly difficult. Soon after the ar- rival of the first brigade of boats at that point, the officer commanding the Field Force sent a number of soldiers, unaccompanied b// voi/a^eurs, under the command of a vt^ry active and energetic officer to try the passage, but after doing all that could be expected of inexperienced men and straining every nerve to get forward, they were obliged to return having been iina- ble to get their boats up the rapids. Some interest had been excited by this experiment, which it was said was designed to show how much could be effected in the rapids independently of the voyageurs. Before the dis- couraging effects of this failure could spread far I had sent forward a band of voyageurs who took up the boats and, from that time for\^ ard, the boats, in this difficult section, were manned wholly by voyageurs. . To get them all past the section just referred to. occupied a force of 120 men for upwards of a month and it had become necessary to spread so man\ people along the Eiver, in this toilsome work of dragging boats up rocky channels that, much to my regret, I wah compelled to reduce the force on the road. At this time (about the 20th of June) matters had become exceedingly critical. The Indians brought at irreat expense from Nipigon and the Grand Portage mostly left. The Fort William Indians, after a trip or two, deserted us. Fond as they are of voyagino-, in the usual way, the work of dragging boats had become so distasteful to them that iieither the agent of the Htudson Bay Company nor Mr. Chone, the missionary at Fort William, both of whom used their influence in our favor, could induce them to continue at it, and I became apprehensive that we should be without guides in the interior ■21 l)i«cont(Mit, at tho same U\iu\ Ix'iiaii to miinifost itsoH' amoii!? a soctinn ul the other voyagiMirs. •' Why"' tht\v said, do you kcop us dra'4t,nni'' hoals over rocks where there is no water to lloat them, when a sius^le waauoii could accomplish m(»r(> in n day then eis'ht of us can in ten ^ By usi?i^ wau'- gons you would have your hoats in good order ; whereas, l)y exposing them to such usage as this, they are being rendered unfit lb r the long jo'uruey yet hel'ore us." The majority of them, however, kept cheerrully at their work and when del'ections took place I hat. stiil the force on the works from which to supply the loss. These men knew perfectly well that wag- gons in Bullicient num])er could easily have been obtained.'by simply send- ing for them. Appreciatiniz- this, their patience and (Midurauco, under toil which they believed to be unnecessary and arising from a mistake, cannot be too highly commended. As may be supposed, the boats suffered terribly, row-locks were lost, and oars in quanitity broken, and the tool chests were almost depleted of their contents. Boat builders were, however, maintained at different points along the route, and as the strained and patched boats were brought forward they managed to repair and fit them for further trials. Carpenters were set to work to make oars, the blacksmiths produced row-locks as fast as they could, and additional tools w^ere ordered from Toronto. By struggling on in this way the expedition was saved from disaster and those who were lookins' for an order to return were d< onn^l to dis- apointment. "While the boats were being dragged thus tediously ori'r the rocks of the Kamanistaquia and Matawin liivers, operations were going forward on the road. The waggons, at first very limited in number, were gradually comiim- forward and stores were accumulating at the Matawin andOskondage. Ex- cept on tw^o occasions, after days of heaA'v rain, the road as far as the Matawin Bridge, was kept in fair condition. From thence to the Oskond- age, it was in a bad state no doubt, but never so utterly bad but that a yok(^ of oxeiv with a waggon, could take from eight to twelve hundred pounds weight over it, and horses with waggons, as well as oxen, passi d frequent- ly to that point. The principal part of the workmen who remained at my disposal, over and above the numbers engaged in the channel of the river, were placed at convenient intervals along the route, west of the Matawin bridge. Several companies of the regular troops, were stationed, in the hrst in- stance, at various places requiring repair, east of that place, and were after- wards removed to Brownes lane and the section \Yest of the Oskondage. It must not be supposed, however, that we had tho whole army at w'ork on the roads. On the contrary, the main body of the Mili' tary Force remaind a Thunder Bay, until after General Lindsay's visit, when they were moved forward to the Matawin. The following statement shows the amount o'f w^ork lurnished by the Militarv. vs.; ■■■ 22 Statement of Amounts paid to TJi'ifulars and Voluiitoers for labor porfonnod on tho Thnndor 15ay Ivoad. ,:'4 .Fime 5 jTo ciish paid raymastpr C.iUh Killes, ns per account receipt IbTd. .lime 5 n 9 l< 10 days — a oulvortnoar tho Kaniinistaquia wns displaced and a small temporary biidni>, \n hich had been run over iht; Sun- shine Ib-ook. was seriously danr.iued while a similar temporary structuro on the Oslcondau" liad a narrow escape. Those damages wore ([uickly ropain'd and tlit> work went on as usnaf At this time, :{()tli ol'.Iune, when the roads were at ihe very worst, and boats, ))rokon and leaky wore accumulated at Young's liandinii- or being hauled from thence to tho OsUonduge, we had a visit from the fiieut.-tren- oral commanding the forces. This highly distiniiuislied (^liii'oi went for- ward as far as Shebantlowan Lake. The prospect was anything but en- couraging, worse, in fact, than it had up to that time been, and I loared, as I had hoard whispered some days previously, tliat tlie expedition was to be abandoiu'd. Far otherwise was tho result. His E.Ycolloncy sav. and judu'ed of everything for himself. In two days from the date of his visit the head-quarters of tho Fii-ld Force wore moved forward to tho Matawin bridge. New energy seemed infused ovorywhorL>, additional companies of troops were sent to work on the roads, and amonii' those the Volunteers from whom, up to this time, no nid had been received, except in making a few repairs in the vicinity of Thunder Bay. IJad as the roads W(M-o, wau- gon and Artillery found their way over them and stores )>egan to accumulate at Ward's Landing. Shebandowan Lake was at last within roacii and though the pelting rains came down at intervals tho weather had upm tho whole improved. Ward's Landiiig is about three miles from Shebandowan l^ake. ;uul the River in this distance, presents a .series of shallow, but not diilicult rapids, so tl at the stores wore <^asily rient forward in Hat scows manned partly by voyageurs and pi^rtly l^y soldiers. To facilitate tho loading of l)oats and i'lnbarkation of troops at Sheban- dowan Lake a small wharf had been run out at a sandy bay. close to its out- let._ At this place stores were rapidly collected and the boats, after their severe bruising in the Kaministaquia, put in order for the long journey to the West by boat builders who had been brought forward for tho purpose. Before proceeding further I may draw attention to the arrangements which had been made for the joirrney in boats. On reference to the memorandum on a preceding page, it wiH be seen that it was proposed, in the first instance, to man every ])oat with three voyageurs besides soldiers, so that w'ith each brigade of five boats there might be fifteen practised men available for running them over rapids. It was found, however, that although the boats would carry cpiite as much dead weight as had been anticipated, they had l)artjly sulhcient stowage capacity for the numerous articles to be put into them. I there- fore recommended the Commanding Officer of the Field Force to make the number of boats, in each brigade, six instead of live. This was agreed to, ••* 24 4 ami it \vas furthdmoie arranjioJ that the luiraber of voyageurs acconi- paiiviiig each bri<>ade shoixld \w twelve besides a pilot, making thirteen ill ail. .SiiebanjowanLake to Fort Gariiy. At sunset, on the evening of the Kith July, the Colonel Commanding- the 6Uth liiiles (Col. Fieldon) set out from McNeil's l^anding, Sheljandowan Lake, with a fleet of sevenieen boats, and by ten a. m. on the I'ullowing morning was at Kashaboiwe Portage. This being the first detachment of the force which had embarked, I ace npanied it for a short distance, in order to ascertain how^the arrange- mciits which had been made woiild meet the test of actual work on the portages. If I had had any apprehension on this head, it was quicklv re- moved, for no sooner had Col. Fielden landed than with his officers, sol- diers and voyageurs, he set vigorously to work to get the stores and artil- lery across. I had placed a force of voyageurs on this portage, a few days previously, to lay it with skids, ihat is logs laid transversely, to facilitate the passage of the boats. Taliing some of these voyageurs with me, I pro- ceeded to the Height of Land portage in order to make some necessary ar- rangements for getting the --oats up a little brook Avhich connects Kasha- hoi we Lake with the summit pond, and having effected this, 1 returned on the following morning, to the Kashaboiwe Portage. In the meantime, Col. Fielden had made ! ^ch good progress that all his stores and most of his bouts were across, and in an hour or two he would set oi\t for the Height of Land portcge, and be over it on ihe evening of the following day. These two portages, the Kashaboiwe and Height of Land, are the longest on the route, being, respectively, three quarters of a mile and a mile in length, equal to one fourth part ol the aggregate length of the por- tages between Shebandowan Lake and Lake Winnepeg. H therefore Col. Fielden could, in two or three days, get over a Iburth part of the en- tire distance to be ascomplished by land, it was easy to calculate, at least to a fe\» days, the time at which the force would reach the Red River settlement, for the route if remarkable in o far as that between the portages there are no impediments to speak of, or difficult rapids to be en- countered. With siich a vigorous and active leader as Col. Fielden in ad- vanct- , there could be, now, no doubt that the Expedition was a success. As I was proceeding back to McNeil's Landing, I met a messenger with the following note, which will at least serve to shew how difficult it was for me to absent myself for a moment i'rom the scene of principal operations, at this time. Sunday afiernoon, 4.45 P.M. McNeil's Bay, Shebandowan Lake. Deae Ml!. Daw.son,— I have been obliged to start off Capt. Buller's Inigade without either voyageurs or guides, the former were ready, with exception ot their cooking utensils, which had not turned up. Of the lat- ter, Mr Graham knew nothing. I enqiiired of Mr. Hamel, and he told me there were no Mission Indians here. I have to look to you for both voy- ageurs and guides. This is only the second day of the operation, and y c 2.5 neither are ready. I have ordered Capt. BuUer to halt on the first poriage until I can send him both voyageurs and guides. Please (muI uie word what I am to do. The carts are all here also, waiting- lor your men to take them on to the portages. Very truly yours, S. J. Dawson, Esq. (Signed.) G. J. Wolseley. I had heen barely two days ab.'^ent, and here matters were already in ii mess. I at once furnished the brigade with a guide, from the crew I had with me, and soon afterwards met the voyageurs in a boat hurrying after them, so that, they had not to " halt on the first viortage ;" the men excvised themselves by saying that as it was a Sunday evening, they did noc know they were to be called on. I, however, took measures to prevent any ground arising for such complaints in the future. At this time the voyageurs -were by hundreds within easy reach of Shebandowan Lake, enuaged in dragging boats to the Oskondage, or in scows carrying stores from Ward's to McNiell's Landing, and had only to get warning to be in readiness at a moiuent's notice. But I had extreme .difficulty in getting gr.ides, the Indians as already shewn, having had enough of it in the rapids of the Kamuiistaquia. There could, however, be no difficulty in reaching the Height of Land Portage, with the aid of a map, and at the latter place, i had met some Indians who engaged to pilot the brigades in Lac dos Mille Lacs, and soon afterwards a few of the Fort William Indians rejoined us. But, even among the Indians, there were few really well acquainted with the route. It had been long abandoned as a line of traffic, so that with the exception of such as had gone on voyages ,to Fort Frances — and the number w^as limited — it was known only to a few wandering families of hunters, and fortunately these came to our aid when most wanted. On returning to the cunp at Shebandowan Lake, I found Col. McNeill, V.C., most acti^ely occupied in organizing the Force, arranging stores and sending ofi"the boats. I had stationed at this place Mr. (rraham, who dis- played great energy in arranging the boat outfit, getting the boats repaired, and org'anizing and telling oh' the voyageurs for the dilferent Brigades. llapid progress was now being made. Col. Fielden, in advance, was leading the way to the interior, and Col. McXeill, who evinced a most ex- traordinary faculty for eliminating order out of chaos, was sending oft' bri- gades as fast as stores and outfit arrived from Ward's Landinti-. At !his time waggons were coming through from Thunder Bay to Ward's Landing, The voyageurs were mostly on the river between Young's Landinirand tln^ Oskondage, but were bringing the l)oats rapidly forward, and a few additional Indians came up from the Mission to act as guides- Matters being in this i\ivorable position, I again went forward with a light canoe, and overtook Col. Fielden on the evening of the 20th July, at the Deux Kivieres Portage ; most of his stores and boats were already over, 26 h and in eight daj-s more he would be at Fort Frances, lollowing portages. Kashaboiwe Height of Land Barril Portage Brule Portage French Portage Pine Portage Deiix Rivieres, nearly crossed He had crossed the Miles. •J Chains. 60 16 20 25 80 32 23 Col. Fielden, with the adAauce, was now fairly over the most difficult section of the roiite. In nine days he had made a hundred miles, and crossed seven portages, the aggregate length of which was considerably over a third part of the total land carriage to be encountered, and he was now about entering on a large river, where the portages were short, and the route more open and frequented. In order that this gallant officer's merit may be the better understood, it is but fair to explain, that when he set oi;t from Shebandowan Lake, the most skilful of the voyageurs were still engaged with the boats in the channel of the Matawin. I had therefore to supply him with voyageurs, who, although strong nnd accustomed to roughing it ni the woods, driving logs, and so forth, were, nevertheless, not considered equal to many of the others in the management of boats. But they were excellent axmen, and on them fell the work of opening the long abandoned portages between Lac des Mille Lacs and Sturgeon Lake, for the necessity of keeping so many men on the river, combined with the defection of the Indians, had prevented me from sending voyageurs very far in advance to improve the portaa'es. I had, howcAer, sent an additional number with Col. Fielden, over and above those required for his boats, to aid in this work, and on reaching Deux Rivieres, I sent forward a crew of picked voyageiirs to man ttie rapiis on the Maligne, the next after Deux Rivieres Portage, and at these rapids they remained until all the boats were run past. Having made this arrangement, I again left Col. Fielden with the sat- isfaction of knowing that the Expedition was being virtually led by an offi- cer fiilly equa^ to the task. On 29th Jii^v, I was again at Shebandowan Lake, and there wa.s now further work to be provided for, as will be seen from the following corres- pondence : Camp. Ward's Landin(4, 19th July, 1870. SiK, — Referring to a conversation I had with you some days ago at the ^latawin Camj), when I told you that upon trial the boats would not hold so much as I had been led to expect, I have the honor to inform yoii that I acted upon the suggestion you then made of sending an extra boat with each brigade. By doing so and by having only two voyageurs in each boat, I have been able to take 60 days rations for each brigade, with every one embarked in it. I shall have 21 britrades as far as Fort Frances and 20 from there to 27 Fort Garry: up to the former place, I shall therefore require 12(5 boats and from thence on, only 120. As by this arrangement I shall make use of 252 voyao-eurs. I have to request you will kindly inform me whether you can send forward the sup- plies noted in the margin to Fort Frances, after the last detachment of troops have embarked at Shebandowan Lake, bv means of the boats and voyageurs left behind, and if so, the date when I mav depend upon havino- them at that post, " '' I have to add that the sooner they can be sent there the better, as it is important that I should have this reserve close behind me when I enter the Province of Manitoba. I have the honor to be, cS:c., Sec. &:v.. (Signed,) G. J. "U'ol.selev 8. J. Dawson, Esq., &c , &c., &c., Supt. Public Works. Commanding Red River Field Force. ,i\ AV\RDs Landing near Shebandowan Lake. 20th July. 1871. Sir,— I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 19th instant, and, in reply, beg leave to say that, with the boats and voya- geurs to be left at my disposal, I can send forward the supplies you men- tion from this place to Fort Frances by the 15th day of September next. The following will be required for rations to the vovageurs Avhile en gaged in this service. 150 half brls. pork, 150 half brls flour, 40 bags peas ov beans. 7 chests tea. The boats now remaining at Thunder Bay will of course be brought to this place by the military transport. I wotild also require the use of^six yoke of oxen for transport on the portages, with a quantity of hay. oats or ox feed proportioned to the time they should be so used. ' I have the honor to be, ' &c,, &c., &c., Col. WOLSELEY, Commanding Red River Field Force. (Signed,) S. J. Dawson. I may here remark that instead of 252 men, the expedition was accom- panied by 315 voyageurs, besides 185 engaged with reserve stores. The arrangement, above detailed, having been agreed to, as soon as the last brigade of boats with soldiers had left McNieH'j Landing, the reserve stores began to be sent forward from Thunder Bay. A number of boats which had been left at that place were also brought up by waggon, and it now became evident to all, that much time would have been gained and -I 1 28 fPi! II •!i •vIj labour saA-ed, in tho first instance, by keeping the whole voyagvur force on the road making- it at once practicable to waggons, getting a snlficient num- ber of these from Collingwood and bringing forward boats and stores to Ward's Landing. To shew how easily this might have been done, I may call attention to the fact that ct 2 o'clock on the afternoon of 2nd Aiigust,, seven boats, placed on Avaggons, were sent oif from Thunder Bay, and, at siinset on the following evening, were at Ward's Landing. How different was this from dragging them over rocks and stones in the bottom of a shal- low stream. There was not a boat brought by the river that cost less for transport than $300, makinc on a hundred which were so conveyed some $30,000, w'.iile on 53 brought by waggon the cost did not exceed $20 or $25 each ; and then how very ditferent was the condition of the boats, in the one case fresh and sound as they came from the hand of tho builder. Li the other torn and broken Avith many row-locks, oars and rudders lost or smashed, and requiriiig repairs, in some cases very extensive o]ies, be- fore they could he used. The militai y having all left, arrangements were quickly nuide for send- inir forwa/d the reserve siapplies. In this work a small steam launch which had been prej^ared at Toronto, did good service. It was lirst used on Shebandowan Lake, b"at as the supplies were moved on, it was taken to Lac des Mille Lacs, and it saved the work of at least twenty men. With three full loaded boats in tow, it made fair speed, and was only on one or two occasions wind bound, for a .short time. I may dismiss this subject by saying, that by means of the voyageurs left behind, the stores were taken in good time to Fort Frances. The first reaching that place on the 3rd. of Sei>tember. and the last on the 17th, besides some that wer(> left by order of the military at Deux Rivieres Portoge, to meet the troops as they re- turned from lied Eiver. While the military are on the way to Retl River and the reserve stores Ibllowing, a brief description of the line oi the roiate, as regards its generrJl features, may not be oiit of place. Between Uie terminus of the Thunder Bay road, on Shebandowan Lake, and Lake Winnipea\ by the route followed by the expedition, the distance is, in round numbers, 488 miles. In this distam'e are three sections differing materially in general character. The first, known as the Lake Region, commences at the end of the Thunder Bay road and ends at Fort Frances. The distance between these points by the route followed by the expedition, which went round by Loon I^ake to avoid the rapids of Sturgeon River, is 208 miles, and by the more direct route u.sually travelled, about 100 miles. This section presents a continuous succession of lakes separated by short portages, except in one instance where there is a stretch of eleven miles of river, sometimes called the Maligne. It was to the rapids in this stretch that I had sent a picked crew of voyayextrs to be in attendance w'hile tho boats were passing, and run them down. Li all other places, the work to be done consisted merely in carrying baggage and supplies, and hauling boats from one quiet sheet of water to another. The aggregate lengMi of the portage.-i between 8he- bandowan Lake and Fort Frances is precisely three miles and 76 chains ; 29 the two first are the longest namely, Kashaboiwe and Height oi' Land por- tages, aud these are respectively three-quarters of a mile and one mile in length. The other portages are very short, only three exceeding a quarter of a mile, and none extending to half a mile. Here then is the labour the voyageiirs and soldiers had to encounter in getting to Fort Frances, that is to say — they had to get boats, ammunition, and GO days" rations, the latter irradually getting less, over three miles and 70 chains of land, and rev or sail thronirh some two hundred miles of water, where countless islands rendered the shelter so perfect that the hiuhest winds cculd not stop them, while the breeze would often fill their sails and relieve them from the toil of the oar. The weight of the boats varied somewhat, those of the clinker construction being from OoO lbs., to 750 lbs., and the carvel from S')0 to '.•iiO lbs. With each brigade of six boats were from sixty-five to seventy- five strong men, soldiers and voyageurs, ten men were quite equal to draw- ing a boat acro.ss a portage, but the crews joined together and haulcl them across with great ease. The baggage and stores gave the most irksome work to the inexperienced soldiers, but it did not last long at a time, and alter the toil involved in getting across a portage, they were soon again ;i float and winding their way among labyrinths of islands. .Sometimes mistakes occurred on tht; lakt>s, more especially whtni the sails were h'oisted. The boats in tacking, would leave the usual track and, as new lakes opened up and unknown islarxds came in view, the guides would get be- wildered and scarcely know which way to turn. A case of this kind oc- curred in the Lac des Mille Locs, and I mention it to show how easy it is for the best guides to get astray in these island-studded lakes. A half In- dian voyageur who had been for many years in the service of the Hudson'.s: Bay Company, and was sttpposed to know every rock between Lake Supe- rior and the Arctic Seas, came with a brigade of boats to the lake just named. The wind was up, the sails were set at once, and off went the boats dashing at great speed through the water, and leaving island alter island behind them. The wind was nearly but not quite fair, and it would be a pity to change them from their track while they were making such speed, almoi-t in the direction they should go. At last they were put about, l)ut the guide looked in vain for some poiiit or island he could recognize. All was new to him. Time and agahi, the islands bounding the prospect were made for, but only to open up new vistas and lakes more })ewildering than the last. This lake is well named I-iac des ^lille Lacs. It is, however, the only one on the upper part of the route which from its dimensions could admit of the boats going far astray, and in order to li'uard against the recurrence of such blunders, I stationed somc^ Indians who have their hunting groitnds in the neighbourhood, at the Height of Land, so that they might be in readiness to act as pilots in this perplexing lake. Much has been said about the barrenness and forbidding aspect of the L;ike region, and no doubt it is in many places somewhat rocky, but not more so than the regions of the Upper Ottawa, or the country intermediate between the Ottawa^ and the Georgian Bay. Thnber, both red and white pine, of fair dimensions, is in xtnlimited abundance, and in many places, more especially on IJainy Lake, there are indicntions of valuable minerals. 30 * ;( Arrived at Fort Frances, the Expedition had heloro it 131 miles oi' un- broken navigation, ending at Rat Portage. First, Rainy River, winding for G7 miles with a gentle current through forests of the most luxuriant growth, broken here and there by slopes of green sward, where the In- dians of former times had practised the art of cultivation, so long forgotten to their descendants, and then the Lake of the Woods, where the course lay for G4 miles farther through islands which, although the lake is large, aflbrd sheltered channels where the stiifest breeze is hardly felt. There is, however, a traverse of seven miles at the entrance of th<^ lake where boats are sometimes wind bound. The Winnipeg. On reference to the memorandum on a preceding page, it will be seen that this river presents a series of lake-like reaches with short intervals of rapid water between them. It is in volume not inferior to the Ottawa — perhaps greater, after it receives its chief trib^itary the English River which joins it jxist above Portage de L'lle from the east. Some of the navigable sections are like the Chats and Duchene Lakes on the Ottawa, differing only in the circiimstance of being full of islands. This river had long l)een used as a highway for the boats of the Hudson's Bay Company, and the carrying places were found to be well opened and in good order. At cer- tain stages of the water some of the portages are difficult of approach, but when the expedition passed the water was low, and the worst places had quite lest their terrors. The distance from Rat Portage at the outlet of the Lake of the Woods to Fort Alexander on Lake Winnipeg is one hundred and fortv-nine miles. The portages are numerous but short ; their aggre- gate length at high water amounting only to three miles and six chains. The water, however, was so low when the Expedition passed that at se- A'eral places, such as the Cave, the Seven Portages and Silver Falls, much of the land carriage was avoided by keeping in the bed of the river and lifting the boats over rocky points. Upon the whole, the Expedition expe- rienced no diihculty whatever on the Winnipeg. Gruides had bt>'n obtained at Fort Frances and Rat Portage, where the Indians are numerous, and some few of the voyageurs who had not distinguished themselves, were sent back from the former station and their places supplied with Indians well acquainted with the route. I should mention that Mr. Boyd, a mer- chant ill the Red River Settlement, and now a member of the G-overnment of Manitoba, together with some other settlers, sent six Hudson's Bay boats to meet the Expedition. This allbrded an opportunity of comparing these boats with those which had been provided in Ontario and Quebec, and I have some satisfaction in saying that the latter proved to be the fastest sailers, the most easily managed in the portages and rapids and in every way the best adapted to the purposes of the Expedition. From Fort Alexander to Lower Fort G-arry (Stone Fort) the distance is 00 miles, and in this section there is no impediment whatever to the na- vigation. The route, generally, between the terminus of the Thunder Bay road, Shebandowan Lake and Lake Winnipeg, will compare very favorably with any other canoe or boat route of equal length in British North America. The entire distance is four hundred and eighty-eight miles, with so:a3 forty 31 portages (more or less according to the stage of water) having an aggre- gate length of seven miles. Between these portages, the navigation, ex- cepting for a few miles in a narrow brook at French Portage, is the easiest conceivable. There are no difficult rapids to run. In fact, except on the Maligne already referred to, and at a few places on the "Winnipeg, as re- •rards the facility of getting over them with boats or canoes, the rapids are the merest ripples. The force, in getting through, had just seven miles of land carringo to get over with light boats, 60 days' rations irradually diminishing, and their ammunition, and this in short sections, so far separated as to make the fa- tigue less than it would have been had the portages been longer and lower in number. The labor on the portages was, no doubt, tryincto men unaccustomed to such work, but it did not last long at a time, and all besides was the smoothest sailing conceivable. Let, now, the route which could afford siich easy transport be (compared with other known roiites of similar character, on which many Canadians are engaged in occiipations involving the constant practice of work of the same nature as that which the Expeditionary Force had to perform, and first, as regards the Ottawa, it is not necessary to refer to the time when articles had to be carted from Carillon to Grrenville, when voyageurs had to portage their canoes past the Chaiuliere and Ducheno, struggle up the Chats ]{apids and toil for weeks in powerful whirlpools or on th<^ long portages between the Chineux and the Calumet. The labor involved in getting from the Joachim, the upper limit of steam navigation, to Lake Temiscaminque, a distance of a hundred and twenty miles, is vastly greater than on the whole route to Red River, — a ureator length of land carriage, and rapids more powerful and difficult to overcome. But, if the difficulties on the broad Ottawa are greater, how much more are they not so on its tributaries the Gatineau, Madawaska, Coulonge or Potawawa. Hundreds. I may say thoiisands of adventurous lumbermen yearly find their way to the hiuh regions drained by these rivers with boats and half a year's sup- plio.', besides. The St. Maurice is, perhaps, one of the most difficult rivers on the continent, runninii- down, as it does, directly across the strike of rock from a plateau fifteen hundred feet above the fevel of the St. Lawrence, and it forms a case in point as regards comparison, for by this route a French Military Exi)edition passed, in former years, to the Moose and down that River to Hudson's Bay, with artillery and munitions of war. Two of their Meld pieces still remain on a portage at the sources of the St. Maurice, and history tells of their doings at Hudsr-^'s Bay, where they took and held forts, one of which was well mounted with artillery. Although no doubt greater things have been done in other ways, still this is of its kind a feat as yet unparalleled in military annals. The Chevalier de Tro\-es had no boats such as were supplied to the Red River Expeditionary Force, and in his day the birchen skiff was alone used on the inland waters, between the St. Lawrence and Hudson's Bay- As compared with the route by York Factory, the line foHow^ed by the Expedition has many evident advantages, and, in this regard, I may refer to a journey made from York Factory to Fort Garry l)y Col. Croft on in ,32 H 1846. . Thill iiiilliiut soldicn-. whoso clear and comprehoiiisivo evidence i>-iven before a Coiumittee of the House ol' Commons (Enghvnd), in 1857, did so much to remove the veil in which an e-clusive monopoly had shrouded the regions of the North West, came by York Factory to 1{. d River, with 34T soldiers, 17 women and V.) children, in all 383 persons. Among his muni- tions of war were three (j-pounders and one 9-pounder-lield pieces. In his evidence, speaking of the Fort William route, he says :— s" I would under- take to take my regiment by it ;" and, on being further questioned, replied as follows : — " I did worse than that, lor I took artillery from Fort York, in Hudson's " Bay, to Red River, 700 miles by the coin pass, over lakes and rivers, and "that is a much imrse route than Ihr other T " Do you mean to say that iinder present circumstances (this was 13 " vears ago), the route from Fort William to Fort Garry is a better route for " :ailitary to go than from Fort York ? — I am quite sure of it for I have " gone both." " Question ))V Sir John Packintrton — Did vou sav you took artillery " from Fort York to Red River?— I did." " What distance is that? —It is about 730 miles." " How did you convey it ? — We carried the guns in canvass, we took " the giinsoir their carriages, we had rope handles and carrying straps, and '•between them so carried the guns." At the time the gallant Crofton formed the opinions to which he has given such ib:"cible expres.sion, steam had not reached Lake Superior, and the Thunder Bay road had not been dreamt of; still, with experience of both routes, he considered it (the Fort William road), vastly better than the route by Hudson's Bay. One cannot but be struck with the marked difference in the circum- stance, under which, h(> made his journey by the one route, and those attending the advance of the Expeditionary force by the other. In the one case were the ever frozen shores of Hudson's Bay, and soldiers, with artil- lery, and women with children to bring forward to an unknown land by a route till then untried by a military force. In the other, light boats, fitted with everything that could be conceived to be useful, and manned with active men in the very prime of life. AVomen ond children had to be protected from the chill blasts of autumn, as Col. Crofton's band came upwards from the sea. The soldier.s of the Expeditionary force had to work hard enough at times, no doubt, on the portages, as they came to the successive falls of the Winnipeg, but they were soon again on open lakes with the soft winds of .summer in their sails. A quarter of a century ago. Col. Crofton's soldiers could hu -e had nothing to cheer them save a consciousness of doing their duty, as they advanced. The land before them had been represented as sterile and shrouded for more than half the y<-'ar in the gloom of a Siberian winter. As the Expeditionary force w^ent on, the soldiers knew that they were taking part in a movement to become historical, that they were, in fact, carryhig the sceptre of their Queen to a land of sunshine and fertility, and of proportions so vast that it might hold the half of Europe in its lap. The Red River Settlenienf. To understand proceeding-s at this place it may be well to explain that before leaving Thunder Bay, the Col. commanding the Expeditionary field Ibrce had written as I also did to the officer representing the Hudson Bay Company at Fort Garry, requesting him to place a force of workmen on the Lake of the Woods road, so that it might be available for the return, if not for the advance, of the troops. The following are copies of the letters so addressed, from Thunder Bay, General Lindsay being there at the time : (Copy) Prince Arthur's Landino, Thunder Bay, 30th June. 1870. Sir, — With reference to the proclamation I have forwarded to you in a letter of this date, I have the honor to inform you that I am most anxious that steps should be immediately taken for opening out a cart road from the end of Mr. Snow's road to the north-west corner of the Lake of the Woods. It is not necessary that the road should be of a permanent character, as it will only be required this year for military purposes, hereafter it could be enlarged and made lit for commercial traffic, but uow a corduroyed track over the swamps, wide enough and strong enotigh for the passage of Red River carts (lightly loaded), would answer our purposes. Mr. Dawson, who represc .its the Public Works Department here, will forward more fully detailed instructions regarding the construction of the road required, and will authorize you to appoint a surveyor to superintend and direct the work and to make the necessary disbursements. I have to request that you will kindly render the gentlemen you employ upon this service every possible assistance while so engaged I have the honor to be. Sir, ' Your most obedient servant, (Signed), G. J. Wolseley, Commanding Red River Expeditionary Force. To the officer representing The Hudson Bay Company, Fort Garry. ■ (Copy) Government Depot, Thunder Bat, 30th June, 1870. Sir, — Under existing circumstances, it is desirable that the road to the north-west angle of the Lake of the Woods should be opened in such a way as to be i)racticable to carts without delay, and it has occurred to mc that you might find some reliable and energetic person in your section who would be willing to undertake the work. What is required is a track over which carts can be driven from the '1 ••34 end of. the road, already opened, to the north-west angle of the Lake of the Woods. Before a complete road can be made, it is always necessary to open a cart track or ox road, over which supplies can be drawn while the work ])roc'resses, and it is a preliminary cart track of this kind which is"at present required. The total distance remainins to be opened is about thirty miles. In the dry sections it would only be necessary to clear off the w^ood and grub- out the roots. In swampy places cross laying (corduroy) or fascining'. would be required. The person you employ w^ould of course understand! the amount of work necessary to form a track over which a cart could pass. Should you find anyone willing to undertake this work and able to perform it, the Department of Public Works of Canada will pay for the labor and necessary supplies. The Commander of the Military Force, now on the way to the Red River si^tlement, has also written you on this subject. I have the honor to be. ixc. &:c, &c. (Sianedi. S. J. Dawson. J H. McTavish, Esq., The Hudson Bay Co.. ^ Fort Garrv. Mr. McTavish describes his action in this matter as follows : •• Enclosed herewith you will find copy of Colonel Wolesley's letter to me. '■ On its receipt, I issued notices in the Colonel's name, calling for men '• to commence the work, and went myself through the English portion of '■ the settlement, biTt failed in getting a single English half-breed or " Swampy. None but French half-breeds offered, though it was given out " and well understood, that the road was to be pushed through in order to • hurry in Hev Majesty's troops. " (Signedi. J. H. McTavish." Thi' reluctance of the English half-breeds to join in the work, is ex- plained by the fact that the road starts from the French settlement, and there was some feeling of distrust still existing between the two parties. If, however, the French were the first to run to open the roads, which they believed necessary to the advance of the troops, the English had at the same time sent boats to meet the Expedition. All parties were thus doing their best to facilitate its approach, and when it came its appearance was hailed by all with equal pleasure. The policy of the Government, and the action of the Dominion Parlia- ment, had disarmed the malcontents, and many ol those who had taken part in the insurrection, were out, with no more formidable weapons than hatchet and shovel, making a road for Her Majesty's troops. The Expeditionary Force on its arrival, was received everywhere with open arms. The people were quietly following their usual occupations, 85 iiike of the ace was and the iusuvgout leader who had remained in Fort Garry, with fiouie thirty men, went leisurely out as the troops marched in. Peace reigned everywhere, and the Colonel commanding the Expedi- tionary Force was in a position to address the troops in the I'oUowing strain : " From Prince Arthurs Landing to Fort Garry, is over »)00 miles " through a wilderness of forest and water, where no supplies of any df- " scription are obtainable. Yoii had to carry on your backs a vast amount "of supplies, over no less than 47 portages, making a otal distance of seven " miles, a feat unparalleled in our military annals. You have descended a ^' great river, esteemed so dangerous from its rapids, falls and whirlpools, " that none but experienced voyageurs attempt its navigation. Your "cheerful obedience to orders has enabled you, under tfie blessini? of '• Divine Providence, to accomplish your task without any accident. " Although the banditti who had been oppressing this peoplf, lied at " your approach, without tiiving you an opportunity of proving how men " capable of such labor could fight, you have deserved as well of your '• country as if you had won a battle." This is no doubt very eloquent, and the soldiers deserved all that could be said in their praise, but as it occurs in a document, which will doubtless be placed on record, I must protest against its being accepted as a correct representation of the state of matters existing in the Red River Settlement, when the troops arrived. The people to whom he alludes instead of Hying at his approach, like banditti, were quietly following their usual occupations, except those who were out, at his particular request, making a road to facilitate tht move- ments of Her Majesty's troops, and the soldiers had had experienced guides -on the "Winnipeg, although the contrary is implied. A little latitude should, no doubt, be allowed under the circumstances ; but, with all due allowances. I may be permitted to enter a mild protest against a river which has formed the highway of the white man since he first made his appearance in these regions, being called so difficult from its falls, whirlpools and rapids that none but experienced voyageurs attempt its navigation. "Why ! men, women and children have passed by hundreds up and down the "Winnipeg, and the boats of the Hudson's Bay Company, some of them the most unwieldy tubs imaginable, are constantly used on its waters. In former times, the whole trade of the northern parts of the continent passed by the Winnipeg. The French first used it as a highway ; succeeding them came the great north west company of Canada, who also followed it, and, at a later day, when the Hudson Bay Company had its Head Quarters on the Albany, the route to the Saskatchewan was by way of LacSeul and the Winnipeg. Whatever may be said of other parts of the route, the Winnipeg was at least a well known and long travelled highway, presenting remarkable facilities for boats. As a cnse in point, I may draw attention to the fact, that, at the very time the Expeditionary Force was passing, two frail and poorly manned canoes, the one occupied by a very fat newspaper editor, and the other by a gentleman who had his wife with him, passed over all the rapids, por- tages and whirlpools of the Winnipeg without its occurring to their occu- pants that they were doing anything extraordinary. 3tf The Barracks and Buildinos at Fort Garry. Being quite in£»dequate to the accommodution of kg lar^e a number, it, }>ecarae necessary to provide other biaildings, a matter which the scarcity ol' material, arising from the disturbed stat«' of affairs for some time pre- viously existing in the Settlement, rendered difficult The following correspondence will serve to explain the action taken. (<-'opy) Fort Oarrv, August Slst, 187U 7 Caiitaing. 14 .''uJinltcrnf". .') .>^taB'St'r«cant.«. l28.Sfrtrcants. 7 Buglers, ■ll'i Hunk and File. 1 ("(imnmnJinn Offieer 1 Kicid Oflicer. 1 Cliaiilain. 4 .'^taff Officf H. — (RcL'imfniBl.) i; C('iitrol dii. SiK. — I have been instructed bv the Lieutenant-General commanding in British North America, to make arrangements for housing the two Battalions of Militia in this Settlement. Mr. Donald Smith has placed all the buildings that can be spared by the Hudson Bay Company in the Upper and Lower Forts at my disposal for that purpose. Some alterations are required to fit them up as barracks, and a few small buildings have to be erected to serve as cook and wash-houses, &c. The strength of each battalion is as per margin. One will be quartered at the upper, the other at the lower Fort. The scarcity of labor, which has always been In the Lower Fort there hitherto the chief difliculty in carrying- out any works offiUr"?' ^'' ""*' ^'""'"'' here, will not be felt in providing these buildings, as the services of all the officers and men of these two battalions are available, and from their ranks numerous skilled mechanics can be obtained. As all the expenses incurred are to be defrayed by the Dominion Government, I conceive it to be very essential that an officer representing the Public "Works Department of C.mada, should carry out all the works required, or, having arranged with the Hudson Bay Company for their execution, should exercise a supervision over them whilst in progress. As yoii are an officer of high position in that department, I have there- f(»re the honor to request your assistance, and that, should your views co- incide with mine upon this subject, you will have the goodness to act on the part of the Public Works Department, and appoint some efficient offi- c^n• to take charge of fitting up the barracks required. Enclosed is a rough outline of the various services required in both Forts. ■ ' ;•-• ■ ■' " " I have the honor to be. Sir, ' >- ' ' -■ ^' Your obedient servant. ' ' " (Signed,) To S. J. Dawson, Esquire, Public Works Department, Fort Garry. G. J. WoLSELEY, Colonel, Commanding Red River Expedition. 87 Fort Garry, 6th S<'i)teml)c'r, IHTO. Sir, — In ('ontinuatioji ol' my letter to you of the 31st ultimo, I hav« now the honor to forward you rough specihcationw ol" the work required at both f'ortH to fit them for the occupation of troops. Of courKe, as the work progresses, many details not oiven in those pa- pers, will have to be attended to. These will be pointed out by the liieut.- Colonels commanding the two battalions, to whatever officer you place in charge of the work. I should feel much obliged if you could give me a statement as to what may be the prospect of getting these services carried out before the severe w^eather sets in, before say th»^ 1st November or thereabout.s. It is perhaps superfluous to inform you, that housing of the Militia here is of a public importance that should take precedence of every other public work. The Lieut, (rovernor authorises me to add thai he concurs in this opinion. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your obedient servant, (Signed.) Gr. .T. Wolseley, Colonel. Commanding Red River ExpiHlitimiary Force. S. .1. Dawson, Esq., Public Works Department, Fort Garry. (Copy.) Winnipeg, Red River Skttlement, 5th September, 1870. Sir, — In reference to your letters of the 31st ultimo and oth instant. T beg to say that all that it is possible to do will be done towards carrying out the Work you mention. I have already ordered the purchase of all the lumber to be procured ill the settlement, and have entered into communication with the manairer of a small saw mill at Pembina, in the hope of obtaining an additional (luantity. Other necessary material, .such as nails, glass, &c., have been ordered from St. Cloud, and the carpenters, now^ on the line of route between Fort Frances and Lake Superior, have been sent for. The difficulty of finding skilled labor and the scarcity of material in this remote section must occa.sion delay, but I trust, nevertheless, to have the work well on before the severe weather sets in. I have the honor to be. Sir. YowT most obedient servant. (Signed,) S.J Dawson. Colonel Wolseley, ' *" ' Commanding Red River Expeditionary Force, Fort Garry. 5-s= * 38 Iho Carpenters who had proved themselves so useful at puttim>' up store hotises aiiJ stables along the route between Thunder Bay and 8he- bandowan Lake soon arrived in the settlement and set actively to work. By the 5th day of October the troops were all in shelter, and before the severe weather set in, the recreation rooms, specified by Colonel Wolseley, were in readiness, besides various other buildings. The boats, as will be seen from the following correspondence, were turned over to me and I had them put in safety for the winter. Sixty-five boats, most of them in fair order, remain at Fort Grarry : — (Copy.) Fort Garry, 7th September, 1870. Sir, — I have the honor, by direction of the Colonel commanding, to request you will be good enough to inform him whether you are prepared at once to take over the boats and equipments, no longer required for the purposes of the Expedition, and nov,' lying at the lower Fort and in the Assiuiboine Eiver here. Should you wish to leave them in the vicinity of the troops. Colonel Wolseley will order that the neces.sary guards be placed over them for their protection, and would request in that case that you will allow the officers commanding the regiments the use of such boats as they may wish for re- creation of the officers and men. I hav S. J. Dawson, Esq., &c., &:c., ike. Fort Grarry, ■ the honor to be. Sir, Your obedient servant, (Signed,) W. B. Irvine, Assistant CojitroUer. (Copy.) Winnipeg, Red River Settlement, 7th September, 1870. Sir.,— I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of this date and, in reply thereto, beg leave to say that I shall within a few days be prepared to take over the boats and boat equipment no longer re- quired for the purposes of the Expedition, and now lying at the lower Fort and in the Assiniboine Hiver. The boats will be hauled up in the vicinity of the force and put in safety from floods and weather, and when thus secured, it would certainly be advisable that they should be placed in charge of the trooj^s. The officers commanding regitients can, of course, have the use of snch boats as they wish for the recreation of the officers and men. I have the honor to be, Sir, Your most obedient servant, Col. Irvine, Assistant Controller, &c., Fort Garry. (Signed,) S. J. Dawson. 39 LAKE OF THE WOODS ROAD.' As already explained, Mr. McTavish, the resident Factor ot the Hud- son's Bay Company, at the request both of the Commandant of the Field Force and the Manager of the P^-blic Works, conveyed to him by letters (copies of which are on a preceding page) from Thunder Bay, had set a force to work on the Lake of the Woods road. The distance remaining to be opened was found to be somewhat greater than the confused reports, received up to that time, had led us to anticipate. The party sent out with Mr. Snow, in the fall of 18tl8, had not even penetrated to the Lake of the Woods, with their Exploratory Hues, and much of the road they had opened was a mere preliminary track, on which nothing more had been done than cutting down or rolling otf the trees. On this Section the people employed by Mr. McTavish were making bridges over the swamps ; they had also opened a road from the point at which Mr. Snow's road terminates. East of White Mouth River to Birch River, and from thence had cut a bridle path to the Lake of the Woods, but it was mostly through swamp, and horses could with dilHculty be taken over it with pack saddles. By this route, a company of Ihe Regular troops, on their return, went from Fort Garry to the North Wdst angle of the Lake of the Woods, where they embarked in boats, and a company of Volunteers which had been stationed at Fort Frances, took the same *oad from the North West Angle to Fort Garry. The Commandant of the Field Force left Fort Garry on tne 10th September and passed by land to the Lake of the Woods, where his canoe with a crew of active A-oyageurs, was in waiting to carry him to Lake Superior. The Return of the Recjular Troops and Voyaoeuh.s Was marked by the same good fortune as had attended the advance of the Force from Shebandowan Lake to Fort Garry. The voyageurs who had accompanied the Volunteers were now disengaged, so that there was no lack of skilful boatmen and the journey to Lake Superior was rapidly ac- complished, under the able management of Colonel Fielden. The weather was delightful and the flies had vanished. In iact, throughout th^' Sum- mer, to whatever cause it may have been owing, there was a remarkable absence of troublesome insects. To the soldiers the homeward journey must have btn'u pleasant. The boats were light and better manned than they had been on the advance, and it would be difficult to imagine anything more beautiful than the Rivers, Falls and Island-studded Lakes, by which they passed. Autumn had just begun to tinge the forests and the wether was all that could be desired. The Expedition had been entirely successful and they were returning to receive the well merited thank.s of the Coxmtry and their Sovereign. The average rate per day, notwithstanding all impediments in the way of portages, or rapids, was about 2.5 miles, some days much more and some less. VVaggons were in waiting for the luggnge at Shebandowan Lake and the terrible Thunder Bay Road, which had been greally improved 40 (luring the absence ot the troops, was but two days easy march. This shows how readily it might haA'e been passed at first, if the Yoyageurs, instead of being set to dragging boats by the Hirer, had been kept for a time at work on it. Many of the voyageurs, at their own request, were paid off at Fort Garry. They had been struck with the beauty of the country and the fertility of the soil, and I }\ave no doubt will prove a valuable addition to the population. I was detained for some time in making necessary arrangements for the construction of barracks, and the progress of the work on the Lake of the Woods road, and only left the north-west angle on the 23rd of Septem- ber. I reached Thunder Bay on the 1st October, and in a few days saw the last of the regular troops embark on the steamers ; officers and men had alike distinguished themselves by unflinching perseverence, perfect sobriety, and all the good qualities which mark the British soldier. A feel- ing of regard had grown up between them and the voyageurs, and for the latter I can say that they parted with the tried friends who had shared their toils, with regret, and with a heart felt wish for their future prosper- ity and happiness. The steamers having been fully freighted with military stores, &c,, the voyageurs could only leave Thiinder Bay on the succeeding trips. They reached their homes in safety, and :t is satisfactory to know That not a si gle serioiis accident occurred, and not a life was lost, from the outset of the Expedition imtil its return. The Expedition having been attended with succ , ' . ^uld gladly close this report without referring to blunders which might have led, and very nearly did lead, to an opposite result ; but so much has been said and written of a character to produce an impression, the reverse of the truth, that justice to the men by whose perseverance and toil it was mainly saved from disaster, compels me to draw attention to certain circumstances which I should otherwise have left unnoticed. I have already shewn that, on the arrival of the first detachment of the military force at Thunder Bay, the road for twenty-five miles was in such condition that boats and military stores might at cnce be sent forward as far as Matavvin Bridge. I have also pointed out that any deficiency in the means of transport, occasioned by the detention of a portion of that which had been provided (drawing stores over the portage road), at Sault Ste. Marie, wight easily have been remedied by sending to Collinrwood or the settlements in its vicinity for additional horses and waggons Soon after the arrival of the first of the troops, *wenty-eig; ., ts were taken by waggon over the road to the Matawin Bridge, thu j; n that it was not only practicable but quite easy to send them in that m .. In this position, the true plan would have been to set all the available, force, both soldiers and voyageurs, to work on tho unfinished section of the road, so as to liave it completed by the time the stores should reach the Mata- win Bridge. But instead of adopting a line of action, so obvious and judicious, the boats, on the advice of inexperienced persons, who, although living in the vicinity, had never been over the country through which the road passes, or had ev(?r so much as seen Shebandowan Lake, were ordered to the rough and rocky channel of the river, while at the same tim with ex- 41 ch. This oyagtHivs. :opt for a )tf at Fort and the dditiou to ments for e Lake of >f Septem- days saw and men G, perfect r. A feel- id for the ad shared e prosper- toros, &c., ing trips. ;v that not the outset lid gladly ^ led, and 1 said and :he truth, inly saved ces which ception of a few companies of the regular troops, sent forward to aid in n-- pairing the damage occasioned by the tire, the main body of the military force was maintained in inactivity at Thunder Bay, and there it in great part remained, until GJ-eneral Lindsay made his appearance and ordered a general movement forward. I have already described the operation of dragging the boats over the rocks of the Kaministiquia and Matawin, and the damage to which they were thereby subjected. The voyageurs knew the work and privations to which they svere thus exposed, to be unnecessary. They saw that a fev,' additional waggons, only, were required to relieve them from the toil, and save the boats on which the sviccess of the Expedition depended. They were, indeed ac- companied sometimes by the soldiers, who did a portion of the dragging as far as the Matawin Bridge, but the soldiers never returned on a second excu''sion of the same nature, while the voyageurs had to tramp back again to Thunder Bay, and renew the work ; and in the difficult sections beUveen Youngs Landing and Brown's Lane, the soldiers could not aid at all. Most of the native Indian voyageurs, brought at great expense to the ground, and whose services would have been invaluable as guides, became, as I have already explained, disheartened and left. The Nipigon Indians deserted in a body. Those from Fort "William and the G-rand Portaare could not endure the toil, and their places had to be filled with men from among the workmen on the road : under these circumstances, I think I am justified in claiming some little credit for the voyageurs, who, in storm and sunshine, stood manfully to their posts, and compelled success against blunders, which would otherwise have resulted in disaster. If, under the great trials to which ihey were so unnecessarily exposed, any considerable number of them had left, the Expedition could not l.avp. proceeded, the route would have been proclaimed impracticable, and the North- West Territories might possibly have been lost to Canada. That so great a national calamity was averted, and that the first considerable Expe- dition which the Dominion sent forth, has been crowned with success, is in no small measure due to the perseverance, the skill and unwavering constancy of the voyageurs. They were of that class which has, perhaps, done more than any other t-:^ advance the prosperity of the country. Of such as they were are tuo men who are yearly engaged in the ad- venturous work of carrying the produce of the forest, or rather the forests themselves, along the rivers of the country. Their calling may perhaps be considered a humble one, but that is no reason why, when they perform important public services, and do great things, they shoald be utterly ignor. d and their hard won laurels snatched from them and placed on the brows of others. In giving credit to the voyageurs for their services, I am very far from wishing to disparage the work of the soldiers. On the contrary. I can most cheerfully bear testimony to their aptitude in acquiring a knowledge of the voyageurs art, their unvarying preservence and orderly behaviour. The soldiers are far more likely to suffer from the indiscreet remarks of those who assume to speak for them than from anything I have said. Tht tendency of exaggerated s<:atements is to produce an impression the opposite of that which they are intended to convey, and whatever may tJ ■ ' -, ; ,„ ..^v^ 42 be said to the contrary, no one having experience of snoh matters, will be- lieve that it needfcJ four hundred regular troops who, whatever their good qualities might be, were strangers to the country and the manner of travel- ling in it, to carry treble their number of Canadians, voyageurs and volun- teers, though the forests of their native country. And, after all, what has been done V With every appliance w^hich the country could command, magnificent steamers on Lakes Huron and Super- ior, good horses and waggons for the land roads, boats in every way ad- apted to the navigation of inland waters, and so light as to be easily trans- ported on portages, with voyageurs to man them, well skilled and accus- tomed to their work, the Expedition made its way to the Red River Settle- ment. The road by which it travelled had been much used in former years. It was a link in the . oute by which the French, nearly two hundred years ago, carried the flag of their country to the plains of the Saskatchewan, and it was for man)'- years the highway of the North-West Company of Canada, in carrying on a very extensive trade with the interior. It has been estimated that two thoiisand people passed over it, yearly, when that company was in the hey day of its prosperity, and although it h-sd been long abandoned it will readily be believed that it presented no Sv <'- "^ -"lifficulty. Respectfully submitted, S J. Dawson. ■-■;-j-rt-'-;-- -» t ADDENDA Dorument aubmitled in reference to the strictures published in Enu'land by an ..( ; . , Officer of the Expeditionary Force. : .;« A publication having' appeared ii; England which not only gives a very erroneous view of the proceedings generally on the Red Kiver Expedition of 1870, but is in most of its statements and references in absolute contra- diction with facts easily established, many of which must have been well known to the writer, and this publication having obtained, through the medium of Blackwood's Magazine, a very wide circulation, it seems desir- able that some of its most prominent mis-statements should be corrected. In referring to the strictures contained in that publication, it is not my in- tention to advert to the political aspect of the case, but merely to deal with cer*^ain facts with which I am personally conversant, and which it is desira- ble, in the interest of justice and truth, to place in juxtaposiiion with the statements made by the writer. As regards the political and religious influences into which the writer has so largely entered, therefore, it may be enough to say that political and religious feeling, as applicable to and influencing each other, do sometimes run high and exceed the bounds of moderation in this country ; and that the treatment of public men, through one or other of these exciting topics sometimes verges upon personality and abuse, and hence it may not have seemed improbable to " An officer of the Expeditionary Force" that his articles in Blackicood xn\^\it become the text for that class of writers to whom no statement that damages a political opponent comes amiss, and thus afford the means of gratifying some feeling of personal hostility for real or sup- posed wrong. In this calculation, however, he seems .o have failed most signally, for, notwithstanding the high disdain with which he affects to treat Canadian politics, he has himself become guilty, in a hitherto un- known degree, of the practice he condemns, and has succeeded in produc* ing an article, so scandalous, that although several have published it entire, no Canadian journalist has yet, that I am aware of. been found so far lost to a sense of propriety and honor as, in his own writing, to avail himself of its calumnies. The writer has entered somewhat vehemently into the corrui)tion he asserts to be prevalent in Canadian affairs, but he might, perhaps, with advantage, be reminded <:hat corruption has many phases and conceals itself under many guises ; a close obs rver of human nature, not labouring under a sense of unrewarded merit, might perhaps see the spirit of the cor- ruptionist as strong in him who takes vengeance for favors refused, as in him who reciprocates or in some way pays for favors received. At page 713 of the December number of Blackivood. it is stated that '• it is almost beyond a doubt that had the i^riestly party in Canada sue- 44 "cecded through their month-pieces, Messrs. Cartier, Laiigeyin & Co., in " preTcntiiiff an aimed expedition being .sent to Eed Eiver, &:c." Here it^is distinctly stated (in the^ nn-EnglhU and somewhat vulgar mode in which politicians are occasionally referred to on this side of the Atlantic), that ''Messrs. Cartier, Zrt//i,'-f;rm ««eople. without any reference whatever to Riel, to represent their grievances. What influence Mr. Riel may have had in the appointment of the delegates, at a meeting at which the loyalists as well as the rebels at- tended, is beside the question, but that he individually was invited to send delegates, as so distinctly asserted in the •' narative'' is simply luisustained by any written document or other evidence whatever. At page 717 it is stated as follows: — " From the Lake of the "Woods to Fort Garry was about 100 miles in a " straight line, by land, but there was only a road made for about 60 miles " of that di.stance, the unmade portion being laid oiit over most difficult '■ swamps. If, therefore, the troops could not advance by that route, as tvas '• f^ubsequentli/ fotnid to be the case, the only other way of reaching Manitoba "was via the Winnepeg River, the navigationof %vhich was known to be so " difficult and dangerous that none but experienced guides ever attempted '• it. There were about 30 portages to be got over in the 160 miles thus " added to the total length of the distance to fie traversed." It is heie distinctly intimated that the expedition started with the 4& view of passing overland from the Lake of the "Woods, but that it \Aas ' sub- sequently fnutur that the troops could not ad^-ance by that route, but had,, by taking the "Winnepeg route, to add 160 miles extra of difficult and dan- gerous navigation to the distance to be traversed. The memorandum of the two routes I had submitted to the military authorities, before leaving: Ottawa ; (page 10 of the foregoing report) shews that instead of its being " suhseqiiently "und''' that a part of the route I had laid out for the expedi- tion had to be abandoned and another adopted, the latter was in fact deter- mined upon f/om the first, as indicated by myself before leaving Ottawa, Those who deal in fanciful narratives should have long memories, and the "officer of the expeditionary force" should have thought of this, when he penned the following paragraph in ihe continuation of h^s *' narative" in the January number, page 71, with which I leave him on tnis point, to ron- tradict himself. " Previous to leaving Prince Arthur's Landing, Colonel Woolscley had " sent a proclamation into the Red River settlement, informing the people " of the objects of the expedition, and calling upon all loyal men to assist • him in carrying them out. Copies of it were sent to the Protestant and '• Roman Catholic Bishops, also to the Governor of the Hudson's Bay Com- '■ pany at Fort Garry, who were at the same time requested by letter to '• take measures for pushing on the road to the Lake of the Woods, already "partially made. It was never anticipated that this road ivould he cmnfjleted " /// time for us to use it, even should there be no hostilities." This extract, at least, proves the reverse of the previous statement in respect of the non-completion of the road being a " subsequent" discovery. At page 717, (December number), the following statement appears : — " When early in 1870, arrangements were being made for the dispatch of '■ the Expedition, the Canadian Ministers impressed upon the Military '• authorities, responsible for its success, that by the time the troops had ' been collected together on the shores of Thunder Bay, the road from thoncc • to Shebandowan w^ould be fit for traffic, and that good roads would have ' been constructed over all the portages by the Public Works Department." This story bears its own contradiction, for, is it likely, I may ask, that the Canadian Ministers impressed upon the military authorities, that a state of things existed so utterly inconsistent with what their Euiiineer in charge, reported to them ? At various conferences between myself and the Ministers, as well as with the military authorities, the actual state of the road was distinctly described to be just such as this very writer admits it to have been. The statement which appears in my report, was moreover given to the military authorities (see page 7) in waiting, and before the Expedition left, it ap- peared, also, in my printed report, and yet according to this truthful writer the Canadian Ministers impressed upon the military authorities, that all ihis Tas really not the case, and that the road was actually made the whole way ; or, so nearly so, that it would be finished before the Expedition could reach it. We are asked to believe, in short, that Ministers impressed on the military authorities that I had made roads, where in writing, in print, and by word of mouth. I declared that I had done :.othing of the kmd. Really when this writer next tries his hand at romance, he should 1^%.^ ,1.- if ii: : ( iN 46 endeavor to keep more within the range of probability, — such stories are not worth contradicting. Cominir to the January number of Blaclarood. and passing the po- litical allusions, and the references to another branch of the service, the following passage occurs at page 51 : — " Now and then these storms were accompanied by rain of quite ii " tropical character, after which the numerous streams became so swollen, " that bridges were swept away, and long portions of the road, which had " been constructed with infinite toil, were completely destroyed." There is just so much truth in this that one small bridge was damaged, a culvert loosened, and some clayey portions of the newly made road-bed rendered, for a time, very soft and sticky. In making roads in such a coun- try, the bulk of the labor consists in getting rid of the timber and grubbing out the roots. Now, the writer of the " narrative" plainly intimates that the fruits of this "infinite toil were completely destroyed," a result some- what puzzlincr, as it was only ]; ossible, on the supposition that the flood had performed the extraordinary freak of replanting the trees. Yet such is the difficulty to which wilful exaggeration leads. " At page o'i (January number) it is said : — '• Our transport horses were " very fat when they landed, and had to begin work at once, so that, altho' " allowed to eat as much oats and hay as they could, they quickly fell otl' " dreadfully in condition." It is perhaps a trivial circumstances to notice, but I do so merely to correct the error, nito which the narrative falls in almost every matter of fact treated of. The truth is the horses were put upon cavalry rations, which are not sufficient for continuous hard work and hence they fell off'. Many of them became sick and unfit for use, to such an extent that at one time no less than sixty were reported to be in hospital. It is customary in the lumber operations in the woods in this country, v.here the labor for the horses employed is very hard, to give them all the hay and oats they can eat, but it was only after the effects of stin- ted rations had become too obvious, that they were allowed sufficient food for the labor they were performing, and they then began to recover rapidly. The writer goes on to say, that " a large proportion of the horses were *• soon unfit for draught, owing to sore shoulders. Two causes contributed ■" chiefly to this ; first, the badness of the collars ; and, secondly, the care- " lessness of the drivers. The harness had been provided by theCanadau " Government, and, like all the military stores supplied by it for the Ex- " pedition, was of an inferior description obtained, by contract, &c." p. 56, " January No. The narrative goes on to state that plenty of harness and other stores were in the Imperial Magazines, ready to be handed over at less price than the vastly inferior articles obtained, but that to suit the corrupt practices of the Canadian Ministers, the stores were taken from political friends. &c. I believe it is really undisputed that the stores were all of the very best quality that the country could produce. The bulk of the voyageurs and workmen were all accustomed to live on the most substantial food, and much fatigue and hardship as they will go through uncomplainingly, they will not submit to inferior stores or supplies. On this Expedition, the stores for all were of the same quality, and instead of there having been 47 stonos ar(> any complaint the writer of the " narrative" is the first to state that they were inferior. The writer miist have known well that the harness in the Imperial stores was not adapted to the service or the purposes for which it was required ; and with regard to the horses having been rendered unfit for work from sore shoulders, through the badness of the collars, ixc, 1 fshall merely quote one passage from Col. Wily's report to the Militia De- partment, written without reference to the " narrative," and already pub- lished. " The harness, after beinp; inspected and a/ proved by the Imperial 0/ficers, " was carefully fitted to the horses, and numbered with the number of the horse " it was intended for, by the collar makers of the Royal Artillery Battery, then " stationed at Toronto.'' Here, then, we have on the one side, the official report, over his own siignature, of a man of honor, whose good name, upright character and truthfulness have never yet been impeached, written in the midst of the ooramianity where he is known, and where the facts, too, are known, and ■vould immediately confront him if they were the reverse of what he states ; and, on the other side, the " narrative" of one who, in every circum- stance of the Expedition seems to have taxed his inventive genius to find modes of expressing himself in absolute contradiction of the facts, and so remote from the scene that whatever purpose he may have had in view, could probably be effected before refutation or denial could confront him, if any one should think his tergiversations of sufficient moment to be no- ticed. At page 61, (January number), the narrative says : — " According to- •' the arrangements made with the Canadian authorities, the boats were to- " have been handed over to us complete with all their own stores, but un- " fortunately, from want of an organized system and from the lack of an " official staff to carry out the instructions received from Ottawa, the details '' of all such arrangements invariably fell to the ground." " The result was, that as every six or eight boats arrived daily, they " had to be fitted with rowlocks, masts, sails, so that really the onus of ht- " ting out the boats devolved on the troops, each Captain lookins out the " eqxiipments for the boats of his own brigade.' These statements are as untruthful and malicious, as I have pointed out preceding ones to be. The boats were fitted out with everything which could possibly be required at Thunder Bay. All the articles specified in the annexed li.sts were sent with every brigade ; nothing whatever wanting. True, row- locks were lost in quantity, and oars and rudders broken in the weary pro- cess of dragging them up the Kaministiquia — but w^ho lost those things ? Boats, partly manned by inexperienced soldiers, reached the Matawin Bridge, frequently with nearly all the outfit lost. Such boats as were h tnded over at Thunder Bay were left at that place (Matawin Bridge), and t'le voyageurs had again to take them in hand, and drag them through the lapids, higher up. At Shebandowan Lake the " Canadian authorities" or those who acted lor them had, at least, evinced their foresight by providing p.nd sending forward to that place a second supply of everything in the way of boat otttfit which coixld possibly be required. Th's enabled them to fit oitt the iv. 48 boats i\ .second timi>. They had also st'Ut forward carpoiiters and boat- biiihb^rs, who quickly nit'udod tht> boats, made ma>' , and replaced the broken oars. The author ot" the "narrative" says tU" onus of this work fell on the troops. I can only say the statement is altog-ether unfounded ; there were twenty-seven carpenters and boat-builders maintained at She- bandowan Lake, who did all of that work. Col. McNeill, V.C., a g-entleman who had the esteem and hearty o-ood- will of every soldier and voyai^eur attached to the expedition, and who, I may add, had a far his/her appreciation of what was proper, and what was required, than the author of the narrative, was in chief command at She- bandowan Lake, and he, with the assistance of Mr. Graham, an otficer at- tached to the voya<^eur force, took good care that the onua of looking out the equipment for the brigades did not fall on each captain to a greater ex- tent than to see that he had everything he required. The on//s of looking after these arrang>>ments fell pretty exclusively on Col. McNeill, and Mr, Graham, and it could not have been on shoulders better able to bear it. At Shebandowan Lake the boats, after being overhauled by the car- penters, were handed over complete with all their own stores, and skilled voyageurs told oft" for their guidance. I should hardly have been fulfilling ray diity to the Canadian Government or the country, if I had handed voyageurs and boats over to men \inaccustomed to the management of either, before the difficulties of getting them to the smooth water of She- bandowan Lake had been overcome. Had I done so, there would have been a different result to the Expedition, and the author of the narrative would have had another story to tell. He says : " The (voyageur) staff, with one or two exceptions, wer^? the " most helpless, useless men it is possible to imagine. Instead of being " permitted to choose his own assistants, &c., he had all sorts of hangers-on " abotit Ministers forced upon him. Some were broken-dow^n drunkards. " All belonged more or less to the class known in America as loafers, men " who lived, no one knew how, spending all their time in bars, liquoring " up and smoking." In regard to the foul aspersion thrown in such elegant phrase on my staff, I oin only say, that if there be a degree of ingratitude more repre- hensible than another it is exhibited by him, who, to use a trite saying, " turns round to abuse the bridge which carried him safely over." The staff so much maligned comprised two classes of men, the office ■clerks and the bronzed veterans who went forward with the Expedition. The latter, to whom, no doubt, the author of the "narrative" more espe- cially alludes, were of the class who have their home in the forests, and whose summers are spent, not " in bars liquoring up," but on stormy lakes or foaming rivers, in the pursuit of an adventurous and dangerous calling. For them I can say that there is not a more steady, sober, or hard-working vcJass of people in the community. If proof were needed of the efficiency of those who accompanied the Expedition, I could point to the numerous letters given to them by the captains of their respective brigades, thanking them for their services, but there is a still better proof, plain and palpable to every one, in the fact of their having carried the Expedition safely to its destination. As to their " liquoring up" there was no liquor allowed ; its use was prohibited, by law, on the Public Works, and I had induced the command- 49 ant of the Held lon.'e not to p.M-mit its being taken forward at all on the journey, as other\vi>e, ureat risk might arist^ to the men when ongaffed with the boats in rapids. It was accordingly forbidden, and th'^ author of the narrative must be hard driven for a ground 'of accusation against the voyageurs, when he implies the contrary. In regard to the office stati'. they did not come at all in contact with the military, and, whatever their faults may have been. " Hquoring up" cer- tainly was not one of th'm. The writer of the narrative proceeds to say, (page 62) : — " We were much amused one day with a young gentleman, who called •' himself the bookkeeper, at one of the roadside stations. He, upon being " asked the employment he had been hired for, said most naively, that " having a brother in Manitoba whom he desired to see, his uncle, the Min- ■' ister of Public Works, had placed him upon the staff' of the Department " so that he might be taken through in one of our boats without expense " to himself." This is a pure fabrication. The Minister of Public Works had no re- lative whatever, on the expedition, and it is difficult to find any explanation that could give colour to the slander, for there was but one on the Expedi- tion who had a relation in the North-West. A lad of 17 yea^s at one of the way stations had a brother in some remote part of that region, and he, I presume, is the person alluded to ; he was place:d there to receive stores and to give receipts to the carters, and with a boyish love of mischief, may have crammed the man taking notes, as others seem to have done, with a great deal of nonsense but, that he uttered anything so ridiculous as claim- ing the Minister of Public Works as his uncle I do not believe. This lad did not go forward with the Expedition, nor was it ever intended that he should do so. Here, then, is a purely fabulous incident brought in by the author of the narrative for a very unworthy puvpose. The Minister of Public Works had done all that he could, to advance the Expedition. The officers of his Department were carrying it through in the face of great difficulties, all working earnestly for that one object and here this writer of fiction, not content with the general abuse in which he has indulged so freely, manufactures and gives currency to a pitiful and spiteful tale in order to damage that gentleman in the public estimation. The tale, too, is as stupid as it is malicious, for here at least, it is easily re- futed, but then no doubt the author of the narrative reckoned on such tattle being believed in England. The writer of the narrative says, (page 52) : — "The construction of this road was under the Public Works' Depart- " ment, the gentleman representing which in the Ministry, was a French " Canadian, and known to be heart and soul with the priestly party in " Quebec ; and, therefore, most favorably inclined to Kiel. Men of a sus- " picious turn of mind, began to say that the fact of there being no road ,' ready for our advance, was part and parcel ot a political scheme whereby " the departure of the Expedition might be stopped alogether." . ., . '. A little further on, this voracious writer says : — " Every probable, indeed almost every possible contingency had to be " thought of and provided for, and it may be confidently asserted, that no ex- / 50 " pedition has ever started more thoronyhly eomplet.; or better ired " ior its work." Indeed I and tinder whose direction was every possible contingency provided lor ? llow were the beantiftil boats, which carried the Expedi- tion sately thronsfh procured { Whence come the double supply of outlit so thorouffhly complete, that when one set was lost in the rouirh Kaministi- fjuia. another was in readiness i* It certainly was not the author of the '• narrative,!' who had the fore- siirht to look ovit all these things, but the miich maligned Minister of Public W orks, or what amounts to the same thing, his agents ; but then pro- bably, his course in tliis respect was " part and parcefof a political scheme, " whereby the departure of the Expedition might be stopped altogether." •• Men of a suspicious turn of mind" say many wise things, no doubt. But the author of the " narrative" may. nevertheless, derive some advant- age from learning, that men of a turn of mind not very suspicious, with the light of his production thrown on past events, say and believe, that there at one time existed, in another quarter, some evidence of a design to stop or abandon the Expedition. "V\'heii the boats were being torn and bruised in the rocky Kaministi- quia, and the main body of the force still lay in inactivity at Thunder Bay, the writer of the narrative may^ remember that it came to be whispered, even among high authorities in the field, that the Expedition was a failure, that the regular troops, if they w*ere not to be overtaken by winter, must return at once, and he may probably be able to say whether there was not, at least, a little disappointment experienced in his own particular case, when General Lindsay, instead of issuing an order to return, command- ed an ad vance. Had that gallant officer done otherwise, it requires ~'o suspicious turn of mmd to imagine how this reviler of other men wov" ave gloated over the disoppoiutment and distress, which would hav. i occasioned to the gentlemen whom he so foully calumniates, and who, no doiibt, had dis- appointed him cruelly. One little word, which it was in their power to utter, would haA'e made them as angels of light ir his eyes ; but alas, it was not spoken. Taken as a whole, and viewed in the light of a romance, the " nar- rative." all in all. is a very readable paper ; the toadying to the commander of the field force, whose spurs had to be somehow won, the exaggeration of difficulties, the inferential implication, where not broadly stated, that every act of any value was done, if not against civilian obstructions, at least without civilian aid, are all very natural under the circumstances, while the scandalous imputations of priestly influence, brought into play to shield a murderer from the arm of jttstice ; the plots, accovding to the writer, of Canadian politicians; the almost, as he expresses it, Washingtonian jobbery of Canadian Ministers are all highly spiced incentives to that in- dignation it was, no doubt, the object of the writer to excite, to give ad- ditional importance to the obstacles which some one, modestly implied, rather than named, had to overcome. Drawing aside the flimsy veil, however, with which the fictions of the narrative have interwoven the skeletons of some facts ; laying aside, for the moment the superficial views with which the mere reader of k 51 romaiico roads but to ho amusod, and lookini^' benoath thi' surlao.\ ns practical mon. iuwstiiratina- what purports to bt^ a narrative of actual or- curri'uces, will look, and what do wo find * Lot us soo. And. in this soarch after truth, let us tako only such modicum of fact, as has. by some accident, crept into the 'narrative" itself, avoiding altogether any reference to the detail of the circumstances I have given in thf preceding report. It will be admitted, as in fact, by the preceding report, it is proved, that before leaving Ottawa. I had prescribed and explaiutnl every step of thf route the Expedition w;'^ d*'siirned to follow. This, it will also be seen, was from Thunder Bay, Lake Superior, by land to Shebandowan Lakf', and from thence, by boat, by river, lake and portage via the Wintn/)e<^ to Fort (jrarry. On the latter part of the route, from Shebandowan to Fort. Garry, it is also undisputed, that the Expedition proceeded every step, ex- actly as I had prescribed, with complete success, and without accident or raio-adventure of the least importance. We are, therefore, narrowed down to the link of road connecting Thunder Bay. on Lake Superior, wi*h the in- land waters of the interior at Shebandowan, as the one only obstacle by v»"hich the Expedition was delayed, and on this we shall let the •' narrative" tell its own story. At page 54, (January number), the " narrative" divides the distance between these two points as follows : — " The first extending to Strawberry "Creek, about eighteen miles; the second to the Matawin River, about '• eight miles further on ; and the third from thence to Shebandowan, about " twenty-two miles more.,' Describing the sections as thus divded, at pages 55-56, the " narrative" says : — " As the road descends into the valley of the Matawin and enters "the third section, the characr . of the soil and scenery again changes — "the red clay is left behind, and one enter s a rolling country of rich clayey ''loam with sandy rises here and there all thickly xcooded over. Two unforda- " ble streams, one of 24, the other of about 33 yards in width, had to be ' bridged over in this section. As already stated, yiearly the whole of the " last eighteen miles, including those two bridges, had to be made after "our arrival." At page 52, we also find the following : " As stated in our previous " article, the Ottawa authorities had announced, tLat the road from Thunder " Bay to Shebandowan Lake would be fit for traffic before the end of May," (which is quite untrue), " whereas by that date not more than thirty miles ''ofit were finished, and many miles were still uncut through the primeval " forest." We thus see by the first of these last two etrxacts, that tiot all, but " nearly the whole of the last eighteen miles, including these two bridges, had to be made after our arrival.'' By the last etrxact we find that " thirty miles of the road u^ ere finished'' kaving, as by the other extract, eighteen miles unfinish- ed, of v/hich not ell, but " many miles were still uncut through the primeval forest." Of course the statements of the " narrative" as regads the facilities existing are short of the truth, but taking them exactly as they are, we find, that 30 mdes of road were finished and eighteen remained to be completed, on which however, work had been done, though its amount is not specified, when the Expedition landed at Thunder Bay. But it further appears by the "narrative," page 60, that the last three miles of this nearest to the point on ra f iti Shebauclowan Lake, selected for final embarkation were navigable, and the boats and stores taVen over that reach of water, which reduces the total distance to fifteen miles of partly nnmade and partly incomplete road. Here, then, laying aside extraneous matter and sifted out of the " nar- rative'" itself divested of all references to Hannibal crossing the Alps, Ctesar landing on the shores of Britain, or Napier marching uponMagdala, we have the naked fact, anything but creditable to some one, staring us in the face, that an Expedition of nearly tico thousand able-bodied men picked men in fact, were stuck for a lengihened period in traversing something less than fifteen miles of " a rolling country oj rich clayey loam, u'itfi sandy rises here and '• there. This startling conclusion, stripped of all metaphor and circum- locution, divested <^'' all reference to ministerial corruptions or other fanci- ful fictions with which it has been sttrrounded, thus palpably presented to- the enquiring reader from the statements contained in the narrative itself, reveals a state of things, where manifest and glaring error — interposed be- tween the Expedition and that forward progress which the country had a right to expect — might have led. not only as it did to the delay and ex- pense involved, but to serious disaster besides. It is, therefore, indisputable that some terrible blunder was committed, as, otherwise, the distance stated, over such a country as that described, cotilr^ not by any possibility fiave delayed the advance of the Expedition as it confessedly did The whole gist of the question, as to what caused the de- lay, hMiges upon this point. The writer of the narrative has himself un- consciously redticed it to that ; and. notwithstanding, that he has stirred up the muddy waters to conceal the rock on which the Expedition so nearly split, it is desirable that it shoitld be brought fully into light. Certainly, the fault was not in the material of which the Expedition was composed, for, all in all, civilians and military, with some unimportant exceptions, a finer body of men never embarked in any enterprise ; and after the force, so composed, with stoies, provisions, tools, boats, imple- ments, every appliance in short that foresight could provide, — and which did in fact prove commensurate with every want that arose — had landed at Thunder Bay, it is the merest twaddle to drown the enqitiry with the cry of Ottawa corruptions, which, even if they had ever existed had ceased to have any power over the force in the field. Although quite manifest therefore from the preceding report, I shall succinctly shew how the Expedition came to be delayed. Before leaving Ottawa, it was fitlly understood with the commander of the field force, that as many of the military as could conveniently be employed, should be detailed to aid in completing the road to Shebandowan, a fact somewhat inconsistent, no doubt, wuth the pretension that the Ottawa Ministers had led the military authorities to believe that this road was finished. Notwithstanding this agreement, it will be seen by reference to my report, page . what value of labour and aid was received from the mili- tary. This, ho >vever, is bitt a small matter, as military labour to aid in the construction of the unfinished part of the road was not necessary to iis early completion, for which ample provision had been made independently of it. but it was most desirable, in order to hasten the work forward Having been led to expect and calculate upon it, and not receiving it, was of small consequence, however, coinpared with the fact that I was deprived 53 ijle, and the >s the total road. )f the "nar- l the Alps, )n Magdala, staring us ' men picked ing less than 'ses here and nd circnm- )ther fanci-^ resvinted to. ative itself, jrposed be- [itry had a ay and ex- committed, described, dition as if sed the de- limself un- stirred up 1 so nearly xpeditiou [important ^rise ; and ats, imple- ind which ad landed with the / reaxed to »rl, I shall leaving- eld force, should be omewhat sters had CO to my the mili- id in the ary to if s endently forward g it, was ieprived of the services, for that purpose, of about five hundred of the very best (if the voyageurs, who were relied upon for work on the road, but were put instead to the profitless — and to men who knew it to be worse than useless — heart-breaking task of dragging the boats up the river. Had these men been left at road work, I have no hesitation in saying that a srreat deal of time would have been saved in the progress of the Expedi- tion ; indeed, none would have been lost, for by the time that the supplies, boats, &c., had been all accumulated at the end of the first thirty miles, admitted to be finished, the force of workmen on the balance of the road would have completed that too. But, on the contrary, a vast povver of available labour was expended on unproductive work, harassing beyond measure to the men and terribly destructive to the sole means of trans- port, on which alone the Expedition depended for the long journey to which this was but the gateway. These boats, I may remark, had been built in different parts of the country during the preceding winter, with •exceeding great care. When it was first anticipated that a Military Expe- dition might become necessary, I had, under the instructions of the Gro- vernment, ordered and superintended their construction, in which the just medium suited to the occasion had to be observed between two opposite principles — strength, on the one hand, to endure the severe trials to which ihey had to be subjected on their long voyage, and lightness on the other, to admit of their being taken by waggon to Shebandowan Lake, and trpnsported by the mt-n over the numerous but short portages of the inte- rior. Before the Expedition started, I was condetnned violently in some quarters, for having erred on the side of lightness and made them too frail, ;'nd di-saster was prophesied from that cause. "When then they were sub- jected to an ordeal for which they were never intended, on the sharp pointed rocks of the Kaministiquia, disaster seemed to be made certain by the expenditure of valuable labour, sqitandered in this worse than useless operation; ar.d most certainly, in addition to the expense and delay, it is probable that entire failure would have followed, had not the provision previously made for repui and reconstruction been so thorough and com- plete. I can hardly close this part without some reference to one of the laost vicious parts of the " narrative," where, at page Go, of the .January num- ber, it is stated that the Mission Indians left the serNnce at the instigation <>r their priest, who had tampered with them to try and break down the Expedition. To my certain knowledge, the priest, an aged and most bene- volent man, did everything in his power to induce these Indians to go on, anxious as he was that they should benefit by the excellent pay they were receiving, and as to any other motive, I do not think that the idea of either I>romoting or retarding the Expedition ever entered the good man's head, \vho, in that till then secluded locality, where he has spent the best part of his life, had scarcely heard of such an event as Kiel's rebellion, before our arrival. It is but a sample, however, of the extent to which the wri- ijer of the " narrative " can go, when ho does not hesitate to have a thrust at an aged and devoted missionary, who is ever ready to help all, and was never known to injure any one. These Indians simply refused the service because they had been worked like beasts of burden — at labour which their experience told them was worse than useless — thev having done KVl 'ft ^? H much more than their sharo. man lor man, of dragging the boats up the Kaministiquia. and absolutely lost confidence in the management that sub- jected the men to privation and the Expedition to loss, without any object apparent to their simple minds. I find 6ne point on w'-iich I can agree ^Yith the author of the narrative, where, (page 65), he says : — " No spirit ration means no crime," and I am not disposed to quarrel with him for any credit he may claim for the cir- cumstance of liquor having been forbidden to the troops. Its use was contrary to law in the vicinity of Public AVorks, and I had strongly urged on the commandant of the field force the necessity of forbidding it on the journey. I was. however, somewhat amused at the parade which was made of the matter, and on writing to Mr. Van Norman, the Chief Magis- trate of that section, mentioned the subject to him. It will be seen from his reply, that abstemiousness was not always carried to the extent that the author of the " narrative'' would have his readers believe, but that there was some little indulgence in the reprehensible practice of '• liquoring up" now and then. I SiMCOE, 12th March, 1871. Dear Sir. — I have been confined to my bed since the 28th of Febru- ary last past, with a very severe attack, and am only now able to sit up in bed for a short time ; in that way I am now writing ; pray accept the above as my reason for not answering your favors of the 17th and 18th ultimo. In reply to yours of the 18th, I would remark, that on arrival at Prince Arthur's Landing, last spring, I found tivo canteens in full operatioa there, one for the use of the 60th Rifles (Imperial troops), and the other for the use of the Canadian Volunteers. I soon entered into correspondence with the officers in charge, with a view to their suppression, and had little difficulty, as far as the canteen of the volunteers was concerned, but not so with the canteen forihe use of the 60th Rifles. -^^ About this time the troops moved up the road, leaving only a rear- guard at the station, and finding that the canteen still continued open for their itse, I at once ordered it to be closed. The officer commanding pro- tested, and wrote to Col. "Wolseley, who had established his headquarters at "Ward's Landing, and on the return cf the messenger I received the fol- lowing letter from Col. W., and enclosed therewith was a copy of his orders to the f^lficer commanding at P. A. Landing : — v(Copy.) ' ' • Camp, Ward's LaxN'oing, 22nd July, 1870. Dear Sib,— The ofiicer commanding at Prince Arthur's Landing has written to me, saying that you had ordered his canteen to be closed. He assures me that his men are only allowed to purchase one pint of beer a day, and that he has not had a drunken man since the dej^arture of the headquarters. I have wTitten him the memorandum of which the enclosed is a copy. ^3 Canteen men, in generaJ. are a bad lot, and frequently endeavour to take advantage of their position, by selling liquor without the commanding officer s knowledge. I am most anxious to aid you in every way in your endeavour to main- tain the law, and you have rendered me great assistance m keeping order amongst the civil followers of this force. I trust that during our stay here we may continue to work together cordially. The issue of a pint of beer per man daily, witldn the precincts of the Mil- itary Camp, is a purely military affair, and I trust you will vol consider it ne- cessary to interfere loith the arrangement. If you have, at any time, any complaint to make regarding the manner m which the canteen affairs are carried out, I am sure the of&cer command- ing at Prince Arthur's Landing will at once take steps for rectifying any- thing you may complain about, and I shall be glad to hear from yon upon any such matter, Eelieve me. Dear Sir, "i Faithfully yours. (Signed.) G. J. Wolselev. To D. D. Van Xorman, Esq.. Stipendiary Magistrate. Prince Arthitr's Landing. >-!•, MEMORANDUM. Camp. Ward's; Landing. 22nd Julv, 1870. Sii;. — With reference to your letter upon the subject of your canteen The Magistrate can prevent the sale of all intoxicating liquors at Prince Arthur's Landing. But he cannot prevent the issue of a pint of beer til each soldier daily, so long as such done within the precincts of the Camp A Camp is like barracks, the officer Commanding < an prevent any one from en- ''■ring within its precincts. Jf tikt a private dwelling. No one can obtain (idiiiittance except by a legal s* ' "'arrant. I w'rite to Mr. Van Norman by this mt ssenger. you had better see him ill t' '«: matter, for I am sure he is anxim.s to be of use to the military, &c. To th / ^^A (Signed.) G. J. Wolsej.ey. Commanding Red River ^i!xp«^dition. ^'ommanding e Off. \t Prince Arthur's Landing I certainly did infer at the time, and am still of fhe impression, that he reason why Col. Wolseley did not take and mai. .a a canteen at head- ([uarters, during the march to Red River, was the difhculty in transporting Jio bulky and weighty an article as beer, or spirits, along so difficult a line of march, and such an ever increasing distance from his source of supply. dd I came to the above conclusion the more readily, inasmuch as the above correspondence related solely to the rear-guard stationed at the Landing. Comment on the above letters is unnecessary. They speak for them- selves. I will merely add, in closing, that I was and am still deeply obliged to you for the valuable aid and assistance you alforded me in my endeavour to maintain order, and uphold the laws in that remote region, and I hope and triist that I may long have the good fortune to have you associated with me in the discharge of the many onerous and unpleasant duties that come within the scope of my office. I am only too happy to be able to record my humble judgment in favor, of a public servant (in the person of yourself), through whose direct instrumentality, the North West Expedition of 1870, was so eminently and entirely successful. Had Col. "Wolseley followed your advice, the terrible ascent of the Kaministiquia, with its losses and tremendous cost would have been avoid- ed, and much valuable time, and a large amount of treasure saved to the countrv. To S. J. Dawson. Esq.. Ottawa. I am, &c., &c., (Signed,) D D. Van Normax. ■ I Among the military men who will likely be remembered for some rime to cjme, in connection with the history of past events in the North West, are two who, in circumstances perhaps not very dissimilar, have actci very differently. The one led a military expedition to the Red River Settlement many years ago, and was distinguished by that high and gallant bearing which best becomes a soldier, by kindly feeling, forbearance and truth. The other, according to his own account, accompanied the last expe- dition, but his narrative shews him to have been remarkable for the al)- sence of these qualities. Col. Crofton was one of the first to shew what the Territories of the North West really were. The information which he gave to the public, in the shape of evidence, before a Committee of the House of Commons ^England), ia 1857, attracted general attention, and although many years have passed since then, and much investigation has since taken place, it has not been found that he was in error in any one essential point. His name is still held in grateful and atiectionate remcynbrance in the Red River Settlement. The author of the " narrative" had, it may reasonably be assumed, the means within his reach of doing more than Col. Crofton did. He might at least, like him, have disseminated truthful information, might instead of giving circulation to an article so venemous as his narrative, have written someihing to soften asperiti<.-s, and, in his general proceedings, have acted in such a manner as to promote the happiness of others, and do lastin<>- credit to himself. But, instead of adopting a course so honorable, so strong has been the principle of evil in him, that he has written a scandalous fic- tion, remarkable for nothing so much as its folly, unless it be its wickedness. Col. Crofton, or rather Lieut. Gren. Crofton, for such ia now^ his rank. 67 IS old and the outer world is in darkness to him, for he is blind- but he can look back on a life of unsullied honor, and he has the esteem of man! kind, wherever his name is heard, the wide world ov«r ; The domgs of both may have a place in future •narratives' of the West and, if such shoud prove to be the case, the one will be remembered as a t ue and gallant soldier, who, in the early history of the county did '>vb^t lay m his power to bring it into notice, and advance its prZlvhy- and, as ime rolls on and lends its halo to the past, his place wil be amoiio: the good and great of former years Jinong of .h7'ra";*tive-i" '"■ ""^ °®^" °' ""' E^l«d"-»-y Fo-e, tk. .uuhor Forgotten, most likely, but if remembered, it will be as one who hav- mg.tm his power to do good, eho.5e the opposite eourse, and who to o-rl- i:S .te'S'SSe^f '"" ""^^'^ '° "'■'^- --^ ealumuiateThr.t'ho But enough has been said to shew the character of the narrative Its Jm T>, fK^t'^'^' ^'''''.f T °^-i^^^t «^ ^i« ^^^bitiou, bu7he will perhans f nd, that he has as signally failed in commendino- himse'f to tS es epm of' those with whom he was associated in an honorabk Siterpri e as iT^^^ ring those against whom his erring shafts were directed Tnd thlT' iacts come to be understood, and the'dream oTfamfinwhichX^ narrative .vas conceived, like other visions of fortune wood bu^Tot won larnassed wll^be^regarled."^^"^ ^^ '^^^'"^ ^^^' ^^=^* ^ -^-^ ^^ andY^^J- ptdSn t T^ IVt '^'"^^t!"^*^' '\ '^ to be regretted that, m this countrv, where offi- A ' S. J. Dawson. • -.>4«!B kV ,i I Up .T^Tf^^ssss:: .'»', *^. ^ ^"^^^"'^ i ▼ /' 'JT^ r ) V. r\i r'.- e?~--x/ >^^ rj -^ /'fjAVlO-ABLit To is ~^ ^ V< t _^' , u AT ^■{D ATS * .ov/^^ ^^-■\ H U N ^(Nt Hnpit/ Mo III I I'ortfUf Kair/r h>Htn^ KiiJ^iiMfii /til SMEWIiNiG; POiSIITIiON Of 111 wuaiii SM Wjm ffCLATIl^E TO KAMANISTIQUIA and MATAWIN RIVERS. SCAliE 3 MILES TO AN INCH. ^ COPP, CLARK* CO. LITH TORONTO. V -c