Having worked the unreasoning settlers to this pitch,
Riel was satisfied. Public feeling needed but the fuse
of some bold step of his to burst into instant flame. As
the Lieutenant-Governor drew near the territory the
agitator was almost beside himself with excitement. He
neither ate nor slept but on foot or sleigh, was for ever
moving from one to another perfecting plans, or inciting
to tumult. At the house of a prominent half-breed, while
the women sat about stitching, Riel met a number of the
leading agitators, and thus addressed them:
"There are two courses open to us now. One is to continue
as an unorganized band of noisy disturbers; the other,
to league ourselves into an organized body for the defence
and government of our country." This proposal thrilled
the veins of his listeners, and pouting, coral-coloured
female lips, said softly,
"Brava!"
A sort of fitful reflection followed the first wild burst
of enthusiasm, and one _bois brule_ arose and said:
"Far be it from me to utter one word that might dampen
your ardor, but let us try to take some account of the
cost. Would not such a step be an act of Rebellion? and
is not Rebellion a treasonable offence?" At this point
Riel, foaming with rage, arose and stopped him.
"We want no poltroonery, no alarmist sentiments here,"
he shouted. "Even though such an act were as you describe
it, our duty as men, determined to guard their sacred
rights, is to take the risk. But it would not be treason.
The transfer of a people from one government to another
is not constitutional without the people's consent. The
Hudson's Bay Company have certain rights in the unsold
lands of these regions; but no man, no corporation, no
power, can sell, cede, or transfer that which is not his
or its own property. Therefore the Hudson Bay Company
has not the right to transfer our lands to the Dominion
of Canada. And since we, the people of Red River, are
not the chattels of the Company, they cannot transfer
us. They have sold us to the Canadian government, but
upon the ground between the two authorities will we stand,
and create a province of our own. It may be that the
Dominion Government will have justice enough to agree to
this; if they oppose our rights, then I trust that there
are men on Red River, who are not afraid to stand up for,
yea to die for, their country." This speech was received
with deafening acclamation.
At once a Provisional Government was formed, and at the
instigation of Riel, John Bruce, who was a mere cat's-paw,
was declared President. Riel himself took the Secretaryship;
and very promptly the Secretary raised his voice.
"McDougall who sent his scourges here to plunder our
land, and to ridicule our people, nears our border.
There is no time to lose. _He must not enter_. I, therefore,
move that the following letter be dispatched to him by
a regularly constituted member of our Government:
"St. Nobert, Red River, October 21st, 1869.
"Sir,--The National Parliament of the Metis of Red River,
hereby forbids you to enter the North-West Territories
without a special permit from the National Government."
This motion was carried with enthusiasm. The letter was
signed by the President and Secretary, and dispatched to
Pembina, which was situate on the border, to await the
arrival at that point of the Governor Designate. The pomp
and daring of these proceedings had such an effect upon
the colonists, that little by little they began to grow
blind to the fact that their action was in the face of
Canadian authority, and an invitation to a collision of
arms. If anyone expressed any fear he was either savagely
silenced by Riel, or informed that there were men enough
in Red River to hold the country in the face of any force
that could be sent against them. And the military enthusiasm
of the Metis gave some colour to this latter assertion.
An armed force, sufficient for present necessities, was
established on Scratching River, a place about fifteen
miles from Fort Garry. Here a barrier was put across the
road by which McDougall must travel to reach Fort Garry,
and beyond this the half-breeds swore the pale face
Governor should never pass.
On the 30th day of October, Mr. McDougall arrived at
Pembina. He was already aware that the country was seething
with tumult; that Colonel Dennis had been turned out of
the Territory; that Messrs. Snow & Mair had become hateful
in the eyes of the half-breeds: yet he felt disposed to
do little more than laugh at the whole affair. He had
the assurance of his mischievous envoys that the matter
was a mere temporary ebullition of feeling, and that his
presence in the country would very soon calm the turbulent
waters. So he said:
"I shall take no notice of this impertinent letter. In
fact it is impossible for me to recognise such a piece
of presumption, and deal with a communication which would
be the rankest insolence, but that it is so extremely
ludicrous." So the gallant Lieutenant-Governor, with his
officials, boldly crossed the line and proceeded towards
Fort Garry. But they were met on their triumphant march
by a detachment of fourteen armed half-breeds whose
spokesman said:
"You received an order from the Provisional Government
not to enter these territories. When that order was passed
it was the Government's intention to take care that it
should be carried out. Yet you have forced yourself in
here I give you till to-morrow morning to be clear of
these territories." Mr. McDougall's lip began to hang a
little low. The calm, even polite, tone of the spokesman
of the party had impressed him more than bluster or rage.
With the next morning came the same party. They made no
noise, but quietly taking the horses of the Governor's
party by the head, turned them around, and packed the
whole of them back. In this way, and without so much as
a loud word, was the Governor Designate turned out of
the territories.
Every success, however trivial, was fuel to the courage
and enthusiasm of Riel's party.
"I have begun this matter," the leader said to one of
his followers, "and I do not mean to deal in half measures.
Without stores we can do nothing. Fort Garry is worth
our having just now, but we must move circumspectly in
getting possession of it." So it was ordered that his
followers should proceed in twos and threes, as if on no
special mission, to the desired point. Presently, Governor
McTavish saw in the shadow of the fort the rebel leader
and a number of followers.
"We are desirous of entering," Riel said.
"Wherefore?" enquired the Governor.
"We cannot tell you now," was the reply; "it is enough
for me to say that a great danger threatens the fort."
Without further explanation, the feeble-willed Hudson
Bay officer permitted the rebel and his followers to
enter.
"Huzza!" they all shouted, when they found themselves
inside the stockades, and glanced at tier upon tier of
barrels of flour, and pork, and beef, and molasses; and
upon the sacks of corn, and the warm clothing, and better
than all, upon the arms and ammunition.
"I am at last master in Red River," Riel said to one of
his followers. "My men can fight now, for here we have
at once a fortification and a base of supplies."
Just a few words with reference to Mr. McDougall, and I
shall dismiss him from these pages. He lived quietly at
Pembina between the date of his expulsion from Red River
and the first day of December. The latter date was fixed
for the transfer of the new territory to the Dominion of
Canada. So, towards midnight, on the 30th of November,
the Governor-Designate and his party sallied, forth from
the "line" and took formal possession of the territory
in the name of the Government of Canada. There was no
one stirring about the prairie on the night in question,
for the glass shewed the thermometer to be 20 degrees
below zero: so the gallant Governor was enabled to take
possession without obstruction.
Riel was now fairly intoxicated with success. Some of
his followers would sometimes ask him if he had no fear
that the Canadian Government would send out a large force
of soldiers against him. His invariable reply was:
"They never will do this. The way is too long, and the
march too difficult. They will eventually make up their
mind to let us rule this Province ourselves."
"And do you propose to stand aloof as an independent
colony?"
"Perhaps! And, perhaps, we may, by and by, discuss the
subject of annexation." For all the man's cunning and
courage, he was almost as short-sighted as any savage
upon the plain. And the small measure of Indian blood in
him would assert itself in many ways. The people began
to look upon him as another Napoleon triumphant, and to
give him honour in every way that suggested itself. He
made a great display of his importance, and would boast
among his friends that he was as diplomatic and as able
as any statesman in Canada, and that even his enemies
admitted this. In his earlier days he sought, persistently,
the smiles of the fair girls of the plains, but somehow
or another he was never a very great favourite with the
olive-skinned beauties. Now, however, the case was
different with him. The Red River belles saw in him a
hero and a statesman of the highest order, the ruler of
a colony, and the defiant and triumphant enemy of the
whole Dominion of Canada. So the poor, shallow pets began
to ply their needles, and make for him presents of delicate
things. One sewed gorgeous beads upon his hunting coat,
and another set his jacket spangling with quills of the
porcupine. The good priests of Red River, and their pious
vicar, _pere_ Lestanc, whom Monseigneur had left in charge
of the Diocese while he was attending the Ecumenical
Council in Rome, came forward with their homage. These
worthy gentlemen had been in the habit of reading from
the Catechism ever since the time they were first able
to tell their beads, or to make mud pies, these words:
"He that resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of
God; and they that (so) resist shall purchase to themselves
damnation." Here was a madly ambitious adventurer "resisting
the power," and, therefore, "resisting the ordinances of
God;" but these precious divines saw no harm whatever in
the act. Indeed, they were the most persistent abettors
in the uprising, counselling their flock to be zealous
and firm, and to follow the advice of their patriotic
and able leader, M. Riel. The great swaggering, windy
_pere_ Richot, took his coarse person from house to house
denouncing the Canadian Government and inciting the
people.
"No harm can come to you," he would say; "you have in
the Canadian Government a good friend in Mr. George E.
Cartier. He will see that no hair of one of your heads
is touched." And Riel went abroad giving the same assurance.
Moreover, it was known to every thinking one of the
fifteen thousand Metis that Riel was a _protege_ of
Monseigneur Tache; that through this pious bishop it was
he had received his education, and that His Lordship
would not alone seek to minimize what his favourite had
done, but would say that the uprising was a justifiable
one. This was how the Catholic Church in Red River
stimulated the diseased vanity and the lawless spirit of
this thrice-dangerous Guiteau of the plains.
I have already said that Bruce was put up by Riel as a
mere figure-head. When the end of the pretence had been
accomplished, this poor scare-crow was thrown down and
Louis Riel assumed the presidency of the Provisional
Government. Now he began to draw to himself all those
men whom he knew would be faithful tools in carrying out
any scheme of villainy, or even of blood that he proposed
to them. The coarse and loud-mouthed O'Donoghue was duly
installed as a confidential attendant with wide powers,
and Lepine was made head of the military part of the
insurrectionary body. It certainly was strange if the
treasonable undertaking should not be successful with
the acquisition of all the fearless and lawless personages
that the half-breed community could produce, and the
vicar-general and the swaggering father Richot offering
up masses that it should prevail.
It must not be supposed that there were no white people
in this Red River region. There were very many indeed,
and some of them held prominent places in the community
through high character or through affluence. Most of
these persons were loyal to the heart's core, and were
of opinion that the rising had nothing justifiable in
it, and regarded it as a criminal and treasonable rebellion.
At meetings, held in the town of Winnipeg, some of these
gentlemen were at no pains to give expression to their
sentiments. But Riel's murderous eye was upon them; and
he was revolving over divers plans of vengeance. There
was no reason why he should hesitate in taking any step
that promised help to the cause, for Holy Church was
praying for its success, and working for it, too. The
shedding of the blood of a few heretics was a matter of
small consequence: indeed, the act would only hallow a
cause that had patriotism under, and religion behind it.
We shall leave Riel glaring with wolfish eyes upon the
good men who raised their voices against lawlessness,
and relate a story which will shed a new light upon the
darkest deed of the dark career of the miscreant Rebel.