THE BEGINNING OF STRIFE
Stormy days were coming. Once Governor Macdonell had published his
edict, he did not hesitate to enforce its terms. Information had been
received at Colony Gardens that the Nor'westers had stored a quantity
of provisions in their trading-post at the mouth of the Souris, a large
southern tributary of the Assiniboine. It was clear that, in defiance
of Macdonell's decree, they meant to send food supplies out of
Assiniboia to support their trading-posts elsewhere. The fort at
Souris was in close proximity to Brandon House on the Assiniboine, a
post founded by the Hudson's Bay Company in 1794. Macdonell decided on
strong action. His secretary, John Spencer, was ordered to go to the
Souris in the capacity of a sheriff, accompanied by a strong guard and
carrying a warrant in his pocket. When Spencer drew near the stockades
of the Nor'westers' fort and found the {66} gate closed against him, he
commanded his men to batter it in with their hatchets. They obeyed
with alacrity, and having filed inside the fort, took charge of the
contents of the storehouse. Six hundred bags of pemmican were seized
and carried to Brandon House. Already there was a state of war in
Assiniboia.
The territory which comprised the colony was of great value
economically to the North-West Company. The food supplies which
supported its traders in the far interior were largely drawn from this
area. In the eyes of the Nor'westers, Sheriff John Spencer had
performed an act of pure brigandage at their Souris post. Still, they
were in no hurry to execute a counter-move. In order to make no
mistake they thought it best to restrain themselves until their
partners should hold their summer meeting at Fort William,[1] on Lake
Superior.
The partners of the North-West Company {67} met at Fort William in the
month of July 1814. Their fond hope had been that Lord Selkirk's
colony would languish and die. Instead, it was flourishing and waxing
aggressive. The governor of Assiniboia had published an edict which he
seemed determined to enforce, to the ruin of the business of the
North-West Company. The grizzled partners, as they rubbed elbows in
secret conclave, decided that something must be done to crush this
troublesome settlement. Whether or not they formed any definite plan
cannot be ascertained. It is scarcely believable that at this meeting
was plotted the opposition to Lord Selkirk's enterprise which was to
begin with deceit and perfidy and to culminate in bloodshed. Among the
Nor'westers were men of great worth and integrity. There were,
however, others in their ranks who proved base and irresponsible.
During this conference at Fort William a bitter animosity was expressed
against Lord Selkirk and the company which had endorsed his colonizing
project. It was the Nor'westers' misfortune and fault that some of
their number were prepared to vent this outspoken enmity in deeds of
criminal violence.
Two 'wintering partners' of the {68} North-West Company--men who
remained in the interior during the winter--appear to have been
entrusted by their fellows with the task of dealing with the settlers
on the Red River. Both these men, Duncan Cameron and Alexander
Macdonell, had a wide experience of the prairie country. Of the pair,
Cameron was unquestionably the more resourceful. In view of the fact
that later in life he became a trusted representative of the county of
Glengarry in the legislature of Upper Canada, there has been a tendency
to gloss over some of his misdemeanours when he was still a trader in
furs. But he was a sinister character. His principal aim, on going to
the Red River, was to pay lavish court to the settlers in order to
deceive them. He was a born actor, and could assume at will the
gravest or the gayest of demeanours or any disposition he chose to put
on.
Alexander Macdonell, the other emissary of the Nor'westers, was of an
inferior type. He was crafty enough never to burn his own fingers.
Macdonell had some influence over the Indians of the Qu'Appelle
district and of the more distant west. His immediate proposal was to
attract a band of redskins to the neighbourhood of Colony Gardens with
the {69} avowed intention of creating a panic among the settlers.
Shortly after the July meeting at Fort William these two men started on
their mission for the Red River. On August 5, while at a
stopping-point by the way, Alexander Macdonell dated a letter to a
friend in Montreal. The tenor of this letter would indicate that only
a portion of the Nor'westers were ready to adopt extreme measures
against the settlement. 'Something serious will undoubtedly take
place,' was Macdonell's callous admission. 'Nothing but the complete
downfall of the colony,' he continued, 'will satisfy some, by fair or
foul means--a most desirable object if it can be accomplished. So here
is at them with all my heart and energy.'
Towards the end of August the twain arrived at Fort Gibraltar, where
they parted company. Alexander Macdonell proceeded to his winter
quarters at Fort Qu'Appelle, on the river of the same name which
empties into the upper Assiniboine. Duncan Cameron made his appearance
with considerable pomp and circumstance at Fort Gibraltar. The
settlers soon knew him as 'Captain' Duncan Cameron, of the Voyageur
Corps, a battalion which had ranged the border during the recent {70}
war with the United States. Cameron decked himself in a crimson
uniform. He had a sword by his side and the outward bearing of a
gallant officer. Lest there should be any want of belief on the part
of the colonists, he caused his credentials to be tacked up on the
gateway of Fort Gibraltar. There, in legible scrawl, was an order
appointing him as captain and Alexander Macdonell as lieutenant in the
Voyageur Corps. The sight of a soldier sent a thrill through the
breasts of the Highlanders and the fight-loving Irish. Cameron had in
fact once belonged to the Voyageurs, and no one at Colony Gardens yet
knew that the corps had been disbanded the year before. At a later
date Lord Selkirk took pains to prove that Cameron had been guilty of
rank imposture.
To pose in the guise of a captain of militia was not Duncan Cameron's
only role. Having impressed his martial importance upon all, he next
went among the settlers as a comrade. He could chat at ease in Gaelic,
and this won the confidence of the Highlanders. Some of the colonists
were invited to his table. These he treated with studied kindness, and
he furnished them with such an abundance of good food that they felt
disgust for the scant {71} and humble fare allowed them at the
settlement. At the same time Cameron began to make bold insinuations
in his conversation. He had, he said, heard news from the interior
that a body of Indians would raid them in the spring. He harped upon
the deplorable state in which the settlers were living; out of
fellow-feeling for them, he said, he would gladly act as their
deliverer. Why did they not throw themselves upon the mercies of the
North-West Company? In their unhappy condition, abandoned, as he
hinted, by Lord Selkirk to their own resources, there was but one thing
for them to do. They must leave the Red River far behind, and he would
guarantee that the Nor'westers would assist them.
As a result of Cameron's intrigues, signs of wavering allegiance were
soon in evidence. One of the settlers in particular, George Campbell,
became a traitor in the camp. Campbell had negotiated with Lord
Selkirk personally during Selkirk's visit to Sutherlandshire. Now he
complained vigorously of his treatment since leaving Scotland, and was
in favour of accepting the terms which Cameron, as a partner in the
North-West Company, offered. As many colonists as desired it, said
Cameron, would be transported by the {72} Nor'westers free of charge to
Montreal or other parts of Canada. A year's provisions would be
supplied to them, and each colonist would be granted two hundred acres
of fertile land. Tempting bribes of money were offered some of them as
a bait. An influential Highlander, Alexander M'Lean, was promised two
hundred pounds from Cameron's own pocket, on condition that he would
take his family away. Several letters which were penned by the sham
officer during the winter of 1815 can still be read. 'I am glad,' he
wrote to a couple of settlers in February, 'that the eyes of some of
you are getting open at last ... and that you now see your past follies
in obeying the unlawful orders of a plunderer, and I may say, of a
highway robber, for what took place here last spring can be called
nothing else but manifest robbery.'
As yet Duncan Cameron had refrained from the use of force, but as
winter wore on towards spring he saw that, to complete his work, force
would be necessary. The proportion of settlers remaining loyal to Lord
Selkirk was by no means insignificant, and Cameron feared the pieces of
artillery at Colony Gardens. He decided on a bold effort to get these
field-pieces into his possession. {73} Early in April he made a
startling move. Miles Macdonell was away at Fort Daer, and Archibald
Macdonald, the deputy-governor of the colony, was in charge. To him
Cameron sent a peremptory demand in writing for the field-pieces, that
they might be 'out of harm's way.'
This missive was first given into the hands of the traitor George
Campbell, who read it to the settlers on Sunday after church. Next
day, while rations were being distributed, it was delivered to the
deputy-governor in the colony storehouse. About one o'clock on the
same afternoon, George Campbell and a few kindred spirits broke into
the building where the field-pieces were stored, took the guns outside,
and placed them on horse-sledges for the purpose of drawing them away.
At this juncture a musket was fired as a signal, and Duncan Cameron
with some Bois Brules stole from a clump of trees. 'Well done, my
hearty fellows,' Cameron exclaimed, as he came hurrying up. The guns
were borne away and lodged within the precincts of Fort Gibraltar, and
a number of the colonists now took sides openly with Duncan Cameron and
the Nor'westers.
Meanwhile Cameron's colleague, Alexander {74} Macdonell, was not
succeeding in his efforts to incite the Indians about Fort Qu'Appelle
against the colony. He found that the Indians did not lust for the
blood of the settlers; and when he appeared at Fort Gibraltar, in May,
he had with him only a handful of Plain Crees. These redskins lingered
about the fort for a time, being well supplied with liquor to make them
pot-valiant. During their stay a number of horses belonging to the
settlers were wounded by arrows, but it is doubtful if the perpetrators
of these outrages were Indians. The chief of the Crees finally visited
Governor Miles Macdonell, and convinced him that his warriors intended
the colonists no ill. Before the Indians departed they sent to Colony
Gardens a pipe of peace--the red man's token of friendship.
An equally futile attempt was made about the same time by two traders
of the North-West Company to persuade Katawabetay, chief of the
Chippewas, to lead a band of his tribesmen against the settlement.
Katawabetay was at Sand Lake, just west of Lake Superior, when his
parley with the Nor'westers took place. The two traders promised to
give Katawabetay and his warriors all the merchandise and rum in three
of the {75} company's posts, if they would raise the hatchet and
descend upon the Red River settlers. The cautious chief wished to know
whether this was the desire of the military authorities. The traders
had to confess that it was merely a wish of the North-West Company.
Katawabetay then demurred, saying that, before beginning hostilities,
he must speak about the matter to one of the provincial military
leaders on St Joseph's Island, at the head of Lake Huron.
Finding it impossible to get the Indians to raid the settlement,
Cameron now adopted other methods. His party had been increasing in
numbers day by day. Joined by the deserters from the colony, the
Nor'westers pitched their camp a short distance down the river from
Fort Gibraltar. At this point guns were mounted, and at Fort Gibraltar
Cameron's men were being drilled. On June 11 a chosen company,
furnished with loaded muskets and ammunition, were marched towards
Governor Macdonell's house, where they concealed themselves behind some
trees. James White, the surgeon of the colony, was seen walking close
to the house. A puff of grey smoke came from the Nor'westers' cover.
The shot went wide. Then John Bourke, the {76} store-keeper, heard a
bullet whiz by his head, and narrowly escaped death. The colonists at
once seized their arms and answered the Nor'westers' fire. In the
exchange of volleys, however, they were at a disadvantage, as their
adversaries remained hidden from view. When the Nor'westers decamped,
four persons on the colonists' side had been wounded.
Apparently there was no longer security for life or property among
those still adhering to Lord Selkirk's cause at Colony Gardens. Duncan
Cameron, employing a subterfuge, now said that his main object was to
capture Governor Macdonell. If this were accomplished he would leave
the settlers unmolested. In order to safeguard the colony Macdonell
voluntarily surrendered himself to the Nor'westers. Cameron was
jubilant. With the loyal settlers worsted and almost defenceless, and
the governor of Assiniboia his prisoner, he could dictate his own
terms. He issued an explicit command that the settlers must vacate the
Red River without delay. A majority of the settlers decided to obey,
and their exodus began under Cameron's guidance. About one hundred and
forty, inclusive of women and children, stepped into the canoes of the
North-West Company to be borne away {77} to Canada. Miles Macdonell
was taken to Montreal under arrest.
The forty or fifty colonists who still clung to their homes at Colony
Gardens were left to be dealt with by Alexander Macdonell, who was
nothing loath to finish Cameron's work of destruction. Once more
muskets were brought into play; horses and cattle belonging to the
settlers were spirited away; and several of the colonists were placed
under arrest on trumped-up charges. These dastardly tactics were
followed by an organized attempt to raid the settlement. On June 25 a
troop of Bois Brules gathered on horseback, armed to the teeth and led
by Alexander Macdonell and a half-breed named Cuthbert Grant. The
settlers, though mustering barely one-half the strength of the raiders,
resolved to make a stand, and placed themselves under the command of
John M'Leod, a trader in the service of the Hudson's Bay Company. The
Bois Brules bore down upon the settlement in menacing array. The
colonists took what shelter they could find and prepared for battle.
Fighting coolly, they made their shots tell. The advancing column
hesitated and halted in dismay at the courage of the defenders. Then
John M'Leod {78} remembered a cannon which was rusting unused at the
small post which the Hudson's Bay Company had on the river. Hugh
M'Lean and two others were ordered to haul this to the blacksmith's
shanty. The three men soon found the cannon, and set it up in the
smithy. For shot, cart chains were chopped into sections; and the Bois
Brules were treated to a raking volley of 'chain shot.' This was
something they had not looked for; their courage failed them, and they
galloped out of range.
But the remnant of Lord Selkirk's settlers who had dared to linger on
the Red River were at the end of their resources. Taking counsel
together, they resolved to quit the colony. They launched their boats
on the river, and followed the canoe route which led to Hudson Bay.
They were accompanied by a band of Indians of the Saulteaux tribe as
far as the entrance to Lake Winnipeg. From there a short journey
placed them outside the boundaries of Assiniboia. When they arrived at
the northern end of Lake Winnipeg they found a temporary refuge, in the
vicinity of Norway House, on the Jack river.
Alexander Macdonell and his Bois Brules were now free utterly to blot
out Colony {79} Gardens. They visited every part of the settlement and
set fire to everything. Not a single house was left standing. Cabins,
storehouses, the colony's grinding mill--all were reduced to a mass of
ruins. Cameron's duplicity had been crowned with success; Alexander
Macdonell's armed marauders had finished the task; Lord Selkirk's
colony of farmers-in-the-making was scattered far and wide.
Nevertheless, the Nor'westers were not undisputed masters of the
situation. In the Hudson's Bay smithy, but ten feet square, four men
continued the struggle. John M'Leod, James M'Intosh, and Archibald
Currie, of the Hudson's Bay Company, defended their trading-post, with
the assistance of 'noble Hugh M'Lean,' the only settler remaining on
the Red River banks. By day and by night these men were forced to keep
watch and ward. Whenever the Bois Brules drew near, the 'chain shot'
drove them hurriedly to cover. At length the enemy withdrew, and
M'Leod and his comrades walked out to survey the scene of desolation.
[1] After it had been discovered that the Grand Portage was situated
partly on land awarded by treaty to the United States, the Nor'westers,
in 1803, had erected a new factory thirty or forty miles farther north
where the Kaministikwia river enters Thunder Bay. This post became
their chief fur emporium west of Montreal, and was given the name Fort
William as a tribute to William M'Gillivray, one of the leading
partners in the company.
{80}