LORD SELKIRK TO THE RESCUE.
The Earl in Montreal--Alarming news--Engages a body of
Swiss--The De Meurons--Embark for the North-West--Kawtawabetay's
story--Hears of Seven Oaks--Lake Superior--Lord Selkirk--A doughty
Douglas--Seizes Fort William--Canoes upset and Nor'-Westers
drowned--"A Banditti"--The Earl's blunder--A winter march--Fort
Douglas recaptured--His Lordship soothes the settlers--An Indian
Treaty--"The Silver Chief"--The Earl's note-book.
The sad story of the beleaguered and excited colonists reached the ears
of Lord Selkirk through his agents. The trouble threatening his settlers
determined the energetic founder to visit Canada for himself, and, if
possible, the infant colony. Accordingly, late in the year 1815, in
company with his family--consisting of the Countess, his son, and two
daughters--he reached Montreal. The news of the first dispersion of the
colonists, their flight to Norway House, and the further threatenings
of the Bois Brûlés, arrived about the time of their coming to New York.
Lord Selkirk hastened on to Montreal, but it was too late in the season,
being about the end of October, to penetrate to the interior.
He must winter in Montreal. He was here in the very midst of the enemy.
With energy, characteristic of the man, he brought the matter of
protection of his colony urgently before the Government of Lower Canada.
In a British colony surely the rights of property of a British subject
would be protected, and surely the safety of hundreds of loyal people
could not be trifled with. As we shall see in a later chapter, the
high-minded nobleman counted without his host; he had but to live a few
years in the New World of that day to find how skilfully the forms of
law can be adapted to carry out illegal objects and shield law-breakers.
As early as February of that year (1815), dreading the threatenings
even then made by the North-West Company, he had represented to Lord
Bathurst, the British Secretary of State, the urgent necessity of an
armed force, not necessarily very numerous, being sent to the Red River
settlement to maintain order in the colony. Now, after the outrageous
proceedings of the summer of 1815 and the arrival of the dreary
intelligence from Red River, Lord Selkirk again brings the matter before
the authorities, this time before Sir Gordon Drummond, Governor of Lower
Canada, and encloses a full account of the facts as to the expulsion
of the settlers from their homes, and of the many acts of violence
perpetrated at Red River.
Nothing being gained in this way, his Lordship determined to undertake
an expedition himself, as soon as it could be organized, and carry
assistance to his persecuted people, who, he knew, had been gathered
together by Colin Robertson, and to whom he had sent as Governor,
Mr. Semple, in whom he reposed great confidence. We have seen that
during the winter of 1815-16, peace and a certain degree of confidence
prevailed among the settlers, more than half of whom were spending their
first winter in the country. Fort Douglas was regarded as strong enough
to resist a considerable attack, and the presence of Governor Semple,
a military officer, was thought a guarantee for the protection of the
people. During the winter, however, Lord Selkirk learned enough to
assure him that the danger was not over--that, indeed, a more determined
attack than ever would be made as soon as the next season should open.
He had been sworn in as a Justice of the Peace in Upper Canada and for
the Indian territories; he had obtained for his personal protection from
the Governor the promise of a sergeant and six men of the British army
stationed in Canada, but this was not sufficient.
He undertook a plan of placing upon his own land in the colony a number
of persons as settlers who could be called upon in case of emergency, as
had been the intention in the case of the Highland colonists, to whom
muskets had been furnished. The close of the Napoleonic wars had left a
large number of the soldiers engaged in these wars out of employment,
the British Government having been compelled to reduce the size of the
army. During the Napoleonic wars a number of soldiers of adventure from
Switzerland and Italy, captured by Britain in Spain, entered her service
and were useful troops. Two of these regiments, one named "De Meuron,"
and the other "Watteville," had been sent to Canada to assist in the
war against the United States. This war being now over also, orders
came to Sir Gordon Drummond to disband the two regiments in May, 1815.
The former of the regiments was at the time stationed at Montreal, the
latter at Kingston.
From these bodies of men Lord Selkirk undertook to provide his colony
with settlers willing to defend it. The enemies of Lord Selkirk have
been very free in their expression of opinion as to the worthlessness of
these soldiers and their unfitness as settlers. It is worthy of notice,
however, that the Nor'-Westers did not scruple to use Messrs. Missani
and Brumby, as well as Reinhard and Huerter of the same corps, to carry
out their own purposes. The following order, given by Sir John Coape
Sherbrooke, effectually disposes of such a calumny:--
"Quebec, July 26th, 1816.
"In parting with the regiments 'De Meuron' and 'Watteville,'
both of which corps his Excellency has had the good fortune
of having under his command in other parts of the world, Sir
John Sherbrooke desires Lieutenant-Colonel De Meuron and
Lieutenant-Colonel May, and the officers and men of these corps
will accept his congratulations on having, by their conduct in
the Canadas, maintained the reputation which they have deservedly
acquired by their former services. His Excellency can have no
hesitation in saying that his Majesty's service in these provinces
has derived important advantages during the late war from the
steadiness, discipline, and efficiency of these corps.
"J. HARVEY, Lieutenant-Colonel, D.A.G."
Testimony to the same effect is given by the officer in command of the
garrison of Malta, on their leaving that island to come to Canada.
These men afforded the material for Lord Selkirk's purpose, viz. to
till the soil and protect the colony. Like a wise man, however, he made
character the ground of engagement in the case of all whom he took. To
those who came to terms with him he agreed to give a sufficient portion
of land, agricultural implements, and as wages for working the boats on
the voyage eight dollars a month. It was further agreed that should any
choose to leave Red River on reaching it, they should be taken back by
his Lordship free of expense.
Early in June, 1816, four officers and about eighty men of the "De
Meurons" left Montreal in Lord Selkirk's employ and proceeded westward
to Kingston. Here twenty more of the "Watteville" regiment joined
their company. Thence the expedition, made up by the addition of one
hundred and thirty canoe-men, pushed on to York (Toronto), and from York
northward to Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay.
Across this Bay and Lake Huron they passed rapidly on to Sault Ste.
Marie, Lord Selkirk leaving the expedition before reaching that place
to go to Drummond's Isle, which was the last British garrison in Upper
Canada, and at which point he was to receive the sergeant and six men
granted for his personal protection by the Governor of Canada. At
Drummond's Island a council was held with Kawtawabetay, an Ojibway
chief, by the Indian Department, Lieut.-Colonel Maule, of the 104th
Regiment, presiding. Kawtawabetay there informed the council that in the
spring of 1815 two North-West traders, McKenzie and Morrison, told him
that they would give him and his people all the goods or merchandise and
rum that they had at Fort William, Leach Lake, and Sand Lake, if he, the
said Kawtawabetay, and his people would make and declare war against the
settlers in Red River. On being asked by the chief whether this was at
the request of the "great chiefs" at Montreal or Quebec, McKenzie and
Morrison said it was solely from the North-West Company's agents, who
wished the settlement destroyed, as it was an annoyance to them. The
chief further stated that the last spring (1816), whilst at Fond Du Lac
Superior, a Nor'-Wester agent (Grant) offered him two kegs of rum and
two carrots of tobacco if he would send some of his young men in search
of certain persons employed in taking despatches to the Red River,
pillage these bearers of despatches of the letters and papers, and kill
them should they make any resistance. The chief stated he had refused to
have anything to do with these offers. On being asked in the council by
Lord Selkirk, who was present, as to the feelings of the Indians towards
the settlers at Red River, he said that at the commencement of the Red
River settlement some of the Indians did not like it, but at present
they are all glad of its being settled.
Lord Selkirk soon hastened on and overtook his expedition at Sault Ste.
Marie, now consisting of two hundred and fifty men all told, and these
being maintained at his private expense. They immediately proceeded
westward, intending to go to the extreme point of Lake Superior, near
where the town of Duluth now stands, and where the name Fond du Lac
is still retained. The expedition would then have gone north-westward
through what is now Minnesota to Red Lake, from which point a descent
could have been made by boat, through Red Lake River and Red River
to the very settlement itself. This route would have avoided the
Nor'-Westers altogether.
Westward bound, the party had little more than left Sault Ste. Marie,
during the last week of July, when they were met on Lake Superior by
two canoes, in one of which was Miles Macdonell, former Governor of
Red River, who brought the sad intelligence of the second destruction
of the colony and of the murder of Governor Semple and his attendants.
His Lordship was thrown into the deepest despair. The thought of his
Governor killed, wholesale murder committed, the poor settlers led
by him from the Highland homes, where life at least was safe, to
endure such fear and privation, was indeed a sore trial. To any one
less moved by the spirit of philanthropy, it must have been a serious
disappointment, but to one feeling so thorough a sympathy for the
suffering and who was himself the very soul of honour, it was a crushing
blow.
He resolved to change his course and to go to Fort William, the
headquarters of the Nor'-Westers. He now determined to act in his office
as magistrate, and sought to induce two gentlemen of Sault Ste. Marie,
Messrs. Ermatinger and Askin, both magistrates, to accompany him in
that capacity. They were unable to go. Compelled to proceed alone, he
writes from Sault Ste. Marie, on July 29th, to Sir John Sherbrooke, and
after speaking of his failure to induce the two gentlemen mentioned by
him to go, says, "I am therefore reduced to the alternative of acting
alone, or of allowing an audacious crime to pass unpunished. In these
circumstances I cannot doubt that it is my duty to act, though I am
not without apprehension that the law may be openly resisted by a set
of people who have been accustomed to consider force as the only true
criterion of right."
One would have said, on looking at the matter dispassionately, that the
Governor-General, with a military force so far west as Drummond Isle in
Georgian Bay, would have taken immediate steps to bring to justice the
offenders.
Governor Sherbrooke seems to have felt himself powerless, for he says
in a despatch to Lord Bathurst, "I beg leave to call your Lordship's
serious attention to the forcible and, I fear, too just description
given by the Earl of Selkirk of the state of the Red River territory. I
leave to your Lordship to judge whether a banditti such as he describes
will yield to the influence, or be intimidated by the menaces of distant
authority." It may be well afterwards to contrast this statement of the
Governor's with subsequent despatches. It must not be forgotten that
while "the banditti" was pursuing its course of violence in the far-off
territory, and, as has been stated, thoroughly under the direction and
encouragement of the North-West Company partners, the leading members of
this Company, who held, many of them, high places in society and in the
Government in Montreal, were posing as the lovers of peace and order,
and were lamenting over the excesses of the Indians and Bois Brûlés. By
this course they were enabled to thwart any really effective measures
towards restoring peace at the far-away "seat of war."
The action of the North-West Company may be judged from the following
extracts from a letter of the Hon. John Richardson, one of the partners,
and likewise a member of the executive council of Lower Canada,
addressed to Governor Sherbrooke. He says on August 17th, 1816: "It is
with much concern that I have to mention that blood has been shed at
the Red River to an extent greatly to be deplored; but it is consolatory
to those interested in the North-West Company to find that none of their
traders or people were concerned, or at the time within a hundred miles
of the scene of contest." What a commentary on such a statement are the
stories of Pambrun and Huerter, given in a previous chapter! What a
cold-blooded statement after all the plottings and schemes of the whole
winter before the attack! What a heartless falsehood as regards the
Indians, who, under so great temptations, refused to be partners in so
bloody an enterprise!
The resolution of Lord Selkirk to go to Fort William in the capacity of
a magistrate was one involving, as he well knew, many perils. He was
not, however, the man to shrink from a daring enterprise having once
undertaken it.
To Fort William, then, with the prospect of meeting several hundreds
of the desperate men of the North-West Company, Lord Selkirk made his
way. So confident was he in the rectitude of his purpose and in the
justice of his cause, that he pushed forward, and without the slightest
hesitation encamped upon the Kaministiquia, on the south side of the
river, in sight of Fort William. The expedition arrived on August 12th.
A demand was at once made on the officers of the North-West Company for
the release of a number of persons who had been captured at Red River
after the destruction of the colony and been brought to Fort William.
The Nor'-Westers denied having arrested these persons, and to give
colour to this assertion immediately sent them over to Lord Selkirk's
encampment.
On the 13th and following days of the month of August, the depositions
of a number of persons were taken before his Lordship as a justice
of the peace. The depositions related to the guilt of the several
Nor'-Wester partners, their destroying the settlement, entering and
removing property from Fort Douglas, and the like; and were made by
Pambrun, Lavigne, Nolin, Blondeau, Brisbois, and others. It was made
so clear to Lord Selkirk that the partners were guilty of inciting the
attacks on the colony and of approving the outrages committed, that he
determined to arrest a number of the leaders. This was done by regular
process--by warrants served on Mr. McGillivray, Kenneth McKenzie, Simon
Fraser, and others, but these prisoners were allowed to remain in Fort
William.
In one case, that of a partner named John McDonald, resistance having
been offered, the constables called for the aid of a party of the De
Meurons, who had crossed over from the encampment with them in their
boats. The leaving of the prisoners with their liberty in Fort William,
however, gave the opportunity for conspiracy; and it was represented
to Lord Selkirk that Fort William would be used for the purposes of
resistance, and that the prisoners arrested would be released. The facts
leading to this belief were that a canoe, laden with arms, had left
the fort at night; that eight barrels of gunpowder had been secreted
in a thicket, and that these had been taken from the magazine; while
some forty stand of arms, fresh-loaded, had been found in a barn among
some hay. These indications proved that an attempt was about to be
made to resist the execution of the law, and accordingly the prisoners
were placed in one building and closely guarded, while Lord Selkirk's
encampment was removed across the river and pitched in front of the fort
to prevent any surprise.
A further examination of the prisoners took place, and their criminality
being so evident, they were sent to York, Upper Canada. Three canoes,
well manned and containing the prisoners, left the fort on August
18th, under the charge of Lieutenant Fauche, one of the De Meuron
officers. The journey down the lakes was marred by a most unfortunate
accident. One of the canoes was upset some fifteen miles from Sault Ste.
Marie. This was caused by the sudden rise in the wind. The affair was
purely accidental, and there were drowned one of the prisoners, named
McKenzie, a sergeant and a man of the De Meurons, and six Indians.
The prisoners were taken to Montreal and admitted to bail. The course
taken by Lord Selkirk at Fort William has been severely criticized, and
became, indeed, the subject of subsequent legal proceedings. One of the
Nor'-Wester apologists stated to Governor Sherbrooke "that the mode of
proceeding under Lord Selkirk's orders resembled nothing British, and
exceeded even the military despotism of the French in Holland."
No doubt it would have been better had Lord Selkirk obtained other
magistrates to take part in the proceedings at Fort William, but we
have seen he did try this and failed. Had it been possible to have had
the arrests effected without the appearance of force made by the De
Meurons, it would have been more agreeable to our ideas of ordinary
legal proceedings; but it must be remembered he was dealing with those
called by a high authority "a banditti." Could Fort William have been
left in the hands of its possessors, it would have been better; but
then there was clear evidence that the Nor'-Westers intended violence.
To have left Fort William in their possession would have been suicidal.
It would probably have been better that Lord Selkirk should not have
stopped the canoes going into the interior with North-West merchandise,
but to have allowed them to proceed was only to have assisted his
enemies--the enemies, moreover, of law and order. Thousands of pounds'
worth of his property stolen from Fort Douglas by the agents of the
North-West Company, and the fullest evidence in the depositions made
before him that this was in pursuance of a plan devised by the Company
and deliberately carried out! Several hundreds of lawless voyageurs
and unscrupulous partners ready to use violence in the wild region of
Lake Superior, where, during fifty years preceding, they had committed
numerous acts of bloodshed, and had never been called to account! The
worrying reflection that homeless settlers and helpless women and
children were crying, in some region then unknown to him, for his
assistance, after their wanton dispersion by their enemies from their
homes on the banks of Red River! All these things were sufficient to
nerve to action one of far less generous impulses than Lord Selkirk.
Is it at all surprising that his Lordship did not act with all the
calmness and scrupulous care of a judge on the bench, who, under
favourable circumstances, feels himself strong in his consciousness of
safety, supported by the myriad officers of the law, and surrounded by
the insignia of Justice? The justification of his course, even if it
be interpreted adversely, is, that in a state of violence, to preserve
the person is a preliminary to the settlement of other questions of
personal right. One thing at least is to Lord Selkirk's credit, that,
as soon as possible, he handed over the law-breakers to be dealt with
by the Canadian Courts, where, however, unfortunately, another divinity
presided than the blind goddess of Justice.
Let us now see where we are in our story. Lord Selkirk is at Fort
William. The Nor'-Wester partners have been sent to the East. It is
near the end of August, and the state of affairs at Fort William does
not allow the founder to pass on to his colony for the winter. He is
surrounded by his De Meuron settlers. During the months of autumn the
expedition is engaged in laying in supplies for the approaching winter,
and opening up roads toward the Red River country. The season was spent
in the usual manner of the Lake Superior country, shut out from the
rest of the world. The winter over, Lord Selkirk started on May 1st,
1817, for Red River, accompanied by his body-guard. The De Meurons had
preceded him in the month of March, and, reaching the interior, restored
order.
The colonizer arrived at his colony in the last week of June, and saw,
for the first time, the land of his dreams for the preceding fifteen
years. In order to restore peace, he endeavoured to carry out the
terms of the proclamation issued by the Government of Canada, that all
property taken during the troubles should be restored to its original
owners. This restitution was made to a certain extent, though much that
had been taken from Fort Douglas was never recovered. The settlers were
brought back from their refuge at Norway House, and the settlement
was again organized. The colonists long after related, with great
satisfaction, how Lord Selkirk cheered them by his presence. After their
return to their despoiled homesteads a gathering of the settlers took
place, and a full consideration of all their affairs was had in their
patron's presence.
This gathering was at the spot where the church and burying-ground of
St. John's are now found. "Here," said his Lordship, pointing to lot
number four, on which they stood, "here you shall build your church;
and that lot," said he, pointing to lot number three across the little
stream called Parsonage Creek, "is for the school." The people then
reminded his Lordship that he had promised them a minister, who should
follow them to their adopted country. This he at once acknowledged,
saying, "Selkirk never forfeited his word;" while he promised to give
the matter attention as soon as practicable. In addition, Lord Selkirk
gave a document stating that, "in consideration of the hardships which
the settlers had suffered, in consequence of the lawless conduct of
the North-West Company, his intention was to grant gratuitously the
twenty-four lots which had been occupied to those of the settlers who
had made improvements on their lands before they were driven away from
them in the previous year."
Before the dispersion of this public gathering of the people, the
founder gave the name, at the request of the colonists, to their
settlement. The name given by him to this first parish in Rupert's Land
was that of Kildonan, from their old home in the valley of Helmsdale,
in Sutherlandshire, Scotland. In more fully organizing the colony, his
Lordship ordered a complete survey to be made of the land, and steps to
be taken towards laying out roads, building bridges, erecting mills, &c.
It will be remembered, as already stated, that at the inception of the
colony scheme, in 1811, the Nor'-Westers had threatened the hostility of
the Indians. It may be mentioned as a strange fact that, to this day, it
is a trick of the Bois Brûlés, taking their cue from the Nor'-Westers,
when making any demand, to threaten the Government with the wrath of the
Indians, over whom they profess to exercise a control. We have already
seen that the Nor'-Westers' boast as to their influence over the Indians
was empty. In the publications of the Nor'-Westers of 1816-20 a speech
is sometimes set forth of an Indian chief, "Grandes Oreilles," breathing
forth threatenings against the infant settlement. It is worthy of notice
that even this resource is swept away by the author of the speech, a
Nor'-Wester trader, confessing that he had manufactured the speech and
"Grandes Oreilles" had never spoken it.
Within three weeks of his arrival at Red River Lord Selkirk carried
out his promise of making a treaty with the Indians. All the Indians
were most willing to do this, as on many occasions during the troubles
they had, by giving early information as to the movements of the
Nor'-Westers, and by other means, shown their sympathy and feeling
toward the settlers. The object of the treaty was simply to do what
has since been done all over the north-west territories--to extinguish
the Indian title. The treaty is signed alike by Ojibway, Cree, and
Assiniboine chiefs, the last mentioned being a tribe generally
considered to belong to the Sioux stock. Lord Selkirk afterwards made
a treaty, on leaving the Red River, with the other Sioux nations
inhabiting his territory. The chiefs were met at Red River by his
Lordship, and those whose names are attached to the treaty are, giving
their French names in some cases as shorter than the Indian, Le Sonent,
Robe Noire, Peguis, L'Homme Noir, and Grandes Oreilles. His Lordship
seems to have had a most conciliatory and attractive manner. It is worth
while closing this chapter by giving extracts from the speeches of these
Indian chiefs, taken down at the grand council at which Lord Selkirk
smoked the pipe of peace with the assembled warriors.
Peguis, the Saulteaux chief, always the fast friend of the colonists,
said, "When the English settlers first came here we received them with
joy. It was not our fault if even the stumps of the brushwood were
too rough for their feet; but misfortunes have since overtaken them.
Evil-disposed men came here, calling themselves great chiefs, sent from
our Great Father across the big lake, but we believe they were only
traders, pretending to be great chiefs on purpose to deceive us. They
misled the young men who are near us (a small party of Bois Brûlés
encamped in the neighbourhood), and employed them to shed the blood of
your children and to drive away the settlers from this river. We do not
acknowledge these men as an independent tribe. They have sprung up here
and there like mushrooms and we know them not.
"At the first arrival of the settlers we were frequently solicited by
the North-West Company to frighten them away; but we were pleased to see
that our Great Father had sent some of his white children to live among
us, and we refused to do or say anything against them. The traders even
demanded our calumets, and desired to commit our sentiments to paper,
that they might send to our Great Father; but we refused to acknowledge
the speeches which they wished to put into our mouths. We are informed
that they have told a tale that it was the Indians who drove away and
murdered the children of our Great Father, but it is a falsehood.
"As soon as I saw the mischief that happened I went to Lake Winnipeg
with a few friends to wait for news from the English, but I could meet
none. We have reasons to be friends of the colony. When there were only
traders here we could not get a blanket, or a piece of cloth, without
furs to give in exchange. Our country is now almost destitute of furs,
so that we were often in want; from the people of the colony we get
blankets and cloth for the meat we procure them. The country abounds
with meat, which we can obtain, but to obtain furs is difficult."
Next, L'Homme Noir, a chief of the Assiniboines, who had come from a
long distance, addressing Lord Selkirk, particularly declares, "we were
often harassed with solicitations to assist the Bois Brûlés in what they
have done against your children, but we always refused. We are sure you
must have had much trouble to come here. We have often been told you
were our enemy; but we have to-day the happiness to hear from your own
mouth the words of a true friend. We receive the present you give us
with great pleasure and thankfulness."
After this, Robe Noire, an Ojibway chief, spoke in like terms; when the
veritable Grandes Oreilles, to whose spurious war speech we have already
referred, said as follows:--
"I am happy to see here our own father. Clouds have overwhelmed me. I
was a long time in doubt and difficulty, but now I begin to see clearly.
"We have reason to be happy this day. We know the dangers you must
have encountered to come so far. The truth you have spoken pleases us.
We thank you for the present you give us. There seems an end to our
distress, and it is you who have relieved us.
"When our young men are drunk they are mad; they know not what they say
or what they do; but this must not be attended to; they mean no harm."
Long after, Selkirk was remembered and beloved by these Indian tribes,
who spoke of him as the "Silver Chief."
So much for the founder's work in his colony in 1817. His affairs
urgently required attention elsewhere. In the language of a writer of
the period, "having thus restored order, infused confidence in the
people, and given a certain aid to their activity, Lord Selkirk took
his final leave of the colony." With a guide and a few attendants he
journeyed southward, passing through the country of the warlike Sioux,
with whom he made peace.
The writer had at one time in his possession a note-book with, in Lord
Selkirk's writing, an itinerary of his journey from Red River Colony,
in which familiar names, such as Rivière Sale, Rivière Aux Gratias,
Pembina, and the like, appear with their distances in leagues. Among
other memoranda is one, "lost on the Prairie," and the distance in
leagues estimated as lost by the misadventure. Every traveller over the
Manitoba prairie will take a feeling interest in that entry.
Passing through the Mississippi country, he seems to have proceeded
eastward to Washington; he next appears in Albany, and hastens back to
Upper Canada, without even visiting his family in Montreal, though he
had been absent from them for upwards of a year. In Upper Canada his
presence was urgently needed to meet the artful machinations of his
enemies.