"ACROSS THE STORMY SEA."
Oh dreadful war! It is not only in the deadly horror of battle, and in
the pain and anguish of men strong and hearty, done to death by human
hands. It is not only in the rotting heap of horses and men, torn to
pieces by bullets and shell, and thrust together within huge pits in one
red burial blent. It is not only in the helpless widow and her brood of
dazed and desolate children weeping over the news that comes from the
battlefield, that war become so hideous. It is always, as it was in the
time of the Europe-shadowing Napoleon when for twenty years the wheels
of industry in Britain were stopped. It is always the derangement of
business, the increased price of food for the poor, the decay of trade,
the cutting off of supplies, and the stopping of works of improvement
that brings conditions which make poverty so terrible. Rags! A bed of
straw; a crust of bread; the shattered roof; the naked floor; a deal
table; a broken chair! A writer whose boyhood saw the terror, and want,
and despair of the last decade of the Napoleonic War, puts into the
mouth of the victim of poverty this terrible wail:
"But why do I talk of death?
That phantom of grizzly bone;
I hardly fear his terrible shape
It seems so like my own;
It seems so like my own,
Because of the fasts I keep;
Oh God, that bread should be so dear
And flesh and blood so cheap!"
To the philanthropist or the benevolent sympathiser like Lord Selkirk,
who aims at benefiting suffering humanity, it is not the trouble, the
self-sacrifice, or the spending of money in relief that is the worry,
but it is the bitterness, the suspicion, the unworkableness, and the
selfishness of the poverty-stricken themselves that disturbs and
distresses the benefactor's heart. It is often too the heartlessness and
prejudice of those who oppose the benefactor's plans that causes the
generous man anxiety and even at times despair. Poverty in its worst
form is a gaunt and ravenous beast, that bites the hand of friend or foe
that is stretched out toward it. So Lord Selkirk found it, when he
undertook to help the poverty-stricken Celts of the Scottish Highlands
and of the West of Ireland. He had the sympathising heart; he had the
true vision; and he had as few others of his time had, the power to
plan, the invention to suggest, and the skill and pluck to overcome
difficulties, but the carrying out of his intent brought him infinite
trouble and sorrow. His prospectus, offering the means to the
poverty-stricken people of reaching what he believed to be a home of
ultimate plenty on the banks of the Red River, was an entirely worthy
document. His first point is, that his Colonists will be freemen. No
religious tenet will be considered in their selection. This was even
freer that was that of Lord Baltimore's much-vaunted Colony, on the
Atlantic Coast, for Baltimore required that every Colonist should
believe in the doctrine of the Trinity. Then, the offer was to the
landless and the penniless men. Employment was to be supplied; work in
the employ of the Hudson's Bay Company, or free grants of land to actual
settlers, or even a sale in fee simple of land for a mere nominal sum;
free passages for the poor, reduced passages for those who had small
means, food provided on the voyage, and the prospect of new world
advantages to all.
But the poor are timid, and they love even their straw-thatched
cottages, and it needs active and decided men to press upon them the
advantages which are offered them. The Emigration Agent is a necessity.
The fur traders' country was at this time well known to many of the
partners. It was by employing or consulting with some of these fur
traders that Lord Selkirk obtained a knowledge of the Western land which
he was to acquire. Years before the Colony began Lord Selkirk had been
in correspondence with an officer who belonged to a well known Catholic
family of Highlanders, the Macdonells, who had gone to the Mohawk
district in the United States before the American Revolution, and had
afterwards come to Canada as U.E. Loyalists. One of these, a man of
standing and of executive ability was Miles Macdonell. He had been an
officer of the King's Royal Regiment of New York, and held the rank of
Captain of the Canadian Militia. This officer had a brother in the
North-West Fur Company, John Macdonell, who, more than ten years before,
had been in the service of his Company on Red River and whose Journal
had no doubt fallen into the hands of his brother Miles. He had written:
"From the Forks of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers the plains are quite
near the banks, and so extensive that a man may travel to the Rocky
Mountains without passing a wood, a mile long. The soil on the Red River
and the Assiniboine is generally a good soil, susceptible of culture,
and capable of bearing rich crops."
He goes on to state, "that the buffalo comes to the fords of the
Assinboil, besides in these rivers are plenty of sturgeon, catfish,
goldeyes, pike and whitefish--the latter so common that men have been
seen to catch thirty or forty a piece while they smoked their pipes." To
reach this land of plenty, which his brother knew so well, Miles
Macdonell became the leader of Lord Selkirk's Colonists. He arrived in
Great Britain in the year for the starting of the Colony, and
immediately as being a Roman Catholic in religion went to the West of
Ireland to recommend the Emigration scheme, obtain subscriptions of
stock, and to engage workmen as Colonists. Glasgow was then, as now, the
centre of Scottish industry, and it is to Glasgow that the penniless
Highlanders flock in large numbers for work and residence. Here was a
suitable field for the Emigration Agent, and accordingly one of their
countrymen, Captain Roderick McDonald, was sent thither. The way to
Canada was long, the country unknown, and it required all his persuasion
and the power of the Gaelic tongue--an open Sesame to an Highlander's
heart--to persuade many to join the Colonists' bank. It required more.
The Highlander is a bargainer, as the Tourist in the Scottish Highlands
knows to this day. Captain Roderick McDonald was compelled to promise
larger wages to clerks and laborers to induce them to join. He secured
less than half an hundred men at Stornoway--the trysting place--and the
promises he had made of higher wages were a bone of contention through
the whole voyage.
Perhaps the most effective agent obtained by Lord Selkirk was a returned
trader of the Montreal merchants named Colin Robertson. He had seen the
whole western fur country, and the fact that he had a grievance made him
very willing to join Lord Selkirk in his enterprise.
One of the Nor'-Westers in Saskatchewan a few years before the beginning
of Lord Selkirk's Colony, was "Bras Croche," or crooked-arm McDonald. He
was of gentle Scottish birth, but his own acquaintances declared that he
was of a "quarrelsome and pugnacious disposition." In his district Colin
Robertson was a "Bourgeois" in charge of a station. A quarrel between
the two men resulted in Colin Robertson losing his position, and as we
shall see he became one of the most active and serviceable men in the
history of the Colony. Colin Robertson went among his countrymen in the
Island of Lewis and elsewhere.
And now as the time draws nigh for gathering together at a common port,
the Stromness (Orkney), the Glasgow, the Sligo and the Lewis contingents
to face the stormy sea and seek a new untried home, a fierce storm
breaks out upon the land. Evidence accumulates that the heat and
opposition of the "Nor'-West" partners--Sir Alexander Mackenzie, Inglis
and Ellice--shown at the general meeting of the Company, were to break
out in numberless hidden and irritating efforts to stop and perhaps
render impossible the whole Colonizing project.
Just as the active agents, Miles Macdonell, Capt. McDonald and Colin
Robertson, had set the heather on fire on behalf of Lord Selkirk's
project, so the aid of the press was used to throw doubt upon the
enterprise. Inverness is the Capital of the Highlanders, and so the
"Inverness Journal," containing an effusion signed by "Highlander," was
spread broadcast through the Highlands, the Islands, and the Orkneys,
picturing the dangers of their journey, the hardships of the country,
the deceitfulness of the agents, and the mercenary aims of the noble
promoter.
Before Miles Macdonell had cleared the coast of England, he wrote to
Lord Selkirk: "Sir A. (Mackenzie) has pledged himself as so decidedly
opposed to this project that he will try every means in his power to
thwart it. Besides, I am convinced he was no friend to your Lordship
before this came upon the carpet."
No doubt Miles Macdonell was correct, and the two Scottish antagonists
were face to face in the conflict. We shall see the means supplied by
which the expedition will be harassed. And now the enterprise is to be
set on foot.
For nearly a century and a half the Hudson's Bay Company ships have
sailed yearly from the Thames, and taken the goods of the London
merchants to the posts and forts of Hudson Bay, carrying back rich
returns of furs. Sometimes more than one a year has gone. In 1811 there
was the Commodore's ship the "Prince of Wales," with cabin accommodation
and such comforts as ships of that period supplied. A second ship, the
"Eddystone," chartered for special service, accompanied her. These two
were intended to carry out employees and men for the fur trade, as well
as the goods.
It must not be forgotten that there was some want of confidence between
the trading side of the Hudson's Bay Company and that which Lord Selkirk
represented, in the Colonizing enterprise. Also at this time the laws in
regard to the safety of vessels, the comfort of passengers, or
precautions for health were very lax. While the records of emigration
experiences of British settlers to Canada and the United States are
being recited by men and women yet living in Canada, the want of
resource and the neglect of life and property by Governments and
officials up until half a century ago are heart-sickening. So the third
ship of the fleet that was to carry the first human freight of Manitoba
pioneers was the "Edward and Ann." She was a sorry craft, with old
sails, ropes, etc., and very badly manned. She had as a crew only
sixteen, including the captain, mates and three small boys. It was a
surprise to Miles Macdonell that the Company would charter and send her
out in such a state. The officers came down to Gravesend from London and
joined their ships, and somewhere about the 25th of June, 1811, they set
sail from Sheerness on their mission, which was to become historic--not
so historic, perhaps, as the Mayflower--but still sufficiently important
to deserve a centennial celebration.
The fleet was, however, to take up its passengers after it had passed
Duncansby Head, on the north of Scotland. But the elements on the North
Sea were unpropitious. Sheerness left behind, the trio of vessels had
not passed the coast of Norfolk before they were driven into Yarmouth
Harbor, and there for days they lay held in by adverse winds. On July
2nd they again started northward, when they were compelled to return to
Yarmouth.
In company they succeeded in reaching Stromness, in the Orkney Isles, in
about ten days. Here the "Prince of Wales" remained and her two
companions sailed down to Stornoway on the 17th.
And now, with the storms of the German Ocean left behind, began the
opposition of the "Nor'-Westers." The "Prince of Wales" brought her
contingent from the Orkneys, and on July 25th Miles Macdonell writes
that after all the efforts put forth at all the points he had 125
Colonists and employees, and these were in a most unsettled state of
mind.
Some dispute the wages offered them. One party from Galway had not
arrived. Some are irritated at not being in the quarter of the ship
which they desired, and some anxiety is evident on the part of Miles
Macdonell because large advances of money have been given to a number
and he fears that they may desert. The expenses of assembling the
settlers have been very heavy, and now opposition appears. Sir
Alexander's party are doing their work. Mr. Reed, Collector of Customs
at Stornoway, was married to a niece of Sir Alexander Mackenzie, and as
collector he throws every obstacle in the way of Macdonell. He has also
taken pains to stir up discontent in the minds of the Colonists and to
advise them not to embark.
Further trouble was caused by a Captain Mackenzie--called "a mean
fellow"--who proved to be a son-in-law of the Collector of Customs Reed,
and who went on board the "Edward and Ann," recruited as soldiers some
of the settlers, himself handing them the enlisting money and then
seeking to compel them to leave the ship with him. Afterwards, Captain
Mackenzie came on board the "Edward and Ann" and claimed the new
recruits, as deserters from the army. The Customs officials also boarded
the emigrant ship and most officiously proclaimed that if any emigrants
were not satisfied, or were not going of their own free will then they
might go ashore, and the scene as described by Miles Macdonell may be
imagined. "Several said they were not willing, and many went over the
ship's side into Captain Mackenzie's boat. One party ran away with the
ship's boat, but were brought back. One man jumped into the sea, and
swam for it until he was picked up by the recruiting boat." The Revenue
Cutter's boat was likewise very active in taking men away, and the
collector took some ashore in his boat with himself. A prominent
employee of the promoters of the expedition, Mr. Moncrieff Blair, who
posed as a gentleman, deserted on July 25th, the day before the sailing
of the vessel.
No wonder that Miles Macdonell should write: "My Lord, this is a most
unfortunate business * * * I condole with your Lordship on all these
cross accidents."
Thus amid annoyance, opposition, and discouragement did the little fleet
set sail, on July 26th, 1811.
But this time of Napoleonism in Europe affected even the high seas.
French cruisers might seize the valuable cargoes being sent out to York
Factory. Accordingly a man-of-war had been detailed to lead the way.
This had caused a part of the delay on the East Coast of England, and
when fairly away from the British Isles and some four hundred miles
northwest of Ireland, the protecting ship turned back, but the sea was
so wild that not even a letter could be handed to the Captain to carry
in a message to the promoter.
The journey continued to be boisterous, but once within Hudson straits
the weather turned mild, and the great walls of rock reminded the
Highlanders of their Sutherlandshire West Coast.
They saw no living being as they went through the Strait. Their studies
of human nature were among themselves. Miles Macdonell reports that
exclusive of the officers and crews who embarked at Gravesend, there
were of laborers and writers one hundred and five persons.
Of these there were fifty-three on the "Edward and Ann." Two men of
especial note, representing the clerical and medical professions were on
board the Emigrant Ship. Father Burke, a Roman Catholic priest, who had
come away without the permission of his Bishop was one.
Miles Macdonell did not like him, but he seems to have been a hearty
supporter of the Emigration Scheme and promised to do great things in
Ireland on his return.
When he reached York Factory, Burke did not leave the shore to follow
the Colonists to their homes on the banks of Red River. He married two
Scotch Presbyterians, and while somewhat merry at times had amused the
passengers on their dreary ocean journey. More useful, however, to the
passengers was Mr. Edwards, the ship's doctor.
He had much opportunity for practising his art, both among the Colonists
and the employees.
At times Miles Macdonell endeavored on shipboard to drill his future
servants and settlers, but he found them a very awkward squad--not one
had ever handled a gun or musket. The sea seemed generally too
tempestuous in mood for their evolutions. As the ships approached York
Factory the interest increased. The "Eddystone" was detailed to sail to
"Fort Churchill," but was unable to reach it and found her way in the
wake of the other vessels to York Factory. It seemed as if the
sea-divinities all combined to fight against the Colonists, for they did
not reach York Factory, the winter destination, until the 24th of
September, having taken sixty-one days on the voyage from Stornoway,
which was declared by the Hudson's Bay Company officers to be the
longest and latest passage ever known on Hudson Bay. Then settlers and
employees were all landed on the point, near York Factory, and were
sheltered meantime in tents, and as they stood on the shore they saw on
October 5th, the ships that had brought them safely across the stormy
sea pass through a considerable amount of floating ice on their homeward
journey to London.
For one season at least the settlers will face the rigor of this
Northern Clime.