STATEMENTS IN THE EDINBURGH CABINET LIBRARY--ALLEGED
KINDNESS OF THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY TO THE INDIANS--AND
GENEROSITY--SUPPORT OF MISSIONARIES--SUPPORT
WITHDRAWN--PREFERENCE OF ROMAN CATHOLICS--THE NORTH-WEST
COMPANY--CONDUCT OF A BRITISH PEER--RIVALRY OF THE
COMPANIES--COALITION--CHARGES AGAINST THE NORTH-WEST COMPANY
REFUTED.
A volume of the Edinburgh Cabinet Library, in which the Company's
territories are described, came lately into my hands. It is there
remarked, that "the Company's posts serve as hospitals, to which
the Indians resort during sickness, and are supplied with food and
medicine; that when winter arrives, the diseased and infirm are
frequently left there; that the Company have made the most laudable
efforts to instruct and civilize them, employing, at a great expense,
Missionaries and Teachers," &c.
I am well aware that the author of this valuable production took it
for granted that the information he had obtained, relative to our
treatment of the Indians, and other matters, was correct, or he would
not have permitted it to go forth to the world under the authority
and sanction of his name. But without intending any disrespect to the
author, I take leave to state that the above quotations have not the
slightest foundation in fact. Our posts serve as hospitals! I have now
passed twenty-four years of my life-time in the country; I have served
in every quarter of it; and I own that I have never yet known a single
instance of an Indian being retained at any inland post for medical
treatment. The knowledge the natives possess of the medicinal virtues
of roots and herbs, is generally equal to the cure of all their
ailments; and we are, in fact, more frequently indebted to them, than
they to us, for medical advice. I may mention, however, by way of
exception to the general rule, that the dépôts along the coast are
well supplied with medicines, and that there are medical men there who
administer them to the natives when they apply for them.
In the interior we are allowed to doctor ourselves as we best can.
What with the salubrity of the climate, and our abstemious fare, we
are enabled, with the aid of a little Turlington balsam, and a dose
of salts, perhaps, to overcome all our ailments. Most of us also use
the lancet, and can even "spread a plaster, or give a glister," when
necessary; but the Indians seldom trouble us.
As to the instruction the natives receive from us, I am at a loss to
know what it is, where imparted, and by whom given. "A tale I could,
unfold!" But let it pass: certain it is, that neither our example nor
our precept has had the effect of improving the morals or principles
of the natives;--they are neither more enlightened, nor more
civilized, by our endeavours, than if we had never appeared among
them. The native interpreters even grow old in our service as ignorant
of Christianity as the rudest savages who have never seen the face of
a white man.
The Church Missionary Society has had two Missionaries stationed at
Red River settlement for some years past, one of whom is designated
the Company's Chaplain, and is allowed 100l. per annum; the Roman
Catholic bishop, too, receives his 100l., and doubtless understands,
without any inspiration, the Company's policy in granting the annuity.
The gentleman who conducts the academy has also 100l. a-year; thus we
have 300l., forming the sum total of the "great expenses" the Company
are at. It is quite true there are thirteen schools at Red River;
there are also eighteen windmills, and the Company furnishes just as
much wind for the mills as funds for the support of the schools or
teachers. Other teachers than those above specified I have neither
seen nor heard of.
Some years ago five Missionaries were sent out to the Hudson's Bay
territory by the Wesleyan Missionary Society. After having laboured
for some time in the territory, by a decision of the Council the rank
of commissioned gentleman, together with the usual allowances attached
to that rank, was conferred on them.
The Missionaries had every reason to be grateful for these acts of
kindness, and they both felt and expressed their gratitude. Their
object, however, in coming to the country was to serve God, not the
Hudson's Bay Company; and they proceeded to discharge their duty in
the manner their conscience approved, instructing and enlightening
the natives with the zeal and perseverance for which their sect is
so eminently distinguished. The good fruits were soon apparent; in
some parts of the country successful attempts were made to collect
the natives: they were taught to cultivate the soil, to husband
their produce, so as to render them less dependent on fortuitous
circumstances for a living; they were taught to read and write, and to
worship God "in spirit and in truth," and numbers "were daily added
to the Church;" when, lo! it was discovered that the time devoted
to religious exercises, and other duties arising out of the altered
circumstances of the converts, was so much time lost to the fur-hunt;
and from the moment this discovery was made, no further encouragement
was given to the innovators. Their labours were strictly confined to
the stations they originally occupied, and every obstacle was thrown
in the way of extending their missions. Even after some of them
had travelled into the remotest parts, and opened up an amicable
intercourse with the natives, they were told that collecting the
Indians into villages was a measure not to be thought of, as the
habitual indolence of the natives precluded the idea of their being
induced to cultivate the soil; that even if they were so inclined, the
country presented few localities fit for the purpose, &c.
Notwithstanding the high authority whence these allegations emanated,
I think I can show the reader that they are in a great measure without
foundation.
Here (in lat. 61° north)[2] we raise crops of barley and potatoes--the
former in abundance every year,--the latter, however, are sometimes
cut off by the frosts; but this is no more than happens in Canada,
and many parts of the United States. The fact is, that there are many
favourable situations for agriculture to be found in every district of
the Company's territories, except perhaps one or two on the shores of
Hudson's Bay. The banks of the Athabasca, Peace, Slave, and McKenzie
rivers present many localities fit for farming operations; and in the
more southern districts they are, of course, far more frequent.
[Footnote 2: On the banks of the McKenzie River.]
Had the Protestant ministers been allowed a free scope, and the
encouragement they at first received been continued, they would ere
now have had Missions established in many districts; and there can
hardly be a doubt that they would have succeeded here, as elsewhere,
in overcoming the natural sloth of the natives. Their good intentions,
however, have been frustrated, and they have now the additional
mortification of finding themselves supplanted by Romish priests, who,
no later than last year, were allowed a free passage in the Company's
craft, even to a district where a Protestant Missionary had been
settled for several years previously, and had made considerable
progress in converting the natives. Not only was he allowed a passage
to the district, but he was lodged and entertained in the Company's
establishment.
The consequences of this strange procedure are obvious: the poor
ignorant natives, hearing such conflicting doctrines, are at a loss
what to think or what to believe; and, naturally enough, conclude that
both are alike impostors, and therefore in many cases decline their
instructions. It must be acknowledged, however, that the Romish priest
is often more successful than the Protestant missionary, and that
for obvious reasons. With the former, the Indian needs only profess
a desire to become a Christian, and he is forthwith baptized; whereas
with the latter, a probationary course--a trial of the proselyte's
sincerity--is deemed indispensable. The peculiar dress, moreover,
of the Romish ministers, and their imposing ritual, make a great
impression on the senses of a barbarous people.
"_He_ indeed," say the Indians, when speaking of the priest, "he
indeed looks like a great 'man of medicine;' but these others are just
like our traders; we can see no difference."
The fact, too, need not be disguised, that we ourselves find the
priests far more accommodating than these meddling parsons. The
priests, for instance, allow us to amuse ourselves in any manner we
think fit, week-day or Sunday; and far from finding fault, ten to
one if they don't join in the sport; the Protestant minister, on
the contrary, never allows a violation of the sacred day to pass
unnoticed, nor fails to warn the delinquent of the consequences.
The priest connives at the Indian's hunting on Sunday--the minister
strictly forbids it: the priests are single--the ministers are
generally married, and their maintenance of course involves a far
heavier expense. Considering these things, no reasonable person can
surely find fault with us for preferring those who allow us to put
what construction we please on the moral law, and at the same time
oppose no obstacles to the advancement of our temporal interests.
And here I cannot but express my regret that our Protestant churches
should have so long neglected the cultivation of a field that promised
such rich harvests as the interior of America. The superstitions
of the aborigines scattered through the Hudson's Bay Company's
territories are so gross, and so inconsistent with unsophisticated
common sense; and their prejudices in favour of them have been so much
shaken by their intercourse with the gentlemen of the trading posts
and the other Europeans, whom they are accustomed to look up to as
beings of a superior race, that there could be but little difficulty
in removing what _remains_ of these prejudices; and thus one of the
greatest obstacles to the success of a Missionary in other parts of
the heathen world, can scarcely be said to exist among them.
The Church of England, it is true, has done a little, but she might
have done more--much more. Had the Missionaries at Red River exerted
themselves, from the time of their first arrival in the country, in
educating _natives_ as Missionaries, and sent them forth to preach
the Word, the pure doctrines of Christianity would, ere now, have been
widely disseminated through the land. But nothing of this kind has
been attempted: nor could it be attempted--now that I think of it--the
laying on of "the hands of a Bishop" being indispensable.
As to the diseased and infirm being frequently left at our posts in
winter, all I can say is, that I have never seen any such at any
of the posts I wintered at, or at any of the posts I visited; nor
is it likely that, when we ourselves depend on the natives for a
considerable part of our subsistence, we can do much to support them.
We support neither old nor young, diseased nor infirm--that is the
truth.
In the work above quoted I find the following paragraph relating to
the North-West Company.
"Although the rivalry of the North-West Company had the effect of
inspiriting and extending the trade; it was carried by them in many
respects beyond the legitimate limits, not scrupling at open violence
and bloodshed, in which Europeans and natives were alike sufferers."
The controversy between those rival companies has long since been
forgotten; but the subject being again obtruded on the public notice,
evidently in the spirit of prejudice, there can be nothing improper, I
presume, in representing matters in their true and proper light. Many
of the individuals thus calumniated are still alive and settled in the
civilized world, where they are esteemed for qualities diametrically
opposite to those ascribed to them by their slanderer.
It is well known that the chief advantages the Hudson's Bay Company
now possess, they owe to the adventurous North-West traders; by these
traders the whole interior of the savage wilds was first explored; by
them the water communications were first discovered and opened up
to commercial enterprise; by them the first trading posts were
established in the interior; by them the natives were first reconciled
to the whites; and by them the trade was first reduced to the regular
system which the Hudson's Bay Company still follows. When all this
had been done by the North-West Company, and they had begun to
reap the reward of their toils, and hardships, and dangers, and
expenditure--then did the Honourable Hudson's Bay Company, led on by
a British peer, step forward and claim, as British subjects, an equal
right to share the trade.
Their _noble_ leader appeared first in Montreal in the guise of a
traveller, where he was received by the North-Westers with open arms,
was kindly and hospitably entertained by them, his minutest inquiries
regarding their system of trade were candidly and freely answered;
and the information thus obtained in the character of a traveller,
a guest, and a friend, he forthwith proceeded to use to effect
their ruin. Had, however, the North-West Company continued true to
themselves, all his arts and attempts would have failed. Had not
dissension arisen in the ranks, it is clear that _they_--not
the Hudson's Bay Company--would have granted the capitulation.
Unfortunately for themselves, however, the partners in the interior,
seeing the contest continue so long, and the expenses swallow up all
the profits, despaired of the success that was almost within their
grasp, and commencing a correspondence among themselves, finally
determined on opening a negotiation with their rivals. Two of their
number were accordingly sent home, invested with full powers to
act for the general interest. Those gentlemen arrived just as the
Directors of the North-West Company in London were about to conclude
a most advantageous treaty--a few days more, and the articles had been
ratified by the signatures of both parties. At this conjuncture the
Delegates arrived, and instead of first communicating with their own
Directors, went straight to the Hudson's Bay House, and presented
their credentials. The Hudson's Bay Company saw their advantage, and
instead of receiving, now dictated the terms; and thus the name of the
North-West Company was merged in that of its rival, and the Canadian
people were deprived of all interest in that trade which owed its
origin to the courage and enterprise of their forefathers.
Such were the relative circumstances of the Hudson's Bay and
North-West Companies. From 1674 to 1813 the Hudson's Bay Company
slumbered at its posts along the shores of Hudson's Bay, never
attempting to penetrate beyond the banks of the Saskatchewan, until
the North-Westers had led and cleared the way; and in this manner
began their rivalry. That collisions should follow, marked by violence
and outrage, need not be wondered at. But violence and outrage were
not confined to one side; both parties exceeded the limits prescribed
by law. Yet while stern justice alike condemns both, which is the more
guilty party? or which has the greater claims on our sympathy?
As to the North-West Company being guilty of the blood of innocent
Indians,--the charge is as false as it is invidious. When the blood
of their servants was shed without cause or provocation, as frequently
happened when they first encountered the fierce savage, they punished
the aggressors as the law of God allows, demanding "blood for blood."
But while the author (or rather his informant, whose _ribbon_ I
can plainly distinguish, although he strikes in the dark) so freely
censures the North-West Company for avenging the murder of their
people, does he mean to insinuate that nothing of the kind is done
under the _humane_ and _gentle_ rule of the Hudson's Bay Company?
What became of the Hannah Bay murderers? They were conveyed to Moose
Factory, bound hand and foot, and there shot down by the orders of
the Chief Factor. Did the murders committed by the natives at New
Caledonia, Thompson's River, and the Columbia, pass unavenged? No! the
penalty was fully paid in blood for blood.
But since the author's informant seems disposed to "rake up the
smouldering embers" of days bygone, I shall take the liberty of
telling him of a tragedy that was enacted at the ancient date of
1836-7. In that winter, a party of men, led by two clerks, was sent
to look for some horses that were grazing at a considerable distance
from the post. As they approached the spot they perceived a band of
Assineboine Indians, eight in number (if I remember aright), on an
adjacent hill, who immediately joined them, and, delivering up their
arms, encamped with them for the night. Next morning a _court martial_
was held by the two clerks and some of the men, to determine the
punishment due to the Indians for having been found near the company's
horses, with the _supposed_ intention of carrying them off. What was
the decision of this mock court martial? I shudder to relate, that the
whole band, after having given up their arms, and partaken of their
hospitality, were condemned to death, and the sentence carried into
execution on the spot,--all were butchered in cold blood!
With the exception of the massacre of the Indians in McKenzie's River
district in 1835, no such deed of blood had been heard of in the
country. Yet our author's _impartial_ informant, perfectly acquainted
as he was with all the circumstances of the case, and ready enough
as he is to trumpet to the world the alleged crimes of the North-West
Company, takes no notice of it! It may be said that the Company are
not answerable for crimes committed by their servants without their
knowledge. True; but when they are made fully acquainted with those
misdeeds, and allow the perpetrators to escape with impunity, the
guilt is transferred to their own head; "invitat culpam qui peccatum
præterit." The proceedings of this court-martial were reported at
head-quarters, and the punishment awarded to these murderers was--a
reprimand! After this, what protection, or generosity, or justice, can
the Indians he said to receive from the Hudson's Bay Company?
The Indians to this day talk of their Northwest "fathers" with regret.
"Our old traders, our fathers, did not serve us so," is a remark
I have frequently heard in every part of the country where the
North-West Company had established posts. Had their rule been
distinguished by oppression or injustice, the natives would rather
have expressed their satisfaction at its suppression; had it been
tyrannical or oppressive, it would not have been long tolerated. The
natives in those times were numerous and warlike; the trading-posts
were isolated and far apart; and in the summer season, when the
managers proceeded to the dépôts, with the greater part of their
people, were entirely at the mercy of the natives, who would not have
failed to take advantage of such opportunities to avenge their wrongs,
had they suffered any. The posts, in fact, were left entirely to their
protection, and depended on them for support during the absence of the
traders, who, on their return in autumn, found themselves surrounded
by hundreds of rejoicing Indians, greeting their "fathers" with every
manifestation of delight;--he who had not a gun to fire strained his
lungs with shouting.
The native population has decreased at an extraordinary rate since
those times. I do not mean to affirm that this decrease arises from
the Hudson's Bay Company's treatment of them; but, from whatever cause
arising, it is quite certain they have greatly decreased. Neither can
it be denied, that the natives are no longer the manly, independent
race they formerly were. On the contrary, we now find them gloomy and
dispirited, unhappy and discontented.
As to our vaunted "generosity" to the natives, I am at a loss to know
in what it consists. When a band of Indians arrive at a trading post,
each individual is presented with a few inches of tobacco; here (at
Fort Simpson) in winter we add a fish to each. After their furs are
traded, a few flints, awls, and hooks, and a trifle of ammunition is
given them, in proportion to their hunts, and then--"Va-t-en." This is
about the average amount of "generosity" they receive throughout the
country; varied, however, by the differences of disposition observable
in the Hudson's Bay Company's traders, as among all other mortals.
Some of us would even withhold the awls and hooks, if we could;
others, at the risk of being "hauled up" for extravagance, would add
another hook to the number.
Were the Company's standing rules and regulations acted upon, we might
perhaps have some title to the generosity we boast of. In these rules
we are directed to supply _poor_ Indians with ammunition and fishing
tackle, gratis. This looks very well on paper; but are we allowed the
means of bestowing these gratuities? Certainly not.[3] Our outfits,
in many cases, are barely sufficient to meet the exigencies of the
trade; they are continually reduced in proportion to the decrease in
the returns; and the strictest economy is not only recommended, but
enforced. On the due fulfilment of these commands our prospects in
the service depend; and few indeed will think of violating them, or of
sacrificing their own interests to benefit Indians. I repeat that, far
from having it in our power to bestow anything gratuitously, we are
happy when allowed sufficient means to barter for the furs the Indians
bring us.
[Footnote 3: When the Israelites were ordered to provide straw for
their bricks, the material _could_ be procured in Egypt, although at
the expense of great additional toil;--not so the supplies for the
Indian trade; in the event of a deficiency, neither money nor labour
can procure them.]
The Company also make it appear by their standing rules, that we are
directed to instruct the children, to teach the servants, &c.; but
where are the means of doing so? A few books, I have been told, were
sent out for this purpose, after the coalition; what became of them
I know not. I never saw any. The history of commercial rule is well
known to the world; the object of that rule, wherever established, or
by whomsoever exercised, is gain. In our intercourse with the natives
of America no other object is discernible, no other object is thought
of, no other object is allowed.