RED RIVER SETTLEMENT--ORIGIN OF THE COLONY--OPPOSITION TIMES AND
ANECDOTES--THE FLOOD OF 1826--CLIMATE--BEING BROKEN-IN--MR. SIMPSON, THE
ARCTIC DISCOVERER--THE MACKENZIE RIVER BRIGADE.
Red River Settlement is, to use a high-flown expression, an oasis in the
desert, and may be likened to a spot upon the moon or a solitary ship
upon the ocean. In plain English, it is an isolated settlement on the
borders of one of the vast prairies of North America. It is situated
partly on the banks of Red River, and partly on the banks of a smaller
stream called the Assinaboine, in latitude 50 degrees, and extends
upwards of fifty miles along the banks of these two streams. The
country around it is a vast treeless prairie, upon which scarcely a
shrub is to be seen; but a thick coat of grass covers it throughout its
entire extent, with the exception of a few spots where the hollowness of
the ground has collected a little moisture, or the meandering of some
small stream or rivulet enriches the soil, and covers its banks with
verdant shrubs and trees.
The banks of the Red and Assinaboine Rivers are covered with a thick
belt of woodland--which does not, however, extend far back into the
plains. It is composed of oak, poplar, willows, etcetera, the first of
which is much used for fire-wood by the settlers. The larger timber in
the adjacent woods is thus being rapidly thinned.
The settlers are a mixture of French Canadians, Scotchmen, and Indians.
The first of these occupy the upper part of the settlement, the second
live near the middle, and the Indians inhabit a village at its lower
extremity.
There are four Protestant churches: the upper, middle, and lower
churches, and one at the Indian settlement. There are also two Roman
Catholic chapels, some priests, and a Roman Catholic bishop resident in
the colony, besides one or two schools; the principal being, as before
mentioned, under the superintendence of Mr McAllum, who has since been
ordained by the Bishop of Montreal, during that prelate's visit to Red
River [see note 1].
For the preservation of the peace, and the punishment of evil-doers, a
Recorder and body of magistrates are provided, who assemble every
quarter at Fort Garry, the seat of the court-house, for the purpose of
redressing wrongs, punishing crimes, giving good advice, and eating an
excellent dinner at the Company's table. There was once, also, a body
of policemen; but, strange to say, they were chosen from among the most
turbulent of the settlers, and were never expected to be on duty except
when a riot took place: the policemen themselves generally being the
ringleaders on those occasions, it may be supposed they did not
materially assist in quelling disturbances.
The Scotch and Indian settlers cultivate wheat, barley, and Indian corn
in abundance; for which the only market is that afforded by the Company,
the more wealthy settlers, and retired chief factors. This market,
however, is a poor one, and in years of plenty the settlers find it
difficult to dispose of their surplus produce. Wild fruits of various
descriptions are abundant, and the gardens are well stocked with
vegetables. The settlers have plenty of sheep, pigs, poultry, and
horned cattle; and there is scarcely a man in the place who does not
drive to church on Sundays in his own cariole.
Red River is a populous settlement; the census taken in 1843 proved it
to contain upwards of 5,000 souls, and since then it has been rapidly
increasing.
There is a paper currency in the settlement, which obviates the
necessity of having coin afloat. English pence and halfpence, however,
are plentiful. The lowest paper note is one shilling sterling, the next
five shillings, and the highest twenty shillings. The Canadian settlers
and half-breeds are employed, during the greater part of the year, in
travelling with the Company's boats and in buffalo-hunting. The Scotch
settlers are chiefly farmers, tradesmen, and merchants.
The rivers, which are crossed in wooden canoes, in the absence of
bridges, are well stocked with fish, the principal kinds being goldeyes,
sturgeon, and catfish. Of these, I think the goldeyes the best; at any
rate, they are the most numerous. The wild animals inhabiting the woods
and prairies are much the same as in the other parts of North America--
namely, wolves, foxes, brown and black bears, martens, minks, musquash,
rabbits, etcetera; while the woods are filled with game, the marshes and
ponds with ducks, geese, swans, cranes, and a host of other water-fowl.
Red River was first settled upon by the fur-traders, who established a
trading-post many years ago on its banks; but it did not assume the
character of a colony till 1811, when Lord Selkirk sent out a number of
emigrants to form a settlement in the wild regions of the North-West.
Norwegians, Danes, Scotch, and Irish composed the motley crew; but the
great bulk of the colonists then, as at the present time, consisted of
Scotchmen and Canadians. Unlike other settlements in a wild country
inhabited by Indians, the infant colony had few difficulties to contend
with at the outset. The Indians were friendly, and had become
accustomed to white men, from their previous contact for many years with
the servants of the Hudson Bay Company; so, with the exception of one or
two broils among themselves and other fur-traders, the colonists plodded
peacefully along. On one occasion, however, the Hudson Bay Company and
the North-West Company, who were long at enmity with each other, had a
sharp skirmish, in which Mr Semple, then Governor of the Hudson Bay
Company, was killed, and a number of his men were killed and wounded.
The whole affair originated very foolishly. A body of men had been
observed from the walls of Fort Garry, travelling past the fort; and as
Governor Semple wished to ascertain their intentions, he sallied forth
with a few men to intercept them, and demand their object. The
North-West party, on seeing a body of men coming towards them from the
fort, halted till they came up; and Cuthbert Grant, who was in command,
asked what they wanted. Governor Semple required to know where they
were going. Being answered in a surly manner, an altercation took place
between the two parties (of which the North-West was the stronger); in
the middle of which a shot was unfortunately fired by one of the Hudson
Bay party. It was never known who fired this shot, and many believe
that it was discharged accidentally; at any rate, no one was injured by
it. The moment the report was heard, a volley was fired by the
North-Westers upon the Hudson Bay party, which killed a few, and wounded
many; among the latter was Governor Semple. Cuthbert Grant did his
utmost to keep back the fierce half-castes under his command, but
without avail; and at last, seeing that this was impossible, he stood
over the wounded Semple, and endeavoured to defend him. In this he
succeeded for some time; but a shot from behind at last took effect in
the unfortunate governor's body, and killed him. After this, the
remainder of his party fled to the fort, and the victorious half-breeds
pursued their way.
During the time that these two companies opposed each other, the country
was in a state of constant turmoil and excitement. Personal conflicts
with fists between the men--and, not unfrequently, the gentlemen--of the
opposing parties were of the commonest occurrence, and frequently more
deadly weapons were resorted to. Spirits were distributed among the
wretched natives to a dreadful extent, and the scenes that sometimes
ensued were disgusting in the extreme. Amid all this, however,
stratagem was more frequently resorted to than open violence by the two
companies, in their endeavours to prevent each other from procuring furs
from the Indians. Men were constantly kept on the lookout for parties
of natives returning from hunting expeditions; and those who could
arrive first at the encampment always carried off the furs. The Indians
did not care which company got them--"first come, first served," was the
order of the day; and both were equally welcome, provided they brought
plenty of _fire-water_.
Although the individuals of the two companies were thus almost always at
enmity, at the forts, strange to say, they often acted in the most
friendly manner to each other; and (except when furs were in question)
more agreeable or friendly neighbours seldom came together than the
Hudson Bay and North-West Companies, when they planted their forts
(which they often did) within two hundred yards of each other in the
wilds of North America. The clerks and labourers of the opposing
establishments constantly visited each other; and during the Christmas
and New-Year's holidays parties and balls were given without number.
Dances, however, were not confined entirely to the holidays; but
whenever one was given at an unusual time, it was generally for the
purpose of drawing the attention of the entertained party from some
movement of their entertainers.
Thus, upon one occasion the Hudson Bay Company's lookout reported that
he had discovered the tracks of Indians in the snow, and that he thought
they had just returned from a hunting expedition. No sooner was this
heard than a grand ball was given to the North-West Company, Great
preparations were made; the men, dressed in their newest capotes and
gaudiest hat-cords, visited each other, and nothing was thought of or
talked of but the ball. The evening came, and with it the guests; and
soon might be heard within the fort sounds of merriment and revelry, as
they danced, in lively measures, to a Scottish reel, played by some
native fiddler upon a violin of his own construction. Without the
gates, however, a very different scene met the eye. Down in a hollow,
where the lofty trees and dense underwood threw a shadow on the ground,
a knot of men might be seen, muffled in their leathern coats and fur
caps, hurrying to and fro with bundles on their backs and snow-shoes
under their arms; packing and tying them firmly on trains of
dog-sledges, which stood, with the dogs ready harnessed, in the shadow
of the bushes. The men whispered eagerly and hurriedly to each other as
they packed their goods, while others held the dogs, and patted them to
keep them quiet; evidently showing that, whatever was their object,
expedition and secrecy were necessary. Soon all was in readiness: the
bells, which usually tinkled on the dogs' necks, were unhooked and
packed in the sledges; an active-looking man sprang forward and set off
at a round trot over the snow, and a single crack of the whip sent four
sledges, each with a train of four or five dogs, after him, while two
other men brought up the rear. For a time the muffled sound of the
sledges was heard as they slid over the snow, while now and then the
whine of a dog broke upon the ear, as the impatient drivers urged them
along. Gradually these sounds died away, and nothing was heard but the
faint echoes of music and mirth, which floated on the frosty night-wind,
giving token that the revellers still kept up the dance, and were
ignorant of the departure of the trains.
Late on the following day the Nor'-West scouts reported the party of
Indians, and soon a set of sleighs departed from the fort with
loudly-ringing bells. After a long day's march of forty miles, they
reached the encampment, where they found all the Indians dead drunk, and
not a skin, not even the remnant of a musquash, left to repay them for
their trouble! Then it was that they discovered the _ruse_ of the ball,
and vowed to have their revenge.
Opportunity was not long wanting. Soon after this occurrence, one of
their parties met a Hudson Bay train on its way to trade with the
Indians, of whom they also were in search. They exchanged compliments
with each other, and, as the day was very cold, proposed lighting a fire
and taking a dram together. Soon five or six goodly trees yielded to
their vigorous blows, and fell crashing to the ground; and in a few
minutes one of the party, lighting a sulphur match with his flint and
steel, set fire to a huge pile of logs, which crackled and burned
furiously, sending up clouds of sparks into the wintry sky, and casting
a warm tinge upon the anew and the surrounding trees. The canteen was
quickly produced, and they told their stories and adventures while the
liquor mounted to their brains. The Nor'-Westers, however, after a
little time, spilled their grog on the snow, unperceived by the others,
so that they kept tolerably sober, while their rivals became very much
elevated; and at last they began boasting of their superior powers of
drinking, and, as a proof, each of them swallowed a large bumper. The
Hudson Bay party, who were nearly dead drunk by this time, of course
followed their example, and almost instantly fell in a heavy sleep on
the snow. In ten minutes more they were tied firmly upon their sledges,
and the dogs being turned homewards, away they went straight for the
Hudson Bay Fort, where they soon after arrived, the men still sound
asleep; while the Nor'-Westers started for the Indian camp, and this
time, at least, had the furs all to themselves.
Such were the scenes that took place thirty years ago in the northern
wildernesses of America. Since then, the two companies have joined,
retaining the name of the richer and more powerful of the two--the
"Hudson Bay Company." Spirits were still imported after the junction;
but of late years they have been dispensed with throughout the country,
except at the colony of Red River, and the few posts where opposition is
carried on by the American fur-companies; so that now the poor savage no
longer grovels in the dust of his native wilderness under the influence
of the white man's fire-water, and the stranger who travels through
those wild romantic regions no longer beholds the humiliating scenes or
hears of the frightful crimes which were seen and heard of too often in
former days, and which always have been, and always must be, prevalent
wherever spirituous liquors, the great curse of mankind, are plentiful,
and particularly where, as in that country, the wild inhabitants fear no
laws, human or divine.
In the year 1826, Red River overflowed its banks, and flooded the whole
settlement, obliging the settlers to forsake their houses, and drive
their horses and cattle to the trifling eminences in the immediate
vicinity. These eminences wore few and very small, so that during the
flood they presented a curious appearance, being crowded with men,
women, and children, horses, cattle, sheep, and poultry. The houses,
being made of wood, and only built on the ground, not sunk into it, were
carried away by dozens, and great numbers of horses and cattle were
drowned. During the time it lasted, the settlers sailed and paddled
among their houses in boats and canoes; and they now point out, among
the waving grass and verdant bushes, the spot where they dwelt in their
tents, or paddled about the deep waters in their canoes, in the "year of
the flood." This way of speaking has a strangely antediluvian sound.
The hale, middle-aged colonist will tell you, with a ludicrously grave
countenance, that his house stood on such a spot, or such and such an
event happened, "_a year before the flood_."
Fort Garry, the principal establishment of the Hudson Bay Company,
stands on the banks of the Assinaboine River, about two hundred yards
from its junction with Red River. It is a square stone building, with
bastions pierced for cannon at the corners. The principal
dwelling-houses, stores, and offices are built within the walls, and the
stables at a small distance from the fort. The situation is pretty and
quiet; but the surrounding country is too flat for the lover of the
grand and picturesque. Just in front of the gate runs, or rather
glides, the peaceful Assinaboine, where, on a fine day in autumn, may be
seen thousands of goldeyes playing in its limpid waters.
On the left extends the woodland fringing the river, with here and there
a clump of smaller trees and willows surrounding the swamps formed by
the melting snows of spring, where flocks of wild-ducks and noisy plover
give animation to the scene, while through the openings in the forest
are seen glimpses of the rolling prairie. Down in the hollow, where the
stables stand, are always to be seen a few horses and cows, feeding or
lazily chewing their cud in the rich pasturage, giving an air of repose
to the scene, which contrasts forcibly with the view of the wide plains
that roll out like a vast green sea from the back of the fort, studded
here and there with little islets and hillocks, around which may be seen
hovering a watchful hawk or solitary raven.
The climate of Red River is salubrious and agreeable. Winter commences
about the month of November, and spring generally begins in April.
Although the winter is very long, and extremely cold (the thermometer
usually varying between ten and thirty degrees below _zero)_, yet, from
its being always _dry_ frost, it is much more agreeable than people
accustomed to the damp thawy weather of Great Britain might suppose.
Winter is here the liveliest season of the year. It is then that the
wild, demi-savage colonist leads the blushing half-breed girl to the
altar, and the country about his house rings with the music of the
sleigh bells, as his friends assemble to congratulate the happy pair,
and dance for three successive days. It is at this season the hardy
_voyageurs_ rest from their toils, and, circling round the blazing fire,
recount many a tale of danger, and paint many a wild romantic scene of
their long and tedious voyages among the lakes and rapids of the
interior; while their wives and children gaze with breathless interest
upon their swarthy, sunburned faces, lighted up with animation as they
recall the scenes of other days, or, with low and solemn voice, relate
the death of a friend and fellow _voyageur_ who perished among the
foaming cataracts of the wilderness.
During the summer months there are often very severe thunderstorms,
accompanied with tremendous showers of hail, which do great mischief to
the crops and houses. The hailstones are of an enormous size--upwards
of an inch in diameter; and on two or three occasions they broke all the
windows in Fort Garry that were exposed to the storm.
Generally speaking, however, the weather is serene and calm,
particularly in autumn, and during the delicious season peculiar to
America called the Indian summer, which precedes the commencement of
winter.
The scenery of Red River, as I said before, is neither grand nor
picturesque; yet, when the sun shines brightly on the waving grass and
glitters on the silver stream, and when the distant and varied cries of
wild-fowl break in plaintive cadence on the ear, one experiences a sweet
exulting happiness, akin to the feelings of the sailor when he gazes
forth at early morning on the polished surface of the sleeping sea.
Such is Red River, and such the scenes on which I gazed in wonder, as I
rode by the side of my friend and fellow-clerk, McKenny, on the evening
of my arrival at my new home. Mr McKenny was mounted on his handsome
horse "Colonel," while I cantered by his side on a horse that afterwards
bore me over many a mile of prairie land. It is not every day that one
has an opportunity of describing a horse like the one I then rode, so
the reader will be pleased to have a little patience while I draw his
portrait. In the first place, then, his name was "Taureau." He was of
a moderate height, of a brown colour, and had the general outlines of a
horse, when viewed as that animal might be supposed to appear if
reflected from the depths of a bad looking-glass. His chief peculiarity
was the great height of his hind-quarters, In youth they had outgrown
the fore-quarters, so that, upon a level road, you had all the
advantages of riding down-hill. He cantered delightfully, trotted
badly, walked slowly, and upon all and every occasion evinced a resolute
pig-headedness, and a strong disinclination to accommodate his will to
that of his rider. He was decidedly porcine in his disposition, very
plebeian in his manners, and doubtless also in his sentiments.
Such was the Bucephalus upon which I took my first ride over the Red
River prairie; now swaying to and fro on his back as we galloped over
the ground; anon _stotting_, in the manner of a recruit in a cavalry
regiment as yet unaccustomed to the saddle, when he trotted on the
beaten track; and occasionally, to the immense delight of McKenny,
seizing tight hold of the saddle, as an uncertain waver in my body
reminded me of Sir Isaac Newton's law of gravitation, and that any rash
departure on my part from my _understanding_ would infallibly lay me
prostrate on the ground.
Soon after my arrival I underwent the operation which my horse had
undergone before me--namely, that of being broken-in--the only
difference being that he was broken-in to the saddle and I to the desk.
It is needless to describe the agonies I endured while sitting, hour
after hour, on a long-legged stool, my limbs quivering for want of their
accustomed exercise, while the twittering of birds, barking of dogs,
lowing of cows, and neighing of horses seemed to invite me to join them
in the woods. Often, as my weary pen scratched slowly over the paper,
their voices seemed to change to hoarse derisive laughter, as if they
thought the little misshapen frogs croaking and whistling in the marshes
freer far than their proud masters, who coop themselves up in smoky
houses the livelong day, and call themselves the free, unshackled "lords
of the creation."
I soon became accustomed to these minor miseries of human life, and ere
long could sit:--
"From morn till night
To scratch and write
Upon a three-legged stool;
Nor mourn the joys
Of truant boys
Who stay away from school."
There is a proverb which says, "It is a poor heart that never rejoices."
Now, taking it for granted that the proverb speaks truth, and not
wishing by our disregard of it to be thought poor-hearted, we--that is,
McKenny and I--were in the habit of rejoicing our spirits occasionally--
not in the usual way, by drinking brandy and water (though we did
sometimes, when nobody knew it, indulge in a glass of beer, with the
red-hot poker thrust into it), but by shouldering our guns and sallying
forth to shoot the partridges, or rather grouse, which abound in the
woods of Red River. On these occasions McKenny and I used to range the
forest in company, enlivening our walk with converse, sometimes light
and cheerful, often philosophically deep, or thinking of the "light of
other days." We seldom went out without bringing home a few brace of
grey grouse, which were exceedingly tame--so tame, indeed, that
sometimes they did not take wing until two or three shots had been
fired. On one occasion, after walking about for half an hour without
getting a shot, we started a covey of seven, which alighted upon a tree
close at hand. We instantly fired at the two lowest, and brought them
down, while the others only stretched out their long necks, as if to see
what had happened to their comrades, but did not fly away. Two more
were soon shot; and while we were reloading our guns, the other three
flew off to a neighbouring tree. In a few minutes more they followed
their companions, and we had bagged the whole seven. This is by no
means an uncommon exploit when the birds are tame; and though poor
_sport_, yet it helps to fill your larder with somewhat better fare than
it would often contain without such assistance. The only thing that we
had to avoid was, aiming at the birds on the higher branches, as the
noise they make in falling frightens those below. The experienced
sportsman always begins with the lowest bird; and if they sit after the
first shot, he is almost sure of the rest.
Shooting, however, was not our only amusement. Sometimes, on a fine
evening, we used to saddle our horses and canter over the prairie till
Red River and the fort were scarcely visible in the horizon; or,
following the cart road along the settlement, we called upon our friends
and acquaintances, returning the polite "_Bonjour_" of the French
settler as he trotted past us on his shaggy pony, or smiling at the
pretty half-caste girls as they passed along the road. These same
girls, by the way, are generally very pretty; they make excellent wives,
and are uncommonly thrifty. With beads, and brightly-coloured
porcupines' quills, and silk, they work the most beautiful devices on
the moccasins, leggins, and leathern coats worn by the inhabitants; and
during the long winter months they spin and weave an excellent kind of
cloth from the wool produced by the sheep of the settlement, mixed with
that of the buffalo, brought from the prairies by the hunters.
About the middle of autumn the body of Mr Thomas Simpson, the
unfortunate discoverer, who, in company with Mr Dease, attempted to
discover the Nor'-West Passage, was brought to the settlement for
burial. Poor Mr Simpson had set out with a party of Red River
half-breeds, for the purpose of crossing the plains to St. Louis, and
proceeding thence through the United States to England. Soon after his
departure, however, several of the party returned to the settlement,
stating that Mr Simpson had, in a fit of insanity, killed two of his
men, and then shot himself, and that they had buried him on the spot
where he fell. This story, of course, created a great sensation in the
colony; and as all the party gave the same account of the affair upon
investigation, it was believed by many that he had committed suicide. A
few, however, thought that he had been murdered, and had shot the two
men in self-defence. In the autumn of 1841 the matter was ordered to be
further inquired into; and, accordingly, Dr Bunn was sent to the place
where Mr Simpson's body had been interred, for the purpose of raising
and examining it. Decomposition, however, had proceeded too far; so the
body was conveyed to the colony for burial, and Dr Bunn returned
without having discovered anything that could throw light on the
melancholy subject.
I did not know Mr Simpson personally, but, from the report of those who
did, it appears that, though a clever and honourable man, he was of
rather a haughty disposition, and in consequence was very much disliked
by the half-breeds of Red River. I therefore think, with many of Mr
Simpson's friends and former companions, that he did _not_ kill himself,
and that this was only a false report of his murderers. Besides, it is
not probable that a man who had just succeeded in making important
additions to our geographical knowledge, and who might reasonably expect
honour and remuneration upon returning to his native land, would,
without any known or apparent cause, first commit murder and then
suicide. By his melancholy death the Hudson Bay Company lost a faithful
servant, and the world an intelligent and enterprising man.
Winter, according to its ancient custom, passed away; and spring, not
with its genial gales and scented flowers, but with burning sun and
melting snow, changed the face of nature, and broke the icy covering of
Red River. Duffle coats vanished, and a few of the half-breed settlers
doffed their fur caps and donned the "bonnet rouge," while the more
hardy and savage contented themselves with the bonnet _noir_, in the
shape of their own thick black hair. Carioles still continued to run,
but it was merely from the force of habit, and it was evident they would
soon give up in despair. Sportsmen began to think of ducks and geese,
farmers of ploughs and wheat, and _voyageurs_ to dream of rapid streams
and waterfalls, and of distant voyages in light canoes.
Immediately upon the ice in the lakes and rivers breaking up, we made
arrangements for dispatching the Mackenzie River brigade--which is
always the first that leaves the colony--for the purpose of conveying
goods to Mackenzie River, and carrying furs to the sea-coast.
Choosing the men for this long and arduous voyage was an interesting
scene. L'Esperance, the old guide, who had many a day guided this
brigade through the lakes and rivers of the interior, made his
appearance at the fort a day or two before the time fixed for starting;
and at his heels followed a large band of wild, careless, happy-looking
half-breeds. Having collected in front of the office door, Mr McKenny
went out with a book and pencil in his hand, and told L'Esperance to
begin. The guide went a little apart from the rest, accompanied by the
steersmen of the boats (seven or eight in number), and then, scanning
the group of dark athletic men who stood smiling before him, called out,
"Pierre!" A tall, Herculean man answered to the call, and, stepping out
from among the rest, stood beside his friend the guide. After this one
of the steersmen chose another man; and so on, till the crews of all the
boats were completed. Their names were then marked down in a book, and
they all proceeded to the trading-room, for the purpose of taking
"advances," in the shape of shirts, trousers, bonnets, caps, tobacco,
knives, capotes, and all the other things necessary for a long, rough
journey.
On the day appointed for starting, the boats, to the number of six or
seven, were loaded with goods for the interior; and the _voyageurs_,
dressed in their new clothes, embarked, after shaking hands with, and in
many cases embracing, their comrades on the land; and then, shipping
their oars, they shot from the bank and rowed swiftly down Red River,
singing one of their beautiful boat-songs, which was every now and then
interrupted by several of the number hallooing a loud farewell, as they
passed here and there the cottages of friends.
With this brigade I also bade adieu to Red River, and, after a pleasant
voyage of a few days, landed at Norway House, while the boats pursued
their way.
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Red River Settlement is now (1875) very much changed, as, no doubt, the
reader is aware, and the foregoing description is in many respects
inapplicable.
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Note 1. The reader must bear in remembrance that this chapter was
written in 1847.