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TWO MONTHS IN THE CAMP OF BIG BEAR.
The Life and Adventures Of Theresa Gowanlock and Theresa Delaney
By Theresa Gowanlock and Theresa Delaney
CONTENTS.
PART I.
INTRODUCTION
WE LEAVE ONTARIO
INCIDENTS AT BATTLEFORD
ON TO OUR HOME
AT HOME
WOOD AND PLAIN INDIANS
THE MASSACRE
WITH THE INDIANS
PROTECTED BY HALF-BREEDS
THEY TAKE FORT PITT
COOKING FOR A LARGE FAMILY
INCIDENTS BY THE WAY
DANCING PARTIES
ANOTHER BATTLE
INDIAN BOYS
HOPE ALMOST DEFERRED
OUT OF BIG BEAR'S CAMP
RESCUED
WE LEAVE FOR HOME
AT HOME
TO ONE OF THE ABSENT
SHOT DOWN.
J. A. GOWANLOCK.
W. C. GILCHRIST.
PART II.
PREFACE.
MY YOUTH AND EARLY LIFE.
MY MARRIAGE LIFE.
THE NORTH-WEST TROUBLES.
CONCLUSION.
FATHER FAFARD.
THE SASKATCHEWAN STREAM.
MR. DILL.
ILLUSTRATIONS.
THE SCENE OF THE MASSACRE.
MRS GOWANLOCK.
SQUAW CARRYING WOOD.
WANDERING SPIRIT.
MR GOWANLOCK'S HOUSE, STORE AND MILL.
MR. GOWANLOCK.
MR. GILCHRIST.
THE WAR DANCE.
FROG LAKE SETTLEMENT.
MRS DELANEY.
MR DELANEY.
THE RESCUE.
FATHER FAFARD.
MR. DILL.
PART I.
INTRODUCTION.
It is not the desire of the author of this work to publish the incidents
which drenched a peaceful and prosperous settlement in blood, and
subjected the survivors to untold suffering and privations at the hands
of savages, in order to gratify a morbid craving for notoriety. During
all my perils and wanderings amid the snow and ice of that trackless
prairie, the hope that nerved me to struggle on, was, that if rescued,
I might within the sacred precincts of the paternal hearth, seek
seclusion, where loving hands would help me to bear the burden of my
sorrow, and try to make me forget at times, if they could not completely
efface from my memory, the frightful scenes enacted around that prairie
hamlet, which bereft me of my loved one, leaving my heart and fireside
desolate for ever. Prostrated by fatigue and exposure, distracted by the
constant dread of outrage and death, I had well-nigh abandoned all hope
of ever escaping from the Indians with my life, but, as the darkness of
the night is just before the dawn, so my fears which had increased until
I was in despair, God in his inscrutible way speedily calmed, for
while I was brooding over and preparing for my impending fate, a sudden
commotion attracted my attention and in less time than it takes to
write it, I was free. From that moment I received every kindness and
attention, and as I approached the confines of civilization, I became
aware of how diligently I had been sought after, and that for weeks I
had been the object of the tenderest solicitude, not only of my friends
and relations, but of the whole continent.
There have appeared so many conflicting statements in the public press
regarding my capture and treatment while with the Indians, that it is my
bounden duty to give to the public a truthful and accurate description
of my capture, detention and misfortunes while captive in the camp of
Big Bear. The task may be an irksome one and I might with justice
shrink from anything which would recall the past. Still it is a debt of
gratitude I owe to the people of this broad dominion. To the brave men
who sacrificed their business and comfort and endured the hardships
incident to a soldier's life, in order to vindicate the law. And to the
noble men and women who planned for the comfort and supplied the wants
of the gallant band who had so nobly responded to the call of duty and
cry for help. And I gladly embrace this opportunity of showing to the
public and especially the ladies, my appreciation of their kindness and
sympathy in my bereavement, and their noble and disinterested efforts
for my release. In undertaking a task which has no pleasures for me, and
has been accomplished under the most trying difficulties and with the
greatest physical suffering, I have embodied in the narrative a few of
the manners and customs of Indians, the leading features of the country,
only sufficient to render it clear and intelligible. I make no apology
for issuing this volume to the public as their unabated interest make it
manifest that they desire it, and I am only repaying a debt of gratitude
by giving a truthful narrative to correct false impressions, for their
kindness and sympathy to me.
I trust the public will receive the work in the spirit in which it is
given and any literary defects which it may have, and I am sure there
are many, may be overlooked, as I am only endeavoring to rectify error,
instead of aspiring to literary excellence. I express my sincere
and heartfelt thanks to the half-breeds who befriended me during my
captivity, and to the friends and public generally who sheltered and
assisted me in many ways and by many acts of kindness and sympathy, and
whose attention was unremitting until I had reached my destination.
And now I must bid the public a grateful farewell and seek my wished for
seclusion from which I would never have emerged but to perform a public
duty.
THERESA GOWANLOCK.
MRS. GOWANLOCK
CHAPTER I.
WE LEAVE ONTARIO.
We left my father's house at Tintern on the 7th of October, 1884, having
been married on the 1st, for Parkdale, where we spent a few days with my
husband's friends. We started for our home on the 10th by the Canadian
Pacific Railway to Owen Sound, thence by boat to Port Arthur, and then
on to Winnipeg by rail, where we stopped one night, going on the next
day to Regina. We only stopped in that place one day, taking rail again
to Swift Current, arriving there the same day. This ended our travel by
the locomotion of steam.
After taking in a supply of provisions we made a start for Battleford,
distant 195 miles, by buckboard over the prairie, which stretches out
about 130 miles in length, and for the remaining 55 miles there are
clumps of trees or bluffs as they are called, scattered here and there.
Our journey over this part was very pleasant, the weather was fine and
the mode of travelling, which was new to me, delightful. Our company,
consisted in addition to ourselves, of only one person, Mr. Levalley, a
gentleman from Ottawa. We passed four nights under canvas. The journey
was not a lonely one, the ships of the prairie were continually on
the go, we passed several companies of freighters with harnessed oxen,
half-breeds and Indians. It was also full of incident and adventure; on
one occasion, when cooking our tea, we set fire to the prairie, although
we worked hard to put it out, it in a very few minutes spread in a
most alarming manner, and entirely beyond our control, and we let it
go looking on enjoying the scene. Upon nearing Battleford a number of
half-famished squaws came to us begging for something to eat, but we
were not in a position, unfortunately, to supply their wants, on account
of our larder having run dry. We entered Battleford on the 19th of
October.
The town of Battleford is situated on the Battle river. The old on
one side, the new on the other, in the direction of the fort. When the
Indians plundered that place it was the town on the south bank. The
houses on the opposite bank were protected by the guns at the fort. My
husband had a store on the north bank in the direction of the fort.
The town is very scattered, covering a large area of ground, it is
verily a place of distances and quite in keeping with the north-west
generally. There are a few fine houses in the place, notably, the
industrial home for Indian children and the residence of Judge Rolleau.