1812-1815.
The Bois-Brulés -- Simon McGillivray's Letter -- Frightening
the Settlers -- A second Brigade -- Governor McDonnell's
Manifesto -- Defection of Northmen to the Company --
Robertson's Expedition to Athabasca -- Affairs at Red River --
Cameron and McDonell in uniform -- Cuthbert Grant -- Miles
McDonnell arrested -- Fort William -- News brought to the
Northmen -- Their confiscated account-books -- War of 1812
concluded.
[Sidenote: The Bois-Brulés.]
There had lately been witnessed the rapid growth of a new
class--sprung from the loins of Red man and European. Alert, rugged,
turbulent, they evinced at the same time a passionate love of the life
and manners of the wilderness, and a fierce intractability which could
hardly fail to cause occasional uneasiness in the minds of their
masters. To this class had been given the name of Métis, or
Bois-Brulés. They were principally the descendants of the French
voyageurs of the North-West concern, who had allied themselves with
Indian women and settled down on the shore of some lake or stream in
the interior. Amongst these half-breeds hunters and trappers came, and
at a later period a number of Englishmen and Scotchmen, hardly less
strongly linked to a wild, hardy life than themselves. These also took
Indian wives, and they and their children spoke of themselves as
neither English, Scotch, or Indian, but as belonging to the "New
Nation."
From 1812 to 1821 the North-West concern absorbed all the labours and
exacted the loyalty of the increasing class of Bois-Brulés. The
Hudson's Bay Company was exclusively an English company, and their
Scotch and English servants had left few traces of an alliance with
the aborigines. As the posts in the interior began to multiply, and
the men were thus cut off from the larger society which obtained at
York, Cumberland and Moose factories, and were thrown more upon their
own resources, a laxer discipline prevailed, and the example of their
neighbours was followed. A time was to come when the "Orkney
half-breeds" equalled in point of numbers those of the French
Bois-Brulés.
[Illustration: A BOIS-BRULÉ.]
There were yet few half-breeds of English extraction. The Bois-Brulés
were passionately attached to the North-West company, who were quick
to recognize their value as agents amongst the Indians. The idea of
nationality, so far from being frowned upon, was encouraged amongst
them. So much for the instruments which the Company proposed to employ
in Montreal.
It was only natural that amongst this rude race there should arise a
leader, a half-breed to whose superior ability and natural advantages
was added an education in Montreal, the seat of the co-partnery.
Cuthbert Grant, which was the name this individual bore, was known far
and wide amongst the hunters and trappers of Rupert's Land, and
everywhere commanded homage and respect. He had risen to be one of the
most enterprising and valued agents of the Nor'-Westers, and was
constantly admitted to their councils.
On the 22nd of May, 1811, at which period the matter was in embryo in
London, Simon McGillivray had frankly declared to Miles McDonnell,
agent to Lord Selkirk, that he was "determined to give all the
opposition in his power, whatever might be the consequences," because,
in his opinion, "such a settlement struck at the root of the
North-West company, which it was intended to ruin."[96]
By way of argument, this gentleman took it upon himself to inform the
Hudson's Bay Company that the proposed settlement was foredoomed to
destruction, inasmuch as it "must at all times lie at the mercy of the
Indians," who would not be bound by treaties, and that "one North-West
Company's interpreter would be able at any time to set the Indians
against the settlers and destroy them."
[Sidenote: Defections from the North-West Company.]
Selkirk was now informed that there were several clerks who had been
many years in the service of the Northmen, and who were disaffected in
that service. They grumbled at not having been sooner promoted to the
proprietary--that the claims of the old and faithful were too often
passed over for those of younger men of little experience, because
they were related to the partners. The Earl was not slow to avail
himself of this advantage. It became a matter of importance to
persuade as many as possible of these dissatisfied spirits to join his
scheme, by the offer of large salaries, and several accepted his offer
with alacrity. Amongst the most enterprising was one Colin Robertson,
a trader who had often ventured his life amongst the tribes and
half-breeds, to forward the interests of his establishment. He
possessed a perfect knowledge of the interior and of the fur-trade,
and to him Lord Selkirk entrusted the chief management of the latter
for the Company. Robertson was well convinced of the superiority of
the Canadian voyageurs over the Orkneymen, in the management of
canoes, for example, and he proceeded to engage a number of them in
Montreal at a much higher wage than they had received hitherto.
To Robertson's counsels must be ascribed much of the invigoration
which now began to mark the policy of the Company. His letters to the
Company were full of a common-sense and a fighting spirit. "Let us
carry the trade to Athabasca," he said; and he proceeded to
demonstrate how all rivalry could be annihilated. The strength and
weakness of his rivals were familiar to him, and he was well aware how
much depended on the Indians themselves. They could and would deal
with whom they chose; Robertson determined they should deal
henceforth, not with the North-West, but with the Hudson's Bay
Company.
The Northmen had been for years continually pressing to the West. They
were doing a thriving trade on the Columbia River, in Oregon, where
they had a lucrative post; they had a post to the south of that in
California, and to the north as far as New Archangel. In the second
decade of the century the North-West Association had over three
hundred Canadians in its employ on the Pacific slope, sending three or
four ships annually to London by way of Cape Horn. In 1810 they had a
competitor in the post of Astoria, founded by John Jacob Astor, a
fur-monopolist of New York. Astor had made overtures to the North-West
partners, which had been declined; whereupon he induced about twenty
Canadians to leave them and enter his service. He despatched two
expeditions, one overland and the other by sea, around Cape Horn. But
the founder of Astoria had not foreseen that the breaking out of war
between Great Britain and America would upset all his plans. Fort
Astoria, in the fortunes of war, changed hands and became Fort George;
and although the post was, by the Treaty of Ghent, restored, the
Canadians and Scotchmen had returned to their old employers and
interests. In a few years the Hudson's Bay Company was to control the
chief part of the fur-trade of the Pacific Coast.
[Illustration: FORT GEORGE.
(_Astoria--as it was in 1813._)]
None of the Company's servants had yet penetrated as far west as
Athabasca. Yet it was the great northern department of Rupert's
Land--a country which, if not flowing with milk and honey, swarmed
with moose and beaver. To Athabasca, therefore, Robertson went.
[Sidenote: The Company in Athabasca.]
This first expedition was highly successful. Never had the natives
received such high prices for their furs. Seduced from their
allegiance to the Northmen, and dimly recalling the tales of their
sires, regarding whilom journeys to the posts of the Great Company,
they rallied in scores and hundreds round its standard. The news
spread far and wide. Other tribes heard and marvelled. They, too, had
listened to stories of the white traders, who far away, past rivers
and plain and mountain, sat still in their forts and waited for the
Red man to bring them furs. Now the Mountain was coming to Mahomet.
Many of them resolved to keep their furs until the traders from the
Bay came amongst them, too; and, gnashing their teeth, the Northmen
were compelled to give them still higher prices, if they would obtain
the goods of the savages, and secure their wavering loyalty.
[Illustration: ARRIVAL OF THE UPLAND INDIANS.]
Other measures became incumbent upon them to perform. They were
obliged to send double the quantity of merchandise into the interior,
and they were also to supply extra provisions to their own men, and to
raise their wages; while several clerks were elected partners. Cost
what it might, the Northmen were determined to fight to the end.
It has been shewn in preceding pages how the step of removing from
Grand Portage had been anticipated as far back as 1785, when Edward
Umfreville was sent to reconnoitre a site for a new fort on British
territory. None appeared more suited to the purposes of the
Nor'-Westers than this; the river was deep and of easy access, and
offered a safe harbour for shipping. On the other hand, it was
situated in low, swampy soil; but by dint of great labour and
perseverance they succeeded in draining the marshes and in converting
to solidity the loose and yielding soil, accomplishing on a small
scale much of what Czar Peter was obliged to do on a large scale with
the foundation of Petersburg.
[Sidenote: Fort William.]
When all was finished, Fort William as it was called,[97] presented an
engaging exterior. It possessed the appearance of a fort, having a
palisade fifteen feet high, while the number of dwellings it enclosed,
gave it, from a distance, the appearance of a charming village. In the
centre of the spacious enclosure rose a large wooden building,
constructed with considerable pretensions to elegance, a long piazza
or portico, at an elevation of five feet from the ground and
surmounted by a balcony, fronting the building its entire length. The
great hall or saloon was situated in the middle of this building. At
each extremity of this apartment were two rooms, designed for the use
of the two principal agents, and the steward and his staff, the last
named official being a highly important personage. The kitchen and
servants' rooms were in the basement. On either side of the main
edifice was another of similar but less lofty extent, each divided by
a corridor running through its length and containing a dozen cosy
bedrooms. One was destined for the wintering partners, the other for
the clerks. On the east of the square stood another building similar
to the ones named, and applied to the same purpose; also a warehouse,
where the furs were inspected and packed for shipment. In the rear of
these were the lodging house of the guides, another fur warehouse,
and lastly, a powder magazine, a substantial structure of stone with a
metal roof. A great bastion, at an angle of the fort, commanded a view
of Lake Superior. There were other buildings to the westward, stores,
a gaol, workshops of the carpenter, cooper, blacksmith and tinsmith,
with spacious yards for the shelter, repair and construction of
canoes. Near the gate of the fort, which faced the south, were the
quarters of the physician and the chief clerks, and over the gates was
a guard-house. The river being of considerable depth at the entrance,
the Company had a wharf built extending the whole length of the fort,
for the discharge of the vessels it maintained on the lake, and for
the transport of its furs from Fort William to Sault Ste. Marie or
merchandise and provisions from the latter place to Fort William. The
land behind the fort and on both sides was cleared and under
cultivation.
[Illustration: ON THE WAY TO FORT WILLIAM.]
[Sidenote: The immigrants at Red River.]
At the beginning of spring the "first brigade" of immigrants resumed
its journey to the Red River Valley, arriving at what is now known as
Point Douglas, late in August, 1812. Hardly had they reached this spot
than they were immediately thrown into the greatest fright and
disorder. A band of armed men, painted, disfigured and apparelled
like savages, confronted this little band of colonists and bade them
halt. They were told briefly that they were unwelcome visitors in that
region, and must depart. The colonists might have been urged to make a
stand, but to the terrors of hostile Indian and half-breed was added
that of prospective starvation, for none would sell them provisions
thereabouts. The painted warriors, who were North-West company Métis
in disguise, urged them to proceed to Pembina, where they would be
unharmed, and offered to conduct them there. They acquiesced, and the
pilgrimage, seventy miles farther on, was resumed. At Pembina they
passed the winter in tents, according to the Indian fashion,
subsisting on the products of the chase, in common with the natives.
When spring came it was decided to again venture to plant the colony
on the banks of the Red River. Means were found to mollify their
opponents, and log-houses were built, and patches of prairie sown with
corn. A small quantity of seed wheat, obtained at Fort Alexander,
yielded them handsome returns at harvest time and the lot of the
settlers seemed brighter; but nevertheless they decided to repair to
Pembina for the winter, and saving their corn, live by hunting until
the spring.
While affairs were thus proceeding with the colonists, Lord Selkirk,
in 1813, paid a visit to Ireland, where he secured a large number of
people as servants for the fur-trade and the colony, in addition to
those engaged in the Highlands.[98]
Selkirk infused new life into the Company, and a number of plans for
its prosperity emanated from his brain. For a long time the Company
had had much at heart the erection of a new factory in place of York
Factory, but they had not thitherto had sufficient strength of hands
to accomplish this. Selkirk wrote to McDonnell that if the settlers
were employed in that object for the winter, the Company stood ready
to pay their wages. "Perhaps," he added, "it would be more advisable
to do this than to make an abortive attempt to reach the interior....
I believe that I mentioned that I am anxious to have the soundings of
Nelson River taken, from Seal Island down to the open sea. I beg that
while you are at York, you will try to induce some of the officers of
the ships to go and make the survey. I will pay a handsome premium to
the individual who accomplishes it."
[Illustration: THE COMPANY'S SHIPS IN 1812.
(_From the picture in Hudson's Bay House._)]
[Sidenote: Irish colonists brought out.]
On June 28, the Company's ships, the _Prince of Wales_ and the
_Eddystone_, sailed out of the little harbour of Stromness. They were
accompanied by two other vessels, one a brig bound for the Moravian
missions on the Labrador coast, and the other his Majesty's sloop of
war _Brazen_, as armed convoy. The voyage was by no means as
monotonous as such voyages usually were. On board the _Prince of
Wales_, typhoid fever of a virulent character broke out, causing a
panic and a number of deaths, marine funerals being a daily
occurrence. As for the _Eddystone_, an insurrection occurred; during
which the sailors and passengers between decks sought to obtain
possession of the ship and dispose of her, together with cargo and
effects to France or Spain, or to the ships or colonies of those
hostile countries. The captain was, however informed of the plan, and
immediately placed armed men to guard the hatches, loaded the quarter
gun with grape shot and coolly awaited the advent on deck of the
conspirators. These appeared in due course, but were quick to perceive
themselves completely non-plussed and retired below in confusion.
On the 12th of August the little fleet found an anchorage in Churchill
River, in close proximity to the new fort Prince of Wales. Here the
immigrants were landed, and after a short rest were sent forward, some
on foot and others by boat, to a place known as Colony Creek. Here
they built log cabins, and in their weak, unacclimatized state, drew
together to pass the winter in those hyperborean regions. In order to
receive the scant rations dealt out to them by the Company at the
fort, they were obliged to perform a journey of thirty miles on
snowshoes each week. But the trials and hardships of the poor
wanderers, amongst which was the deprivation of the locks of their
guns "in order that they should not kill the Company's partridges,"
came to an end in April, when their gun-locks were restored and they
took up their journey to York Factory, slaying innumerable game as
they went. Here they met from the Chief Factor, Cook, a hospitable
reception, and continuing their journeyings after a short halt,
reached Fort Douglas in the early autumn. Governor McDonnell welcomed
the members of this second brigade and proceeded to allot to each head
of a family one hundred acres of land and an Indian pony. A few days
later they were called together, and after each had been regaled with
a glass of spirits, he was furnished with a musket, bayonet and
ammunition. They were told they must offer an armed resistance to
their tormentors and aggressors should they again appear, and
admonished that the strong could dictate to the weak. Notwithstanding,
the colonists could not but marvel at the plentiful lack of
preparation for the agricultural pursuits which they had intended to
follow in this remote region. There were no farm implements, nor was
there metal of which these could be fashioned, unless it was the
formidable battery of field-guns, or the plentiful supply of muskets
and bayonets. At Fort Douglas, under the circumstances, the colonists
could remain but a short time; it was necessary for them to resort,
as their forerunners had done, to Pembina, so as to be within
convenient distance of the buffalo.
[Illustration: FORT DOUGLAS, RED RIVER.
(_From a drawing by Lord Selkirk._)]
In the spring of 1814, the colonists, after a winter rendered
miserable by the jealousy and unfriendliness of the Indians and
half-breeds, returned to Red River in a state of great destitution,
resolved never to return again to Pembina, no matter what their
circumstances.
But a step had been taken during that winter by Governor McDonnell
which was to reverberate throughout the English-speaking world.
Incensed at the boycotting of the colonists and stirred to action by
their condition, he issued from Fort Daer, which was the Company's
post erected at Pembina, the following proclamation:
Whereas, the Right Honourable Thomas, Earl of Selkirk, is
anxious to provide for the families at present forming
settlements on his lands at Red River and those on the way to
it, passing the winter at York and Churchill Forts in Hudson's
Bay, as also those who are expected to arrive next autumn,
rendering it a necessary and indispensable part of my duty to
provide for their support. In the yet uncultivated state of the
country, the ordinary resources derived from the buffalo and
other wild animals hunted within the territory, are not deemed
more than adequate for the requisite supply.
[Sidenote: Governor McDonnell's proclamation.]
Whereas, it is hereby ordered that no person trading furs or
provisions within the territory for the Honourable the Hudson's
Bay Company, or the North-West Company, or any individual or
unconnected traders or persons whatever, shall take any
provisions, either of flesh, fish, grain or vegetables,
procured or raised within the said territory, by water or land
carriage, for one twelvemonth from the date hereof, save and
except what may be judged necessary for the trading parties at
this present time within the territory, to carry them to their
respective destinations; and who may, on due application to me,
obtain a license for the same.
The provisions procured and raised as above shall be taken for
the use of the colony; and that no loss shall accrue to the
parties concerned, they will be paid for by British bills at
the customary rates. And be it hereby further made known that
whosoever shall be detected in attempting to convey out, or
shall aid or assist in carrying out, or attempting to carry
out, any provisions prohibited as above, either by water or
land, shall be taken into custody and prosecuted as the laws in
such cases direct; and the provisions so taken, as well as any
goods and chattels, of what nature soever, which may be taken
along with them, and also the craft, carriages and cattle
instrumental in conveying away the same to any part out to any
settlement on Red River, shall be forfeited.
Given under my hand at Fort Daer (Pembina), the 8th day of
January, 1814.
(Signed) MILES McDONNELL, _Governor_.
(By order of the Governor).
(Signed) JOHN SPENCER, _Secretary_.
A copy of this proclamation was despatched in all haste to Fort
William, where the partners met in the spring. It excited the greatest
indignation and bitterness. It was now determined to seduce and
inveigle away as many of the colonists as could be induced to join the
North-West standard, and after they should have thus diminished their
means of defence, to exhort the Indians of Lac Rouge, Fond du Lac and
other places, to rise and destroy the settlement. It was likewise
their avowed intention to seize the Governor and carry him to Montreal
as a prisoner, by way of degrading the authority under which the
colony was established, in the eyes of the natives of that country.
[Sidenote: Hostilities planned by the North-West concern.]
Among the partners of the North-West concern who received their
instructions from this general annual meeting at Fort William, were
Duncan Cameron and Alexander McDonell, and these were the persons
selected by the partnership to superintend and execute the plans
entered into against the Red River colony. On the 5th of August the
last named person wrote to a fellow-partner at Montreal from one of
the portages lying between Lake Superior and the place of his winter
destination in the interior, to which he was then proceeding: "You see
myself, and our mutual friend, Mr. Cameron, so far on our way to
commence open hostilities against the enemy in Red River. Much is
expected from us, and if we believe some--perhaps too much. One thing
is certain, that we will do our best to defend what we consider our
rights in the interior. Something serious will undoubtedly take place.
Nothing but the complete downfall of the colony will satisfy some, by
fair or foul means--a most desirable object if it can be
accomplished. So here is at them, with all my heart and energy."
McDonell and his co-partner accordingly proceeded towards their
destination, and arrived about the end of August at a trading post
(called by them Fort Gibraltar) belonging to the North-West concern,
situated at the Forks, within half a mile of the Red River settlement.
Cameron remained here during the winter, while his partner, McDonell,
proceeded farther into the interior, returning in the month of May
with a party of Cree Indians from a considerable distance, for a
purpose which is now obvious.
Cameron, to whom his associates appear to have confided the task of
opposing, upon the spot, the further progress of colonization, was
well qualified to perform such a service. He began by ingratiating
himself amongst several of the heads of families in the settlement,
and being able to converse with many of them in their native Gaelic
tongue, by degrees he gained their confidence and good opinions. He
frequently invited them to his house, and, in short, took every means
to secure their favour. They saw no reason to suspect his intentions;
and thus the influence which he gradually acquired over many of their
members, during the autumn and winter, was artfully exerted to make
them discontented alike with their situation, their officers, and
their prospects. He alarmed them with constant reports which he stated
he had received from the interior, that the Indians from a distance
were coming in the spring to attack them; and that unless they placed
themselves under the protection of the North-West Company, and
accepted his offers to take them to Canada, they would never be able
to escape from the country or avoid the dangers surrounding them.
[Sidenote: The North-West company causes discontent among the
settlers.]
Prior to the departure of Cameron and McDonell from Fort William for
Red River, they had adopted the expedient of providing themselves with
British military uniforms. A military coat with a pair of epaulets,
the cast-off uniform of a major, which had previously adorned the
person of a factor named McLeod, now added to Cameron's dignity. He
pretended to bear the King's commission, as did also his companion;
and these two worthies occasionally rode around the country in
uniform, attended by a numerous suite of clerks and half-breeds, and
other servants of the North-West company on horseback. Such imposture
and assumed airs of authority would have evoked merely contempt or
laughter, but under the circumstances had great weight with the
ignorant settlers, who could not but help believing that Cameron and
his followers were sanctioned by Government in their position and
behaviour. The North-West agents now proceeded to put their plans into
execution. The immigrants were alternately bribed, cajoled and
threatened into abandoning their settlement on the Red River. To each
Cameron engaged to give a free passage to Canada (generally to
Montreal), a twelvemonth's supply of provisions _gratis_ for
themselves and families, while various sums, varying from £15 to £100,
were paid or promised to deserters. A pretext being found, Spencer,
the sheriff of the colony and a really valuable officer, was taken
prisoner under a warrant from a North-West partner, and after a
protracted detention sent overland to Montreal.
During the interval between the autumn of 1814 and the spring of 1815,
a number of the settlers were seduced and instigated to disloyalty
against their benefactors and the Company. A large band of the
Bois-Brulés were, during this period, maintained and paraded in arms
under Cameron, who, now that the preparatory measures had reached this
stage, believed the time ripe for more decisive measures.
Of the ruling spirit amongst the half-breed hordes, mention has
already been made. Cuthbert Grant now appeared on the scene and with
him some of his choicest dare-devil crew. The return of the settlers
to the colony had filled the minds of the Bois-Brulés with rage. The
contempt of the wild hunters of the plains for the peaceful tillers of
the soil was great. They scorned them for their manual labour; they
reproachfully termed them "the workers in gardens," and the phrase,
"pork-eaters," formerly applied to the voyageurs east of Fort William,
was now used derisively to the Scotch settlers. All now looked
forward to a grand gathering in the spring at "The Forks," to
administer a final blow to the infant colony.
The disaffected settlers were therefore, during the temporary absence
of a number of those who still continued faithful to their contracts
and their duty, incited to rob and pillage a fort belonging to the
settlement, and of the cannon set out by the British Government for
its defence. Armed sentinels were placed at different doors to prevent
opposition, while a part of the Bois-Brulés and servants of the
Nor'-Westers, under the command of Cameron, were stationed in arms
within the distance of a few hundred feet for the purpose of giving
support to the plunderers in case their force should be insufficient.
Nine pieces of artillery were thus taken from the settlement and
delivered to the North-West party in waiting, who received them with
shouts of triumph and conveyed them to their headquarters, Fort
Gibraltar. To celebrate this exploit Cameron gave a ball and
entertainment to the parties engaged, on the following evening.
[Sidenote: Attack on the settlement.]
A camp was now established at a place called Frog Plain, about four
miles below the settlement, by the servants and partisans of the
North-Westers, under the command of McDonell. In June, 1815, after the
colony had been thereby deprived of the means of defence, and was in
great measure surrounded by its enemies, the whole force of Cameron's
post, consisting of half-breeds, servants and North-West clerks,
sallied forth to make a combined attack on the settlement. A sharp
fire of musketry was kept up for some time on the Governor's house and
adjacent buildings. In this attack only four persons belonging to the
settlement were wounded, but one died soon after. Several days passed,
the men encamped at Frog Plain received orders to march to the
settlement, where they erected a battery against the building called
the Government House, on which they planted a portion of the cannon
previously taken. After a series of attacks and skirmishes, Governor
McDonnell was obliged to surrender himself as a prisoner, and under a
warrant from a partner in the North-West company, sent to Montreal,
charged with an undue arrogance of authority to the detriment of the
fur-trade.
But the North-Westers were not yet satisfied. The principal person of
the settlement (and one who also held the appointment, from the
Hudson's Bay Company, of Governor of the district) was, it is true, in
custody; but having got possession of him, peremptory orders were
issued to Cameron directing the remaining settlers to leave the Red
River. The most wanton acts of aggression followed on the part of
Alexander McDonell, who, after Cameron's departure with his prisoner,
succeeded to the command at the Forks. The colonists were frequently
fired on; the farm-house was broken open and pillaged; a number of
farm labourers were arrested; horses were stolen and cattle driven
away. On the 22nd of June, another attack with fire-arms was made upon
the Governor's house, but the fire was not returned by the dispirited
settlers, who now resolved to migrate.
[Sidenote: Forced departure of the colonists.]
An episode occurring on the very eve of their departure showed clearly
upon whose side the Indians of the interior were disposed to range
themselves. Two Saulteaux chiefs, with about forty warriors of that
nation, arrived at the settlement. Learning the condition of affairs
they went over to the North-Westers' fort, and endeavoured to prevail
upon McDonell to cease his persecution and allow the colonists to
remain. Naturally, their request was refused, although the Indian
numbers prevented the North-West official from laughing in their
faces. To McLeod, the Hudson's Bay factor at Fort Douglas, the Indians
expressed their regret; but considering the armament at the disposal
of their foes, could offer them merely the protection of an escort
down the river to Lake Winnipeg. The offer was thankfully accepted,
and under their Indian escort, the officers and remaining settlers,
amounting to about sixty, quitted the settlement, leaving McLeod and
three clerks behind. Having in this manner quitted their homes, they
proceeded in canoes to the mouth of the Red River, crossed Lake
Winnipeg and took up a new abode at a trading-post on Jack River
belonging to the Hudson's Bay Company.
[Illustration: THE FUR LOFT AT A HUDSON'S BAY POST.]
The day following their departure, a party of North-West company
clerks, servants and half-breeds gathered at the spot, and setting
fire to the houses, the mill and the other buildings, burned them to
the ground.
Great joy filled the breasts of the North-Westers assembled at Fort
William when these brave tidings were conveyed to their ear. These
tidings were accompanied by convincing proofs of the great victory
gained over the enemy, in the persons of one hundred and thirty-four
settlers, including men, women and children. They arrived about the
end of July and found many of the partners gathered to receive them.
The conduct of Cameron and McDonell met with the most enthusiastic
approval. They were again appointed to command at the same stations in
the interior, which they had charge of the previous season, with a
view to oppose any further attempt to restore the scattered colony on
Red River.
[Sidenote: Treachery rewarded.]
While, however, these marks of approbation were lavished upon the
heroes of this work of destruction, the subordinate agents were by no
means so liberally rewarded as they had reason to expect. They even
complained of being defrauded of their promised hire. Many of the
deserters from the colony, however, and those of the settlers whose
treachery had proved most useful to the Montreal Company, were well
rewarded for their services. One of the most interesting features of
this business well deserves to be rescued from oblivion. It is the
account-book captured in the following year by Lord Selkirk, together
with other papers and effects of the North-West Company at Fort
William, and despatched for safe-keeping to Hudson's Bay House, in
London. It shows that credits were given to forty-eight of these
persons for various articles which they had plundered from the
settlement and delivered to Cameron at Fort Gibraltar. These consisted
principally of implements of husbandry, working tools, horses,
muskets, guns, pistols, etc., etc. Thus in one of the pages appears a
credit "for five new guns, £10; for a new common pistol, 15s.; one old
gun, 15s.," etc., etc. At the bottom of these accounts were generally
added the amounts they were to receive, and did receive, as rewards
for their services against the settlement. Several thus obtained
larger sums than, in all probability, they had ever been possessed of
at any one period in the course of their lives. To many of their
accounts were also subjoined, in the handwriting of Cameron and
McDonell, brief abstracts of the services which these deserters had,
respectively, performed in promoting the destruction of the
settlement.
As an illustration of this, honourable mention is made of one of them
(in the handwriting of Cameron) in this style: "This man joined our
people in February, was a great partisan and very useful to us ever
since, and deserves something from the North-West company, say five or
six pounds." Of another, "This man was also a great partisan of ours,
and made himself very useful to us; he lost his three years' earnings
with the Hudson's Bay Company for joining us, and he deserves, at
least, about £20." Of another (inscribed by Alexander McDonell): "He
was very desperate in our cause this spring and deserves three or four
pounds." There are other entries, as follows: "An active, smart
fellow. Left the Hudson's Bay Company in April last--a true partisan,
steady and brave. Took a most active part in the campaign this spring,
and deserves from £15 to £20. He has lost about £20 by leaving the
Hudson's Bay Company a month before the expiration of his contract."
"This man left the Hudson's Bay Company in the month of April, owing
to which he lost three years' wages. His behaviour towards us has been
that of a true partisan--a steady, brave and resolute man; and was
something of a leading character among his countrymen, and deserves at
least about £20."
[Sidenote: Leaves from the account book.]
But the truest of all these "partisans" appears to have been one
George Campbell. This hitherto obscure personage was accordingly
conspicuously honoured, as well as rewarded, by the North-West
company. He was seated at table in their common hall at Fort William,
next to the partners, and above the clerks of the company. Enviable
distinction! But it was but as the shadow of a more tangible and,
doubtless, to its recipient, a more valued reward. By the direction of
the partnership he received a recompense of £100, paid to him by one
of the company's clerks. In the account-book above mentioned appears
Cameron's testimony to the merits of this hero. "This (George
Campbell) is a very decent man, and a great partisan, who often
exposed his life for the North-West company. He has been of very
essential service in the transactions of Red River, and deserves at
least £100, Halifax; and every other service that can be rendered him
by the North-West company. Rather than that his merit and services
should go unrewarded, I would give him £100 myself, although I have
already been a good deal out of pocket by my campaign to Red River."
One would fain linger in the common-hall, at Fort William, the
barbaric splendour and even opulence of whose creature comforts have
been painted for us by another and more gifted hand.
How deep the potations, how turbulent the revelry when the flushed
cohorts from Red River returned and took their places at the board,
conscious of a victory gained over their hated rivals, the
Merchants-Adventurers trading into Hudson's Bay, and those miserable
colonists despatched by their Governor to begin the peopling of the
West! Moreover, tidings now came to swell their joy that the war
between Great Britain and America was ended, and so further relieved
their dread of disaster. But decisive as their triumph seemed, it was
short-lived. Even in the midst of this vulgar wassail the despised
settlers had returned, and affairs at Red River were shaping for a
tragedy.
FOOTNOTES:
[96] The precise spot was well chosen by Selkirk, had his object been
only the confusion and discomfiture of the North-Westers. It was the
great depot of the latter for the preparation of pemmican. Were the
region to become colonized it would slowly but surely cut off the
buffalo, from which pemmican was made, and eventually force the
North-Westers to import from Canada, at ruinous expense, the chief
part of the provisions requisite for their trading expeditions.
[97] In honour of William McGillivray, principal partner of the
concern.
[98] "It will never do," wrote Governor McDonnell to his chief, "to
take the colonists from among the Company's servants. The Orkneymen
are so averse to labour that they prefer the Company's service to
agriculture, and all being engaged in the name of the Company they
object to serve in the colony, thinking it a separate concern."