1817-1821.
The English Government Intervenes -- Selkirk at Red River --
Makes a Treaty with the Indians -- Hostilities at Peace River
-- Governor Williams makes Arrests -- Franklin at York Factory
-- The Duke of Richmond Interferes -- Trial of Semple's
Murderers -- Death of Selkirk -- Amalgamation.
Tidings of the brutal massacre of the 19th of June, and the subsequent
acts of robbery and bloodshed in the wilderness, reached London in due
course, awakening the Imperial authorities to the necessity of at once
terminating a strife which had now become chronic. In February, 1817,
therefore, while Lord Selkirk was still at Fort William, the
Governor-General of Canada received a despatch from the Home
Government, which contained the following passage:--
You will also require, under similar penalties, a restitution
of all forts, buildings and trading stations, with the property
which they contain, which may have been seized, or taken
possession of by either party, to the party who originally
established or constructed the same, and who were in possession
of them previous to the recent disputes between the two
companies. You will also require the removal of any blockade or
impediment by which any party may have attempted to prevent the
free passage of traders, or other of his Majesty's subjects, or
the natives of the country, with their merchandise, furs,
provisions or other effects throughout the lakes, rivers,
roads, and every other usual route or communication heretofore
used for the purpose of the fur-trade in the interior of North
America, and the full and free permission of all persons to
pursue their usual and accustomed trade without hindrance or
molestation. The mutual restoration of all property captured
during these disputes, and the freedom of trade and intercourse
with the Indians, until the trials now pending can be brought
to a judicial decision, and the great question at issue, with
respect to the rights of the companies, shall be definitely
settled.
[Sidenote: Fort William restored to the Nor'-Westers.]
The Governor-General appointed Colonel Coltman and Major Fletcher, two
military personages of high character, to act as commissioners, in
order to carry out the Imperial Government's intentions. Coltman and
Fletcher left Montreal in the same month that Selkirk evacuated Fort
William. No sooner had Lord Selkirk and his party left this great
trading post than the Sheriff of Upper Canada arrived, and by virtue
of a writ of restitution took possession and restored it to its
original owners. The commissioners, confronted by this fact, continued
their journey on to Red River, arriving at Fort Douglas while Lord
Selkirk was still in that locality. They proceeded to execute their
commission, and to endeavour to restore the region to law and order.
The merchandise, provisions and furs were in the course of the summer
apportioned to their respective proprietors; the channels of
communication were opened, and in time the commissioners were enabled
to return to Canada, flattering themselves with the hope that the
orders of the Prince Regent would be everywhere obeyed. The
commissioners made a most circumstantial report of their mission, of
which both parties complained that neither had received justice, which
(as Senator Masson truly observes) was a very good reason for
supposing that the report was just and impartial.
Unhappily, this hope of theirs was not destined to be fulfilled. Fort
Gibraltar had been destroyed, but the North-Westers at once set about
erecting buildings for carrying on their trade. Selkirk meanwhile
devoted himself to the affairs of his colony, making provision for the
soldiers of the De Meuron and Watteville regiments according to the
contract mutually entered into. He allotted each man a plot of land
either in the vicinity of Fort Douglas, or on the other side of the
river, close at hand; and the officers were stationed amongst them.
This was done so that in case of any necessity arising, a signal from
headquarters would enable the whole body to join their commanders in
the fort at short notice. Everything was effected which, in his
opinion, could conduce to the well-being of the colony. Selkirk now
turned his attention to the Indians, whom he called together within
the walls of the fort, and after bestowing amongst them presents,
concluded the following treaty with them:--
[Sidenote: Treaty with Red River Indians.]
This Indenture, made on the 18th day of July, in the
fifty-seventh year of the reign of our Sovereign Lord, King
George the Third, and in the year of our Lord, 1817, between
the undersigned Chiefs and Warriors of the Chippeway or
Saulteaux Nation, and of the Killistins or Cree Nation, on the
one part, and the Right Honourable Thomas, Earl of Selkirk, on
the other part. Witnesseth, that for and in consideration of
the annual present or quit rent hereinafter mentioned, the said
Chiefs have given, granted and confirmed, and do by these
presents give, grant and confirm unto our Sovereign Lord, the
King, all that tract of land adjacent to Red River and
Assiniboine River, beginning at the mouth of the Red River, and
extending along the same as far as the great Forks at the mouth
of the Red Lake River, and along Assiniboine River as far as
Musk-Rat River, otherwise called Riviere des Champignons, and
extending to the distance of six miles from Fort Douglas on
every side, and likewise from Fort Daer (Pembina), and also
from the Great Forks, and in other parts extending in the
breadth to the distance of two English statute miles back from
the banks of the said rivers, on each side, together with all
the appurtenances whatsoever of the said tract of land, to have
and to hold forever the said tract of land and appurtenances,
to the use of the said Earl of Selkirk, and of the settlers
being established thereon, with the consent and permission of
our Sovereign Lord, the King, or of the said Earl of Selkirk.
Provided always, that these presents are under the express
condition that the Earl, his heirs and successors, or their
agents, shall annually pay to the Chiefs and Warriors of the
Chippeway or Saulteaux Nation the present, or quit rent,
consisting of one hundred pounds weight of good merchantable
tobacco, to be delivered on or before the tenth day of October,
at the Forks of the Assiniboine River; and to the Chiefs and
Warriors of the Kinstineaux or Cree Nation, a like present, or
quit rent, of one hundred pounds of tobacco, to be delivered to
them on or before the said tenth day of October, at Portage de
la Prairie, on the banks of Assiniboine River. Provided always
that the traders hitherto established upon any part of the
above-mentioned tract of land shall not be molested in the
possession of the lands which they have already cultivated and
improved, till his Majesty's pleasure shall be known.
In witness whereof the Chiefs aforesaid have set their marks at
the Forks of Red River on the day aforesaid.
Signed, SELKIRK.
Signed in presence of Thomas Thomas, James Bird, F. Matthey,
Captain; P. D. Orsonnens, Captain; Miles McDonell, J. Bate,
Chr. De Lovimier, Louis Nolin, Interpreter; and the following
Chiefs, each of whom made his mark, being a rude outline of
some animal.
Moche W. Keocab (Le Sonent); Ouckidoat (Premier alias Grande
Oreilles); Mechudewikonaie (La Robe Noire); Kayajickebinoa
(L'Homme Noir); Pegawis.
As a matter of fact, the Saulteaux Indians, who were given precedence
in the above treaty, had no real claim to the lands on the Red River,
which were possessed by the Crees alone. This latter tribe afterwards
took great offence at this circumstance and made various threats to
recede from their covenant and claim their lands from the settlers.
These threats, however, were not carried out. Selkirk having in this
manner arranged all to his satisfaction, bade farewell to Red River,
and accompanied by a guide and a few friends, directed his course
southward across the frontier into American territory. He made his way
to New York and there embarked for England.
It has been remarked that his Majesty's commissioners flattered
themselves that in the formal and peaceful manner described, law and
order was to be introduced into the North-West.
It is true that the proclamation of the Prince Regent and the creation
of the commission of inquiry had quieted much of the turbulence, and
that all who came in contact with the recognized officers were ready
to submit to their authority; but it was by no means so in the more
remotely situated departments.
[Sidenote: Attack on Fort Vermilion.]
Governor Robertson, Semple's lieutenant, had delegated his authority
to Clarke, another ex-employee of the North-West Company. This trader
now sought upon Lord Selkirk's authority to penetrate, with an
effective force, and a quantity of merchandise, into the very heart of
the territory occupied by the North-Westers. One of Clarke's first
acts on arriving at Peace River was to attack Fort Vermilion, with the
design of acquiring a supply of provisions; but here he met with so
vigorous a resistance that he was constrained to beat a retreat
without having succeeded in his project. On the other hand, two
partners, Black and McGillivray, on the pretence that Robertson had
incited the savages to massacre some of their number, and that their
men would refuse to serve if an example were not made, took him
prisoner to Fort Athabasca, and there confined him during an entire
winter. There were numerous examples of the abuse of force and the
utter abandonment to lawlessness during this and the following year.
[Sidenote: Arrest of Nor'-Westers.]
Upon most of those Northmen named in the warrants issued at the
instance of the Earl of Selkirk, it had been impossible to serve
papers owing to their absence in the distant fur country. Williams,
Semple's successor as Governor of the colony of Assiniboia, was
consumed with a desire to effect the arrest of all those persons
himself. It is possible that he also wished to avenge the
incarceration of Robertson. Taking with him a number of De Meuron
soldiers and two pieces of cannon, Governor Williams departed to lie
in ambush for the North-Westers at a portage called Grand Rapids,
which spot it was necessary for the enemy to pass in order to enter
Lake Winnipeg. Beyond question, the North-Westers had no suspicion of
what was in store for them, inasmuch as the party did not arrive in a
large body, but in small detachments, and successively, often at an
interval of several days. As fast as they arrived, however, Governor
Williams and his soldiers were on the watch. It was new work to the
veterans, but they entered into it with a zest and spirit. The
North-Westers were seized and disarmed, being subjected to
considerable violence. Some were permitted to continue their route;
others were dispatched to York Factory, on the Bay. Here they were,
during many weeks, detained as prisoners and treated with scant
courtesy, up to the arrival of a certain British naval officer. This
was Lieut. Franklin, who was then about to undertake his celebrated
land voyage to the Arctic Sea. Franklin had in his possession several
letters of introduction to partners in the North-West Company. Under
these circumstances the consideration, not to say compassion, which he
evinced for the Hudson's Bay Company's prisoners was much in their
favour. McTavish and Shaw, two of the North-West partners, were
granted permission to return to England as passengers on the ship
which had brought Franklin, but the others were not so fortunate.
Duncan Campbell was sent to Canada, _via_ Moose Factory and
Michipicoten, and there placed at liberty. As to Benjamin Frobisher,
there was no accusation or warrant of arrest against him, but it was
felt that he should not escape punishment for his long hostility to
the Company, as well as for the violent and crafty resistance which he
had offered in the first instance to his arrest. Frobisher is
described as being a man of great strength and herculean stature. On
numerous occasions he had had the good or ill-fortune to come in
contact with the servants of the Hudson's Bay Company, and there were
many to testify that he had on such occasions not emerged with the
loss either of prestige or property. His whole ambition now, whilst
suffering from a severe wound in the head, was to escape from his
captors. The nearest North-West post was distant about five hundred
miles as the crow flies, but this circumstance had little restraining
power upon his project. Two of his French-Canadian companions,
Turcotte and Lépine, endeavoured to dissuade him, but without success;
and at length they consented to participate in the escape should it be
possible to elude the vigilance of their captors. They succeeded in
doing this on the 30th September; launched themselves in an old canoe,
into which they had stored some pounds of pemmican saved from their
rations, and so commenced their painful journey.
[Sidenote: Flight of prisoners from York Factory.]
For two whole months these three fugitives from York Factory travelled
through the wilderness. They suffered from cold and hunger, even
devouring the buffalo skins that the Indians had left suspended in the
trees as an indication of their route. At last the doughty Frobisher
arrived at such a state of weakness that he was fain to lie down
without further power of exertion. The trio were then not more than
two days' journey from Lac L'Orignal, near Lake Bourbon, where the
North-Westers had a post. Frobisher begged his companions, whose
greater power of endurance and devotion to their superior had led to
their carrying him on their shoulders, to leave him and seek
assistance. This they did, after having deposited their burden at the
side of a fire, and grilled a morsel of buffalo skin for his
nourishment. Four days later they reached the fort, and a search party
did not arrive on the spot until the 27th of November. Their eyes
were greeted by the corpse of Frobisher, partly burnt, and extended at
full length on the ground. Within his scanty clothing was found a
journal, which he had kept ever since his arrest at Grand Rapids, and
in which he had recorded his daily sufferings.[106]
After considerable delay the news of Frobisher's escape and subsequent
death was spread throughout the West. A courier arrived at Fort
William in hot haste with the news of the affair at Grand Rapids. The
utmost indignation prevailed. Many of the partners, fearing a descent
of the Hudson's Bay soldiery, left in disorder for Montreal. The
agents of the Company instantly addressed themselves to the Duke of
Richmond, then Governor of Canada, representing to him that if the
civil authorities did not interfere to compel respect for the orders
of the Prince Regent, the fortunes of the North-West co-partnery would
suffer a great and irreparable blow.
[Sidenote: Envoys of the Government enjoin peace.]
The Duke was then at Little York. He lost no time in dispatching one
of the officers of his suite, Major MacLeod, with a budget of
dispatches for delivery at the chief forts of the North-West. In these
he enjoined obedience to the laws. MacLeod was accompanied, at the
last moment, by Sir Charles Saxton. The envoys of the Governor reached
Fort William and pressed on to the Grand Rapids, where they learned
that Williams had raised the blockade of the river, and had left for
the Bay with his soldiers and prisoners. It was too late in the autumn
to follow them, so there was nothing left but to arrange to have their
dispatches forwarded to the parties in the interior, and to return
immediately to Little York. The alarm of the partners in Canada was
matched by that of their agents in London. They addressed themselves
to the Imperial Government, soliciting his Majesty's interference in
order to put an end to the outrages and lawlessness, as they expressed
it, of Lord Selkirk and the Hudson's Bay Company. They recalled that
they had often demanded that the rights of the Company should be
submitted to law, and warned the authorities that when their rivals
mocked the orders of the Prince Regent, it would be impossible for
themselves to confide their persons and their property to the
protection of an authority with a seat so remote and exacting, so
reluctant an obedience.
"What is to become of us," they demanded, "if we are to have no
protection for our servants in these wild regions of the North?"
"You have no right in these regions," was, in effect, the retort of
the Company. "They are vested in us by Royal charter, and the sooner
you apprehend this truth the better."
Whereupon the partners declared that if the Hudson's Bay Company or
Lord Selkirk continued to exercise illegal powers, which had for their
end the destruction of the commerce of their rivals, it was inevitable
that more bloodshed should follow. Such protestations had the desired
effect. The Government entered into correspondence with the directors
of the Company and ordered that they should exert themselves to the
utmost to prevent a repetition of lawlessness, else the consequences
must be on their own head.
[Sidenote: Trial of Semple's murderers.]
The trials which took place at Little York and at Montreal had been
very costly to both parties. Those relating to the Semple massacre
were not tried until 1818.[107] Application had been made to the
Governor-in-Chief of Canada in the previous March (1817) to have them
removed to Upper Canada, and this naturally caused delay, the
Governor judging it expedient to consult the Home Government in the
matter. A favourable reply was received on the 24th of October, and
warrants under the Great Seal were issued to try the cases at York.
The North-Westers were finally brought before the court, and
indictments found against them for participating in the affairs of the
11th of June, and the 28th of June, 1815; for larceny at Qu'Appelle
River on the 12th of May, and the Semple massacre on the 19th of June,
1816. It surprised nobody in Canada that the jury in each case brought
in a verdict of not guilty, however it may have astonished the British
public.
McGillivray, who had been waiting two years for trial, and now finding
the further indictments abandoned, caused Lord Selkirk, Miles
McDonnell, and eighteen others, to be indicted for the part they took
in the capture of Fort William. The Earl had also several civil suits
entered against him, one of which was by William Smith, the constable
whom he ejected from Fort William, "taking hold of him and pushing him
out of doors, and afterwards keeping him in close custody in the fort,
under a military guard." The constable got a verdict of £500 damages
against the Earl. Daniel McKenzie also entered suit against Lord
Selkirk, and received a verdict of £1,500.
[Sidenote: Prosperity at Red River.]
Whilst these various proceedings were in progress, the Red River
colony was struggling against adversity. In the winter of 1817 they
were forced to resort again to Pembina, owing to a scarcity of food.
The next year, when a considerable area of land had been planted, and
followed by a favourable summer, the July sky suddenly darkened, and a
cloud of grasshoppers descended upon the earth. Every green thing
perished before them. In greater despair and wretchedness than ever,
the colonists again migrated across the border. The same disaster
occurred in the ensuing year, and if it had not been for the bounty
and care of the Company, many would have perished. It was not until
1822 that the Red River colony, now recruited by French, Irish,
German and Swiss, as well as Scotch settlers, began to take on a
flourishing condition; but the news of this prosperity was not
destined to reach the ears and gladden the heart of its founder.
Selkirk had reached England disheartened, and with a well-founded
grievance against the Canadian authorities, who, he declares, and with
justice, had not accorded him the encouragement to which he had a
right; and against the Canadian tribunals, from whom it had been
impossible to obtain justice.
The health of the Earl, shattered by the anxieties and episodes which
have been recorded, rendered it necessary that he should seek repose
in the south of France. But his ailment was mortal. He breathed his
last at Pau, in the month of April, 1820, surrounded by his wife and
children, leaving behind him many friends, and numerous admirers of
his intellectual qualities and his courage. The Great North-West of
to-day is his monument.
The death of its principal Adventurer strengthened, on the part of the
Company, the sentiment for peace; and by removing the chief obstacle
hastened an amalgamation of interests of the rival traders. None then
could nor can now but perceive, if they examine the situation broadly,
that the complete annihilation of the North-West Association was a
mere matter of time. None recognized this more than their agents in
London, who had repeatedly made overtures to Lord Selkirk for
amalgamation, but which were by him rejected as often as made.
To Edward Ellice, a leading partner, an enterprising merchant, and a
rising parliamentarian, belongs the chief credit of bringing about
this union. This young man was the son of Alexander Ellice, a wealthy
London merchant, and himself directly interested in the Canadian
fur-trade. In 1803, when a lad of but fourteen, young Ellice had gone
out to Canada, and animated by a love of adventure, had entered into
the life of a trader, under the auspices of his father's friends.
Ellice was quick to grasp the tendency of affairs. The terrible
struggle of recent years made by the Northmen had told severely upon
them.[108]
[Illustration: SIR GEORGE SIMPSON.]
The partners met at Fort William, in July, 1820, and a stormy session
served to reflect their vexed plight. Dissensions exhibited
themselves; the minority, at least, felt that in their London
agents--Ellice and the McGillivrays--coming to terms with the Hudson's
Bay Company, lay their only hope of salvation.
[Sidenote: Union of the two Companies.]
Without, however, consulting the powers at Fort William, these agents
in London were acting on their own account. Conferences with the
Chartered Adventurers took place daily. By the time the partnership
between the Northmen themselves expired, in 1821, the negotiations had
attained the form of an agreement. Delegates had been sent from Fort
William to confer with their English representatives as to the future
of the interests of the North-West Company. Ellice received them
cordially in his office in Mark Lane and showed them an instrument
which he called the Deed Poll. This document bore the names of the
Governor, Berens, and the Committee of the Honourable Hudson's Bay
Company, on the one part, and the McGillivrays and Ellice, on the
other. The astonished delegates gazed upon the signed and sealed
instrument, and recognized that the North-West Company had ceased to
exist. "Amalgamation," cried one of them, "this is not amalgamation,
but submersion. We are drowned men."
A coalition and partnership had been agreed upon for twenty-one years,
on the basis that each should furnish an equal capital for conducting
the trade. This Deed Poll, which bore date of March 26, 1821, provided
that the expenses of the establishment should be paid out of the
trade, and that no expense of colonization or any commerce not
directly relating to the fur-trade, was to fall upon the Company.
The profits were to be divided into one hundred equal parts, of which
forty were to be shared between the chief factors and chief traders,
according to profit and loss. If a loss should occur in one year on
these forty shares it was to be made good out of the profits of the
year ensuing. A general inventory and account was to be made out
annually on the 1st of June. If profits were not paid to any parties
within fourteen days of that date, interest was to be allowed then at
the rate of five per cent.
When the Deed Poll was signed, it was stipulated that twenty-five
chief factors and twenty-eight chief traders should be appointed, to
be named in alternate succession from the Hudson's Bay and the
North-West Company's servants. Both were placed on an equal footing,
the forty shares out of the hundred being again subdivided into
eighty-five shares, in order that each of the twenty-five chief
factors should receive two (or 2/85ths), and each of the chief traders
one of such shares. The remaining seven shares, to complete the
eighty-five, were set apart for old servants, to be paid them during a
term of seven years.
[Sidenote: Plan of union.]
The chief factors were to superintend the business of the Company at
their respective stations, while the chief traders under them were to
conduct the commerce with the Indians. The third class was the clerks,
who were promoted to factorships and traderships, according to good
conduct and seniority, but whose clerical salaries ranged from £20 to
£100 per annum. The chief factors and traders, who wintered in the
interior, were granted, in addition to their share of profits, certain
personal necessaries free of cost. They were not, however, permitted
to carry on any private trade on their own account with the Indians.
Strict accounts were required of them annually. The councils at the
various posts were empowered to mulct, admonish or suspend any of the
Company's servants. Each year three chief factors and two chief
traders were granted twelve months leave of absence. A chief factor or
chief trader, after wintering three years in the service might retire,
and hold his full share of profits for one year after so retiring,
with half the share for the four succeeding years. If he wintered for
five years, he was granted half profits for six years on retiring.
Retirements of chief factors and chief traders were made annually by
rotation, three of the former, or two of the former and two of the
latter. The heirs of a chief factor or chief trader who died after
wintering five years received all the benefit to which the deceased or
himself would have been entitled had he lived, or in proportion
otherwise. Everything was thus regulated, provision was effected for
everything. The Northmen, rough, enterprising, adventurous, as many of
them were, found themselves part of a huge machine, operated with
sleepless vigilance of a governor and committee in London. As for the
profits, they were to be estimated after the entire expenses, both in
London and the fur country, were deducted. They were then to be
divided into fifths, of which three-fifths went to the proprietary and
two-fifths to the chief factors, chief traders and clerks, who were to
be thenceforward known as the "fur-trade" or the "wintering partners."
No wonder that many of the Northmen were constrained to cry out, in
the language of one of their number[109]: "Alas, the North-West is now
beginning to be ruled with an iron rod!"
FOOTNOTES:
[106] Benjamin Frobisher was a native of York, England.
[107] At the trials at York in October, 1818, Sherwood, the North-West
Company's counsel, continually demanded to know why Semple was called
governor. "Why," he exclaimed, with ludicrous energy, "why should this
gentleman be continually dignified by the appellation of governor? The
indictment charged that Robert Semple was killed and murdered; it said
nothing about his being a governor. If he was a governor, then he was
also an emperor. Yes, gentlemen," shrieked the counsel, working
himself up to fever heat, "I repeat, an emperor--a bashaw in that land
of milk and honey, where nothing, not even a blade of corn, will
ripen. Who made him governor? Did the King? Did the Prince Regent? No;
this pretended authority was an illegal assumption of power,
arrogating to itself prerogatives such as are not exercised even by
the King of England. I demand that Robert Semple be called Robert
Semple--but as he was not a governor let us not be ----"
"Come, come," cried Chief Justice Powell, "do let this trial go on! It
is no matter whether he was or was not a governor, or what he was
called, or called himself, he is not to be murdered, though he was not
a governor."
[108] "Ses postes," says Senator Masson, "avient été pillés et
devastés; ses exportatiors considerablement sédintes." On the other
hand, he adds, these losses were partly compensated for by the high
prices secured in England for their furs.
[109] Wentzel.