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As the name of Louis Riel appears many times in this
narrative it may be well to give a short chapter to the description of his
romantic career, and its tragic ending on the gallows. As one reads the
actual facts of his life it seems like reading the "Penny dreadfuls" of
former days. He was just the stuff out of which the hero of that thrilling
literature were made. Who would ever dream that the half-breed lad born in
the wilderness would become in time a figure of such importance as to
threaten the welfare of the Dominion and be a subject of Imperial
diplomacy? He was endowed with great natural gifts which early began to
show themselves for, when he was but a boy, Bishop Tachè discovered him
doggedly studying Latin at a small college in St. Bonifaee. This wise man,
always on the lookout for promising material, saw in the studious lad the
promise of a future priest and, perhaps, a bishop. He enlisted on his
behalf the good-will of a devout lady, Madame Masson, and she assumed the
expense of his education at Montreal. There is no doubt that, had they
been able to keep him and control him as well as educate him, their
highest hope might have been realized, for lie had the ability which would
have made him a dignitary of the Church. But his inclinations carried him
in other directions. Ile was full of the spirit of life and activity. For
awhile he secured employment in the States but in 1869 we find him hack at
his mothers, the Red River Settlement, a ''freighter" on the plains.
Ile came upon times suited to his stormy
temperament. He became by reason of his intelligence and personality the
natural and acknowledged leader of the half-breeds. They looked to him and
trusted him and by his influence over them he was a power that had to be
reckoned with in any dealings with the Settlement. Sir ,John A. Macdonald,
who was a shrewd judge of men, recognized his abilities and scented
danger. Writing to the newly appointed Lieutenant-Governor, Mr. William
McDougall, he uttered a word of warning. "This man Riel," he said, "who
appears to be the moving spirit, is a clever fellow, and you should
endeavor to retain him as an officer in your future police. If you do this
promptly it will be a convincing proof that you are not going to leave the
half-breeds out of the law." This shows the leadership which he had
secured over the French half-breeds, who by ternperament were averse to
steady occupation, who loved the life of the river and the plain, and
whose restless, volatile disposition made them quick to take offence and
always ready to defy the authorities if they fancied their rights and
privileges were attacked. These people gathered about Riel and he had no
scruples about making use of them to further his ambitious designs. And he
was ambitious. The pact by which the North-west was handed over to the
Dominion was skilfully used by him to stir up an insurrection, and it is
easy to imagine that he dreamed of a position of something akin to
sovereignty in that vast domain. One has a kind of pity for the ignorance,
and, at the same time, a sort of admiration for the boldness, of the man
who, with a few thousand, poor, unequipped and ignorant people, challenged
the supremacy of the Imperial authorities. For this is what he actually
did. He prevented the new Governor from entering the territory. He took
possession of Fort Garry on the pretence of protecting it. He set up a
"Provisional Government" of which he was the real head. Ile arrested and
kept as prisoners three score of those who were friendly to the new order.
When Donald Smith appeared upon the scene as the Commissioner both of the
Hudson Bay Company and the Dominion Government, he promptly made him
prisoner. And during the negotiations that were carried on, the efforts to
secure a peaceful termination to the dissatisfaction, he maintained a
persistent opposition and put every obstacle in the way. lie stopped short
at nothing, and by the killing of Scott, after the farce of a trial,
stained his hands with blood. The coming of the troops put an end, for a
time, to his evil career, and he was practically driven from the country
as an outlaw.
For fourteen years the country was at peace. Law and
order became firmly established. Representative Government was set up. The
city of Winnipeg began to shape itself on the site of Fort Garry. The
Province of Manitoba began to fill with English-speaking settlers. The
prairie became dotted with towns and villages, and the building of
railroads was begun. The half-breeds had migrated in large numbers farther
west where they could hunt and fish, and, in their shiftless fashion, till
little patches of ground. But they could not escape from the energy and
enterprise of the white people, who kept crowding upon them and whose
modern methods threatened their chances of a livelihood.
Thus it was that in 1884 there came eastward rumors
of an insurrection similar to that which had threatened the country in
1869-70. At the head of this movement was Riel. He had been elected member
of Provenelier for the Dominion Parliament but the House voted his
election void after the Manitoba Court had found against him a true bill
for murder and he had failed to appear for trial. During all these years
he had lived in the States supporting himself by teaching school, and also
receiving monies from the Secret Service fund of the Dominion Government
which were really a bribe paid to keep him out of the country. To him the
agitators in the far West turned and he responded to their call and came
back to be the leader of the new insurrection. It was a fatal step. On the
banks of the Saskatchewan, a noble river which empties into Lake Winnipeg
after a course of more than a thousand miles, the standard of rebellion
was set up. The rebels, emboldened by the belief that they would have the
support of French Canada, attacked and defeated, with loss of life, the
Mounted Police and Prince Albert Volunteers. A number of Indian tribes
joined forces with them and under a chief named Big Bear compelled the
abandonment of Fort Pitt on the North Saskatchewan.
Things were certainly beginning to look serious. The
rebels, encouraged by their success and by their knowledge of the
difficulties which beset the Government in dealing with a disturbance so
far away, were becoming more and more aggressive. The situation was
alarming. The forces that preserved order in that remote district seemed
insufficient to maintain the peace. It looked as if the whole North-west
might he embroiled in a disastrous conflict and the integrity of the
Dominion imperilled. At that stage of development it would have been
nothing short of a calamity if the impression had got abroad that the new
country was likely to be the scene of actual racial conflict—a conflict
rendered all the more fearful if there should be added to it the horrors
of Indian warfare.
The Government was in an exceedingly difficult
position. It had to keep in mind the possibility of the French in Quebec
sympathizing with their compatriots in the West. Moreover, it was the
first time any serious demand had been made on the military department.
Everything was in the formative stage and that department had had to give
way to other matters that seemed more important. So that there was some
reason for the insurgents feeling elated and confident.
But times had greatly changed since 1870. The
country had been opened up. Transportation schemes had been carried
forward. In Manitoba there was a body of people who could be depended on
to help, and indeed a fine company of men was gathered in the young city
of Winnipeg. Telegraphic communication had been set up so that the news of
the doings of the rebels was immediately conveyed to the east and aroused
an extraordinary outburst of feeling not only in Ontario but also in
Quebec. The Government took prompt action and issued a call for volunteers
which was responded to both by French and English. Soldiers were entrained
at Toronto and Montreal and, under Major-General Middleton, a regular
officer in command of the Canadian militia, set out on their long journey,
to the number of over four thousand men.
The Canadian Pacific Railway was then constructed as
far as Qu'Appelle. To that place the soldiers were brought by train, a
good deal of the way in rough cars, on a rough road bed, but there was no
complaining and they left the train at Qu'Appelle in good trim and eager
for the further journey of two hundred and thirty miles which lay between
them and Batoche. This was a town, or rather village, in the centre of the
disaffected district. In due course they reached their destination and
were on the scene of trouble in less than a month from the time of their
departure. It speaks well for the efficiency of those who had the matter
in hand and also shows how greatly conditions had changed that, in spite
of the difficult nature of their task, they were able to accomplish it in
such an incredibly short time.
Before actually reaching Batoche, they suffered a
slight cheek at Fish Creek, about fifteen miles away. There they
encountered a novel and ingenious mode of warfare. In a deep ravine the
enemy had concealed themselves in rifle pits. Safely ensconced in these,
they succeeded in shooting down a number of volunteers before their
whereabouts could be discovered. But the check was only a brief one. Far
from disheartening the men, the loss of their comrades roused them to
greater determination and in a few days, when they met the insurgents in
full strength at Batoche, they inflicted on them a crushing defeat which
practically ended the insurrection. The story of the rebellion of '85 is
familiar to the reader and perhaps its importance has not been fully
understood. There can be no doubt that if the incipient flame of rebellion
had not been promptly and thoroughly stamped out by the effective measures
of the Government, supported by the valor of the volunteers, it would have
risen to a conflagration and produced the most unhappy consequences. That
was the experimental stage of Canada's national life and, had these
malcontents succeeded in their desperate venture, the progress of the
country would have been staved indefinitely.
The heart and brains and directing force of the
unfortunate movement was Louis Rid. At the battle of Batoche he was taken
prisoner. His fate was sealed. his day of grace was over. The Government
had treated him leniently. Notwithstanding his defiance of law in 1870 and
his opposition to the Dominion, he had been allowed to go free. It may be
that he presumed on that and expected the same treatment again. If so, he
was doomed to disappointment. The stern measures he meted out to poor
Scott were now meted out to him. lie was given an impartial trial; the
ablest lawyers of the French people were secured for his defence, but he
was condemned to death. Even after the sentence was passed, strong efforts
were made to save his life. The plea of insanity was put forward and the
Government was urged to cancel the sentence, but it stood firm, and, to
their credit be it said, Sir John A. Macdonald had the support of the
French leaders in his determination not to interfere. The law took its
course and in the summer of 1885 Riel paid the penalty of his folly. So he
passed from the stage of Canadian affairs and his disturbing career was
over. A new era dawned in Canadian history. Larger national problems and
duties began to engage the minds of the people. Time weakened the force of
old prejudices and animosities. A common purpose began to draw together
the different sections and so it has come about that, with the exception
of a few ripples on the surface, from that dray to this, there has been no
serious conflict of races. Long may that happy state of things continue. |
