PREFACE.
No volcanic eruption ever broke out more unexpectedly than the rebellion in the
North-West. There were not wanting
warnings, but those they reached looked upon them as the outcome of fear or partisanship. Whatever their
grievances or
distress, it could not be imagined that a few poor half-breeds would raise a standard against British power. After the
outbreak, serious events followed each other rapidly. Interest in what was impending always left little thought for realizing
what had happened. Descriptions by mail of what was a fortnight past tumbled in on the heels of the telegrams of yesterday.
Now that the rebellion is over, an orderly knowledge of the events in their sequence and relations will be desired by everyone.
In this work, care has been taken to preserve only the romance of truth, discarding apocryphal embellishments. Substantial
accuracy can be vouched for, although some details will probably require correction from sources not yet
available.
CHAPTER I.
VIVE LA NATION METISSE.
On the 17th of March, 1885, a rumor,
designedly started, ran through the
half-breed settlements scattered around
the little church of St. Laurent, on the
right bank of the South Saskatchewan
river, that the "police" were crossing
to suppress "La Nation Metisse," and
to seize its political and religious leader
Louis David Riel. There was a hurried gathering, of which the few prominent and active men of the little
community who were on hand, evidently not surprised, formed the greater
part. There and then "The Metis
Nation" was declared to be established,
the authority of the Provisional Government of the Saskatchewan was proclaimed, and both were to be maintained, if necessary, by force of arms.
Runners were sent to arouse the half-breeds and to secure the alliance of the
Indians, and Louis Riel, who had just
been elected President, is reported to have said "The Rebellion is a fact" Louis Riel, the President, is inclined
to revolution by birth as well as by character. He is said to be descended
from a dashing young Irishman, possibly an O'Reilly, who came to Canada
about the beginning of last century. His father, Jean Baptiste Riel (pronounced
Re-elle), who had
but a dash of Indian blood in his veins, headed an outbreak, in 1849, against the Hudson's Bay Company in the North-West, rescued a prisoner
and became so powerful that the Honorable Company felt compelled to purchase his favor.
The means thus obtained brought increasing consideration, which culminated in young Louis
being sent to be educated at St. Mary's, commonly called the Jesuit's College, in Montreal, for the priesthood. That this institution had
but crude material to work on in the young barbarian may be judged from the following
preserved specimens of his early business correspondence :—
He was a relative and protégé of His Grace Archbishop Taché, of St. Boniface, who was destined to be his
protector in manhood as in boyhood. He did not enter the priesthood, but
studied law without much success in the office of the Hon. Mr. Laflamme,
and
eventually returned to the North-West, a rather moody youth, of a melancholy turn of mind, full of Byronic
megrims about being uncomprehended, but with religious tendencies as a result of his training. He had made little impression upon his associates, and it was with wonder they heard, in 1869, that he was the leader of the rebellious half-breeds of
the Red River valley. His claim at that time, and that of the small native population whom he led, was that they
were not in rebellion, but were, as the natural owners of the land, bound to resist invasion from a government which had taken over their territory
in pursuance of an agreement with a trading
company, to which their consent was not asked and in which their rights of property and of self
government were entirely ignored, Riel 's regime
was, for a time, characterized by moderation as
well as energy, but the brutal slaying of Thomas
Scott alienated the sympathies of the better people, and when the expedition under Colonel
Wolseley for the establishment of the Canadian
authority reached Fort Garry, Riel had fled as a
lonely fugitive. His position as a former protégé' of a high ecclesiastic may have had
something to do with the prominence
accorded him by his fellows, and
the advantages which he demanded for the church were
calculated to assure his followers
of its approval of him. Even
after his flight he retained such
influence that the Government
sought and obtained Archbishop Tachés aid to induce him, upon
the payment secretly of a considerable sum of money, to leave
the country. Though an outlaw,
he was returned to parliament
by the constituency of Provencher, and actually appeared in
the Chamber and signed the roll.
He immediately disappeared,
however, and was nowhere to
be found. It was afterwards
learned that he had been for a
time at the residence, at Terrebonne, of Madame Masson, the
patroness of his college years,
and that later he had been at
the provincial asylum for the
insane at Beauport, whether as a
parlor lodger or as a raving
lunatic is still a vexed question
among those who knew him
there. Still later, it was known
that he had found a refuge among the Metis in
Montana, where he was a "professor" at a Jesuit
"college." In the summer of 1884, when the half-breeds of the territories of Saskatchewan and
Assiniboine wanted a leader who could attract
the attention of the Government to their claims
and grievances, they sent for Louis Riel, at the
little mission of St. Peter's, at the base of the
Rocky Mountains. He returned, but not with
the fierce-looking, determined face, the imperious glance and the confident bearing of the
young adventurer of 1809. The Louis Riel who,
during the fall and winter of 1884, addressed
meetings at the half-breed settlements throughout the North-West, was a rather shabby man,
with a neglected beard and a restless eye, whose
apprehensive glances gave him a hunted aspect.
He appeared twenty years older than a man of
forty-one years. He was now a sort of professional rebel, anxious to make capital out
of his talent for stirring up disaffection. At
first he spoke only of obtaining a recognition of the claims of the half-breeds, and
redress of their grievances by constitutional
methods. In the month of September, at a
public meeting at St. Laurent, he submitted
a Bill of Rights, which was unanimously agreed
to, and which, it was understood, was to be forwarded to the Government at Ottawa. The list
of claims is a remarkable one. It reveals clearly
that the men who drew them up had rebellion in
view, and that they were possessed of a good
deal of political skill and sagacity. The claims
in effect were: (1) The subdivision into provinces of the North-West Territories: (2) the
half-breeds to receive the same grants and other
advantages as the Manitoba half-breeds: (3)
patents to be issued at once to the colonists in
possession: (4) the sale of half a million acres of
Dominion lands, the proceeds to be applied to
the establishment in the half-breed settlements
of schools, hospitals, and such-like institutions,
and to the equipment of the poorer half-breeds
with seed-grain and implements: (5) the reservation of a hundred townships of swamp land
for distribution among the children of half-breeds during the next one hundred and twenty
years: (6) a grant of at least one thousand dollars for the maintenance of an institution, to be
conducted by the nuns in each half-breed settlement, and (7) better provision for the support
of the Indians.
This document was a bold bid for the support
of all peoples and powers in the North-West.
The English settlers wanted political rights;
these were appealed for in the first clauses.
Many of these regarded the agitation at the
beginning with favor; as likely to secure the
redress of real grievances. Riel expected their
support and complained bitterly that they
deserted as soon as decisive action was called
for. They saw, however, that the half-breeds
had determined to rebel, and took no part in
the movement. The demand for subsidies for
schools and nunneries was a bid for the support
of the church. "The priests were for me and
they were against me," said Riel. "They are
against me now, not because I rebelled, but
because I did not succeed in helping them."
The half-breeds to the third and fourth generation were to be provided for if these demands
were enforced. The last demand is significant,
as it reveals the fact that from the first an
Indian rising in support of the half-breed rebellion was counted upon.
That Riel intended to take part in actual
rebellion himself is more than doubtful. The
story was that the people, when he tried to
depart, retained his services with a pistol.
When asked why he fought, Riel declared "The
people compelled me to fight. I told them last
winter that our Bill of Rights had done its work;
they would get all that was just in due time.
They said I could not go away; the matter was
stirred up and I must fight it out." There is
reason for doubting the sincerity of his belief
that the bill "had done its work," and of his
desire that it should do its work, as his own
purpose was to create trouble in the hope that
he would be bribed, as he was in 1870, to leave
the country. Sir John Macdonald, the Premier,
declared in Parliament that the Government
had never received the Bill of Rights, and he
also stated that Riel had made an offer to the
Government to leave the country
for $5,000, the same amount
which he had received in 1870.
The men whom he had stirred
up to rebellion were, however,
in thorough earnest. The Metis
(pronounce this name Meteece)
are the descendants of those
energetic and adventurous voyageurs, trappers and Hudson's
Bay employees, who made their way amid great difficulties and
dangers to a country then out of the world; with the blood of
these there mingled in their veins that of probably the finest
dark race in the world. Unlike other mixed races the Metis are
strong in physique and strong in mind, and are quite able to
hold their own with the pure white in the race of life. A
Metis, inheriting the energies of many races, is to-day the
Premier of the constitutional government of Manitoba. These
bold, energetic men, long accustomed to provide for and protect themselves and their families amid exciting scenes, were
restive under the monotony of farm life to which they had been driven by
the disappearance of the buffalo and of fur animals, and by the construction of railways
which rendered "freighting" unnecessary.
When their rights to the land were not recognized, when the surveyors threatened to square
their lane-like farms into quarter sections, they grew pugnacious. Bred among territorial
feuds, they were not reluctant to revert to what was their former condition, and,
insane as it looks to people with a knowledge of the resources of a Government
like that of the Dominion, were ready to
attempt by force to overthrow the authority of
the Canadian Government in the North-West
Riel had inspired them with a belief in his
power to bring the Metis of the United States
and the Indians of the whole West to his aid.
He probably also made prodigal promise of
Fenian assistance. He adopted the role of a
religious mystic, which probably came naturally
enough to a man of his temperament and
training, and by mysterious and incoherent
utterances appealed to the superstitious element
which is naturally strong in the wanderer in
the wilds. From among men such as these,
and of this temper, the Provisional Government
was formed on that St. Patrick's Day.
The Adjutant-General, Gabriel Dumont, was
an old buffalo hunter and Indian fighter who
had fought on both sides of the line, and had
taken more human lives, if not seal.. s, than any
other man on the prairie. The story goes that
at a sun-dance or a moon-dance, or some other
festival of the Blackfeet, the braves were,
according to custom, boasting of their individual
prowess, when Dumont, uninvited, jumped into
their midst and, flourishing his rifle, exclaimed "I have killed twenty Blackfeet." His bravado,
true enough, perhaps, was so daring that it won
the admiration instead of the natural vengeance
of his enemies. If he planned the defence of
Batoche he was not only a courageous but a
skilful leader with a natural genius for engineering. To the members of Riel's Council
that sage gave the title of
exovides, which he
explained with some little pride, probably, in
his learning, to have been adapted from two Latin
words ex "from," and
oviis "a flock," (sic) and was
meant to signify that none claimed any individual authority, and this word was signed to all
official documents. Besides Dumont, they were
F. Jackson, President's Secretary; Jean-Baptiste Boucher, Donald Ross, Pierre Henri,
Moise Ouellette, Damase Carriere, Uavid
Tourand, Pierre Guardepuy, Albert Monkman,
A. Jobin, Bonnet Blanc (White Cap), Chief
of the Sioux; Beardy, Chief of the Crees; Charles Trottier, Bass Bull, from Battle River;
N. Delorme, B. Parenteau, E. Champagne;
Phillipe Garnot, Secretary of the Council; H.
Dumas; Octave Regnier, Assistant Secretary
of the Council; Joseph Grondol, Lieutenant of
Guards; Antoine Champagne, A. Turgeon,
Captain of the Horse; J. Parenteau, replaced
by M. Richelieu; N. Carrier, Alex. Lebeau,
Barez, the Sioux interpreter, M. Gareau and Thomas Vermett, Messenger of the Council,
CHAPTER II.
THE DUCK LAKE FIGHT.
The Provisional Government acted with
promptitude. On the 18th of March, Mr.
Lash, the Indian agent at Duck Lake, and his interpreter were made prisoners, as well as
other loyalists and freighters passing through
to Prince Albert. At midnight the telegraph
line was cut south
of Duck Lake, the wire
going wide in the middle of an important
telegram about the state of affairs. All loyalists'
stores in the settlements were taken over by
Riel's Government, and on the evening of
March 25th the Duck Lake Post was captured,
with all the Indian and Government stores there. The reservation of Beardy, the
half-breed chief of a small band of about one hundred
and sixty Indians, was just west of Duck Lake.
He was known as one of the worst behaved of the chiefs, and one who had already
given the Mounted Police much trouble. By
promising him the opportunity to plunder, the
support of his warriors was assured.
The officers of the Mounted Police knew that
trouble was brewing among the half-breeds of
St. Laurent, and Major Crozier with a force
of seventy-five men had occupied Fort Carleton, an old Hudson's Bay post on the North
Saskatchewan, about twelve miles west of Duck
Lake, to watch the half-breeds. With a force
of sixty Mounted Policemen and forty volunteers from Prince Albert, whom he had sent
for, Major Crozier started on the morning
of the 26th March to bring away the Government stores and other property which were
at Duck Lake. Major Crozier, who had served
on the force for twelve years, and had snuffed
out two or three incipient Indian wars, had
proved himself a brave, prompt, and resolute
man. When near Beardy's reserve, and about
two miles from Duck Lake, a number of armed
men were discovered in a
coulée, or ravine
lightly fringed with poplars, through which the
trail led. A white flag was flying, and while
Major Crozier and his interpreter, Mackay,
went forward to call upon the men to surrender their arms, the police and volunteers,
who had been brought in sleighs, alighted and
commenced extending in a skirmishing line.
Crozier's demand was met by the question from
Gabriel Dumont, who led the rebels: "Is it to be
a fight ?" Major Crozier believing that the rebels
were about to fire upon his men, ordered his
force to commence firing. The rebels had
already occupied two houses, not visible from
the road, and from these, as well as from the
coulee, they fired upon the force. While the
Mounted Police, with the aid of a seven-pound
gun, were trying to dislodge the rebels in the coulée, the Prince Albert volunteers advanced,
firing upon those in the house. The volunteers
lost heavily and failed of their purpose. The
fight went on at short range for half an hour,
when the Mounted Police had expended all their
ammunition, the gun having become useless
after a few rounds. Seeing that the rebels were
creeping around by the edges of the coulée, and
that his men were in danger of being outflanked
and hemmed in by a greater number, Major
Crozier gave the order to retreat, which was carried out, the little force leaving their dead on the
field but taking with them their useless gun and
the wounded. In that engagement of half an
hour, out of one hundred police and volunteers,
fourteen were killed and nine severely wounded.
Eleven of the killed were out of the forty
Prince Albert volunteers. The names of the
patriotic dead, the first on the death-roll of
this war, were: Captain John Morton, William
Napier, James Blakely, Skeffington C. Elliot,
Robert Middleton, D. McPhail, Charles Hewit,
Joseph Anderson, D. Mackenzie, Charles Page,
and Alexander Fisher, civilians, and constables
T. J. Gibson, Garretty and J. P. Arnold of the
Mounted Police force. The class of settlers in
the Canadian North-West may
be guessed from
the fact that of the eleven civilians killed one was the son of a Judge, and cousin of the leader
of the Opposition in the Dominion Parliament, one was a nephew of Sir Francis
Hincks, a former Canadian Premier and Governor of the Windward Isles, one was a son
of Sir Charles Napier, and one a nephew of
the celebrated Nova Scotian Statesman, the
Hon. Joseph Howe. On their way back to
Fort Carleton Major Crozier and his decimated
force were overtaken just at the gates of the
stockade by Colonel Irvine, who had arrived
from Qu'Appelle with the long looked for reinforcement of one hundred mounted policemen.
Fort Carleton was a fort only in name, having
no fortification but a stockade, and being in a
valley it was untenable. Besides it was supposed
the whole force was needed to protect the town
of Prince Albert and the settlers who had sought refuge there. It was decided to abandon the
place, and while this was being done the wooden
houses took fire and it was with difficulty the
wounded men were saved. The train of sleighs
filled with the frightened families of settlers, and
the severely wounded men, and guarded by
troops, some of whom were suffering acutely
from a sense of defeat, turned north-eastward to
traverse forty miles of country presumably
swarming with victorious rebels. The news of
the evacuation of the fort was received about two
weeks before the news of their safe arrival at
Prince Albert. The suspense during that interval was the most painful of many gloomy periods
during the war. Prince Albert with three hundred armed men was safe from attack, but, with
its greatly augmented population, fears were
entertained of the provisions running out before
it was relieved. At the Duck Lake engagement
the rebel's force numbered two hundred, and
their loss was six killed and three wounded.
Beardy's Indians were not present, they being
detached to guard against an attack by Colonel
Irvine, who was known to be close at hand. On
the 27th, Riel sent a prisoner to Fort Carleton
with a message to Colonel Irvine to send waggons for his dead, which was done, two of the
other prisoners being given leave to put the
bodies in places where they would be safe. In the
meantime Fort Carleton was occupied by Riel on
the 31st March, but was evacuated hurriedly
at midnight on the 2nd April; on the 4th April
Duck Lake was evacuated after the buildings had
been gutted and fired. The political portion of
the Provisional Government had not been idle
while the military section had been so busy. It
had established a reformed religion for the Metis
nation and had formulated the following creed :
"We believe all believers constitute the true church.
We do not believe in the infallibility of the Pope. We
believe in the inspiration of the Holy Scriptures and the
right of every man to learn the truths they contain.
We believe in a regularly ordained ministry. We believe
In a form of church government, preferring the episco
pal. We believe there is one God. We pray to God, to
Christ, to Mary, to the saints. We believe in the final
salvation of all men."
Riel had proclaimed himself to be "Elias who
Was to come and change all things," and to begin
with he changed Saturday into Sunday.
CHAPTER III.
THE INDIAN RISING.
The success of the Metis
at Duck Lake excited the
Indians on every reserve
throughout the North-West.
Without industry, and improvident, they are, in spite
of Government aid, always
hungry and in want, and ever
ready to supply their wants
by plunder if there is any
chance of success. The reserves of the strongest and
most warlike tribes were,
however, within easy striking distance of the Canadian
Pacific Railway, and the
chiefs, knowing how swiftly
a blow could be struck against
them, curbed the restless
young braves, and wrote
characteristically eloquent
letters, alleging their perfect
loyalty to the Government,
which they transmitted by
telegraph. Their loyalty was
confirmed, doubtless, by generous gifts of extra food and
tobacco.
One hundred and eighty
miles north of the railway,
at the junction of the Battle
and North Saskatchewan
rivers, is the town of Battleford, within a compass of
thirty miles of which were
the reserves of large bands of
Cree and Stoney Indians,
numbering in all over two
thousand. The abandonment, by the Mounted Police,
of Fort Carleton, which
lies between Battleford
and Riel's head-quarters at Batoche, allowed
free intercourse between him and these Indians
who could not
resist a prospect of plunder and
the war-path. On the night of the 29th March
the Indiana were reported to be advancing upon
Battleford, and some three hundred settlers and
townspeople thronged into the stockade at
Battleford, which is on the point formed by the
junction of the Battle River with the North
Saskatchewan. Col. Morris, who was in command of the Mounted Police post and the
local company, into which all the able-bodied
men enrolled themselves, had already set his force to work building bastions and
preparing for a siege, and that night was passed
under arms. The next day the Indians made
their appearance on the south bank of the Battle
river, and the plunder of the stores and dwellings in the old town commenced. These
Indians were of Poundmaker's tribe, and there
were probably not more than one hundred of
them, but they were soon after reinforced. On
the morning of the 31st, at 3 a.m. , a tall Indian
forced his way into the bedchamber of George
Applegarth, the farm instructor of Red Pheasant's band, at the Eagle Hills, about twenty
miles south-west of Battleford, and warned him
that the Indians of the reserve were up and he would be murdered if he did not at once get
away. The Indian told him also that Battleford was taken, and his only hope of escape was
to follow the trail to Swift Current, a station on
the Canadian Pacific railway one hundred and
seventy miles distant. Applegarth put his wife
and child into a buckboard waggon, and taking
advantage of a moment when the Indians were
plundering the stores, started on his long drive
for life, unobserved. He had not gone far before
the Indians were after him, and all one desperate night he dodged them from coulee to coulee,
and for two days more, until he had caught up
to Judge Rouleau's party of refugees, who had left Battleford on the 29th, he was in constant
danger. Upon the same night that Applegarth
was attacked, the Stoneys of Mosquito's band,
on the reserve adjoining Red Pheasant's, murdered their farm instructor, Payne, who, two
days before, had been assured of their loyalty.
The united bands, numbering about one hundred fighting men, joined Poundmaker, and
soon an army of five or six hundred Indians lay
around that place. The Indians made no attack
upon the barracks, which, situated on a high
bluff on the river side, were as impregnable to
an Indian force without cannon as the Rock of
Gibraltar, but in trying to plunder that part of the
town nearest the fort they
frequently came within range
of the seven-pounder gun,
and it was used vigorously
and with effect upon several
occasions. The period of the
siege was anxious but comparatively uneventful save
for the occasional arrest of a
a half-breed for one offence
or another, and for the
adventures of the scouts
who attempted to communicate with the surrounding
posts.
CHAPTER IV
THE FROG LAKE MASSACRE.
At almost the same time
as the outbreak at Battleford, about a hundred and
fifty miles to the west, there
occurred a series of incidents
without parallel in the history of Canada. Fort Pitt,
station of the Mounted Police, on the north bank of the
North Saskatchewan, about
one hundred and twenty
miles to the north-west of
Battleford, was hold by a
garrison of some twenty
men, under the command of
Captain Dickens, a son of
the great novelist, who had
come to Canada and become
an Inspector in the force.
Thirty miles to the northwest of this again was the
Indian station and mission
of Frog Lake, situated on
the reserves of a couple of
Indians who were under the
influence of that suspicious
and moody chief, Big Bear.
On the 30th of March news of the Duck Lake
fight was received by Mr. T. T. Quinn, the
Indian agent at Frog Lake. The option was
given him by Inspector Dickens of coming to
Fort Pitt with all the people at Frog Lake, or of
being joined by the garrison of Fort Pitt. A council of war was held, and it was decided that the
squad of police at Frog Lake, only seven men,
should be sent away at once, as, while too few to
protect the people in case of an attack, their presence irritated the Indians. The people believed
they would be safe if the police were gone, and
they hurried their departure. As the police left
they heard the whoop of the war-dancers in Big Bear's camp. Before dawn of the following day, the dancers, whom the Mounted Police while
departing had heard whooping, all Indians of Big
Bear's band of plain Crees came in a body to the
Indian agency and entered it. T. P. Quirn, the
agent, was a Sioux half-breed, who, with his
cousin Harry Quinn, had passed through all the
horrors of the Minnesota massacre, and although
married to a Cree woman was hated by the
Indians. Bad Child, a son of Big Bear, and
another rushed upstairs with the avowed purpose of shooting the agent in his bed, but his
brother-in-law, Loveman, followed them and
prevented the crime by throwing himself in
front of the levelled firearms. These two went
down-stairs again and the place was ransacked,
the Indians contenting themselves with the firearms in the office and the horses in the stable,
however. Travelling Spirit, one of the band,
came to the foot of the stairs, after an interval,
and called to Quinn, "Man-who-speaks-Sioux,
come down." Loveman tried to prevent his
brother-in-law from showing himself, but Quinn
went down. He was at once forced to go to the
house of Delaney, the farm instructor, where the
Indians were gathering together all the whites
at the post. Travelling Spirit,
Big Bear's chief
councillor, with a small party went to the
Hudson's Bay store, where they found Mr. W.
B. Cameron, the agent who was in charge,
already up. Bad Child went into the house
alone and demanded from Cameron all the ammunition in the store. The Mounted Police had
taken nearly all the fixed ammunition and a keg
of powder to Port Pitt, so that Mr. Cameron, at
the muzzles of loaded guns, made no difficulty
about giving up the little that remained, and,
accompanied by the greater part of the band,
he went to the store and gave it to them. While
he was getting it out for them Big Bear came in
and ordered the Indians not to touch anything
but to ask Cameron for what they wanted.
Several preferred requests for small articles,
which were given them, and all wont out quietly.
Cameron followed to see what they were going
to do, and Travelling Spirit rushed up to him as
soon as he came out and forced him to accompany him to the Indian Agency, where nearly
all the white men of the settlement had been
brought from Delaney's house.
Travelling Spirit went up to the agent, Quinn,
and demanded: "I want to know who is the
chief of the whites in this country. Is it the
governor of the Hudson's Bay Company or who?"
Quinn, who did not take the matter at all
seriously, answered, "There is a man at Ottawa
called Sir John A. Macdonald who is the head
of affairs."
"Give us beef I" yelled a number of the
Indians, and upon the rest taking up the cry
Quinn asked Delaney if he could not give them
an ox. Delaney said he had one or two, and
most of the Indians made off to secure the
animals. So convinced were the little band that
the Indians would commit no serious excesses,
that they appear to have had no serious misgivings whatever. The two priests, Fathers
Fafard and Marchand, men who had devoted
their lives to the Indians, went to their little church, and calling their flock together began
the celebration of the service of the day. It was
Good Friday, the 3rd of April, and none
dreamed that the Easter sun would rise for but
few among them. The Indians went to the
church almost in a body, but they took their
prisoners, every white in the settlement except
Cameron and the factor's wife, Mrs. Simpson,
with them. With their arms in their hands the
Indians knelt through the service, but Big Bear
and Miserable Man stood on each side of the door.
Travelling Spirit did not go in with the rest,
but after some time discovered Cameron trading
with some Indians at the store, and forced him
to go to the church. This man, who appeared to
be possessed by a fiend, entered the church with
his war hat on his head, his face painted yellow,
and the loaded gun with which he had already
threatened several lives, in his hand. Yet, he
too, partly knelt in the aisle. After the service
the Fathers addressed the Indians warning and
commanding them not to commit outrages or
excesses. The Indians then took the most of
the white people to Delaney's, and Cameron
went quietly back to his quarters and ate his
breakfast as if all were well. Two Indians,
Yellow Bear and a Frog Lake Indian, went
with him more as guests than guards. Big Bear
himself went into the factor's house to Mrs.
Simpson, who had not been disturbed, and a
short interval of quiet followed. Travelling
Spirit broke in upon this, by ordering all the
whites to go to the Indian camp, and those who
had remained in Delaney's house were brought
out and forced to start along the trail. Thomas
Quinn, the Indian Agent, paid no attention to
this order, but continued a conversation with
Charles Gouin, a half-breed carpenter, in front
Pritchard's house. Travelling Spirit came up
to him and said. "You have a hard head.
"When you say no, you mean no, and stick to
"it. Now, if you love your life, you will do
"what I say. Go to our camp."
Quinn, a man of magnificent physique, of
great determination and courage, and filled,
moreover, with all the contempt which his Sioux
blood naturally gave him for the Crees, answered
nonchalantly the threat of the savage by saying,
"Why should I go?"
"Never mind," said the Indian, with a
threatening gesture.
"I will not go," said the undaunted agent.
"I tell you, go !" yelled the savage, and lifting his gun, he shot Quinn through the head, so
that he fell dead.
C. Gouin, who had turned toward the Indian
camp while Travelling Spirit was speaking to
Quinn, was shot and killed immediately by The
Worm. The little party of white men and
women who had been gathered in Delaney's had
gone but a short distance when the first shot
was fired. At the sound of the fatal signal,
Little Bear shot the old Scotch mason, Williscroft, through the head. Young Harry Quinn,
who was at the rear of the little party, on seeing Williscroft murdered, dodged
between his
guards, plunged into the bush and escaped, to
carry the news of that bloody Good Friday to
Fort Pitt. Many of the Indians had not loaded
their guns when the first shot was fired, and
they rapidly began to charge them, while the
brave priests begged, implored and reasoned
with them. As they spoke the two priests boldly placed themselves between the Indians and
Mrs. Gowanlock and Mrs. Delaney, Suddenly
a party of the Indians rushed at Delaney,
and knocked down Father Fafard, who threw
himself in front of the doomed farm instructor.
Bareneck shot Delaney, and then turning shot
the priest as he lay upon the ground. Travelling
Spirit, as thirsty for blood as a panther, followed
by The Worm and other Indians, rushed up at this
moment, and Travelling Spirit shot down Father
Marchand, who had thrown himself upon the Indians single-handed
and unarmed when he saw his fellow missionary shot. The-Man-Who-Wins then shot and killed Delaney
and also Father Fafard, who, terribly
wounded, lay writhing upon the snow.
Gowanlock and his wife, who stood
hand in hand, were a little farther ahead on the trail than the
first group, and The-Worm, leaving his master in
crime to deal with
the larger party,
ran forward and
shot Gowanlock
through the body.
He fell into the
arms of his young
wife and died
there. Little Bear
shot Gilchrist
dead, but missed
Diel, who tore his
way through the
band and made
off. He outran
all pursuit, but a
number of the Indians were by this
time mounted on
stolen horses, and
he was run down
and murdered
after a long chase.
Big Bear was still
with Mrs. Simpson
when the shooting commenced,
and he ran out
shouting "stop."
Cameron, was
trading with Miserable Man who,
had brought him an order for a blanket signed
by Quinn, when the first shot was fired, and
both ran out of the store. Cameron stopped to
lock the door and an Indian ran up to him and
said, "If you speak twice you are a dead man.
One man spoke twice and he is dead." Cameron
turned to Yellow Bear, the Indian who had
been with him all morning, and asked him what
it all meant. Yellow Bear caught him by the
wrist and said, "Come with me." Mrs. Simpson came out of the factor's house at this
moment, and the Indian went on: "Go to her
and do not leave her." This Cameron did, and
together they walked down the trail until they
came in sight of the main party. Not one
detail of the massacre escaped them. When all
was over they continued on their way toward
the Indian camp. Mrs. Simpson, as they
walked, kept saying, "go on faster," but
Cameron, seeing that escape was impossible,
never quickened his pace beyond a walk, and
afterwards he found that if he had run a step
he would have been killed. When they reached
the camp, one of the chiefs of the Frog Lake
band of Wood Crees, He-stands-up-before-him,
took them into a lodge and sent a message to
Travelling Spirit that he was to leave Ca
meron
alone. Satiated with the blood of the men,
the Indians brought in the two women, Mrs.
Gowanlock and Mrs. Delaney, without in
any way injuring them, and they were purchased from their captors by the half-breeds,
John Pritchard and Pierre Blondin, the first of
whom gave a horse and $3 for Mrs. Delaney, and the second three horses for Mrs. Gowanlock.
The three white women were placed in the
charge of Pritchard's family and closely guarded
by the half-breeds and Wood Crees. These
Indians had no sympathy with either the rising
or the murders, which they would have prevented
if they had been able, and they were determined that the prisoners should
be well treated. Mr. Simpson,
the factor, returned from Fort
Pitt upon the evening of the
massacre, and was at once made
a prisoner, but no indignities
were offered to him and he was
allowed to join his wife.
The bodies of the dead were
thrown into the houses, which
were first rifled, and then burnt.
The Plain Crees then abandoned themselves to a course
of dancing and feasting, during
which the vigilance of the half-breeds and Wood Crees alone
saved the prisoners. Two days
after the abandonment of Frog
Lake by the Mounted Police
Harry Quinn made his way
into Fort Pitt alone, unarmed,
unhorsed and greatly exhausted.
He had seen nothing more than
the first acts of violence, and for
weeks this was the only reliable information received as to
what had befallen the people of
Frog Lake. The most horrible
rumors as to the fate of the
women were circulated.
On receipt of this terrible
news the garrison at Fort
Pitt exerted themselves to the utmost to put
the fort, a mere collection of log houses, into
a defensible state. Bastions to flank the walls
and a stockade were constructed, and couriers
were sent out to obtain assistance if possible.
On the 14th April, a scouting party, consisting of Harry Quinn and constables Cowan
and Loasby, went out towards Frog Lake
to get news, if possible, of the further movements of the Indians, and to ascertain the fate of
their captives. In their absence about a hundred
Indians made their appearance upon the hills
to the back of the fort, and a message was sent
into Captain Dickens, of which a rude facsimile
is here given. The publishers have the original.
That night was passed under arms, and the
next morning McLean, 'the Hudson's Bay factor
at Fort Pitt, and young Dufresne went out to
parley with the Indians. About noon the returning scouts came upon the Indian encampment,
and two of them, Cowan and Loasby, made a dash
to get through it, and they did gain the crest
of
the lulls above the fort, but a perfect storm of
bullets followed them as they charged straight
for the fort. Both fell, Cowan to rise no more,
but Loasby, with two bullets in his body, successfully feigned death until the Indians departed
when he managed to reach the fort. The third
scout, young Quinn, the survivor of the Frog
Lake tragedy, on the appearance of the Indians
wheeled his horse and galloped
back towards Frog Lake closely
followed, and for a time all knowledge of him was lost. The Indians rushed
down to within
range of the fort, so eager were
they in pursuit of the scouts, and
a brisk fire was at once opened
upon them, which speedily drove
them back. McLean and Dufresne, who had gone out to
parley with the Indians, were
kept as prisoners. In the afternoon a message was received
from McLean by his wife,
advising her and all the civilians to come and place themselves under the protection of
Big Bear, who had solemnly promised to protect all the
civilians if the police would
agree to abandon the barracks.
He also warned Captain Dickens
that the place would be burned
down, as the Indians had prepared fire balls saturated with
coal oil with which to fire the
fort. Against the wishes of
the police all the civilians, both
men and women, determined to
give themselves up to Big Bear.
The little party consisted of
Mrs. McLean and her nine children — three
of whom were young women, who, during the
anxious period when an attack upon the fort
was expected, bravely took their stand at port
holes, rifle in hand, to assist in the defence, while some were but babes; George Mann, his
wife, and three children; Rev. C. Quincy
and his wife, Malcolm Macdonald, Hodgson, four half-breed farm laborers, two of whom
took their families, and the friendly Indian,
Nakootan, with his wife and child. Their fate
remained a mystery for many an anxious week.
On the evening of this eventful day the twenty-two Mounted Policemen abandoned the fort
and crossed the river. The next morning, with but little besides the Queen's
colors and their arms, they started in an
old ferry scow upon a voyage of a hundred and
twenty miles down the fast flowing river, which
was still impeded with floating blocks of drift
ice, and the banks of which were in the hands
of a merciless enemy. The weather was cold and
inclement. During the first day out several of
the men had their hands and feet frozen, and,
worst of all, the scow leaked like a basket, and
required constant baling by six men to keep it
afloat. Through it all, however, these indomitable twenty-two kept in good spirits, and found
it possible to laugh at one another's attire, and
hold on an island a parade for inspection of
arms and ammunition, which they declared a
pretty "tough looking affair." At last, upon
the 22nd of April, five clays after leaving Fort
Pitt, they reached Battleford, where for a week
they had been reported as missing men.
The
names, which were about to be placed on the
roll of the lost, are: — Inspector, A. J. Dickens
(son of the late Charles Dickens); Staff-Surgeon, J. B. Rolph, M.D.; Sergeant, John
Martin; Corporal, R. B. Sleigh; Constables,
W. Anderson, H. Ayre, J. W. Carroll, H. A.
Edmonds, R. Hobbs, R. Ince, F. Leduc, G.
Lionais, C. Loasby (wounded), J. A. Macdonald,
L. O. Keefe, C. Phillips, J. Quigley, F. C.
Roby, G. W. Rowley, B. H. Robertson, R.
Rutledge, W. W. Smith, J. Tector and F. F.
Warren.
After the Frog Lake Massacre, the settlers
all along the banks of the North Saskatchewan
and of its tributaries the Battle and Great
Red Deer rivers, west to the Rocky Mountains,
fled to Fort Saskatchewan, a post of the
Mounted Police on the Upper Saskatchewan, to
Edmonton, and to stations on the Canadian
Pacific Railway, for shelter and protection. During many nights the blaze of
their homes, plundered and fired by it Indians, was to be seen from the
forts and stations.
CHAPTER V.
THE VOLUNTEERS ORDERED TO THE
FRONT.
The news of the rebellion of the
half-breeds of the Saskatchewan,
under the leadership of Riel, was
received with astonishment in Eastern Canada. This was not due
to lack of clear warnings. Reports of the meetings held at the
different settlements in Saskatchewan territory had reached the
newspapers, and the fact that Riel
was one of the speakers and leaders
in the movement was mentioned in
these. The famous Bill of Rights
had been published, and its demands
discussed by the journals. Colonel
Houghton, who had gone up to
Prince Albert to collect the arms of
the disbanded volunteer corps in that
district reported that trouble was imminent. During the fall and winter
the English residents of Prince
Albert wrote to friends in the east, stating
that Riel was at work among the half-breeds,
and rebellion was certain to break out unless
prompt measures were taken by the Government to overawe the disaffected. But
such an upshot seemed so improbable that
all warnings were completely thrown away.
The Government paid no
attention to the agitation
further than borrowing Fort
Carleton from the Hudson's
Bay Company, and increasing the number of Mounted
Police in the district. It
was on the 23rd March that
Sir John Macdonald, the
Premier, in reply to a question by Mr. Blake, the
leader of the Opposition,
stated in parliament that
authentic news of the outbreak of the Metis had been
received by the Government.
The general belief at that
time was that the trouble
would be quickly put down
by the Mounted Police force,
with the aid of the volunteers
of Manitoba. The Government acted promptly. On
the 24th March General Middleton, commanding the
Canadian Militia, was dispatched to Winnipeg, where
he arrived on the 27th to assume command of the field
force in person.
Major-General Frederick
Middleton had seen a great
deal of service in many
different lands. In 1846, he
took part in some very active
bush fighting during the
Maori war in New Zealand, but it was during
the mutiny in India, in
1857 and 1858, when he took part in the relief
of Lucknow, as the aide of General Lugard
that he won his greatest honours, and was
rapidly promoted for services in the field. He
commanded at the skirmish at Agemghur, and
for having twice on that day gallantly saved a
life at the utmost risk of his own, he was recommended by General Lugard for the Victoria
Cross. His companion in one of these adventures was given the coveted honour, but General
Middleton, then a captain, was not recommended
by Lord Clyde on the technical ground that he
was a staff officer, and could not therefore be
recommended for the Cross.
As an officer of the new school his reputation
was high in the service, and for some years he
held the position of Commandant of the military
college of Sandhurst, where, as a lad, he was
educated. Leaving aside his purely military
experience, he was particularly well fitted for the
campaign in the North-West by having lived long
in Canada, and married into a very popular
French-Canadian family, the Doucets, of Monttreal, and by being well acquainted with the men
he was to command. The first battalion ordered
out was the 90th Rifles of Winnipeg, the youngest
corps in the service, but very fortunate in its
organizer. A year before it had been created out
of splendid material, — largely trained men from
the eastern provinces, — by the late Lieut. -Col.
Kennedy, who, at the time his battalion was
called out for active service at home, was in
Egypt as the commander of the contingent of
Canadian voyageurs. Upon the 25th of March
a detachment of a hundred men of this corps,
under the command of Major Boswell, was hurried west to Qu'Appelle, as the fidelity of the
Indians in the Qu'Appelle valley and at the Touchwood hills was considered doubtful. Two
days later, after being reviewed by General Middleton, the remainder of the battalion, two
hundred strong, and the
Winnipeg field battery
with two nine pounder guns followed. Upon
the 27th of March the news of the Duck Lake
fight had probably reached the Government, as
orders were issued on that day from Ottawa to
the commandants of the two regular batteries of
Canadian artillery — A at Quebec, and B at
Kingston — to provide detachments of one hundred men each and send them en at once.
Within a few hours of the receipt of these orders, early on
the morning of the 28th, the
two detachments embarked, and
uniting at Ottawa, under the
command of Lieut. -Col. Montizambert, were fairly entered
on their long journey to Winnipeg, by the Canadian Pacific
Railway. the road north of
Lake Superior was unfinished,
but as there were well-founded
apprehensions of difficulty and
delay in securing the consent of
the United States Government
to the passage of troops over
United States territory, and as
there was thought to be some
danger of an attempt being
made to wreck trains by Irish
citizens of the west, who were
supposed to be in sympathy
with the rebels, it was decided
to send the troops by the Canadian route.
Upon the 28th of March, C. Company School of Regular
Infantry, eighty strong, from
Toronto, and two detachments
of two hundred and fifty men
each from the Queen's Own,
and the 10th Royal Grenadiers,
were called out for actual service. The Queen's Own having,
upon the fatal field of Ridgeway, received its baptism «of
blood, has always aspired to
the proud position of being
ready for duty under all circumstances, and although but
short notice was given over five
hundred men fell into line at
the first parade. It was composed almost entirely of young
men engaged in mercantile and
professional pursuits, and its
departure brought the war home
to the people of Toronto at least.
On the 30th of March the six
hundred men from Toronto, the
first of the citizen soldiers of
the East to leave, started forward by the same route as the
batteries. Lieut.-Col. Williams, M. P., on the 29th, received a
commission to raise a provisional battalion of eight companies from the Midland district, by drawing two full
companies from his own corps, the
46th, and one each from the
15th, 40th, 45th, 46th, 47th,
49th and 57th. On the 28th,
the 65th battalion, Mount Royal
Rifles of Montreal, Lieut.-Col. Ouimet, M. P., commanding.
were called out for active service. On the
30th, Lieutenant. -Colonel O'Brien, M.P., was
commissioned to raise a battalion of eight
companies, by taking four companies of the
35th (Simcoe), and four of the 12th (York) regiments. Lieut.-Col. Scott, M. P., was commissioned to raise the 91st of the line in Winnipeg,
to number some four hundred men, and another
regiment of three hundred men and more was
organized in the same city by Lieut.-Col.
Osborne Smith, which was commissioned as the
92nd Winnipeg Light Infantry. A detachment
of fifty sharpshooters, selected from the Governor General's Foot Guards, under the command
of Captain Todd, joined the Toronto contingent
on the track, having been raised and sent forward in an exceedingly short time. On the 31st
of March, the 7th of London, Lieut.-Col.
Williams, and the 9th of Quebec, Col. Amyot, M. P. , commanding, was called out. A provisional battalion was formed of detachments
from the 66th Princess Louise Fusiliers, 63rd
Rifles, and the Halifax Garrison Artillery,
under the command of Lieut. -Col. J. J. Bremner, numbering some 350 men, but this
battalion did not start for the front until the
11th April. Besides all these regular bodies of
militia, a large number of men were formed
into home guards throughout the towns of the
North-West, and even in the cities of the East
the veterans of regiments like the Queen's Own
and the Victoria Rifles enrolled themselves for
like duty. In all, the regularly enlisted forces
called out at the time consisted of 280 regulars,
1,050 volunteers from Manitoba, 1,450 from Ontario, 595 from Quebec, and 363 from Nova
Scotia. On the 30th of March, the advance
guard of the 90th marched from Qu'Appelle
station to Fort Qu'Appelle, and then followed
a weary period of inaction, as it was not until
the 6th of April that A and B batteries arrived
at Qu'Appelle station, having been eight days
upon the way. They had been forced to contend with formidable enemies, intense cold,
bad roads, and extreme hardships at the very
commencement of the campaign. Between the
western end of the eastern section of the Canadian
Pacific Railway and Jackfish Bay, some eighty
miles east of Port Arthur, there was a gap of
one hundred and ninety miles, over a hundred
and five of which they were carried upon open
flat cars, and the remaining distance, some
eighty-five miles, they were taken in sleighs.
The labor of transhipping the guns and stores so
frequently, six times in the gaps, was very heavy.
While the Toronto contingent was making
its way over the gaps the weather was bitter, and
the suffering caused, to the Grenadiers especially, who had to make long distances on foot,
was great. During the week of enforced inactivity at Fort Qu'Appelle, greatly exaggerated
rumors as to the extent of the rebellion were
circulated. It was stated that the great Cree
Chieftain, Piapot, whose influence over the
File Hill and Touchwood Indians was great,
and who had at one time a couple of hundred
warriors in his own band, had gone on the warpath, although he had not, as far as is known,
endangered his rations by leaving his reservation. The advance guard of General Middleton's
force, a body of the 90th, with some scouts,
reached the Touchwood Hills on April 3rd, and
there camped.
Upon the first tidings of the trouble at
Battleford, arrangements had been made for
a dash from Swift Current to its relief by a body
of some forty-five Mounted Police with a field
gun, under the command of Col. Herchmer.
The South Saskatchewan river was found full of
drift ice, and an attempt to cross it on the first
of April failed, so that the force returned to
Swift Current, and there awaited the arrival of
reinforcements which were by that time considered necessary to meet
the besieging forces of
Indians whose numbers were greatly exaggerated
by rumor. When the Queen's Own arrived at
Winnipeg, on the 8th of April, they were dispatched immediately to Qu'Appelle. Such
was the spirit of the men that the hardships
endured on marches through snow with the
mercury below zero, and the breakdown of the
commissariat, which is a matter-of-course in a
British campaign the world over, only furnished
matter for mirth and occasion for a display of
loyalty as the following remarkable war-song. composed on the journey and sung at an impromptu
concert on the train as they rolled west, attests;
The volunteers are all fine boys and fond of lots of fun, —
But it's mighty little pay they get for carrying a gun;
The Government have grown so lean, and the C. P. R. so fat our extra pay we did not get— you can bet your boots on
that!
Chorus— You can bet your boots on that!
They will not even give a shed that's fitting for our drill,
For Ridgeway now forgotten is, and also Pigeon Hill;
But now they've wanted us again, they've called us out —
that's flat —
And the boys have got to board themselves,
You can bet your boots on that
To annexate us some folks would, or independent be,
And our Sir John would federate the colonies, I see;
But let them blow till they are "blue," and I'll throw up
my hat,
And give my life for England's flag—
You can bet your boots on that!
The flag that's braved a thousand years,
You can bet your boots on that!
From Qu'Appelle they went to Swift Current
to become the nucleus of an expedition for the
relief of Battleford.
The plan of the campaign then began to assume
visible form. General. Middleton, whose advance
guard had pushed on some 40 miles to the northward by the 6th of April, took upon himself the
crushing of the rebellion of the Metis upon the
South Saskatchewan. On its arrival at Qu'Appelle, A battery, Kingston, was sent to join
the 90th and the Winnipeg battery. A company
of horse, some 85 in number, raised by Major
Boulton, who had seen service in Riel's first rebellion, followed, and later still, half of C Infantry School and the Tenth Royal Grenadiers were
hurried forward to overtake the advance force. To Colonel Otter, the commandant of the Toronto Infantry School, and in command of the
Queen's Own, was allotted the task of relieving
Battleford, and striking at the heart of the
Indian rising in that district. B Battery,
forty men of C Company, the Queen's Own, and
the Ottawa Guards, under Captain Todd, were
assigned to him. Around Calgary, at the foot
of the Rocky Mountains, lie the reserves of the
Blackfeet nation, a confederation of tribes,
which could put fifteen hundred of the best
Indian warriors in the North-West in the field.
This confederation, composed of Blackfeet,
Bloods, Piegans and Sarcees, is allied with
American tribes across the border in Montana,
from where Riel had been brought, and it was
believed that he had before leaving invited
the Piegan and Blood Indians of Montana to
cross into Canada, join the Blackfeet, and after
taking the Mounted Police posts at Fort
McLeod and Assiniboine, capture Calgary and
destroy the Canadian Pacific Railway. The
leading chiefs of the Canadian confederation
were Crowfoot, the head of the nation, Three Bulls, chief of the Blackfeet, and Eagle Tail of the
Bloods. Crowfoot, chief of the nation, declared
that Riel had sent him tobacco — the invitation
and signal to rise — but that he had rejected it.
His young warriors were certainly restless and
excited, and disturbances actually occurred at
Blackfoot Crossing, where it was expected the
northern Indians, who were on the war-path,
would appear, to induce the Blackfeet to join in
the rising. It became necessary, therefore, to
hold Calgary and the forts and towns in that
district, with a force sufficient to awe the
Indians. The 65th (Montreal) were sent to Calgary, where they arrived on April 10th. They
were put under Major-General Strange, who had
already raised a company of scouts in the
district. As Calgary was the point on the
railway nearest to Edmonton, it became the
base of an expedition for the relief of that place,
which General Strange was commissioned to
organize. The Commissariat department was
placed under the charge of that veteran officer,
Major-General Laurie, who had been among the
first to offer his services. Owing to the bad
condition of the prairie trails, the question of
transport was a most important one, and an
immense number of teams was required. It was
determined, if possible, to use the South Saskatchewan river, which opens generally between the
1st and the 15th of April, for the forwarding of supplies to General Middleton's column.
As soon as the trouble arose, Sir A. T.
Gait placed the steamers "Alberta," "Baroness" and "Minnow," which were on the
river, at the disposal of the Government,
and the steamer "Northcote" was started from
Medicine Hat as soon as it was possible to
get her into trim after her winter's rest. Upon
April 8th, she began her voyage, which proved
to be one of the most adventurous ever undertaken by a steamboat. The Northcote" is
a flat-bottomed stern-wheeler, of about two
hundred tons burden, and is the property of
the Hudson's Bay Company.
It is worth recording, before closing this
chapter, on the calling out of the volunteers and the forwarding of them to the front, that within
one month of the breaking out of the rebellion,
a force of over 3,000 men of all branches of the
service had been called out and transported, the
greater portion more than 1,800 miles and the
remainder 2,500 miles, and in addition nearly
1,500 men had been raised in Manitoba and the
west. Not one-tenth of the militia force avail
able was called out, and there was not a corps
in the Dominion which was not anxious to go.
CHAPTER VI.
BEATING UP THE METIS.
The task of the First Division was to strike
at the heart of the rebellion, and, as each day
that Riel remained unconquered brought him
recruits and made the Indians more restless,
there was no time to be lost in administering
the blow. The distance from Qu'Appelle
station to Batoche, the stronghold of the rebels,
was two hundred and thirty miles. The trail, or
line of march, was for most of the distance over a
prairie which the melted snow had converted into a soaked sponge, and in places there were
alkali swamps which destroyed the men's boots
and injured their feet. The weather was
wretched, rain falling heavily at times during
the day and the temperature being frequently
below freezing and even at times below zero at
night. To push rapidly on under these circumstances and to light an invisible enemy, whose
numbers could only be conjectured, known to
be sharpshooters almost to a man, was work
calculated to test the endurance, pluck and
skill of the finest trained and seasoned troops.
The little force which General Middleton
led was composed of the citizen soldiers of
the Dominion — volunteers, all of them young,
many of them not well out of their teens. The
first advance was made on April 9th by a detachment of the 90th (Winnipeg) and thirty
scouts under Captain French. They reached
Touchwood on April 10th, by which date the whole division, composed of the remainder of
the 90th (Winnipeg), the 1st half of C Company,
the Winnipeg Field Battery and A Battery
(Quebec), brigaded under Colonel Montizambert, the 10th Grenadiers (Toronto), and Boulton's Mounted scouts, under Colonel Grassett,
were on the way between Qu'Appelle and
Touchwood. Four hundred horse teams transported the baggage and supplies of the force.
From Touchwood to Humboldt, a station where
a large quantity of Government stores lay,
which it was feared might be seized by the
enemy, the distance was 7.S miles, the weather
was bad and salt bogs had to be passed, but it
was done in four days. Though only sixty-three miles from Batoche, the rebels had not
disturbed the Humboldt settlement. There the
trail forks, one path continuing almost due
north to Batoche, the other leading west along
the telegraph route to Clarke's Crossing on the
South Saskatchewan river. The trail to Clarke's
Crossing was followed, and the advance force
camped for the night 25 miles west of Humboldt,
at Vermilion Lake. Fire signals blazed on the
hills to the north and the
west, showing that the
troops had reached the enemy's country, their
presence was known and their movements
watched. At Clarke's Crossing there were a
couple of ferry scows, and as it was but forty-five miles from Batoche it was believed the
rebels would seize it, destroy the scows and attempt to prevent the troops from crossing. Next
morning, with the intention of anticipating
them, a dash over the thirty-eight mile s was
made in eight hours by French's scouts, C
Company and a few men of A Battery, and
Clarke's Crossing was safe. Though the nu n
had marched the whole distance in eleven
days — had travelled, wet or dry, twelve hours,
averaging twenty-one miles, a day they were
impatient to push on to Batoche. A halt
was necessary, however, to allow the other
detachment of the division to come up, and
the supplies of the advance force were getting low. Besides, some information regarding
the disposition and strength of the rebels had to
be gained before the campaign beyond Clarke's
Crossing could be prosecuted. Like many other
Generals, Middleton had to come to a decision
whether he should divide a small force. The
rebels held both sides of the river at the crossings below Clarke's. If Middleton marched in
undivided force up the east side then they
might withdraw to the west, destroy the ferry
and oppose his crossing. The banks of the
river were very high. They were well wooded
on the west, and bare on the east side, so that
from under cover of the bush the insurgents
could oppose successfully a much superior force
fully exposed while approaching the river and
crossing in the open. Though knowing well
that his course would be sharply criticized,
General Middleton determined to divide his
column into two divisions and advance upon
both sides of the river. To arrange details,
and transport the half-division and stores across
the river after the arrival of the last detachment
consumed time.
On the 17th the 10th Grenadiers came into
camp, thus completing the force, and with them
came supplies, though not in large quantities.
Having left Qu'Appelle on the 10th, they had
marched the whole distance in seven days, and
were entitled to a rest, having performed a feat
of which any soldiers might be proud. The
same day a reconnaissance was made by a body
of Boulton's horse, under the command of Lord
Melgund. This young nobleman, the military
secretary of the Governor-General, had volunteered for service from the first, and had been
given the rank of Lieut.-Colonel. He is the eldest
son of the Earl of Minto, the head of the
great border clan of Elliots, is a gallant
rider, and a soldier who had seen war in
various capacities and in many countries. He
took part in a Carlist rising in Spain; was in the
Turco-Russian war; served as a volunteer in
the Afghan war and also in Egypt, where, during
the campaign of Tel-el-Kebir, he commanded a
company of Mounted Rifles with honor. He
was therefore, by inclination, by experience,
and by training well fitted for the work he was
given. The men whom he commanded were
quite as well fitted for their duty as their leader.
Young English and Canadian farmers from the
Birtle district, they had volunteered almost at
once, and, armed with small bore Winchester rifles, uniformed in duck-shooting-jackets,
mounted upon Indian ponies that could live
upon the prairie, they were a force fit to go anywhere and do anything, as they proved
throughout the war. On this occasion they had not
been out of camp more than an hour, when they
came upon a newspaper pinned to the bark of a
tree, with markings upon it, that bore some faint
resemblance to a drawing of three Indians. A
few minutes after three Indians were seen trying to creep down a coulée. They were quickly
surrounded, but instead of surrendering they
made a bold stand, and, with their Winchester
rifles at the present, were ugly customers to
approach. Lord Melgund hailed them, promising them safety, and after some talk they
came out. They were Teton Sioux of White
Cap's band, a portion of an American tribe,
which had taken part in the massacre in Minnesota some years ago, and had fled to
Canada. Their chief and his band went with Riel, but very few other Indians had
joined him. One of them was sent back to
Riel's camp with a message to White Cap
that if the seven prisoners, known to be in
Riel's hands, were brought safely into camp, $100 reward would be given. The only reliable information that had been received from
Prince Albert for some time was a message
brought in by Frank Hourie, the son of a
Government interpreter, and a young man who,
by his deeds of daring, has earned for himself a high place in the record of this war. He
left Humboldt, on the 28th March, with a message from the General to Colonel Irvine. On
Monday, the 30th, he reached Clarke's Crossing,
when he found that the river had broken up.
He attempted to swim across amidst the blocks
of drifting ice, of which the river was full, and
was nearly drowned before he turned back. He
tried again at night, however, and was successful. Having left his horse on the south bank he
was forced to walk to Prince Albert, which he
reached on Thursday and delivered his despatches. He found Colonel Irvine safely
ensconced in a log fort, with a body of some eight
hundred men at his command, half of whom
were well armed. The settlers from the neighborhood had fled to Prince Albert for refuge, leaving
cattle and grain behind them, so that, with the
augmented population to feed, supplies were
growing scanty. It was because of this information, which reached him at Touchwood, that
the General was anxious to push on. Although
no exertion was spared, it was not till the 22nd
April that the advance took place. Meanwhile
the various eastern corps called out later had been slowly making their way through the wilderness north of Lake Superior to Winnipeg.
The Midland regiment arrived at Winnipeg on
the 14th April, and were sent on to Qu'Appelle
almost at once. The York and Simcoe battalion
followed them, and the 9th (Quebec), which had
arrived at Winnipeg on the 12th April, were
sent to garrison Fort McLeod and Gleichen in
the Calgary district. Colonel Scott's battalion,
the 91st (Winnipeg), were despatched to Fort
Qu'Appelle on April 16th, for the purpose of
awing the Indians and half-breeds of the valley, and of guarding the line of communication
with the fort. The Governor-General's Body
Guard and the Quebec School of Cavalry, the
first bodies of enlisted horse called out, were
also in Winnipeg by April 20th, and they were brigaded with the Winnipeg cavalry, making a
mounted force of two hundred men. It was
found almost impossible to transport sufficient
supplies over the prairie trail to Clarke's Crossing, and the South Saskatchewan being now
open, it was determined to move the base of supplies to Swift Current, and use the steamers on
the route to convey the supplies down the South
Saskatchewan from the landing north of Swift
Current to Clarke's Crossing. The steamer "Northcote" arrived at Saskatchewan Landing, the port of Swift Current, on April 14th,
and preparations were at once made for her trip
down the river. There arrived at Swift Current
about this time two Gatling guns, ordered from
the Gatling Arms Company, of New Haven, Ct.,
and sent on under the charge of Lieut. Howard,
of the Connecticut State militia, who was destined to distinguish himself in the campaign.
CHAPTER VII.
OTTER'S MARCH..
Lieutenant-Colonel W. D. Otter was given
the command of the Second Division, whose
work was the relief of Battleford. He is a
Canadian whose military training has been
entirely gained in the Canadian militia. In
1862 he joined the Queen's Own as a private, and
distinguished himself even then by his intense
interest in military matters. In 1864 he carried
his colors in a Provisional battalion on the
Niagara frontier. He was soon the adjutant of
the Queen's Own, and in 1875 became its Colonel.
From the duties of this position, made by his
own devotion an onerous one, he retired to
take the command of the C Company of regulars,
and the Toronto Infantry school. This was his
first experience of active service in command,
and he set forth with the inestimable advantage
of being known and admired by the greater
part of his little force. The first advance from
Swift Current, the station on the Canadian
Pacific which had been selected a* the base of
the movement, was made upon the 12th of April,
when a body of forty-five Mounted Police, under
Colonel Herchmer, moved forward to Saskatchewan Landing. During the short period that
intervened between the arrival of the force and
the advance, an immense amount of .work had
been done in collecting transports. On the
morning of the 13th the little force fell into
column of route and the march commenced.
The force was composed as follows: — C Company, under Lieutenant Wadmore, 43 strong;
B Battery, Major Short, 112 men with two 9-pounders, and two Gatlings in charge of
Lieutenant Howard of the C.S.M.; the Ottawa
Sharpshooters, Captain Todd, 50; Queen's Own,
Lieut.-Col. Miller, 285 men. On the evening
of the 14th April they stood on the crest of a
high bluff, below which spread out a stretch of
undulating broken country, at the verge of
which ran the broad waters of the South Saskatchewan, sweeping closely to the bold north
bank. The steamer "Northcote" was found
awaiting the troops, and a despatch was received
from General Middleton ordering Lieutenant
Howard with one of the Gatlings to accompany
the "Northcote" down the river to Clarke's
Crossing, there to join the First Division.
Owing to the high wind which prevailed, and
to other causes, the task of ferrying the troops
and supplies over the river occupied three
days, and it was not until the 18th that
the advance from the north bank began. From
that time there was no delay. One hundred
and ninety teams had been collected, and the
foot soldiers were each provided with a seat in a
waggon, so that the fighting material was not
worn out by hard marching. For miles the
route lay along a fine trail over a treeless
prairie, and the march was without incident.
At night the waggons were formed in a hollow
square and bound together with ropes. Inside
the laager thus formed the horses were fastened,
and the tents were pitched without the square, so
that all danger of the horses being stampeded
was effectually avoided. So bare of timber is
this section of the country that wood for
fuel had to be transported along with other
necessaries, and the supply running short, no fire could be had one
night, greatly to
the discomfort of
the men. Waggons were sent
ahead to a creek
to bring back
the poplar trees
which, on prairies, grow only
on the banks of
streams. No
human being
was seen on the
whole march.
The total distance by trail to
be covered between Swift Current and Battleford was 202
miles, and on the
18th they had
completed 32½
miles of this distance. On the
morning of the
23rd, eighty of
the Queen's Own
were mustered
for skirmish
duty, and the
Mounted Police
were off far in
advance of the
column — for, at
last, the column
was about to enter the bush and
broken land of
the Eagle Hills,
where the Indians might be expected. It was three o'clock
in the afternoon, and the excitement attendant
upon the discovery of nine cart loads of goods
which had been abandoned by a freighter, unable
to reach Battleford sometime before, had died
away, when the order came to the skirmishers
to fall back, and the guns were sent to the
front on the gallop. There was nothing
from the head of the column to cause alarm,
however, but a long way to the front the Mounted Police scouts were having their little affair
with the enemy, Charles Ross, a member of
the police force and a scout, who in this campaign rivaled the mythical doings of
the Leather-stocking heroes, was riding far in advance of
the column with some six or eight men of the
Mounted Police, when he saw a body of about
fifteen mounted Indians some distance ahead.
Four of them advanced a short distance towards the police, as if in doubt as to who they
were. After sixty or seventy shots had been
exchanged between the two parties, the Indians
made off, leaving behind a cart-load of provisions, but no dead. On Friday the scouts
were
pushed forward to explore the reserve of the
Stoney Indians, through which that day's route
lay, but not an Indian was to be seen. They
found, however, the body of the murdered Payne,
and that also of a young Indian woman, who
had been murdered, probably for attempting to save the instructor. All that day the column
inarched through wooded country, but without
encountering the enemy, and at last, just at
nightfall, the white homes of Battleford gleamed out under the last rays of the sun, and the
goal of the expedition was almost reached.
The order to camp was given, however, and
the men, who were most anxious to dash on
to Battleford, pitched their tents. During
that night of passive excitement but few slept.
Shots were heard to the north about nine, and
a body of police went out to find that shots had
been exchanged between the scouts and the
enemy. A couple of dead Indians whose bodies
were found next morning was the result. Then
came a burst of fire from the north, and it was
learned that it was Judge Rouleau's house, the
finest in the north, that was burning. An hour's
march next morning brought them to the dismantled town of Old Battleford, and as soon as
the ferry across the Battle river could be worked
a party of officers crossed to the Fort, while the
camp was pitched beside the old Government
offices on the south side of the river. Sad news
greeted the troops on their arrival. On the evening of the 22nd, when the usual relief of the
pickets took place, Frank Smart, when about
three miles to the west of the Fort performing
outpost duty with a Mounted Policeman, was
shot dead by an ambushed savage. His companion galloped in with the news, and that
night was passed under arms. Mr. Smart was
a young merchant of Battleford who had risked
his life to carry the news of the trouble to Swift
Current, and his death produced almost painful
impression. Next day Ross brought them word
of Otter's approach, and there was much joy
among the crowded population of the Fort.
Within its narrow bounds there were 560 persons when it was relieved. Col. Otter had
commenced his military career as a field officer
by carrying a force of over five hundred men, a
distance by trail of one hundred and sixty-six miles in five days, or at the rate of 33 miles a
day.
CHAPTER VIII.
THE BATTLE OF FISH CREEK.
At last the delay in the advance which had
fretted the men of the First Division was over,
and on the morning of the 23rd of April the
camp broke up, the whole force, divided into
two columns, proceeding northward along both
banks of the river. Though the columns were
separated by the river they were to keep as
nearly as possible abreast for mutual support,
one of the scows being brought down the river
for the purpose of ferrying either column across
at need. The columns were as nearly as possible
of the same strength in all arms. That on the
east bank, which was .most likely to meet the
enemy in force, General Middleton commanded
in person. It was composed of 90 men of A
Battery with two guns, 40 men of C Company, 50 men of Boulton's Horse, and the 90th battalion 300 strong, or 480 men in all. That on
the west bank was under command of Lieut. -Col.
Montizambert, with Lord Melgund as chief of
his staff. It was made up of 25 of French's
scouts, 20 of Boulton's Horse, 32 of A Battery,
52 of the Winnipeg Field Battery with two
guns, and the 10th Royal Grenadiers 250 men,
in all 375 men. The first day's march was an
uneventful one, but the scouts were kept well
out as it was known that the enemy was not far
off. After the hard day's march of 18 miles
the camp of the right column was pitched on the
bank of the Saskatchewan within a few miles of
a wooded ravine, where only a few days before
a scout had taken shelter from the rebels when
on his way back from Prince Albert with messages. The men slept soundly after their hard
work, in fancied security. yet, had not the rebels' plans miscarried in some unexplained way, a
night attack would have been made, and in the
confusion that would probably have ensued with
a force made up of men who had never been
under fire, many would have been massacred.
While Dumont and his half-breeds in the ravine
were awaiting vainly the arrival of reinforcements which would have enabled them to carry
out their plan, the night wore away and the
sentries instead of giving a hurried night alarm
were cheerily calling "all's well" to one another.
On the following morning the march was resumed, Boulton's Horse furnishing the mounted
scouts and the advance guard, accompanying
which, contrary to the usual practice, was the
General commanding and his staff. The morning was a bright, sunny one, the prairie, which
a few days before had been covered with snow,
was now clad with verdure and flowers, yellow and purple, growing in profusive variety. The
men stepped out cheerily
under these influences.
Suddenly rifle shots rang out, and in a few
minutes Captain Wise, one of the General's
aides, galloped into sight with an order for the
batteries to come forward into action and the
main body to follow. The scouts, who had been
thrown well out on the advance, rode back with
the report that the enemy were posted in a
lightly wooded bluff on each side of the trail
where it Jed into a ravine, which was also held
by the enemy. A band of the rebels, mounted,
had followed the scouts over the ridge, but
General Middleton, sending his order back by
Wise, did not withdraw, but riding to one side
made way for the passage of Boulton's scouts
who charged the enemy. After a few hasty
shots the mounted body of the enemy, with a
loud shout, retired, and shortly after the under-brush and crest of the ridge was lined with
skirmishers who began at once an irregular and
harassing fire. Major Boulton at once dismounted his men and in skirmishing order they
began to creep up on the low ridge and the
adjacent copses. The sharpshooters of the 90th
formed the front of the main body, and they at
once began to extend and get forward, beginning
their fire, in fact, before they reached the scouts'
line. With a rush the guns then came up,
under Captain Peters, and unlimbered at the
foot of the lines, the A Battery men, who were
serving as infantry, forming on either side of
them as a covering force. Then came the
gleam of white and scarlet, as C Company came
up the trail in close order with the peculiar
steadiness of regulars, and took up their position on the right of the guns. As they extended,
taking cover in the bush, the
guns opened fire with shrapnel shell, which were dropped
just behind the opposing
ridge. Thick and fast the
bullets whistled round the
gunners' ears as they worked.
Two companies of the 90th,
under Major Boswell, were
the next troops to come up
and they took their position
to the left. Lying down they opened fire, and the remaining three companies also
turned to the left and extended, so that in a few
moments a line of battle half
a mile in length had been
formed. The shrapnel fired
by the guns had a very perceptible effect upon the rebel
fire about the centre of the
position, and Boulton's Horse t
ook advantage of this to
press onward, and here some
of his men fell, — Captain
Gardner being the first, with
two bullets in his body.
The whole fighting line
then slowly followed up the
Horse, and upon the left B
and C Companies of the 90th
outflanked the rebel line, and
gained the ridge. They
then saw before them an
open stretch of prairie, in
the centre of which was
evidently a deep coulée, behind which were several
houses. A shell from the
guns, which dropped in the
rebel lines, finished this
portion of the fight, and the ridge and bush
were abandoned, the rebels falling back into
the coulée, the General himself gaining the
ridge on the left just as the last body of rebels
disappeared in the ravine. In leading up his
company across the trail in the little rush that
brought the Rifles up to Boulton's Horse and
secured the ridge, Captain Clark fell while
cheering on his company. His fall produced
the first symptoms of unsteadiness among the
men. The fight had now been waged for
half an hour and the rebels had been driven
from their first position in the wooded bluffs on
each side of the trail. A volley or two was
delivered from the ridge and then the line
advanced steadily across the open to the coulée which it was evident the rebels held in
strength. Then, and only then, the existence
of the ravine became apparent. The banks,
which were of some height, fell away quite
rapidly, and, though precipitous in some places,
were everywhere lightly wooded, except upon
the very crest of the ridge, from which the
prairie fires had burned the growth of young
trees. Upon the left, at the spot where the last
of the enemy had disappeared, the slope was
more gradual. It was here that one of the most
plucky dashes of the day was made at a later
period. Through the bottom of the coulée,
which was quite boggy, a small stream could be
seen, and the only sign of life was a group of
Indian ponies tied to the small poplars at its
edge. C Company was thrown boldly forward to the right and got some cover upon the
edge of the slope at this point, from which they
could pour a heavy fire down the ravine, but the rebels poured in such a heavy cross fire from an
arm of the ravine which stretched to the south,
and from a couple of houses and the bush in the
rear, that the position became untenable, and
the men were ordered to withdraw. In falling
back they underwent a galling fire, which killed
one and badly wounded two oil three of them.
Along the whole face of the ravine, which had
been occupied by the 90th, Artillery and Boulton's horse, the showing of a head was sure to
draw the fire of a dozen rifles of the unseen enemy,
to which the troops could make no effective response. So the fight went on, with no
decisive results. All along the line of the ravine men
were being hit to the tune of the constant rattle
of the rifle fire, interrupted at times by the peculiar sharp, barking call of the Indians, and
drowned now and again by the boom of the
guns and the crushing explosion of the shrapnel and common shell, which were being thrown
into the ravine and across it at the houses on
the opposite bank. C Company, admirably
handled by Major Smith, succeeded in checking
the advance of the rebels in their front, and a
couple of shells from Drury's gun, which had
been brought round from the left for that purpose, fired a couple of houses on the extreme
right and dislodged a body of rebels who were
endeavoring to turn the right flank. At noon
the ravine was still in possession of the
insurgents, and the batteries could not,
with the guns, feel the enemy, and shell
after shell had no effect in silencing
their fire. Captain Peters therefore volunteered to lead a dash of that portion of A
Battery not doing duty with the guns into the
ravine, to clear it by a
struggle at close quarters if
possible. At the head of
his men he rushed down the
slope on the left through a
hail of bullets. He found
himself, however, unable to
do anything but send his men
to find cover as well as they
could in the bottom of the
ravine. Not a single rebel
was to be seen, and the steep
banks were not to be scaled.
The enemy who were on the
edge of the ravine above
them, though out of sight,
fired upon them, and it
seemed as if not a man
would escape with his life.
Though many slight wounds
were received, and clothes
were pierced, only one man,
Cook, was shot dead. When
under cover of a gun the men
fell back, they were forced
to leave his body where he
had fallen. Another attempt
was made to storm the rebels'
position by B and C companies of the 90th, under
Major Boswell, but they,
too, were forced to fall back,
leaving one man dead upon
the field. About one o'clock
the guns were sent down
under Captain Peters, by the
slope on the left, and up to
the other side of the ravine
to shell the rebels out of
the angle on the right, which
was already known as the
"Hornets Nest." After firing a number of rounds of shrapnel into this
angle they returned in safety, not having
lost a man, though under a constant fire
both going and returning. Meantime Colonel
Montizambert's column on the west bank,
which was four miles back when fire was
opened, were hurrying forward in the direction
of the noise of battle, when they were met by a
messenger from General Middleton ordering the
Batteries with the guns and the 10th Royals to
cross the river and to come into action. It was
four o'clock in the afternoon when the main
body of this column came upon the field and
the fight was practically over. The Royals and
C Company wore sent to relieve the skirmishers
of the 90th, who had been fighting all day, and the guns wore sent to the rear. For an hour the
firing continued in a desultory way, when, as night was coming on, it became necessary either
to order a charge into the ravine or to withdraw,
As a charge was likely to be attended with considerable loss and it was deemed easier to starve
the rebels out if necessary, the Royals and C
Company, who considered themselves done out of
their share of the fighting, retired with extreme
reluctance, though a rain-storm, the second of the
day, was coining on. As they did so a remarkable incident, but one apparently well authenticated, took place. Hourie, the interpreter of
the force, advanced to the edge of the ravine
and called out to the rebels below:
"Is Gabriel Dumont there? "
'Yes, what do you want with me ?"
"Have you got many men ?
"Yes, a great many."
"Will you have a meeting with me ? I am
Hourie."
There was no answer to this, and Hourie, turning leisurely, came back safe. A loud voice was
heard at times saying:
"Courage mes Braves."
One man, at whom none could get a good shot,
though many distinguished him as the man with
the red band around his hat, was preternaturally
active, and his rifle did frightful execution.
This was believed to be Gabriel Dumont, the
fighting man of the Metis.
All through the various fortunes of the day
the conduct of the General had been such as to
arouse in his men the most enthusiastic admiration. From the first, he was everywhere at the
front, riding along the very crest of the ravine,
and doing all he possibly could to keep his men
out of the danger he himself scorned. Many
of the casualties that took place were, in fact,
the effect of the men's desire to have a shot at
the enemy, which led them to advance recklessly down the slope of the ravine. When leading
the men up to the low rolling ridge where the
rebels made their first stand a bullet passed
through the General's cap. Turning to the men
of the 90th, who, as they ran up, were, naturally
enough, ducking their heads to the music of the
whistling balls, the General cried : "Holdup
your heads, men! Had I been stooping, that
bullet would have gone through my brain."
Indeed, General Middleton was severely criticised for being in the front of the lines during
the action, and exposing himself recklessly. His
defence was that he considered it necessary to
do so, in order to encourage young troops under
fire for the first time, and also to ensure the
execution of his commands, which he dare not
entrust to the inexperienced officers under him,
none of whom, with one or two exceptions, had ever seen war. The camp had been pitched
between the trail and the river, some distance to
the rear, and, as the Grenadiers approached it,
a party of mounted men burst out of the little
clump of trees behind the ridge from which they
had first appeared in the morning and whooped
as if in triumph. At the time it was thought
that this defiance presaged a desperate fight
upon the morrow, but later events showed that
it was mere bravado on the part of the last
holders of the position, for the rebel force had
been melting steadily away all day. When the
camp was reached, in the midst of a heavy downpour of rain, there was but little of the glow of
battle in the men who had fought so long and
so bravely, and when the lists of dead and wounded were made up the cost in human life of this
apparently resultless struggle, was such as to
deepen the gloom. Out of a total of about 350
men actively engaged during the heat of the
struggle 43 were either killed or wounded. Of
these ten were killed. The official list published after the battle was as follows:
90th battalion.
A Company— Private Hutchinson, killed in the first
charge;
Private Ferguson, killed in the first charge;
Private Matthews, left arm broken;
Captain Fekler.
shot in the arm and hand;
Private C. Kemp, shot in
the groin;
B Company— Private Wheeler, killed;
Private Swain,
slightly wounded in the arm;
Private Jarvis, two slight
wounds;
Private Lavel, wound in the shoulder;
Private Johnson, slightly wounded.
C Company — Lieut. Swinford, wound in brain;
Captain
Letherby, wound in breast;
Private Code, wound in leg;
Private Chambers, slight wound in neck;
Private Canniff, wound in arm;.
D Company— Private Ennis, killed;
Corporal Bowden,
slightly wounded.
F Company — Capt. Clark, wounded in back while
moving from one bluff to another. The bullet followed
the rib around to the front and was found in his clothes.
Private Hcslop, arm fractured;
Private A. Blackwood,
slightly wounded in thigh.
A BATTERY.
Garrison Division— Gunner Hcnney Demannally, killed;
Gunner Cook, killed;
Gunner Morrison, badly
wounded:
Gunner Ainsworth, badly wounded;
Sergt-Major Mawhinney, right arm broken;
Gunner Aslin,
wounded;
Gunner Irvine, wounded in thigh;
Gunner
Woodman, wounded in shoulder;
Gunner Langrell,
wounded in arm;
Gunner Ouillett,
wounded in shoulder.
Mounted Division — Driver Turner,
wounded in cheek;
Driver Wilson, right
arm broken;
Driver Harrison, flesh wound
in neck.
C COMPANY, INFANTRY SCHOOL.
Col.-Sergt. Cuniblings, flesh wound in
leg;
Private R. Jones, arm fractured;
Private H. Jones, shot through the jaw;
Piivate R. H. Dunu, bad wound in arm
and hand, shot twice;
Private Watson,
killed.
MAJOR BOULTON'S HORSE.
Captain Gardner, two slight wounds;
Trooper James Longford, two slight
wounds;
Trooper Perins, arm broken;
Trooper King, two wounds in leg;
Trooper Darcy Baker, very serious wound
in chest;
Sergt. Stewart, slight wounds in the ear and hands.
Both the General's aides-de-camp,
Lieutenant Doucet and Captain Wise,
who had acted throughout the day
in the most gallant and fearless
manner, were wounded, the first in
the arm, the second in the ankle and
shoulder.
Upon the following morning, the
90th were ordered out, but not an
enemy was to be seen. In the
ravine were fifty or sixty dead
ponies, killed by the shells, and
four dead rebels — all Indians — were
also found. The secret of the
strength of the position was then
discovered at the edge of the
ravine were finely formed rifle pits,
and so well laid out that the wonder was
that the struggle had not been more disastrous. Their broad end pointed up the hill
and, with his rifle lying over the broad, low
parapet and his body completely below the surface of the ground, the enemy's advantage of
position was extreme. As far as could be subsequently learned, Gabriel Dumont had two
hundred and fifty picked men under his command he went out with the avowed purpose
of cutting off one column of General Middleton's
forces, and only prepared the ravine for defence
in case he should be driven from the field. His
advance guard was attacked by overwhelming
forces, but held its own until the line of battle
had been formed, and, after a brisk half hour's
fight, his first position was carried all along the
line. The enemy then fell back into the ravine
and made a desperate attempt to turn the right
flank of the troops. This was frustrated, but two
attempts to carry the ravine by assault failed.
Both sides then abandoned the field of battle,
and the Metis left some of their dead, the saddles and bridles on their dead horses, and
a number of arms in the rifle pits. From the
best sources of information obtainable it is
believed the rebel loss was eleven killed and
eighteen wounded.
Gabriel Dumont supplied the rebel government with a masterly written account of the
fight, which subsequently fell into General Middleton's hands. The enemy's plan of battle is,
by this document, stated to have been an attack
upon the column, by foot from the ravine and
horse from the bluff, when the guns were passing along the edge of the ravine. The mounted
men, by impetuously rushing upon the scouts,
as a matter of course destroyed all hope of an
ambuscade, and after an hour's fight, in which
an attempt was made to turn the right flank,
this report states Dumont and his Metis retired,
leaving the Sioux in the pits, but they returned
during the afternoon. The loss to the Metis is
put down as eight killed and six badly wounded. The courage of the troops was frequently
commented on, and ascribed to the free use of
liquor, the writer not thinking it possible for
men to wish to carry water in a bottle. The
shrapnel and common shell which were thrown
in such quantities into the ravine could not have
produced a great effect, as it is stated that no person was hurt by them, and very few of the
men were frightened.
With the exception of Ridgeway, which was
hardly a satisfactory test, the Canadian volunteer militia were never tried in battle until this
day. They had, in this case, fought a desperate
fight from nine o'clock in the morning till
six at night with expert riflemen whom they
could not see and could not reach, yet not
once had they faltered. The 90th of Winnipeg fairly won their spurs in this action, and
Boulton's horse earned for themselves — by
being the first into the active fight and the last
out of it — the place which they so proudly kept
upon another day. The two regular corps, A
Battery and C Company, had been in the thick
of the fight from the first, and the dash of Captain Peters into the ravine, and the tenacity
with which C Company clung to an untenable
position and there foiled a persistent attack
were fine achievements.
The men thus forced to abandon
their strong position were old fighting men, holding ground whose
capabilities they knew. Fish Creek
has been the scene of three subsequent fights between Indian and
half-breed forces.
CHAPTER IX.
THE THIRD DIVISION RELIEVE
EDMONTON.
Early in April reports from Edmonton represented affairs there to
be in an alarming state. The
Indians were assuming a threatening attitude, and the half-breeds
were said to be about to follow the
advice of Riel and rebel. The
squad of Mounted Police at Fort
Saskatchewan were said to have
declared that to protect that post
was the utmost they could do, and
the terror-stricken people of Edmonton were told that they would
have to defend themselves as best
they could. The regular mail service failed to get through, and
imagination suggested pictures of
the fate of the people at the north,
which aroused the deepest anxiety.
The Third Division for the relief of
Battleford had then to be made up
hurriedly, at Calgary, from which
a trail led to Edmonton 194 miles north. Residing near Calgary was a British officer, the origin
of whose family was of a singularly romantic
nature, and who, after having won, like many
of his ancestors, distinction in the English
army, had settled down on a ranch in the
far west. To him was entrusted the command
of the Third Division. Major-General Strange
is said to be a descendant of Charl
es Martel, the greatest of the Mayors of the Palace to
the last of the Merovingian sovereigns, and also
to Charlemagne, the conqueror of the Romans.
He certainly sprang from a good Scotch family
of the seventeenth century — the Lumsdens.
When Charles Edward Stuart made his last
attempt to regain the throne of his ancestors,
his private secretary was one of the Lumsdens,
Andrew by name, who had a lovely sister. Miss Lumsden had won the affection of a
"stickit" law student, Robert Strange, who
had shown some talent for engraving. She informed her lover that if he wished to win
her he must devote himself to the Prince's
cause, a condition which, though without any
admiration for the Prince or any political
leanings, he unhesitatingly accepted. After
the collapse of the Pretender's cause, young
Strange was attainted and finally driven for
refuge to the house of his betrothed, Miss
Lumsden. There the red coats sought him, but
while they were still in the courtyard Miss
Lumsden, with all the well-known resources of
women at a critical period for those whom they
love, commanded her lover to sit on the floor by
the stool of the spinet and sitting down on the
stool herself, she shrouded him in the ample
folds of her petticoat, distended by the enormous
hoops of the time. While the officer watched
over her and the soldiers searched the house,
she played airs, let us hope good round Jacobite
ones, on the spinet. Miss Lumsden rewarded
her hero's devotion by marrying him shortly
afterwards, and with her he went to Paris, and
there taking up once more his study of engraving, he became one of the greatest artists in his
line. From this romantic union sprang many
Stranges, famous in all the professions and in
both branches of the service, and also Major-General Strange, who served in thirteen
engagements during the Indian mutiny, was
mentioned four times in despatches, and wears
a medal and clasp. In 1871 he was entrusted
with the formation of a Canadian Regiment of
Artillery, of which he retained command until
1882, when he went to the West. He was
commissioned to raise a body of scouts from
among the cow-boys, before the arrival of
the 65th regiment of Mount Royal Rifles,
a body of men almost exclusively French-Canadians. In spite of all efforts to hurry the
departure of the division, the almost insurmountable difficulties found in organizing transportation caused unavoidable delay, and even on the
arrival of the 92nd battalion of Winnipeg, on
the 17th of April, some days elapsed before a
start was made. At this juncture, Lieut.-Col.
Ouimet, commander of the 65th, left Calgary
and came east, a proceeding, simple as it appears, which attracted public attention
even in
the midst of the war excitement. It was
reported that he had quarrelled with General
Strange, had discovered Government failings
which he intended to expose in Parliament, had
found the equipment and supplies to be totally
bad and deficient, and had determined to make
these matters public and have them remedied.
Some mystery, certainly, was made over his
movements, and the Government, when questioned in Parliament, gave information which
was not borne out by the result. After an
interview with the Minister of Militia, at
Ottawa, and a few days' rest, Colonel Ouimet
started for the west to resume his command, and the public was informed that private business and illness were the causes of his visit east,
and that he had received leave of absence from
General Strange. The 92nd were hardly got
into camp before refugees from among the
scattered settlers along the Edmonton trail
began to arrive at Calgary. The store of the
Rev. Mr. Gaetz, at Red Deer, was ransacked by
the Indians, while the proprietor and his son
were taking the family into Calgary, and the
stores of Baker and Baylis, at the Battle
river, were also raided, but no one was injured. To General Strange's column was also
entrusted the punishment of Big Bear and the
relief of Fort Pitt, then believed to be in danger,
although the full extent of the trouble in that
district had not at that time been learned. A
body of scouts, the advance guard of the column,
was despatched, with orders to seize the crossing
of the Red Deer river, and upon the morning of
the 19th a force, composed of a body of scouts,
fifty in number, under the command of Captain
Steele and Captain Oswald, and the right wing
of the 65th, 160 strong, under Lieut.-Col. Hughes, marched for the north under the command of General Strange. The trail lay over a
level prairie, almost treeless, and the only
impediment to travel was an occasioned marsh.
Upon Saturday, the 25th, the first stage of the
march was safely accomplished. The force
camped on the shore of the river, and a number
of the transport teams was sent back to the
assistance of the second column. The river was
forded without difficulty upon the following
day, and in shorter stages the march was continued through a more diversified country.
Upon the 23rd April the second column, made
up of the left wing of the 65th, twenty-five
Mounted Police, with one nine-pounder gun, and
the Alberta mounted rifles, fifty strong, the
whole under the command of Major Perry, a
graduate of the Kingston military college, who
had held a commission in the Royal Engineers,
moved out of camp. On the 28th of April this
column reached the Red Deer river, which the
first column had been able to ford in waggons
with no gr
eat difficulty, and found that it had become a mighty torrent. A raft was hurriedly
built and an attempt made to swing it across, but the rope broke, and it was only by the most
desperate personal exertion on the part of Major Perry, and at the risk of his life, that the hastily
improvised ferry boat, upon which the guns, ammunition, etc. , had been placed, was
rescued from the stream. Major Perry then laid down the lines of a ferry scow, and, some rough material
having been secured, a serviceable float was constructed in three days, and a guard
placed over it. On the 30th the right wing of the 92nd, the regiment of veterans raised by Col. Osborne Smith
in Winnipeg in a few days, moved forward as the third column of General Strange's division. Lieut.-Col. Smith
had, as an officer of the 39th of the line, seen service in the Crimea, but besides
that he had, during the troubles of 1861, organized the Victoria Rifles of
Montreal. He had a large share in the Fenian troubles of '66 and '70, having been in command
of the southern frontier during that troublesome time, and won high encomiums for this service.
The battalion he had raised was an especially fine one, and the wearers of the scarlet and corduroy
signalized themselves by tramping to Edmonton in nine days, actual marching time, or eleven
days in all on the road. General Strange arrived with the right wing of the 65th on the 2nd May,
and found the whole settlement in a state of panic. The Indians of the vicinity made no
difficulty about admitting that they had received a tobacco embassy from both Poundmaker
and Big Bear, and had heard an account of the Fish Creek fight, so inaccurate that it
was stated to have resulted in the complete defeat of the troops, and the massacre of an
unknown and fluctuating number of whites.
Captain Steele, with a large body of police and scouts, were sent forward in the direction of
Victoria, while Edmonton and Fort Saskatchewan were garrisoned. Major Perry, with the
second column, arrived upon the 5th of May, and when on the 12th the right wing of the 92nd
arrived, with 46 scouts, General Strange found himself at the head of a body of 730 men, made
up of 315 of the 65th Battalion, 90 Edmonton volunteers, 70 Mounted Police, 50 Alberta
Mounted Infantry, 46 scouts, and 190 of the 92nd. The work upon the flat boats, to be used
in an advance by the river to Fort Pitt, had been pressed, and in spite of the almost
continuous rumors of attack, upon the 14th of May the 92nd started down the North Saskatchewan
river in seven hastily built barges, and four
companies of the 65th, under Lieut.-Col Hughes, were despatched by the north trail; Victoria, on
the river, 74 miles from Edmonton, being the rendezvous. On the 18th, a field force,
consisting of 120 horse, one gun, and 340 infantry, were encamped at Victoria.
Lieut.-Col. Ouimet, who, by hard riding, in spite of illness, had rejoined his regiment, was left at Edmonton
with the remaining four companies of the 65th in garrison.
A company of settlers and half-breeds were sworn into protect Victoria, and
the old post, a palisaded work with a small bastion, was put into a state of
defence. The ferry scow was repaired, bullet proof bulwarks added to it, and the whole flotilla was
provided with hastily devised anchors. The boat which was to carry the gun was equipped for service in such a
manner that, although devoid of propelling power, the gun could be served in any direction. Capt.
Steele, with a body of 100 scouts and police, was far in advance, and the onward progress of
the column was stayed for some days awaiting intelligence from him in regard to the
whereabouts of Big Bear and his thirty captives.
CHAPTER X.
CUT KNIFE HILL.
On the arrival at Battleford of Col. Otter's division the bands of Indians who had so long
raided the town in broad day light and plundered such of its houses as were out of range of
the one gun in the barracks disappeared, but
shots fired at sentries and pickets gave cause still
to suspect a prowling scout in every brushwood
cover. The reserves of Moosomin, Little Pine,
Thunder Child, Red Pheasant and Mosquito
were deserted, and many of these bands were
supposed to be with Poundmaker on his reserve
to the south-west of the town. The troops, after
their rapid march, had a few days to entrench
themselves at Fort Otter, which they constructed
on the south shore of the Battle river opposite
the barracks, and to grumble at their rations,
which, whatever the vicissitudes of war, continued in one unvarying round of pork, bully
beef and biscuit. Even when the order was
reversed it did not make the pork less fat, the
beef less stringy, or the biscuits less dry.
One day, near the end of April, a half-breed came into Battleford with the story that he had
escaped from Poundmaker's camp, where he and many other half-breeds had been held as
prisoners. The half-breeds would fight the Indians, he said, if the Indians were attacked by the
troops, and if attacked at once before Big Bear and his braves, who had been sent for
by Poundmaker, arrived, he had no doubt Poundmaker would be easily defeated. If
joined by Big Bear, Poundmaker would either attack the town of Battleford or join Riel in an
attack upon it in case Riel withdrew westward, as was at that time considered probable. Col.
Otter, whether prompted by a desire to punish Poundmaker for his depredations, or to prevent
further mischief, determined to deal him a sudden blow. On the 1st of May, at three
o'clock in the afternoon, he rode out of Battleford at the head of a flying column, composed
of 75 Mounted Police, under Lieut. -Colonel
Herchmer, 80 men of B Battery (Kingston)
under Major Short with two 7-pounders and a
Gatling; 20 men of the Ottawa Guards, Lieut.
Grey; 45 of C Company, Lieut. Wadmore; 50
Queen's Own, Captains Brown and Hughes, and
45 of the Battleford Rifles, Capt. Nash. Their
way that afternoon was not over open prairie
land, but through broken country with low hills
and a good deal of wooded land, and intersected by coulees across which the trail led. At
nightfall the column halted, and lighting fires
had a comfortable meal. It was considered
useless to attempt to conceal their approach from the enemy, as when they left the fort,
columns of smoke had been seen rising in the west, which were believed to be the alarm
signal of Poundmaker's scouts. While waiting for the moon to rise and light them
on their march, the men gathered round the fires and chatted about the coming fight
and its possibilities, and listened to an impromptu concert by the men of C Company.
About half-past eleven, when the moon, now past the full, was high enough to set forward by,
every fire was carefully extinguished, and the force in waggon and saddle was soon pushing
rapidly westward in the wake of the scouts and police skirmishers who had gone in advance.
Under the weird light of the moon the trail was plain in sight, but the copses through which
they passed cast dark, mysterious shadows,
which led some to speculate how many would
return if some hidden enemy were to surprise
the long line with a volley from the bush.
Presently, however, on the open prairie, affording
no suggestions for such surmises, the men fell
into a sort of half sleep as they jogged and
jolted along. Long before the moon had set
in the west, the sun was sending his first
faint rays up from the east, and was beginning to melt the chilly rawness of the
night, when the force came to the edge of a large
natural amphitheatre. The flat bottom was
covered with the relics of a recent encampment.
Piles of wood, evidently cut for fuel, showed
that the "Nichis," as all Indians are familiarly
called in that region, had left at rather short
notice. Crossing this camp ground, and passing
through an opening on the other side, the sandy
trail slanted down to the right, under a high
"cut-bank," to a creek, just deep enough to
make fording a very awkward proceeding for the
waggons. The head of the column was winding
through the bushes on the north-west side of
the creek, when, in consequence of word just
received from scouts, the pace was suddenly
quickened. The mounted portion of the police
dashed over the stream, out of the bushes and
up a beautiful turfy incline, gaining rising
ground which lay in an elbow of the ravine.
The guns were driven after them at a gallop,
but were not yet in position on the top of the
hill when bullets came whistling over the heads
of the men and the fight with Poundmaker had
begun. It looked as if an ambush had been
prepared and the Indians had intended to catch
the forces in the natural trap formed by the
gully they had just crossed. The unexpected
night march had brought the troops on the
scene a little too early. It was then just after
five o'clock and the Indians had been
caught napping. A few minutes more
would have given them the top of the
hill, and one prefers not to speculate on
what the result would have been in
that case.
Poundmaker had chosen his ground.
On this very spot many years before he
had fought the Sarcees, under their
chief Cut Knife, and had utterly
defeated them, and "Cut Knife" had
been the name of the hill ever since.
The eight or nine blanketed and
painted red-skins who had opened the
ball by a rush, yelling as they fired,
were driven back to a coulee about two
hundred yards in front of the guns — the intervening space being flat and
open. In this first volley of the Indians, Corporal Sleigh, of the Mounted
Police fell with a bullet through his
brain. His comrade, Ross, who was
always to be found where pluck was
needed, dragged him from under fire.
The gunners settled down to work,
and shell after shell was sent over
where the enemy was known to be
lying — one burst in the Indian camp
itself, smashing two of the tepees, and
the Gatling certainly knocked over
several of the assailants, though its
effects were scarcely in proportion to
the three thousand bullets which quitted its six
mouths during the engagement.
While B Battery and the dismounted police
held the front, the other troops, though hungry
after the long night march, rushed to their
places without even putting a biscuit in their
pockets, and bullets were whizzing around them
before they could lie down in the comparative
shelter afforded by the bank of the coulée. On
the left, near the front, were the Governor General's Foot Guards; further back, on the
same side, lay the Queen's Own, while the Battleford Rifles defended the left rear. The men
of C Company, accompanied at first by some of
the Ottawa Guards, held the right flank.
The waggons and team horses were gathered
together in the centre of the hollow square formed by the troops on the rising slope, and their
drivers huddled among the wheels. Not a man,
however, was allowed to remain inactive. It
was apparent that the Indians were trying to
surround the troops under shelter of the surrounding gullies, and they very nearly
succeeded. Some of them, on foot and on horseback,
were seen running over to occupy the hill from
the other side of the coulée to the right. This
attempt was nipped in the bud by the fire of C
Company, who charged across and took the hill
themselves. For a time the Company were
exposed to serious fire. While they were executing an order to retire slowly from the hill,
the Nichis in front saw their opportunity and
poured their bullets into the redcoats.
On the left, the Guards were in a precarious
position between three lines of fire. Indians or
half-breeds were hidden right and left in the
coulee below, protected both by the bushes and
by a natural bank; while others held the hill
beyond and fired over their companions' heads.
The latter were rarely to be seen; only a puff of
smoke to guide the answering bullets of the
Guards' sharpshooters. The enemy on the hill
had to show at least their heads when taking
aim. One was picked off, at long range, by a
constable lying just outside the wheels of the
waggons. Early in the fight Lieut. Gray led
his men down into the coulee on the opposite
side from that similarly defended by C Company
to prevent the threatened flanking movement.
They were met by a raking fire and fell hack
to their former position. One of the company,
Osgoode, was ahead of the others, and when
they retired he pushed on to gain nearer shelter
in the bushes, but he was hit and rolled over
when just entering the cover and his body was
not recovered. The Queen's Own Rifles had
the same enemy to contend against and the
same tactics. At first, much lead was wasted
on blankets and hats, held up as decoys by
the Indians; and while one of the volunteers
half rose to aim at the sham he would be the
target for an Indian awaiting just that opportunity. By and by the whites found this out,
and played the same trick on the reds.
About the
middle of the fray, twenty men of
the Queen's Own were called for to re-occupy the
position from which a hot cross fire had previously driven them. They not only did so,
but passed the crest of the protecting slope and
began to charge, with cheers, down towards the
bushes. So close were they to the Indians that
Lieut. Brock, who led the charge, had an opportunity to use his revolver. But the situation
was far too exposed, and the men retired to the
cover of the hill's edge. Color-Sergeant Cooper
fell badly hit during that charge, and was
pluckily removed to shelter by his comrade,
"Jake" Spence, helped later by Private Campbell. The ambulance men came up and removed
him in spite of his saying he was "done for,"
and telling them to go and help some one else
who might need them. Varey was struck at the
same time. Big, jolly, Brigade-Sergeant-Major
Spackman was firing along with the Queen's
Own like one of the men, when a bullet went
through his left upper arm and he was greatly
disgusted at the doctors making him keep quiet
in "hospital."
The artillery in the meanwhile were having a
hot time. The mountings of their two seven-pounders were rotten and one of the trunnion
caps was broken at the first shot. After half a
dozen rounds the trail gave way under
the recoil and the gun had to be lifted
from the ground whenever it was to be
loaded. Later on, the other gun trail
gave way and the gun itself had to be
fastened on to the axletree with ropes.
The trail of one was broken before the
force crossed the South Saskatchewan,
three weeks before, and was roughly
repaired on board the steamboat there.
Under these circumstances it is not
wonderful that the artillery came near
to having a hand-to-hand fight with the
enemy. The Indians rushed upon the
guns and the men were actually retreating, when Major Short, seeing his
chance, shouted: "Who'll follow me.'"
"I will!" came from the soldiers next
him, and with fixed bayonets they
dashed forward upon the enemy. The
latter did not wait for a touch of the
steel, but the whites, enthusiastically
shouting, charged so near that Major
Short shot one Indian with his revolver
and the gold braid was ripped from his
own cap by another Indian's bullet,
only eliciting the remark: 'It's a new
hat, too." A little French cook, attached to the battery, used the stock of his
rifle to club a Nichi whom Constable
Ross had shot. The Brigade bugler,
Foulkes, a lad of nineteen, belonging to
C Company, fell in this charge, shot in the head.
"Boys," said he, "carry me away — I'm dying,"
but all was over then, and his comrades kept
watch over his body and brought it away when
they withdrew. Two more bullets had found
their billets in the dead bugler's breast and
shoulder before then. The charge was a brilliant one, and would scarcely have ended before
the tepees themselves had been reached hot
for the Major and his men being recalled to
their guns. Thus the guns were saved and,
probably, a terrible disaster averted, when the
column was effecting the withdrawal.
One by one the dead and wounded were
brought into the centre. They began to arrive
before any protection had been arranged and
were laid among the waggon wheels. Bullets
were whizzing incessantly overhead and two
horses close by were hit. Presently two circles,
of bags of oats were formed, and within these
the wounded were cared for by Surgeons Strange
and Leslie, and by the kind arid energetic hospital sergeant of the battery, Labatt. The
ambulance corps worked nobly, — "doubling"
out to the front whenever required and carrying back the wounded on a stretcher through a
leaden hailstorm.
The guns having broken down, and it being
impossible to dislodge the enemy from their
cover without them, it was necessary to withdraw. About half-past ten the order was given
to retire, with the intention of encamping on
the prairie, over which the column had come.
Captain Nash was ordered to descend the left
coulee and clear it out; volunteers were called
for to assist, and a number of the Queen's Own
and Guards started forward. This move succeeded in its object, but success was paid for
dearly by the men who
won it. Charlie Winder,
a teamster, who had borrowed a rifle and plunged
into the thick of the fight,
was hit then. Gilbert, a
French-Canadian, who
held the position of bugler
to the Battleford Rifles,
was shot through the neck.
Private Atcheson, of the
Queen's Own, who made
an equally good soldier
and chaplain, lifted the
wounded man and carried
him from under fire. An
Indian tried to pick off
Atcheson, but was himself
knocked over by Lloyd,
who was in his turn wounded by another Indian's
bullet. Dobbs, who had
fought his way safely
through the Indian Mutiny and the Red River
Expedition, now made his last fight. A bullet pierced
his breast, and not many
minutes afterward he
ceased to breathe. Atcheson dragged him off, Sergeant McKell helping with
one hand while carrying
three rifles, belonging to
wounded, in the other.
McKell himself had probably the narrowest of the
many narrow escapes experienced during that battle. A bullet cut through
the knitted tuque he was
wearing, and took the skin
from his left temple; one eighth of an inch closer,
and the result would have
been fatal. As it was, the
gallant sergeant for a
moment thought he was
badly hurt, and exclaimed: Another Irishman gone!"
As the men were pressing through these
bushes, they were stopped by the bursting of a
shell in unpleasant proximity — the shell being
intended to help in clearing the upper part of
the coulée. On the right, the coulée was cleared
of the enemy by Constable Ross and some companions from various regiments, and four ponies
were captured. With feathers in harness, ribbons in tail, and
gaudy saddle cloths,
the animals
had evidently been tied up till their owners
should return from "clearing out" the white
men. The withdrawal was then begun, teams got
ready, the four dead were loaded on two waggons, and the thirteen or fourteen wounded men
were laid in five waggons and the old ambulance
carriage. One of the dismounted guns was put
also in a waggon, and the procession started to
descend the hill. The enemy's fire had been pretty
well silenced, except from that creek in the rear
which had to be recrossed. Five half-breeds still
lurked under the perfect cover given them by
the cut bank. A party of scouts, under Ross,
with Battleford men, waded across the stream
at a point lower down, then lined the opposite
side and drove out the last obstacle to the
retirement. One by one the tired and hungry
horses were got to drag their loads through the
difficult pass, and halted when they had crossed the abandoned camp ground . But this retreating movement — a most trying one for the
coolness and pluck of the men — was executed
splendidly. Before the rear guard were half
way down the hill, Indians reappeared on the
spot whence, a few minutes before, our guns
had been shelling them, and began to follow and
fire upon the crowd below them. Step by step
the troops retired, turning, lying down, and
taking deliberate aim at their pursuers. The
latter finally stopped when three of their number fell, knocked over by a shell from the
rope fixed gun, now in position on a hill across the
creek. The withdrawal was delayed for a little
time while the Queen's Own brought away a
wounded man who had been left on the field.
This was Charles Winder, a young man from
Birmingham, England, of good family, though
he had left his farm at Brandon to work as
teamster with this expedition. He had picked
up a rifle and joined the Battleford men early in
the morning, and fell in the coulee just when
the others were leaving the spot. He was not
quite dead when lifted into the waggon that was
brought back for him, but drew his last breath
before he had gone far. Another teamster,
John Parker, a deaf-mute, but a capital shot,
perhaps hit more Indians than any speaking
and hearing man in the field.
Now all were safely over, and it was decided
to press right on to Battleford that night, in case of
a possible advance by the
Indians upon the town,
by the trail north of Battle
River. With one halt of
half an hour, and another
of ten minutes, the force
rode back and arrived
safely at the camp about ten o'clock.
The loss of the Canadian
forces in this battle was
heavy, considering the
strength of the force, being
eight killed and twelve
wounded. The names of the
dead and wounded were:
KILLED.
Mounted Police — Corporal
Laurie, Corporal Sleigh, Bugler
Burke.
Foot Guards— Private
Osgoode, left on field; Private
Jno. Rodgers.
Battleford Rifles
—Arthur Dobbs, C Company;
Bugler Faulkner, Teamster
Charles Winder.
WOUNDED.
Police-Sergt. Ward.
B Battery—Lieut. Peltier, Sergeant Gaffney.Corporal Morton, Gunner Reynolds.
C Company —
Brigade Sergeant-Major Spackman.
Ottawa Guards— Color
Sergeant Winter, Private
McQuilken.
Queen's Own —
Seigt. Cooper, Private Charles
Nary, Private Watts.
Battleford Rifles— Ernest Gilbert.
Poundmaker had a force
of over four hundred warriors, three hundred and
fifty of whim were Indians and the remainder
half-breeds. They were
well armed, for when he
surrendered, at a later
date, two hundred and ten
rifles and guns were given
up, and it was known that
a considerable band of his
best armed braves left him on his surrender and
went over to Big Bear's camp. Ammunition was
also found on the reserves later, and the belief of
those best acquainted with the Indians was, that
many more arms and much more ammunition had
been cached on the reserves. The losses of his
forces have never been certainly ascertained.
The estimate of Canadian officers who were in
the action placed the number of killed at
from fifty to eighty, an estimate which was
confirmed by a priest who was with the Indians. The Indians, on the other hand,
stated their killed to have numbered six or
seven, and the half-breeds, who declared they
took no part in the engagement, supported their statement. The truth will probably be never
known. The battle was not a decisive victory
for the troops, as they were compelled to withdraw, but before doing so they silenced the
enemy's fire. The priest who was with the
Indians stated that the blow was a veritable
shock to the Indians, and that it would be
whispered around their campfires for years to
come. The volunteers behaved splendidly,
never wavering or becoming panic-stricken,
though half an hour after the engagement
commenced it was clear that they had been led
into a trap. Colonel Otter's withdrawal of his
little force, without the loss of a man in the
operation, from such a situation, reflected the
highest credit upon his skill and upon the
steadiness of his men. There can be little
doubt that the blow prepared the mind of
Poundmaker for the surrender which followed
on the news of the defeat of Riel.
CHAPTER XI.
THE TRIP OF THE "NORTHCOTE."
The strength with which the rebels held
Fish Creek was so great that Gen. Middleton
found it necessary to bring across the river a
portion of the Second Column of his Division during the engagement, though it arrived
too late to take much part. It was evident
that the rebels had determined to make
their final stand at Batoche, on the east
side of the river, which it was learned
had been strongly entrenched. General
Middleton therefore determined to consolidate his Division and march an undivided
force down upon Batoche. Besides, circumstances made it necessary to delay the
advance upon Batoche until the arrival of
the Steamer "Northcote" with supplies. During the next day, therefore, the remainder of
the Second Column under Col. Montizambert
was ferried across the river. Though the battle
of Fish Creek had cleared the way to Batoche,
General Middleton was encumbered with over
forty wounded men, who had to be protected
and cared for by the column, in the absence
of any safe house at a reasonable distance to
which they could be sent. The supply of
ammunition was also low, owing to defective pouches, which, when not kept buttoned
while the men were lying down allowed
the cartridges to drop out. Much ammunition
was wasted, and much fired away uselessly,
owing to the inexperience of the troops, so
that a tremendous quantity was got rid of
and the supply remaining was insufficient for
the work ahead. A large supply of forage, of
provisions, of ammunition, and also of the much
needed hospital stores, as well as the chief
hospital officers were on the "Northcote,'' which was somewhere on the South Saskatchewan
river. Though the steamer "Northcote,' was
expected at Clarke's Crossing before the advance took place, yet day after day went by
after the battle of Fish Creek, during which
the General and his men fretted at the delay
which would enable the rebels to further
strengthen their position; yet though looked
for from the bank of the Saskatchewan as longingly as and far more impatiently than the sail
was looked for by Enoch Arden, still the steamer
did not appear. The "Northcote" had been detained for one reason and another at Saskatchewan Landing, and it was not until the
23rd, or the day before Fish Creek battle, that
the steamer actually started down the river.
She had on board a couple of hundred men or the Midland battalion, under
Lieut.-Colonel Williams, Lieut. Howard, C.S.M. and had two
scows in tow, with about three hundred tons of
supplies and ammunition, the Gatling gun, and
the field hospital stores and staff under the direction of Dr. Roddick, of Montreal, and Dr.
Douglas, V. C. , an old army surgeon, decorated for
personal bravery on the field. During a voyage
to India, the transport upon which Dr. Douglas
was put into an island in the Indian Ocean for
fresh water. The watering party were attacked
by natives in sight of the ship, and so heavy was
the surf that none thought it possible to take a
boat through it to relieve them. Dr. Douglas,
trained in the surf of Grosse Isle, below Quebec, volunteered for the attempt, took in a
boat, rescued the watering party and brought/
them off triumphantly in spite of surf and savages.
The little expedition was under the command of that veteran officer Lieut. -Colonel
Van Straubenzee. The river was unusually
low, the melting snows of the Rocky Mountains not having swelled its volume as yet, and
the trip was from the first one of unusual
difficulty. The heavily laden boat was drawing thirty-four inches of water, and on many of
the bars, caused by every petty rivulet that entered the main stream, not more than thirty
inches could be found. Over these the flat bottomed stern wheeler had to be absolutely lifted
by spars and steam winches, until the Elbow
was passed, and it was seldom that ten miles
were made without such an experience.
As time went on and no news of the steamer
was received a good deal of anxiety was aroused.
It was known that a great many disaffected
half-breeds and Indians were in the neighborhood of the river, and in places the high banks
would afford excellent cover for an enemy
attacking her. Scouting parties were sent down
the banks of the river to find her.
At the camp no military operations, except
that of gathering intelligence as to the country
ahead and the strength of the enemy, were
Undertaken, and the men fell into the routine of
camp life. For days after, at Fish Creek, little
groups were heard discussing the battle and, in
the words of one correspondent, supposing and
regretting and boasting and bragging, and exaggerating their prowess and danger, as young
soldiers after their first battle always have done and
always will do. The graves of those who fell had
been dug in the prairie sod within sight of the
field of honor and the mighty river, and green fir
boughs with pale anemones, carefully arranged
by comrades of the dead, covered them. More
enduring than flowers, a dark cairn of boulders
taken from the river and carried up with much
toil, slowly rose near the graves, and a great
white cross of gleaming white poplar marked the
burial ground of the patriotic dead.
While all was so quiet and peaceful at the front,
t here was a good deal of excitement and suspense
in the Qu'Appelle Valley. The Metis and Indian
population of that district could put about 800
men into the field, and it was known that
Riel had endeavored to induce them to rise.
The news of the battle of Fish Creek was
received with rejoicing by these people,
who insisted that it was a victory for their
friends and relatives, and alarming reports
were put in circulation. When the battle
was fought there were some 200 cavalry in
Winnipeg, and they were at once sent
forward, the Governor-General's Body
Guard of Toronto, 78 men, under Col. Dennison, going to Humboldt; the Quebec Regular
Troop, Col. Turnbull, to Touchwood; and
the Winnipeg Troop to Qu'Appelle, where
Col. Scott, with the 91st were in garrison. The
American frontier was under the constant
patrol of a number of local organizations, the
most important of which were Stewart's Rangers,
a body of about 100 cow-boys raised near Calgary. Upon the 1st of May the Montreal
Garrison Artillery, under Col. Oswald, one of the
finest corps in the country, were called out to do
garrison duty at Winnipeg, and to this corps belongs the honor of having made the first all-rail
trip by the Canadian route, from the head of
ocean navigation to Winnipeg.
On the 30th of March the Government had
appointed a commission, composed of Messrs.
W. R. P. Street, Q. C., of London, Ont., Roger
Goulet, of St. Boniface, and A. E. Forget, of
Regina, to enquire into the claims of the half-breeds of the North-West. A court had been
opened at Qu'Appelle and, in a large number of
cases, land scrip for $240 was issued in abolition
of the Indian title. It was stated, and that
upon the floor of the House of Commons, that
this scrip had been sold to speculators by the
recipients, and the money so obtained invested
in arms and ammunition, which was immediately
sent to Riel; but this was emphatically denied,
and in no case was there definite evidence of
such action.
The water of the South Saskatchewan began
to rise slowly about the 1st of May, and a number
of carpenters were sent down to Swift Current
to build barges, which would carry stores down
the river, and so actively was the work pressed
that by the 4th of May ten of these boats were
on their way to General Middleton, with a large
amount of supplies. The little steamer "Minnow" had been despatched upon the same
errand three or four days before. The "Northcote" had not been heard of for eight days,
when, upon May 3rd, she was discovered by a party of Dennis' mounted surveyors upon a sand
bar. A good deal of the lost time had thus been
spent, and the volunteers, the Midlanders, who
were afterwards to divide the honors with the
9Cth, eager to be at the front, were much
incensed at the delay. The gradual rise, of the
river, however, enabled her to make better progress, so that after landing the medical staff at
Saskatoon, where the field hospital was to be
placed, and two companies of the Midlanders at
Clarke's Crossing, where they were to remain
in garrison, General Middleton's camp at Fish
Creek was reached upon the 5th of May. On
the 1st of May five canvas-covered waggons, with
extemporised stretchers of raw-hide, and two
ambulances, moved slowly out of the camp at
Fish Creek with the wounded, who were so far
advanced towards recovery that the trip could
be attempted, under an escort of Boulton's
Horse. Poor Swinford, who had been struck
down with a bullet through the brain, was not
among them. After lingering for several days
in a comatose state he died. There was now
nothing to prevent the advance of the column
upon the rebel stronghold at Batoche.
CHAPTER XII.
THE ADVANCE UPON BATOCHE.
The first military operation undertaken by
General Middleton's command, after the
fight at Fish Creek, was a reconnaissance to
the north and eastward along the river and
east trails to Batoche. On
the 4th of May two parties,
composed of Boulton's horse
and French's scouts, left the
camp, the former taking the
river, the latter the east
trail, and reached a point
fourteen miles distant. They
found the whole settlement,
which stretched continuously
from Fish Creek to Batoche,
entirely deserted. The comfortable homes, and broad
and well-tilled fields of the
Metis, were desolate, and it
was evident from the abandonment of household
goods
that the movement had been
a hasty one. At Gabriel
Dumont's Crossing the moderately well-filled store and
comfortable, and even handsome, homestead of the rebel
general were left with almost
all their contents at the
mercy of the troops. The
ferry scow had not been destroyed, and, with its sweeps,
lay at the landing place
ready for service. Four miles
further on, five men suddenly ran out of a house, sprang to their
horses and rode off without firing a shot.
The interior of the house occupied by these
pickets was a curious sight. Upon a table
lay a pack of cards as they had fallen from
the players' hands, flanked by a platter of
beefsteak, and upon the stove a bannock
and a pot of potatoes were cooking. For the
entire distance the river trail was found to
be a perfectly open one, but the east trail,
which French found deserted, ran through
heavy timber where mounted men would be
useless. In the deserted homes of the Metis
was everywhere found evidence of rude, but
substantial plenty, although all small portable articles of value had been carried off.
The men of the reconnoitering party burdened
themselves with loot, such as eggs and fowls,
which the long and steady diet upon hard tack,
pork, and bully beef had rendered most valuable
in the eyes of the troops, and thirty-three head
of cattle were driven into camp. To complete
this expedition one of the three Sioux Indians of
White Cap's band, captured by Lord Melgund
near Clarke's Crossing, was sent into Batoche as
a spy, his brother being held as a hostage that
he would be true to the salt, which with the
large addition of bread and pork he had eaten
during his captivity.
Upon the 7th of May, the entire force, numbering, with the teamsters, boatmen and supernumeraries, 1,400 men, four guns
and a Gatling, with
600 horses, moved slowly out of Fish Creek
Camp, past the tall white cross of shining poplar
over its cairn of grey stone guarding the graves
of the glorious dead, past the deep stern ravine
where the prairie flowers were springing, and on
to the north to meet the foe. Men and horses
were all much refreshed by their long halt, and
the march was a brisk, short and peaceable one.
The Steamer "Northcote," whose lower deck
had been cased around with a double covering
of two inch planks, accompanied the march
of the column, with the men of C Company
as a fighting crew on board. Lieut. -Colonel
Van Straubenzee had been given the command
of the infantry division, now over 600 strong.
This gallant officer still suffered from the
wounds he had received in his early campaigns,
had, as a subaltern of the 32nd Light Infantry, served under Lord Gough through the
Sikh war, and led the forlorn hope at Moultan,
where he was severely wounded. At the
Crimea, where he served on the staff of his
brother General Sir Charles Van Straubenzee,
he again distinguished himself, and during the
Chinese war he was at the taking of the Summer Palace.
Shortly after noon the column was halted at
Dumont's Crossing, and a zareeba was formed
in a not very suitable locality, as it was surrounded by bushes; but though the men slept
with their arms by their side the night passed
in perfect quiet. By seven next morning the
column was again en route, but the river trail
was no longer followed, as the locality of a
most dangerous ravine upon that trail a few
miles beyond Dumont's had been discovered,
and a detour somewhat eastward was made to
avoid it. The heavy line of brush to the south
being passed for ten miles the column moved
through the fine open prairie dotted with clumps
of trees that lay spread out at the foot of the
beautiful Birch Hills. The camp was formed
upon the rounding summit of one of the prairie
waves, close by the Humboldt trail, about ten
miles from Batoche. While the tents were
being pitched and the zareeba formed Boulton's
Horse, under Lord Melgund, penetrated to
within four miles of Batoche and selected the
next camping ground. During the next evening Captain Frere, the son of Sir Bartle Frere,
who had been appointed aide to General Middleton, reported to the General, having ridden in
from Humboldt entirely alone. He brought in
with him a Scotch half-breed, named Tait, who
claimed he had deserted the rebels, and from
him it was learned that Riel had about 500 men
under arms. He also furnished the General wit
h a rude plan of the works surrounding Batoche, and, as it aftewards proved, his information was moderately reliable. The night before
the battle — for all knew that the attack would
come on the morrow— was a quiet one, and was rendered none the less comfortable, because
there was hardly a mess in the camp which was
not much improved by the spoils of the rebels'
barn-yards. Foremost among the looters was
"the American Gatling Gun Contingent," who
distinguished himself by bringing in a young pig
and a dozen chickens. During the night a
scout came in from Prince Albert with a despatch from Col. Irvine, to the effect that he had
sent the steamer "Marquis" around to Batoche,
and that there was a force of 30 men guarding
a small flotilla at Fritchard's Crossing, some distance below that point. That night the pickets
were vigilant, and it is told of one of the Midland Battalion that he halted Lord Melgund,
who was coming in from without the lines, with
the shout, "Put up your hands." Lord Melgund did so, and after being
kept in that position for a
few uncomfortable moments,
he asked the picket, "Well,
what are you going to do?"
The fellow slowly advanced,
took a good look at him with
his rifle in a most suggestive
attitude, and then turning
to the bush he yelled, "Its
all right Jim," and began to
retrace his steps. "What do
you mean," said the astonished officer, who was not
accustomed to this peculiar
method of receiving the
countersign, and the picket
replied, as he resumed his
position in the shadow of
a bush, "Nothing, but my
pard had a bead on you, and,
as it was all right, I told him
to drop it."
By four o'clock the whole
camp was astir, for few had
slept soundly that night, and
many a young soldier as he
lay on his folded blanket,
with his rifle by his side, let
his thoughts run back to
those, two thousand miles
away, whom he might never
see again, and as lips grew
tremulous and eyes grew dim
with misty tears, he nerved
him for the fight. By six
o'clock the whole column
was in motion, the camp
being left just as it stood,
under the guard of the armed
teamsters. Boulton's Horse,
75 strong, with the Gatling,
were in advance and in support were the 10th Grenadiers, 262 strong; then came the 90th, 270;
the Midlanders, 116; A Battery, two guns,
120 men; Winnipeg Battery, two guns, 52
men; French's scouts, on both flanks, 25, and
the ammunition and ambulance waggons bringing up the rear. In all, there were 920 men
under arms. The march was a slow one,
the ammunition waggons getting mired in
some places, but there was no sign of [the
enemy, and the huts of Chief One Arrow's
band of Teton Sioux Indians, through whose reservation the march lay, were entirely deserted.
After an hour the whistle of the "Northcote" was
heard, and a blank cartridge was fired in response; still there was no sign of the enemy.
About eight o'clock an A Battery gun was unlimbercd and a shell was put through the roof of a
house on the right of the trail, and out of it ran
half a dozen men who at once took to the bush. A
short distance further and there appeared the
little church of St. Antoine de Padoue, the parish
church of St. Laurent, a simple wooden structure, crowned by a belfry, and beside it a large
two-storey schoolhouse, standing on the top of
the ridge that bounded the view. A little
lower down the ridge, and between the church
and school, were a few tepees. The Gatling,
which, under escort of Boulton's Horse, was in
advance, opened fire upon them and drove out
their Indian occupants helter-skelter, leaving
their uneaten breakfast. The advance guard
moved up toward the church, and fire was
opened u^on the schoolhouse with the Gatling
at short range. Instantly a priest came to the door and the whole advance guard with
the General's staff rode up, and four priests
and five nuns came out and begged for protection. After a few moments' conversation,
during which the information that the "Northcote" had passed down the river under a
heavy fire was obtained, the staff advanced to
the crest of the ridge upon which the church
stands and before them in the valley lay
Batoche. Some distance above Batoche the
river, which flows northward, makes a detour to
the left and forms an almost semicircular curve
before resuming its northerly course below the
settlement. Within the curve thus formed is the
high bank upon which the church and schoolhouse stand, and the whole village of Batoche,
which lies 1,500 yards beyond the church, down
in the valley and almost in the middle of the
curve. At a point near the largest of the houses
the ferry crosses the river. For some distance
down the river, after its turn toward the left,
the eastern bank is high and steep and well
wooded, and then the bank retreating from
the river forms a curve which is more or
less the counterpart of that formed by the river.
The village, therefore, lies in what may be
roughly called an elliptical basin. The bank is
not bold as at the river, but it is broken by
ravines, one of which begins at the river where
the bank begins to fall away, and runs back
with a sinuous course, narrowing and extending to within a hundred yards of the church,
from which there is a gradual descent to it.
This ravine and all the small ravines, with
which the whole face of the
promontory was broken, were
wooded.
The ridge lying
between this ravine and the
slope to Batoche commanded
the whole place, and from this
ridge the General and his
staff gazed down upon the
peaceful looking village. In
the centre was a two-storey
frame house— freshly painted ,
as indeed all the houses were
— recently the home of Batoche, who was absent, and
now President Riel's headquarters. Near it is a
humbler building, used as
the Council Chamber of the
Provisional Government of
the Saskatchewan, with a
white flag, apparently emblazoned, flying above it.
Between the slope and the
village there were wooded
bluffs, above which the
brown roofs of other houses
could just be discerned. On
the west side of the river the
bank was high but the ascent was not steep, and 'on
the green hillside, just back
from the ferry landing, could
be seen a few houses and
many gaily painted Indian
tepees. Beyond a few cattle
and ponies there was not a
sign of life about the whole
settlement. A Battery guns
were ordered up to the
ridge and shells were thrown
across the river into the Indian camp, with the effect of
making a number of women
and children, as well as
the hill to the north-east were then turned upon the
on the east side, and the
were watching the effect.
men, scamper up
ward. The guns
Council Chamber
Staff with others
One of the guns missed fire a few times,
and the fire slackened, upon which, without the slightest warning, a volley was fired at
the group from the bush on the face of the slope
in front, which, aided by the wild whoop that
accompanied it, almost caused a panic. The
bullets went high, however. In withdrawing the guns one of them caught in a tree and could
not be moved. The men ran back into the
coulee behind and the capture of the guns seemed
certain. Captain Peters hurried forward with
the Gatling, however, when Lieutenant Howard
taking charge of it rushed it to the front between the two guns, and with his shoulder to the oscillator ground out a stream
of balls that mowed down the very twigs
as if by a scythe. He and his men became
a target for the enemy, but he worked on
as calmly as if at target practice, and for ten
minutes the duel between the hidden marksmen
and the unprotected machine gun continued.
The shouts had ceased when the machine began,
and the rifle fire now slackened and the guns were
saved. The Grenadiers came up in time to have
followed up the demoralizing fusilade of the
Gatling with a charge down the slope into the
main ravine in front, but this the General refused to order, and they were thrown forward
as the centre of the line in the immediate front
of the church. The sharpshooters of the 90th
were ordered up on the ridge to support the
Gatling gun. A Battery men and French's
scouts advanced toward the river down the
little coulée behind the ridge, into which the
enemy crept by rounding the edge next the
river. The bank further back was lined by
two companies of the 90th. The remainder of the 90th and the Winnipeg
Battery reinforced the Grenadiers to
the right, the Midlanders being in
reserve, while Boulton's horse were at
the extreme right. French's scouts
soon met the enemy and a desperate
fight in the coulee followed. There
Phillips, of A Battery, was shot. The
scouts further down were very nearly
being cut off at one time, but the
Gatling was again advanced, and the
enemy fell back under its fire. The fire
now became very general. It was then
discovered that the banks of the river,
the small ravine and the main one, as
well as the face of the slope were
entrenched with rifle pits. Long shots
were taken by rebel marksmen from
across the river at the staff who were
at the church, and some of them
came altogether too close. An attempt
was made by the Winnipeg Battery to
shell out the rifle pits in the main
ravine in front about noon, but with
little effect, and shortly after Boulton's
Horse had to repel a determined attack on the right flank. About the
same time an attempt was made to
turn the left flank also, the rebels advancing from the ravines that serrated the bluff, but a force was sent
into a little cemetery on the bluff behind the
small ravine and this movement was checked.
During the attack on the right flank the prairie
was fired and the advance skirmishers had actually to jump the line of fire. About two o'clock
the Midlanders were sent down the little coulee,
accompanied by Dr. Alfred Codd, and in the
face of a hot fire brought out the body of Gunner
Phillips. The strength of the rebel position began
to be realized, and after an interview with General Middleton, Lord Melgund left for Ottawa,
as it was supposed to represent the need for reinforcements. After three o'clock the fight languished, and an hour afterward
the force began
to retire to a position about four hundred yards
east of the church, the waggons being sent for,
and a zareeba formed. Preparations for defence
were at once begun. The lines of an entrenchment were marked out and by night the rear
was safely entrenched. The losses for the day
were one man of A Battery, Gunner Phillips,
killed, and three wounded, one man of the
Grenadiers slightly wounded and two
of French's
scouts, in all one man killed and six wounded.
The bravest exploit of the day was the rescue
of Cook, one of the scouts, by Captain French.
The man fell in the small ravine when the scouts
were about to retire, and his captain took him
on his back and staggered with him up the
slope amid a heavy fire. The night was a terribly anxious one, and but few slept. All
through the weary hours the rebels kept up a
desultory fire, and one man was shot dead in
the entrenchments. Men worked hard with
pick and shovel throwing up shelter works, all
night. The teamsters turned their waggons into
covered works by digging a rifle pit beneath
them. The skill of the volunteers in this work
was said by General Middleton to be beyond
that of any regulars. On the withdrawal of the
troops, the Metis occupied the church and schoolhouse, which they barricaded. That evening
Phillips was buried by his comrades of the Battery,
Chaplain Gordon reading to attentive listeners
the solemn service. '"I am the Resurrection and
the Life,' he read, and a volley from the sharp shooters punctuated his words. 'It is sown in
corruption, it is raised in incorruption,' and
the rattle of the waggons coming from the front
mingled with the staccato crashes of the Gatling
covering the retreat, broke^ in on his voice but
did not drown it."
On coming into camp, Lieutenant Howard
who, with his Gatling, had saved the guns, was
received with loud cheers by the men.
The fight was renewed on Sunday morning
but without any very great vim on either side,
and was mainly confined to skirmish firing on
the part of the Grenadiers. In the afternoon
the Winnipeg Field Battery opened fire on
the cemetery, which was full of half-breeds,
and shelled it for some minutes, driving them
out, but the ground at the crest of the ridge was
not re-occupied. An attempt to induce the
rebels to come out into the open was made during the evening. The 90th were put into a
favorable position, and the 90th skirmishers
were ordered to run in. The Metis followed
them for some distance, but the 90th opened
fire too soon, and the scheme failed. During
the day Captain French moved to the north-east
and came in behind Batoche. He found a
broad open plateau to the right of that place
and captured a number of ponies. During the
evening Dennis' Horse, a body of fifty surveyors, raised by Captain Dennis, and
acquainted with the ground, rode into camp and
took a prominent part in the little skirmish
that followed the attempt to entrap the rebels.
The night passed in moderate comfort, and the
men by this time regarded the whistle of a bullet as being the most natural thing possible, and
unworthy of attention.
On Monday, as the result of Captain French's
report of his detour of the day before, a reconnaissance to the north-eastward was undertaken
by General Middleton with Boulton's and
Dennis' Horse and the Gatling. It was
discovered that from that side Batoche was defended by a line of rifle pits along a strip of
woods, which clothed the ridge between the
plateau and the valley of Batoche. The party
had a little skirmish with a band of
Metis, and the Gatling again did good
service. General Middleton, during
this affair, personally captured an
Indian, who tried to get into the woods.
In camp Lieut.-Col. Van Straubenzee,
who was in command, Bent out some
guns to occupy the river ridge near the
cemetery, which was reported to have
been deserted, but the rebels were
found there in strength and the men
came back into camp. During the day
.there was nothing more exciting than
a constant interchange of shots between skirmishers. The Winnipeg
Battery turned out and shelled the west bank in the afternoon, and did a
good deal of damage. Slowly and
sullenly the men came back in the
evening, giving up the ground they
had been winning all day, and began to
make themselves as comfortable as they
could. The work of the last few days
was of the most trying character, and
the men were growing desperate.
That night was not a cheerful one. The list of casualties that had taken
place up to that time was not a long
one, three men being killed and fifteen
wounded.
CHAPTER XIII.
CARRIED BY STORM.
The First Division had now been before
Batoche for three days. They had been
marched out of the zareeba each morning, and
advanced in the face of a fire to the shelter
trenches which had been constructed along the
left and centre front, within rifle range of the
enemy's pits beneath the slope, only to be retired
at night without gaining any ground. Such work
was trying, and the men, though they marched
forward and marched back under the word of
command, did so without spirit. General Middleton, remembering that the forces whom he
commanded were not ordinary regulars, but
men whose loss would cause unutterable sorrow
throughout the whole Dominion from the highest to the lowest, hesitated to order making the
sacrifice of life, which the carrying of such a position seemed to demand. He determined,
therefore, "to keep pegging away" from behind the
entrenchments until the enemy had wasted their ammunition, of which they were reported
to be short. Recognizing, however, the effect
of that kind of work upon the spirits of his men,
which up to this time had been overflowing in
spite of all the difficulties and hardships of
the march, General Middleton determined
upon allowing them to strike a decided blow.
There can be no doubt that they surprised their
commander by the liberal interpretation which
they gave his order on that memorable 12th of
May before Batoche. In the morning, General
Middleton with the cavalry, the Gatling and a
detachment of A Battery with one gun, moved
out to the eastward on the extreme right front
to test the strength of the enemy's rifle pits
along the woods there and to throw some shells
into the village. The infantry, under Colonel
Van Straubenzee, took their accustomed place
in the shelter trenches at the front, the Midlanders at the left, the Grenadiers in the centre
and the 90th upon the right, next to some woods.
The usual exchange of shots was kept up between the skirmishing lines of the infantry
and the enemy in their rifle pits. On the right the skirmish became hotter than usual, and
Kippen, of Dennis' Surveyors, was killed. The
gun of A Battery was doing damage, for a white
flag appeared and two prisoners named Astley
and Jackson came in with a note to the
General: —
"Sir, —If you massacre our families we will begin by
killing Indian Agent Lash and other prisoners.
"Louis David Riel"
The following reply was sent back by Astley,
who was on parole:
"Mr. Riel, — I am most anxious to avoid killing
women and children, and have always been so. Put
women and children in some place and I won't harm
them. I trust to your honor not to put men with
them.
"Fred. Middleton,
"Major-General Commanding."
This and other signs of weakness on the
part of the rebels confirmed General Middleton 's
determination to make a decided advance, and
coming back to camp with his column, he gave
instructions to Colonel Van Straubenzee, who
communicated them to Colonel Williams, commanding the Midlanders, and Colonel Grasett,
commanding the Grenadiers. The Midlanders
were extended out to the extreme left and
advanced to a position overlooking the river
bank, the Grenadiers in the centre, facing down
the slope leading to the small ravine, and the 90th
to the right. Shortly after the action had begun,
Boulton's Horse and Dennis' Surveyors took
the extreme right by the woods. Thus a line
was completed, the left of which rested upon
the river and stretched along the whole front
for nearly a mile and a half. The Midlanders
on the extreme left had advanced, firing upon
the rifle pits on the river bank, and though far
in advance of the rest of the line they would
not be checked, but with a loud cheer they rushed down, jumping over with fixed bayonets
among the rifle pits. The Midlanders cleared
the bank of rebels right to the cemetery, and
while passing the mouth of the small ravine
they fired a volley up it, sensibly diminishing
the fire of the occupants of the pits there. The
Grenadiers had advanced from their shelter
trenches and were coming down the slope towards the ravine, to pass over the ridge; the
fire from the small ravine had galled them, and
the action of the Midland Battalion came at
the right moment. The right of the Grenadiers
had swung forward and reached cover over the
slope of the ridge in the great ravine, and they
were able to enfilade the marksmen in the rifle
pits on the ravine slope, while the left of their
line, led on by Col. Van Straubenzee, catching fire
from the Midlanders, charged the rifle pits of the
small ravine. Bayoneting the occupants, they
passed over the ridge and joined the Midlanders,
who had been checked in their charge down, by
the fire from the slope which the rebels deserted
for the wooded bluffs lying before the village.
The 90th extended out behind the woods at the
right and rushing down the slope were met with
a fire from the rifle pits there, which they soon
reached and cleared, however, of the rebels, who,
joining those who had been driven by the Midlanders and the Grenadiers from the river brink
and the ravines, retreated into the covered bluffs.
One of the guns of A Battery came up to the
plateau of the ridge and shelled the bluffs
which the enemy attempted to hold. The Gatling gun on the right was grinding out bullets
at that part of the wooded bluffs to which
the 90th were rushing. The 90th, Midlanders
and Grenadiers reached the bluffs in the order
named, when the Gatling ceased fire and the gun was turned upon the village. Boulton's
men had dismounted and, taking advantage of
the opening which had been made in the
line of the rifle pits by the 90th in their charge,
they cleared the rifle pits along the extreme
right of the slope, which guarded the trail from
the east, and which were of formidable construction. Those men, who crossed the series of
echeloned pits, did terrible execution with their
Winchester rifles. The 9-pounders of the Winnipeg Field Battery were worked upon the bluffs
as the rebels, driven by the infantry, rushed for
cover to them on their hasty retreat to the village.
Between the bluffs and the village there was a
ploughed field, across which the men had to advance in the face of a stiff fire from the rebels
concealed in the houses. More men were lost in
this operation than in the carrying of the rifle
pits. Had the rebels not been demoralized by the
charge upon them in the rifle pits, which was
totally unexpected, as the clothing, rifles and
ammunition left there, and the loss of life incurred by the rebels proved, the village would
probably have been more stubbornly held.
In the very heat of the advance a note from
Riel was put into General Middleton's hands,
its bearer coming right through the charging
line.
This note was:
"General, your prompt answer to my note shows that
I was right in mentioning to you the cause of humanity.
We will gather our families to one place, and as soon as
it is clone we will let you know. I have, etc.
(Signed), Louis David Riel."
On the envelope he had written:
"I do not like war, and if you do not retreat and refuse an interview, the question remains the same
concerning the prisoners."
Before Riel had time to carry out his threat,
however, the volunteers were into the village,
and the houses were being carried one after
another with a rush. One of
the first to reach the village was
Captain French, one of the
heroes of the campaign. Fired
with the glow of battle this
gallant soldier, an old Inspector
of the Mounted Police, and
one of the most dashing men
upon the prairie, had led his little
band of scouts on at the forefront of the charge. When the
village was reached he dashed
into Batoche's house, and, as
he gained a window of the
second storey, fell back dead,
with a bullet from the opposite
bank through his heart. Col.
Williams made a rush for a
small house near Batoche's and
pulled up a trap door, beneath
which were Riel's prisoners,
nine in number, all safe. The
victorious troops rushed on for
a mile after the routed and
dispersed Metis and retired only
at the approach of darkness, to
camp in the deserted citadel of
Riel's rebellion.
The eventful day had not
entirely passed, however, before
both the Steamers "Northcote" and
"Marquis," the latter from
Prince Albert, appeared, and
the entire force was once more
united. The day that saw the
rebellion of the Metis crushed
forever saw the junction of General
Middleton's and Colonel Irvine's
forces, as a body of police, a
part of the garrison of Prince Albert, which for two months had
been cut off from communication
with the outer world, was upon the "Marquis."
In one hour Batoche, which it was afterward
found was impregnable to an ordinary assault,
had been taken at the point of the bayonet, and
Louis "David" Riel was once more a homeless
fugitive.
The loss in this gallant charge had been
heavy; but it was light in view of the results
accomplished when compared with that of Fish
Creek. Besides Captain French, Lieutenant
Fitch, of the Grenadiers, went down in the front
of his charging men. Captain Brown, of
Boulton's Horse, fell while leading on his
gallant troops upon the extreme right, and
Lieutenant Kippen, of the Surveyors' Corps, fell
in the preliminary reconnaissance. The total loss
in killed and wounded during the four days'
fight was:
DEAD.
James Fraser and Richard Hardisty, of the Ninetieth
Winnipeg Battalion.
Lieut, A. W. Kippen, of the Surveyors' Corps.
Lieut. W. Fitch and Private Moore of the Grenadiers.
Captain E. T. Brown of Boulton's Horse.
Gunner William Phillips of A Battery.
Capt. John French of the Scouts.
WOUNDED.
A Battery— William Fairbanks, thigh; M. Cowley, thigh;
Carpentier, right knee and left leg; T. Stokes, run over
by gun carriage.
Grenadiers— Maj. Dawson, leg; Captain Manly, foot;
Captain Mason, hip; Privates Brisbore, forehead,
slightly; Eager, jaw; H. Milson, chest; A. Marshall,
in ankle; Barber, in head; Cantwell, hand and thigh;
Quigley, right aim; Cook, arm; Stead, arm; Scoble,
arm; Bugler Gaghan, hand; Corporal Foley, side.
90th Battalion — Corporal William Kemp, right eye;
Ralph Barton, left hand and neck; Erickson, left arm; Allan L. Young, left thigh;
Sergeant Jackes, head;
Sergeant-Major John Watson, hand; Corporal Jamefl
Gillis, leg; Private F. Alexander Watson, neck and
chest.
Midland Battalion— Captain Helliwcll, shoulder; Sergeant A. E. Christie, right arm; Lieutenant G. E.
Laidlaw, right calf; Private William. Barton, left hip;
Corporal E. A. Helliwell, face; Color-Sergeant, William
Thomas Wright, on left arm; Private M. Dally, left
hand.
Boulton's scouts— William Hope, right arm.
French's scouts— G. R. Allan, right shoulder; R. S.
Cook, left thigh.
Surveyors— Captain William Gardner, shoulder; A. D.
Wheeler, shoulder.
The rebel General, Gabriel Dumont, had
staked all upon the defence of Batoche, and the
series of rifle pits, caves and entrenchments
which he planned and carried out could not
have been more carefully or skillfully laid down
by a well-trained strategist. As a garrison,
between the Metis and Indians there were five
hundred men armed with rifles, muskets and
fowling pieces, but the inferiority of their arms
was more than compensated for by the skill with
which they were used and the strength of the
rebel position. After the fight was over there
were forty of their dead bodies found upon the
field of battle, and the best authorities place
their losses at 53 killed and 173 wounded.
With the morning light came the men who
had for so long been fighting the troops, to give
up their arms and beg for mercy. Only those
who were implicated as leaders in the rebellion
were retained as prisoners, and the rest were
told to go home. The whereabouts of the
leader of the rebellion, Louis Riel, was the
important point, and Boulton's Horse were
sent off to scour the country for
him. On the morning of the
15th, three scouts, Hourie, the
man who was the hero of the
many exploits recorded, with
Diept and Armstrong, two kindred spirits, rode out, and early
in the afternoon, when some distance in front of the Mounted
Infantry, came upon three men,
one of whom, unarmed, with
unkempt hair, and without hat
or coat, was the President of
the Provincial Government of
the Saskatchewan. No resistance was offered either by himself or his armed companions,
and Riel handed to the scouts
a letter he had received from
General Middleton promising
him protection and a fair trial.
Full of fear he came into camp
behind Hourie, and was at once
taken to General Middleton's
tent. Armstrong, who took him
in, tells the story of the meeting : "I said, General, this is Riel" The General started up,
saying, "How do you do, Mr. Riel?" Take a seat, Mr. Riel,'Pray be
seated, I then came
away." Of Gabriel Dumont
nothing was heard but that he
had fought like a lion, and made
off when all was over, with the
fastest horse on the prairie
under him, and of all his broad
acres, comfortable homestead
and valuable property, nothing
remained to him but his rifle
and his pony. He reached Montana and was arrested at Fort
Assiniboine by American officers, but his release
was ordered from Washington.
CHAPTER XIV.
RUNNING THE GAUNTLET.
The steamer "Northcote," about whose safety
so very much anxiety had been felt during the
siege of Batoche, had passed through an ordeal
which does not often fall to the lot of a stern
wheel steamer. She left her anchorage at
Dumont's Crossing, at six on the morning
of May 9th, with orders to remain about
a mile and a half above Batoche until the
sound of the bombardment of that place by the
main column was hoard. She had been about two hours under way when the rebels interfered
sadly with this programme by opening fire on her,
the first shot passing through the pilot-house. A
perfect storm of balls followed this signal shot.
From bush and tree, boulder and ravine, a hail
of musketry and rifle balls was poured upon her,
and her light upper works were speedily riddled.
From the well protected lower deck, the barges
alongside and the pilot house a steady fire was
kept up by the men of C Company, who formed
the fighting crew. The sick men, among them
being Lieut. Hugh A. Macdonald, son of the
Premier, left their berths to use rifles. The few
civilians on board passed ammunition or fought.
The pilots, Captains Seeger and Sheets, although
their shelter was poor, never lost control of the
boat. Just above Batoche there is a piece of
swift water, almost deserving the name of a
rapid, and a long bar, jutting out into the stream,
left but a narrow channel close to the western
bank. This was just at the turn in the river
above Batoche, and in passing it the bow of the
boat almost grazed the shoal in front of a deep
ravine. From this place, which
was full of men, a terrible raking
fire was poured into the boat,
but so strong were her defences
that it did but little damage.
When opposite the church, the
crew saw hanging to a tree, on
the west bank, the body of a
man, but who this victim of the
rebellion was, and why he was executed ,have never been discovered. At Batoche the enemy
made their appearance in force,
but they were speedily driven
to cover by the steady fire from
the boat.
Under full steam and with the
impetus of the swift current the
steamer rushed on, and as she
neared the Crossing the steel
cable of the ferry was suddenly
lowered. It just grazed the
lofty pilot-house, sending all the
forward spar gear down, and
then catching the smoke-stacks,
toppled them over on the hurricane deck
with a crash. Had
the cable been dropped a little
lower it would have caught the
pilot-house, and the disabled
boat would probably have been
captured. An instant after, in
order to avoid a couple of boulders, the boat was
thrown over, and she swung completely round
and for an instant one scow grazed the bank.
The enemy made a rush to board her but were
driven back by a withering fire from the rifles.
At nine o'clock the rebel fire suddenly ceased.
For one hour, while traversing a distance of
about five miles, the boat had been under a perfect storm of fire. Over two miles below the
enemy's position she came to anchor, almost
helpless. The crew were at once set to work
and the smoke-stacks were shortened and put up.
This work was hardly completed before fire was
again opened upon the boat, and the workmen
were driven from the exposed deck, nor would
they venture upon it again to repair the whistle,
by which only communication with the main
column could be maintained. An offer of fifty
dollars apiece to the two men who would undertake to replace it brought two men forward, and
they had hardly fitted it in place when a volley
drove them below. Signaling could be resumed,
however, but the only answer was the heavy
cannonading from Batoche. Major Smith, the
commanding officer, Captain Wise, A. D. C,
and Mr. Bedson, an invaluable officer of the
transport service, held a council of war and
decided to return, but the officers of the boat
refused to do so, stating that the wheel was so
badly protected that the pilot would certainly
be shot, and, moreover, that the written orders
of the General forbade such action. Eddies, a
private of the 90th, and an old steamboater, gallantly volunteered to pilot the boat back, but his
offer was not accepted. Although the pilothouse was pierced in a number of places none
of its occupants were wounded, though Captain
Seegar's coat-sleeve was shot through. Only
three men were wounded, and that but slightly;
Pringle, a member of the ambulance corps, was
shot through the shoulder; Vinen, of the transport service, through the thigh;
and Lieutenant
Macdonald slightly.
During the night an alarm
was given, and a volley was poured into the boat
from the west bank, to which no reply was
given. Sunday was passed at anchor, with no
news of General Middleton, and nothing more exciting occurred than an interchange of shots with the
enemy. An attempt to make the pilot-house
impregnable failed, owing to the ever watchful
enemy opening fire upon the exposed workmen,
and it was decided to run down to Pritchard's
Crossing where a number of Mounted Police
were known to be. After anchoring for the
night she arrived there during Monday afternoon, and upon the arrival of the steamer
"Marquis" from Prince Albert, the two steamers
made their way up the river, arriving just in
time to take their share, not in the tight but, in
the general rejoicing that followed the capture
of Batoche.
CHAPTER XV.
PRINCE ALBERT.
So thoroughly had the first division done its
work when Riel was brought into camp, that
upon May 16th General Middleton moved to Guardapuy's Crossing, with the entire force,
leaving Father Vegreville as the Queen's representative for the occasion to accept the surrender
of the repentant rebels. From every house and
cart, even from the hats of the men and the garments of the women, fluttered white flags as the
emblems of peace. The battle standard of "La
Nation Metisse," a white tablecloth with a coloured print of the Virgin upon it, which had
fallen into the possession of Lieutenant Howard,
was an object of curiosity to all the camp, At
Batoche there was collected a great number
of families, from whom the ravages of war had
taken father, husband, brother, or son, and who
were in the greatest distress. They appealed to
the General for protection, and Mr. Bedson, the
chief of the transport service, and one of the of the trans mainstays of the expedition, himself took up
sixteen waggon loads of flour, bacon, tea, and
sugar to them.
The battle rage had passed away from both
the combatant forces, and upon the supporters
of this lost cause there had fallen a great sorrow. The men who had fought
so desperately in the rifle pits at
Fish Creek and Batoche, in
almost every instance, declared
moodily that they had been
forced on to fight by their leaders, and could give no intelligible motive for their action; but
in this they were not peculiar,
as the rank and file of a rebellion
have but seldom revealed to
their conquerors the reasons
which moved them to strike.
The prisoners who had been so
long confined in the rebel camp
had not been harshly treated up
to the time of the battle of Batoche, when they were placed
in a cellar, but all had suffered
greatly from close confinement,
monotonous food, and the constant fear that Riel, whom they
looked upon as insane, would
condemn them to death. There
were in all nine of them released
by the troops: —
Mr. J. B. Lash,
the Indian agent at Carleton; William. Tomkins, his interpreter;
Peter Tomkins, the interpreter's
cousin, and J. McKean, telegraph repairers; Harold Ross,
the deputy sheriff of Prince
Albert; William Astley, a Dominion Land
Surveyor; Edward Woodcock, who had been
in charge of a store at Hoodoo; A. W.
McConnell, one of General Middleton 's scouts,
captured when endeavouring to carry despatches into Prince Albert, and J. E.
Jackson, a brother of that Jackson who was the first
to give his adherence t J Riel's strange creed and
who became his private secretary. All of these
prisoners — except the scout — had been captured
before the Duck Lake fight, and in nearly every
case they had been surprised and seized before
they could offer resistance. During the first
fortnight's existence of the Government of the
Saskatchewan, quite a number of prisoners had
been seized and subsequently liberated; among
them were a number of half-breeds who refused
to take up arms, and as a general rule these men
swore allegiance. Two of them, Nolin and
Marion, deserted upon the first opportunity, ad
Nolin was captured by the garrison of Prince
Albert where he had the reputation of being the
real instigator of the armed rising. The archives of the rebel government had been captured
by Captain Peters, of A Battery, who placed
them in the General's hands. From the written
minutes of the council and numerous documents
it was manifest that the battle of Duck Lake
had been but the first step in a movement for
the capture of Carleton, and the subsequent
seizure and spoiling of undefended Prince Albert.
From the time the column left Touchwood its
every movement had been watched, the number
of men, guns, and horses repeatedly ascertained,
and a complete and accurate plan of the camp at Clarke's Crossing, in which every fire trench was
marked, was among the documents. A plan had
been arranged for an attack upon the zareeba at
Batoche in the grey of the Wednesday morning,
when an attempt would have been made to pass
the pickets, stampede the horses, and attack the
troops amid the confusion at close quarters.
The bayonet charge that carried the rifle pits
twelve hours before they intended to attempt
this programme, was the unforeseen event upon
which it went to pieces, and
so thoroughly protected was
the camp that it is very improbable that it could have
succeeded. Some twenty
men, who had taken too
prominent a part as leaders
of the revolt for their own
good, were held as prisoners.
These were Maxime Lepine,
of St. Boniface; Andrew
Nolin, the rebel commissariat
officer; W. H. J. Jackson, a
young Canadian, and Riel's
private secretary; Francis
Tourand, who fought in the
three fights, and was one
of the guards of the prisoners; Maxime Fider, who
voted for the shooting of the
prisoners; Pierre Henry,
who did the same thing;
Patrice Touron, who shot
Captain Morton at Duck
Lake; Baptiste Pochelot,
the captain of the guard
over the prisoners; Albert
Monkman, a leader at Duck
Lake and a member of the
council; Emmanuel Champaign and Joseph Pilon,
captains of rebel companies;
Moise Parentot, an irreconcilable, who took a prominent
part in the Red River rebellion; Alexander Fisher,
receiver-general of the rebel
government; Baptiste Vendue, captain of a company;
Alex. Lombombark, a Sioux
interpreter who was supposed
to have induced White Cap
to support Riel; Ignace
Poitras, one of the veterans
of the Red River trouble,
and his son, who were
amongst the guards over
the prisoners; Pierre and
Alexandre Parentot, who
demanded an appeal to arms;
Maxime Dubois and J. Delorme, members of the guard
over prisoners, and M. Jobin,
member of the council.
On the 18th of May the
steamer "Northcote" was
despatched to Saskatoon with
the wounded, and on board
of her Louis "David" Riel,
under the guard of Captain
John Young and a small
party, began his journey to Rcgina, where he was to be
placed under the charge of
the Mounted Police to await
his trial. Upon the 18th the
Midlanders, reinforced by
the arrival of the two companies stationed for
some time at Clarke's Crossing, were sent to
form the advance guard of the force during
the inarch to Prince Albert, and all that
day the tedious work of ferrying the long column
and its transport across the river went on.
There had been gathered at Guardupuy's Crossing at one time no fewer than five steamers: the
"Alberta," "Baroness" and "Minnow," of the
Gait fleet having joined the "Northcote," and
the "Marquis." With the river full of stern wheelers, and the camp of a thousand men at
the Crossing, the once solitary place had been
for two days a centre of breathless activity.
All this vanished on the evening of the 18th,
and the march to Prince Albert was begun
by the victorious troops, who easily overcame
both distance and difficulty. It was about
twelve of the clock on a beautiful spring
day, the 19th of May, that the head of the
dusty, travel-stained, yet quick marching and
light-hearted column poured into the long
isolated town of Prince Albert. Every soul
in the town was out to welcome them with
great cheers and with the music of a brass band.
The local company who had given at Duck
Lake ten of their number to the list of the dead,
appeared with the colored ribbons of their company in their
hats, and the Mounted Police,
looking neat and clean in bright scarlet tunics
and well polished boots, presented arms to
the General. The hard-worked volunteers in
their ragged uniforms,
and with their well-used
but not shining arms,
presented a contrast as
complete as outward appearance could make it to
the "gophers," as the
troops speedily named the
Mounted Police at Prince
Albert, who they thought
resembled those prairie
dwellers that never venture
far from their holes and
always pop into them on
the slightest appearance
of danger. The clothing
of the troops had not been
new when the campaign
began, and the vicissitudes
of the march, the camp
and the battlefield had
completely demoralized it.
After Fish Creek there
had been much patching
of uniforms, and after Batoche many a man was glad
to tie his uniform together
with blanket strips. Col.
Irvine, who had the reputation of being a most
dashing officer, had good
reason for the long inactivity of the three hundred Mounted Police under
his command. The long,
straggling town of Prince
Albert, even with the church and manse converted into a citadel by piles of cordwood, was
a most difficult position to defend, and had the
police left the valley its protectors would have
had only ninety stand of arms, but fifty of
which were rifles. A movement upon Batoche
on his part would have brought about a battle in
the thick fir woods which lie between Prince
Albert and that place, in which the superior
numbers of the enemy could have been so
brought to bear as to completely destroy the
force at his command. Gen. Middleton decided
to push on to Battleford, which appeared to be
again shut in by the Indians. The York and
Simcoe regiment had been sent on to Humboldt, where the Governor-General's Body
Guard, under Colonel Denison, were doing
picket duty, to cut off stragglers endeavouring to
escape to the south, and the 7th Fusiliers were at
Clarke's Crossing, having descended the river
from Swift Current on barges. It was decided
to leave the Winnipeg Field Battery at Clarke's
Crossing as an addition to the police garrison,
which was to be undisturbed. These converging bodies of troops made it impossible for any
band of irreconcilables to do any damage to other
than scattered settlers. On the 20th a body of
fourteen men of the Governor-General's Body
Guard, after a two days' chase, captured White
Cap and twenty-two of his braves, while on
their way towards their reservation south of
Saskatoon, and brought them to Humboldt.
Gabriel Dumont was now the only rebel chief at
large, and he was captured by the American
scouts on the Milk River, about the 23rd. He
was taken to Fort Assiniboine, and the Secretary
of State communicated with. After some days,
orders were sent to release him, as he was a
political prisoner, and the bravest, most skilful,
and most manly of the rebel leaders disappeared.
Beardy, the chief of the malcontents at Duck
Lake, had already surrendered to General Midleton, pleading for mercy and favor because he
had been too cowardly to fight. He was
stripped of his medals and also deposed
from his chieftainship. On the 22nd of May
General Middleton started westward with the
"Northwest," the fastest and most powerful
boat on the Saskatchewan, and, inasmuch as
she had been taken up the grand rapids of the
Saskatchewan, a boat with a history. Besides
the General's personal staff, there were on board
the Midlanders, 233 men and 23 officers; A
Battery, one gun, 50 men, Boulton's Horse, GO
men and 5 officers, and the Gatling gun. When
what was once Fort Carleton was reached, a
little party were brought up to the General by a
detachment of Mounted Police sent out to seize
the place the night before. This party of three
were composed of a young Indian, a nephew of
Poundmaker, Alexander Cadiou, a half-breed,
and Jefferson, the farm instructor on Poundmaker's reserve. They brought with them a
letter dictated by Poundmaker, written by Jefferson, his farm instructor.
Eagle Hills, May 19, 1885.
Sir, I am camped with my people at the east end of
the Eagle Hills, where I am met with the news of the
surrender of Riel. No letter came with the news, so
that I cannot tell how far it may lie true. I send some
of my men to you to learn the truth and the terms of
peace, and hope you will deal kindly with them. I and
my people wish you to send us the terms of peace in
writing so that we may be under no misunderstanding,
from which so much trouble arises. We have twenty-one prisoners, whom we have tried to treat well in every
respect. With greeting,
Poundmaker, his X
mark.
To General Middleton, Duck Lake.
The General at once entrusted to Poundmaker's ambassadors the following answer :—
Steamer Northwest, May 23, 1885.
Poundmaker, — I have utterly defeated the half-breeds
and Indians at Batoche's, and have made prisoners of
Riel and most of his council. I have made no terms
with them, neither will I make terms with you. I have
men enough to destroy you
and your people, or, at least,
to drive you away to starve,
and will do so unless you bring
in the teams you took, and
yourself and councillors to
meet me with your arms at Battleford on Tuesday, 26th. I am
glad to hear that you treated
the prisoners well, and have
released them.
Fred. Middleton,
Major-General.
Upon the 23rd, Colonel
Van Straubenzee, who remained in command at
Prince Albert, despatched
the 90th up the river on
the "Alberta" and "Baroness," and, with the
Grenadiers, inarched overland to Carleton to await
the arrival of the "Marquis." That steamer not
coming up, however, he
crossed the river with hits
column and the transport,
and pushed forward by the
north trail.
CHAPTER XVI.
POUNDMAKER'S SURRENDER.
At Battleford the men
of the Second Division had
laid the seven loyal dead, of the fight at Cut
Knife, beside the two first victims of Poundmaker's rising, and then settled quietly down to
garrison life and its duties. A long line of pickets
had to be maintained, entrenchments thrown up,
rifle pits dug, and fatigue service of all kinds performed. Another bastion was erected, and a
broad ditch dug entirely around the fort, the
earth from it being piled up against the stockade until that somewhat flimsy
defence became
a veritable earthwork. The members of the flying column, which fought at Cut Knife, vied with
one another in the narratives of the fight they
related to their less 'fortunate comrades who had
not been at the battle, and this and the rations
furnished the great staple of conversation. The
men had now been living for nearly two months
upon an almost unbroken diet of hard tack,
"bully" beef and pork. The beef was fat and
stringy, the pork was not fat pork, but pork fat,
and many a man who had supported the long march, the steady fight, the countless discomforts and constant labor of the expedition
without a falter or a murmur, was compelled to
live for days on bread alone, simply because he
could not eat the meat rations. Still the men's
.spirits did not fail them; they played cricket,
lacrosse and quoits with tremendous energy,
when not at work, and sang all the old songs
and the new ones over and over again. But
when they sang
"The Queen's Own are getting lean.
But the pork keeps on its fat;"
to the chorus of "You can bet your boots on
that," they meant it. On May 12th, a young
half-breed named Samuel Denison, accused of
"giving false information with intent to lead
Her Majesty's forces into a trap," was brought
before Inspector Dickens, the senior officer of
the Mounted Police in the fort, and that gentleman explained to him that he was charged
with "high treason, sedition, conspiracy and rebellion, which was rather serious." The man
was remanded, and subsequently released on
parole, while of the other prisoners, Lyon
Short, Alex. Bremner, James Nolin, jr., Duncan
Nolin, Peter Sinclair, Joseph Ducharme, and Jos.
Vaudral, were released. This did not constitute
an entire gaol delivery, as six prisoners, including
one Godfrey Marchand, charged with selling
arms to the Indians, were still retained in confinement. Upon the 15th, a mail-carrier, named
Killough, rode into camp and reported that a
waggon train had that day been captured by the
Indians. The train of eighteen ox-teams and
eight horse-waggons was passing through the
reserve of Mosquito, where Payne had been
murdered, about eight miles from Battleford,
when a body of fifty Indians suddenly came
upon them. Those of the men who could, some
eight or ten, cut loose their horses and galloped
for safety along the Swift Current trail, the remainder submitting without a blow, and giving up
some fifteen stand of arms as well as their waggons, and about three hundred rounds of ammunition. Hardly had the news of this sure indication
that the Indians had moved east in force, been
brought in, than a party of the Mounted Police,
who had been out on a scouting expedition, rode
in from the south with the information that they
had been attacked and had lost a man. The little
party, made up of Constables Robertson,
Spencer, Elliott, Allan and Storer, under Sergeant Gordon, with a half-breed scout, had
reached a point some distance from camp on the
Stinking Lake trail, when a body of thirty
Indians rode up on a ridge before them and
opened fire. The little party wheeled at once,
as the enemy had the advantage of both numbers and position, and in the gallop back to
Battleford one of the men, Elliott, lost his seat.
He was a young man, an American by birth,
the son of a New England clergyman, who had
served in the regular cavalry of the United
States, and seen much hard service. As a result
of his army training, he always rode with long stirrups and a military seat, and it was because
of this he fell from the saddle. He sprang into
the bush and escaped from the first band of
Indians only to fall in with another, and they
shot him in the back. Upon the following
day, a party of scouts, under Ross, who had
gone out on the 12th, returned with definite
information to the effect that Poundinaker
had abandoned his camp at Cut Knife Hill,
and with a large force, about a thousand in all,
which would include three hundred warriors,
and with a large herd of cattle was moving east
in the direction of the Eagle Hills. A day
later the body of Elliott was brought in to camp by
Ross and his scouts. They had found it wrapped
in a canvas tarpaulin, and buried with some
care under a little mound of sand. That day it
was laid by the side of the other nine victims
of the Battleford campaign. Although there
had been several alarms in the fort no Indians
were seen by this party. A fire had been
seen gleaming out from the ridges of the Eagle Hills, so that it was thought Poundmaker had taken refuge in their fastnesses.
On the morning of the 20th a little "outfit"
of four waggons, over which flew a white
flag, appeared upon the crest of the hills,
coming slowly towards Battleford by the Swift
Current trail, and an escort was at once sent
out. It proved to be an embassy from Poundmaker to Colonel Otter, asking for terms of surrender, and the letter, carried by Father Cochin,
the Curé of Bresaylor, was accompanied by
twenty-one teamsters captured the week previously, Lafontaine, the scout, who was captured
while reconnoitering after Cut Knife Hill, and
about half a dozen of the suspected half-breeds of
Bresaylor. These last claimed that they had been
held as prisoners by the Indians, but this it is an
article of the creed of the North-westers to disbelieve. Colonel Otter, not knowing that Pound
maker had already communicated with General
Middleton, told him, in answer to the peace proposal, that he must treat with the General
him self. The teamsters had not been badly treated,
but owed their lives directly to the exertions of
the priest, Poundmaker, and the half-breeds,
who had much ado to prevent the Stoneys from
murdering them. Throughout these Indians
had created the most trouble. They were the
first to plunder and murder, and, after the Cut
Knife Hill fight, it was their endorsation of
Riel's request for assistance which induced
Poundmaker to move eastward. The news of
Riel's capture thoroughly frightened Poundmaker and all his men, who at once laid down
their rifles, washed off their war paint and stuck
up a long pole with a Union Jack upon it in the
middle of the camp.
On Sunday evening, the 24th, the "Northwest" reached the landing at Battleford, after
a long day's run, and the troops passed the
night on board. Next day they were marched
into camp at the barracks, Battleford was again
relieved, and the Second division became merged
in the First.
On the morning of the 2Gth of May a body of
150 of the half-breeds of Bresaylor came in and
gave up their arms and ammunition, which they
declared they had never used. A little later
Poundmaker, with his people, about two hundred of whom were warriors, arrived and gave
up their arms, two hundred stand in all, of
every imaginable kind.
No terms of surrender had been agreed upon,
and General Middleton, in the long pow-wow
which he held with the chiefs, would grant none.
He upbraided the Indians for their ingratitude
in rising against the Government, their cowardice and their lies, and demanded from them the
murderers of Payne and Fremont. Poundmaker,
who did most of the talking on the
Indian side, declared that he never
intended to join Riel, because the
Metis had not ammunition enough,
that he had only fought when fired
upon, and that he knew nothing of
the murders. With the utmost
nonchalance the chief said in reply
to the allegation that he was a
coward and a rebel :
"I am sorry. I feel in my heart
that I am such a person as I am."
Ikta, the man who had murdered Payne, and Wa Wanick, the murderer of Fremont, came out from
among the rest at last and gave
themselves up, confessing their
guilt. Poundmaker, Yellow Mud,
Blanket, Breaking-through-the-Ice,
and the two murderers, were retained as prisoners, and the band
were sent upon a reservation where,
deprived of all their arms and food,
they were absolutely dependent
upon the military authorities for
sustenance.
Poundmaker's surrender at once
re-established peace in the Battleford district; every trail was reopened, and the settlers at once
began to visit their ruined homesteads and collect what remnants
remained of their live stock. The
troops from Prince Albert rapidly
gathered at Battleford. On the 26th
the "Baroness "
arrived with the
now famous 90th, the fighting regiment, whom General Middleton
had proudly called "My Little
Devils," and on the 27th the 10th
Royal Grenadiers, C Company,
and the long train of transport
waggons arrived on the north
shore of the Saskatchewan, having
marched from Carleton in two days.
The "Alberta" with supplies and a
portion of A Battery, came in next
morning. The regiment of Canadian
artillery was therefore united, with a total
strength of some two hundred and thirty men
and officers, with four guns and two Catlings,
and C Company became whole once more. In
all, a force of 1,195 infantry, 250 artillery with
four guns, two Gatlings, and 270 cavalry were
concentrated at Battleford. Besides these troops
the 7th Fusiliers and the two remaining companies of the Midlanders, adding 350 men to the
force, were ordered forward from Swift Current,
and it was therefore quite safe to allow the Battleford rifles to be disbanded. Colonel Scott's
battalion, which had lain in garrison so long at
Qu'Appelle and along the railway line in that
vicinity, was also ordered forward, the right
wing to garrison a post in the vicinity of Batoche,
and the left to proceed to Battleford, to garrison
it. On the 28th an Indian was shot by a white
settler, the particulars of the circumstance
being carefully hidden, but the act revealed the
dangerous character of the settlers' feelings
towards the Indians. A more pleasant incident
was the meeting with Chief Moosomin,
whose reservation was just west of Battleford,
who had kept the Queen's peace. The General
shook hands with him, something he had refused
to do with any other Indian, and had a long conversation with the old man, who told him that he
was busy sowing some seed at Turtle Lake when
the outbreak took place, but Big Bear's threats drove him from his fields, and he had to take
refuge in the south-west. He was assured of
the Government's protection, allowed to retain
his arms, and promised seed and food. General
Middleton at once set about organizing a body
of horse to join the Third Division on the march
to attack Big Bear, of whose quiet surrender all
hope was lost. It was discovered that only
about half of Poundmaker's men had actually
laid down their arms, the young men and
desperadoes having taken the best weapons,
and gone off in little knots and bands to
join Big Bear, the only insurgent left in the
west. On the 29th the Steamer "Northwest" left
Battleford to carry a quantity of ammunition
and supplies to General Strange, under a guard
of 25 of the 90th, and it was announced that
when this detachment returned, the veteran
90th, who had been under arms since the 23rd
of March would return home. The speedy completion of the campaign was expected by all,
and already it had been mentioned in general
orders that volunteers who were not bank or
civil service clerks would be required to form
garrisons in the West for a short time after
the regular bodies of troops had left it.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE BIG BEAR HUNT.
General Strange stayed his march
at Victoria for only three days, but
short as was the time it was quite to
sufficient to beget in the men of the
Third Division an almost mutinous
desire to advance and begin their
work of rescue and punishment.
There were over sixty-five white
prisoners in Big Bear's camp, of
whom thirty were women and children. At that time the most horrible stories of the treatment of the
captives were in circulation and
were believed. But one hundred
and twenty-nine miles separated the
force from the helpless prisoners
and their captors, so that every hour
of inactivity seemed a condemnation of the captives to fresh cruelties, and a delay and chance of
escape from punishment for the Indians. Major Steele with his scouts
and policemen had occupied Victoria on May 18th, and had at once
sent forward five scouts to follow
the trail to the eastward for some
distance. These men did not return
when night came, and Lieutenant
Coryell with ten men was sent out
to look them up. The next day
went by and neither of these
scouting parties had returned.
Major Steele, believing that the
scouts had been ambushed and captured, reported the facts to General
Strange on his arrival, as evidence
that the enemy must be within
striking distance. On the morning
of May 20th camp was struck, and
the 65th embarking in the flat-bottomed boats went down the north
Saskatchewan river while the 92nd
with the waggons followed the
trail. The march was during rainy
weather, over soft ground and
through almost impassable coulees, but it
was forced by the men of the 92nd, who
were anxious to get forward, and Major Steele's
camp near Saddle Lake, 32 miles east, was
reached on May 21st. The large settlement here
had been suddenly deserted and large quantities
of abandoned provisions were found; h halt was
called, that these might be loaded on the waggons,
and on the same day Lieut. Coryell's party of
scouts, who had been so long missing, came into
camp almost exhausted from fatigue and starvation, having been without food for two days.
They had pushed on to Frog Lake, about
sixty-five miles east of the Camp, and had
there seen the bodies of the massacred men,
but had seen no Indians. They found a trail
over which a large outfit had passed, running
towards the south-east, and it was conjectured
that the Indians had moved in a body to Fort
Pitt, on the banks of the river, 75 miles southeast of the camp.
When the column halted at Victoria, the Rev.
Canon Mackay, of Fort McLeod, with a little
body of trusty half-breed scouts, had pushed on
upon a desperate errand. When the terrible
rumors as to the fate of the prisoners in Big
Bear's hands became prevalent, this brave
clergyman, who, having Indian blood in his own
veins, and possessing thorough knowledge of Indian character and ways, had great influence
over them, offered to go into Big Bear's camp
and ransom the prisoners. No information as
to his party was brought in by Lieutenant
Coryell, and much anxiety was felt for his fate.
The descriptions of the mutilated bodies at
Frog Lake brought by the scouts fired the
already indignant men and that afternoon they
marched to Egg Lake, a distance of fifteen miles,
in a pelting rain. Captain Oswald was at once
pushed forward, with a party of fifteen scouts,
with orders to follow up the trail to the southeast, and Major Steele, with the
horse, followed
hard after upon the following morning. The
65th in the scows were making much better
progress than the marching column and had
reached St. Paul on the night of the 21st.
They found the neat little half-breed settlement
entirely abandoned. The party under Major
Steele were pushed rapidly on and at Moose
Hill Creek found the Rev. Canon Mackay,
who had abandoned his enterprise, having heard
that the Hudson's Bay Company had undertaken the rescue of the prisoners. He had
visited Frog Lake and found seven bodies.
Steele at once pushed forward to Frog Lake,
and then on by the trail left by the Indians to
Onion Lake, where it turned to the eastward.
He followed this trail until it became indistinct,
and then turned to his right and camped at
Fort Pitt, one day in advance of the column.
They found the body of the brave lad Cowan,
killed in the attack upon Fort Pitt, lying unburied where he fell. Among the Plain Crees,
there is no medicine so potent, no charm so
great, as the heart of a brave foe, and they had
taken poor Cowan's heart from his body, thus
bearing evidence, even by that brutality, to the
honor of his death. Upon the 24th the 65th
reached Fort Pitt by river and on the same night the 92nd camped near, thirty -five miles
west on the Saskatchewan river. The 92nd
joined the 66th at Fort Pitt next day, and
the Third Division was ready for action within
reach of the enemy. Scouting parties were
sent out in every direction to hunt up Big
Bear. Twenty-five men, under Inspector Peters,
were ferried across the river to follow up a trail,
broad and well marked, in which could be
distinguished the prints of women and children's
booted feet among those of moccasins, which
led eastward. For 45 miles the trail was
followed and then it was lost, and the men
reached Battleford on May 28th. The search
for the Indians in the vicinity of Fort Pitt was
vigorously pushed by Major Steele. This gallant officer, who had worked his way up
to his position on the Mounted Police force by
his intrepid conduct, great energy and resources,
had been selected to command the scouts of the
expedition because of his knowledge of the
country and of the northern Indians On the
26th, a party of his scouts fell in with an Indian
picket about thirteen miles from the camp,
whom they killed while attempting his capture.
Major Steele followed this man's tracks for two
miles and discovered the Indians, who by a
skirmish were found to be in a strong position
and in considerable force. On the following
day, May 27th, General Strange moved cut of
camp at Fort Pitt with two companies of the 6ith
of Montreal, under Lieutenant Col. Hughes, 90
strong; two companies of the 92nd of Winnipeg,
Lieut. Col. Smith, 90 strong; the Alberta
mounted Infantry, the Alberta mounted rifles,
Major Paton, 50 strong; one gun, a nine pounder, in command of Major
Perry, with twenty policemen, and Steele's scouts,
making a force of 450 men.
The country through which
the line of march lay was a
very rugged one, heavily
wooded, and traversed by
numerous ravines. The progress made by the column
was not great therefore, and
an ambush was much feared,
but until noon not an Indian
was sighted. The scouts discovered the enemy first in
the same position occupied
the day before, and which
appeared to have been occupied for some time. It was
on Frenchman's Butte, 15
miles south-east of the camp
at Fort Pitt, and three miles
north of the Saskatchewan
river. A bold reconnaissance
of the scouts laid bare the
enemies' position fully. The
camp, consisting of many
tepees, was well back on the
summit of a bold hill, well
wooded, and with boulders
scattered over its face. Between the troops and this
hill was a smaller hill which,
with the valley between, was
well wooded The gun was
ordered up, and a few shells
were thrown on the hill, after
which Nos. 1, 2 and 3 Companies of the 92nd were
advanced in skirmishing
order through the bush.
After three hours' hard work
the Indians were driven down into the valley. A zereeba was formed on the top of
the hill, and the force camped there for
the night Early next morning the Indians
were attacked in their stronghold on the Buttes.
The scouts reported them to be about 700 strong.
The gun, under command of Captain Strange,
opened fire upon the position first, and then the
men of the 92nd and of the 65th were ordered to
advance in skirmishing order. The skirmishers
advanced down the hill, which the force had
occupied the night before, and so widely
extended were they that their line was over
three-quarters of a mile long. The first shot
fired on the side of the enemy came from behind
a colored flag, and being a single one, and followed immediately after by volleys, it was
believed by the troops to be a signal fired by Big Bear himself. Two well directed shots
from Captain Strange's gun, and the heavy fire
of the skirmishers, silenced the enemy's fire
about half-past nine o'clock. The scouts had
been sent around to attempt a flank movement,
and at this juncture some of them returned with
the report that a force of two hundred of the
Indians were outflanking the line of skirmishers.
The Major-General therefore ordered the ammunition waggons, under a strong escort, to the
rear. Later it was found necessary to withdraw
the line of the skirmishers, who had advanced
within two hundred yards of the pits. The men
begged hard to be allowed to carry the position
by a charge, but there was some danger of the
horses of the expedition being stampeded, and
the Major-General refused to sanction it. The
troops were withdrawn about a quarter to
five o'clock and, returning to their zereeba
on the top of the small hill, remained there
all night. Two companies of the 65th had
been sent down the river in a scow from Fort
Pitt, to land about three miles from the
Indian camp and take it in flank, but no advantage was gained by this movement. From
the rapidity of the Indians' fire and the strength
with which the position was held it was estimated that Big Bear's force numbered four hundred men in action, an estimate which was
confirmed by Indians who deserted later on. The
Indian loss was five killed and three wounded.
Strange's loss was three privates of the 65th and
one of the Alberta horse wounded, and but one
of these men, Joseph Marcotte of the 65th, was
badly hurt. On the morning of the next day, the
29th, Gen. Strange, believing it to be impossible
to carry the position without reinforcements, determined to withdraw. The retreat was made
without difficulty by the main body, but when
the two Companies of the 65th, who had come
down the river, reached the place where they
had left their scow they were somewhat astonished to find that it had disappeared with its
Sergeant's guard of twelve men. The detachment were compelled to make the best of their
way to Fort Pitt along the river bank, and it
was several days before the scow was picked up
and towed back. General Strange at once sent
a couple of men down the river in a skiff with
despatches to General Middleton, describing the
fight and asking for reinforcements, ammunition and supplies. The "Northwest," for Fort
Pitt, with supplies for General Strange, with a
moderately contented party of the 90th Battalion on board, who were keenly enjoying the
pleasant run up the river and the prospect of a
speedy return home, was met about noon on
May 30th, when within sixty miles of Fort
Pitt, and the despatches were put into the
hands of Mr. S. L. Bedson, the chief transport
officer, who was in command of the steamer.
Mr. Bedson had proved himself a man of great
resource, of tireless energy and strength of
purpose.
Time and again he had prevented a break
down in the commissariat by making the apparently insufficient transport service do an immense
amount of work; and, in fact, he had disarmed
all criticism of his branch of the service by making it equal to every emergency. He at once
took it upon himself to do a general's part, and landing Inspector Peters, with his Mounted Police
and scouts, and also the Rev. Mr. Mackay and
Mr. William Mackay, who were on their way to
Fort Pitt, the steamer was turned back and
speeded to Battleford as quickly as stream and steam could take her. Battleford was reached
that night, and the dreams of home indulged in
by the troops, were rudely broken by the order
to be ready to move on the morning of the next
day. Early on the 31st May the steamers "Marquis," "Northwest," and "Alberta" with the
Midlanders, 275; 90th, 90; 10th Royal Grenadiers,
250, and a detachment of A and B Batteries, 60
strong, with two nine-pounders and the two
Gatlings, left Battleford for Fort Pitt under the
command of' General Middleton. A mounted
force, made up of Boulton's Horse, 60; Dennis'
Surveyors, 60; French's Scouts, now called the
Birtle Scouts, 60, and Mounted Police, 50, all
under the command of Colonel Herchmer, left
Battleford by the trail along the south bank of
the North Saskatchewan, with orders to push on
and effect a junction with the column moving by
water at a point across the river from Big Bear's
position. The first day out this body of horse
covered forty-two miles, and the men camped
without tents in a pouring rain. Upon the
second day they marched forty-five miles, and
early on the morning of the 2nd of June joined
the flotilla, which, without accident or incident,
had reached the rendezvous upon the previous
evening. The entire force at once crossed the
river, and communication was opened with Gen.
Strange meanwhile. It was then learned that
after the battle at Frenchman's Buttes a close
watch was kept upon Big Bear, and that a skirmish or two between the Indians' pickets and
scouts had taken place without result. On
May 31st Big Bear abandoned his position
and began a sudden and rapid retreat to the
north and eastward, leaving a quantity of stuff,
valuable in the eyes of an Indian, behind him.
Major Steele, not many hours behind the
Indians, followed the main body in rapid and
close pursuit, entirely disregarding several
smaller trails which led off from the main one,
giving ample evidence that Big Bear was being
deserted by the smaller bands which had joined
him. Hardly had General Strange been apprised
of Big Bear's retreat, than the camp was again
thrown into excitement by the appearance of a
white man in the bush, who proved to be the
Rev. Mr. Quinney, the missionary at Onion
Lake, who had been taken prisoner at Fort Pitt.
He stated that he had escaped from a small band
of Wood Crees, who had parted from Big Bear
some days before, and, with many of the prisoners, was encamped some distance north of
Frenchman's Buttes. The Rev. Mr. Mackay,
with his brother, Mr. William Mackay, and
eight trusty Indian and half-breed scouts,
dashed off to the rescue of these prisoners, found
the camp and without parley rode into the midst
of it. They found Mrs. Gowanlock and Mrs.
Delaney with their protectors, the Pritchard
family, and several other half-breed families with
a number of Wood Cree Indians. The little party
had found means to escape from Big Bear upon
the eve of the battle on the 27th, and when
the Mackays found them were anxiously debating what course to pursue, as the Indians were
afraid to surrender. During the whole period
of their captivity, which had lasted for nearly
two months, the prisoners had been guarded
from all harm, and zealously protected from the
Plain Crees by the half-breeds and Wood Crees.
They had never been allowed to want, and
though burdened by the weight of sorrow caused
by the murder of their young husbands in their
presence, Mrs. Gowanlock and Mrs. Delaney
were in good health. Mr. Simpson, the factor,
and his wife, the Dufresnes, and several half-breed families were with another party of Wood
Crees, who had begun a retreat, and the Mackays
pushing on rescued them also. The whole party of prisoners, with fifty half-breeds and Wood
Crees, wore on the same day brought into camp,
where there was great rejoicing over their return
in good health. The relief felt through the
whole Dominion over their safety and over the
news that the horrible rumors regarding their
treatment were absolutely unfounded, was intense. There was still cause for deep anxiety,
however, as the McLeans, and one or two other
families taken at Fort Pitt, were still in the
hands of Big Bear, and it was feared that after
the fight and the withdrawal of the main body
of the Wood Crees, they would be ill used.
General Strange had broken camp when the
news of the enemies' retreat came in, and after
a march of thirteen miles north, he camped on
the bank of the Red Deer River. At nine
o'clock on the morning of the 3rd of June,
Major Steele, who had been pressing on after
Big Bear, with no thought but that his enemy
was before him, came suddenly upon the Indians about forty miles to the north-east of Fort
Pitt. The Indians began the fight by firing
upon the advance scouts from a heavily wooded
hill-side. A desperate three-hours' fight followed,
in which the combatants fought from behind
trees and boulders. The scouts steadily gained
ground, and at last, by a gallant rush, carried
the crest of the hill. Immediately beyond this
hill lay Loon Lake, on the marshy shores of
which the Indian camp had been pitched.
When the Indians were driven from this
camp, which had been mostly removed during
the battle, they withdrew by fording to what appeared to be a hilly island, but was in reality a
promontory of the opposite coast, about one
hundred yards from the shore. From this
position they kept up a hot fire upon the troops
during their search of what remained of the
camp. It being impossible to reach the Indians,
an effort was made to induce them to give up
their captives, among whom were the McLean
family. Rev. Mr. Mackay, who accompanied
Steele, advanced to the shore 'under a white flag
which, however, was fired upon, and demanded
upon what terms the captives would be surrendered. An Indian, supposed to have been Big
Bear himself, replied that he would keep the
prisoners, and as the troops had come into his
country to fight, he would fight it out. Major
Steele then withdrew his force, taking with him
his wounded in a captured buckboard. In this
engagement Major Steele's loss was three men
wounded; Sergeant-Major Fury seriously shot through the body, and William West and
Thomas Fisk of the scouts, slightly wounded in
their legs. For eight hours, with a fighting force of but sixty men, — one-fifth of the
mounted infantry being required to guard the
horses,— he had fought a body of one hundred
and fifty Indians, upon ground of their own
selecting, had by their own tactics driven them
from their chosen positions, and had it not been
that they escaped by water he would probably
have captured the band. Upon the ground
fought over, the bodies of six of the enemy
y were
found, and Big Bear's entire loss during the
fight was nine killed. Steele fell back some distance upon the main body, but still kept his
scouts out feeling the enemy. General Middleton at once took prompt and decisive measures
to prosecute the chase.
A telegraph wire was brought up to the camp,
which had been formed ten miles to the east of
Fort Pitt, and the infantry
brigade, under the command
of Lieut.-Colonel Van Straubenzee, was left there in
garrison. Gen. Strange, with
three hundred and fifty foot
and thirty-five horse, was
ordered to push through to
the Beaver River, via, Frog
Lake, to cut off Big Bear's
escape to the north-westward. Colonel Otter, with his
division, was ordered to advance to Jack Fish Lake,
fifteen miles to the northward of Battleford, and
Col. Irvine, with his police,
was to cross the Saskatchewan from Prince Albert,
and advance along the Green
Lake trail. All these movements were undertaken in
order to cut off all avenues
of escape to the north-east,
north and north-west-ward,
and to leave Big Bear
no option but to fight or
surrender. Upon himself
General Middleton took the
task of following up the
retreating Indians and bringing them to book. The
country into which Big Bear
had retreated offered almost
insurmountable obstacles to
the march of a civilized soldiery. Lying upon the
borders of the great fir forests of the north, it was broken into steep
hills, covered by almost impenetrable bush, cut
up with innumerable lakes, rivers, and morasses,
all at their maximum height. The weather was
very wet and unfavorable, and mosquitoes and
other insects were in swarms everywhere and
"like to eat the heads off the men."
The Gatling guns were dismounted, the carriages taken to pieces, and the whole loaded
upon pack horses. Arrangements were made to
abandon all waggons if necessary, and a pack
train was hastily organized by Mr. Bedson.
With three hundred troopers, provided with ten
days' supplies, the second chase of Big Bear
began upon the 4th of June. The country was
so impassable that the Indians themselves had
been forced to cut a trail through the bush, and
this had to be widened to permit the column
to pass. The waggons had to be left behind
upon the very first day and every effort was
made to come up with the main body of
the Indians, twenty-five miles ahead. In
their flight the Indians abandoned their dead,
without waiting to bury them, their camp
furniture, their finery, and everything in fact
but their arms and food. The mosquitos, the
sand and black flies, the summer plague of that
inhospitable land, were already making life a
torment, and for miles the column floundered
through muskeg and swamp, the horses shoulder deep in mud and water, but the implacable
troopers pressed on, shooting down every Indian
on sight.
On the evening of June 5th General Strange
reached Frog Lake, after a splendid march
of thirty miles in one day, but even this
achievement was outdone by two companies of
the 92nd, under Captains Valency and Smith,
who marched the entire distance, nearly
forty
miles, from the camp below Fort Pitt to Frog Lake in one and the same day. Without a
pause the advance of this column was continued
upon Saturday the 6th, and all that day an
attempt was made to force the pace through an
almost impassable country covered with poplar
scrubs and honeycombed with muskeg and
creek. The 65th had long since worn the lustre
from their uniforms, and by this time they were
sockless and almost without boots. The insect
torments rose in clouds from the swamps through
which the men waded, the transport waggons were
constantly breaking down and had to be repaired
and pushed forward by the infantry, so that the
march was a terrible one. During the afternoon
a scout came in with the information that the Indians were raiding the Hudson's Bay Company's
post, at the Beaver River, and had captured
Halpin, the clerk in charge. Colonel Paton,
with twenty of the Alberta horse, pushed on
nine miles farther than the main body that
night, but when they reached the post they
found it deserted and desolate. An Indian had
visited the place a day or two before and had
gone north with some sacks, to obtain which he
had emptied the flour on the floor. Beyond
this nothing had been disturbed or taken, although a large amount of flour was in store
there. The Sunday's march of the main column
was even a more difficult and arduous one
than its predecessor. The transport waggons
could hardly be got over the horrible trail and
some of them had to be abandoned. The horse,
now far in advance, entered during the day
upon the fertile plain to the south of the valley
of the Beaver river, and for seven miles they
rode through a beautiful prairie country, broken
by fine coppices, and marked with the settlements of the Chippewayan Indians. After the
plunge through the twenty miles of scrub and
morass, dank fir swamps and poplar-clothed
ridges, to come suddenly upon
a fertile table-land, dotted as
this was by well cultivated
farms and comfortable homesteads, was a pleasant surprise to the troops. The entire settlement, even the
Catholic Mission, was abandoned, and the staff took up
its quarters in the Church.
When the scouts first reached
the river they found six Indian lodges upon the northern
shore, with two canoes beside
them, and as they watched them a party of Indians came
down and silently removed
the canoes without molestation.
The Beaver River was
reached by General Strange
on the 8th of June, and upon
the same day General Middleton, having followed the Indian trail to the north-west
end of Loon Lake, found his
progress effectually barred
by a muskeg, impassable to
his troops. Big Bear had
moved on and had induced
five lodges of the Loon Lake
Indians, whom he found in
a fishing encampment upon
its shore, to join him. Before crossing the muskeg
the Indians abandoned their
carts, tepees, and nearly
all their camp equipage.
Upon the long trail— for General Middleton
marched about eighty miles from Fort Pitt —
were found the bodies of nine Indians, either
stragglers who had fallen before the rifles of the
scouts, or the wounded of the two battles who
succumbed during the retreat. No trace of the
prisoners could be found, and of the sufferings
endured by white women and children during
the terrible flight of the Indians even the
stout troopers did not like to think. A day
was spent in a vain attempt to pass or round
the muskeg, and then General Middleton determined to return to Fort Pitt The Indians
were supposed to be fully four days ahead of
him and he had only three days rations remaining. There seemed to be nothing for it, but
to turn round and march back. Nothing was
gained by this expedition, but its accomplishment in spite of extraordinary difficulties, and
the cheerful, uncomplaining spirit in which it was carried out bore ample testimony to the fine soldierly qualities of the force. Fully 80 miles of an
almost impenetrable, and altogether unexplored
region had been traversed in some four days, without appreciable result. At General Strange's
camp, near the Beaver river, events were
more satisfactory. On the morning of the 9th,
Father Legoff, the Roman Catholic Missionary to
the Chippewayans, came into camp to plead for
terms of peace for the band. Big Bear had compelled them, by threats of destroying them in
case they refused, to join him. Some of them
had taken part in the battle at Frenchman's
Buttes but at its close the whole band withdrew
from Big Bear's camp in spite of threats.
General Strange demanded unconditional surrender in the stern message "Come in with" your arms before four o'clock Thursday or I
"will burn your homes and fight yourselves."
He had already ordered Colonel Williams, of
the Midland regiment, who had advanced to
Frog Lake on May 10th, to burn the houses of
the Indians in that neighborhood. Father Legoff
went to the Indian camp, accompanied by
Father Prevost, Chaplain of the 65th, and on
Thursday night, shortly after the hour appointed, returned with all but nine of the warriors of
the band, who each gave up a firearm, some of
the arms being fine rifles. On the following
day the nine remaining warriors and the whole
camp, numbering two hundred souls, came in.
General Middleton reached the camp near Fort
Pitt upon the 11th, and at once arrangements
were begun for another attempt to capture Big
Bear. General Middleton decided to join General Strange at the Beaver River, with his
column of horse, and the Gatlings. If the
Indians did not appear there, his intention
was to advance against them from the west.
General Strange was advised that the Indians
were moving westward, and was directed to
take every precaution to guard the crossings of
the river and the Hudson's Bay stores. On the
13th, the Midland Battalion, which had been
ordered forward to support General Strange,
reached the camping ground, five miles south of
his headquarters, and on the same day Col.
Osborne Smith and 100 men of the 92nd were
rafted over the Beaver River and sent along
the north bank eastward to guard the crossing
twelve miles down the river, by which Big Bear
might escape north to Lac des lies which is
immediately east of Cold Lake.
CHAPTER XVIII.
PIAPOT'S SUN DANCE
In the Territory of Montana, immediately
south of the frontier of the Canadian North-West, there are many settlements of half-breeds
who are one people with those of Canada, and
these Riel declared would come north and assist
in the establishment of "The Metis Nation."
All along the north of Montana, too, were the
reservations of the American Blood, Piegan,
Blackfoot, Sarcee, and Cree Indians, who are
one in blood and in language with the Canadian
Indians of the same tribes. Until a few years
ago these Indians followed the buffalo herds
north or south indifferently, and were at home
anywhere on the broad prairies without regard
to latitude forty-nine. These Indians, trained
to war by their long conflicts with American
troops, were warriors to a man. They had been
invited with the rest of their tribes in Canada
by Riel and his Indian confederates to join the
rising. Both the half-breeds and the Indians
were reported by American officers in Montana
to be restless and excited. The danger of their
coming north and inducing the Blackfoot confederation of Canada, which could put some
fifteen hundred warriors in the field, to rise, and
the younger warriors of whom were already
hard to control, was a grave one.
The Moose Mountain Scouts and the Rocky
Mountain Rangers, two bodies of horse raised
for the express purpose of guarding the frontier,
watched the trails with sleepless vigilance, particularly after the Fish Creek fight, the result of
which encouraged the half-breeds, but two hundred men could not keep a very efficient watch
over a thousand miles of prairie. The necessity
of having a reserve for these scouts to fall back
upon, and also of having a force sufficient to
secure the safety of eight hundred miles of the
railway line, stretching from Winnipeg to the
Rocky Mountains, and which at different points
formed the bases of the whole North-West expedition, was patent. This tedious but important
work was done at first by regiments on their
way to the north, and later by three fine regiments who were among those last called out.
The Halifax Provisional Battalion was never
sent north of the railway track, but during the
whole campaign lay in garrison at Swift Current,
Moose Jaw and Medicine Hat. The 9th (Quebec) garrisoned Calgary, McLeod, Gleichen, and
other stations in that vicinity, and the 91st was
in garrison at Fort Qu'Appelle, and guarded the
line of route to Humboldt. Besides these regiments, the Montreal Garrison Artillery under
command of Lieutenant-Colonel Oswald, was,
on the 28th of May, despatched to Regina, the
capital of the North-West territories, to guard
the political prison which had been established
there, and also to watch Piapot's tribe of Indians. Upon the 1st of June, therefore,
there
was to the south, and along the line of the
railway, a force of 1,300 infantry, 200 scouts,
400 Mounted Police, including raw recruits at
the depot at Regina, or in all 1,900 men. On the
morning of June 1st one of Stewart's pickets
came upon a party of thirty or forty Blood
Indians, some thirty miles to the south-west of
Medicine Hat. Thi3 picket, Sergeant Jackson
by name, thinking them friendly Canadian
Bloods, advanced towards them, when one of
them fired on him. He at once took to cover,
and emptied his ammunition pouch on them to
such good purpose that they took to their heels
and did not pursue him into camp.
Major Stewart, with a force of Mounted Police
and scouts, went out on the trail of the hostiles
and arrangements were made to concentrate the
troops at any point of the railway, in order to
crush the rising wherever it might occur before
it had time to become general among the Indians of the South-west. The attack upon
Sergeant Jackson was found to have been the
act of a small party of American Piegans on a
horse stealing raid. The Blackfoot nation remained loyal, and kept the pledges given by
Crowfoot, his councillors and the other chiefs of
the tribes. The Crees of the Qu'Appelle valley
were restless but not hostile, and the Government thought it best to allow them to work off
their excitement in a sun dance, a semi-religious
semi-military festival which they had not been
allowed to hold of late years. With Lieut.
Governor Dewdney, many of the officers of the
Garrison Artillery of Montreal, among others, Col. Oswald, Major Atkinson, Major Laurie, Dr.
Elder, Captain Trotter, Captain Stevenson,
Captain Cole, Doctor Cameron, Captain Lane
and Sergeant-Major Hibbins visited and witnessed this survival of savagery and idolatry
The trail from Regina to the Qu'Appelle valley,
where it was held, led north over gently rolling
prairie of fine green turf for twelve miles, then
for three or four miles among the wooded bluffs
overlooking the Qu'Appelle valley. Under the
hot May sun the prairie atmosphere was like a
mirror, and exceedingly pretty mirages, imaging smooth lakes surrounded by shady forests,
presenting a striking contrast to the prairie, with
not a sapling or a pond in sight, were seen. The
gophers scurried to their holes on the approach
of the party, but the prairie chickens and other
birds were tame and fearless. From the edge of
the bluffs the beautiful Qu'Appelle valley, running east and west, challenged admiration.
The valley, which was at one time the bed of
the South Saskatchewan river, which could
yet be easily turned at the elbow into its old
channel, i3 two miles wide. Its banks of
yellow clay are bold, even perpendicular in
places, and one hundred and fifty feet in height.
Here and there they are broken by the ravines
which open into the valley, and which, being watercourses in spring, are completely filled with
the green foliage of the poplars, which grow
thickly in them. The valley appears from the
bank to be a sea of green foliage, through which
the Qu'Appelle river winds like a silver band.
Here and there are small meadows, on which
the cattle were peacefully grazing. Descending
into the valley, the trail winds around and
among wooded bluffs, into which the forest is
broken. A few miles ride, and a smooth, grassy
plain, half a mile in width, is reached. In
the centre of this is a pond, on whose banks a
large number of Indian ponies were grazing.
Beyond, at the far end of the opening, and half
hidden by a projecting copse, was the Indian
camp. Between the branches of the trees, and
here and there, in groups of twos and threes,
were the smoke-stained wigwams, which, when
fully in view, were seen to number over one
hundred, arranged in a circle, enclosing a
smooth, grassy arena. In the centre of this was
a large council chamber, built of poplar poles,
the sides being interlaced boughs with leaves
still on, and the roof covered with canvas and
skins, and profusely decorated with colored
prints and green foliage. On the centre pole of
the tent-like structure, a red flag was flying.
Within this structure the sun dance was being
held, as the extraordinary pandemonium of
noises which issued from it testified. The wigwams were almost deserted, and only from a few
of the dark interiors, faces peeped, as the uniformed white men passed through the camp.
The wide entrance to the council-chamber,
where the ceremonies were proceeding, was
thronged with Indians of all sizes and degrees
of ugliness, from the aged squaw to the new
born papoose slung behind its mother's back.
There were a few men, but most of the braves
were inside. They wore every variety of garment, from the dirty white blanket, or the old
cast off finery of white people, to a gaudy suit
of blue pants with a red striped coat. Arranged,
chiefly with an aim to display, was a great deal
of lightly colored printed calico and many
articles of cheap jewellery. Brightly colored
striped blankets predominated however. Their
faces and all parts of their bodies which were not
clothed, were painted in every conceivable color
and design, the effect being in every case
exceedingly hideous. Boys and girls were in
the throng, and many of these had got on the
backs of ponies, and from their elevation were
looking over the heads of their elders in front.
Their perfect command over their ponies, and
the graceful manner in which their bodies followed the movements of the horses, were
admirable. On entering the council-chamber it was
found to be arranged in the form of a rough
amphitheatre, with two rows of seats running
around two-thirds of the place. Directly opposite the entrance at the back of the tent, and
partitioned from the rest, were the seats of the
Chief Piapot and his Councillors. On his left
the seats were occupied by women and on the
right by men. In the centre of the arena was
a medicine pole. In front of this pole burned a
fire, around which were squatted several medicine men, some of whom fed it constantly with
sacred grass. A little to one side was a group
of young braves standing in a close circle. They
were in the most extraordinary coverings. The
head of one of these was surmounted by a bull's
horns with a part of the hide hanging over his
shoulders. Another had a fox skin on his head,
the head of the creature hanging over his brow
while the tail flowed down his back. Their legs
were bare, and were, as well as their faces,
painted in brightest colors. All those who were
seated were also highly colored as to face
and fantastic as to garment. The head-dress of
the squaws consisted almost altogether of feathers, also artificially colored, which were simply
stuck into their hair as thickly as possible. Their faces were painted, though with less care and taste, if possible, than the men's. A dozen musicians were grouped in another part of the
arena, who beat tom-toms and shook rattles. When the musicians struck up a slow measure
on the tom-toms, the men and women on the seats around the arena kept time on the whistles with which all were provided, and at the same time
kept rising and sitting as fast as they could, all keeping perfect time. All wore solemn faces, and seemed absorbed in the ceremony, Piapot
himself being among the
most earnest. The ring
of young braves in the
arena circled slowly
around, keeping time
with their feet and chanting in monotonous tones
their exploits. Occasionally amidst all the din a
medicine man would rise
and harangue the assembly. The ceremony was
interrupted for a few
minutes to allow Piapot
to welcome "the children
of the Great Mother," as
he called Her Majesty's
Garrison Artillery, and
to assure them of his loyalty to her and his desire
to fight for her. Piapot,
one of the most renowned
warriors among the Indians of the North-West,
is a fine-looking man, of
medium height. He was
enrobed in a large striped
blanket, while his head
was covered by an immensely high fur cap,
with a bunch of feathers
stuck behind. His body
was painted bright yellow, and the left side of
his face was covered with
blue spots, while on his
right cheek was an eagle
painted in blue. The
expression of his face
was, in spite of all, well
marked, and it was kind and intelligent though
his eyes were cunning. Once more the tom-toms struck up, the whistling and dancing was
resumed, but the monotony was to be suddenly
broken. Into the
arena, at the call of the chief,
came a youth of eighteen, a slim, wiry little M
low, about five feet four in height, who turned
out to be no other than Wolverine, a stepbrother of Piapot. His only covering was a
linen cloth and his skin had been painted red and
covered with chalk, and his hair also had bean
chalked white. He squatted on the ground, with
his head bent forward until his chin rested on his
chest One of the medicine men then knelt
beside him, and pinching the flesh of the right
breast into a fold thrust a sharp knife through
it and then through the hole thus made thrust a
wooden skewer. The same operation was performed on the left breast, and then to these
skewers were securely fastened two cords, which
hung down from the top of the medicine pole.
Retreating from the pole until the cord tightening drew the fold of flesh fully six inches from
his breast, the young Indian danced round a
half circle to the hideous music of the tom toms, rattles and whistles.
This was continued bravely by the poor fellow, until the Indian agent ordered the medicine
man to cut the cord and withdraw the skewers.
The medicine man then chewed a piece of root,
and spat upon the wounds, after which he laid
the victim on the ground at full length, face
downwards, where he remained for some time in
prayer. Thus young men are initiated into the
ranks of the warriors of the tribe. If they bear
this torture without wincing they are thereafter
only required to make war, shoot game and steal
horses or cattle. If they quail under the torture
they have to perform the menial work of the
camp in company with the women, and are
allowed to have only one wife. These ceremonies are witnessed by the children of the
tenderest years as well as by women, the
children being painted as well as their elders
and being encouraged to take part by keeping
up a wild, shrill chant. This dance, with the
attendant tortures, is kept up for sixty hours
continuously, without food or rest. The Dominion Government wisely decided to prohibit
such barbarities, and though the festival is an
annual one, none had been held before for
years. The rein had to be slackened somewhat
during the trouble. An inspection of the Camp
proved it to be filthy in the extreme, and
wretchedness prevailed. The life of captives
in such a camp could hardly be preferred to
death.
Piapot, his chiefs and his warriors were invited in return to visit the camp of the Garrison
Artillery, which they did during the following
week, when a review was held before them. The
evolutions of the troops astonished Piapot, the
charge with fixed bayonets which was made in
his direction filled him with fear, he believing
that a trap was being sprung upon him. The
music of the band had no charms to soothe his
savage breast, he being indifferent to all but
the big drum with which he fell in love and
begged hard for. He was allowed to beat it for
some time, much to his delight.
Shortly after, the 91st regiment, at Fort Qu'Appelle, was in danger of being compelled to
attend another dance of another tribe in a less
friendly way. The Indians near Fort Qu'Appelle on the File Hill reservations, which are
four in number and have a population of 479,
about the twelfth of June became obstreperous
and about three hundred of them left their
reservation, under the guidance of three of their
chiefs, Star, Blanket, and Pel-pee-kee-sis, to
hold a Thirst Dance, and, by threatening to
create trouble, secure a quantity of supplies
from the Government. Lieut.-Col. Scott at
once sent out a couple of companies of the 91st
to escort them back to their reservation, which
was done, and the two chiefs, who had been most
shameless beggars, were arrested and sent to
Regina, To that place all the prisoners taken
at Batoche and captured at Prince Albert had been taken, and, besides Riel, forty half-breeds
and Indian prisoners were confined there. Such
was the outcome of the attempt at founding "'La
Nation Metisse" and of establishing the "Provisional Government of the Saskatchewan" on
that bright March day, three months before.
CHAPTER XIX.
THE CLOSE OF THE CAMPAIGN.
On the surrender of the Chippewayans at Beaver River, General Strange instituted a court of enquiry into their criminality in the Frog Lake massacre, the result being that they were
allowed to return to their homes. General Strange employed some of the best of these Indians as scouts in the work of hunting up Big Bear, who had not yet turned up,
and of whom the white scouts had failed to find any trace. On June 16th General Middleton, with his force of mounted men, arrived at General Strange's head-quarters and he was
greeted with loud cheers from the men who had the greatest confidence in him. Thus the camp at the Beaver River became the base of operations
against Big Bear and his band. General Middleton at once despatched Colonel Osborne Smith and a hundred men of the 92nd Winnipeg Light Infantry to Cold Lake, seven miles north of the
Beaver River, where he was to leave a detachment to guard the trail and then, moving eastward, to place detachments at both Lac des lies and Water-hen Lake, which are
directly east of Cold Lake, and which, with Green Lake, form the northern side of the quadrangle from which Big Bear was trying to escape. Captain Constantine, with a small
band of scouts and a couple of Chippewayan Indians, was sent eastward down the Beaver River to ascertain whether the hostile Indians had escaped north. General Middleton sent
back to Fort Pitt for a large supply of ammunition, and a campaign of a couple of weeks at least was looked for. All these plans were suddenly upset on the evening of the seventeenth of June,
when scouts returned from north of Beaver River with the news that the McLean family and the other captives who had been taken north of the river by a band of Wood
Crees had been released, and were then working their way southward to Fort Pitt. A party set off on the trail of the captives to render them assistance in their flight. The scouts also
gained the intelligence that after the relinquishment of the pursuit by General Middleton, Big Bear's confederation, already greatly reduced, broke up into small bands and that their supply
of provisions was beginning to get low and their ammunition had given out. Big Bear had heard of the surrender of Riel, which he did not believe, however, and he, with a small
band, had struck eastward from Loon Lake with the idea of either reaching Riel, or of going north-east to Green Lake, where there was a Hudson's Bay Company's supply post with large
stores of provisions. General Middleton decided to return immediately to Fort Pitt and to withdraw all the forces to that point. On the 18th he started back, and on the 20th reached
Fort Pitt, bringing news of the escape of the captives. On the morning of June 22nd, the captives, to the number of twenty-two, arrived
at Fort Pitt, all well. They had not been ill-used, but they had suffered from the hurried
flight through the swamps, the women being often compelled to carry their children of tender years through the morasses, which had been
deemed all but impassable to the lightly equipped troops. Toward the last, when provisions began to give out, they suffered from hunger, and
after leaving the Indian camp they were compelled to live on rabbits for several days.
This party, who had been in Big Bear's camp since the capture of Fort Pitt and some ever since the massacre at Frog Lake, consisted of: — William McLean, Hudson's Bay Company factor at Fort Pitt; Mrs. McLean; Miss McLean,
aged eighteen; Eliza, sixteen; William, twelve; Katherine, fourteen; Angus, ten; Duncan, five; Euphemia, four, and an infant in arms; George Mann, farm instructor at Frog Lake; Mrs.
Mann and three children; James K. Simpson; W. J. Simpson; Malcolm Macdonald; Robert Hodgson; John Fitzpatrick, farm instructor at Onion Lake; Masson, his wife and four children.
All the captives having been released, and the strong force gathered together under Big Bear having been broken up into small parties incapable of offence, General Middleton felt that
the work of the volunteer army had been completed, and that the campaign was over. The Mounted Police and regulars could be safely left
to finish the work of capturing the small bands and bringing the murderers and plunderers to justice. On the 20th Big Bear was reported by scouts to be at the Pelican Lake, south of Green
Lake, where Col. Irvine and his force were stationed. Colonel Otter, with his energetic little column consisting of the Queen's Own of Toronto and C. Company, was following hot upon
his trail, which led through the almost impassable country which has been before described.
From Fort Pitt the fighting columns, which had reached it by long forced marches from the different bases hundreds of miles apart, and had fought three different campaigns, prepared to embark together to march to Winnipeg by a
fourth route and by more comfortable means. The steamers of the different navigation companies of the North-West were used to transport the troops, via the Saskatchewan River, to Lake Winnipeg and thence up Lake Winnipeg
to Winnipeg.
The campaign has had its heroines as well as its heroes. Among these a foremost place will be given to Mrs. Kate Miller who was head of the staff of nurses at Saskatoon Hospital. Mrs. Miller had undergone a thorough training of
three years at the General Hospital of Montreal, which she left to become head nurse of the Winnipeg General Hospital. Immediately after the rebellion broke out she offered her services, volunteering to take the field with the forces.
She was given charge of the staff of nurses, and has, by her devoted services, won the name among the sick and wounded volunteers of another Florence Nightingale.
At Fort Pitt, the news of the promotion of Major McKeown, who had led his men of the 90th from the beginning to the end of the campaign, to the Colonelcy, vice Col. Kennedy, was received with acclamation by his men; Captain
Forrest, another of the heroes of the 90th, being made Major. No praise is too great for the volunteers and the small companies of the regulars who formed the force of the North-West. The volunteers, young as many of them
were, did a work of which the best seasoned regulars might be proud. They had displayed great powers of endurance throughout the most trying marches, and had shown great courage and coolness in the most dangerous situations.
They had made Canadians proud of the valor, the dash, the endurance, the discipline, and the fine conduct of the citizen soldiers. The volunteer force of Canada has been thoroughly tested
and it has been found worthy of the utmost confidence, which it assuredly possesses, of the people of Canada.
THE TROOPS IN THE FIELD
The lists of the troops and Mounted Police which follow have been prepared with every possible regard for accuracy.
STAFF:
MAJOR-GENERAL MIDDLETON, General Commanding.
Lord Melgund, Chief of Staff; A. D. C.'s Captain Wise, Lieut. Doucet, Lieut.
Free; Lieut.- Col. Van Straubenzee, Commanding Infantry Brigade : Major-General
Strange, in Command 3rd Division; General Laurie, in charge of depot at Swift Current; Lieut.-Col. Whitehead, Quartermaster-General ,
Lieut.-Col. Forrest; Quartermaster-General 1st Division; Major McGibbon, Quartermaster-General 3rd
Division |
REG. OF CANADIAN ARTILLERY.
Lieutenant-Colonel MONTIZAMBERT in command.
A BATTERY.—Stationed at Quebec; called out 27th March, 107 men, 4 officers, 2 guns, 1 gatling.— Captains James Peters,
C. W. Drury; Lieutenants A. B. Rivers, J. A. G. Hudon: Supply Officer Lieut.-Col. Forrest; Staff-Sergeants W. Mawhinney, E. H. Walling, J. C. Cornish; Sergeants J. Scott, A. Mulcahey, Thomas Newnham; Corporals Fred Smith,
Joseph Mellon; Bombardiers A. Maringer, W. Grant, C. E. Long, J. Callaghan; Acting Bomhardiers C. H. Wolfe, J. Staples, J. S. Bridgeford,
S. Parkhill, D. H. Taylor, Thomas McGuire, John Shaw, Alph. Gauvreau; Trumpeter
James Brydges; Gunners C. Ainsworth, B. A. Asselin,
Joseph Blais, D. Beaudry, T. Begin, N. Bois, F. Barnes, M. Coyne, A. Bertrand, W. O. Couper, R. Chalut, J. Casey, N. Charpentier, P. Corbett, W. Cook, G. Daoust, A. Dionne, W. Dolan, J. Fetherston, P.
Fannon, J. W. Foster, W. S. Fairbanks, G. Genower, A. Giroux, J. Gotien, F. Hamilton, G. Hastie, B. Hogue, J. Harrison, R. Hartshorn, J. Harrington, A. Hebert, A. Imrie, M. J. Kennedy, J. A. King, W. Kinsley, T. Kelley, A. Laidlaw, T. Lawlor, J. Lemquin, P. Langlois, W.
Langarell, J. Marshall, J. McGrath, A. W. Marshall, M. Maloney, C. McCarthy, F. Mellor, W. Mackney, Hyde Manolly, R. McGuire, G. Mercier, A. Maloy, J. March, A. Moras, C. H. Merine, N. Ouellette, J.
O'Grady, H. Paquet, W. Phillips, W. McD. Pentes, J. Rosseau, T. Roach, T. Redding, L. Saucier, W. Smith, T. Stout, W. Sheley, J. Slade, J. Slater, M. Twohey, J. Turner, A. Tardif, J. Wallis, A. D. Waldrie, T. Webster, M. Wilson, J. Coutiere, B. King; Farrier T. Foster. Attached from Volunteer Batteries, as Volunteers for active service :
Sergeant Thos. Richardson, N. B. Brigade, Garrison Artillery; Bombardier A. Boutillier, Gunner H. T. Miller, 1st Halifax, Gar. Artillery; Eng. Boisseau, No. 3 Batt.,
Que; C. Porter, Yarmouth Battery; W. Y. Woodman, Digby Batt.
B BATTERY.—Stationed at Kingston; called out 27th March, 106 men, 8 officers, 2 guns, 1 gatling.—Major Short; Capt.; Farley, Lieuts. Imlah, Chinic, Attached; Capt. Rutherford; Lieuts. Power, Pelletier, Attached; Supply Officer Lieut.-Col. Forrest; Master Gunner C. Lai re; Staff Sergeants Hamann, Kerley, Sevignac; Sergeants Walsh, Labat, Gaffney; Corporals Godreau, Morton, Baugh, Jordan 'Bombardiers Williams, Walick, Lapointe, Willis; Acting Bombardiers Fellowes, Saunders,
Doyle, Blackball: Gunners Adair, Besanco Bussiere; Driver Buckley; Gunner Bowers; Drivers Burns, Barclay; Gunner Colombe; Acting Bombardiers McNamee, Wilkinson; Trumpeter Hamanns; Gunner Clerault; Driver Cooper; Gunners Clements, Dupuis; Driver Doyle; Gunners Dyon, Dwyre, Drew, Emond, Edwards, Fectsau, Fellows, Fawcett, Fraser, Gordon, Grant, Gardner, Generaux; Driver Houde; Gunners Hunt, Hughes, John, Kennedy; Drivers Keough, Kelly; Gunner Kelly; Driver Love; Gunners Lowe, Leader, Lynch, Lapointe, Lonsdale, Morin, Mahony; Driver Meade; Gunners McDonald, Murphy, Montgomery, Murphy, Michaels, Malin, McKay, Murphy, Madden, Marquis, McCormick, O'Donnell, Pearson, Penketh, Parks, Prevost, Pettigrew, Ruthven; Drivers Reed, Robinson, Reynolds; Gunners Reynolds, Robinson; Driver Smith; Gunner Smith; Driver Stokes; Gunners Selwood, Stevens, Stephenson, Swallow, Sayers; Driver Suddaby; Gunners Stewart, Sillifants; Driver Stewart; Gunners Thome, Wheatley; Driver Willis; Gunner Wilcox. Attached.—Sergeant G. Anderson, Brighton, Eng.; Driver W. Shelley, Hamilton F. Batt.
INFANTRY.
C COMPANY TORONTO INFANTRY SCHOOL.
— Called out 27th March, 85 men, 5 officers.—Lt.-Col. W. Dillon Otter, in command of a brigade; Major H. Smith, in command; Lieuts. Sears, R. L. Wadmore; Sergt.-Major A. J. Spackman; Quartermaster-Sergt. J. Swanson; Color-Sergt. R. Cumming; Sergeants J.
B. Munroe, Chas. Dickson, John Calladine, D. Borlond; Corporals Chas. Belaw, James Burns;
Lance-Corporals Charles De H. Mongeau. D. C. Williamson, Chas. Poters, J. Peterkin; Buglers F. W. Atherton, W. F. Burnham, H. Foulkes, J. McLeod; Privates W. Adair,
James Auburn, W.
H.Barber, H. Beaumont, F. E. Bird, T. Brambles, F. Brewer, A. E. Burbridge,
E. Cameron, C, Combes, J. W. Craig, J. Creany, A. Davison, R. Elmore, J. Evaus, F. G.
Fenton, J. Gilmore, S. Gilmore, G. Graham, E. D. Griffith, J. Hagger, E. Harris, F. Hayes,
J. Hater, W. H. Holmes, H. Jones, R. Jones, S. Keeley, T. Kennion, J. H. Kerfut, G. Lee, J. H. Howe, R. J. Lye,
B. F. Malone, E. J. Mayes, H. Morrison, J. Morrison, W. J. Morrison, E. Macdonald, J. Macdonald, J.
McFadden, T. Neilly, H. O'Neil, G. H. Pidgeon, W. H. Price, J. Reid, C. J. Saunders, J. Strong, R. Taylor,
William Taylor, Sidney Thomas, C. Thurston, J. Tingman, W. Tipton, G. Tuft, A. G. Watson, H. Weaver, J. Westwood, J. Wilson, W.
H. Woods, D. L. Youdell, J. Zachariah, C. A. Zwicke, A. T. Phillips, J. Dawe, L. A. Dent, F. Dunn, R. H. Dunn.H. Edwards, J. Elliget.
CAVALRY.
A COMPANY (Quebec Cavalry School), called out 10th April, 45 men, 3 officers, 33
horses.— Lt.-Col. J. F. Turnbull; Lieutenants E. H. T. Heward, F. L. Lessard; Sergeant-Major Baxter; Staff Sergeants W. Dingley, Charlwood; Sergeants H. Barker, J. Hamel; Corporals A. Lefrancois, J. Widgery;
Trumpeters H. Byrnes, J. O'Donnell; Privates Bartlett, C. Bland, O. Brooke, W. Cameron,
D. Davidson, R. Dodds, P. Flammond, C. Fowler, J. Goudreau, C. Guay, J. Hewar, R.
Kennedy, M. Lemieux, G. Leonard, E Lapene, T. Lewis, A. Methot, J. Moreucy,
T. Munroe, J. A. McDougall, W. H. Mclntyre, A. Nixon, P. Nolin, J. Shiels, G. Sheward, M.
Smythe, J Stanton, E. Statham, J. Vanier, V. Vanier. Attached :—Sergt. A. d'Orsonuens, Privates A. Corneil, J.
De La Salle, H. Berry. Q.O.C. Hussars; T. Gormley, Gov.-Gen. B. G.; T. Hardy, J. Kelly, Q.O.C. Hussars.
ONTARIO.
2ND BATTALION QUEEN'S OWN.
Called out 27th March, 257 men, 13 officers.—Lieut.-Col. Miller; Majors Allan, Hamilton; Adjutant Captain Delamere; Surgeon Dr. Lesslie; Assistant Surgeon Dr. Nattress; Paymaster Captain Blain; Acting
Quartermaster-Sergeant Heakes; Sergeant-Major Cunningham; Supply Officer Lt.-Col.
Lamontagne.
A COMPANY.—Sergeants F. Kennedy, W. W. S. Howard; CorporalsC. Aldridge, J. A. McMaster; PrivatesT. Agnew,
F. Bartlett, J. Connell, T. Cavanagh, T. Gardiner, E. J. Lye, J. O'Brien, J. H. Pirie, W. J. Royall, J. Richard, P. Seer,
William Sawyer, J. C. Scott, W. Tilley, J. W. Williams, A. R. Wickett.
B COMPANY.—Lieutenant A. W. Scott; Color-Sergeant
G. E. Cooper; Sergeant L. D. Merrick; Corporal Dinsmore;
Privates Beekman, Campbell, Creighton, Howard, Hurst, Howell, Kerr, Luinbeis, Letts, R. Pierce, Peters, Spence,
Sharp, Swait, Slean, Watts, Warr.
C COMPANY.—Captain Hughes; Col.-Sergeant Warrington; Sergeant Chator; Corporals Thompson, Staton, Lee; Privates F. Brodie, Beacon, W. G. Dunford, Graham, Hutchinson,
Merriday, Massey, McLellan, Pollard, Pang-burn, Plumkett, Staton, Warren.
D COMPANY.—Captain Macdonald; Col.-Sergeant S. C. McKell; Sergeant Strachan; Corporals Dingwall, Smith; Privates Alexander, Bunton, Bingham, Cunningham, Duncan, Darner, Gilpin, Harris, Hunt, Kenner, Lamb, Musson, Porter, A. E.
Rowland, H. Rowland, Simpson, Stuart, Turner, Thompson, D. J. Thompson, C. C. Winter, F. W. Winter, Whiteacre, Wright.
E COMPANY.—Captain Kersteman; Lieut. Mutton; Sergeants A. Robertson F. Robertson; Corporals Hector, McPherson;
Privates Bailey, Bowden, Caming, Cauldwell, Dickson, Deepard, Gates, Good, Guly, Hunter, Harris, Lowe, Mitchell, Price, Pigott, S. D. Rogers, Tilley,
William Vennor.
F COMPANY.—Captain J. C. McGee; Lieutenant Lee, Sergeants McLaren, Baird; Corporals Robinson, Mcintosh,
Gibson, Douglass; Privates Agnew, Bailey, A. J. Boyd, J. L. Boyd, Boulton, Dewar, Fraser, Freeland, N.
B. Ham, Harrison, Laidlaw, W. Langmuir, A. D. Langmuir, McLachlan, McMaster, McKenzie, A. E. Phillips,
Scott.
G COMPANY.—Lieutenants Brock, George; Sergeants Townsend, Langtry; Corporal McKay; Privates A.
Acheson, Eddis, Flint, Fletcher, Gilmore, Macdonald, Mahatfy, McMillan, Nelson, Pike, J. Sansou, N. B. Sanson, Starke, Wade.
H COMPANY.—Captain Sankey; Lieutenant R. S. Cassels; Sergeant World; Corporals Fuller, Green; Privates Auldjo,
Broughall, S. Birchall, R. Baldwin, Beaumont, Cliff, Castleton, Douglas, Fraser, Forin, Grierson, Geddes, Halkett, Knyvett,
McGee, Preston, E. Williams, Wallace.
I COMPANY.—Col.-Sergeant J. Crean; Corporals W. G. Kennedy, Higginbotham; Privates Allan, Anderson,
Drynan, W. Donaldson, J. Garvin, C. Gray, W. Haight, H. J. Hamilton, Hunter, W. C. Lee, Lugsdin, Mack, Matthews, H. Mcintosh, C. McHenry, McLean, A. Pearson,
Postlethwaite, Perry, Rogers, Spink, Taylor, Wigles.
K COMPANY.—Lieutenant E. Gunther; Sergeant H. W. Mickle; Corporals H. B Cronyn, G, H. Needier, A. B.
Thompson; Privates R. C. Acheson, A. Bowman, H. B. Bruce, F. Blakely, R. Crystal, A. D. Crooks, J. A. Creasor, R. P.
Dongan, J. A. Duff, G. Lloyd, T. Marshall, A. G. Morphy, P. W. H. McKeown, W. Nesbitt, C. C. Owen,
George Patterson, James C. Patterson, F. A. C. Redden, R. Ross, A. G. Smith.
BUGLERS.—Bugle-Major C. Swift; Sergeant J. McEvoy; Corporals William Bryden, F. Elliott; Buglers
George Brown, J. Hill, J. Wadds, W. Smith; Privates J. Brown, George Bruckshaw, Brydon, Davidson,
George Frazer, John Green,
C. Ross, H. Swift.
AMBULANCE CORPS. — Surgeon Dr. Leslie; Hospital Sergeant Pringle; Hospital Corporal Fere; Privates Bell, Boyd, Batting, Bain, Robarts, Torrance, Thompson.
PIONEER CORPS.—Corporal Harp; Pioneers Doctor, Bateson, Cameron, Brash, J. Bromley, Cunningham.
10TH BATTALION "ROYAL GRENADIERS,"
TORONTO.
Called out the 27th March, 250 men, 17 officers.—Col. Grasett in command; Major Dawson; No. 1 Co.,
Captain Caston; Lieut. Howard and Lieut. Gibson; No. 2, Capt. Mason; Lieuts. Irving, Hay; No. 3, Capt. Spencer; Lieuts. Fitch and Morrow; No. 4, Capt. Bruce; Lieuts. Elliott and Michie; Adjutant,
Captain Manley: Acting Quartermaster and Paymaster, Lieut. Lowe; Assistant Surgeon Ryerson.
No. 1 COMPANY.— Col. Sergeant Francis; Sergeants Over, Goodman, Davis, Magner; Corporals G. Craig, W. Rodgers,
W. Small, J. Foley, Thrush, A. Moore, Price; Privates Ansdown, Allen, Allen, Bloxum, Burnes, Booth, Blevin, Beatty, Carter, Cook, Congleton, Curran, Dye, Dawson, Eager, Fraser, Greene, Haynes, Hare, Harris, Ibbotson, Kilby, Macdonald, Maverty, Macdonald, Mitchell, H. Mitchell, McKinniel,
O'Mailey, Peters, Price, Quigley, Richardson, G. Smith, W. Smith, Wilson, Whyte.
No. 2 COMPANY.—Privates Aikens, Blake, Burroughs, Bruce, Baxter, Barber, Billinghurst, Beaugie, Cronin,
Crowcher, Coxon, Cantwell, Dean, Farrell, Farragher; O. Freeinantle, Griffin,
Graham, Herbert, Henderson, Jeffries, Jack, Lane, Moss, Mitchell, Marshall, Milne, Moody, McGee, Newman, E. Newman, Nelson, Pearson, Pelty, W. Richardson, Reid,
Reynolds, Redford. F. Rogers. Roberts, U. Rogers, Stanley, Sinclair. Scully, Stretton, Smith, Stead, Stanley, Thorpe, Wossett, Ward, Williams,
Woodall.
No. 3 COMPANY. — Color-Sergeants Dale. Knight; Corporals Fowles, Moore, Whiteacre, Johnson, Marsh, Dickson, Taylor, Butcher, Boulton, Hicks, Gray Privates Beltz, Brennan, Brennan, Burridge, Coulter, Cully, R. Cook, Campbell, Cockburn, Drake, Felcher, Hatch, Mitchell,
George Mead, Myles, A. Mead, Menarg, Metcalfe, McDonald, Pollard, Riddell, Randall, Roberts, Scovell, Spice, Stayen, Studholm, A. Trotter, Taylor, Tyler, Taylor, Woods, Wylie, White, Welby, Woodward; Bugler Impey; Drummers Buller, Taylor.
No. 4 COMPANY. — Color-Sergeant Cusack; Sergeant Kitchener; Corporals Armstrong, Currie, Locke; Privates Brishaul, D. F. Balmer, Dempster, Doole, Dick, Donnelly,
Davis Egles, Egles, J Gordon, A. H. Gordon, J. F. Hughes, Henderson, Langford, McKee, Macgregor, J. Mane, G.
Phillips, Roberts, R. Ross, A. Ross, J Roodhouse, Sumner, A. Scriber, W. Symons, 0. E. Smith, F. Smith, Trotter, Tipton, W. J. Urquhart, J. Urquhart, Williams, Watson; Pioneer Granger; Staff-Sergeants
Quinn, Hutchinson, Hazelton, Murray, Hardinge.
PIONEER CORPS.—Privates Beltz, Golden, Sheppard.
DRUM CORPS.—Sergeant Bewly; Privates Burke, Baker, Brigden, Cuthbert, Carrier, Dell, Gaughan, Holden, Hume, Impey, Johnson, King, Myles.
1ST BATTALION GOVERNOR-GENERAL'S FOOT
GUARDS, OTTAWA.
One company of Sharpshooters, called out 30th March, 48 men, 3 officers.—Captain Todd; Lieutenants Gray, Todd; Staff-Sergeant Newby; Color-Sergeant Ross; Sergeants Winters, Taylor; Corporals Davis, Nash, Tasker; Privates Bunnell, Brophy, Boucher, Bovill, Chester, Cassiday, Cameron, Chepmell, Cunningham, Clark, Fuller, Firth. Hamilton, Jarvis, Kingsley, Looney, H. H. May, J. V. May, McQuilkin, McDonald, McCarty, Matheson, McCracken, Mullin, Nash, Pardy. J. Patterson, W. Patterson, Ring, Sparks, Rogers, J. D. Taylor, Wiggins, Weston; Buglers Cowan, Modener, Troopers Bell, Humphrey, P. L. Dragoon Guards; Sergeant Dunnett; Field Battery; Staff-Sergeant Rogers, Private Osgoode, 43rd Rifles.
MIDLAND BATTALION
Commissioned on 30th March, left for front 6th April, 342 men, 34 officers.—Lieut.-Col. A. T. H. Williams commanding; Senior Major A. R. Smith; Jr. Major Col. Deacon; Paymaster, J. Leystock Reid; Adjutant E. Ponton; Quartermaster Capt J. P.
Clemes; Surgeon Dr. Horsey, Ottawa: Assistant Surgeon Dr. Might, Port Hope; Supply Officer Lieut.-Col. Macdonald, Sergeant-Major T. L. Sproule; Quartermaster's Asst. L. J
Burrow; Quartermaster's Clerk L. V. MacDougall; Hospital Sgts. David Carson, Port Hope; Orderly Room Clerks John Hooper, P. M. S. W. Stewart; No. 5 Company
[45th]—Major Hughes, Captain Grace; No. 6 Company [40th]—Captain
Bonnycastle, Captain Giles, Lieut. Bliss, Ottawa; No. 8 Company [47th]—Capt. Kelly; Lieuts. Hubbell, Sharp. Attached :—Lieuts. R. J. Cartwright, G. Laidlaw, H. C. Ponton, A. L. Tomlinson, C. E. Cartwright.
COMPANY "G".—Capts. Howard, Thomas Burke; Lieuts. Brennan, J. Weller, R. M.
C.; Col.-Sergt. Percy Myles, 8th R. R.; Sergts. A. F. Tytler, Geo. K. Mark; Corporals A. B. Rogers, S. Hendren, Jacob Roberts; Privates
James Anderson,
William B. Browne, T. Billings, Samuel Bell, M Brackenbridge, J. T. Cochrane, S. Crowe, Jesse J.
Cummings, W. Crowter, William Cook, Crowter, E. Daly, Chas. Desgood, R. Downer, T.
Graham, H. Hogan, Hugh Hill, J. A. Hannah, R. G. Kelly, John Lynch, David McFarlane, M. Mathisou,
James. McFee, William McDowell, Angus Phillips, C. Parks, S. R. Rush, W. Reynolds, M. H. Reggs, A. C. Ross, M. Seery, M. Sedgewick, W. Tanner,
James Thompson, Chas. Wood, Marshall Weir, William WedJock; Bugler J. Beach.
NO 7 COMPANY, 15TH BATTALION.—Captain Lazier, Lieutenants J. Helliwell, C. E. Kenny; Col.-Sergeant Wighton; Sergeants Maiden, Alex. Robinson; Corporals H. James, J. W. H. Belcher; Privates W. Airie, C. W. Brundage, C. F. Burnham, R. W. Baker, J,. Barlow, G. Cox, C. Claff, J. Connors, J. Corbet, S. M. Dailey,
George Roes, J. E. Fry, George. Gerow,W. H. Gordon, E. A. Halliwell, R. Hart, C. E. Henderson, J. Hamilton, W.
Herrington, T. Hammond, W. Hadett, Ed. Howard, Joseph Keirly, W. G. Kerr, W. Livingstone, W. Morton, II. McCullough, W. McGuire, B. Palmer, H. Smart, L. Soles, A. Thompson, L. Venn, L. Walbridge, W. Walsh, Geo. Wilson; Bugler Brodie.
Captain Ed. Harrison; Lieutenants H. A. Yeomans, R. J. Bell; Color-Sergeants A. H. Smith, Geo. Wilson, E. G. Bowen; Corporals S. J. Hilton, James Merrill, P. Howe; Privates W. Anger, Joseph Bay, George Bay, M Breem, Oscar Covert, W. A. Darch, Juffield Defeam, W. A. Gaft,
James W. Howard, Barnard Hodgins, W. Huiley, Joseph Homma,
William Keich, James Knur, L. Layer, George Leeds, B. Loft, R. McSteven, R. Parker, J.
Prideaux, G. E. Patterson, N. N. Patterson. G. B. Powell, M. Rogers, W. J. Redley, W. A. Street, J. Thompson, A. F. Thompson, E. Vincent,
George Winters, George Wescott, Alfred Way, George Young; Bugler
J. Williams.
PORT HOPE.—Captain and Batt. Major Rod. Dingwall; Lieutenants R. Wallace, Capt. T. B. Evans, Ottawa, and
Smart. Port Hope. Non-commissioned officers and men:
Thomas. Barker, Root. Beverly, John Brock, G. Cornell, J. Dark, D. Donahue,
William Downs. George Gilchrist, Robert Gracy, C. E. Hormel, William Harness,
Thomas Heaslip, S. Jex, W. H. Kerr, W. C. Killaway, Ed. Lee, S. Lonsdale, John 1 eader, Walter Mercer. W. Martin, Albert Miller, W. H. Moyse, P. McAvoy, M. McNeish, W. McGill,
Thomas Nelson, Charles Nolan, D. O'Connor, F. Powers, William Ross, R.
H. Richards, D. Spottow, W. A Scrimgeur, James Tutton. T. Taylor, W. Tempest, Adam Walker, H. Withers, J. W. Winters. S Waddell,
Robert Warner.
MlILLBROOK AND MANVERS COMPANY. — Cuptain Charles H.
Winslow; Lieuts. H. F. Miller. J. V. Preston; Col. Sergeant Fred. McCurry; Sergeant John Beatty; Corporals
Robert Lamb, William. Guy, M. H. Sisson; Privates Bateson. Ed. Brown, Fred. Cochrane, K. Fraser,
Thomas Fraser, W. Garnett, W. Gardiner, C. Guy, George Hughes, James Howden, Andrew Hannah, John Hartley,
George Jamieson, George Lockay, F. Leicester, G. Meland, Henry McGill, E. McCurry, Ira Nattress, R. Powell,
William Powell,
Thomas Rehill, J. Staintrop, J. Storey, George Salter, Albert Shoaler,
WilliamYoung; Bugler H. Sherwood.
YORK AND SIMCOE BATTALION.
Commissioned on 30th March, started for front 2nd April, 342 men, 34 officers.
STAFF. —Lieut.-Colonel O'Brien; Majors, Lieut.-Cols. Tyrwhitt, Wyndham; Adjutant-Captain W. Hunter; Surgeon L. T. Smith; Asst.-Surgeon J. L. G. McCarthy; Supply Officer Lt. G. H. Bate, G G. F. G; Quartermaster Major Ward; No. 1 Co.—Major Graham, Lieut. Landrigan, Lieut. Banting; No. 2 Co.—Major Buinett, Lieut.
Drinkwater, Lieut. L. Burnet; No. 3 Co.—Captain Leadley, Lieut. L. Shannon, 1st Batt. G.G.F G., Lieut. Ramsay; No; 4 Co.—Capt. Can pbell, Lieut. C. Spry, Lieut. Lennon; No. 5 Co.—Capt. Thompson, Lieut. Vennel; No. 6
Co.—Captain Brooke, Lieut. Syinons; No. 7 Co—Capt. Smith, Lieut. Booth, Lieut. Fleury; No. 8 Co,—Major Wayling, Lieut. Lesslie. Lieut. Allan.
PAKKDALE.—Corps. J. H. Smith, John Malcolm; Lance-Corporal Thos. Gilmore; Privates R. Bell, John Cullens,
Robert Gilmore, William Gould, T. J. Hill, George Hutton, Thomas Laird, Alex. Lindsay,
James. Margueh, Jno. Oliver, Andrew Power, Walter Platt, George Potter, A. Theobald,
William Slattery, Walter Smith, Spauldiug, Robert Wood.
RIVERSIDE.—Staff-Sergeant .Brown; Color-Sergeant John Ridout; Sergeant Bell; Corporals J. Foot, G. Brown,
Lance-Corporals Soulhsteau, J. Robinson; Private S. Apted. T. Armstrong, John Brown, H. Berry, R. Cometer, A. Cox, B. Cairns,
G. R Foord, W. Foote, S. Goodwin, G. Gray, W. Graham, T. Hands, F. Lucas, A. Otter, A. Potter, Thos. Paddon, C. Phypers, W. Redpath, E. Ridout, J. Sherlow, S. M. Stewart, P. J. Smith, W. Shannon
YORKVILLE.—Sergeants Eraser, Remington; Corporals Greenho, Bell; Privates Baker, Crawford, Chapman, T. Dowllng, Enright, Gage, Greenwood, Hogg, Hoodless, Lansdale, J. Larferty, Maclean, Petty, Randall, Sutton, Steele, Terry, Torrance, Welsh.
SEATON VILLAGE.—Staff Surgeon McGreal; Sergeant Grealis; Corporal M. Connors, E. Grealis; Privates J. Brady, R. Barrett,
H. Churchill, M. Clampitt, J. Cracknell, Dillon, J. H. Husband, G. Howarth, A. Hewey, O. McMillan (bugler), J. J. Pritchard, H. Tippens, R. Stuart, J. Studholme. W. Weatherston. D. Woodnouse.
NEWMARKET.—Sergeants kavanagh, Bogart, Wernham; Corporals Keetch, Ferry; Privates Armstrong, Adamson, Bellar, Blincoe, Flintoff, Flenton, Walter Ferry,
William Ferry, Grey, Holhyshead, Hewett, King, Krttlc, Longhurst, Lepper, Millar, Mitchell, Manners, l'egg, Piper, Peck Itigley, Sloan, Turllne, Taylor, Thompson, Tansley, West, West, C.
Werntram, J. Werntram, Watson, Young.
AURORA.—Quartermaster Sergeant Collett; Col. Sergt. Taylor, Sergeants Price, D.
Fgo, Farr, Corporals Montgomery, E. Hand, .John Ego, O'Brien; Privates Andrews, Bowser, Bimger, Baldwin, Burns, Crawford, Cockbum, Cattell, Cornell, Crosby, Crockard, Durech, Dent, Ellison, H. Hand, Hannan, Horner, Lyons, Long, Moor, Mindell, Matt, McLeod, Ough, Pringle,
Pew, Stonehouse, Smith, Taylor Tetley, Wooden, J. Young, T. Young.
NO 1. COMPANY.—No 1. co-Sergts. Anson Kiel, Murt McCarthy, A. C. Barraud, Neilly; Corporals
William Healy, H. Bushnell: Privates John Burndge, J. Boyd, W. Boyd,
James Clark, James Caston, Andrew Caston, D. Clark, H. Christy, Robett Delaney,
William Den, W. J. Davis, Marsh, Davis. A. Dion, S. Foster, J. Griffith,
William Heely, James Hemenway, David Hebner, George Hazzard, George
Hemmingway, William Hudson, James Larolor. William B. Mead, Fred. Musgrove,
William. May, Malcolm McDonald, F. Neally, David Neilly, J. R. Neilly, Rathwell, H. Stewart, Theo.
Swatza, George Sheffield, George Stockhill, G. Tait. J. Tunkev, H. Tuskey, Henry Wilson, Bugler Harry White.
No. 2 COMPANY.—Sergeants T. Sallons, E. Crockfnrd,
Stewart, Burnett; Corporals Thomas Ried, Joseph Dunham; Privates W. C. Bell, M. Bennough, W. Blair, J. Barkley, T. Banting,
William. Dyker, G. Donne, P. Damplin, Elliott, Fisher, Albert Grier, John Green, John Gibson, W. Hogg, W. Kelly, H. Lemon, A. Leitch, J. E. Lennox, John Lamrin, John Lavender, S. McDonald,
Ceorge McCabe, A. McKentire, F. R. Nelson, George Munn, J Sproul, W. Smith, E. Wiggins, F. R. Wood,
William Withers, G. Williamson,
William White, Bugler Fred. MeConkey.
No. 3 COMPANY.—Sergeant-Major Sydney McDougall; Col.-Sergeant Malcolm McDougall; Sergeants. William Campbell, James Kirkup, E.
Melntyre; Corporals William Hoidsworth, J. Halliday; Privates D. Armstrong, W.
Appleby, Curtis, Cuthhert, Cavanagh. W. Dodds, H. Hchner. T. Hazlitt, F. Harvey, F. Jacobs, J. Jennett, T. Moore, G. Munroe,
William Mandon, Marsden,T. McCreight, D. McDougall, R. MeConkey McDonagh, A.
Orchard, W. Peacock, F. Perkins, Patehell, J Spencer, William
Sidsworth, J. Simmons, F. Sneath, Scott, William. Tracey, S. Webber, J. Tomlinson, R. Tuck. Bugler
Charles Ward.
No. 4 COMPANY.—Sergeants W. Gilkinson, C. H. Dunning; Privates Agnew,
Ayerst, G. Adams. Joseph Rateman, Brooks, M. Black. S. Bateman, Joseph
Bateman, W. Briggs, Coleman, F. Camplin, H. Close, John Cook, C. Cooper, Entrie, R.
Findley, G. Collins, Gibson, Gilroy, Hall, R. Joins. Kemplin, J. LaBounte, Marsten, McDermott, F.
McNaughton, Perkins, Pallock, F. Parker. W Parker, S. Robinson, G. Rogers, Smith, G. Smart, J. Scott, G.
Timinons, R. Whiteside, C. Weeks, Woods, Wilson.
7TH BATTALION. "FUSILIERS," LONDON.
Called out 7th April, 237 men, 20 officers.
STAFF.—Lieut.-Colonel Williams Commanding; Majors A. M. Smith, W. M. Gartshore; Adjutant
George Reid, Surgeon Dr. Fraser; Quartermaater Capt. J. B. Smyth; Supply Officer Capt. Hudson.
A COMPANY.—Capt. Mackenzie, Lieutenants Bapty, Bazan: Color-Sergeant Jackson; Sergeant Beecroft, Corporal Arthur Pugh; Privates E. O. Armstrong, Ardiel, R. Coughlfn,
Chapman, S. H. Drew, Green, E. Harrison, Hines, J. T. Hesson. Alex. Lesslie, Martin, Matthews, R. McKcnzie, W. M.
McLeod, Fhillips. Rogers, A. Reid. P. E. Schabaker, F. Sadlier, Slade,
James Smith, James Sipple, C. F Williams, W. D. Wright.
B COMPANY.—Captain Butler; Lieutenants Chisholm, Gregg; Color-Sergt. Gould; Sergts. McLintock, O'Rourke; Corporals D. Dyson, James Gould, Brown; Sergeant
McCouther (pioneer); Lance Corporals Graham, Andrews; Piivates H. Arbuckle, Beaver, Brennan, Barlow, Crofts, Chauner, A. Davis,
George Davis, Davidson, James Ford, Ferguson, J. F. Gray, Harwood,
James
Johnston, Livesly, Lozier, Matthews, McRobeits, Neil, W. Smithson,
Sonierville, M. Wilson, J. J. Walker, Westoway, Watson.
C COMPANY.—Captain Tracey; Lieutenant Payne; Sergeants Anundson, Anglin; Corporals Graham,
Wanless, Kirkendale; Lance Corporals Fysh, Dignam; Privates McGillivray, Jones, Pennington, Atkinson, Burrs, Coombs, Hanson, Lancaster, Muirhead, Mooie, Mercer, McCoomb, Pettit. Smith. Wright.
D. COMPANY.—Capt. Dillon; Lieut. Hesketh; Sergts. A. McDonald, W. Owens, McGregor; Corporals Mills, Lowe, McBeth; Private Cowan, Carey, Carnegie,
Coughlin (bugler) H. Davis, R. H. Dignam, J. Greig, Garnett, Howard, Henderson, B. H. Humble, Ironsides, Leonard, R. H. Labatt, Lee (Ambulance), Moore, Mitchell, W. Martin, Meyer, (Ambulance), McCarty, McCormick, Pennington, E. Power, C. D. Power, C. E. Reid, Rhodes, J. Smith, R. Smith, W. P. Smith, Webb, G. Westland, Watson.
E. COMPANY.—Captain Peters; Lieuts. Jones, Fope; Col. Sergt. Jacobs; Sergeants J. Summers, J. Neilson; Corporals G. Apted, H. Rowlands, P Fields; Buglers R. Henderson, J. Smith; Privates T. Best, C. Butham, T. Cassidy, J. Cowie, E. Dickenson, W. Hayden, G. Hall, J. Jacobs, J. Johnson, J. Kenneally, H. Martin, E. Moriarty, J. Moisse. A. McNamard, D. McDonald, W. McDonald, F. McNamara, J Norfolk,
S. Notley, J. Penden, J. Quick, H. Rolph, J. Smith, C. Stinchcombe, M. J. Sim, T. Tennant, J. Twaites, T. Walker,
G. Wright, J. Watton.
F. COMPANY—Sergeant Major Byrne: Col. Sergeant Line; Seigeants Harris, T. W. Stan field; Corporals Black, Thomas H. Hills; Buglers
Insell, Weir; Privates F. Baker, W. Brown, W. Binlay, Collins, H. Clark,
Cornell, E. Clark, J. Crawford, Crow (Pioneer) M. Crow, Drennan, J. Grant, Hannigan, M. J. Hinley, Keewan, W.
Land, G. Lovell, T. Mills, J. Martin, A. C. O'Brien, A. M. O'Brien, Paine, R.
Pigott, B. Robinson, C. Thomas, L. Wright, W. Wilson.
G COMPANY.—Color-Sergeant Alex. Borland; Sergean J. J. Lynch, Fred. Fuller; Corporals W. Harrison,
Frank Lynam, T. H. Parkinson; Lance-Corporals William Essex, G. Terry, T Borland; Privates O. Allison, W. J. Armstrong, J. Barrell,
William Brazier, W. Blackburn, William Carroll, Joseph
Dickens, Nathan Dugal, E. Dayton, C. Gould, Robert Hymers, John Hood, Philip Hutchinson, J. McCutcheon, Samuel McCoy, James McPheraon, J. McDonald,
William Pate, Fred. Pickles, R. J. Robertson, D. Steele, P. Steele, William Smith, John Walsh, F. Whittaker, C. Woodall; Bugle-Major Page; Bugler Judge; Orderly room Clerk John Conroy.
GOVERNOR-GENERALS BODY GUARD.
Called out on the 15th April, 78 men,8olficeia, 72 horses.
Major-Commanding Geo. T. Denison; Captains Fred. Charles Denison, Orlando Dunn: Lieutenant
William Henry Merritt; 2nd Lieutenants Frank Andrew Fleming, Thomas Blair Browning; Adjutant Clarence Alfred Kinsey
Denison;
Quartermaster John Sloan; Assistant-Surgeons James Buchanan, Baldwin; Veterinary Surgeon John Pratt, Bond.
A TROOP. — Quartermaster Surgeon W. Tilley; Sergeants Granger, Wilson, McGregor; Corporals Donaldson, Thompson; Troopers Black, Bills, A. E. Denisou, Drury, Flint, Granger, S. E. Guest, Hancock, Kane, Kershaw, Milley, E. J. Murphy, J. F. McMillan, Newton, Pearsall, Pearson, Risen, Sims, Skaith, Stinson, Stretton,
Woodburn, Walsh, Watson; Trumpeters Maclntyie, Craig, Dent, Bennet.
B TROOP.—Sergeant Pullen; Corporal Bain; Troopers Anderson, Bryan, Bell, Brunell, James Bain, Baddin, Corrie, Chadwick, Douglas, Felton, Gager, Gray, Hurst, Hunter, Hamilton, Harvey, Klien, Latham. Menan, McKay, McNab, Nelaon, O'Connell, Richey, Richardaon, Smith Sterne, Sparrow, Tilley, Watson
Weatherstone.
QUEBEC. 65TH MOUNT ROYAL RIFLES. MONTREAL.
Called out on 27th March, left April 2nd, 317 men, 23 officers.
STAFF.—Lieut.-Col. Ouimet; Majors, Lt.-Col. G. A. E. Hughes, C. A.
Dugas; Captain Robert; Quartennaster Larocque; Paymaster Bossé; Surgeons Pare, Simard; Supply Officer, Captain Wright, 43rd.
No. 1 COMPANY.—Capt J. B. Ostell; Lieutenant Plinguette; Sergeant H. Beaudoin; Corporals E. Beaudoiu, A. Robichaud, E. Latulippe; Privates G. Aumond, A. T. Belanger, A. Bourgeois, M. Cadieux, L. Chalifoux, R. Caples, A. Chartrand, Conway, Chas. Daoust, O. Drolet, L. Goulet, L.
Houdin. E. Jobin, Joseph Lanthier, J. Labelle, L. Longpre, A. Maison. A. Michaud, A. Narbonn, A. Ouimet, A Picard, J. Parent, F. Robert. N. Robert, J. Wirehold; Tvumpet»Mnjor Jus. Arthur.
No 2. COM PANY.—Captin Des Trois Maiaons; Lieut. De Georges; CoL
Sergeant J. B.
Charest Sergeants H. Davenport, C. J. Ducheanay; Conprals E. D. Porcheron,
H. P. Nelson; Privates F. C. Adams, Boucher, Beaudry, D. Bouthilier, T. Bell, A. Beaudry,
D. Beaudoin. V. Bourgeoise, Cawthorn, A. J. Connell, N. Clarke, O. Dauost, L, Deajardins, J. Fraser, H.
Flanigan, T. Gagne, N. Hotte, Jolicoeur, Martel, Menard, Moreau, McOowan, Pregeau, Renaud, J, Smart, H. Scott, J. Scott, J. Waller, Westgate.
No 3. COMPANY.—Captain E. Beauaet; Lieuts. Starnes, A. Villeneuve;
Col. Sergeant N. Gauvreaux; Sergeants S. Dussault Beaudinn; Corporals V..Lesperance,
C. Paquette; Prtvates E. Brais, A. Brais, A. Boisvert, A. Browning, J.
Connolly, A. Chamard, J. Corbeil, J. Chartraud, J. Chapleau, J.Desgroubois. J. Deasroubois, J. Deslaurier,
D. Forgue, A. Gagnon, Gmulette, J. Gauthier, E. Houle, R. Huot. A. Laviolette. J. Murcotte, E. Mallet, A.
Merineau.J. Murcotte, J. Martin, N. Prieur, A. Richer, P. Sarrasin, E. Soulterre, A.
Sauriol, J. Savard, N. Viau.
No 4. COMPANY.—Captain A. Roy; Sergt-Major L. Labelle; Col. Sergtas J. Dubord, E. Houle, P. Vauquette;
Corporals R. Vallée, Pouliot; Ptivates Joe. Barry, Bourget, A. Bourdon, N. Bone, S. Carli, A. Dreyfuss,
S. Dufresne, A. Duruont, Z. Despates, De Fortix, R. L. Ecuyer, J. Frenette, H. Fafard, J. Gauthier, Grenier E. A. Gravel, S. Gaston, C. Gravel, W. Leger, A. C. Lachell, E. Lemay, A. Moussette, J.
Martinean. L. X. Pouliot, Joseph. Paquette, B. Rodier, J. Roy, A. Tessier, D. Traversier,
A. Wilscamp.
No. 5 COMPANY.—Lieutenant Villeneuve; Sergeants A. Lupien, A. Daniour, A. Thibault,
George Brunnet; Corporals E. Desnoyers, H. Lafrentiere, J. Barre, J. Stanton; Privates Andrews, A. Boucher, T. Bell, W. Beauchamp, A. Cowan, A. Dagennais, A.
Désroaches, J. Donnelly, J. Dudevoir, J. Despaxtia, J. Gauvreau, L. Jutraa, L. Ledue, R. E. Leclair, W. Lapino, F. Lessard, J. Morin, A.
Marceau, H. Mathieu, R. Metcalfe, A. Milot, Joseph Parri&eeau, T. Robichaud. W. Roarty, T. Streak, J. Tellier, Tellier Du Lafortune. N. Valois, J. Whelan.
No. 6 COMPANY.—Captain Giroux; Lieutenant P. F. Robert; Sergeants Leclaire, C. Foy; Corporals K. Nolin. L. Lapierre; Privates A. Arsenau, H. Anglois, A. A Hard, O. Bertrand, A. Bursall,
C. Boucher, A. Blais, H. Champagne, E. Clement, J. Chalifoux, F. Clermont, M. Doucet, R. Dore, T. Duplessis, D. Dauaereau, L. Dubord, G.
Fouinier, W. Garneau, T. Gagne, E. Houle, H. Laurin, H. Latour, J. Larivierre, J. Lavoie, A. Lefaivre,
H. Marois, M. Moujean, T. C. McKay, A. Rochon, L. Rose, J. Renaud, J. Robillard, N. St. Onge, W.
Sery, M. Tourville. C. Viaux.
No. 7 COMPANY.—Capt. L. J. Ethier; Lieutenants C. J. Doherty, J. E. Bedard; Sergeants J. Daramais,
L. Favreau, A. Ratelle; Corporals T. Deslauriers, A. Leblanc J. Sauchagrin; Privates M. Corrigan, A. Demers, E.
Descoreaux, F. Deladurantaye, DeQuevilion, N. Deeinartean, D. Francceur,
L. P. Favreau, Guigne, N. Gervaia, N. Lamarche, S. Lamoureux, A. Levesque, A.
Lippe, W. Livernois, E. Leclaire, D. Menard, N. Picard, J. Rivet, J. Rupert, A. Rousseau, A. Riandeaux, J. Traynor, J.
Vigerr, E. Vervaia, C. Wilaon.
9TH BATTALION RIFLES "VOLTIGEURS," QUEBEC.
Called out on the 31st March, left 2nd April, 204 men, 28
officers.
STAFF.—Lieut.-Colonel Amyot Commandant; Lieut-Colonels Thomas Roy, Evanturel; Majors Dugal.
Paymaater, Frenette; Adjutant Caagraine Pelletier; Surgeon Dr. A. Deblois; Assistant Surgeon Watters;
Quartermaster A. Talbot; Supply Officer Mr. Wolaey.
No. 1 COMPANY.—Capt. L. E. Frenette; Lieutenant G. F. Hamel; Sergeants E. J.
Boulé, G. Masse, Alf. Dupil, N. Morin: Corporals L. Morency, Joseph Drolet, D.
Biais; Privates P F. Boulanger, John J. Brennan, Joseph Bureau, Ed. Barry, J. W. Barry, A. Curodeau, R. K. Dion, Qatar Denechaud. Elzear Dion, E. Fleury,
Charles Fournier, Leon Guimond, Albert Giguere, Rod. Garneau, A. Cagnon, Ed. LeBel, O. Lepage, L. O. Lemoine, W. LeBel,
Alph. Legare, Norbert Moisan, A. Masson.E. Morisette, Narciase Nolin,
Joseph Nolin, Joa. L. Plante, Real Pampalon, Nap. Paradia, J. B. Paradia,
George Perrin. Dan. Sullivan,
Joseph Turcotte, J. L. P. Vallerand, C. H. Valiu.
No. 2 COMPANY.—Captain M. Choulnard; Sergeants Eudore Lamontagne, L. Giroux, Benj. Vienno-Michaun; Corporals Rosario Giroux,
Frs. Giroux, Nap. Chamberland; Privates, Joseph Aubiu, Joseph Boucher,
Joseph Blais, Theop. Boucher, W. Baril, James Chamberland, Camile Chamberland,
Joseph Corriveau, Thomas Dionne, Charles Delimare, J. B. Fortin. Naz. Fortin, Leon Fortin, A.
Fecteau, Joseph Giroux, Louis Lefebre. Joseph Larocbe, Gilbeit Langlois, sr.,
Cleophas Laroche, Phileas Lafrance, Nap. Latulipe. Gilbert Langlois fils, Gaudiose Mallard,
Omer Moiaan, Lucien Miller, A. Martel, Henri Paquet, Arthur Premont,
George Roussin, Oliver Rousseau, Theop. Soucy, George Sirois, Alf. Soucy,
Charles Simard, Alp. Tardiff, Joseph Villeneave.
No. 3 COMPANY.—Capt. Joaeph C. T. Drolet; Lieutenants W. D. Baillairge. Fiaet: Sergeants E. A. J.
Coté. L Chabot, Arthur Blouin, Adolphe Marcoux; Corporals M. Fortin, J. B. Marcoux, E. Martel, C. Deguiae. E. Patry: Privates G. Beauregard, J. E. A. Bittuer. J Biron, G. Blouin, J. B Bilodeau, J.
Bérubé, A. Coulombe. K. Duval, F. Donati, E. Fiaet, H. Gingraa, V. Gingraa, E. Goulet, D. Hardy, L. Lavoie, S.
Matté. G. Ma'ouin. D. McDonald. V. Noel, J. Nolin, E. Quellette, A. Patry. C. H. Plante, J. H. Plante, J. C. Rouaaeau. J B. Rousseau,
A. Robitaille, J. A Shehyn, N. St. Pierre, A. St. Pierre. G. Thorn, E. Touchette.
No 4. COMPANY.—Captain Flzcar Garnean; Lieut. G. A. Labranche: Sergt. Major Jules
Gingras - Sergeants. Alp. Cod bout, L. Lachance, Phil. Miller; Corporals Olivier Matte, Jeau Mercier, Jean Nadeau; Privatea L. Blaia J.
B. Blaia, Alfred Blais, Ellie Boriellet. Elzear B!ais. Reuio Buteau, J. B Bibault,
Joseph Cantin, Chatles Curadeau, Onesime Cantier, Theop. Danjou, Ulric
Devarennes, Eug. Emond, Gaudiose Emond, Jean Guy, Frs. Golin, Alexis Julien, Nap. Julien,
Prosper John, Leonidas Jodoin, Oct. Landry, Celestin Lanelois, L. Laroche, Geo. Marois,
Nap. Maheux, Theop. Marois, Eugene Moriasette, Michel Ouellet, Ol. Ouellet, Pierre Plamondon, Pierre Pouliot,
Joseph. Paquet, Nap. Paouet, Pierre Thibault, L. Ttmpin.
|
No 5. COMPANY.—Captain F. Pen nee; Lieut. J. V.
Dupuis; Sergeants Joseph Germain, Teieaphore Tiudel, J. B. E. Goaaelin, Omer Hamel;
Corporals Alphonse Nolet, Edmond Julien, Prieque Mass on; Trumpeter KErnest Trudel;
Privates Johnny Bedard, Leon Boucher, Victor Bernier, Alfred Bibeau, Joseph Balllargeon, F. Bilodeau. Edmond
Bois. F. P. Bois, Tim Bonvouloir, Edoreard Cote, Joseph Croteau, Eug.
Dubé, Clodlua Dion, Jules Daniour, Cyr. Emond. F. X. Gagne, Feles Guay.
Nap. Julieu, Arthur Kirouac, Eug. Leclerc, L. Lechasscur, Charles Lamontagne,
Josrph Letellier, A. Letourneau, F. Lacroix, J. Morissette, Ernest Paquet, Leon. Rousseau, Alex. Robitaille,
Joseph Sampson, Telesphore Simpson, George Touchette, Josrph Tanguay. Edmon Vilhneuve.
No. 6 COMPANY.—Captain A. O. Fages; Sergeants E. Lamontagne. Nap. Leclerc, George Leclerc;
Corporals A. G. Deguise, E. Papillore, W. C. O'Brien; Privates Frs
Asselin, L. Bonvouloir, F. Bedard, J Coté. A. Carreau, A. Davis, O. Drolet, P. Fournier. J. Fontaine, G. Flood, H. Gaguon, P. F. Gosselin, Z. Guimond. Phil.
Gingras, J. O. Gigeure, Joseph Gigeure, J. E. Gosselin, O. Houde, Frs. Hardy,
L. P. Hardy, Ls. Leclerc, E. Laperrieure, G. Lizotte, Charles Lacroix, F. X.
Mercier, S. Miles, R Miller, S. Papillon. F Paris. Joseph Pigeon, C. Pelletier. A. Roy, A. St. Pierre, E. Simard, L. Therien, A. Vaillancourt.
7TH COMPANY..—Captain L. F. Pinsult; Sergeant-Major Edmond Trudel; Sergeaut
Pantaléon Pelletier, P. W. Garneau, J. C. Routhier; Trumpeter Charles Denechaud;
Corporals Villond Savartl, Alex. Boucher, Charles Dangis; Privates Ludger Allain,
Thomas Blondeau, L. Bourgoing. A. Blais, Pierre Belanger, Joseph Bourget, Frank Coffey. C. A. A. Collet, J. F. Dumontier, Joseph Fortin, E. P.
Feiltault, Cyr Oingras, Pierre Gosselin, Joseph Gaumond, Roger Godin, James Hickey, P. L. Jolicceur, Alf.
Laurencelle, Arthur Lavoie, E. Laberge, Arthur Poitevin, L. Nap. Pelletier, Thos. Pampalon, J. H. Palardy, Jules Paradis, Frs Petitclerc, P. Poitevin, H. Roy, S. 0. Rioux, Cyr. Renaud, J. T. St. Jarre, N. W. Tanguay, A. Turgeon.
8TH COMPANY.—Captain Naz. Lavasseur; Sergeants Henri Beique, Claude Wheeler, Henri Marchand;
Corporals Arsene Beaudoin, Elz. Crepault, Damase Page; Privates Paul Briere, J. B. Belanger, Auguste
Beaudry, Onezime Bernard, George Bouchard, Elias Curodeau, Gaudiose Curodeau, Zephirin Curodeau, Edouard Desrosiers, T. W.
Darveau, A. Fortin, Adolphe Guy, George Goulet, Auguste Gauthier, Felix Gauthier,
Ernest Gagnon, Arthur Gagnon, P. Grenier, Ls. Jobin, Edouard Lapieu, Henri Laurent, Nap. Lavoie, F. X. Lemieux, Germain Paradis, Phileas Potern, Ely Rood, Nap. Rood,
Charles Robillard, Edwsrd. Savard, Nap. Savard, Joseph Simard, Joseph Triganne, Ed. Trudela,
Charles Veziua, Thomas Vaughan.
MONTREAL GARRISON ARTILLERY.
Called out on the 11th April, 250 men and officers.
No. 1 BATTERY.—Captain W. C. Trotter; Lieutenant W. C. Lulham; Battery Sergt.-Major G. C. Denman;
Sergeants James Dempsey, G. W. Dawson, W Hyndman; Corporals Alex. Morrell, E. Locke, J. Smith, D. Williams;
Bombardiers J. Cuggy, J. Gordon, W. Brown, J. Cullen; Gunners C. Anderson, G. H. Coulin, F. Cowan, J. Cleghorn, A. Coote,
George Clarke J. Chipchase, G. L. Duncan, G. Donaldson, J. H. Elliott. W. Evans, J. Grove,
Thomas M. Garwin, H L. Jackson, F. Mount, J. Matthewson, D. J. Murdock,
James McNaughton, F. Notley, W. J. Pendleton, G. Smyth, N. Starnes, J. Spero, A. Trigg, W. J. Williams, E. Williams, F. White; Bugler
George Clark.
No 2. BATTERY.—Captain Bees, Lieutenant J. A. Finlayson. Battery Sergeant-Major Alexander Scott. Sergeants R.
Bremner and Harper. Corporals Norris and Holstead. Bombardier William Lee. Bugler
William Dowling. Gunners Burke, D. Bremner, C. Bunbury, L. Cotte, H.
Cahle, T. Daniels, J. H. Dodds, D. Finlayson, T. ???aden, E. Ferte, T.
Forman, Gus. Gibbins, Greenstalk, W. C. Gad en, Hornblower, F. Harris, Hardman, W. J. Mrray, J. Murray,
William Murphy, J. Perry, T. Porter, J. T. Ryan, Telling, Tilley, T. Wilson. H, Wright, E.
Wingrove, W. E. Wilson, William Wright, Small. Paymaster Sergeant Fiddes is attached to this battery.
No 3. BATTERY.—Cant. Laurie commanding Batt. Sergt.-Major
James E. Hlbbins; Sergeants Richardson,
Brunnell; Staff Sergeant James Cooper jr.; Corporals H A. Howell, S. D. Jones, W. McGuinness; Bombardiers P. McDonald, J. Munn, D.
Dowell, Chales Little, F. Jones:; Gunners Thomas Bell, W. J. Barrett, J. Booth,
Joseph J. Bell, T. O. Brien, Robert Brown, A. Cameron, A. Cochrane, Thomas Cooper, W. A. Daniels, A. Finlayson, J. Fisher, Joseph Gardiner, J. Harrott,
Charles Jackson, F. W. King, William Knox, W. Laurie, G. W. Montgomery,
James Murray, P. McNamee, G. McNamee, W. McCombs, William McCormick, H. McCulloch, A. J. Payne, A. Powney, H. D. Patton, R. Steele, E. Smith,
James Stoneway; Bugler E. Scott.
No. 4 BATTERY.—Captain F. M. Cole; Lieutenant C Lane; Bat. Sergt. Major W. J. Anderson; Sergeants Ward, Dowker, Denman; Corporals Boyd, Denman, Morrow; Bombardier
Laird; Gunners Brown, Brown, Boyce, Cox, Denman, Debitt, Esden, Finlay, Greasly, Grumbly,
Harkness, Hayland, Hayward, Hallsworth. Kerr. Morrow, Mann, Norman, Pearson, Payne, Sheridan. Scott, Templetnan, Turton, Boyd, Denman,
Watersou, Wylie, Waterson.
No. 5 BATTERY.—Captain Stevenson; Lieutenant Howard: Bat. Sergt. Major Benton; Sergeants Clark, J.
Drysdale, W. Drysdale; Corporals Bickerstaff, Henry, Schrader; Bombadliers Fyfe, Herbert; Gunners Armitage, Barth, Berry,
Budd, Conners, D. Connor, D. Clendinning, Carter, (Julien, Cully, Cooke, Gordon, Haney, Hannah, Higgins, Hayes. Jackson,
Linklater, J. H. Mulholland. C. Mills, Thomas McCrachan, Nickle, Nlcol, Hans Oslen, Outhet,
Rogersoni, Robinson, Sloan, Tunoch, Tower, Tingey, Virtue, Walker; Staff Sergeant
James Cole.
No. 6 BATTERY. —Capt. O. H. Levin; Lieut. James K.
?????, Battery Sergt.-Major George Bradshaw; Sergeant Fagin; Corporal Brophy; Bombardiers Spurr, Holliday; Gunners Allison,
Thomas Anderson, W. Beck, H. Beck, Barr, Bowles, Crowther, Cowper, Cocker, Dore, F. Fyfe, A Fyfe, Fraser Freeman, Gilleard, Gillen, Humphries, Hay, Homes, Harper, J. Larkin, H. Larkin, Lawlor, Moody, Massey. McGlashan, McNaught, Nugent,
Phelps, Peardon, Rose, Seymour, Symington, Sutherland, Winter; Quartermaster-Sergt. Walker; Orderly-room Clerk Maxwell.
NOVA SCOTIA.
THE HALIFAX PROVISIONAL BATTALION.
Commissioned from the 66th Halifax Garrison Artillery, and 6Jrd on the 11th April, 359 men, 30 officers,
STAFF.—Lieut.-Col. J. J. Bremner 66th; Majors. Lieut. Col. C. J. MacDonald
66th., Walsh 63rd; Lieutenants not posted to Companies. James Bremner, Alfred Whitman.
J. A. McCarthy, Bowman Biggs, Herbert Hensley, C. E Cartwright, A. Anderson;
Captain. and Adjutant E. G Kenny, Surgerons Tobin, 66th; Harrington, 66th; Quartermaster
Captain Gorbin 63rd; Paymaster Captain Garrison, H. G. A.
Captain Cunningham; Lieuts. J T Twining, C. J. M-Kie; Sergeants Louis Dixon, Henry Reynolds; Corporals
George Brown, H. P. Bezanson, R. B. Elloitt; Lance Corporals F. R. Brown. J.
S.
Chisholm. Charles W. Gibson, Edward Hunter; Bugler E. M. Studd; Privates M. Blackwood, R. Blacktnore, John H. Brown, W. H. Fraser, H. E. Fraser, J. L Ferguson,
James Fraser, Leslie, Fraser, Fred. E. Hills, Charles Munron, L. J.
Mylius, Hugh McNab,
Charles McLeod, W. H. Pentz, James Ross, S. HI. Romans, C. W. Romans. Sutclirfe, F. Theakstone.
Captain Heckler; Lieuts. Silver, James, Sergeants Kaizer, Conrod, Mumford; Corporals M. Keefe, W.
C. Sterling, Myers, Eiumeraon, Pickford, Humphrey,; Bugler Taffe; Privates Andrews, Bateman,
Creighton, C. S. Cameron, Gray, Hesson, Harris. Muir, Mumford, Mott, Munnis, Mackintosh, J. S.
McKay, Quirk, Storey, W. D. C. Spike, Sullivan, James Sarre, Taple, Vogel, H. Wood, F. S. Woollard, Watt.
Captain Fortune: Lieutenants Fletcher Silver; Sereants Cullen Tobin, Oldham; Corporals R.
Dalrymple, H. Hurley, Johu O'Connell; Privates Richard Anderson, Anderson, Buyers,
George Burgly, Thomas Brackett, Cunningham, Peter Fleming, Higginson, Kelly (bugler,) Kennedy,
Lowry, E. Monaghan, Marwick, W. Monaghan, John O'Neal, Ed. O'Donnell,
O'Donnell, O'Donohue, Powell, Purcell, Watertield. Captain Weston; Lieutenant Fiskes; Sergeants
Hickey, W. Williams, S. Williams, J. Young; Corporals Hartlen, E. Hartlen; Lance Corporals Hughes, Barroman; Privates Anderson, W. Berry, H. Berry, Cochran, Devaney, Fisher, Gross, Griffin, Jones, Horton, A. Hare, H. Hare, S. Hiltz, W. Hickey, A. Hitz, Alfred Hare, Jones,
Knowdell, Mulkern, Morgan, McDonald, McInnis, C. O'Brien, Romans, Sloan, Troop.
Captain McKinlay; Corporals Merlin, Curry. Malcom, Privates W. Brown, J. Coolan, W. H. Gray, P. Graham,
C. Gabriel, W. Johnston, J. Kily, J. S. Murphy, J. Martin, W. Muligh,
Joseph Murphy, F. Mabee, J. McDerinott, P. McGrath, A. Norris, C. J. Quinan,
George Parker, S. Seals, G. Valot, H. Wittle, A. Wilson, M. Wurell, S.
Withers; Bugler Corporal Von Schoppe.
Captain Humphrey; Sergts. Fluck, Rosbottom; Corporals William. Breeks,
Crocker, Chambers; Privates Bracket, H. Holland, G. Medan, W. J. Tupper, W. Young. A. Andrews, Alfred Anderson,
James Barret, A. Bauld, C. Beamish, W.
C. Bishop, E. Busby, W. Brown, J. F. Caldwell, John
Delmer, R. Edmunds, John Fitzgerald, D. Faulkner,
John Fitzgerald, C. B. Ferguson, R. Flynn, W. Fitzgerald,
J. Higgins, F. Henderson, H. Hill, J. Hill, T. Hubley, R.
Johnston, A. King. M. Lawless, J. Latter, John Linahan, C. Leverman, A. Mahar,
James McDonald, F. McLeod,
L. Power, John Renwick, John Reilly, Thomas Rouse, S.
Saunders, R. Sheppard, A. Thomas, J. Terry, E. Volons,
C. Ward, W. H. Walker; Buglers J. Connors, Roul, Power.
HALIFAX GARRISON ARTILLERY.—Captain J E Curren; Lieutenants McKenzie, James Fairbanks, A Hare; Battery
Sergeant-Major Robson; Sergeants P. Lowrie, W. W. West; Corporals N.Isnor, R. M. Sherlock, C. H. Adams; Bombardiers C. S. Hunt,
C. Kidston, John Davies; Gunners George Anderson, A. Bezansyn, W. Chapman, S. Charman,
H. J. Caldwell, J. W. Caldwell, Thomas Coss. George Chapman, K. E.
Ember y, T. T. Everett, Robert Fiddler, W Frawley. D. S Harris, J. Hines, H. Johnson,
George Jaokson, John Kelly, E. Kempt, W. Leadly, J. Laningan. J. D. Marshall,
H. Milbury, A. Marriott, T. Morgan D. Macdonald, A. Pitts, Sanford Smith,
George W. Siggins, J. Symons, George Tough, T. Umlah, Joseph Umlah, F. Weatherly.
Captain J. MeCrow Lieutenants W. L. Kane. R H. Shimming, H. Hare; Sergeants W. D. Hill. J. R. Kiddy; Corporals
William. Corbett, G. A. Nauffts, H. Balcom; Gunners, S. Adams, G. O. Bruce, B Bremes, J. Burke,
H Carrol, C. A. Carrol, W. Calnan, Albert Eyherg, H. Field, F. Garnett, M. Gibson.
George Harrison, T. Horseman, J. S. Innes, R. W. Jones, W. Laney, John Lyson, W. Lewis, C. Manuel,
Charles Morris, J. W. Marshall, J. McDonald, J. McVien, J. McDonald, J. McDonald, B. Noble, T. Pubble,
William Power. C. Power, James Reardon, William Stephen, R. Sinfield, S. Tomlin, G. Towusond,
L. Tiscormia, George Thornton, W. A. Verge, G. Wakefield, Ben. Wallace.
MANITOBA.
90TH WINNIPEG BATTALION OF RIFLES
The veterans of the war on the field from the 27th of March, 334 men, and
officers.
STAFF.—Major McKeaud in command; Major Boswell Buchan Adjutant; Surgeon G.
L. Orton; Assistant Surgeon Dr. Whiteford; Quartermaster McTavish; Sergeant
Major Watson; Paymaster Sergt. E. K. Campbell; Quartermaster Sergeant Rogers; Hospital
Sergeant McEwen.
A COMPANY.—Captain C. F. Forrest; Lieutenants Hugh
J. Macdonald, R. L. Sewell; Pay Sergeant Buchler; Sergeants Steele,
Macklin; Corporals Kemp, Doyle, Theaker, Maguire; Bugler Buchanan; Privates
Barron, Brooks, Bailey, Blake, Buchanan, Bouchette, Deane, Doyle, Ferguson, Huckell, Howells, Hutchinson, Jones,
Kemp, Kitely, Lamb, Longhead, Link, Merritt, Moffat, Mitchell, Morrins, Matthews, Mornington, Mowat, McGee,
McAuley, Mclnnes G. McAllister, D. McAllister, O. Dell, Pickerton, Polson, Playfair, Ridder, Reid, Sproat, Shaw,
Street, Southwick Thurman, Wooton, Wattas, Bugler Hardie.
B. COMPANY.—Captain H. N. Ruttan; Lieutenants G. W. Stewart, J. G. Healy; Color-Sergeant H. D. Tulloch; Sergeant
C. A. Millican; Corporals William Baillie, Thomas Johnson, George Peterson; Lance, Corporal H. B. Fronson; Bugler J. Buchanan; Privates Ancill, Beaty, Betts, Chappell, Fry, J. Fisher, C. Green, B. Gilmore, T. Hickey, E. Harrison, Ingram, B. Izard, Judd, W. G. Johnson, M. O. R.
Jarvis, Lovell, W. J. Mechan, J. Moyses, H. Moyses, Charles McMillan, W.
Menzies, J. Oliver, Peterkin, J. Roberts, G. Rogers, J. W. C. Swan, J. Stovel, A. T. Limewell, Whelan, H. Wilkes, C. Williams, A. H. Wheeler, G. Wheeler, B. Zimmerman.
C. COMPANY.—Captain W. A. Wilkes; Lieutenants H. Bolster, C. Swiuford; Pay Sergeant W. H. Cullen;
Sergeants F. R. Jackes, Tees; Corporals Lethbritlge, Code, Stephens; Privates Allen, Armstrong, Booz, Boucheller, A. Cameron, Chambers, Canniff, Croighton, Curry,
Cameron, Dowker, Fraser, Fraser, Howden, Hughes, Hurrell. Leighton, Lewis, McKay, Mahoney, J. McKay, Morgan,
McCormack, Malcolmson, Nixon, Orde, Porter, Slater, Shearer, Turner, Taafe, Whitlaw, A. Young, R. Young; Bugler McGiffin.
D. COMPANY.—Captain Warsnop; Lieuts. Zach. Woods, H. Arnold; Sergeant
George Broughall; Pay Sergeant: Smith; Sergeants Leon Howard; Corporals Colgate, Richardson.
Smeed; Privates, Bowdell, Brown, Bush, Brundit, Cooper, D'Aroy, Davis, Dean, Reeve Dunn, Ennes,
Erickson,. Edwards, Fergusson, Graham, Graburn, Gawure, Gall, Hanna, Hardistv, Johnston, Kemp, Mullius, Morris, Morgan,
McRboie, McLachlan, McGovern, Pritchard, Restall, Shore, Wasdell, Wamwright,
Yuill.
E. COMPANY.—Captain R. J. Whitlaw; Lieutenants E. G. Piche, A. E. McPhillips; Color-Sergeant R. C.
Dickson; Sergeants T. W. Spearman, H. Cook; Corporals J. E. Lockhart, W. Wave, W. Cook; Bugler H. Catlin; Privates
H. G, Buss, F Benway, W. Bourke, O. L. Coombs, F. H- Clinch, W. Drewry, H. Downey, W. Eddies, L. W. Eyre, F.
Ellis, H. C. Fisher, J. W. Hopkins, J. Hazlewood, W. J. Irwin, A. Johnson, E. Kern, J. Kellet, S. Kyezor, C. Longman, J. Mathews, A. Matheson, G. Mook, R. Monro, D. M. McDonald, John Paton, R. Pomeroy, J, Preston, W. Radoliffe, A. F. Rykdal, H. C. Reynell, S.J. Smith, R. Shanklin, M. Smith, E. Taylor, H.
Vaucclett, J. Wilkes, W. T. Whellams, T. C. Wood.
F. COMPANY.—Captain William Clark; Lieutenants F. L.
Campbell, R. C. Laurie; Color-Sergeant C. N. Mitchell;
Sergeants Thomas Wright, T. S. Smith; Corporals H. Law, J. Gillies, J.
Marshall; Bugler R. D. Campbell; Privates A. S. Blackwood, G. Baxter, J. G. Brown, R.
Bell, J. Dallas, Robert Gillies, A. Gillies, G. W. Grant, C. Holden, D.
Hislop, D. Horn, R. Laurie, Ceorge Bailey, C. O. Breach, W. Buchanan, A. T. Crowe, E J
Cann, F J Dawkns, G. Downard, Alfred Devitt, E. ???, A. N. Mowatt, J. Macpherson, H. S.
Mullins, ???? Massie, A, McQueen, John McDiarmid, Mcintosh, A Ross, J.
Scott, A. Smith, A. Shaw, William. Slomans, Theo. Smith, W. Wright, H. Gooding, W. Huntley, F. C. Keneedy, H. Kirk, R. King, Joseph Limoges, J. Rapcr J. A. Starrett
WINNIPEG FIELD BATTERY.
Major E. W. Jarvis; Captain L. W. Coutlee: Lieuts G. H. Young, G. H. Ogilvie; Surgeon A. Codd
M. D. Veterinary Surgeon T. J. G. Rutherford; Sergeant Major Thomas Nixon,
jr.; Quarter-master Sergeant D. C. Dickson; Sergeants E. Doige, P. Quely, G. Strachan, A. G. Ross; Corporals R. F.
Hinds, J. W. Keeler, Thomas H. Persse: Bombardiers R. T. Thompson, C. A.
Boultbee, C. D Richards; Trumpeter C. W. N. Kennedy; Gunners & Drivers C. A. Booth, W. H. Browne, W. R. Bradbury, S. M. Bowman, F. Boultbce, F.
H. Coates, C. F. Corbett, G. Campbell, W. H. Crawford, R. T. Dalton, T. A. Disbrowe, W. F. Edwards, J. H. Evans, T. A. Moore, A. McGregor, A. McGregor, R. D. McQueen, D. E. Perry, H. Rowan, J. Richardson, J. W. Radiger, J. M. Suttie, W. J.
Stimson, C. C. Stewart, A. Walker, S. J. Wood, G. S. Wood, Z. T. Wood, F. H.
Boxer, E. Foster, A. Farnsworth, G. Farnham, G. F. Gilpin, G. L. Garden, C. D. Jarvis, E.
Knowlton, G. O. Leask, E. D. Leahy, J. Leitch, J. A. Lynch, H. Mason, W. R. Mursey; Collar-maker F. Burling.
WINNIPEG CAVALRY.
Capt. C. Knight; Lieutenants W. H. Disbrowe, T. H. Shelton; Sergt.-Major Schneider; Staff-Sergt. McGuin; Sergts. Beck, Hubbell, Senge; Corporals Johnson, Fowler, Skinner; Privates A. B. Ablentz, J. Gooderzon, J. Doherty, T. Evans, J. Natinger, N. Therwood, A. Cameron, H. Sabine, W. Trotter, J. Osborne, F. Short, M. Short, R. Johnson, W. Cowan.
THE 91ST. OF WINNIPEG.
STAFF.
—Lieut. Col. Thomas Scott; Quarter-master Captain William H, Bruce; Major D.
H. McMillan; Surgeons Maurice M. Seymour, Stuart Mulvey; Assistant Surgeon
Frank Keele; Paymaster Captain W. H. Nash; Inspector of Musketry, Captain Alex. W. Lawe; Adjt.
Captain Williard Cook, Copeland.
A. COMPANY.— Captains. John Alexander, McDonald Rowe; Lieutenants Fred. Irons Bamford,
William H. Saunders.
B. COMPANY.—Captain Thomas Wastie; Lieuts. E. Clementi Smith, Richard Hunter.
C. COMPANY.—Captain William Sheppard; Lieuts. Rolland C. Brown, George Loftus Reid.
D. COMPANY.—Captain Samuel J. Jackson; Lieuts. J. B. Rutherford, Thomas Lusted.
E. COMPANY.—Captin Joseph Henry Kennedy; Lieuts. Major A. Cotes, H. W. Chamber.
F. COMPANY.—Captain James Church Vaugh; Lieuts, George A. Glince, Henry McKay.
G. COMPANY.—Captain R. W. Allan Rolph; Lieuts. Albert Markeman, Fred. R. Glover.
H. COMPANY.—Captain John Crawford; Lieuts. Aaron Pearson Cameron,
Thomas B. Browdgeest.
STONEWALL COMPANY.—Captain S. J. Jackson; First
Lieut. J. B. Rutherford; Second Lieut. Thomas. Lusted; Color-Sergeant Edward Ellis; First Sergeant P.
H. Clark;
Second SergeantvE. R..Sutherland; Privates George Anderson, William Brown, John Bell, A. G. Bell, Alex, Brown, Horace Boyce, H. J. Caskill,
William Collie, Mat. Cockerill, A. J Daly, Joseph Dark, Silas Dark, W. H. Davis, Ed. Duckfall, W.
Rudersby, Joseph Forrester, Alex. Gillespy, Arch. Gillespy, James Gilleman, David Galbraith, A. Good,
Nelson Good, A. Goodson, W. S. Hogg, John Hogg, Lashbrook Hogg, Wesley Lutz, Arthur Maniz,
James Montgomery, Sam. McMahon, Joseph McMahon, L. G. McDonald, Dugal
McIntyre, Don. Norman, Rich. Parrott, Robert Parrott, Eph. Riely, Arthur Smith, Don. Smith, W. II. Stranger,
William Teedell, W. H. Waterson.
PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE COMPANY.—Captain William Sheppard; 1st Lieut. R. C. Brown, 2nd Lieut.
George Reade; Color-Sergeant H. J. Woodside; 1st Sergeant F. A. Ritchie, 2nd Sergeant A. H. Arden; Corporals J. H.
Hodson, Isaac W. Thompson, David Cassels: Butler Ralph Wilson; Privates W. F. Anderson, W. Armstrong, A. Browing, J. F. Campbell, John Caseter, W. T. Copeland, Simon Cameron,
Charles Clark, H. Dunn, George Fenton, Otto Grable, David Hendry, Albert Hamstock. W. A. Howrin,
William Hamilton, T. G. Holmes, W. D. Mechau. John Marter, Frank Morrison, Willis McDonald, J. A. McDonald, A. A. McPhail, J. A. McDowall, John
McElverey, Charles Nelson, George Pullinger, John Powers, E. A. Probert, A. Rose,
Thomas Rush brook, W. H. Ross, W. H. Reid, Samuel Reid, Charles Sharper,
Charles Stevenson, Charles Thompson, W. Wesley, W. E. Wood, John S. Wiggins, Peter
Whimster, Ernest S. White.
THE MORDEN COMPANY.-Captain J. C. Waugh; First Lieutenant Henry McKay; Second Lieutenant Alexander Cruikshank; Color-Sergeant W. Nelson; Sergeants Henry B. Pigott and W.
Lapointe; Privates Henry Braun, John G. Buchanan, Thomas Cutting, John Dawning, Thomas Driver, Victor A. Driver, Forbes Elliott, John C. Farley, John Fox, John S. Gray, Walter Hooper, Fred Horn, David Jones, Owen Lloyd, J. McGregor, Charles McGregor, Robert McKay, Fred. McDougall, John McTaggart, Andrew Nagell, Charles Magee, Andrew
Mage, John Montgomery, Herbert Moore, David Morden, Robert Munroe, Arthur Nelson, Charles Simmons.
W. Stevenson, W. Thompson, James Turnbull, W. Wedmeger.
HIGH BLUFF COMPANY.—Captain Dr. F. S. Keele;
Privates James Atkinson, John Bailey, Frank Evans, William Howie, Pte. Haines, John Moss,
George Moore, .1 B. McLachlan, William Naggy, Edward .Parker, James Richmond,
Joseph Tait, Robert Tidsbury.
MORRIS COMPANY.—Captain G. A. Ghnes; Sergeant H. Morris; Corporal G. N. Gould; Privates H. Anderson, W. Brown, W. J. Coleman, F. G. Gow, C. W. Johnston,
James Kelly, G. Lane, James Moodie, Alex. Mam, John A. Maley. William J. Madill, Dan. McKay, W. A. Rennie, Edward Simpson, B.
H. Short and Thomas Tennant
RAT PORTAGE COMPANY. —Privates A. Andrews, J.
Barnes, J. Bruce, J. Aarnes, A. Berrard. J, H. Buchanan, D. Chandler, M. DeLoury, R. A. Davis. F.
Drader, J. Elles, H. Ford, R. Groah, R. Honeywood, R. Heslop W J. House, C. W. Herriott, J. Irvine, J. Jones, J. A , kelley, W. Lockwood, J. Langman,
C. Linklater,. W. A Matheson, M. Murphy, F. Mulvey, W. S Malcolm, J. A. McArthur, J. McKeneen. R. McLeod, J. McKeneen, M. McKenzie, J. McGregor,
R. Ryan, J. Smith, D. Todd, W. Wilson, A. Williams, R. Williams, L. Wyatt.
THE BRANDON COMPANY.—Captain Hastie; 1st Lieut. Clementi Smith; 2nd Lieut. R. H. Hunter; Color-Sergeant John Taylor; Sergeants R. T. Evans, F. V. Young; Corporals E. J.
MacdonnelL M. H. Gurney, C. J. Manson; Privates W. Fauber, W. S. Armstrong, F. Aikens. A. Adams, H.
W. O. Boyer, William Baker, F. Bassanach, A. J. Baurlay, C. C. Bunn, F. Berridge, George Bolton, Charles Crofton, A. Campbell, D. Campbell, J. Collins, Ed. Childs, F. J. Clarke, J. Courtice, P. Dickson, F. B. Graves, E. J. B. Groom, W. G. Gurney, J. L. Grant,
W. F. Amber, William Hawkins, George Hanley, P. Hall, J. W. Johnson, E. S. Kirkham, E. J. Lindsay, E. W. Lowe, L. H. J. Minchan, J. Matthews, A. McCallum, John Patterson, A. W. Pross, J. R. Porfcie, R. J. Ramsay. R. B. Silsby, John Stewart, John Swift, R. H. M. Tew, J. A. Thompson, R. B. Ernston. John Vana, J. C. Wilton, F. A. Williams, J. E. Yelland and
William Young.
92ND WINNIPEG LIGHT INFANTRY.
Lt.-Col. W. Osborne Smith, C. M. G., in command; Senior Major, J. Lewis; Junior Major, W. B. Thibaudeau. Staff
Officers; Adjutant Charles Constantine; Captain and Paymaster, E. P. Leacock,
M. P. P.; Surgeon Dr. Pennyfeather; Assistant not appointed; Captain and Quartermaster R. La Touche
Tupper; Sergeant-Major Patrick Lawlor.
A COMPANY. (Kildonan).—Acting Captain Dr. Sutherland; 1st Lieut. D. Sutherland; 2nd Lieut. R. G. MacBeth.
B COMPANY.—Captain W. B. Canavan; 1st Lieutenant George B. B. Brooks; 2nd Lieut. Frank Graffe.
C COMPANY.—Captain Frank I. Clark; 1st Lieut. T. G. Alexander; 2nd Lieut. Curry.
D COMPANY.—st Lieutenant Carruthers; others not appointed.
E COMPANY.—Captain T. Wade; 1st Lieut. Mills; 2nd Lieut T Norquay
F COMPANY.—Captain T. E. Valancey; 1st Lieut. N. Caswell, 2nd Lieut. T. D. Deegan.
Sergeants Charles J. Hollands, J. C. McKay, and W. A. Parsons; Corporals W. H. Thomas, David Cranston, and James Lawrie; Bugler James Weal; Privates
Robert. Abbot, Thomas Alexander, William Armstrong, S. Anderson, J. Anderson, Fred. Augless, William Anderson, Charles Bathew,
George Butter, R. Bremner. George Beck, Johnston Brown, J. L. Black,
Charles Bride, R. Brownlee, W. L. Bruce, George Butler, G. B. Brooks,
George Bruce, George Beek, W. Body, R. Bliss, R. Bremner, C. Berncastle, E.
Broderick, W. R Burton. A. Burt, G. Berry, C. Berry, Thomas Crawford, J C. Campbell, E. Coupe, E. Cauley,
William Clark, F Clark, D. Cranston, J. A. Cameron, F. W. Cross, J. F. Casey Bern. Dolan, John Douglas,
Joseph Davis, J Daley, Thomas Davidson, J. Doherty, J. M. Daly, J. Douglas, J. Davis, B. Dolan, J. N. Roans, Heron Flint, J. H. Froggert, F. Fisher, E. Fisher, H. Flint, Fred. Gourham, John Greer,
C. A. Gritfith, F. Graph, C. Griffin, F. Grieve, Pat. Gautham, William Hutton, John Harrison,
William Hogarth, Thomas. Head, C. H. Harris, A. Hamilton, William. Heire, C. Hesoit, W. Hogarth, T Head,
Thomas Hill, J. Heliiwell, Hans Hanson, T. Harvey, F. Hayitt, C. Hobbs C. Harvey, A. Hanson, W. L. Hutton,
Joseph Hopgood, Thomas Hopgood, Jacob Johnston, J Johnston, H. W. Judge, D. B. King, George Khaler, A. Kilpatrick,
James Leonard, Henry Lynch, Frank Latimer, J. R. Lewis, Samuel Law, A. Lyman, J. M. Leonard, H. Lynch,
William S. Lipsett, J. Lawrin, J. W. Lancaster, Joseph Miller, C.
Middleton, R. Monitier, J. J. Mancriff, A. B. Murphy, William Mowat. B. R. Mills, E. Moody
R. Moss. W. H. Nesbitt, J. R. Nicholson, E. Nicholson, H. G. Norris, William Nelson, Alf. Oxlade,
Charles Oslen, A. Oxley, C. Owle, Joseph Passey, J. M. Pulsford, Thomas Pollard, W. P Parsons,
George Percival, J. Passey, J. Pickering, A. P. Paterson, G T. Richards,
William Rutherford, Herbert. Roberts, H. Robinson, J. Rutherford, George
Rill, William Rodney, H F Roth, H. J. Rutherford, H. J. Roberts, L. Reid, T Holland, F. Reid, S. A. Rice, J. Rulesford, J. Stodgell, Dan Sullivan, Howard Sheppard, James Sullivan, Charles Smith, Frank Stoph, William Spiers William Sankster, R. Strait, C. Stewart, C. Stafford, J. K. Strong, J Snider, H. Sheppard, R. Sulley, D Sullivan, R. Skinner, E. Simpson, J. M. Spiers, W. B Shaw, T. R. Stratou, A. Turnwell, W. K. Thomas, J Todd, W. Tremble, T. Thwaite, G. T. Taylor, Harry Taylor, T. L. Vining, A. White, John Williams, Sam. Weir, John Whitaker,
C. A. Walker. A. A. White, J. Wheeler, C. Wilson, A. M. Wilson, William Waugh, Oscar White,
George Willis, A. R. Wade, W, C. Work, William Wheeler, George Weaver.
BOULTON'S HORSE,—Raised at Birtle. Major Boulton;
80 men, 5 officers.
FRENCH'S SCOUTS.—Raised at Qu'Appelle. Major John French; 25 men.
DENNIS' SURVEYOR SCOUTS.—Captain J. S. Dennis; 50 men, 3 officers.
MOOSE MOUNTAIN SCOUTS..—Raised at Qu'Appelle. Captain G. W. R. White; 51 men, 3 officers.
STEWART'S RANGERS.—Raised at Calgary and McLeod. Major J. Stewart; 150 men, 4 officers.
ALBERTA MOUNTED INFANTRY.—Raised at Calgary. Major Paton; 50 men, 3 officers.
A body of fifty scouts raised in Calgary, allied with the Mounted Police, under Major Steele.
A COMPANY OF INFANTRY, Battleford. Captain Nash; 40 men, 3 officers.
A COMPANY OF HOME GUARDS, Regina. Captain David
Scott; 40 men, 3 officers.
A COMPANY OF HOME GUARDS, Birtle. Captain James H. Hood; 40 men, 3 officers.
A COMPANY OF HOME GUARDS, Calgary. 50 men, 1 officer.
A COMPANY OF HOME GUARDS, Yorktown, Assiniboia. Major J. C. Watson; 50 men, 3 officers.
A COMPANY OF HOME GUARDS, Qu'Appelle. Captain
T. W. Jackson; 40 men, 3 officers.
THE NORTH-WEST MOUNTED POLICE.
Commissioner A. G. Irvine, in command.
A DIVISION.—Supt. J. H. McIlree, Inspector A. R. Macdonnell; Sergt.-Major W. A. Douglas;
Quartermaster-Sergt. F. Harper; Hospital Surgeon J. C. Holmes; Sergeants W. Piercy, D. Paterson, T. McGinnis, M. Duchesnay; Corporals S. S. Jones, F. L, Mariott, W, Ritchie; Constables G. Adams, P. Bertles, C. J. Bulger,
W.. S. Bethune, W. Carroll, A. Chartrand, W. Cowles, J. Draycott. F. Elliott, J. Forbes, W. Grimmer, A. Gow, F. Goodwin, J. P. Hicks, J. C. Harstone, J. Halenback, H.
C. Kerman, V. Levesque, A. Mackenzie, A. Meneley, E. H. Partridge, R. Panet, M. Regan, J. R. Royce, P.
Reggin, G. Rolph, W. Stothers, J. Saunders, W. Saunders, J. H. Swift, R. E. Tucker, J. Warren, J. W. F.
Weeks, F. G. Yerrese, P. O. Hare,
B DIVISION.—Commissioner A. G. Irvine: Superintendents R. B. Deane, P. R. Neale; Inspectors F. Norman, F. White, G. E. Saunders, F. Drayner; Staff Surgeon A. Jukes;
Staff Sergts. J. McNamara, C. R. Saffray, W. Simpson, E. A. Braithwaite; Sergeants R. Belcher, J. A. McGibbon, F. M. Blight, C. H. Connor, G. B. Robbs, J. Fyffe. M. Baker, W. Routledge; Corporals G. Norris. H. Walker, F. Dobbs, D. Talbot, W. Macleod, L. Hooper. A. E. Graves. W. A. Jackson,
Thomas Kempster. S. G. Mills; Constables W. C. Osprey, R. E. Allan, J. N. Berthelot, J. G. Brymner, C. Brodie, G. H. L.
Bossange, M. Bloomfield, A. F. M. Brooke, A. R. Brooke, C. Rowes, W. F. D. Bremner, A. Baker, A.
C. L. Bird, Henry Beggs, R. Black, H. Bailey, J. Carruthers, J. Clisby, A. Coulson,
D. Clarke, H. N. Cullender, J. Cook, O. Cheke, T. Craig, R. Clarkson, M. Dowse. J. W. Davis, H. T. Dalton,
James Douglas, Joseph Farrell, W. Field, F. W. Foot, G. F. Guernsey, W. Gilpin, A. S. Gauvin, T. W. Goff. E. W. G. Gardiner, A. Halliday, A.
Huuseley, S. J. Hall F. Hyles, G. Henderson, A. Henderson, W. Hart, E. G. O. Hopkins, P. Higgins, H. Howard, Jno. Hickey, R.
S. Jones, J. Knowles, W. Kost,
C. R. Leamy, T. Lonergan, J. B. R Lawder. D. Lapointe, A. W. Leslie, R. Linn, J. Miller, W. H.
Mitchell, T. McGinniss, M. McMurchy, A. McKenzie, G. Macdonald, W. Newton, J, S. Nicholas, W. Noble, F. Nicholls, T. Neale. L. G. S.
Osborne, T. W.G. O'Brien. J. Percival, W. D. Perkins, J. Chassey, W. J. Pitcher.
William Payne, A. C. Pickering. D. Pollock, H. N. A. Pocock, G. W. Pryor, F. Perry, H. Powers, A. Robinson, E. Racey, E.
Rohring. F. R. Rudd, F. Ramsden, A. W. Scarlett. F. W. Shamler, W. J. Sloan, A. Skinner, E. Shepherd, H.
H. Smith, J. Stuart, G. Service, C. Sinclair, M. F. F. St. John, G. Sinclair, H. Slater, R. Stanley, H. Talbot, J. Thompson. M. Williams, C. Waller,
Joseph Williamson, S. W. Waller, I. Williamson, E. J. Zwicker.
C DIVISION.— Superintendent J. Cotton; Inspector A. B. Perry; Sergt.-Major E. Bradley;
Sergeants W. H Irwin, J. Breadon, H. P. Currier, K. Fitzpatrick, A. White, W. O'Connor, F. W. Spicer; Corporals R. Moore, N. J. Hall, A. E. Harper, E.J. Hodder, A. M. Jarvis;
Constables W. H. Alexander, H. Arcrell, E. J. Alport, William. Banister, J. Brown, G. G. Blake. J. Beatty, J. Brewster, T. A. Blake, T.
Beeby, J. Clancy, W. N. Cox, Clarke, W. Clarke, J. Connell, H. J. Dodsworth, L. P.
Dufoureq, W. C. Diamond, B. Dolan, E. Donnelly, J. D. Greene, G. Gordon, W. B. Higginbotham,
C, Hilliard, C. Herring, D. Joyal, N. Kauth, F. P. Lea, E. J. Lilly, O. P. McRae, W. H. Melder, M. Morrow, W. Moyers, J. Murphy, B. Miller, J. McCarthy, A. McKenzie, W. Neil. N. O'Brien, H. Otchelage, P. Paniter, C. Parker, A. C. Phillips,
S. Pickard, A. Peasnell, A. Rouleau, W. W. Ross, R. Rochester, W. Ryan, W. Sache,
S. W. Stuart, C. Thomas, Ed. Taylor, G. P. Ward, R. Walsh, W. J, Wood, O. Witha, S. Yarwood; Staff Sergeants G. A. Kennedy,
S. Horner, T. Aspden, J. L. Pert, E. C. Wilson.
D DIVISION.—Superintendents L. H. N. Crozier, J. Gagnon; Inspectors J. Howe, W.
S. Morris, F. J. Dickens, G. B. Motfatt; Sergeant-Majors J. M. Kirk, F. G. Dann;
Staff-Sergeants A. B. MacKay, S. Warden, J. W. Rolph, J. A. Martin : Surgeon R. Miller;
Sergeants T. H. Lake, W. C. Smart, A. Keenan, W. Brooks, J. Pringle, A. Stewart, F. Bagley, G. Fraser, C. Loscombe;
Corporals J. McD. McNeill, W. E. Diamond, W. Nevin, C. Chasse, W. P. McConnell, H. J. A. Davidson, F. Fowler, W. Anderson, D.
L. Cowan, H. A. Edmonds, John Collins, R. Ince, G. Leonais, C. Loasby, L. O'Keefe, C. Phillips, J. Quigley, F. Roby, B. H. Robertson, T. H. Gilchrist, R. Rutledge, W. W. Smith, J. Tector, F. F. Warren, R. B. Sleigh: Constables G. Casault, T. Cochrane, A. Cole, C. Cole, D. Davis, J. Dawson, J. C. Degear, A. Dorion, R. Dowsley, G. Dufresne, A. E. Dunn, C. Eales, J. Edwards, T. F. Ellis, L. Fontaine, J. A. Fraser, F. Garton, E. Gairns, J. Gibson, F. G. Gribble, C. Grogan, J. Guthrie, R. Guthrie, B D. Halbhaus, W. H. Hayne, H. Hetherington, H. Hope, G. P. Arnold, R. D. Baugh, R. Carter, T. C. Craigie, O. Cratt, L. Dery, H. Des Barres, J. H. Doyle, John Hynes, W. Jackson, F. Jarvis, W. Kerr. J. Kerr, D.
Lavally, C. Lavoie, F. Lawton, H. Loscomb, W. Lunnin, M. H. Meredith, T.
Milward, A. Montgomery, G. Morrow, A. Murray, W. Murray, T . ???/stier, J. McDermott, T. McKeown, A. Macdonald, D. A. E. McDonnell, A. McMillan, W. McQuarrie, J. Patrick, G.
Pembridge. W. Perkin, F. Doyle, A. Fleming, F. C. Fleming, C. Garrett,
S. F. Gordon, J. Graham, H. B. Hammond, A. E. Heal, C. E. Helmer, J. Herron, T. H. Hoyland, R. W. Jamieson, W. Jones, P. C. LeClair, E.
Littlefield, William Lynch, D. H. Macpherson, S. A. Manners, C. Allen, T. Ashbaugh, H. T. Ayre, A. Bingham, R. J. Browne, P. Burke, W. Perrin, W. H. Potter, F. E. Prior, J. A. Reid, T. J. Redmond, C. Ross, D. Scott, W. Shaw, J. A. Simons, P. W. Simons, W. J. Spencer, G. V. Stevenson, H. Storer,
William Straton, D. Sullivan, W. C. Swiuton, A. Watson, C. H. Wells, T. White, W. Williams, J. Woodhouse, A. H. Woodman, O. Worthiugton, J. Wright, E. F. Davies, P. Hawkins, A. Miller, G. Miles, A. Mountain, W. C. Nunn, G. Oliver, G. Pook, J. Rummerneld, J. Retallack, J. J. Roberts, H. R. Sargent, F. A. Sayre, W. Smith, H. H. Stanton, J.
Street,
A. Sullivan, E. W. Todd, E. Waite, J. H. Wilmot, S. Armour, T. G. D. Boles, C. A. Campbell, C. C. Colebrook, W. Cookson, W. Cunliffe, J. G. Donkin, L. W. Elliott, T. W.
H. Est wick, G. F. A. Koerner, J. Labelle, J. W. Carroll, R. Hobbs, F. Leduc, J. A. McDonald, G. H. Rowley, R.
B. Quelch, E. Snell, O. St. Denis, H. J. Thompson, J. J. Wood, C. Young, J. Yelland.
E DIVISION.—Superintendent W. M. Herchmer; Inspectors W. D. Antrobus, J. B. Steele, T. Dowling, A. H. Griesback; Sergeant-Major T. Wallace; Sergeants J H. Ward, W. Fury, G. E. Grogan, J. C. Gordan. W. B. Wilde, W. Parker; V. S., R.
Riddell; Quarter-master Sergeant H. Hamilton; Hospital Sergeants H. T. Penny,
R. D. Goldert; Corporals A. J. Cudlip, G. Macleod, A. K. C. McDonnell, W. H. T. Lowry, H. V. Goold, J. Richards. P. Walywyn, J.
S. Waddeil; Constables H. Allmett, R. A G. Bell. S. Bond, J. P. Bunt,
S. M. Blake, W. Balch. W. L. Blair, J. Ballendine, G. B. Bossie, A. Clare, T. Craig, J. W Chater, P. H. Belcher, F. H. Bradshaw, A.
L. Davidson, A. Davidson, A. R. Dyre, O. A. Drebrenil. J. Dandy. F. Fane, W.
H Ford, E. L. Glassford. C. R. Hall. S. Hetherington, A. B. Haynes, J. House, G. P. Jones, J. R. Joseph, H. W. C. Jackson, J. Inlest,
S. M. Jarvis, P. Kerr, C. Knight, J. Kenny. W. Latimer, W. Lewis, F.
Littlefield, G. B. Lanaway. R W. Lloyd. W. Morgan, R. Morton, A Moody, M. T. Miller, W. R.
McMinn, D. McRae, J. A. Cameron, J. Chabot, P Coults, E. Cullen. P. J. Curran, J. A. Macdonald, J. McLeod, R Orchard.
C. R. Ogle. S Percival. E. Percival, F. R. Pughe, G. Purches, J. Potts, F. H. Richardson. W. J. Ritchie. J. B. Robinson, W. Routledge. A. C. Rushton, A. H. Rumball. C. Raven, J Ross, H. Shore, W. Sunderland, G. Shaw, C. P. Sheppard, H. Spencer, W. M. Stratton, G. H. Tozer, C. Thompson. A. Taylor, R. B. Vennor, J. Walters, T H. Waring, J. Whipps, J. Wright, W. Mewhart, J. A.
Patterson, H. Schultz, A. Thom, R, S. Unwin.
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