Daily national Democrat., 1858-10-10
The Rcd River settlement.

The Red River Settlement.
A Victoria correspondent of the Alta
vives the following interesting information:
Revond the Rocky Mountains, and Just
north of the 49th parallel, is the Red river
settlement. Of which some of the old resi-
5deuts here occasionally speak with great in
terest. The distance from the Pacific Coast
ia over 900 miles, and the settlement is al
most as inaccessible from the Atlantic side as
from this. Deserts, almost trackless, divide
II from the habitaton of civilized man; only
the moccasned trapper or Indian can pene-
trate there from this side of the continent.
and to reach it--or once thereto escape
from it is considered no inconsiderable ex-
plot
Until lately no paragraph in any newspa-
r,er has recorded its veal or woe, and in
many maps it finds no place, so secluded and
out of the world is its location. Yet, at the
last accounts, it had a population of 1000
souls; IL places of public worship profusely
supplied with clergy (including two bishopsG
actadel of formidable strength and large
size; several large two-story store houses,
with modern conveniences ;" dozen mills /;
ever so many modern FARMS stocked with
fine cattle and provided with all the modern
implements of agriculture; one or two man
ufacturing establishments; Court House,
with Recorder at $4,000 year; a Cover.
nor, staff, and an imposing tody of mounted
police. So little is really known of this
"Red river settlement" beyond what Ross
and Simpson have written, that | feel war
ranted in thus referring to it at such length
This is the largest place in the British North
American possessions west of Her Maiesty's
Atlantic cities.
There is, it is stated more than one good
library there and several good cellars; a
man may dine there according to Sover; drive
fast two-forty nag in a dashing Gabrielle
over the cripse snow; dance the last Celia
rious polka redowa, wi. n ladies of any shade
Of color, from the pure bronze to the more
white; and discuss the principles of human
society and the theory of popular govern.
ments as learnedly as the thing could be
done at Washington or Cincinnati This is
the great centre of the Hudson Bay Compa-
hys operations, and the seat of their power
The region in which the settlement is situated
is described as fertile, and consists of the great
arabic lands in the vicinity of the southern
end of Winnepeg Lake. This fertile district
by no means terminates at the boundary line
but extends far to the southwark, about the
sources Of the Missouri and along the valley
Of the Red river, in our own territory, and
the considerable traffic in peltries which sup
ports the settlement, might be extended into
the territory of the United States, and would
subsist an equally large community. Sever
al of the old residents hereabouts, have
passed part of their lives at Earl SeIkirks
settlement, which was founded by him in
1912, and has grown into its present impor
tance through series Of disasters and calam
tiles of various kinds almost incredible Such
settlement would have now to grow up
subject to the incursons of the Sioux Indians
who yet prove frequent thorns in the side of
the British colony
According to the published speech with
which the Queen opened Parliament, there
will, eventually, be a Gordon of settlements
extending across the continent which. con.
Meeting the Fraser conntry with the Red riv
er community, will bring them in frequent
correspondence with the Pacific coast.
The following paragraph, relating to this
interesting subject, taken from the ST Paul
Pioneer, of July 30th, may have escaped
general notice;
"THE RED RINER SETTLEMENT. .-Simultan-
eous with the movement in this city, (St
Pauls, Minnesota and in the different parts
of the State, for the establishment of an EN-
igrant route through Minnesota and the Bri-
tish Possessions to the new field of adventure
on Fraser river the opportune arrival of
some 900 carts from the Red river laden with
the furs of that region, had the effect of di
recting public attention more Immediately to
the growing Importance of our commercial
relaticSs with these remarkable settlements,
while it furnished, at the same time, a multi.
tude OF witnesses not only TO the advantage
OF the proposed route, but to the richness of
the resources which such a route would de-
velop, and to the beauty and fertility of the
region tributary to the valley of the Misss-
aPpi, which it would open to colonization.
The novel appearance of the visitors them
selves,the odd uniformity of their costume of
coarse blue cloth, with its barbaric opulence
Of brass buttons and fanciful ostentations of
red belts; the strange mixture of complexion
winch they present-all the way down from
Me lar skin and light, soft curls of the Celt,
eS the dlngy color and straight black hair of
'le Indian, with every intermediate shade
winch the amalgamation of races could pro-
uucei their language as various as their ori
gm-1 curious medley of Chippewa, Cree,
french, English and Gaelic their rude
wooden carts, guiltless of iron even to the
Venlal peceadillo of nail, drawn for the
:s nos' part by oxen, harnessed singly in shafts,
sn siIh gearing made of strips of rawhide, and
n"ag IN long procession through the streets
=, Ine city with the disciplined sequence of
on 81 Asauc caravan; it is not surprising that
s"eSe incidents of social life, removed at once
~om CarOarism aud civilization, should have
r1.'.eo ~ some Interest in the history of a peo.
i' "sho' with the marks of European ex-
J' JiactlOn' emerge from the depths of the viii.
age" i''''S u ''ie '"N'