The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1884-03-13
The Riel Rebellion.

A Winnipeg letter says: The here
tofore unwritten chapter of history is
just given regarding the provisional
government under the presidency of
Louis Riel After the rebellion of
1869 and 1870 Riel, LIE Pine and O'Do-
noghue, with a few followers, seized
Fort Garry and the Hudson Bay Com
panys stores, and established an al
legged government, which was nearly
overthrown by the loyalist settlers
under the leadership of Dr. Schultz,
DIR. Brown, Major Wallace and Mr..
Scott. Riel and his companions deter
mined to make an example of the lead
ers, and Schultz, now a member of the
dominion parliament, would have been
shot had he not escaped to the United
States. Scott was a man of ungovern-
able temper, and this furnished pre-
text for his taking off. The freezing
and starving process the prisoners
were subjected to did not improve his
temper, and one day, in a fit of pas
sion, he crowned his acts of insuhordi-
nation by a violent assault upon sem
try who came within his reach. This
sealed his doom. A court-martial was
hastily summoned, at which Adj. Gen.
LIE Pine presided, and the prisoner,
who could no. comprehend word of
the proceedings, was condemned to be
shot forthwith. All efforts of the Hon.
ID. A. Smith Bannatyne and the Rev.
MIR. Young to procure even respite
proved unavailing. Riel and LIE Pine,
lnt1amed by rum and resentment and
melted by O'Donoghue, determined to
carry out the programme. The doomed
man was led out into the barrack-yard,
and, after two volleys from the clumsy
and inexperienced firing party, fell
back on the rude box which was to
serve as his coffin. Riel refused to
give up the body, and what became of
it is mystery to this day.
A man who was at that time con-
nected with the Fort Garry Nea0 Ma
ton, the organ of the provisional gov
ernment, relates for the first time the
particulars of the murder of Scott,
showing that he was thrust into his
coffin, and lay there five hours terribly
wounded, with the mercury below zero,
before receiving his death shot The
editor of tie NeW Nation was an old
eountryman, Maj. II. NJ. Robinson. On
the afternoon of the death of Scott,
Maj. Robinson was sent for from the
fort by Scott. He returned some two
hours afterward utterly unnerved and
horror-stricken, and in an intense state
of nervousness. He said that Riel had
desired him to defend in the NeW Nc
ton the shooting OF Scott as an act of
necessity to the provisional govern
ment. Major Robinson could not credit
that the deed of blood had actually
been done, and expressed his incredul-
ity. Seeing this. Riel led the major
into the court, and to one of the sheds
which lined the interior walls, where
stood a sentry. As they approached
Riel threw open the door, exposing
bex, from which blood was dripping
into the snow. Hardly had the major
realized the grim fact before he was
Mortified by hearing a voice proceeding
from within the box, exclaiming in dis
tino tones:
"Oh, let me out of this Ny God,
how | suffer!'
With his blood curdling in his veins
the major retreated from the spot
Riel called the sentry and the two en-
tered the shed and closed the door.
A moment later there was sound of q
shot within, and Scott was probably
released from torture. Riel returned
with the major to the fort where he
dismissed him with q significant warn
ing to secresy. To comprehend the
full horror of this tragedy, it must be
remembered that this occurred five
hours after Scott had been shot and
coffined, and with the thermometer
many degrees below zero. Major
Robinson left Immediately for England.