St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-03-27
"Reminiscences of RieI.

''Where Gertsen's store now stands, on
First street north, is where Louis Riel, the
Canadian rebel, once clerked," said Mime
apolis man, yesterday. ''It was wooden
building and the grocery was run by French
firm, Marcalte & Lachone."
''That is undoubtedly true,'' said Mr.. 2.
Demeules, the First street grocer. 81 re-
member well when ne was there, as well as
the several times I saw him afterward.
Many of the published statements and es-
pecially that of Minneapolis evening pa
per contain inaccuracies, which you may
correct. The last time l saw Riel was in the
summer of 1874, when he called on me at
my house in Osseo. Before that, saw him
quite frequently in st. Paul-nearly every
day, in fact. In the winter of 1873, was a
memb of the legislature and Riel spent the
winter in st. Paul, stopping at hotel
forgot the name-on Eagle street
l got TO know him quite well and
saw him frequently. One night l remember
it well, was in his room. Lepine was with
him-the man, you know, who was his lieu
tenant in the insurrection of 1910. Senator
Girard was also in the room. Girard was
life senator from Manitoba and was in st.
Paul on his way home. He and Riel were
having political discussion and l rememb Der
Riel's rising and saying very impressively,
Senator, the voice of the people is the voice
OF God After that l proposed We 60 out
and get glass Of beer. and We went to a
saloon opposite the Merchants hotel We
had been in there some little time when some
Englishmen came in. Riel at once saw them,
and imagining they were detectives or Off
GERS, exclaimed he was dead man and went
out the back door. They were only travellers.
though we detained them for some time.
That was the only exciting incident re-
member, though many things come back to
me when sit down and think"
''How did your acquaintance with Riel be-
gin!"
"Wel, I'll tell you. Let me see. The
elder Riel, the father, was one OF Winnipeg's
pioneers. He built the first saw-mill up
there. He was really carder by trade, and
put up the mill at st. Boniface.
YOUNG LOUIS
had obtained the rudiments of an education,
and was blight, intelligent young man. He
attracted the attention Of Bishop Sache of
Manitoba, who gave him a letter to Mrs. Ma
sou of Montreal. This lady sent him to
school and there we first met We were not
in the same class, as l am an older man
than he, and we had really no acquaintance.
He then came out here and / saw him in
1855. 1t was at the Desnoyers house, half
way between here and St. Paul, that we met
/ did not know him, but be called me by
name and addressed me in Latin, for he was
a very accomplished man. Now, that's all 1
know Of him, in that way. know some
thing of his character, which the GLOBE has
portrayed very correctly. Some of
the Minneapolis papers have misrepresented
him and called him villain,
which is wrong. He is no villain. He is
brilliant, intelligent, highly-educated, far
seeing man, morally high and brave as a
lion. He takes all these from his father, who
was always leader among the half breeds.
They looked to him for everything and es-
pecially for advice and protection in matters
relating to the Hudson Bay company. This
monopoly was q crusher, and no half-breed
or trader could buy fur or skin from the
Indians
This was about all Mr.. Demeules could re-
call. 1t afterward came to him that DR..
Guernon, now OF Little Falls, was in the
room when Riel had the political discussion
with Senator Girard, in which he was so dra-
matte. Riel has an uncle living in Mime
apolis at this time. He is trader, and being
out Of the city at present the GLOBE envoy
WIS unable to find him.