The Indianapolis sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1880-1904, 1885-04-24

A Man Who Has Seen Them aud Their
Country.


| from Winnipeg. He had lived in Manitoba
for three years. and travelled widely in the
| Northwest Territory and wintered 500 miles
northwest Of Winnipeg He claimed
to know Riel, and was full
| Of talk about the rebellion and
isn't GODS country" yet awhile. mo
| place for q white man." though be thought
| a few years would put il ahead OF Dakota in
many respects. Some OF his experiences
were interesting few years ago be went
| from Southern Wisconsin TO Dakota and
took up 8 claim. Malaria killed his wife
and children and the alkl lands Disguised
| him. He went down to Winnipeg, then on
] the boom. Il got s. a Gay at paper hanging,
| but that wasn't much" He lived in the
Assiniboine Valley With the Canadian Pa.
| cifc Railway builders. Then he struck q
| job with party of Government engineers
| locating boundaries. He went ga far west as
| Edmunton, st the foot of the Rockies hav-
ing followed the Saskatchewan for several
hundred miles. Then they pushed north
from Edmunton. living for some months in
the region at the headwaters of the Atha-
bssca. On the return eastward they had fol-
lowed more northerly trail than that which
led them westward; and had finally, after
exploring and surveying up the Nelson River
and around Lake Winnipeg, come down once
more Into the comparative civilization of
Manitoba The Assiniboine country from
Winnipeg vest, he ssys. will settle up fairly
well. There are many half breed settlements
and trading posts all along the river On
the Saskatchewan he describes the country
as nearly Level, and the timber as mostly
spruce. Corn won't ripen, but they get some
| vegetables The roads, wherever the country
is settled at all are very good, except when
| flooded. Whenever a section of la1d is
stalked ont a strip nf four rods IS reserved on
all sides of 1t for road.
What about The peope?" | asked.
fE-sr -
| sakenest cattle in creation" he SAID. He
| spoke especially of the settlements on the
Saskatchewan. The men just don't know
nothin'. We speak OF 'em as half breeds
but some OF 'em are half breeds, and some q
| quarter and some you can't tell anything
| about. | didn't see many men from the
| States, except such as me, who were on busi-
| ness and on the move. It's mostly French
| and ndian mixed, and they talk more Iu-
| dian than anything else. The pure bloodei
| Indisns-the Crses, for instence-are de-
center than the half breeds, and know more.
| Schools not any, except few in the biggist
settlen ents There's priests, bat they're
much like the rest OF EN-"
Now. let me tell you; staid at a place for
| awhile that didn't have no name but Forks.
1t must have been 500 or 600 NILS from Win
! nipeg. 1t was little clearing in the timber,
though or way the land was grass land ex-
! cept where ii tbinned out to alkah. There
was Hudson Bay Companys store there
| Hunting was good and fishing was plenty. |
never see money all the time 1 was there. A
man would 60 to the store for pound of tea
| They'd give it to him-mighty poor tea, too
end charge him anything they pleased in
skins. Three mink skins is about the usual
price for q pound of tea. Half dozen mink
skins III get an OK, and 50 il goes. tell you
that fur company is the biggest robber in
! Gods world. 1t gets thousands of dollars
worth of furs out of those poor devils every
| e. .-aI IL =
| good business. bat the trade is unequal right
on the ground. OF course fur isn't worth
snything so much up there as it is in Lon
| don or the States but look at 1t this way:
1 IL tas es more work and more wits to get
| mink skin of n the animal and into the
| 81 ocerles from the big market up into their
woods. No, guess the good fur animals
amt plsyin' out any yet. It's big country
up there, and the woods are full of 'em.
but was telling you about this family
where stopped. 1t was log house. with
4 only one room, OF course. The old man was
mostly French. There was dozen children,
more ore less. The biggest girls wasn't bad
| looking and wore calico dresses. Are any
at your girls married. a,ked the old man.
He was tunin' aiddle-everybody fiddles up
| there-and he gave a laugh, and says: No.
there anih't none OF the gals married. Are
these all your children 1 asked. by'n by.
| for we was all smokin' and everybody was
| good natured. Then he laughed again and
shook his head, and pointed three or four of
the little ones. Two of 'em belonged to his
oldest girl, and there was baby that be.
ionged TO the second girl. She was red
checked young wench not over seventeen
and she took the baby as If it was a pretty
good Joke. The old man smoked and worked
away at his fiddle while aud then of sud.
den he turIed around on the bench to this
girl and SAWS 'Tnette, who the father of
your babee?' ard the girl gets red little an
says: Cues It's one OF them soldiers was up
here last summer
II took one of the old mans daughters to
dance one night. II was at the post, about
two miles down the valley. We drove In q
two " heeled cart. Their dances beat all you
ever see. They know square dances pretty
well, but when they get fairly warmed up
they go in for the jig A couple will take
The floor and dance a jig, facin' each other,
and now and then ciIciin' round till one or
the other Of 'em tires out. Then fresh
partner Jumps onto the floor and keeps 1t up.
Sometimes the women'll tire out three or
four men. I've seen girls 60 to these dances
barefoot, and put on heavy shoes TO dance
10. I've seen queer things at those dances
There's some drinking of course. They drink
raw spirits -alcohol-in.their tea"
This is the class of people that svmpathize
with and support Louis Riel. Ny Inform.
AIT said lie had seen Rel at Fort Garry He
is a smart looking man and an ugly one
don't see bow he can make such stand
against troops j don't believe hs can raise
over ,oo0 Inc ians and half-breeds in that
whole country. Bat it's tough country
for the troops from dawn East to go INTO.
They'll be worried sick more'n they'll be
shot in fights There's some mosquitoes up
there toe. They're as bad az the Indians;'
The history and problems of the North.
west Territories are full of interest The
Northwest States - Wisconsin, Minnesota
and Dakota-bave a good macy sous in
Manitoba and are alive 10 the progress of
the rebellion. The Indians who figured in
tie famous Minnesota msssacres are follow.
ers OF Rel. There have been colonies on the
Red River since 1911. In 1885 the Hods N
Bay Company bought what is now the