St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-03-28
Riel's F rmer Record.

The following curious mosaic of fact and
fiction concerning Riel's career was contrib
uted by writer in the New York Sun:
Louis R;el who has organized the rebellion,
is the man who made Lord Wolseley Brit
ish general and peer. But for RiePs rising
in 1870 Wolseley, then lieutenant colonel
in Canada, with small hopes of preferment,
would have missed his chance of leading the
Red river expedition, which brought him first
into notice and led TO all his subsequent pre-
ferment. Riel has had remarkable career.
He is a native of Manitoba, having been
born there forty-one years ago under the old
Hudson bay regime He is of French an
cestry and has some Indian blood in his
veins. Well educated, bold and insinuating
in his manners he was just the man to place
himself at the head of the French half-breeds
when they resolved to resist the intrusion of
the Canadians after the purchase of the terri
torial rights Of the Hudson's Bay company in
1859. 1t was always suspected that some of
the officers of the Hudson's Bay company
were the real incitors of the revolt, owing to
their discomfort at new government being
set up where they had SO long had undis
puted sway.
However that NAV have been, the move
meDts I'm der Riel's leadership soon passed
beyond their control. A provisional govern
ment was set up at Fort Garry, the Hudson's
Bay company's fort, and property there was
seized and thus Riel and his associates be-
came possessed of hundreds of thousands Of
dollars worth of property, including fort
with abundance of arms and ammunition.
A number Of English settlers undertook
to resist Riels authority, but their
little rebellion was nipped in the bud, and
one of them, named Thomas Scott of On
tario, was shot by Riel's orders. This event
has left behind it bitter feelings in the prov
ince of Ontario, and it would be decidly I'M
healthy for Riel to appear in that province
even at this late day.
AS soon as Wolseley at the head Of his
regulars and militia appeared at Fort Garry,
Riel fed and his government dissolved. 1t
was another Sedan. When the Fenians.
under O'Donahue, proposed to invade Man
itoba few months later, Riel again came to
the surface, this time as loyalst, and Of
fered his services to Gov. Archibald to resist
the invaders. In 1873 he was elected one
Of the Manitoba representatives in parlia-
ment, and actually went to Ottawa to take
seat. He was sworn in by the clerk one day
when no one was about but when the news
got abroad there was such q cry for Riel's
blood that he left Ottawa without making any
farewell calls, and has not been in the Do
minion capital since. Soon after, on motion
OF the present minister Of customs, Mr.
Mackenzie Bowel, Riel was expelled from
parliament aud his seat declared vacant.
Since then be has spent most of his time in
the United States. In the meantime changed
conditions have left the old half-breed leader
wholly without influence in Manitoba. What
ever grievances the ha!f-breeds had in that
province have long since been redressed,
and the leader of the Manitoba government,
Mr.. Norquay, is a half-breed.
But at Prince Albert, where the population
is still sparse, the condition of things is diff
ferent. There are some eight or nine hum
dred French half-breeds, and probably five
hundred Scotch half-breeds, who, added to
the Indian population, quite outnun Der the
four or five hundred settlers from other parts
OF Canada residing in that vicinity. The
half-breed grievance at Prince Albert Is sim
ply demand for more land. When the ter
ritory became part Of Canada they received
grants on pretty liberal scale, but now they
want more in proportion to the number of
their families. AS there is plenty of land to
spare in the Canadian Northwest there should
have been no difficulty in granting any rea-
sonable demand for ii that the half-breeds
might make, but red tape seems to have de-
layed the redress of grievances, and the half
breeds tired of waiting, have taken the law
into their own hands.