The Dallas daily herald. [volume] (Dallas, Tex.) 1873-1887, 1885-05-03
THE WINNIPEG WARRIORS
LOUIS algL AND HIS REBELS,
Interview With Man Who Has Seen
Them and Their Country p Personal
Sketches and Social Customs
Scraps of History.

peg. He claimed to know Riel, and was
full of talk about the rebellion and the
country. He Is sure that it isn't Goods
country" yet awhile. 'No place for
Waite man, though he thought few
years would put it ahead of Dakota in
many respects. Some of his expert
ences were Interesting. A few years
ago he went from southern Wisconsin
to Dakota and took up claim.
Malaria killed has wife and chill
drap, and the alkli lands disguised
him. He went down to Winnipeg, then
on che boom. 81 got rs day at paper
hanging, but that wasn't much.n He
ived in the Assiniboine Valley with the
Canadian Pacific railway builders.
Then he struck a JOB with party of
government engineers locating boun-
DIARIES. He went as far west as Edmun-
ton, at the foot of the Rockies, having
followed the Saskatchewan for several
hundred miles. Then they pushed north
from Edmunton, living for some months
n the region at the headwaters of the
Athabasca. On the return eastward
they had followed more northerly
trail than that which led them west
ward; and had, finally, after exploring
and surveying up the Nelson river and
around Lake Winnipeg, come down
once more into the comparative clyiliza-
sion of Manitoba. The Assiniboine cOan-
try from Winnipeg west, he says, will
% ettle up fairly well. There are
many half breed settlements
and trading posts all along the river,
On the Saskatchewan he describes the
cOontry as nearly level, and the timber
"a 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 land is
staked out strip of fou rods is re-
served on all sides of it for q road.
"What about the people?v l asked.
The question "Iiled" him. "The god
forsakenest cattle in creation" he said.
He spoke especially of the settlements
on the Saskatchewan. ''The men lust
don't know nothin'. We speak OF 'em
as half-breeds, but some of 'em are
hRlf-breeds, and some a 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 lHdian mixed, and they
talk more Indian than anything else
The pure-blooded Indians-the Crees
or instance-are decenter titan the half
reeds, and know more. Schools? not
any, except few in the biggest settle
ments. There's priests, but they're
much like the rest of 'em."
CHOW, let me tell you; staid at place
for a while that didn't have no name
but Forks. II must have been 500 or
900 miles from Winnipeg. 1t was a
little clearing In the timber, though one
way the land was grass land, except
where it thinned out TO alkaii.
There was a Hudson Bay company's
store there. Hunting was good and
fishing was plenty. never SEQ money
all the time | was there. A man WOuld
60 TO the store Tor a pound OF tea
They'd give II to him-mighty poor tea,
tOO-and charge him ANYTHING they
pleased In skins. Three mink skins is
about the usual price for pound of tea
Halt dozen mink skins III get an OK,
and SO 1t goes. l tell you that fur com
pany is the biggest robber in God's
world. II gets thousands of dollars worth
of furs out of thosepoor devils every
year for just nothing. | say fair barter's
good business but the trade III unequal
right on the ground. OF course a fur
isn't worth anything 80 much up there
as II is in London or the States, but /
look at II this way: IL takes more work
and more wits TO get a mink skin on'n
the animal and into the tradin' post
than IL does TO bring pound of grocer.
ioH i,Vih tho VIZ ihdihot up lutO tnelr
woods. No, guess the good fur anil
mails amt playin' out any vet. It's a
big country up there, and the wood are
full of'em.
"But was telling VOC about this
family where stopped. IL was a log
house, with only one room, of course,
The old man was mostly French. There
was dozen children, more or less. The
biggest girls wasn't bad looking, and
wore calico dresses, Are any of your
girls marriedr | asked the old man. lie
was tunin' a tlddle-everybody hddles
up thera-and he gave laugh and saws:
mo, there amt none of the gals mar
ried.' Are these all your childrenY I
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 old
est girl, and there was baby that be-
longed TO the second girl. She was
red-cheeked young wonch, not over H.,
and she took the baby as II il
was pretty good joke. The old
man smoked and worked away at
his fiddle while, and then of a sud.
a on he turned around on the bench 10
this girl and says: 'T'nette, who the
Father OF your babesp and the girl gets
r Cd little an says: Guess it's one of
them soldiers was up here last sum.
mer.'
"I took one OF the old mans daughters
90 dance one night. II was at the post,
about two miles down the valley. We
drove in a two-wheeled cart. Their
dances beat oil you ever see. They
know square dances pretty well, but
when they get fairly warmed up they
60 in for the Jig. A couple will take the
n cor and dance jig, facin' each other,
and now and then circlin' round till one
OF The other of 'em tires out. Then a
fresh partner Jumps onto the floor and
keeps II up. Sometimes the womeni N
tire out three or four men. I've seen
z iris 20 To these dances barefoot, and
put on heavy shoes to dance i'm. I've
9 een queer things at those dances.
There's some drinking of course. They
rink raw spirils--alcohol-in their tea. v
This il the class of people that sylnpa
thl2o with and support Louis Reii. NV
Informant said he had seen Rel nj Fort
GSrry. "He IL smart looking man and
NJ ugly ono. don't see how he car
make such stand against troops. /
don't believe he can raise over 5000 In,
diGns and half.breeds In that whole
country, But It's a tough country for
the troops from down east 20 70 into
They'll DO worried sick more'n they'll
- ohVt III hkutrs lnoroh some mus.
quitos up there too. They're as bad ~
che Indians
The history and problems OF the north.
west territories are full OF interest, The
northwest states, Wisconsin, Minnesota
and Dakota, have good many sons In
Manitoba, and alive to the progress of
the rebellion. The Indians who figured
IN the famous Minnesota massacres are
followers OF Riel. There have been
colonies on the Red river since 1871. In
1895 the Hudson Bay company bought
what II now the Province OF Nanitoba
from the Earl OF Selklrk, who had a
large tract, including Manitoba and as.
stniboine, the adjoining province ON
tno west, from the Crown In 1911. Fort
Gary was the heao OF local govern.
ment under the Hudson Bay com.
pany. In 1869 the Dominion oi
Canada acquired the territory from
the HudeOn Raw camnanv E,,an