The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1885-04-29
REBEL kIEL's MEN.

REBEL kIEL's MEN.
A Mar Who Has Seen Them and raeir
Country.
Correspondence Buffalo Express
met q man to-day who was just down
from winnipeg. He mad lived in Manitoba
for three years, and travelled widely in the
Northwest Territory and wintered 500 miles
northwest Of Winnipeg. He c!aimsd
to iknow Riel, and was full
isn't Gods country" yet awhile. NO
place for white man" though he thought
q few years would put it ahead Of Dakots in
many respects. Some of his experiences
were interesting. A few years ago he we1t
from Southern Wisconsin to Dakota aud
took up q claim Malaria killed his wife
and children and the alkli lands disgustsi
him. BE went down to Winnipeg, then on
the boom. II got IS day at paper hanging
but that wasn't much" He lived in the
Assiniboine Valley with the Canadian Pa
cifc Railway builders. Then be struck
job with party of Government engineers
locating boundaries. He went as far west ae
Edmunton, at the foot of the Rockies, hay
ing followed the Saskatchewan for several
hundred miles. Then they pushed north
from Edmunton, living for SONS mouths in
the region at the headwaters of the Atna-
bsscs. On the return eastward they had fol-
lowed a more northsrly trail than that which
led them westward; and had finally, stser
exploring ard surveying up the Nelson River
and around Lake Winnipeg. CONS down oncs
more into the comparative ciyiliz alton OF
Manitoba. The Assinibolne country from
Winnipeg west, he says will settle up fairly
well. There are many half breed settlements
and trading posts all along the river. On
the Sack stchewan he describes the country
81 - - l..
spruce. Corn won't ripeD, but they get soma
vegetables The roads wherever the country
"a settled st all are very good, excep. when
flooded. Whenever a section of la1d is
sfalked out strip of four rods Is reserved on
all rides Of il for road.
What about The people?' / asked.
The question 'riled" him The god-for
sakepest 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 hsif-b-s !.
but some OF 'em are half breeds, and so.4s 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 bust
ness and on the move. It's mostly French
and Indian mixed, and they talk more To-
dian than nything else. The pure FLOODED
Indians-the Crees, for instance-are de-
center than the half breeds, and know more.
Schools not any, except a few in the biggist
settlements. There's priests, but they re
much like the rest of 'em."
Now, let me tell you; staid at place for
awhile that didn't have no name but Forks.
1t must have been 500 or 800 miles from Win
nipeg. 1t was little clearing in the timber,
though one way the land was grass land. ex-
cept where il thinned out to alkall. There
wss Hudson Bay Company's store there
Hunting was good and fishing was plenty. l
never see money all the time was there. A
man would go to the store for pound of tea.
They'd give it to him-mighty poor tea, too
and charge him anything they pleased in
skins. Three mink skins is about the usual
price for a pound of tea. Halt 8 dozen mink
skins III get an OK and SO it goes. tell you
that fur company is the biggest r0bber in
Gods world. 1t gets thousands of dollars
worth of furs out nose poor devils every
year for Just noth -. / say fair barter S
good business. but tie trade is unequal right
on the ground. OF course a fur isn't worth
snything so much up there as ii is in Lon
| don or the States, but look at 1t this way
Il takes more work and more wits to get a
mini skin off'n the animal and into the
trsdin' post than ii does to bring s. pound of
| groceries from the big market mp into their
woods. No, guess the good fur animals
amt playin' out any yet. Its big country
up there, and the woods are full of 'em.
But was telling you about this family
where l stopped. 1t was log house, with
only one room, of course. The old man was
| mostly French. There was dozen children,
more ore less. The biggest girls wasn't bad
| locking, and wore calico dresses. Are sny
of your girls msrried?' 1 asked the old man.
| He was tunin' a fddle-everybody iddles up
there-and he gave laugh, ano says: No.
there anin't none of the gals married. Are
| these ell Your childrenr ] asked. by'n by,
for we was ell smokin' and every body was
| good natured. Then he laughed again aud
shook his head, and pointed three or four Of
the little ones. Two of 'em belonged to bis
Oldest girl, and there was q baby tbs. be
I longed TO the second girl. She was red
| checked young wepch not over seventeen,
| and che took the baby as il it was pretty
| good Joke. The old man smoked and worried
| away at his fiddle q while; and then of Id
| den be turned around on the bsnch to this
| girl and saws: 'Tnette, who the father oil
| your babee?' and the girl gets red a little n
| says: Guess it's one OF them soldiers was %
| here last summer
III 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 a
! two-w heeled cart Their dances beat all you
| ever see. They know square dances pretty
well, but when they get fairly warmed up
the floor and dance jig. facin' each other,
and now and then ciiclin' round till one o.
| the other of 'em tires out. Then a fresh
partner Jumps onto the floor aud keeps it up.
| Sometimes the w0men'li tire out three or
four men. I've seen girls go to these dances
barefoot, and put on heavy shoes TO dance
| in. I've seen queer things at those dances
| There's some drink king of course. They drink
raw spirits alcohol -in.their tea."
This ia the class OF people that sympathze
with and support Louis Riel. Ny inform.
ant said he had seen Riel at Fort Garry. "He
Is smart looking man end an ugly one.
don's SEE bow he can make such q stand
-. k.-Tr L.
over 5000 Ia, isns aud hslf.bree5s in that
whole country. Bot it's q tough country
for The troops from dawn Hsst 10 go INTO.
They'll be worried sick more'n they'll be