Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1885-11-28
EXECUTION or EIGHT INDIANS
For Murder In Riel's Rebellion-The
Wives ofthe Con ndemned Braves Attend
the Execution-All Die Instantly, Ap.
parently Without Struggle.


guilty of murder at Frog Lake and Battleford.
occurred at 1927 Friday morning. The gal.
lows worked without friction. Seven of the
number we're active participants in the horri-
BILE massacre at Frog Lake on April Sd.
The bloody work was begun by Wandering
Spirit and afterwards carried on under his
direction until the white people of the Frog
Lake settlement were almost exterminated
On the morning of the fatal day, according
to most trustworthy accounts, a number OF
Indians of Big Bears band determined to put
stop to the white mans reign and to assert
their own sovereignty over the land. This
was believed to be in consequence of Riel's
uprising. Up to the morning of April Sd no
hostile demonstrations had been made. Good
Friday service was held in the little church
by Rev. Fathers Faford and Marchand, Ahlate
missionaries. While the people were gath
cred in the church Wandering Spirit marched
in covered with war paint and carrying his
winchester with an air of insolent bravado
Some time after the close of the service and
while the congregation was dispensing, the
Indian ring leader proceeded to the agent s
house in front of which he met Quinn and
Chas. Gown, another American half breed
He ordered Quinn to 60 to the Indian camp.
Quinn refused and the next moment was shot
dead. The fall of Quinn was the signal for
an outbreak.
GOWN was the second victim and John De-
laney, also representative of the govern
ment, the third. Gowanlock, the miller, was
brutally murdered in his wife's presence
Dill, Williscrott and Gilchrist were killed as
they sought to escape. The priests who
earnestly endeavored to stay the work of the
murderers, were themselves shot down. The
whole affair occupied only a short period.
The only males who escaped were Quinn,
nephew of the murdered agent and the en-
ployees of the Hudson Bay company. The
former made his way to Fort Pitt with the
news of the massacre. The latter Ow ed their
safety to the respect which the name of their
company always inspires among the Indians.
They, with the women captives. were obliged
to accompany Big Bears band in all their
subsequent wanderings, until finally released
through the instrumentality of friendly Wood
Crees and half breeds and brought into Gen.
Middletown's camp.
The day broke dark and cloudy and with
the air frosty. The government authorities
had permitted the savages from the reserves,
distant ten to fifteen miles from this post. to
be present at the execution, and all night
clusters of braves hung about the stores and
camped out on the open ground in the vicn-
ity of the mounted police, but the presence
of sentries prevented them from approaching
near the cells occupied by the condemned.
Camp fires lit up the praires, and the COM
rades of warriors to be executed could be
heard chanting the death songs of their tribes.
The gallows stood out in bold relief, having
been placed near the military post in open
view to enable the late warning savages to
witness the death penalties passed upon their
leaders. Fathers Bignosise and Cochin re-
mained with the warriors all night and
received their last wishes.
They nearly all remained wakeful during
the entire night, bnt one or two lay down
on blankets and slept from midnight
till the early hours of the morning. None of
them displayed any unusual signs of excite
ment but remained stoicsl up to the hour of
their appearance on the scsffold. A very
strong guard was thrown around the galiows
by 7 o'clock. At 7.3O each man was pinioned
and, guarded on either side, marched to the
scafold, taking his place on the trap. When
they were asked if they had anything to say
Wandering Spirit began to speak in his ma
tive tongue, acknowledging that he deserved
death. He warned his people not to make
war on the whites as they were their friends.
He told of the Frog Lake massacre and took
the burden of the crime on himself.
He was followed by miserable man. who
spoke in the same strains. When he had
concluded. the savages who had remained
quiet throughout the speeches, except to ex-
claim show" at various periods during Wan
dering Spirits address when they conceded
in his views, then began to chant their death
song, while the priests could be heard recit-
ing prayers. The chanting of the savages
continued even after the white caps had been
adjusted, and in the middle of the song the
bolt was drawn and all fell together, every
one apparently dying instantly. A
DR.. Ralph examined the bodies and 10
nounced life extinct. After hanging lANA,.
utes, the bodies we're cut down and placed in
coffins and handed over to the coroner and
jury. All arrangements had been calculated
with precision, and as the result the execu-
ton occurred without any mishsp. The In
dians, who stood at distance and witnessed
the affair. were very quiet, and the silence
was only broken by the wailing of the wives
of the condemned braves.
The savages generally left for their homes
after the execution and those who remain
show no signs of excitement.