St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1888-05-27
A TRIBUTE TO Mr.. KITTSON
By One Who Knew His Red River Val.
ley Career.
THE REVOLT OF 1s4s
And Mr. Kitts0n's Part in H---A Glance
at Events of the Past Forty
Years.

demonstrations at st. Paul and else
where to the memory of n. w. Kittson,
and only upon one point-his career
from 1916 to 1856 in the Red river val
ley-am enabled to furnish further ma
terials to the narrative of his useful and
honorable life. When he came to Penn.
bina in 1915, it was not, as Gen. Sibley
has correctly stated, as an employee or
officer of the American Fur company,
but he established himself in a
new field" and became free trader.
1t was not long before he carried his op-
position to the HudSOn'S Bay company
TO st. Boniface and Fort Garry, and pur-
CHASED for family residence site
which is now the heart of the CITY of
winnipeg, and subsequently became
the property and residence of A. G. II.
Bannatyne. Thus personally identified
with the Selkirk settlement, his rare
gifts OF mind and heart secured de-
gree OF confidence and influence, which
resulted in the success of his business
enterprises and also "a historical fact of
great significance in the emancipation
or MALT a continent from the monopoly
OF the fur trade, claimed and previously
enforced by The HudsOn's Bay company.
he was practically the leader of the
POPULAR REVOLT
OF lS49, for that object, although it was
under the apparent direction of James
Sinclair, Andrew McDermot and Louis
Klel, 81, representing the Scotch-Eng-
llsh, Irish and French elements of the
population. The local government of
the settlement, including recorder or
Judge, were the appointments of the
company, and although their admins
tratlon was generally satisfactory, vet
upon the vital question of free trade i'm
turs, these officials were distrusted by
the people. A crisis was reached i'm
1S49, when Pierre Guilleaum Saver (the
pane often written William Sayre) was
brought to trial before Adam Thorn, of
the quarterly court of what was Off
clally known as the Colony of Assinni-
Doine. There was no profession or
guild OF lawyers in those days, and
when Sayer was arraigned Sinclair and
Rlel appeared for his defense, and on
being asked by Judge Thorn in what
capacity, replied, ''as delegates of the
people" Their intervention was en-
phasized by the presence around the
Old court house at Fort Garry of an
armed body OF settlers, quietly awaiting
the result OF the proceedings, but it was
well understood III the court room the
Imprisonment of Sayer or other tangible.
lnt1lction of penalty for the offense
charged against him, of accepting furs
from Indians in exchange for goods"
would be fOrcibly resisted. The result
was, with nominal verdict of conyic-
ton, that the chief factor of the COM
pany at Fort Garry bought the furs of
Sayer in open court; Judgment was ar
rested, and the prisoner left the court
house with general feu de joie and
shouts of ''Vive la liberte," and Trade
is free" So much for brief historical
record of the era of free trade inaugur-
ated in the colony of ASsinniboine and
the Winnipeg and Mackenzie districts
of North America simultaneously with
the organization of the American
TERRITORY OF MINNESOTA,
but hope to be INDUCED in few per-
sonal and other incidents of this inn
portant event.
First-There may be some exception
to the term ''leader," as applied to Mr..
Kittson's Intervention. Certainly he
organized and directed the movement,
but, as may be said of him in other emerg-
encies, he was Indifferent to notoriety
and intrusted its execution as far as
possible to others. AT his instance,
Rev. &. A. Beleourt, a Catholic clergy
man of st. Joseph, near Pembina,
formulated and circulated a Pc
titiOn to the queen in council against
corporate monopoly of the fur trade.
which was rapidly followed by
popular demonstrations eliminating as
above stated in the surrender by the
HudSOn'S Bay company of the exclusive
(as alleged) right to trade i'll furs.
Equally transformations and no less
effective was the agency of Andrew Nc.
Dermot. The prominent and dramatic
rnlr
Sayer-JameS Sinclair and the elder
Louis Riel.
Second-While in the vicinity of Fort
Garry, the Hudson's Bay company fully
accepted the emancipation of trade, vet
few years were necessary at remote
posts to establish the new order of
things. Thus in 1851, two years after
wards, A. q. b. Bannatyne was arrested
at Norway house, on the northern eX-
tremity of Lake Winnipeg, for trading
i'll furs, but as he
RETURNED IN CUSTODY
to Fort Garry, it required his we'll
of prisoner which he well understood
could have no other result than to as.
sure him (as it proved London Of Leip
sic prices for the furS taken from his
possession.
Third-A word more of Sinclair. Up.
on the suggestion of Mr.. Kittson, he
purchased tract of land in st. Paul,
now valued by millions, but emigrating
to Oregon soon afterwards, he relin.
pushed it. He led a considerable colo
ny to the Western coast, and was killed
during war with Oregon Indians. He
was a remarkable man-one of prOmi-
William Sinclair, last Earl of Orkney,
before the final transfer of the Orkney
islands to Scotland.
Fiye-My impression cOncurred with
Gov. S. Keys statement that 1913 was
the date of Mr.. KittSOn'S residence at
Pembina, but Archbishop Tache is con-
fident that his arrival there was in 1915,
or the same year that Mgr. Tache be-
came bishop of st. BOniface.
Five-I cannot conceive of a higher
tribute to Mr.. KittsOn than the selection
by the Hudson's Bay company of their
former successful antagonist as their
REPRESENTATIVE AT ST. PAUL,
when that city became the center of
commercial distribution by the COM
pany to New York, Montreal and Lon
don. The relations thus established
with Gov. William McTavish and
Messrs. Donald A. Smith and John Nc
lavish had far-reaching consequences.
Six-Since 1S49 how rapid and i'm
preSSive the succession of events. In
that year Minnesota territory was Or
ganized. Then followed Gov. Ramsey's
council with the Red Lake and
Red River Chippewas at Penn
bina, and his memorable visit
to Forts Garry and Selkirk in 1851. The
cart route opened by Kittson to st. Paul;
his annual trips as member of the
Minnesota legislature from 1851 to 1856;
the diversion of the transportation of
furs to the st. Paul route; the Frozen
river gold excitement, and overland
emigration and railway schemes OF
1858; the stage and steam boat COM