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.. To THE EDITOR OF THn suN-sr. Lor
wolseley hns now devoted great denl OF tim
! and labor to presenting his very free opinion
Of many Of our historical characters, and t
lecturinR us on the art OF war He is said, ol
high authority. to be in all probability In
! most fluent talker In the world, and at last &C
counts he was still talking. At times he Ger
tainly talks with considerable insolence. 1
might be well to bring in the fashion ths
there should be somewhat greater reciprocity
So far. imagine. the volume OF his exports
must have been greatly In excess OF ours.
Contiguous to one OF the fields OF his fame
ana about f700 miles northwest from the Of
fce OF The Sun, write more particularly tt
recount tho history OF tho events which raised
him from obscurity to title and prominence
high military rank. and no small popular fame
as military lender. The most dramatic and
important OF the facts have not. believe. yel
seen the light in this country or England
But before proceeding, NAV be permitted
to say that his characteristics as military
commentator and volunteer instructor boar a
remarkable resemblance to those exhibited In
his military career. Indeed. one might form a
very fair estimate Of tho latter from the COM
mentaries alone.
1t Is to be remembered that English history 10
full OF royal favors. rank titles. and fortune.
10 men Of very mean order Of ability. 1t ap-
pears that he 10 heavily indebted for his pres-
ent position and honors to NJ. Louis Riel. a
French half. breed. Riel being dissatisfied at
the terms offered him and his fellow country
men on ther becoming part OF the Domin-
ion OF Canada deied the Queens rsprcssnta-
tive at tho head Of handful Of half-breeds.
| and refused him admission into the British
Northwest territory. This was late In 1869, and
was taken as rebellion against her Britain
| mic MAJESTY. her crown and dignity The ex-
citement throughout Canada and England be-
| came intense. and It was decided to enforce
submission ct tho point OF tho bayonet. Wolse-
? ley was at that time q comparatively obscure
Colonel OF British regulars. stationed In
Canada Through the ntriGuss OF some Can
adan friends. officers ranking him were dis
placed. and he was appointed to organize and
command force to move against tho rebels
and suppress the disturbance. The movement
has been distinguished in British history as
Wolseley's Red River campaign.
His objective was Fort Garry. now Winnipeg.
on the Red River OF the North. in Manitoba,
which adjoins North Dakota on the north
Tho facts OF the affair have both officially
and from some Of his companions In arms. In
its history neither tho bloodthirsty nor the
timld need anticipate any tale OF WOO or
carnage. The eyes OF the civilized world. or ut
least those OF the Queens vast dominions.
wore AOW upoA Aitus AAo oob dbOus thc uAucAs
taking with characteristic diaoriness and
with deliberation suited to the conduct
of an army Of 100000 men. and made use Of
every inch OF red tape possible The cost he in
CURED was altogether out OF proportion to his
force, and has probably never heen approached
under like conditions. He set out from an
Ontario port and reached Port Arthur. on the
north shore OF Lake Superior. his force carried
as ordinary passengers might be. by steam-
boat the voyage uneventful. At Port Arthur.
not counting officers. his numbers amounted
to 731. horse. foot. and artillery, 1914 British
regulars and 149 Ontario militia or volunteers.
with guides and French Canadian boatmen.
But his baggage was on a scale such as that Of
a lady bent on an aggressive campaign at sar-
atoKa or Newport. He started out from here
for the seat OF war Fort Garry. in the early
summer Of 1870. His route lay by the water
stretches and portaRes to Lake Winnipeg and
the Red River OF the North. and thence up that
river to the fort The route had been trav-
ersed for upward Of century. and was as
well known as the line Of railway now
in operation. The chief difficulty was with
his bulky aud unnecessary tmpedimenta. anda,
clumsy Old World con,rivancss at which the
more practical boys OF the volunteers were ae-
customed 10 smile. unless whom swearing at
the unnecessary work he had saddled on them.
He had been above listening to practical sug-
gestlons. Ofsuch were Braddock, Rurgoyne. |
and Corvallis. The only enemies were the
black flies and mosquitoes. No moro military
ability or knowledge was required than in the !
conduct of 3 pack train or shooting or fishing |
expedition. Probably the daughter Of his |
royal mistress. the Princess Louise. in her
salmon fishing excursions in Canada. has en-
on this excursion.
Here follows the point In the drama. not to |
say farce At some time during the Colonels |
laggard progress. one OF the most astute poll |
ticians o! this continent the late Sir John Mac
donald. interposed his cunning hand. By a |
pecunary consideration he obtained tho good |
Offices OF Riels Biehop. to the end that Riel |
should at Wolseley's near approach. at the
last moment abandon the fort and take !
flight. To this Risl not only assented. but
was q consenting party to guides being sent
from the fort to speed the gallant Colonel on
his way. The little arrangement was q pro-
found secret to the public. and, perhaps. to
Wolseley himself. That he was not recalled
long before reaching his destination. was be-
cause it was expected that his military sue
cess would accrue to the prestige Of tho Cana
dian Government. 1t was disclosed subse-
auently through Parliamentary inquiry.
AS the Colonel came In sight OF the fort
coming up the river. true to his word, Rel
fed toward the American borier. Instead of
being met with rife and cannon balls. the
Colonel was greeted with hearty handshakss
and every manifestation OF hospitality. Tho
solemn farce OF occupying the fort was gone
through with. and that night there was high
and general revel In the little settlement.
There was no pursuit: the tempest In the tea
pot was over. and he Immediately turned his
face homeward with his regulars.
1t is to be understood that the country was
known to but few at this time. With the coun-
try beyond 1t was commonly termed Tho
Great Unknown Land" Say about six thou
,nnd miles from the glorious little island and
about half way across the vast continent. dis
ance and the dense gnoranc, lent. immodor-
ltely. enchantr,ent to the view. As tho news
,f the capture Of the fort extended. the em.
,lre fairly rang again, thrilled with patriotic
arido ard exutation. Songs were COMPOSED