The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1912-03-28

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AlBERI "a \ TEni1NE


Many an Indlkn Of the northwest
aud many Canadian hall breeds hrmIyi
belieYe that d certain blue eyed htt.
man firebrand, Louis; Riei BY name,
win some day arise from the dead and
Head his people TO victory against the.
English. "a number Of less spperstiIi,
tiops people in Canada beIieyed for
Years that "the blue.eyed Indian had
never died; but that he is somewhere,
lbidIng his ttmeln place o. safety,,
lgaiting to bring riot and, blo6dshsd'
once more, to the Dominion,s British
Settlers. hi
l Louis Riel was a half.breed Of the
I"Metis" race Of Eranco-1ndians, Ills
father was a,lesder Of the Nets and
headed an uprising in 1S49 against
1.-The mighty Hudson Bay company In,
Canada, Louis. was. born October %.
LISA. He studied at the Montreal,
Jesuit college with the idea Of becenl:
Hing a priest. But when he went to.
IItake. holy orders he was for some,
reason refused ordination. In other
words, he was turned loose on the
Ijworldy with an excellent education. g
keen Knowledge OF white men and,
their ways, q glit for organization, q
Iiwild genius for oratory apd-as. was
sfterward clalmed-a well.deyelored
case of egotistic insanity. sucha man
could do much among the local IN
idians and excItable French;IndIan
haltbreeds.
The "Human Flrebrand."
The Hudson Bay company-oue of
1.-THE most gigantic trusts ever launched
-=had for a long time controlled, the.
I'fnr trade, ETC., Of the northwest. The
company. was the master and patton
ot thousands OF half:breeds and In,
IIdians. In the late sixties the Cana.
dian: government bought and assumed
control OF the Manitoba territories.
hitherto ruled, BY the COMPANY. The
natives bitterly resented this change.
IIThey hated the English, They loved
| the company; although more than
once they had rebelled against its
stern orders. RIel. by fiery speeches,
lIpersuaded the hunters and, saHases
THAT they were entitled to part Of the
money paid by the government for the
company lands. He made formal de-
nand for this money. The. Canadian,
authorities refused. Then Riel called
His people to arms.
William McDougall was sent by, the
British officials to assume control OF
their newly acquired tract of country,
as, lieutenant governor. At the head
Of little army Of half;breeds and In.
dams, Louis Riel forbade, McDpugalI's
entrance into the territory. Riel Cap
tured Fort Garry and other strong:
holds, and caused himself to be elect
edSpresident ola, :'proyisIonal. govern
,ment.".
thus when only twenty-five years
old, Louis Riely half-breed Indian, ex-
theological student and professional
insurrectionist became known to his
people as President Rel" From
December 8, 1869, to. August "a, 1870,
be ruled. his. wild republic With firm
hand! AS, one Of the youngest presi.
dents In all history, defended bis new
title most. gallaltly,5 capturing an, en-
tire British. expedition Of 4S men,. and
even ordering at least one execution,
But Lieut.. Coll Garnet Wolseley la
ter famous as Lord Wolseley) march
ed3 against him with 1000 (, regulars.
Rtsl had no army competent to with
stGnd such a force, So he fled from
Fort Garry and escaped into the
United States. The Canadian gov
eminent offered a $4,000 reward for
his arrest. But when, a little later, he
came back to Manitoba. no one laid
hands on him. In fact, three years
afterward he was elected by his local
admirers a member of the Canadian
parliament. This was too much for
even SO patient a government as that
OF the Dominion. Riel was not allow
ed to take his seat in parliament But,
next year, in 1874, he was, reelected.
He. went to the parliament house at
Ottawa, signed his name to the rolls
and was sworn In as q member. But
when the news of this step reached
the English townsfolk Of Ottawa there
was q storm Of Indignation andthreats
that forced the half.braed "eSpresI.
dent" 10 flee from the city, After
which he was formally expelled from
parliament Again, in theSfa1l Of the
same year, his faithful followers elect
ed him. but this time the government
declared him an outlaw. Then his
brain apparently broke down and for
rome months he was confined in a
Quebec lunatic asylum.
A Mad Prophecy.
Thence Riel moved to Montana, but
q deputatIon Of Indians and half
breeds followed and begged him to
come to Manitoba again and fight for
their rights. So back he. came. lie
found a dispute raging between the
natives and the English, a second
time he put himself at the head OF a
provincial government" in the north.
west, captured the Duck Lake Indian
agent and Others and seized Canadian
official stores, Next be thrashed Il
force of mounted police and volun-
teers sent to crush him, andsit was