The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1914-01-26

MARRIED INDIAN WOMAN
nom the Kanaas CITY star.

British Knight.
nom the Kansas City Star.
No romance of fiction ever written was
more romantic than the career Of Lord
strathcona and Mount, Royal high COM
missioner of Canada, who has. just died
n London at the age of ninety-four. And
,ne of the most romantic things OF his
strange life was his undying love ana
oyalty for his Indian wife. ss
The Indian bride came to him when
re was plain Donald Smith. TWENTY-FIVE
Fears old, a post trader for the Hudson
Bay Company in the wilds Of Labrador.
There was no pastor or church within
1 loo miles. Their marriage was a
iimple contract between man. woman.
Ind their God.
Sixty-nine years they lived together.
md their devotion to each other was
beautiful. The first years of their man
led life were lean years of poverty
md hard struggling. Then came great
,iches. and high honors. and when Queen
Victoria sent for the Grand old man of
Canada. the year of her jubilee. to
Knight him and give him a new name,
ne took his Indian wife with him across
he ocean.
Married In London.
When the royal circle in the Capital
" the world learned that the marriage
u old Donald Smith and Isabella had
never been solemnized nor blessed by
bell nor book a great cry Of horror went
Ip and Queen Victoria commanded that
Donald come to see her privately. He
vent and took his Indian wife with him
nto the royal presence. The good Queen
,alked with them and a few days later
Donald and Isabella, he eighty-one and
The seventy years old. were married with
he full ritual of the Church of England.
md later, by order of the Queen. the civil
bond of marriage Of the Labrador forest
vas ratified by a special act OF Parlia-
nent.
Then Donald Smith was knighted by
he queen and his Indian wife was
aised to the peerage with him and be-
anne Lady Strathcona. Thereafter they
lived in a grand old mansion in fashion
tble London, yet as devoted to each as
hey were in the wilds of Labrador.
She was with MIN at the coronation Of
King Edward and Queen Alexandra and
t the coronation of King George and
queen. Mary in. June, 1911. She died in
heir London mansion just two months
lgo.' e ----,-
Those who knew this fine old couple
Intimately predicted that Lord Strath-
iona would not long survive her; and
hey were right N that. Active and con-
Ttant in his work up to the day of her
Iudden death by pneumonia, he began to
'ine and lose strength then.
Goes to Canada at Eighteen.
Donald Alexander Smith was born in
scotland in 1870. In his parental home
Ie laid the foundation stones of his sue
fanl sr,f.
nd diligence. This last word he had
ngrayed on his seal and the crest, which
vas given him when he became a peer
( the British realm. 20
When he was eighteen years old Smith
vent to Canada in the service of the
hudson Bay Company. He was a trader.
lie tramped the mighty North from end
o end. bargaining, planning. bartering.
ear after year he traversed the wastes
where the great Mackenzie River tumbles
Icross the Arctic Circle. 1t was a terri
lie country in those days, this outland
4 the British empire
Many years ,afterward, when he had
'ecome great world figure and i'm
rich, he was asked for some
words of advice to young men, and he
ave this:
do not despise what you are. Be
;atisfied for the time, not grumbling
md finding fault. Do the work your
elf: don't wait for friends to use their
influence on your behalf: don't depend
m the help Of others. Apart from what
We call genius, I believe one man is able
o do as well as any other provided the
presents itself. Much of
What 1 would advise young men to do is
obtained in the old counsel. Trust in
iod and keep your powder dry"
Recefyes /, pro-ortcu
After ten years of this life in the north |
'mith was promoted to be an agent for |
he company on the bleak coast of Lab
ador. Little of hope there was in that |
I is the most dreadful place on the
Whole continent, this forbidden land of |
labrador. |
Soon after he went there he was
tricken with snow blindness. Only once
year came the company's ship, up |
through the Strait of Belle Isle. To wait
or it meant that forever he should go |
Trough life blind-meant the end of all |
hings for him. He took two Indians |
f his people, in the dead hush of mid
winter, and set out upon a tramp of |
through, almost dead, he came at last |
efore the resident governor of the COM
any in the comfort of the city. Sir |
George Simpson. the governor. looked |
I him, heard the tale. then Numbered /
{ him:
who gave you leave to quit your
'ost?"
Who could" replied Smith, "since no |
nan lives within LOO miles of met"
II 1t be, but a choice between your
yes and the service OF the company get /
ack to your post as quickly as you can"
The agent obeyed- The terror of that
Quincy no man NAV write Once in
ecent years, Lord Strathcona was asked |
o describe it.
No, mol can't, it's too terrible to
llink about he said.
He stumbled back into his post alone,
fter many days and many nights in the
reat silence. Two hundred miles back
n the depths he had left his two In-J
ians, dead Of exhaustion. fear and hum
er,
That was the service of the Hudson.s
lay Company in the days when il ruled
he north.
Made Chief Executive.
In 1855 Smith, then forty-eight years
ID. reached the top OF the Hudson Raw
'cmpanys- ladder. He was appointed
hief executive, with Offices al Nom
real. His reward had come.
He was a man of middle stature Il
ather slight in build. The snow tan
Z the north had made him dark az An
indian. He wore a fun beard. BLACK
nd wiry. Black. bushy brows met above
is eyes. He looked what he was. Ii
commander Of men and of forces
He was not then a rich man. He had |,
aved some money. but he had invested
in lands thousands Of miles to the
est, then q barren wilderness, supposed-
profitiess. But his far-seeinK ewes