The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1926-10-15

establishment OF a republic in the pro-
Y1nces OF A~ssinaDOia and saskatchewan.
He told me that he had drafted a cOnsti-
tuition and tulip lanF for his scheme.
Il said, 'Riel. you had better be care
rul OF those papers; they are likely to
get 20. into trouble with the British
authorities To which he replied, 'Ah,
i have them buried deep in re ground
There is reason to believe that so far
from hesitating to accept the leader
snip OF the half-breeds, because he was
an American citizen, he acquired his
citizenship for that very purpose. Re-
peatedly he limited at schemes to involve
the United States in his revolutionary
enterprise. 1t was eOnceivably with a
wild notion that il might further this
end that he asked me to appoint him a
deputy United States marshal, a request
that I felt obliged, unde the circumstan-
ces, to deny.
ut was not a little interesting to listen
as he unfOlded his dream OF a half-breed
republic. In his belief the half-breed
were a people and he could not be made
to see a doubt hat there were deserving
OF political equality and adequate to
the responsibilities Of self-gOvernment.
Some explanation Of his confidence may
be found in the fact that the Metis, with
whom he was associated in his earlier
years, were the agricultural settlers Of
Manitoba, who were presumably a more
stable and intelligent class than the
wretched nOmads who constitute a con-
siderable part Of the half-breeds In Mon
tana.
"His project was to gather all the half
breeds OF the United States and all the
British provinces in North America and
SO build a nation. 1t was to possess a
republican form Of government, but one
that approaches the conception Of a
theOcracy. The Catholic religion was to
be recognized in the constitution as the
true and only faith; but there was to be
a distinct reputation OE the author
ity OF Rome. No doubt may be enter
tanned as to his choice Of the nan who
was to be leader of this UNIQUE expert
ment, and 1t is possible he saw occasion
for no other primate than himself; but
It is only just to add my conviction that
personal ambition was not the controlling
motive Of Louis Rel, and that there was
no faint Of self-seeking in his efforts
for freedom, justice and humanity"
Like John Brown, Louis Riel was {
| dreamer and a fanatic. And, like JOhI
Brown, there was a faint {. insanity il
his mental makeup. Today we find tina
his demands for the people Of ManitObi
and other western Canadian provinces have
for the most part, been granted. While tn
Canadian authorities were preparing Il
hang Riel, they were also proceeding t
redress the grievances Of the Metis. Fat
entS were issued to them for. the land
which they occupied, and less than a yea
after Riels execution, they were grante'
representation in the parliament Of tn
dOminiOn-One member from Saskatche
wan, n from Alberta and two from As
sinabOia.
I In the little churchyard at st. BOnifacC
outside OF, Winnipeg, lie the remains 0
Louis Riel. His grave is a shrine for tn
French haif-breeds Of the Dominion, VIII
believe that the man Of BatOuche, like tn
man Of HaFper's Ferry, offered up his lif
for a poor and oppressed people.
The Lido is the name Of a long
low islet in the Adriatic sea Oppo
site Venice, used as a fashionabl
seaside resort.