"I see. He has gone there, counting on safety beyond the
lines; but he leans upon a hollow reed. Let me see:
to-morrow at the convention, next day at the grand parade
of arms. Yes, on Tuesday evening, take with you forty
men to Pembina. Of course, you go there with all speed,
and locate the residence. Then on Tuesday night, when
you enter the city, surround the house by a sortie You
will have nothing to fear from the citizens, they have
no force there to oppose yours, and if they had you could
accomplish your mission so suddenly that you might be on
the prairie with your prize before they had their arms
in their hands." The horseman rode off, and the Rebel
was alone.
We have seen that Mr. McDougall had appointed his Deputy
Colonel Dennis, as Conservator of the peace, and authorized
him to organize a force, and put down the Rebellion.
The English and Scotch settlers, almost to a man,
sympathized with the interdicted governor; yet they did
not care to bring themselves into conflict with men, with
whom, for years past, they had lived in the most friendly
relationship, unless some great necessity arose. As for
Riel, they regarded him as an ambitious, short-sighted
demagogue, who palmed off his low cunning for brilliant
leadership, upon the credulous half-breeds. Nevertheless,
a large number of these settlers declared their readiness
to march under Colonel Dennis, and disperse the nest of
rebels at Fort Garry. I need hardly say that most of
the Irish settlers were heart and soul with Riel. It
was not that they had any particular grievance to resent,
or any grievance at all for that matter. It was as
natural to them to rise in revolt, since the rising meant
resistance to the lawful authority, as it is for the
little duck first cast into the pond, to swim. A red
haired, pug-nosed Irishman, coming to New York, leaped
ashore and asked,
"Is there a guvernment in this counthry?"
"There is."
"Thin I'm opposed to it."
Much the same was it in the North-West, and the violent,
blustering ruffian O'Donoghue was the mouthpiece, the
leader, the type of that class of the people.
A number of loyal Scotch and English, therefore, did
arise, and they were known as the Portage party. This
was some months after the night that we last saw Riel
thwarted upon the prairies. In that connection it only
remains to be said that the mission of the confidant to
Pembina was fruitless; and the Rebel gnashed his teeth
that his desires and his revenge had all been baulked.
He had heard, however, that Thomas Scott was abroad
through his territories; and that he had enlisted under
the banner of Colonel Dennis,--which was the truth. What
galled him most was, that in case he should succeed in
getting Scott into his hands, he had no proofs that would
be regarded as sufficient evidence upon which to proceed
with the extreme of vengeance toward him. Yet his orders
stood unchanged:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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