THE DOMINION COMMISSIONER ARRIVES IN DISGUISE
Meanwhile back in Ottawa, the prime minister decided to get some advice. He reached out to the Hudson’s Bay Company and contacted Donald Smith, the highest-ranking Company officer available. Smith had been a district manager for Labrador and eastern Canada. He knew little about Red River and had never been west. Still, he answered the prime minister’s summons and was duly appointed “Dominion Commissioner to Inquire into the North West Rebellion.” He was instructed to pacify the natives by whatever means possible, including bribes of money and offices. Smith was given a five-hundred-pound fund to spend as he saw fit to buy off the “Insurgent Leaders or some of them.”1 If Smith failed, Macdonald would use force: “Should these miserable half-breeds not disband, they must be put down . . . I shall be very glad to give Colonel Wolseley the chance and glory and the risk of the scalping knife!”2
Smith’s plan was to bypass Riel and negotiate directly with the citizens of Red River. He was operating on the assumption that Riel was asserting his own agenda, which he was not. It is true that Riel had thought his way through the implications of their actions further than most residents. He understood that the Métis Nation and Métis lands and resources would only be protected with local control and that this required provincial status. Riel had ideas about setting in place governance practices that fairly represented the unique mix of cultures that made up the people of Red River. He hoped these practices would survive the expected influx of immigrants from Ontario.
Three such practices were quickly established. The first was equal representation for the two main language groups, French and English. The second was that participants in the convention could speak in their own languages and translation would be provided. The third was inclusion of the Ojibwa. Chief Prince was a full participant in the convention on behalf of his band. It was much more democratic than the government being proposed by Canada, and when Canada arrived it crushed all three practices. One can only imagine what Canada would be like today if we had followed the practices the Métis established in Red River.
Still, Macdonald and eastern Canada saw Riel as their main obstacle. They firmly believed that without Riel, the residents would accept whatever fate Canada decided to hand them. Smith met with the prime minister on November 29 and arrived in Red River, in disguise, on December 27, 1869. He presented himself as a Company trader and arrived without his commission papers.
This is where things stood in Red River at the end of December 1869: The French Métis had succeeded in bringing the English Métis into their tent. There had been no official information from Great Britain or Canada as to exactly what was going to happen in Red River. Canada’s actions before it had any lawful right to act in the North-West had made everyone in Red River skeptical of Canada’s bona fides. The Métis were occupying Fort Garry and holding several prisoners. The flag of the provisional government flew over Fort Garry. They thought they had held off Canada until they could negotiate terms. But unbeknownst to them Canada was already there in disguise in the person of Donald Smith.
Smith wasn’t the only foreigner hovering around Red River. The Americans had several observers in Red River, including a constitutional lawyer, a consular official and a spy. The Fenians were hovering with their convoluted Irish plans, and there was even a dashing cavalry officer, Captain Norbert Gay, newly arrived from France and looking for an army—any army—to lead into glory.3 Then on December 30, 1869, the Sioux arrived. The Métis sent a delegation to meet them at James McKay’s house about six miles from Fort Garry. McKay, François Dauphinais and Pierre Poitras all made presentations to the Sioux advising them to turn back because of the troubles in the settlement. But the Sioux chief said they weren’t there to cause trouble; they wanted to know what was going on and how it might affect them.
The Métis Nation needed the Sioux to remain neutral, and such an agreement could only be negotiated between leaders. So Riel met with the Sioux chief. Because the Ojibwa, the traditional enemy of the Sioux, were allied with the Canadian Party, it was unlikely that the Sioux would come in on that side. But Riel didn’t want the Sioux to engage. A neutrality agreement was reached and affirmed when Riel presented the Sioux chief with twenty-five pounds of tobacco. The Sioux celebrated the agreement with a ceremonial dance and drumming, and honoured their commitment to remain neutral.
In the midst of all this, the French and English Métis delegates continued their democratic process. Everyone other than the Canadian Party was working together to form a united front. There was a growing sense of cohesion in Red River. The prospects for the new year didn’t look too bad. Indeed, 1870 started on a positive note. On January 1 Riel addressed a large meeting of French Métis, mostly the Nolin family, at Sainte-Anne-des-Chênes. Also in January McDougall finally left Pembina. No one regretted his departure.
Until now Riel had been skilfully playing the American card, hinting that he might throw the Métis Nation’s weight behind joining the United States rather than Canada. It was a good tactic because Macdonald was genuinely afraid of losing the North-West to the Americans. But that kind of balancing act could not continue indefinitely. Evidently, the Americans made several tempting offers to Riel, suggesting that if he proclaimed independence, the Americans would gladly take the Métis under their protection. There were offers of money and arms. They warned Riel that although Canada would make them great promises, it would not keep them. But Riel had already chosen Canada. He would not go back on his word.
PIERRE LÉVEILLÉ
On arrival in Red River, Donald Smith initiated a divide-and-conquer strategy. First, he planned to separate the English Protestants from the French Catholics. Second, he would separate as many of the French Métis as he could from Riel. Smith wrote to Sir John A. Macdonald that the “English speaking inhabitants are now moving heartily with the view of bringing their weight and influence to bear on the malcontents so as to induce them to come to terms with Canada or England.”4 That was spin. The English-speaking inhabitants of Red River had never moved heartily on anything. They also were not influencing the French to come to terms with Canada or England. Smith’s spin was certainly what Macdonald wanted to hear, but it was far from an accurate assessment of the situation.
Red River gradually awoke to the fact that there was more to Smith than his guise as a Hudson’s Bay Company official. Inside Fort Garry he was distributing multiple offers, bribes and promises. He had also successfully gained the confidence of a group of French Métis and, perhaps most importantly, succeeded in co-opting Pierre Léveillé. Léveillé was a St. François Xavier Métis and an influential trader. Smith’s success with a Métis of Léveillé’s stature was a blow to Riel’s authority.
Finally, Riel demanded to see Smith’s commission. Smith agreed to produce the papers, which he had left in Pembina. He sent his brother-in-law Richard Hardisty with a French Métis guard led by Léveillé. Riel, perhaps worried that the commission would not be produced or more likely wanting to see the commission first, set out for Pembina in a separate party. The Hardisty-Léveillé party collided with Riel’s party. The confrontation grew heated and ended when Léveillé convinced Riel’s party to stay out of it by putting a gun to Riel’s head. Riel conceded. The Hardisty-Léveillé party retrieved Smith’s papers from Pembina and returned to Fort Garry.
Smith had gained Léveillé’s trust by promising that his commission gave him the authority to protect Métis rights. Léveillé then set up a separate Métis guard inside Fort Garry and insisted that he, not Riel, would ensure the people’s rights were secured as set out in Smith’s papers. There were now two separate Métis groups on guard in Fort Garry, one led by Riel and another, whose main task seemed to be watching Riel, led by Léveillé. With Léveillé at the head of a Métis guard, Donald Smith thought he had neutralized Riel. He also thought that given the chance to address the people, he could win them over. He saw his opportunity when a convention was called for January 19, 1870.
Over a thousand people, fully 25 per cent of the adult population of Red River, came to the January convention. There was no building in Red River large enough to house such a gathering, so they met in the courtyard of the Upper Fort. Meeting outside in January in Red River is not for the faint-hearted. It was minus twenty Fahrenheit—a bitterly cold day to stand around and listen to speeches you could barely hear.
Smith had a plan to take over the convention. He thought he had bribed his way into control. His plan was simple: Smith had his Métis guard, led by Léveillé, in place at the convention. He thought he had arranged it so Riel would not be nominated for an official role, which would cut off his voice and power. Then, Smith would start giving orders, which Léveillé and his Métis guards would carry out. Smith would carry the day and the Resistance would be over.
The convention began with elections. The first indication that all would not go according to Smith’s plan came when Louis Riel was elected as the interpreter, thereby assuring Riel an official voice at the convention. This happened because a key player who had made promises to Smith reneged. It was a blow to Smith’s plans, but not a fatal one.
What Smith didn’t know was that there had been a late-night intervention at the fort. Father Lestanc and the prime minister’s two hand-picked commissioners, Colonel de Salaberry and Father Thibault, had worked out a compromise with Léveillé. Léveillé wanted to hear Smith read his commission. That wasn’t a problem; they all wanted to hear it. The concern was that Smith would command Léveillé and his guards to take over, and Riel’s men would resist. No one wanted a shootout in the fort. Léveillé promised not to act on Smith’s commands at the convention the next day.
When Smith was introduced to the crowd as a commissioner appointed by the prime minister of Canada, he moved immediately to take control of the convention. He ordered everyone to lay down their arms, and take down the Métis flag and replace it with the British ensign. No one put their arms down and no one made a move to the flagpole. Smith stared at his Métis guard, and at Léveillé in particular. They were supposed to jump to his orders. Léveillé didn’t move. Riel and the French Métis didn’t gloat. They simply left Smith to absorb the fact that all his bribes and conniving had failed to gain him support. Léveillé later described the late-night intervention as a mission of peace. Smith called it a defection. Léveillé wrote, “I would state that Mr. Smith deceived himself very much if he thought it was the intention of myself and the leaders with whom I was associated, to lay down our arms, or haul down the flag which we had hoisted to obtain our rights.”5
Louis Schmidt, Riel’s Métis secretary, called Smith “the old trickster.”6 Tricky he may have been, but he clearly had no backup plan. Having no other options, Smith started to read. He read his letter of appointment, a letter from the governor-general and a message from the queen. The queen was apparently surprised and regretful that the people of Red River opposed, by force, the entry of the future lieutenant-governor. She was sure this could only be because of a misunderstanding or misrepresentation, because her course of action was only meant for their advantage. Never mind that the queen had steadfastly ignored the residents; she now wanted to know their wants and conciliate with them. If there were complaints, the people should make them. The queen was ready to listen to “well-founded grievances.”
Nothing Smith read was very helpful. He was to ensure a peaceful transfer and to use his own judgment in doing so. This was encouraging news to the Canadian Party but much too vague for the French Métis. It didn’t take long for Léveillé to be disabused of his faith in Smith. As soon as Smith read his papers, Léveillé realized he had been duped. Afterwards he apologized to Riel and the provisional council. The council welcomed him back into the ranks, and as a peace offering, Léveillé presented Riel with the gun he had pointed at his head.
In any event, it was much too cold to stand around and listen to any more talk, so the convention adjourned to the following day. When someone in the crowd called for the release of Schultz’s men, who were still being held as prisoners, the mood shifted instantly. The French Métis reached for their arms and “there was a general skidaddle amongst a good many of the English.”7
On day two of the convention, even more people gathered. This time Riel selected eight Métis to keep order in the crowd. Smith continued to read documents. The first reading was of a letter from Governor-General John Young to Hudson’s Bay Company governor McTavish, which stated, “[T]he inhabitants of Ruperts Land, of all claims and persuasions, may rest assured that Her Majesty’s Government has no intention of interfering with, or setting aside, or allow others to interfere with the religions, the rights or the franchise hitherto enjoyed, or to which they may hereafter prove themselves equal.”8 Some of the English in the crowd greeted this promise with cheers. The French Métis were not convinced. The governor-general’s promises were as vague as the other documents read by Smith. Knowing he had not persuaded the French Métis, Smith claimed kinship via his Hardisty in-laws and his relationship to Cuthbert Grant, because his mother was a Grant from Scotland. Family claims were nice but not enough.
Riel stepped in and took control. Smith had no backup plan, but Riel had one. He proposed a convention of forty (twenty English and twenty French) to draw up a list of rights for submission to Ottawa. He wanted them all to agree to the terms on which they would enter Canada. Everyone agreed. Riel summed up the feelings of those gathered:
Before this assembly breaks up, I cannot but express my feelings, however briefly. I came here with fears. We are not yet enemies [loud cheers] but we came very near being so. As soon as we understood each other, we joined in demanding what our English fellow subjects in common with us believe to be our just rights [loud cheers]. I am not afraid to say our rights; for we all have rights [renewed cheers]. We claim no half rights, mind you, but all the rights we are entitled to. Those rights will be set forth by our representatives, and, what is more, gentlemen, we will get them [more loud cheers].9
THE PROVISIONAL GOVERNMENT IS ESTABLISHED
This time when Riel again insisted on the need for a provisional government, the English Métis were prepared to listen. First, they consulted with Governor McTavish, who is said to have told them to get on with it. With his affirmation, everyone agreed to form the Provisional Government of Rupert’s Land. Riel was elected president, Thomas Bunn was secretary, William Bernard O’Donoghue was treasurer, James Ross was chief justice, Andrew Bannatyne was postmaster, Ambroise Lépine was the adjutant-general and Louis Schmidt was the assistant secretary.
The mood was festive throughout the settlement, and dances were given that night, one by Riel’s party in Fort Garry and another at the McDermots’. Fireworks marked the celebration, and Riel released some sixteen prisoners with a promise to release the others very soon. Two days later most of the French Métis occupying Fort Garry left. Only a skeletal guard remained. The English and the French chose their committee members to draft a new list of rights.10 Everyone thought they had passed through the transition.
THE SECOND LIST OF RIGHTS
On January 29 the convention of delegates began to review the new draft of the List of Rights. Among the first clauses to be approved by the convention were three important decisions. First there was an acknowledgement that the North-West was temporarily in an exceptional position. The country would become, only for the duration of the exceptional time, a territory governed by a lieutenant-governor from Canada and a legislature of three members all nominated by the governor-general of Canada. The emphasis was on the temporary nature of the territorial status.
Then the convention turned its mind to how the North-West was to be situated within Canada and governed after the expiration of the exceptional period. Afterwards the North-West was to be governed, like Ontario and Quebec, under a legislature elected by the people. There would be no interference with the local affairs by the Dominion Parliament. So strong was the insistence on local government that even during the exceptional period, the local legislature could pass laws over a veto of the lieutenant-governor by a two-thirds vote.
English and French were to be the common languages in the legislature and the courts, and all public documents and legislation would be published in both languages. Judges of the Supreme Court would be bilingual, and treaties were to be concluded as soon as possible with the tribes. Most importantly, “all properties rights and privileges as hitherto enjoyed by us be respected and that the recognition and arrangement of local customs usages and privileges be made under control of the Local Legislature.”11 This clause ensured recognition of land titles already registered but also protected the local Métis customary uses and titles, which would be dealt with locally. Another clause insisted on local control of all public lands for a radius of sixty miles.
Then they elected three delegates to negotiate these rights with Ottawa: Father Joseph-Noel Ritchot, Judge John Black and Alfred Scott.
THE CANADIAN PARTY COUNTERATTACK
The remaining prisoners in the fort took an oath to keep the peace and were released—all except James Farquharson, who was Schultz’s father-in-law and known to the Métis as “Old Depravity.” He was pushed out of the fort, no one believing it worth the effort to take his oath. Schultz had escaped on January 23 and had begun to make his own plans. He wanted to liberate the prisoners, capture Riel, destroy the Provisional Government, replace it with a government headed by Donald Smith, and burn the French Métis part of town. He drove around town making sure everyone knew he was free, and began to hold war councils. By February 14 there were rumours that Schultz was raising an armed force. More rumours whispered that some “loyal” Métis would bring men, Chief Prince would bring the Ojibwa, and more would come from Portage la Prairie. They were all to meet at Kildonan.
A Portage party, composed of sixty Canadians, promptly got storm-stayed in Headingley for two days. Riel sent a letter of warning to them: go home or be captured. With the release of the prisoners, one of the stated goals of Schultz’s force was accomplished, but the Portage party pushed on through the blizzard. On the way to Kildonan, they took three prisoners and Thomas Scott broke into a home in an unsuccessful attempt to capture and assassinate Riel. When they arrived in the settlement, they were cold, but they had a cannon, they had been drilling and they were armed. They drew up a list of demands. The primary one was the release of the prisoners—men who had already been released. They also demanded that the Provisional Government disband. The French Métis could have their own provisional government, but it would not govern anyone else. John Norquay volunteered to take the demand letter to Riel at Fort Garry.
That is when the first violence occurred, leaving John Hugh Sutherland dead and Norbert Parisien savagely beaten and on his deathbed.
The expected Canadian Party attack, the assassination attempt on Riel, the death of Sutherland and the beating of Parisien shocked Red River. The community had just celebrated together two weeks earlier. The French rallied around Riel, called in reinforcements and prepared to defend the fort. When Norquay arrived with the demand list, Riel ripped it up. He also sent a warning: the Provisional Government wanted peace and the rights of all, but it was prepared for war.
Schultz’s group numbered about 160 men from the English parishes, the Portage party of 80 men and 200 Ojibwa. But it was poorly organized. They had no provisions and it was winter. Many had joined solely to release the prisoners from the fort. On hearing that the prisoners had already been released, these men thought their task was accomplished. They wanted to, and many did, go home. Others wanted to attack the fort and rid the settlement of the objectionable Riel and his men. But they didn’t have enough men to sustain an attack on the fort, and there was no possibility of taking it by surprise. Riel seemed to know everything they said and did. Slowly it dawned on them: there was simply no way they could win such a battle. Their leaders, Schultz and Mair, abandoned their compatriots and left for Ontario.
The Portage party included Thomas Scott, the man who had already tried to capture Riel and had so viciously beaten Parisien. Now reduced to forty-eight men, they began the long trudge from Kildonan back to Portage la Prairie, passing close by Fort Garry on their way. Lépine, the Métis adjutant-general, didn’t like the idea of this large group of armed men heading toward the fort, so he captured them. The fort, which had just been emptied of prisoners, was full again. It was an arrangement that pleased no one, especially the Métis guards.