14 ESSAYS ON WHEAT 



The crop of 1821 was not a large one and, after a por- 

 tion of it had been stored as seed for the next spring, the 

 remainder was found to be insufficient to supply the food 

 requirements of the colony for the winter. The shortage 

 JJ was rendered all the more acute by the arrival of a band 

 I J of emigrants from the Cantons of Switzerland. It was 

 therefore found necessary to send some of the settlers to 

 the haunts of the buffalo at Pembina. In the spring of 

 \ ', 1822, these settlers returned and, during seed-time, the 

 ! whole colony suffered all but absolute starvation. To 

 such an extremity were some of the Swiss reduced that 

 one of them gave a silver watch valued at five guineas for 

 eight gallons of wheat, not to sow but to eat, another gave 

 five shillings for six small fishes known as gold-eyes, and 

 it is further reported that " one poor man, having nothing 

 else, gave the very snuff out of his box for the head of a 

 cat-fish." Thus ten years after the establishment of the 

 Eed River Settlement the colonists were still bearing great 

 hardships. The first five years had been embittered by 

 the enmity of the North-West Company, and the succeed- 

 ing five years by unfavorable crop conditions.^ ^ 



VII. The Hour-Glass 



During the early years of struggle against adversity, the 

 colonists were prevented from suffering the direst want 

 and actual starvation by the care of Lord Selkirk and his 

 agents, who sent out to the Red River not only a supply of 

 general goods, clothing, implements of husbandry, arms, 

 and ammunition, but also a supply of oatmeal to fall back 

 upon in the last extremity. These articles were kept in 

 the colony store and supplied to the settlers by the Governor 

 of the Colony. The store was grossly mismanaged, and 



32 A. Ross, loc cit., pp. 55-60. 



