RED RIVER OF THE NORTH 



4954 



RED RIVER REBELLION 



they can go almost as far north as Texas. The 

 middle reaches of the Red River are in a 

 heavily forested region, and there the 

 is subject to clogging by floating tree trunks 

 and driftwood. Since 1873 the government has 

 kept the channel clear by removing the timber 

 as fast as it accumul 



RED RIVER OF THE NORTH, a river of 

 the United States and Canada, one of the three 

 great rivers which How into Lake Winnipeg and 

 thus form part of the Saskatchewan-Nelson sys- 

 tem. Practically its whole course lies through 



Winnipeg 



COURSE OF THE RIVER 



a level plain which was in prehistoric times the 

 bed of Lake Agassiz. This plain, the Red River 

 Valley, is one of the richest wheat-growing 

 areas in the world. The river itself has been 

 utilized in the production of power for manu- 

 facturing in the cities along its banks. . Among 

 these communities are Fargo and Grand Forks, 

 the two largest cities in North Dakota, and 

 Winnipeg and Saint Boniface, cities in Mani- 

 toba. The river is navigable from Grand Forks 

 to Winnipeg, but is of comparatively little im- 

 portance as a 'commercial highway. About 100 

 miles of its course is in Manitoba. 



The Red River rises in the west-central part 

 of Minnesota, only a few miles west of the 

 headwaters of the Mississippi. After describing 

 a small curve to the south and west, it turns 

 northward at Wahpeton, N. D., and for about 

 two hundred miles forms the boundary between 

 Minnesota and North Dakota. At Wahpeton 

 it receives a branch from the south, the Bois 

 de Sioux River, which forms the remainder of 

 the boundary between Minnesota and North 

 Dakota and extends for a few miles as the 

 boundary of South Dakota. The source of the 

 Bois de Sioux is Lake Traverse, from which 

 also issues the Minnesota River, a tributary of 

 the Mississippi. At high water small vessels 



may occasionally pass from the Mississippi to 

 Lake Winnipeg. The principal tributaries of the 

 Red River are the Sheyenne and Pembina in 

 North Dakota and the Assiniboine (which see) 

 in Manitoba; these all flow into the main 

 stream from the west. 



Lake Agassiz. The drainage basin of the 

 Red River comprises an area of 63,400 square 

 miles. During the Glacial Period this entire 

 region was covered by a vast lake, which was 

 prevented from reaching its natural outlet to 

 the north by the great ice sheet. The lake dis- 

 charged at its southern end into the Minnesota 

 River. At one time this lake, which is called 

 Lake Agassiz, was larger than all of the pres- 

 ent Great Lakes combined, but as the ice sheet 

 receded it gradually disappeared and the Red 

 River again flowed northward. Lakes Winni- 

 peg, Winnipegosis and Manitoba are remnants 

 of Lake Agassiz. The bed of the lake is cov- 

 ered with glacial silt, which is extremely fertile, 

 and its shore lines are still well marked for 

 miles. 



RED RIVER REBELLION, an uprising of 

 the half-breeds in the Red River Valley against 

 the Canadian government in 1870. In 1863 the 

 Hudson's Bay Company transferred its territo- 

 rial rights in Rupert's Land (which see) to the 

 British government, and the latter in 1870 trans- 

 ferred Rupert's Land to the Canadian govern- 

 ment. At that time the only occupants of the 

 great Northwest were % Indians, a few scattered 

 traders, and about 12,000 settlers in the 'Red 

 River Valley. Of these settlers nearly eighty- 

 five per cent were half-breeds or metis. They 

 lived a simple agricultural life, on lands to 

 which they had no legal title; when they tired 

 of a plot of ground they moved to some other 

 spot which suited them. 



Under the beneficent despotism of the Hud- 

 son's Bay Company the half-breeds had lived 

 much as they pleased. On this community 

 there suddenly descended, without warning, a 

 mob of bridge and road builders, surveyors and 

 officials of all kinds. Their lands, which were ar- 

 ranged on the old French plan of strips reach- 

 ing back from the river fronts, were now to be 

 arranged in townships and sections. The first 

 thought of the half-breeds was naturally that 

 the new government would disregard their in- 

 terests. Amid the general excitement it was no 

 wonder that the fear and discontent of the 

 metis should find expression. 



The center of the storm was Louis Riel 

 (which see). When news came to the valley 

 that the Hon. William McDougall was on his 



