274 THE GREAT NORTH-WEST 



We soon met the posse carrying the unfortunate fugi- 

 tive in a dying state, for they had shot him through the 

 body. Two of the posse were also wounded, but not very 

 severely. It seems the man, who was quite young, had 

 offered resistance when overtaken, and the officers of 

 justice had not been slow to return his fire. He was 

 heaving fearfully for breath, could not speak, and died at 

 our cainp less than an hour afterwards. He was buried 

 then and there, under a tree in the forest ; and his captors 

 were somewhat reticent about his crimes. We learned, 

 however, that he had taken part in the Fenian irruption 

 into Canada some time before, and since the failure of 

 that ridiculous enterprise, had been living as a prowling 

 depredator on the farmers in this part of America. He 

 had been guilty of violence towards some of them, and 

 had actually killed a negro. 



At this time the Northern States were full of doubtful 

 characters, most of whom had taken part in the Fenian 

 raid referred to, and were lurking about in the hopes of 

 further troubles in the British dominions. I have already 

 mentioned that Yankee agitators were fomenting dis- 

 turbance in the Red River Colony, and it was mostly 

 Irish Americans or Fenians who were engaged in that 

 dastardly work. I have only made cursory reference to 

 this matter, or to the Fenian raid, because I kept far from 

 the points of agitation, and I do not consider it my busi- 

 ness, in a book of this class, to deal with the political state 

 of the countries through which I passed. I may, however, 

 mention, that I had certain evidence that small gangs of 

 Fenians were at this time lurking in the woods of North 

 Michigan and elsewhere, drilling, collecting ammunition, 

 and evidently preparing for the anticipated trouble in Red 

 River (now Manitoba) which broke out a year or two later. 

 For though that attempted rebellion had nothing to do 

 with the Fenian movement, the Fenians hoped to make 

 capital out of it ; and it is my opinion that but for their 

 interference and encouragement there would never have 



