126 



CANADA, DOMINION OF. 



Winnipeg to Qu'Appelle, where, on his arrival, 

 he had only the Ninetieth Battalion, three hun- 

 dred and thirty strong, and the Winnipeg Field 

 Battery (two guns and sixty men). It was now 

 apparent that the fighting, if any, was to be far 

 up the country, and the general set to work to 

 organize a transport service, as hitherto there 

 I had heen no transport service in connection 

 with the Canadian militia. Capt. John French 

 raised a troop of scouts. 



On April 9 Gen. Middleton with his small 

 force moved on the trail to the half-breed set- 

 tlement at St. Laurent. On reaching Touch- 

 wood Hills, where the first opposition had been 

 expected, Middleton held a satisfactory "pow- 

 wow" with the Cree chiefs. Here he was 

 joined by " A " Battery and half of " C " Com- 

 pany. With these troops Middleton crossed 

 the Great Salt Plain. In tjie early part of the 

 march the troops suffered greatly through the 

 severe cold, and the trail was almost impass- 

 able through the melting snow. The first halt 

 of any length was made at Clarke's Crossing, 

 on the South Saskatchewan, about one hundred 

 miles from Qu'Appelle. By this time the in- 

 sufficiency of the transport service began to be 

 realized ; a halt of nearly a fortnight being 

 necessitated to allow of provisions overtaking 

 the troops. While at Clarke's Crossing the 

 force was strengthened by the arrival of the 

 Royal Grenadiers and an irregular mounted 

 infantry corps of eighty men raised by Major 

 Boulton in the Birtle district, who were known 

 as "Boulton's Horse," and proved themselves 

 invaluable throughout the campaign. 



The forces in the Northwest were divided into 

 three columns one, under the immediate com- 

 mand of Gen. Middleton, making Qu'Appelle its 

 railway base ; one, under Col. Otter, leaving the 

 railway at Swift Current ; and the third, un- 

 der Gen. Strange, at Calgary all being under 

 the direction, as far as circumstances would 

 permit, of Gen. Middleton. 



On leaving Clarke's Crossing, Middleton di- 

 vided his forces into two columns, one on either 

 side of the river, in the hope of preventing the 

 escape of any of the rebels toward the frontier. 

 He in person commanded the right wing, and 

 Lieut.-Col. Montizambert, of " B " Battery, E. 

 C. A., with Lord Melgund as chief of staff, 

 commanded the left division. Every precau- 

 tion was taken; but, up to the day before 

 Clarke's Crossing was left, there seemed to be 

 little probability of meeting any opposition. 

 On this day Lord Melgund and a party of scouts 

 were fired upon by some half-breeds and Indi- 

 ans. The two divisions marched down the 

 river toward Batoche, the principal settlement 

 of the disaffected half-breeds, in sight of each 

 other, and camped on the night of April 23 

 eighteen miles below Clarke's Crossing. By 

 six o'clock next morning the forces were again 

 on the march, one troop of Bonlton's horse 

 being extended across the front of the column, 

 half a mile in advance. About five or six 

 miles had been covered, and Boulton's men 



were pushing through a series of wooded bluffs 

 toward a deep coulee (a wide ravine with a 

 small stream running through it) intersecting 

 the trail, when a body of horsemen dashed over 

 the edge of the coulee, and, after firing at the 

 advancing irregulars, retired to the coulee and 

 kept up a heavy fusillade. The extended line of 

 Boulton's men dismounted, and, taking cover- 

 returned the rebel fire. The enemy were mak- 

 ing a second dash from the coulee on horse- 

 back, when the reserve troop of the mounted 

 infantry rode up at the gallop to re-enforce their 

 comrades of the advanced line, and the half- 

 breeds again took cover in the coulee. Gen. 

 Middleton, who was riding with his aides-de- 

 camp a little in rear of the advanced line, and 

 well in range of the first volleys, gave orders 

 for the infantry advanced guard, consisting of 

 a company of the Ninetieth, to hasten to the 

 front. He also ordered u C " Company, " A " 

 Battery, and the remainder of the Ninetieth, 

 with the exception of one company held as a 

 rear-guard, to get into action immediately. 

 There was considerable confusion among the 

 volunteers at first, and it was not until "A" 

 Battery and "C" Company, which had been 

 some distance in rear of the column, had passed 

 the Ninetieth, extended, and got into action, 

 that the Ninetieth were fairly got under fire. 

 One of the guns of "A" Battery opened fire 

 with shrapnel shell, with fuses timed to the 

 edge of the coulee, and after three rounds the 

 rebels withdrew from the edge, and Boulton's 

 horse advanced. The fight, which was known 

 as the battle of Fish Creek, lasted all day. The 

 half-breeds, shielded by ingenious rifle-pits, 

 honey-combed in the edge of the coulee, seldom 

 showed themselves. A number of houses in the 

 vicinity which sheltered rebels were shelled. 

 The main body of the rebels found the heavy 

 fire of the artillery too hot for them, and re- 

 treated from the coulee early in the day. A 

 few of the half-breeds, who could not get out 

 of the pits without running the gantlet of ail 

 the troops, held the position. A gallant little 

 charge made by a detachment of " A " Battery 

 showed that a determined attack would have 

 driven them out. Gen. Middleton, however, 

 being unwilling to waste the lives of the vol- 

 unteers, withdrew his forces out of range of 

 the rifle-pits and camped on the bank of the 

 river, within two hundred yards of the scene 

 of the battle. The losses of the troops on this 

 day were eleven killed and forty-eight wound- 

 ed. Great uncertainty prevails as to the losses 

 of the half-breeds on this occasion. 



The forces remained camped at Fish Creek 

 until May 7, waiting for supplies and chiefly 

 for ammunition ; on this date camp was struck, 

 and the troops proceeded as far as Gabriel 

 Dumont's Crossing. Col. Montizambert's di- 

 vision had been ferried across the river, so 

 that the whole force was now united on the 

 right bank. Middleton had also been re-en- 

 forced by two companies of the Midland Bat- 

 talion, under command of Lieut.-Col. Williams, 



