CANADA, DOMINION OF. 



129 



ransacked, and only one or two buildings were 

 found standing. Fort Pitt was a Hudson Bay 

 Company's post, in charge of an agent named 

 William McLean. As it was a trading-post of 

 considerable importance, a strong detachment 

 of mounted police was always kept there as a 

 garrison. McLean allowed himself to get into 

 the power of Big Bear's band, and, to save his 

 life, consented to write a letter to Inspector 

 Dickens, urging him to evacuate the fort and 

 to send all of McLean's family and the other 

 whites in the fort, with the exception of the 

 police, to join him with Big Bear's band. Al- 

 though the fort was strongly fortified and 

 well provisioned, Inspector Dickens yielded, 

 and with his police effected his escape by the 

 river to Battleford. When the Alberta Field 

 Force arrived at Fort Pitt they found that Big 

 Bear was taking to the wooded country to the 

 north, and was carrying the whites as prison- 

 ers along with him. Gen. Strange followed him 

 with all expedition, and on May 27" came up 

 with the encampment. A little skirmishing took 

 place, but the lateness of the hour prevented 

 the engagement being pressed. The following 

 day the Indians were found to have retired a 

 short distance to a very strong position on the 

 summit of a high bank on the farther side of a 

 muskeg or mossy bog. The troops were unable 

 to advance through this, and, after a fight last- 

 ing all day, during which four men were wound- 

 ed, the force was compelled to withdraw. This 

 was the engagement, news of which the scouts, 

 met by the steamer, were conveying to Battle- 

 ford. The steamer immediately returned to 

 Batfcleford, and the next night and the follow- 

 ing day the whole of Gen. Middleton's old col- 

 umn, with the exception of two nine-pound- 

 ers and " A " Battery, which were deemed use- 

 less for such work as now seemed to be re- 

 quired, had arrived at a point on the Sas- 

 katchewan about twenty miles in Strange's 

 rear. The Indians after the engagement ap- 

 peared to have taken to the woods and to have 

 beaten a hasty retreat. Strange remained en- 

 camped at the scene of his engagement at Lit- 

 tle Bed Deer Creek until Middleton's arrival, 

 after which he proceeded with his column to 

 the Eoman Catholic Mission at Onion Lake, 

 where, it was understood, Big Bear intended 

 going. Gen. Middleton with all his mounted 

 men followed up the Indians' trail, and after 

 overcoming almost insurmountable difficulties 

 (owing to the nature of the country, there be- 

 ing no trails), reached an encampment at Loon 

 Lake, a sheet of water eighty miles north 

 of Fort Pitt. Here it was found that the In- 

 dians had crossed a muskeg, deemed impassa- 

 ble to the heavy transport- wagons, and the 

 force in consequence returned to Fort Pitt, 

 where the infantry brigade was encamped. 

 While waiting for Gen. Middleton at Little 

 Red Deer Creek, Gen. Strange dispatched Maj. 

 Steele and a party of sixty mounted men to 

 follow the Indians' trail, and he had come up 

 with the Indians while they were fording Loon 

 VOL. xxv. 9 A 



Lake at the opposite end to that at which Mid- 

 dleton's force was subsequently stopped by the 

 muskeg referred to. Three of Major Steele's 

 men were wounded, but the loss on the side 

 of the Indians was estimated to have been very 

 heavy. Steele on retiring met Middleton's force, 

 and the two commands joined. Two days aft- 

 er arriving at Fort Pitt, Gen. Middleton started 

 out with his mounted men for Onion Lake and 

 the Beaver river, where Gen. Strange's force 

 was encamped. When at the Beaver river, 

 Gen. Middleton learned from some Chippeway- 

 an Indians, who had been unwillingly forced 

 to join the Crees in the insurrection, that the 

 white prisoners had been released by Big Bear 

 and were on the way to his camp. The gen- 

 eral returned to Fort Pitt, and a few days later 

 the white prisoners arrived, having been re- 

 leased at the instance of a party of the Wood 

 Crees, who had sympathized with them through- 

 out. When Middleton saw that Big Bear had 

 decided on attempting to elude him, he ordered 

 Col. Otter to march his column from Battle- 

 ford to Stony Lake, about sixty miles north of 

 Battleford, to attempt to intercept Big Bear's 

 band on the march. Col. Irvine at the same 

 time, with his mounted police, was dispatched 

 to Green Lake, to the north of Prince Albert, 

 with similar orders. These precautions com- 

 pletely demoralized the Indians, and the band 

 dispersed. About the end of June Big Bear, 

 accompanied only by one of his tribesmen, was 

 captured near Fort Carleton by two mounted 

 policemen, in attempting to make his escape 

 toward the American frontier. This ended 

 the campaign, and Gen. Middleton massed the 

 whole of the forces at Battleford, where they 

 assembled on June 30, and left by steamer for 

 Selkirk, whence the volunteer regiments pro- 

 ceeded to their homes. 



The losses of the forces during the campaign 

 were 53 killed and 129 wounded. This does 

 not include the murdered and wounded settlers. 

 The losses on the rebel side are not known, but 

 were undoubtedly much heavier. 



Gabriel Dumont, whose courage had won for 

 him the respect of the loyalists, escaped to the 

 United States. Kiel and the other prisoners 

 were conveyed to Regina, the capital of the 

 Northwest Territories. The prisoners were 

 tried before Col. Richardson, a stipendiary 

 magistrate, and a jury of six. Riel and ten of 

 the Indians were sentenced to death, and the 

 sentence was carried out upon Riel and upon 

 eight of the Indians implicated in the Frog 

 Lake massacre. The other two capital sen- 

 tences were commuted. Twenty-seven prison- 

 ers were sentenced to imprisonment for terms 

 varying from two years to seventeen years. 



For their services in suppressing the rebel- 

 lion, Maj.-Gen. Middleton and the Hon. A. P. 

 Caron, Minister of Militia, were knighted. 

 The volunteers were rewarded with a grant of 

 land-scrip of 320 acres apiece, or, if preferred, 

 $80 cash. 



Electoral Franchise. The parliamentary ses- 



