Federal Relations of the North-West. 445 



arrangements were conducted with extraordinary want of judgment, 

 and that the troubles which subsequently arose were materially 

 increased, if indeed they were not altogether brought about thereby. 

 Mr. McDougall set out for Fort Garry, the seat of his proposed 

 Government, in October. It was his intention to proceed directly 

 to his destination, and to place himself, upon his arrival, in com- 

 munication with Mr. William McTavish, Governor of the Hudson's 

 Bay Company. Before starting on his journey he received certain 

 ominous warnings from Colonel Dennis, who, as just intimated, had 

 been sent on in advance to make surveys. The inhabitants of the 

 country were chiefly made up of French Canadian half-breeds, 

 descendants of the voyageurs and coureurs de bois who had formerly 

 been the only white explorers of that wild region. They had made 

 some progress in husbandry, and had brought under cultivation 

 considerable tracts of the more fertile portions of the territory. 

 They were of the Roman Catholic faith, and had a resident bishop 

 in the person of the Right Reverend Alexandre Antonin Tache\ The 

 seat of the bishopric was at St. Boniface, on the opposite side of Red 

 River from Fort Garry, and barely half a mile distant therefrom. 

 Bishop Tache's influence over his flock was naturally very great, but 

 unfortunately he was at this time absent from his diocese, attending 

 the sitting of the (Ecumenical Council at Rome. Colonel Dennis 

 had not been long in this country before he observed manifestations 

 of an uneasy, suspicious feeling on the part of the inhabitants. The 

 French half-breeds were solicitous lest their title to their lands 

 should be disputed by the Dominion Government, and were unwilling 

 that any present surveys should be proceeded with. They con- 

 sidered that they ought to have been consulted as to the proposed 

 changes, instead of being transferred from one owner to auother, as 

 it appeared to them, like so much merchandise. Their displeasure 

 was in no small degree intensified by the injudicious and intemperate 

 language of some of the Canadian settlers, who irritated them in 

 various ways, and filled their minds with forebodings of evil. These 

 circumstances were carefully noted by Colonel Dennis, and com- 

 municated by letter to Mr. McDougall. He also drew attention to 

 necessity of effecting the extinction of the Indian title. Mr. 



