THE RED RIVER EXPEDITION. 333 



having set in, they bivouacked on the plain, and upon 

 waking the following morning discovered that their 

 horses had disappeared. They were without food, 

 but their pockets were well lined with stolen money. 

 Having lost their horses, and that side of the river 

 being little inhabited, it was necessary for them to 

 cross to the other bank. There was no boat, so they 

 set to work pulling down a fence to make a raft. 

 They could not find enough rope or cord to fasten it 

 together, so Eiel's follower his late "Secretary of 

 State " took off his trousers and used them for that 

 purpose. Upon landing on the other side they were 

 assailed by the farmer, who had seen them pulling 

 down his fence, and were forced to disgorge some of 

 their plunder as compensation for the damage. Two 

 days afterwards they reached Pembina Riel with 

 bare feet, swollen and sore from the journey. He 

 found that he was not at all well received by the 

 Americans there, who had taken umbrage at his hav- 

 ing imprisoned their consul ; so he went to St Josephs, 

 a village about fifty miles to the west, and within a 

 few miles of our frontier. He had previously sent a 

 large proportion of his plunder to that place; and, 

 according to the latest received accounts, he is still 

 there, living comfortably in the enjoyment of his 

 stolen property. 



The first detachment of the regular troops started 

 from Fort Garry on their return-journey to Canada 

 on the 29th of August, and all of them had left on 



