56 THROUGH THE MACKENZIE BASIS' 



Mr. Laird then rose, and having unrolled his Commis- 

 sion, and that of his colleagues, from the Queen, proceeded 

 with his proposals. He spoke as follows: 



" Eed Brothers ! we have come here to-day, sent by the 

 Great Mother to treat with you, and this is the paper she 

 has given to us, and is her Commission to us signed with 

 her Seal, to show we have authority to treat with you. The 

 other Commissioners, who are associated with me, and who 

 are sitting here, are Mr. McKenna and Mr. Eoss and the 

 Kev. Eather Lacombe, who is with us to act as counsellor 

 and adviser. I have to say, on behalf of the Queen and 

 the Government of Canada, that we have come to make you 

 an offer. We have made treaties in former years with all 

 the Indians of the prairie, and from there to Lake Superior. 

 As white people are coming into your country, we have 

 thought it well to tell you what is required of you. The 

 Queen wants all the whites, half-breeds and Indians to be 

 at peace with one another, and to shake hands when they 

 meet. The Queen's laws must be obeyed all over the 

 country, both by the whites and the Indians. It is not 

 alone that we wish to prevent Indians from molesting the 

 whites, it is also to prevent the whites from molesting or 

 doing harm to the Indians. The Queen's soldiers are just 

 as much for the protection of the Indians as for the white 

 man. The Commissioners made an appointment to meet 

 you at a certain time, but on account of bad weather on river 

 and lake, we are late, which we are sorry for, but are glad 

 to meet so many of you here to-day. 



" We understand stories have been told you, that if you 

 made a treaty with us you would become servants and slaves ; 

 but we wish you to understand that such is not the case, but 

 that you will be just as free after signing a treaty as you are 

 now. The treaty is a free offer; take it or not, just as you 

 please. If you refuse it there is no harm done ; we will not 

 be bad friends on that account. One thing Indians must 

 understand, that if they do not make a treaty they must 



