 15 Wholesale Cattle Smuggling In the month of November 1901 the collector of United States customs at Great Falls in the state of Montana, a place about 140 miles south of Lethbridge, wrote to me to ask what brands the firm of Spencer Brothers were using in Canada, and whether they had any cattle branded with a double rollox. I was aware that these people were American citizens who had recently, least from the Dominion government, a large quantity of land. They were reputed to be wealthy, and to have a great number of very fine cattle. Beyond that my attention had not been particularly directed to them. I now learned that the firm consisted of two brothers, Samuel and John, that they were intensely unpopular in the state of Montana, and that they had conceived the brilliant idea of coming to northwest Canada, and leasing a large quantity of land at two cents an acre in the immediate proximity of the international boundary. William Taylor, their manager, is my authority for the statement that a sum of money had been set down in the Canadian estimates for the year 1902 for the purpose of building a fence along the international boundary line. The project was not carried into effect, but that such a ridiculous proposition had even been taken into serious consideration shows what influence the Spencer Brothers had with the government at Ottawa. The diagram herewith shows a plan of the lease, namely townships number one in ranges five and six, and townships number two in ranges six, seven and eight. As each township measures six miles north and south by six miles east and west, and consists of thirty-six square miles, it follows that the firm had one hundred and eighty square miles of the public domain under lease. But this was not all the advantage they derived. For a glance at the map will show how the leased land bestrides the Milk River, which flows out of Canada into Montana in township one, range five. The Spencer's thus controlled at least twenty-four miles of river frontage, and as there is no other water within striking distance, it is evident that townships one of ranges seven and eight would be of no use to any stock owner who might be denied access to the Milk River. The Spencer's thus virtually acquired seventy-two additional square miles of grazing land for which they paid not a cent. Everyone will admit that this was a long-headed scheme which deserved to succeed, but it must not be imagined that such extensive privileges could be obtained for the mere asking, not at all. The Minister of the Interior of that day, who had control of the Dominion lands, was Mr. Clifford Sifton, who prior to his joining Sir Wilfred Laurier's Cabinet in 1896 had practiced law in Brandon, Manitoba, when the brother's Spencer coveted the concessions which have been described. They were astute enough to reason that it might be to their advantage to do their legal business through the firm of lawyers which Mr. Sifton had ostensibly left. Results proved that their line of reasoning was unimpeachable. They had to pay a large sum of money it is true, but they got what they wanted, and the game was worth the candle. A few years later another American firm, the Price Conrad Company, desired similarly to milk the good old Canadian cow and use the same milking-stool. The concessions they wanted were near Maple Creek. Their idea was to lease detached townships here and there, selected in such a way as to give them practical control of the intervening area for nothing. The emissary, whom they sent eastward to pull the strings, wired from Ottawa to his principal at Maple Creek. We can get it, but it comes high. To which the immediate answer was returned, must have it at any price. They got it, and it was the emissary who told the story. Following the examples of the Spencers, other American cattlemen had driven their herds to the Canadian frontier in order that they might fatten on Canadian grass, of which there was an abundance, while the feed to the south of the line was eaten off, and a special officer of customs was detailed to attend to the matter. Having no means himself of watching a long boundary line, he was perforce dependent upon us for information and assistance, his own participation being confined to making out the seizure papers and reporting to Ottawa. He made some seizures during my tenure of command at Maple Creek between July 1902 and July 1906, and except in one instance where the owner had not apparently learned the tricks of the trade, and had in consequence to pay a penalty the cattle were ordered to be returned by the department at Ottawa without payment of duty. There was no earthly reason where they should not all have been treated alike, but so it was. To hark back to my correspondence with the collector of U.S. Customs, I learned from him that in November 1901 the Spencers had shipped a trainload of cattle, 176 head, from their Milk River Ranch to the Chicago market. This shipment was intercepted by the U.S. Customs officer, held at St. Paul, while en route to Chicago, and not permitted to proceed to its destination until after the Spencers had deposited the sum of $2,355 with the Secretary of the Montana Stock Growers Association as Customs duty. In November 1900 the brothers had informed the Secretary of the Northern Montana Roundup Association that they had moved all their cattle into Canada, and on that account declined to pay their pro-rata share of the Montana Roundup Expenses. I saw the letters of both brothers and took copies of them. An indictment which the United States brought against the firm in March 1902 failed because only ten instead of twelve jurors of the grand jury voted for it. A special agent of the United States Treasury Department was sent from Tacoma to take charge of the case, and the authorities were very much chagrined at having been outwitted. Great influence had been brought to bear upon the jurymen. The grand sovereign of the independent order of odd fellows was very active in the interests of the Spencers, whose success emboldened them to think that Canadian justice could be similarly tampered with. Sam Spencer had a favourite expression, we'll law them, and he was never averse to going to the law. As the United States officials pursued their investigation they came across a great deal of evidence which was most valuable to me, and they gave me without stint all the assistance which they possibly could. For instance, on April 25th 1900 the firm imported and paid duty on five hundred and twenty-seven calves, all less than twelve months old. My American friends obtained from me and Affidavid from one of the Spencers employees who assisted to drive about a thousand head of cattle to the Canadian frontier. The five hundred and twenty-seven calves were there cut out of the bunch and were driven to a mounted police detachment called Writing on Stone, where duty was paid on them, and the mothers were driven to the Spencers' range, where the calves subsequently joined them. The same man also gave information as to another drive of about eight hundred which took place in October of the same year, and as to the particulars of that I was unable to procure an Affidavid from another employee of the Spencers who took part in the importation. In addition to this every stockman in northern Montana was eager to give us information and we had an abundance of it. This ebullition of the feeling against the Spencers on the part of their fellow countrymen was brought about as follows. Ever since they had been established on their milk river lease the firm relying on their influence at Ottawa had assumed that they could do as they pleased. During the winter of nineteen oh one a great many American cattle had drifted into Canada. The range in northern Montana had been largely burnt off by prairie fires and the only feed available for some fifteen thousand head of cattle was in the neighbourhood of the sweet grass hills where the grass was good and the stockman concerned had no choice but to range their cattle there or let them starve to death. This meant that the cattle must be pastured within a latitude of about twenty miles of the Canadian frontier. Within that distance there was no water readily accessible except that in the milk river which meandered eastward at a distance of from ten to twelve miles north of the boundary line. I had always recognized the fact that it was a sheer impossibility to hold thirsty range cattle back from water and had always impressed upon the owners of trespassing cattle that they should do their utmost to prevent their animals from crossing to the northern bank. There were at that time no Canadian settlers on the south side of the river to be inconvenienced by incursions of stray cattle. The American cattlemen recognized their obligation to protect Canadian interests on the northern bank and were in the habit of maintaining line riders to keep the cattle back. These men used to lodge at our detachment buildings and in return for their board in lodging used to keep the mounted police detachments supplied with fresh beef at the expense of their employers. This system had been established by me years previously and had been then fully reported upon and explained in my annual report for the information of Parliament. The revenue suffered to the extent that no duty was charged or paid on any animal so killed for food and the customs officers who were fully aware of the circumstances and never disdained to partake of the beef when their business took them into those parts never thought proper to raise the question. In the exercise of their assumed prerogative Spencer Brothers aerogated to themselves the right to control a large stretch of prairie about 70 miles long by 20 miles wide and on one occasion during the winter of 1901 they gathered some 2,000 head of American cattle which had been storm driven to the northern bank of the river and drove them across to the south side. One of the American cowboy line riders George Foyce was present and pointed out that the ice was rotten. He vigorously protested against the proposed movement but the Spencer's manager said he did not care he would drive them across no matter what might happen and he and his men did so. Fortunately more by good luck than good management there were no casualties but the indignant cowboy told the story far and wide in northern Montana and there was not a cattle owner there who was not anxious to get back at the Spencer's their renegade countrymen. Hence it was that I was able to collect so much information and the report which I was able to make to my department was as full and conclusive as it was possible for a report to be. The reply of the customs department at Ottawa was to send a special service officer to cooperate with me. His instructions were to inform the firm of Spencer Brothers that they were charged with having smuggled into Canada about five hundred head of cattle in April 1900 that the duty paid value of these would be about fifteen thousand dollars and he was to demand payment of a deposit of seven thousand five hundred dollars subject to the final decision of the minister of customs. If the firm consented to pay this demand the officer was to wire to his minister for further instructions. Accordingly on Good Friday 1902 Mr. Burenot and I started by train for Coots, a station on the boundary line and from there by road eastward about fifty-five miles to a mounted police detachment situate in pendant Doriel Cooley within about seven miles of the Spencer's ranch. Burenot drove in a police buckboard while I rode with George Voice the American cowboy before mentioned. He had spent the winter on the Milk River and gave me a great deal of information which I had not previously had occasion to acquire. He might have saved ourselves a disagreeable trip for neither of the Spencer's was at home and we had to deal with the manager William Taylor who told us that he was also part owner. In reply to Burenot's communication he said that his firm had paid duty on every head of stock that they had imported and that they would not put up a dollar. He told me that the firm then owned six thousand or seven thousand head of cattle. He could not tell within a thousand as they had not counted them for some time. It was known to me at least that they had paid duty on only one thousand two hundred and thirty animals, eight hundred and fifty four of which were calves under twelve months of age and I was more disposed to believe the range gossip which assessed the cattle smuggled from Montana at from two thousand to three thousand head. However there was nothing for us to do but to go home which we did. Away after this I attended a meeting of the Western Stock Growers Association and there asked a prominent stockman what it would cost the government to hire a round up party of fifteen riders with the necessary etc. for twenty one days. George Voice had calculated that it would take that length of time to cover the range. Mr. George Lane replied, fifteen hundred dollars, and I then asked if he could supply the party. He said he would. I explained that the proposition was a close secret and must remain so. He finally asked what direction the round up would probably take and I said southeast. Then I can guess what your business is, said he, keep your guesses to yourself at any rate. I replied, and we parted. In course of time the customs department authorized the hiring of the round up and everything was arranged with such secrecy that the only people in the West who knew anything about it were George Lane, George Voice, my orderly room clerk, and myself. On Wednesday May 14th the round up party camped a couple miles east of Lethbridge and Burunat and I joined them there. I took my clerk with me, mounted, and took two saddle horses for my own use. Burunat was driven in a light wagon hauled by a police team. The captain of the round up, William Playfair, knew what our errand was, and so did an expert cattle buyer named William Henry, who Mr. Lane had thoughtfully included in the personnel of his party, but none of the other men knew. It was supposed to be George Lane's horse round up, whose mission ordinarily would be to scour the range for the owner's horses, and it was amusing sometimes to hear remarks as to what was Captain Dean's connection with Lane's horse round up. Voice had been lent to me by the Montana Stockman, for whom he was working at the time, and brought his own string of horses with him, ten in number. The other riders were provided with six apiece. We should have started earlier in the year, but extensive prairie fires had in the previous autumn devastated a great tract of the country over which we wanted to travel, and so we had to wait until sufficient young grass had grown to provide for our needs. 1902 was the year of bad floods in the West, and our journey was very much delayed by heavy rains which had the compensating advantage of helping the grass to grow. I should not omit to mention something that happened on our second day out. It was after midday dinner, the camp had been struck, and we were on the point of starting again. Voice had saddled and mounted the horse he had chosen for the afternoon, the best in the string but mean, as he described him. When the brute began to buck, he bucked so long and so hard that he finally threw voice over his head, turned a complete somersault, and broke his neck in the doing of it. When we turned our eyes from Voice, who was shaking himself to see if there was any harm done, we saw his late mount balanced on his romp, and on the horn of the saddle, with his feet in the air, and his head where his tail had been, stoned dead. He remained in that position until he was pulled over to allow the saddle to be taken from under him. Some weeks later I wrote to his owner in Montana and asked what value he set upon the horse, as he had been killed in our service, in his reply he said. We lose horses occasionally in about the same manner in which this one acted with voice, and in all probability we would have lost this one sooner or later, or he might have caused the death of a man. I never regret the loss of a horse that will change ends in that way, and I am thankful George escaped, and the horse is dead. I do not wish any pay for him, with kindest regards I am yours very truly. John Harris Voice caught another horse out of the herd, and went about his business as if nothing had happened. The chances of changes of a cowboy's life must be seen to be appreciated. At this time we were heading for a ranch on the many berries creek, about one hundred miles due east of Lethbridge, and it took us four and one half days to make the journey. On our arrival there I found some men and horses whom I had temporarily withdrawn from my milk river detachments. There too I received a report from a special envoy who had been employed for the previous six weeks in watching the Spencer cattle, and this report told me where practically every hoof was to be found. Not a single head was on the Spencer's lease, they were all feeding on the public domain. We now told the men of our party what our errand was, and at six thirty next morning we all pulled out. The roundup to begin business on the nearest cattle they could find, and Buranat and I, to visit the Spencer's ranch, distant about thirty miles. On our way we were held up for a day and a half at Pendent Toriel detachment by bad weather and impassable roads, but I saw Mr. Taylor in the interval. He told us that he was very glad the inspection was to take place. It was the very thing he wanted. As the ensuing weeks wore on Mr. Taylor's gratification visibly declined to the vanishing point. On May twenty first Buranat and I found Brother John at home at the ranch. He was affability itself. He told me that he did not know a dog-gone thing. About the cattle or anything else connected with the ranch. He said Taylor kept what books there were, and he, John Spencer, had never looked at them. He held Taylor responsible. This happened to be election day, and Taylor had gone to vote. We waited at the ranch for him until about four o'clock, and then went back to our lodgings. John Spencer promised that Taylor should bring the books for our inspection, and said that we should part good friends whatever happened, but he could not pretend to say how we might find the cattle, as he knew nothing about them, and had never told a lie in his life. From that time onward the recording angel had less leisure time in connection with the rancher of Pius and patriarchal appearance, who was said by those amongst whom he had lived for years to be the crafty member of the firm. Taylor came to see us at Pendant d'Oreal. Next morning he brought one book which showed the amount of duty paid on importations from the United States, but told us nothing that I did not know. On the following day Buranat and I reached our roundup camp just before noon. The party had gathered about 2,500 head of cattle, out of which, in the course of the day, about 400 Americans were cut out and held. The others were handed over to Taylor's men to take and keep out of our way. Next day, similarly, about one hundred and forty head of Americans were cut out of a bunch of six hundred. I may as well here explain how our men were guided in their selection of what I call American cattle. The Spencer brothers had in Montana used certain brands, namely the Double Rollock on the left ribs and Bar 7K and J7 on the left side. They were not allowed to use in Canada the same brands that they had used in the United States. For instance, the Canadian brand for the Double Rollock cattle was the Double Rollock on the right side instead of the left. Sam Spencer was awarded this brand in that place at his own request. In the same way Canadian brands were awarded in the case of Bar 7K and J7 cattle. This story is not concerned with the particularities of brands and for the sake of illustrating generally the system in Vogue I will use the case of the Double Rollock cattle. An animal bearing that brand on the left ribs was undeniably an animal born and bred in the United States, whether it bore a brand on the right side or whether it did not. It was a common thing to find an American cow with a calf at foot and a yearling heifer or steer following her, possibly the two offspring bore the Canadian brand without any other at all. This meant that the cow was a smuggled animal. The Spencer's would endeavor to call her a stray, that is, a cow which had crossed the imaginary boundary line into Canada without their knowledge or consent. But this claim was defeated by the fact that the cow had been long enough in Canadian soil to have two calves, one over twelve months old and the other it may be only a few weeks old, and the fact that the cow's progeny had been branded with the Spencer's Canadian brand showed conclusively that the cow had been in Canadian territory with their knowledge and consent, and that they had given her some attention as the two calves were still following their mother at the date of our visit. We noticed many cases of that kind. I have previously said that the Spencer's had imported and paid duty on 527 head of calves on April 25th, 1900. These calves were sworn to be under twelve months old. That meant that any number of cows from one thousand to one thousand five hundred in number had been despoiled of their calves, for the time being, and that they had been driven into Canada at some other point there to meet their calves. The calves were then carefully branded, the cows were not. Some of the cows were doubtless, heavy in calf at the time of their importation, and their then unborn calves would be branded when the branding season should come on and opportunities would offer. The ordinary range expectation in the matter of calf crop was one calf to three cows or their boats. The casualties were so great arising from wolves, coyotes, weather accidents, in different motherhood, etc., that John Spencer's claim that every one of their cows had a calf was a sheer absurdity. Anyhow we found a goodly number of dry cows in their herd at the clothes of our visit. I will recur to this question a little later on. Two notable things happened on Saturday May 24. The first was that George Lane drove into camp from Medicine Hat, a distance of about a hundred and fifty miles, to see how his horse roundup was getting on, and told us that he had that morning seen two men who were evidently anxious to avoid him, riding hard in a northeasterly direction. The second was that in the course of the afternoon I met Art Strong, Sam Spencer's very capable foreman. I had left word in various quarters that I should like to talk to him, and as a result of some such communication he now came to visit our camp. He had formerly been a line-rider on the Milk River in the employ of some Montana stock-owners, and I knew a good deal of him and about him. I knew, for instance, that although he would serve his employer's interests to the utmost, he would not swear to a lie. I feared from the first that by moving Sam Spencer's cattle he might hinder our inquiry, and I had taken the precaution before I left Lethbridge of laying in information and obtaining a warrant for his arrest in connection with the importation of calves in April 1900. I intended to have no scruples in putting him out of harm's way if I should have any reason to suspect him of playing tricks with us. It was this I wanted to tell him. After the usual greetings I said that I wanted to point out to him that if he took upon himself the task of carrying out the unlawful commands of his employers he might find a difficulty in devoiding himself of responsibility for the execution of orders which he of necessity knew to be unlawful. I told him I had a warrant in my pocket, but I did not want to execute it unless you obliged me to do so, and I also pointed out that all the Spencer cattle were now under seizure by the customs department, and it would be a serious matter for any person to interfere with the due process of law. He said, I accuse me, don't I, of smuggling a thousand head of cattle at the bone pile in April 1900? I replied, yes, that is what they say of you. Well, he retorted, I didn't do it. There were only nine hundred in the bunch anyhow, and after I had cut out the calves for customs entry at writing on stone my orders were to leave the mothers at the line, and I left them there. The bone pile, I should say, was a pile of bones which marked the boundary line. Having got such an admission as this from a hostile witness I thought myself so fortunate that I said, oh well, I'll keep the warrant in my pocket for the present, and I hope you won't give me any occasion to use it. He promised he would not, and we went on our respective ways. Strong statement about the nine hundred cattle, if accepted, and I accepted it unreservedly, emphasized the fraudulent nature of the sworn customs entry as to the five hundred and twenty seven calves being all under twelve months of age. There must have been among them a considerable number of yearlings which had reached the age of puberty, and worked outlessly in some cases in the process of becoming mothers themselves. It was no uncommon thing to find on the range a two-year-old heifer with a calf. 15. Part 2 of Mounted Police Life in Canada. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org. Mounted Police Life in Canada by Captain Burton Dean. 15. Part 2. Wholesale Cattle Smuggling. On May 25th our herd of American cattle numbered about 750 head. Taylor came to our camp for dinner that day, and after looking through the seized stock, told Bournet that there was not a four-year-old steer in their herd. This was an indication of what his line of argument was likely to be, and in the course of a thirty-mile ride with George Lane that morning, how a dispute as to age between our experts and the Spencer's representative could be conclusively settled. He said the only way would be to have a veterinary surgeon on the spot. As a last resource an animal in dispute could always be thrown aside and its mouth could be examined, and a disinterested veterinary surgeon would be the best person to examine the teeth. He would be able to tell to a certainty. When Lane left us, as he did that afternoon for home, he carried with him from me a letter to the commanding officer at Calgary asking him to send his veterinary officer to join our camp, and he did so. The significance of the two riders, reported by George Lane, appeared about this time. It was proposed to move the camp in a northeasterly direction for about eight miles, and voice was sent to look over the ground. The northeast corner of the range was black with cattle when we first began our work, but voice came back and reported now that they had been driven off. He found a trail leading south-west, showing tracks of a large band of cattle and of galloping horses, which had been used in herding them off the hills into the coolies. By the sign of the tracks this had been done within about thirty-six hours. We also found deep-cut wheel-marks of a wagon going in the same direction. This was no more than we had expected, and we were in no way disconcerted. At the worst it could only mean that we might have to prolong our stay and go over the range again. There was no hope of the cattle being able to get away from us, as, if they went into Montana, the customs officers there would seize them, so we did not worry. Our routine from day to day was pretty much the same. Breakfast at about four-fifteen a.m. or four-thirty a.m. Ride all the four noon, dinner at noon, ride all the afternoon, supper at six or the air-boats. Sometimes we had to move camp every day. Sometimes it would be a fixture for two or three days, according to how we found the cattle. We had to drive with us, our seas turd. We're in, we're innumerable calves. They had to be moved slowly, and the number of cattle, of course, increased from day to day. Matters by this time reached such a stage that some definite pronouncement had to be made as to the plan upon which the seizure was to be conducted. My colleague and I had never been able to agree upon this point. He had spent most of his life in the maritime provinces seizing bottles of illicit rum from fishing smacks and the like, and knew as much about cattle as a cow knew about side-pockets. He was not even willing to learn. He argued that the Spencers had paid duty on one-thousand two-hundred and thirty head of stock, and that we should seize all over that number of American brands that we could find. This proposition was too childish to waste time in discussing, and I told him so. For want of something better to say, he finally observed that his deportment was in charge of the operations, and that what he, as representative of the customs, said was final. Considering that he was as useless as a fifth wheel to a coach, this was calculated to make a plain man mad, and I am free to confess that it made me as mad as a wet hen. I stumped out of the tent, leaving behind me as a Parthian shot. You'll find that I settled this question irrespective of your department's representative. I called to my clerk to bring writing-pad and pencil, and together we retired to a convenient spot, where he sat on the prairie and wrote, and I walked about and dictated. The following is a verbatim copy of what he wrote. MEMORANTUM OF DETAILS FOR SETTLEMENT WITH SPENCER BROTHER AND COMPANY BY SUPERINTENDENT DEAN On April 25, 1900 they imported 527 calves. Of these, 224 were entered at Coots as being under six months old. The remaining 303 were entered on the same date at the same place as being over six and under twelve months. As a yearling is not properly so-called until he has become twelve months old, as a two-year-old is not properly so-called until he is twenty-four months old, and as a three-year-old is not properly so-called until he has completed thirty-six months of age, it will be seen that none of the 527 calves was thirty-six months old on April 25, 1902. By May 25, 1902, one month later it might be plausibly claimed that some of them had become three-year-olds. A liberal method therefore of estimating the possible number may be arrived at in the case of the 303 calves which were entered as being over six and under twelve months on April 25, 1900. In the first place it may be fairly presumed that the 303 calves were half-steers and half-heffers. We may thus consider them to have been 152 heffers and 151 steers, plus odoms. As the age of the calves were spread over a period of six months it is reasonable to divide the number of heffers and steers by six, and thus to assume that twenty-seven heffers and twenty-six steers had, on May 25, 1902, entered the category of three-year-old animals. The entry at Coots, giving the ages of these animals as shown by the customs records, will, I presume, be held to mean exactly what it expresses, neither more nor less. It is important that this should be definitely understood, as in conversation with Mr. Butternot the other day Mr. Taylor prepared the way for a change affront by saying that a mistake had been made in the entry at Coots. He appeared to acclaim that a mistake had been made in the number of calves entered, but he also mentioned, quite incidentally, that some of the calves were fourteen months old. I called Mr. Butternot's attention to this remark afterwards. Upon this premise, namely, that the entry at Coots was correct, and was made in good faith, I am, in the opinion of competent stockmen, making a liberal computation when I allow one-sixth part of the three-hundred and three calves to be classed as three-year-old steers and heffers on May 25, 1902. This pre-supposes no casualties to have happened to any of them. These animals are said to have been branded double roll lock. And J. Seven on the left side. I desire to draw particular attention to these twenty-six steers qualifying as three-year-old animals, because it will account for the only three-year-old steers of American brands lawfully in possession of Spencer Brothers and Company in Canada. On December 7, 1900, the firm imported and paid duty on a one-hundred and eighty-nine cows and eighty heffers. The calves, two-hundred and sixty-eight, imported on that occasion, are too young to require attention. The brands on these animals were entered as double roll lock, J. Seven, and quarter circle F. On April 20, 1901, the firm paid duty on eighty-two cows and twenty heffers, described as being then about two years old. The brand on this importation was entered as double roll lock on the left side. The total number then of cows and heffers three years old and upwards, which Spencer Brothers and Company have lawfully in their possession on May 25, 1902, equals one-hundred and eighty-nine plus eighty plus eighty-two plus twenty plus twenty-seven, all of which amount to three-hundred and ninety-eight. A search in proportion of female stock is always unprolific. Being called dry stock, competent stockmen tell me that estimating the proportion of dry stock at thirty percent is in reality an underestimate, so that, if it be conceded that Spencer and Company should receive a calf within each of the three-hundred and ninety-eight cows, to which they are entitled, they cannot complain of illiberality. This very number, three-hundred and ninety-eight, should be subject to deduction from losses, etc., but the fact that none is claimed by the government, again, bespeaks liberality. In the number of cattle which had been rounded up, there are a number of steers of three, four, five years old and upwards. These animals, all bare American brands, have not been entered at customs, and are thus valuable and caesable property. I may here again say the allowance of the twenty-six just turned three-year-old steers, as previously mentioned, is a liberal concession to the firm of Spencer's. Following the same rule as is suggested for the steers, all cows bearing American brands of three years old and upwards, whether with calves or not, are liable to seizure and confiscation, and these and the steers will constitute the most valuable part of the seizure. There is no difficulty, whatever, in conducting the seizure upon these lines. Competent cattle-men are as well able to tell the age of a two, three or four-year-old animal, etc., as they are to read the lines of a book. Mr. Lane had provided in the personnel of his round-up an expert in this matter, and in the event of any dispute arising as to an animal's age we have, upon Mr. Lane's advice, fortified ourselves with professional veterinary opinion in the person of Staff Sergeant Hobbes. The dictum, therefore, of Mr. Henry, the expert of Mr. Playfair, captain of the round-up, and of Staff Sergeant Hobbes, may be held as to be unassailable wherever they are agreed upon a point of age. And such opinion need not fear be controverted in a court of law. Spencer Brothers and Company may plausibly plead that the American-branded steers, etc., now on their range here, have strayed across the boundary line, and joined their cattle here without their knowledge. Against that there are two circumstances to be considered. First Arthur Strong told me, on May 24 last, in connection with the entry of five-hundred and twenty-seven calves, at Riding on Stone, on April 25, 1900, when I told him that I held a warrant for his arrest, for aiding and abetting and smuggling cattle into Canada, as per Affidavit of John Rice, that he had not smuggled any cattle as charged, that on the occasion, in question, he had in accordance with his orders, driven four-hundred head of cattle over and above the calves aforesaid, as far as the boundary line, and left them there. He protested that he did not know whether they came into Canada or not. Secondly, we know from Mr. Stock Inspector, Bray's report, that, on May 2 last, Spencer Brothers shipped four beef cattle branded double roll-lock on the left side, that is, the American brand. It remained for the firm to show whether these animals were ever duly entered at customs. The two circumstances are at least suspicious. I have thought it advisable to record for the information of the Department at Ottawa, and possibly for future reference in the event of the matter ever finding its way into a court of law, exactly what my views and line of reasoning are while we are on the spot. To pursue this matter, to its logical conclusion, there is, in my opinion, but one course open to us. We have now over one-thousand four-hundred head of cattle. After the claims of Spencer Brothers and Company have been satisfied, as Afford said, it will be found that in the balance remaining there will still be a considerable number of steers and cows of three years of age and upwards, and these should be seized as Spencer Brothers and Company cannot have them lawfully in their possession, and the onus of proving that they are so rests with them. Badwater Lake, Alberta, May 31, 1902. As soon as a fair copy had been made, I took it, to bear a knot, and said, that is an outline of the basis of settlement. If you agree with it, you should sign it. If you do not agree with it, you would do well to detail your objections in writing. He studied it for a while, and then said, It's all right. So we had no further dispute. Butternaut left on June 3 for Coots. From Wentz he sent to his department at Ottawa a long telegram which he had concocted. The reply read as follows, Commissioner instructs you to demand deposit of duty paid, valued for stock seized, such deposit not exceeding ten thousand dollars. Forfeited stock may be sold by private sale, if you deem this advisable, in case deposit not paid. The ten thousand dollar limit was absurdly inadequate and rendered it useless for us to waste time and money by going again over the range in pursuit of the cattle that had been driven out of our way. So we turned over to Mr. Taylor and his men. Number 1. 398 cows, three-year-olds and upwards, with a calf to each cow. Two, twenty-six steers which had just attained the age of three years. Taylor, as expected, kicked like a steer about everything. I explained to him our method of settling the dispute, and quoted from my record the maximum number of cows which he was entitled to receive, according to his own sworn customs entries. He retorted that he had never heard of such a thing as holding a man to months in the ages of cattle. But it not chipped in then. I told you in March, Mr. Taylor, that we would hold you to your entries, and that is what we are doing. We were quite firm, so finally he said he was satisfied with the cows and steers, and took them over as being three years and upwards. Next we handed over to him some 348 head of less than three-year-old animals which we did not want. This brought us down to the herd that we intended to seize, all three year-olds and upwards. We asked Taylor if he had any objection to offer in respect to these, and he and his men started in and recklessly cut out about one hundred and fifty head which he claimed were two-year-old animals. We sat round and looked on, and in some cases laughed. Several of the cows were followed by two calves, a yearling and a calf, and he thought at good business to take the yearlings away from their mothers, as if we were such fools as not to see through this absurdity. One amusing incident happened. Taylor and our man Playfair disagreed about a steer. Playfair said, Look here, Taylor, I've just got fifty dollars here. You say that steer is not three years old, and I say it is. I will bet you fifty dollars on it, and if you will bet I will take the money over to the captain there, and he shall hold it while we throw the animal and let the vet examine its mouth. Taylor was not such a fool as to give away his money in that fashion and declined the offer. Playfair then refused to take his objections seriously. After Taylor and his men had finished their afternoon's fun, we instructed our experts to cut back into the seized herd all of the hundred and fifty animals that they would positively swear to as being three-year-olds. They cut back all but nineteen head. They said there might be doubt as to these nineteen, and they would not be prepared to swear without a mouth examination. This Taylor was particularly anxious to avoid. He was too good a cattleman not to know that he was wrong, and a mouth examination not only would have discredited him in the eyes of his own men, but would have subjected him to derision all over the range and in the stockman's world. It was no part of our business to compel an examination. In the first place, the Customs Act throws upon the importer the onus of proof. Taylor was the importer, and the proof lay with him. In the second place we were dealing with Spencer's cattle. If there was any throwing to be done it had to be done by the Spencer's men. We should never have heard the last of it if an animal had been thrown by our men and a leg had been accidentally broken, perhaps as was always possible. It was better policy for us to concede the nineteen head which we did. We then asked Taylor if he was satisfied that the herd under seizure consisted of cattle, three years old and upwards, he replied, to the best of my judgment. We then proceeded to count the seized herd and found five hundred eighty-seven head. Taylor was nervous and lost the count. Voice gave it to him once again, but he lost it again, and was content to accept our figures. The more so as we had spent ten hours in the saddle chewing the rag over this very simple proposition. Next morning the round-up left us as its work was done and well done too. They had worked with us and for us loyally and well, and our personal relations were all that could be desired. Burranat and his teamster left at the same time, heading for the railway. He had an engagement to meet Taylor at Medicine Hat, there to receive the required deposit, and it was my duty to stay with the herd, with voice, and the few men that I had as herders, until I should hear from Burranat. The nights of the fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenths June were bitterly cold, with driving rainstorms at frequent intervals during the day. The cattle were restless and hard to hold, and I was mighty glad when word came about three p.m. on the seventeenth that the deposit was made and that the cattle might be released. I sent for Taylor to come and take them over, and we counted them out to him. One hundred and ninety-eight steers worth forty-two fifty each, one hundred and sixty-four cows with calves worth thirty-five dollars each, two hundred and twenty-five dry cows worth twenty-eight dollars each. The total value was over twenty thousand dollars. The prices quoted were the market prices of the day, and we knew of a man who was prepared to buy the cattle at those prices if there had been any hitch with the deposit. On June eighteen we broke up our camp and started for the mounted police detachment at riding on stone about forty miles distant, and it was about time for our grub had run out, the rains had spoiled most of the little flour we had left, and we had but a scanty breakfast that morning. Having to make a detour on business I had a ride of fifty-three miles before I got my next meal, and that was not till half-past three in the afternoon. We had all become a little tired of the job. The work had been very tiresome and monotonous during the last few days. We had driven an ever-increasing number of cattle which finally amounted to about one thousand four hundred head, for about seventy miles and had not lost even one calf. My horses had carried me for over nine hundred miles between May fourteenth and June nineteenth, which was as much as I dared to take out of them considering that one was twenty-two years of age. Dandy by name, dandy by nature, and the other turned out to have a poor constitution. Old Dandy delighted in cutting a refractory steer out of a bunch. He would cock his ears and watch the brute, and turn like a flash at the slightest touch of a rain laid flat on his neck. That is, the cowboy fashion, and I never insulted the old chap's mouth by pretending to know he had a bit in it. D. and I, on one of the closing days of the round-up, had finally cut out a steer that had given us a lot of trouble. Willard Humphries, an American cowboy, one of Spencer's men, had been looking on from the outside of the circle, and when I pulled up alongside of him he said, �They old horse did that well, Captain, but I don't like to see him do it.� �Why not?� I queried. �Oh, because he's too old he shouldn't have to do that in his old age. �I believe you're right,� said I. �I'll never do it again.� And I never did. For my share in this seizure I was preemptorily ordered to be transferred from Lethbridge to Maple Creek. I had been in Lethbridge for fourteen years, so there was, as the Western expression goes, no kick coming to me. I simply packed up and went, and by the irony of fate stumbled upon the other instances of graft which I have previously mentioned. I carried with me the grim satisfaction of knowing that I had worked up a case in which there was not a single flaw and which could not fail to be upheld by every tribunal in the dominion. In spite of all the information at their disposal the customs department became weak-need. How this melody was induced may be better imagined than described, and returned to the Spencer's or the representative's four thousand of the ten thousand dollar deposit, thus defrauding the revenue of the round sum of fourteen thousand dollars, besides the further unknown quantity represented by the hundreds of smuggled cattle which we had not been permitted to round up. The Spencer's then had the audacity to bring a suit against the government for the six thousand dollars which the customs held. This action was tried in the ex-checker court at Medicine Hat on December 2, 1904. They had filed in the court a perfect avalanche of affidavits in which they denied pretty nearly everything that had been reported against them. One instance will serve to show the class of impotent falsehood that they generated, for the falsity of every document was exposed at the hearing. One of the affidavits purported to have been made by Art Strong, wherein he flatly contradicted the story that I had told about meeting him near the camp, and said that such a conversation never took place. In the witness-box, under cross-examination, Strong freely and unequivocally admitted that he had met me, and had told me about his connection with the nine hundred cattle in April 1900. So open and ingenious was his admission that the judge remarked, Ah! these affidavits have been prepared! One of our witnesses, Peter Enes, who had helped Sam Spencer to smuggle some eight hundred cattle into Canada at Pendent Oreille in October 1900, and was coming from Montana to tell his story under oath, swore in the witness-box that while he was on his way the then mayor of Great Falls, a bosom friend of the Spencer's, had offered him two hundred and fifty dollars not to come to court. When that inducement failed he was plied with liquor and made so helplessly drunk that it was quite a job to sober him up in time to give evidence. However we managed it and he gave good evidence too. The result of the trial was a foregone conclusion. Mr. Justice Burbidge said that he could give the suppliance no relief. He remarked that the amount sued for represented only a small proportion of the value of the cattle seized, and this was an indication of the trend of his thoughts. The disappointed suppliance appealed from the decision of the Exchequer court to the Supreme Court of Canada, which affirmed the judgment of the court below, and that settled the matter. Some years ago I cut out a fragment of some newspaper, the name of which I do not know, the following poem, with which, with apologies to the author, it seems to me I may fitly close my narrative of this episode. It was a unique experience for a police officer, and I would not have missed it for the world. The Cowboys Prayer The following poem, written under the above caption, signed, Charles B. Clark Jr. contains a whole sermon whose broadness might be commended to some clerical teachers. Oh Lord, I've never lived where churches grow. I love creation better as it stood. That day you finished it so long ago, and looked upon your work and called it good. I know that others find you in the light. That's sifted down through tinted window-pains. And yet I seem to feel you near to-night, in this dim, quiet starlight on the plains. I thank you, Lord, that I am placed so well, that you have made my freedom so complete, that I am no slave of whistle, clock, and bell, or weak-eyed prisoner of wall and street. Just let me live my life as I've begun, and give me work that's open to the sky. Make me a partner of the wind and sun, and I won't ask a life that's soft or high. Let me be easy on the man that's down, and make me square and generous with all. I'm careless sometimes, Lord, when I'm in town, but never let them say I'm mean or small. Make me as big and open as the plains, as honest as the horse between my knees. Clean as the wind that blows behind the rains. Free is the hawk that circles down the breeze. Forgive me, Lord, when sometimes I forget. You understand the reasons that are hid. You know the many things that gall and fret. You know me better than my mother did. Just keep an eye on all that's done and said, Just write me sometimes when I turn aside, and guide me on the long, dim trail ahead, that stretches upward to the great divide. I have often wondered whether, if there had been no rebellion in 1885, real estate in the business center of Calgary would have been selling for four thousand dollars per foot frontage in the year 1912. I trow not. The subject matter of my sketch, prior to July 1884, had been living in the United States, where he had become naturalized, and where he was earning a living as a school teacher. He was induced to return to Canada by a deputation of prominent men among the French half-breeds of the North Country, with a view to assisting them in obtaining sundry rights from the dominion government, and the redress of certain grievances which they had or claimed to have. At that time the country had rather fallen short of the expectations which had been raised about it, and settlers generally were far from being in a prosperous condition. The winter of 1882 had been a very hard one, witness the loss of some eight thousand or nine thousand head of Senator Cochrane's ranch cattle. This was due in part to bad management it is true, but the historical fact is indisputable. Newcomers felt that the conditions of life in the country were cruel. The winter of 1883 was also hard, and a good many people in the western country began to regret having come. Money was scarce, and to use a popular expression the bottom was falling out of the whole thing. I knew a man who had a place about eight miles out of Regina who used to make periodical trips to the pile of Bones Creek with three barrels in a wagon to take home water for domestic and stock purposes. With the outbreak of the rebellion in 1885 every farmer who owned or could provide himself with a team of horses and a wagon could hire himself out to the government at ten dollars per day. Money poured into the country to feed and supply the troops and police. Militia officers and men visited the country on service when otherwise they would never have thought of coming so far west, and the northwest territories and their possibilities thus became widely known. In short the rebellion saved the country which, as an eastern correspondent wrote to me in 1884, was not what it had been cracked up to be. The climate alone was a factor that compelled very serious consideration. On New Year's Eve 1884 the thermometer registered fifty-eight degrees below zero. On the following day it stood at forty-eight degrees below zero with a wind blowing at the rate of fifty-five miles an hour. We had a set of instruments at Regina and used to keep records for the meteorological department. It was the custom on New Year's Day for the gentlemen to call upon the ladies who remained at home on purpose to receive them, and offered to their visitors whatever refreshment they happened to have in the house from tea to liqueurs. In this way one had to drink warily, because one was bound to take something in every house one entered, and it sometimes became a problem how to regulate one's health without doing violence to one's own feelings or of offending the susceptibilities of the hostesses whose hospitality was always profuse. On this occasion, however, my visits were very short. I could not keep my horses standing in the bitter wind, and a handshake with a happy New Year wish was as much as could be compressed into each ceremonial. Nor was the weather in Clement only in the winter. I find from my diary that on the night of June 20th, 1885, a hard frost cut off potatoes and tomatoes so that the climate was as uncertain as it was unsparing. All this helped to make the ordinary settler view the half-breed agitation with indifference. He had so many troubles of his own that he did not care whether the half-breeds were given script or not. In the north at Prince Albert, Carleton and Battleford it was different. The public there viewed, with growing apprehension, the agitation of the half-breed element which largely predominated in the population. The prelates and priesthood of the Roman Catholic Church sent warning after warning to the members of the Dominion Cabinet and the Mounted Police reports which passed through my hands sounded an ever-increasing note of alarm as the later months of 1884 and the early months of 1885 rolled on. In the autumn of 1884 Mr. Fred White, comp-troller of the Mounted Police, and Sir John McDonald's chief political agent, came westward and travelled through the Battleford Prince Albert country in company with the Premier's son Hugh John McDonald. When he returned from that trip to Regina he handed me a long telegraphic dispatch to be converted into Cypher and sent to the minister Sir David McPherson who was then taking Sir John McDonald's part of the administration, the latter having gone to England. As Mr. White was a special emissary one would have supposed that his communication would have received some attention but nothing was done. No steps were taken to check the conflagration which was evidently brewing and on March 26th, 1885 the first shot was fired at Duck Lake. Riel was brought to Regina by train and handed over to me on May 23 by Captain George Young of the Winnipeg Field Batteries. In reporting his arrival to the police department at Ottawa I said I intended to allow no visitor to have speech of the prisoner without a permit from the Prime Minister. I religiously held to this regulation of my own making and it saved me a great deal of trouble. There was a stock answer ready for everyone who applied at the guard room and all applicants were informed that they might take it as a final reply without pestering me to death. Riel had quite a number of sympathizers in Quebec and from that province came the funds which provided him with legal assistance at his subsequent trial. Not long after his arrival at the guard room I was accosted one day in town by a gentleman who said he was the editor of a Quebec newspaper and had come to Regina on purpose to see the prisoner. I replied that if he had taken the precaution of providing himself with Sir John McDonald's permit there would be no difficulty in arranging an interview with Riel and I asked if he had made any arrangements to that end at the police department in Ottawa. He said he had not done so. He had not supposed any such course to be necessary. I had to regret then that I was not at liberty to allow him to see Riel. He looked at me with a sort of pitying smile and said, My dear sir, I think you hardly realize that I have come all this way, from Quebec on purpose to see this man. I assured him that I fully appreciated the lengths of the journey which he had taken, but Louis Riel, who had led to rebellions in western Canada, was a very important prisoner who would unquestionably be tried for his life, and that until the policy of the government was made known with regard to allowing him to receive visitors I was not at liberty to relax the rule which existed. There was nothing more to be said or done, and the unfortunate editor returned to Quebec. It was not until June 21st that the Lieutenant Governor showed me a telegram from Ottawa to the effect that government do not wish prisoners to be interviewed before arrival of Crown Council at Regina. The matter was placed in the discretion of Mr. Christopher Robinson, QC, the Senior Council for the Crown, and his were the only permits that I recognized. Riel himself was given to understand from the first that visitors would have no access to him. He then wanted to be given newspapers, but these too were denied to him. He was told that he might have books or magazines or literature of that nature, but nothing respecting the topics of the day. He, of course, wanted to have a spectacular trial, preferably in the East, before the eyes of the whole world, and little dreamt that his case would be disposed of by a stippendary magistrate, a justice of the peace, and six jurors in a little embryo town like Regina. A letter which he addressed to the Premier summed up his views in its opening sentence. When he had any particular clerical work that he wanted to do I used to let him use the Commissioner's office. This was a small office, opening off mine, which was not otherwise used, as the Commissioner was in the North, and Riel and his escort could sit there without inconveniencing anyone. The following is a copy of a letter he wrote. He made three copies of it, one for the Premier, one for the Lieutenant's Governor, and one for me. Jesus, Mary, Joseph, save us, intercede for us, pray for us. Prison of Regina, July 16, 1885. Confidential. At the very honorable Sir John H. Macdonald, Premier Minister of the Power of Canada. Mr. Premier Minister, I implore a complete trial and at the Supreme Court. I want to apologize for 15 years. If you can help me, if you can grant me all the latitude I need to defend myself, God will help me. Not only will I clarify. But the great responsibility of the troubles of the Northwest in 69-70 and in 85 will be greatly affected by the honorable Mr. Blake and Mackenzie, and on the newspapers, their main organs. Your policy on the subject of the Northwest will find itself as if it were to get rid of the obstacles that these two powerful men have been forced to kill you since 69. My interest is not only to apologize. I want to rehabilitate myself. If by the support of God and the favor of the good people, it has allowed me to aim for the advantages of a real rehabilitation and an equitable indemnity, it would be to enter into Manitoben's policy. I am ashamed to abandon my country, my mother, my brother, my sister, my parents, my friends. In addition, I have the heart to continue my work. I appreciate the great talent of the men who have ruled and who rule again when he is Manitoba. But it seems to me that he does not understand his foundation. It is for this that this province is not at ease and that the Confederation without blood. Manitoba takes advantage, but it makes me think of these people who enter without having health. He may not be useful to him that I come to his minister one day. And he would be particularly advantageous to me to arrive to continue with your government, what has been started 15 years ago by the act of Manitoba. I had the honor to tell you in my communication of the six currents that Ireland, which I think, could become happy. And at the same time, the Englishmen continue to have their income as ordinary. The principle that I would have proposed to arrive at this result seems clear to me and simple. If my country, Natal, would honor me one day in order to serve me in the first seat of his minister, I would submit my views. In the case where it would be possible for you to approve them, I would present them to you to put an end to the better terms, which fatigue the Confederation without bringing definitive improvements to Manitoba. You will certainly ask me for the advantage of modifying better what I would not have had enough walls in my ways of seeing. After having inaugurated them in the young province, you would even be able to examine how my ideas would work. If they succeeded, you could generalize them with all the power. From there, Mother Patri would judge it herself. And before too long, perhaps, would you have the glory, and I, the pleasure of seeing them applied to the situation in Ireland by the high authority of the English Parliament itself. The principle and the views that I have the honor of telling you a word are in germ in the Constitution, the act of Manitoba. Mr. Prime Minister, the best ideas need to be understood to be put in vogue. And then, even the hand of God and that of my friends would make me leave my prison to take me to the head of the provincial minister of Manitoba. It would still be very difficult for me to take my way if there was not a governor who understood me. Since I am in Regina, all my writings have passed through the hands of Mr. Captain Dean. This noble officer knows my ways of thinking. And to not bother him by making him near you from the distances that have passed through his office, I was telling you all the time that it would, in my opinion, be an honor for Manitoba to have a governor like him. For the honorable Mr. Aikens, a successor of such great merit, and for me, a guide whose advice would be so useful to me. My good lawyers have come in advance. I was happy with an interview with them. They will insist that my trial is taking place in Canada and leaving in front of the Supreme Court. Would you agree with me? Would you help the good representation of my wise lawyers? When you will lead me in the East, if you agree that I am led, arrangement could be taken so that when I arrive, three conservative lawyers, a French Canadian, an Irishman and a Protestant Englishman, offer me their good service. Great would be my recognition for such an honor. My cause would be pleaded with the point of view of the interests of the opposite party. Mr. Captain could lead me. He would follow the whole process. He would see you often. It would be like naturally that you could call him the deputy governor of the Manitoba. Me, I would be happy to return to St. Vital, taste the peace that has been waiting for me for fifteen years. And you, that my will is not suspect, you will have greatly increased the theme of your rewards. If my good sweat can come out through the barrels of my small and dark cell, if my strict captivity does not prevent my voice from being heard, then if you, one day, occupy the royal throne of power for the greatest benefit of this Canadian confederation, which you are one of the glorious founders. I have the honor of being, with a lot of respect, your very humble servant. S.D., Louis Riel. A perusal of this letter must, in my mind, irresistibly convey the idea that the writer was cracked. I do not know of any word in the English language which so aptly fits the occasion. Here was a man, on the point of being tried for his life, for crimes committed in the Northwest Territories in the year of Grace, 1885, blandly making suggestions as to the government of Manitoba and of Ireland of all places. It has been said that Riel's grandfather was of Irish descent. And that his name was Riley, but I have heard the statement contradicted, just as positively, as it was made. Be that as it may, it can excite no wonder that Louis Riel was a heavy burden for his legal advisors to carry. These gentlemen had been retained by Riel's sympathizers in the province of Quebec and sent westward to give the unhappy man as good a run for his life as possible. Appeals had been made on behalf of the French-Canadian race in the province of Quebec and this dispatch of council to defend Riel was one of the results. The names of the gentlemen in question were Mr. Charles Fitzpatrick, now Sir Charles, Chief Justice of Canada, Mr. F. X. Lemieux, and Mr. I. N. Greenshields, all of Quebec province, with them was associated, Mr., now Honourable Mr. Justice, T. C. Johnstone of the Northwest Territorial Bar. The Quebec gentlemen arrived at Regina on July 15th and Riel was arraigned on the 20th. There and then began the most momentous trial that had ever taken place in Western Canada. Mr. Alsler, in his opening address to the jury, called it the most serious trial that has ever probably taken place in Canada. At the opening of the court Mr. Justice Richardson announced that Mr. Henry Lejeune would be the Associate Justice of the Peace. The clerk opened the court and the prisoner was placed in the dock. In reply to a question by the presiding magistrate, Riel admitted that he had been furnished with a copy of the charge, of the panel of the jurors and of the list of the witnesses for the prosecution. He was then arraigned. There were, based upon an old statute of Edward III, six charges almost identical and the wording of them was so quaint that it is perhaps permissible to quote the first charge at length and to point out wherein the other five differed from it. The first charge read, that Louis Riel, being subject of our lady, the Queen, not regarding the duty of his allegiance, nor having the fear of God in his heart, but being moved and seduced by the instigation of the devil as a false traitor against our said lady the Queen, and wholly withdrawing the allegiance, fidelity and obedience, which every true and faithful subject of our said lady the Queen should, and by right, ought to bear towards our said lady the Queen, in the year aforesaid, together with, on the 26th day of March, drivers, other traitors, to the said Alexander David Stewart, unknown, armed and arrayed in a war-like manner, that is to say, with guns, rifles, pistols, bayonets, and other weapons, being then unlawfully, maliciously and traitorously assembled and gathered together against our said lady the Queen, at the locality known as Duck Lake, in the said Northwest Territories of Canada, and within this realm, and did then maliciously and traitorously attempt an endeavour by force and arms, to subvert and destroy the Constitution and Government of this realm, as by law established, and deprive and depose our said lady the Queen, of and from the style, honour, and kingly name of the Imperial Crown of this realm, in contempt of our said lady the Queen and her laws, to the evil example of all others in the like case offending, contrary to the duty of the allegiance of him, the said Louis Riel, against the form of the Statute, in such case made and provided, and against the peace of our said lady the Queen, her crown and dignity. Charge number two read exactly like number one, except that it charged the offence to have been committed, at the locality known as Fish Creek, and the third charge quoted, the locality known as Batush. The first three charges averred that Louis Riel was a subject of our Lady the Queen. Charges four, five, and six were exact reproductions of one, two, and three, except that they averred that Louis Riel was then living in the dominion of Canada and under the protection of our sovereign Lady the Queen. The alternative charges were necessitated by the fact that Louis Riel had, between 1870 and 1885, become a naturalized citizen of the United States. Mr. Fitzpatrick then submitted a plea to the jurisdiction of the court, which, briefly, set forth that the said Hugh Richardson in open court, with a justice of the peace, and a jury of six, has no jurisdiction to try the offences charged in the information. Counsel for the Crown entered a demurr against the plea, and the prisoner's counsel joined issue upon the demurr. It was a very pretty quarrel, as it stood, but Providence was on the side of the big battalions. The government had provided some legal giants to uphold their end of the stick, to wit Mr. Christopher Robinson QC, and Mr. Beebe Osler QC of the Ontario Bar, the then Deputy Minister of Justice, Mr. Burbage, together with a French advocate from Quebec, named Mr. T. C. Cassagrain. With these gentlemen was associated a member of the local bar, Mr. D. L., now honourable Mr. Justice, Scott. I should perhaps note here that Mr. Beebe Osler was a liberal in politics, and Mr. Robinson a conservative. The two main questions before the court, at this stage, were these. One had the court constituted, as it then was, authority under the Statute of 1880 to try the case. Number two. Did not that statute interfere with and entirely override the provisions of Magna Carta? Mr. Fitzpatrick opened the ball. He dived manfully into the recesses of the Magna Carta, and stirred up the dry bones of King John's unruly to show that the statute of 1880 passed by the Dominion under which Louis Riel's court was constituted was repugnant to the provisions of the Great Charter, which provided that no man shall be arrested nor imprisoned nor banished nor deprived of life, etc., but by the judgment of his peers and the laws of the land. He quoted authorities to show that a trial by jury is understood to mean X v. Termini, a trial by jury of twelve men, impartially selected, who must unanimously concur in the guilt of the accused before a legal conviction can be had. He spoke very ably and at great length, and was followed by Mr. Greenshield, who, in another speech, of considerable length, contended that the statute of 1880 was entirely ultra-veers of the Dominion Parliament. It was a great treat to hear Mr. Christopher Robinson's reply. He spoke easily and unaffectedly, with an absence of effort, that to me was quite remarkable, and in a quiet conversational tone. He took an interest in all the odd little incidents that occurred in court. If there was a window to be opened or shut, he followed with his eyes the entire operation. A man on the opposite side of the table was sketching a head on his blotter, and Mr. Robinson seemed to take the greatest interest in this head, which promised at first to be that of a girl, but afterwards developed some hair on the face, and was possibly intended for a sketch of the prisoner. Be that as it may, Mr. Robinson watched the progress of the drawing, and any other little incident that attracted his attention, all the while dropping some such commonplace platitudes as these. As regards the larger portion of my learned friend's arguments, which was addressed to the reasonableness or unreasonableness of those different enactments, we declined to follow them into that argument at all. Those laws are acts of parliament passed by British subjects for British subjects. They have existed for years, and until the past few months their validity has never been questioned. As regards the reasonableness or unreasonableness, I would say this also, that we must have regard always to the circumstances and conditions of the country for which the laws are enacted, and it is impossible that everything which my learned friend calls the fundamental principle of the British constitution, can be extended to all parts of the empire. But if they rely upon that argument, it is a further answer to say that there is no greater fundamental principle of the British constitution than the supremacy of parliament. Neither the right of grand jury, nor the petite jury, nor the right of a jury of any kind, is so much a fundamental principle of the British constitution as the supremacy of parliament. So that we have this course of legislation. First we have the imperial legislature saying to the parliament of the dominion, you can make such laws as you think proper for the government of Rupert's land, next we have the parliament of the dominion under that power making laws, and then we have the imperial parliament again, in view of the enactment which they have passed, making this enactment valid. For these reasons it has been thought on the part of the crown that nothing could be planer than the course of legislation under which this court is constituted, and from which it derives its jurisdiction. After all the arguments were concluded, Mr. Justice Richardson delivered himself as follows. Now, if I understand the contention of Mr. Fitzpatrick, it is that this act of 1880, so far as it relates to the trial of criminal offences such as this, is alter veers, Mr. Fitzpatrick. My contention is that the act of 1880, and so far as it relates to the trial of capital cases, is alter veers. Mr. Justice Richardson, well, as I cannot hold that, I must sustain the demurrer. The discomfited council's face was the study. It was certainly the face of the most disgusted man in British North America at that time. It looked around the courtroom with an expression of wonderment which seemed to ask, is this all the expression of opinion that is due to me? After all my research, after all my eloquence, are my arguments to be turned down by a ruling of less than a dozen words. I followed his gaze around the courtroom and failed to see any expression of sympathy on any face there. The prevalent feeling in the Northwest Territories was this. We have taken our lives in our hands to open up a new country, and in working out our own salvation we do not want to be let and hindered by old-time provincial prejudices. To such an extent did this sentiment prevail that the Northwest Council, which was then partly appointed and partly elective, had passed an ordinance practically prohibiting the collection from a Northwest settler of a debt incurred by him in the older provinces. This was, of course, disallowed by the government and council, but the feeling was very much alive all the same. The plead to the jurisdiction of the court, having been disposed of, Mr. Johnstone, was put up to demure to the information on the ground that the first three charges were laid against the prisoner as a British subject, and that the other three were silent as to his nationality. That is to say, that charges four, five, and six did not allege that the prisoner was the subject of a foreign state at peace with her majesty. Mr. Burbage replied, In three counts we have charged him as a British subject, and with having violated his natural allegiance, and in three counts we have charged him with having acted contrary to his local allegiance. It is quite sufficient that a man may live in a country to be guilty of treason. The magistrate overruled this demure, and the prisoner was called upon to plead, which he did. I am not guilty. One whole day had been taken up, and the end was not yet so far as preliminaries were concerned. At the opening of the court on the following morning the prisoner's counsel applied for an adjournment of the trial. They said that three witnesses, named Dumont, Dumas, and Nalt, who were in Montana, were material to the defense. Mr. Greenshields represented that they would come to court to give evidence, on the assurance of counsel, that they would be protected. He also said, it is an undoubted fact, competent of proof, that the accused was confined in the Beaufort Asylum for a period of three years, from 1872 to 1875. The defense required certain medical witnesses from Quebec and Toronto to testify to the condition of the prisoner's mind at that time, Mr. Greenshield said. The court can see the necessity in a trial of this kind, where life is involved, that we should be given the fullest opportunity to make a proper defense. What we want is a fair trial. That is what we are here for, and we should obtain the fullest and fairest trial. And if after a full and fair trial the court and jury find that the prisoner is guilty of the offense charged, we will have done our duty before the court and the people. The people of this country will be satisfied, that no injustice has been done. If after the production of such affidavits as these, the prisoner is forced on to trial on the charge of high treason, public feeling will not be satisfied. A trial of this kind in which the public are all interested must be a fair and impartial trial. This was simply playing to the gallery of the Quebec party, which was, again, the government. And Mr. Robinson, when his time came to reply, metaphorically, boxed Mr. Greenshield's ears for his insinuations, he said, I regret extremely that my learned friend Mr. Greenshield should have departed so far from what I regard as professional courtesy, and professional etiquette as to make the remarks which he thought it right to make in the discharge of his duty. Just a part of his remarks, I understood, and I think everyone else must have understood, that if they meant anything, they certainly meant to imply a threat against those acting for the crown. That if they declined to accede to the contention, public opinion would be brought to bear upon them, and public opinion would not support them. We are answerable to public opinion, but we are perfectly content to be answerable to public opinion, but I repeat again my surprise that that tone of spirit and sort of address should have been thought necessary in a case of this description. The defence at this time were asking for an adjournment of about a month to enable them to produce necessary witnesses, and had represented that the prisoner was a man of little or no means, and that the necessary witnesses could not be produced without the assistance of the crown.