Witnesses to an Invasion

J.J. Hill came north by stagecoach…While at the border [by Pembina and St. Vincent]:

…another dramatic episode of Canadian-American history was about to unfold before his eyes. In the late 1860s the idea of annexing western Canada had thrilled such earnest men as James W. Taylor, pioneer publicist of the upper Midwest; Oscar Malmros, American consul at Fort Garry; and even Senator Charles Sumner of Massachusetts – as well as Midwestern demagogues like Alexander Ramsey and Ignatius Donnelly. By 1871 such sentiment had all but died out, and only the Irish-American Fenians, who were more interested in twisting the British lion’s tail than securing the blessings of United States citizenship or Manitoban, still sought to stir up trouble. Hill wrote about the unedifying events which he saw unfold at Pembina, on the international boundary, beginning on October 5:

This A.M. at 7 o’clock a band of thirty Fenians under Gen’ls Jas. O’Neill, Curly Donnelly & O’Donahue composed of about twenty of the hardest looking roughs and ten Pembina loafers made an attack on the H[udson’s] B[ay] Post at Pembina which was occupied by one of the H.G. Co. officers and his clerk and captured it without resistance being offered. They at once set about clothing their half naked squad of roughs and loading up a wagon with provisions. Either the plunder had too much attraction for them or they thought they could rest on their freshly gained laurels for they remained in the Post until 11 o’clock A.m. when they were surprised by Col. Wheaton with 23 men from Fort Pembina coming down the road in an army ambulance and a few Mule Wagons…In about twenty minutes he [Wheaton] returned with Gen’ls O’Neill, Donnelly and Curley in the ambulance and about ten men on foot…O’Donahue made good his escape…

I was a close eye witness of the whole affair and I never saw a more ridiculous scattering or silly farce. It certainly looked as if the leaders would have been very much disappointed if they had not been kindly taken charge of by the U.S. Troops and in that way kept out of harms way…O’Donahue got hungry or dry and went into a half-breed’s house and was then taken prisoner by the breeds, but not until he had made them pledge that they would not deliver him to any but the United States authorities [would he lay down his pistol].

Fenian trial continued all day [Oct. 10] and was a contemptible farce and a burlesque as…Stutsman & Potter [defense counsel] simply bullied both the court and Col. Wheaton. Prisoners were acquitted on ground of want of jurisdiction by court as the arrests were made on what has theretofore been known as British soil…

Another eyewitness to this event...

The best account of what happened was given by courier George W. Webster, who was carrying dispatches to St. Paul for Archibald. On the eve of the raid he stopped at Pembina and called on Captain Wheaton, the American officer in command of the frontier fort at Pembina. Wheaton had no information on Fenian activities. Webster then spent the night at the residence of A.B. Douglas, the Canadian customs officer. At seven the next morning O’Neill seized the Customs House. Douglas, Webster and the clerk were arrested and marched to the Fenian command post about half a mile over the U.S. frontier. Webster wrote that there was a…

Fenian force of about thirty men with General O’Neill and Colonel Curley and Donnelly and O’Donoghue – they were armed with Springfield rifles converted to breech loaders (George Allin/Allen), none of them wore uniforms. About nine o’clock the Fenians had at least twenty prisoners as they stopped all those who were not connected with them. One of the prisoners was an American citizen and as he demanded his liberation on that ground O’Donoghue was afraid to detain him… Mr. Douglas and I had previously instructed him what to do, and as soon as he got out of rifle shot of the Fenians he ran all the way to the U.S. military post and informed Captain Wheaton of the circumstances.

Wheaton was determined to put an end to the mischief before it got out of hand. He put thirty men in two wagons and came down at the gallop. Just short of the Customs House he halted the wagons and his men moved in, in skirmishing order. Douglas and Webster were rescued and were able to watch the end of the operation through a telescope from the upper windows of the Customs House…

…The release of the Fenians by American authorities was a cause of some anxiety. In his address of 13 October Archibald thought it useful to remark, “The raid for the moment is over. If renewed it will not be renewed immediately. If the Fenians were man activated by ordinary reason, it would never be renewed. But they are not.”

Archibald did not understand that all the Fenians were interested in was taking home some fragments of glory, to add to Irish folklore. The declared aims of the raids were a pretext for battle. After Pembina it was clear that no “fragments” were to be had, and there were no more raids.

The Fenian Invasion of 1871

You're probably wondering, now how in the world does a Fenian "Invasion" have anything to do with St. Vincent? Well, technically it may not, since it involves Pembina across the river. But saying that, since the two towns' histories are so intertwined - and there were many area residents of Irish descent that may have had sympathies with those directly involved - I offer this piece of history of my little corner of the world. It is fascinating to say the least - and definitely colorful!

The Fenian "Invasion" of 1871by Roy P. Johnson

The invasion of Manitoba in 1871 was one of the most fabulous episodes in the history of our Canadian and American frontier. It seems impossible that it could have happened at all ... yet it did. It is only when you know what the frontier was like, how its people thought and acted, that you realize it was possible.

Yet, even when you have learned a good deal about the frontier and the people on it, you know that it could not have happened but for two strange men. Those men were W. B. O'Donoghue and John J. O'Neill. They barked at the moon, and almost got away with it. There were not many like them. I might well have called my paper "Wild Scenes on Red River". I would like to explain that I might have borrowed the latter title from the newspapers of frontier times.

On any occasion when a disturbance broke out in those days, it was the usual thing for the editor to set up a row of headline type, reading "Wild Scenes" at such and such a place.

He would then insert it in a spot where it would attract most attention. It was a great circulation builder. There was something electrifying about those two words. They could be used to advantage for almost anything, but especially for rebellions, invasions, floods and boiler explosions.

It cannot he said that in all cases the article that appeared under the headline justified the dramatic introduction. But it made readers sit up and take notice. It probably induced them to suspect that the editor undoubtedly had more exciting details, which might be revealed in the next edition.

Probably this was the beginning of the exaggeration that marked some of the stories that were told, as well as written, in pioneer times. Certainly we know through our research that some of those tales do not stand the test of careful scrutiny. Of course, the blow-hard spirit is not gone. But modern communication facilities and competition tend to restrain it.

In addition to discussing O'Donoghue and O'Neill, I would like to try to throw a little additional light on the attitude of people south of the border to the invasion, to outline in some detail what happened in the United States courts when the leaders of the raid were brought before the bench.

I think it can be said with some degree of truth that the Manitoba raid, the counterparts of the Riel rebellions and similar disturbances, were common to the North American frontier ever since the time settlers started moving out from the eastern seaboard, in fact, even before.

The independent individualism of the frontier has always been rebellious when confronted with the first manifestations of organized government. Men of the frontier preferred to be asked to do ... not to be ordered.

The surveyor, the tax collector, the law enforcement officer and the court, all were viewed as representatives of oppression. There was a scorn of older society, impatience with its restraints and its ideas, and an indifference to its lessons everywhere in the advanced settlements.

Let me give you an example of a "wild scene" on the American side of the border. The year was 1861. Dakota Territory had been created and its officers appointed by President Lincoln. The first territorial legislature was in session at Yankton.

The speaker of the house turned out to be an officious gentleman. The members of the house, who took an instant dislike to him, asked the sergeant at arms, who was a noted desperado, to throw him out of a window of the legislative building. The speaker sought help from the territorial governor. The governor posted a company of armed militia in the building. Both the council which included Enos Stutsman of Pembina, and the house, revolted at this affront. They refused to proceed with their work until the militia was withdrawn. A day or two later the sergeant at arms was able to throw the speaker out of a window after all. He tossed him out of the window of a saloon, along with the window frame.

During the same session, the governor and the receiver of the United States land office engaged in a hair-pulling, choking and fisticuffs exhibition in a Yankton hotel. The governor was William Jayne, who had been Abraham Lincoln's family physician. Governor Jayne was militantly pushing a bill in the legislature to extend citizenship to halfbreeds who could read and write. Like Lincoln, he had a sympathy for downtrodden races. The land office man did not agree. The governor won in the hotel fight but lost in the legislature. No one on the frontier wanted to be told what to do.

No one can deny that the Dominion and provincial governments and the thinking people of Manitoba had reason to be tremendously disturbed when they learned in September of 1871 that an army was being assembled in the United States to invade the province. Manitoba was still writhing from the aftereffects of the violent rebellion of the previous year. Fenians had already made attempts to invade Canada at several other places.

Mr. John P. Pritchett in an article in the Canadian Historical Review in 1929 and Hon. Gilbert McMicken in a paper presented to this Society in 1888-89 have made contributions to the history of the raid that probably cannot be matched in this paper. I can only attempt to supplement their fine work.

At this point I would like to say that I heartily endorse Mr. Pritchett's view that the invasion was born as a result of the rift between Louis Riel and W. B. O'Donoghue. I would like to explore that point a bit deeper as I go on.

Somehow I believe we shall learn more about the causes and circumstances of the Manitoba invasion in a study of the lives of the two major leaders than in anything else. Perhaps we shall be able to reach a conclusion as to why this almost unbelievable episode happened at all.

For reasons readily understandable they seem to have left behind no completely believable answer to the question, why did you do it? So the best method to follow in seeking the answer, it seems to me, is to study these two men, to determine what characteristics and traits motivated their acts.

J. J. Donnelly and Thomas Curley, the other two leaders played such insignificant roles they seem hardly worthy of any mention at all.

I have examined the Pritchett and McMicken papers. My other sources are the files of the court of Pembina, some of the messages and letters of Presidents Andrew Johnson and U. S. Grant, frontier newspapers, minutes of the "Red River Congress" and an unpublished manuscript written by Gordon J. Keeney, a Fargo attorney who practised in the courts of Pembina.

Let us first take a look at O'Donoghue. I consider him one of the most amazing characters ever seen on the frontier. He is first met as a supporter and apparently a close friend of Louis Riel. He was an eloquent speaker and undoubtedly spoke both English and French. He was an able organizer. He was fiery-tempered, proud and egotistical. He probably was not a member of the Fenian Brotherhood, but he apparently was attracted to its principles. He was thoroughly sympathetic with the Métis of Rupert's Land and had won a following among them.

Riel liked him, at least for a time, and he became treasurer of the provisional government and a member of Riel's cabinet.

I think it is important to re-emphasize at this point a serious break that had occurred between O'Donoghue and Riel at the Fort Garry gate, April 20, 1870. You will recall that Riel at that time held the fort and that a violent dispute took place when Riel ordered the provisional government flag with its shamrocks and fleur-de-lis lowered and replaced by the Union Jack. You will recall that Riel assigned a man to guard the Union Jack, with orders to shoot.

In a sense that probably was the germ from which the Manitoba invasion began.

The smouldering resentment that developed in O'Donoghue at this affront later was fanned into flame in the two violent disputes between the two men at the St. Norbert conference.

O'Donoghue was no little man. He was the man who was to carry a petition from the Métis to President Grant asking for aid. He knew big men in the United States senators, politicians, prominent newspaper editors. He conferred with many of them and he managed to hit the front pages. He liked that. He even had a personal interview with President Grant, and Grant treated him courteously, even though he rejected his plea.

Was O'Donoghue discouraged? Not a bit of it. He appeared before the Fenian Brotherhood council, in New York City, repeatedly seeking aid. Time and again he was turned down. But he didn't give up. After a trip west he tackled the council again, and they turned him down again.

But now O'Donoghue got a good break. General John J. O'Neill, a member of the council, was swung by his eloquence. He resigned from the brotherhood and stepped to O'Donoghue's side.

Let us now take a look at O'Neill. He was thirty-seven years old at the time of the Manitoba Invasion. Within the span of those thirty-seven years he had already lived a most colourful life. He had seen glory as well as defeat, but his unconquerable spirit had never been broken. He had become instead, a Don Quixote out of Cervantes, seeking a new world to conquer.

He was born in Ireland, after his father had died, and he had come to Elizabeth, N.J., a clever, resourceful, energetic boy of fourteen. He had no education beyond his fifteenth year and he became in succession, a shop clerk, a travelling book agent and a proprietor of a Catholic book store in Richmond, Va., by the time he was twenty-two.

He must eventually have found civil life dull because in 1857 he joined the Second U.S. Dragoons for the Mormon war. While he was with the Dragoons he exhibited one of his outstanding traits ... an unwillingness to submit to discipline. He deserted and made his way to California where he joined the 1st U.S. Cavalry.

By the time of the War of the Rebellion, O'Neill had become a sergeant. He soon found himself in the Peninsular campaign, where his leadership and courage advanced him in December, 1862, to the rank of second lieutenant in the 5th Indiana Cavalry. He quickly won a reputation as an unusually active and daring officer and four months later was a first lieutenant. Thereafter he distinguished himself notably near Glasgow, Ky., and at Buffington Bar during Morgan's Ohio raid, and on December 2, 1863, was severely wounded at Walker's Ford.

At about this time we find another manifestation of his nature ... his extreme egotism and his temper, which made it hard for him to work with others. In 1864, because he had received no further promotion in rank he resigned from his regiment. He next appeared as a captain with the 17th U.S. coloured infantry. Even then he was not content and left the service in November, nearly six months before the war was over. In all this one can see the symptoms of instability and rebellion.

After the war he became a claims agent for the government in Tennessee. Now the Fenian organization came into being and he heard with interest the plans for an invasion of Canada proposed by the faction headed by W. R. Roberts. He became a Fenian organizer in his district.

With characteristic energy he led a detachment north from Nashville, Tenn., in May, 1866, to take part in the attack.

He now demonstrated his unfortunate propensity for impulsive action. Finding himself in command of a raiding party of 600 men at Buffalo, N.Y., he crossed the Niagara river and occupied the Canadian village of Fort Erie. When he and his men fled in the face of British troops he received his first acquaintance with the United States courts.

One could well ask, would it have made any difference if the courts had sent him to prison then; would that have averted the Manitoba invasion. The answer probably is that it would not. Only four years later, O'Neill was sent to prison, and from there, little more than a year later, he marched on Manitoba.

The raid on Fort Erie led to his appointment as "inspector general of the Irish Republican Army", and it is evident that he was more or less of a hero; almost a martyr to some of the Fenians. By the end of the next year he had replaced Roberts as president of the Roberts branch of the Brotherhood. It is almost possible to visualize his conceit at this stage of his career. Soon he began preparing for another attack on Canada and his bold attitude caused no little alarm in the Dominion.

Now we have another glance at a manifestation of his inability to get along with others.

He affiliated himself with a firm of land speculators in a programme of founding Irish settlements in Nebraska. The first was at O'Neill. Others were at Atkinson, Neb., and in Greeley county, Nebraska.

It was not a particularly attractive country about the village of O'Neill - vast stretches of semiarid soil, valuable chiefly as hay lands. But O'Neill apparently had some success in inducing his countrymen to come there. It was while he was engaged in this enterprise that he died in Omaha, Jan. 7, 1878.

The town of O'Neill somehow reflects the rebellious philosophy and independence of its founder even today. While most Nebraska prairie cities keep their stores open Saturday night, those in O'Neill are closed. By custom they open at 6.30 Sunday morning so people from the surrounding country who come to early mass may trade. The spirit of John O'Neill lives on.

The next year he quarrelled with his "senate" and when, on May 25, he attempted a raid at Eccles Hill on the Vermont border, only a fraction of the Fenian organization supported him. His men fled when the Canadians opened fire. Now he was arrested for the second time, by a United States marshal.

One can imagine how his soul rebelled as he sat in prison beginning his two year sentence, and his jubilation when, after three months, President Grant released him by presidential pardon. This was typical of Grant, who could not ignore the pleas of men who had fought with him. O'Neill, in a rapturous moment on the day of his release, declared he never again would trouble Canada ... this virtually on the eve of his Manitoba excursion.

The picture of O'Neill is not quite complete without pointing out that there is no record that he himself ever killed a Canadian in his pursuit of glory. But while he said he was a devout Catholic he was also a devout Fenian, and Fenianism was condemned by his church.

Later on I should like to sketch briefly O'Neill's life after the Manitoba raid and tell why it is that his name is spoken, written and printed every day in a certain city in the United States and probably always will be.

In the year 1871, we find these urbane gentlemen making plans for the invasion. What probably motivated them? Certainly they both were glory hunters. Was O'Neill really interested in the foolish Fenian scheme of winning independence for Ireland by harassing Canada? It is highly doubtful. Did he see in the new raid an opportunity to regain lost prestige, that he might lord it over other Fenian leaders who had laughed at him in recent months? Was he still looking for high office, or a fortune in a new land?

How about O'Donoghue? Was he really eager to help the Métis, or was he, too, seeking to regain prestige? Or was he trying to revenge himself on Riel by stealing his visionary Métis empire away?

Were they both fanatical crusaders for a people they likened to the unhappy natives of their homeland?

Two presidents of the United States had issued proclamations against any invasion of Canada. They had said that any American arrested in Canada could expect no aid from them. They had ordered law enforcement officers to be on the alert.

To all this was added the prospect that the province might send an armed force against them, and that national troops might march west from Ottawa.

Furthermore, the United States and Canada had entered into an agreement permitting American troops to seize the invaders on Canadian soil.

O'Donoghue and O'Neill apparently did not know that, nor that the boundary line at Pembina was in dispute. Nor did they seem to reckon with the importance of the animosity of the Catholic clergy to the Fenian movement and their influence in dissuading the Métis from joining in O'Donoghue's scheme.

Whatever the motives of the two men they had decided now on one of the most incredible adventures of their times, an invasion of a Canadian province with a handful of men. The sheer bravado of it challenges the imagination, even when it is realized they probably expected to be joined by a Métis horde on the Canadian side.

Let us now turn our attention to Pembina, which that year had acquired a federal court. Lawyers and litigants had become weary of the long journey to Yankton, deep in the southern part of the territory.

So distant and inaccessible was this southern court, litigants without considerable means were virtually denied justice. The first officials of the court reached Pembina by travelling virtually the same route as the Manitoba invaders, except that they used either stagecoaches or river steamboats from Fort Abercrombie north.

There were sessions of this court in May and September, each marked by grand jury deliberations. The chief legal body was the territorial supreme court, consisting of three men, one of whom was designated chief justice. These three took turns at circuit-riding and when not sitting as the supreme court. presided over the several district courts which had been established.

The lawyers of that day were for the most part well trained and by any criterion might be described as clever. They were adepts at finding loopholes in the laws and were quick in taking advantage of technicalities.

Counsel for the government had to be resourceful. The judge had to be shrewd. There were instances when the judge proved to be not as brilliant as the bar, and there were times when the lawyers did not look like lawyers and when the courts did not resemble courts at all.

The Manitoba raiders arrived in the vicinity of Pembina while the court was in session. Judge French, then chief justice, was on the bench. The clerk of the court was George I. Foster, whose son, Charles S. Foster, still lives in Fargo.

George Foster had a dual position. He was clerk as well as court commissioner. In addition, he was correspondent for the newspaper, the Yankton Press. He wrote two dispatches describing the invasion. The first was dated at Pembina, Oct. 5, 1871, on the very day it occurred.

Here is what it said:

"The 'last sensation' in this country is taking place even now while I am writing. Perhaps a few words from one 'on the spot' will not be objected to.

For some days past, vague rumors of Fenians have been in circulation hereabouts among others that General O'Neill and other gentlemen of Fenian note were already in the vicinity of Pembina.

But most people apparently considered the new Fenian excitement rather a good joke until this morning when the news was brought to town that General O'Neill and party had taken possession of the Hudson's Bay Company trading post at North Pembina, some 21 miles north of this place on the Red River, and that Mr. Watt, the trader, was a prisoner in their hands.

And now nearly everyone in town, especially the 'new importations,' worked themselves up to a respectable degree of excitement. A few of the old settlers appeared to treat the whole affair in a matter of fact manner, and remained all day at their posts, working as though nothing was about to happen.

About 11 o'clock a.m., Captain Wheaton, Commander at Fort Pembina, with a portion of his forces, including surgeon, ambulance and hospital steward with his bag of lint, passed through town on their way to recapture the 'fallen citadel' and liberate the restrained trader.

This trading post is situated on disputed ground, the international boundary line having never been located west from the Lake of the Woods to the Rocky mountains.

A survey made by Major Long and party in 1823 planted their 'post' about one-fourth of a mile this side of the Hudson's Bay trading post, and a later survey by General Sikes and Captain Heap of the U.S. Engineers Corps, in May, 1870, set their stake some three-fourths of a mile north of the trading post.

This latter stake, I am informed, is recognized by the Department of Dakota for military purposes-at least it will be seen by the sequel that it has been by Captain Wheaton today.

When within about half a mile of the scene of action, the captain's forces, about 30 in number, alighted from their wagons, deployed and started on the double quick.

About this time the newly established occupants of the post, doubtless thinking that the 'business' looked a little 'unfavorable' commenced to 'evacuate the premises' and were seen emerging from each gateway and taking up their line of march in rather a confused manner towards the North Pole.

And now the scene presented to eye-witnesses must have been grand and novel-an epitomized third Bull Run retreat.

But as we were not an eye-witness of these 'beauties,' we will return with our imagination to the place where we really are and have been most of the day, sitting in our office in Colonel Stutsman's building at Pembina.

About 3 o'clock p.m., Captain Wheaton and party passed through the town on their return to Fort Pembina, having in charge 'Generals' John O'Neill, Thomas Curley and J. J. Donnelly and ten of the rank and file of the routed party. It is reported that there were some forty men in the party at the trading post.

It is now, at 7 o'clock p.m., reported that W. B. O'Donoghue of Red River 'unpleasantness' fame, was, during the afternoon, taken prisoner by halfbreeds and sent to Fort Pembina.

The Hudson's Bay post is comprised of a store, warehouse, dwelling and a few outbuildings, all built of hewn logs, and the whole being surrounded by a stockade some eight or ten feet high, with bastions at each of the four corners, and gateways or entrances on the east and north sides.
It was built several years since, and constructed with a view to protecting the occupants - consisting usually of a trader, clerk and domestics - from Indians."

Since the arrested men were soon to come before Mr. Foster in his capacity as court commissioner, it may be well to cite briefly the provision of the Neutrality Law under which they were to be prosecuted.

The law was passed by congress in 1818 when a number of Americans participated in an expedition which attempted to join revolutionary forces planning to take over the Spanish colonies in Florida.

Generally, it seems to have been rather ambiguous and difficult to apply to the cases in hand. The authorities chose provision No. 6 of the act, which made it a crime "to retain another person to go beyond the limits of the United States with the intention to be enlisted into the service of either belligerent."

This made it necessary to prove not only one man's act but another's intention. Everybody concerned made a bad job of it. They did the best they could with an inadequate law.

Just what happened was related by Mr. Foster in his next dispatch to the Yankton Press, dated Pembina, Oct. 16, 1871. Here is what he said:

"In my communication of the 5th instant, I left the leaders of the so-called Fenian movement under guard at Fort Pembina. On the 6th, Captain Wheaton filed a complaint with the United States commissioner, and warrants were issued for their apprehension and placed in the hands of Deputy (Judson) LaMoure, who immediately relieved the captain of the responsibility of further entertaining his distinguished guests. The complaint embraced Section 6 of the Neutrality Laws of the United States.

On the morning of the 7th, the examination before the commissioner commenced, Captain Wheaton appearing for the United States and Colonel Enos Stutsman and George F. Potter, Esq., for the defendants.

The prosecution was conducted as one case and occupied all day Saturday and until 7 o'clock p.m. on Monday, and resulted in the discharge of the prisoners, two of whom, Generals O'Neill and Curley, left on the Wednesday morning stage for St. Paul. Colonel Donnelly and Mr. O'Donoghue are still in town.

The ten 'followers' captured, together with the 'stragglers' of the vanquished party, in all about twenty, have taken up their line of march toward the rising sun and Pembina has again settled into its usual quietude.

Governor Archibald, in his proclamation to the citizens of Manitoba published in the Manitoban of the 14th instant, delivers himself of the following: 'I regret to have to inform you that on the same day, the United States civil authorities at Pembina, to whom Colonel Wheaton was obliged to hand over his prisoners, discharged these marauders for reasons which I am unable to comprehend.'

It may be an easy matter for Governor Archibald, sitting in his easy chair at the Government House in Fort Garry to sit in judgment upon and condemn men whom he has never seen and of which he knows nothing. But it is no easy matter for the United States commissioner at Pembina, sworn to faithfully perform the duties of his office, to hold for trial men against whom no traces of any crime having been committed by the prisoners against the laws of the United States or any other authority no person can deny who heard the testimony given on the examination."

Upon his arrival in St. Paul, October 16, O'Neill was re-arrested and again a court commissioner released him for lack of evidence. The day after his arrest a reporter of the Pioneer interviewed him.

"But really, the people of Pembina have exhibited no excitement over the little 'unpleasantness' except on the day of the capture by Captain (Lloyd) Wheaton.

But from Manitoba papers and from information received from other sources, these twenty so-called Fenians, together with a less number of French halfbreeds, created alarm and confusion throughout the whole province of Manitoba, causing Lieut.-Governor Archibald to issue a proclamation for the people en masse to organize and arm themselves preparatory to a brave defense of their country, and from the best authority we hear there were about 1,000 men in the province armed and 'spoiling' for a fight with the Fenians.

But the citizens of Manitoba were too slow to he able to figure at all in the capture of the reputed invading party, Captain Wheaton quietly stepping in and crowning himself with all the glory of 'bagging' in one sweep the leaders and many of the followers of this small but brave band.

The result of the captain's 'voice' upon the party was to entirely disorganize and disband the party, if they ever had an organization or were banded together, neither of which facts were shown on the examination before the commissioner."

The story was published in the Pioneer of October 17, 1871, and in it was O'Neill's denial that it was a Fenian movement and a statement to the effect that he had a thorough dislike for the British government and that he was always sympathetic with and willing to help people struggling for independence.

"The General looks to be in splendid condition physically, and so far as recent events are concerned, they do not seem to wear very greatly upon his elastic and hopeful mind," the reporter wrote.

Here are some of O'Neill's statements:

"I desire to state that if I had not been interfered with by the United States authorities, I would have had fully one thousand men with me. They would have been subject to my command for whatever I chose to do.

I had enough men to resist Colonel Wheaton had I desired to fight United States soldiers. I had fought too long under the Stars and Stripes to want to fight United States troops, whether they had crossed the line legally or illegally.

I desire to state the intimation has been thrown out that the men were arrested without a show of resistance. The three men myself, General and Colonel Donnelly have as good a record for bravery as Colonel Wheaton.

We had made as good a record as Colonel Wheaton in the late war for all that constitutes soldiers.

Instead of wearing the United States uniform, Wheaton would act with more propriety if he should wear the British uniform. As a prosecuting attorney, though, he made a perfect ass of himself, and showed a complete ignorance of the law.

I believe the action of Colonel Wheaton to be entirely unauthorized, in crossing into British territory and arresting anyone. Nor do I believe his conduct will be sanctioned either by the department commander, or at Washington.

He went upon British territory and ordered his men to fire, and they did fire several volleys. It is surprising that someone was not killed. It was no fault of his that there was no one killed. Had there been any killed, I have no doubt he would have been guilty of murder.

I do not fear any arrest. I have fought and bled for the United States government. I am not aware that I have violated any law of the United States."

The following year the four leaders were indicted at Pembina, but O'Neill was not found. The other three escaped punishment by some common technicalities. The indictments charged the men with violation of Section 11 of the Neutrality Law-beginning and setting afoot a military expedition against the province of Manitoba.

Double jeopardy and doubts as to the residence qualifications of four grand jurors were some of the stumbling blocks thrown in the way of the government. Some of the grand jurors in question seem to have disappeared; things like that happened on the frontier. The district attorney gave it up.

It might be expected that John O'Neill would never say die ... he didn't. He lived to see his name perpetuated forever.O'Neill

If you find time some day you can see it for yourself. Get in your automobile, cross the boundary near Killarney, Manitoba, and drive directly south about 525 miles on U.S. Highway No. 281. When you have come 525 miles you will be in Nebraska and as you enter a little town of about 2,500 people you will see a sign reading "Welcome to O'Neill".

John O'Neill founded that town, May 12, 1874, and it was named in his honour. After he left the scenes of his last military expedition he promoted his last grandiose scheme.

* Mr. Roy P. Johnson was a member of the editorial staff of The Fargo Forum; a specialist in the history of the Red River Valley, the State of Minnesota and the frontier movements of population west of the Mississippi River.

Chapter IV: Sheriff Charley Brown

Exciting news, dear readers!

Chuck Walker recently informed me that Publish America has accepted his manuscript for Sheriff Charley Brown for publication and made him an offer; he has decided to accept. This is the first book about St. Vincent to have been published other than a straight historical book.

It has been my privilege to be able to offer Chuck's book here in serialized form, and I will be continuing to do so for the entire story. With that in mind, here is chapter four...Enjoy!
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Deputy U.S. Marshal William Anderson¹ was becoming impatient. While reclining on his bed at Fisk's hotel he pondered the action of Deputy LaMoure and Sheriff Brown. Apparently they had gone out to speak with, rather than seize Bill Collins. Imagine Billy posing as Bill Gale! Anderson snorted in contempt at the idea. Why, the fool didn't even change his first name!

To further his disappointment, the local officers seemed to think their matters of more importance than his. Brown had gone off on an Indian hunt to the west and LaMoure had gone to a court action in Fargo. Little did they know of real desperados! Perhaps nothing of criminal importance ever happens in this cracker-barrel town!

Anderson realized his reputation hung in the balance. He had to bring in Collins or his credibility with the U.S. Marshals Service would suffer. There would be no promotion. He would always remain just a deputy. He realized it made sense to await the return of the two local officers, but the idea tormented him. He wanted the entire credit for the capture. “I won't share with them!”

Deeply perturbed, he considered his options. Evidently Collins and his wife had been corresponding, and no doubt were still in contact. Yet, the marshals' service had intercepted only the one letter written by Collin's lawyer. She must be sending her return letters in a round about way, by having someone mail them from an outlying post office. Not one of her letters has been intercepted. That meant Collins must be getting her letters at a nearby post office, either in Pembina, St. Vincent, or perhaps even West Lynne, in Canada.

Early on Wednesday morning he walked to the Pembina post office and introduced himself to the postmaster, Charles Cavalier². The mailman was popularly known as 'Doc', as he was always called -- the oldest settler and pre-emptor of the principal portion of Pembina. He was considered one of nature's gentlemen, in fact one of the great men of the town.

"Does the man who calls himself Bill Gale, come to your post office often?"

Cavalier studied the stranger. "A man called J. W. Gale gets an occasional letter here. Just who are you?"

Anderson was forced to display his credentials and briefly explain his purpose. "According to Sheriff Brown, Gale works at a hotel along the border. I hold a federal warrant for Bill Collins, alias Bill Gale. I've got to find him somewhere away from that hotel. If I go out there to make the arrest he can step across that so-called line into Canada and I can't touch him. Does he come often to your post office to pick up his mail?"

"Once in a great while and usually on a Saturday, likely it’s his day off. Just what are you planning?"

"I'll sit in here next Saturday and if he shows up, I'll arrest him. Sheriff Brown and Marshal LaMoure were supposed to assist in the arrest but they've both ducked out on me."

"Now hold on! I don't know a thing about you! Don't go chastising Charley and Jud; they are good men and I won't have you denigrate them!"

It was obvious to Anderson that he was rubbing Cavalier the wrong way; he attempted to smooth things over. "Like I said, I'll sit in here next Saturday and pick up Collins, alias Bill Gale. There shouldn't be any problem."

"Except for some shooting," Cavalier suggested warily.

"Oh, none of that, I'm sure. I'll have him covered."

"Well, it's your neck. Best you're out of sight though. You can wait around the corner in the kitchen. Thank the Lord my wife is visiting her folks in Winnipeg. She wouldn't allow anything of the sort!"

Returning to his hotel Anderson pondered how he would pass the time until Saturday, since this was Wednesday. Perhaps either Brown or LaMoure, or both, would be back in time to support him. He was beginning to have second thoughts about the wisdom of making the arrest unaided.

On Friday afternoon Anderson contacted lawyer Ewing who introduced him to one of the sheriff's deputies, Ned Cavalier. Ned advised, "Charley and Jud are still out of town as far as I know, but they should both be back by Sunday. If I were you I'd await their return. You may find Gale tough to handle."

"I knew him back in Texas. He won't be any problem." Sensing Anderson's arrogance, Ned shrugged, turning away.

Early on Saturday morning Anderson approached the post office. He hesitated briefly to study the new outside stairway built to give access to the upper floor. Apparently it would serve no useful advantage. Walking to the rear door of Cavalier's home, he knocked, knowing the post office door would be locked until 9:00 a.m. A barefoot Cavalier clad only in droopy, long underwear admitted him. He complained, "Pretty early for you to be here. I just lit the fire to make coffee. The drayman won't be here with the mail from the morning train for at least another hour."

"Thought I'd look over the place, so as to not make any mistakes. Collins is a crack shot, and if he pulls a gun, I'll have to nail him quick."

"Judas! I hope it doesn't come to that! You should have waited for Charley and Jud. They may be cautious, but they're thorough. Best you use the bench behind the counter instead of the chair at the rear. I'll see him in plenty of time to warn you."

Although Cavalier shared coffee with the marshal, he pointedly failed to offer him breakfast. Anderson regretted the impulse that had prompted his early arrival without first eating. Still, he would take no chance of missing his man.

When the drayman arrived and dropped two bags of mail at the door, Cavalier opened them and began sorting letters into various pigeonholes built into the wall. Anderson noted the second mailbag contained only newspapers and packages. "Mostly morning delivery," Cavalier grumbled. "Not much mail comes on the stage anymore, nearly all arrives by rail."

The morning went by slowly, the marshal alert to each customer that entered. By noon he realized he was getting nervous and jumpy. Dryness seemed to settle in his mouth and throat and he again began to question the wisdom of confronting Collins alone. He felt a tension building that he couldn't cast off.

Cavalier was no help. A garrulous man by nature, he questioned Anderson's experience as a marshal. This left Anderson on the defensive, since none of his previous arrests had been life threatening. Pointedly Cavalier brought up Charley's war record and his experiences during the arrest of the Fenian leaders: O'Neil, Donally and O'Donoghue.

"O'Neil was the leader of that Fenian raid against Fort Erie, Ontario, back in '70. The British ran his ass out of there. But in l871 a few grouped together west of here near St. Joe, in another attempt to take Canada. Captain Wheaton, at Fort Pembina got wind of their plan and sent Lt. Bradley west to find their camp. It was Charley who found them, but he got no credit. The very next day, I remember it was in October; the Fenian's crossed the border and captured the Hudson Bay Post just west of Emerson. When a breed brought the word to Captain Wheaton, he sent two companies across the border to capture the Fenians. When O'Neil and his men saw the troops from Fort Pembina approaching, they panicked and ran. Charley was instrumental in their capture." He smiled. "O'Donaghue escaped initially but a breed ran him down and hauled him back to Fort Pembina."

Anderson questioned, "What did they do with the Fenian leaders?"

Cavalier looked disgusted, "Heck, they turned all three loose after a trial at Fort Pembina and a second court appearance in St. Paul. It seems their seizure was considered out of the U.S. jurisdiction." Shaking his head, he added, "Those in power decided that although Wheaton had done an admirable thing, he had no business crossing into Canada."

When the noon hour came Cavalier made sandwiches. Local boys gathered in the mid-afternoon, playing on the outside stairs, shouting and running up and down the steps. Twice Cavalier went outside to yell at them, but they were soon back, seemingly unafraid of the jocular Doc.

As the afternoon wore on, Anderson began to further regret his decision to take Collins alone. He made up his mind to call off his vigil at 4 o'clock.

It was then Cavalier suddenly said, "Here comes your man now. He's just crossing the street."

Anderson nervously arose from the bench, nearly upsetting it. His heart raced as he took his stance behind the corner leading to the kitchen; it’s pounding seemed almost in his throat. He could hear the boys playing on the outside stairs to the north. Suddenly, he realized, my God! That's the direction in which I must shoot if Bill draws his gun. Long, tense seconds elapsed before the door on the northeast corner of the post office audibly squealed and heavy footsteps were heard.

When Anderson deemed Collins clear of the door, he nervously stepped from behind cover, his revolver in hand. "Get your hands up, Bill! You're under arrest!"

A surprised, but friendly smile appeared on Collins face as he raised his hands chest high. "Why, Bill Anderson, my old friend -- you wouldn't arrest me, would you? I've gone straight for four years and if you leave me alone I'll go straight the rest of my life."

Anderson was obdurate, "I was sent up here to serve a Warrant on you Bill, and it's my duty to do so."

Collins had allowed his hands to drop a little and with a sudden jerk wrenched a revolver free from under his open shirt.

Anderson fired at that instant, the bullet entering high in Collin's chest, staggering him.

Collins felt the hammer-like blow but fought the feeling of dizziness that came almost instantly. Leveling his gun at Anderson he fired and missed. Anderson felt an instant of panic and ran around the corner and out the kitchen door. Somehow, by sheer willpower, Gale staggered around the corner facing the open back door. At that moment, Anderson, suddenly regained a feeling of bravado, and thinking Collins perhaps dead, peered around the door casing. Collins fired at that instant, the bullet striking Anderson who collapsed on the stoop.

"Judas Priest!" Cavalier stood aghast, transfixed for seconds, then he pushed past the now sagging Collins, toppling him to the kitchen floor. Ripping open Anderson's shirt he realized the marshal had been hit in the center of his chest and was dead. Turning, he rolled Collin's body over, to find that he too, was dead.

Shouting was heard from the boys outside and in less than a minute the kitchen was crowded with men, accompanied by the boys who had been playing outside. In the commotion that ensued, it was discovered that a young boy playing just outside, had been narrowly missed by Anderson's bullet. The missile had passed through Collins chest and through the northeast door.

It took several minutes for Cavalier, assisted by deputy Bill Morehead to clear away the crowd and lock the door. A wagon was summoned and the bodies were removed to the local undertaker.

It was less than an hour later when Charley and Ian drove into town with a tired team, and were informed of the shooting. Charley immediately took charge and had the telegrapher contact Washington to report the affair:

Deputy Marshal W. H. Anderson, in attempting to arrest Wm. O. Collins, the Texas train robber in Pembina, Dakota Territory, was killed by Collins STOP Anderson also killed Collins STOP s/N. E. Nelson, Pembina, Dakota Territory STOP

When Charley and Doc Cavalier walked to the mortuary and further examined the body of Collins, they discovered his right thumb nearly severed at the joint by Anderson's bullet that had passed through his chest.

Charley marveled at the man's stamina. "Just think, shot fatally, yet he walked to the kitchen and fired at Anderson as he peered in the door. How he could even hold the gun with that useless thumb beats all." He puzzled, "Why didn't Anderson fire more than the one shot? I checked his gun and it's in working order. He had four more cartridges available. Why did he panic?"

Cavalier said resignedly, "Who knows? I believe he was flat-out scared! If the darned fool had hesitated a few more seconds before coming back through the doorway, he'd still be alive."

"Probably was ashamed of himself. I saw plenty of it during the war. Matter of fact some of the men that seemed to be cowards at first, turned out to be the bravest in the end." Charley shook his head. "Gale told Jud and me that he'd have it out with Anderson. He sure did!"

"He should have waited for you to return, but he must have been in a hurry to get back to Texas. Well, he'll get there now, but in a box.

"Are you going back to the hills again?" Cavalier queried as they left the funeral parlor.

"Yup! Soon as I can arrange some help from the fort."

"I heard they finished the qualifying on the rifle range yesterday. That should free some men. 'Course they'll start cutting next winter's firewood soon. Geez! They went through over 800 cords of wood at the fort last winter. They've got every tree on the fort property cut down and are working on trees nearly a mile up the river. Pretty soon they'll have to buy firewood. Say, best you come back to the office with me. You have some mail piled up."

"Doc, I imagine they'll send federal men down to pick up Anderson's body and snoop around. There'll be an inquest too; you'll probably be called to testify."

"That's no problem. I have no plans to leave town." Reflectively he added, "I suppose my wife will probably rush home when she hears news of the shooting. She'll probably give me hell for letting it happen in our house."
____________

¹ Anderson was eventually killed in the line of duty.

According to historical records in Dallas County (Texas), "...William O. (Billy) COLLINS m. 24 Feb. 1875, Dallas Co., Tx. to Sallie J. CATON, he d. 8 Nov. 1878, shot to death by Deputy US Marshall William (Billie) Anderson at Pembina, Dakota Territory--Anderson was also shot to death at the same time, Mr. George Waller and Mr. Lida Huffman went from Dallas to identify the body..."

² CAVALIER, CHARLES - Born in 1818 in Springfield, OH, the son of Charles Cavalier and Rachel Trease. In the summer of 1841, a Methodist mission was established at Red Rock. Along with the Rev. B. F. Kavenaugh and his family came William R. Brown, Cavalier, and two schoolteachers. Brown erected the mission buildings, and he and Cavalier established a store and a farm in 1842. In 1845, Cavalier moved to St. Paul where he took up his original trade as a saddler, occupying a small building on the levee, then moving in 1847 to what was once called Charles Street. In 1848, he went into the drug business with Dr. John Dewey. He also served for a few months as Territorial Librarian. His real estate holdings were valued at $500 in 1850. In 1851, went to Pembina where he served over 25 years as Postmaster. He was married in 1856 to Isabella Murray, and had children: William, Albert, Edward, Sarah, and LuLu Bell. Sarah died at birth, and none of the remaining 4 children married. Charles, Isabella, and their 5 children are buried in the Pembina City Cemetary. Charles also had a son, Alexander, whose mother was Marguerite Descoteaux dit Baton; a daughter, Rachel, whose mother was a Sauteuse indian; and a daughter, Julia Isabelle, whose mother is unknown. [Source: Williams, J. Fletcher. A History of the City of Saint Paul to 1875. St. Paul, Minnesota Historical Society, ©1983. (Out of Print) and Minnesota Territorial Census 1850. Minnesota Genealogical Journal, Minnesota Historical Society, ©1972. (Out of Print)]

Unequal Justice: The Metis in O'Donoghue's Raid of 1871

A fascinating chapter of our area's history which I have touched on before, is revisited in this amazing article by Ruth Swan. Some of the minor characters involved included the well-known area family of the Jeromes. You'll learn that there were many complex issues involved, and that those involved (not all, but most of them) had good reasons for doing what they did; there were definitely sympathies by the local Metis community in Pembina/St. Vincent area to what was happening north of them.

Was it wise? Did it really help anything in the end? Well, it's history now - read on for a great story on a small corner of our history, and then you decide...

Unequal justice: The Metis in O'Donoghue's raid of 1871
By Ruth Swan
[Manitoba History. Winnipeg: Spring 2000. Iss. 39; pg. 24, 15 pgs]
Copyright Manitoba Historical Society Spring 2000

We have passed through a frightful crisis and have escaped by the skin of our teeth.... The danger was not from without, but within.... But if 200 French Halfbreeds had joined them on the frontier, we should have had a rough time of it.1

With these words, the Lieutenant-Governor of Manitoba Adams Archibald informed the Prime Minister of Canada, Sir John A. Macdonald, about the attack by a combined force of Irish Americans and Pembina Metis on the Hudson's Bay Company Post at the international border in October of 1871. Most recent historians have dismissed this event as marginal to the mainstream of Canadian history and even Irish and American writers of Fenian history have rarely considered it a true "Fenian" raid; some have even neglected to mention it.2 Although the Fenians provided money to buy rifles and some prominent members of their organization, General John O'Neill, General Thomas Curley of St. Louis, Mo., and Colonel J.J. Donnelly of Utica, New York, answered W.B. O'Donoghue's call for military support, the Fenian Brotherhood did not officially sanction the action.3

Although of different ethnic backgrounds, the Pembina Metis and American Irish had something in common. They shared a Roman Catholic religion and an independent outlook, sharing a minority experience in the British empire. O'Donoghue hoped that by mobilizing the Metis to join the United States he could hurt Great Britain and help the cause of Irish independence. Although he was closely associated with Riel's Provisional Government in the resistance of 1869-70, Riel did not endorse O'Donoghue's attempts to annex the North West to the republic to the south. As Hereward Senior observed: "Riel understood that O'Donoghue was less interested in the welfare of the Metis than in striking a blow against the British Empire." For the sake of simplicity, however, we will call this paper "O'Donoghue's Raid" 4

The question of whether or not this incident should be called a "Fenian Raid" arose because most contemporaries of the raid who reported on it believed that the Fenian organization supported it and because the prominent leaders were Irish-American cavalry officers who were American Civil War veterans.5 The Fenian Brotherhood originated in Ireland in the Irish independence movement as a secret society not sanctioned by the Catholic Church and led by revolutionary James Stephens. It received financial and moral support from the large contingent of Irish immigrants living in the USA. During the American Civil War, many Irish immigrant men joined the army on both sides, acquiring military experience. After the war finished in 1864, many of these experienced veterans were unemployed.6

Since an invasion of Great Britain to liberate Ireland was logistically challenging, the American Fenian Brotherhood decided to invade British territories to the north to strike a symbolic blow against British imperialism. The purpose of these "Fenian Raids" as they were called was not to overthrow the Canadian colonial governments, weak as they were, but to throw Canadian defenders off balance and to engender some propaganda and Irish glory for the independence movement across the Atlantic. Although American politicians did not sanction the invasion of Canada, the strength of the Irish American immigrant vote in the USA meant that it was difficult for Washington diplomats to intervene to prevent the raids before they happened. Thus, despite the fact that the Fenian raids generally amounted to border skirmishes, they caused considerable diplomatic tension between Great Britain and Canada on one side and the USA on the other.7

Between 1866 and 1870, the Fenians launched attacks in New Brunswick, Quebec and Ontario. Most of these were successfully repulsed by combinations of British regular troops and Canadian militia, except for the Battle of Ridgeway in 1866 on the Niagara frontier where General John O'Neill, civil war veteran, staged a successful two-day operation. He then withdrew to Buffalo, having served his goal of undermining Canadian military defences and self-confidence. This same O'Neill turned up in 1871 in Pembina as a supporter of W.B. O'Donoghue.8

W.B. O'Donoghue, 1871.

Although Fenian raids did not always materialize as threatened, the biggest problem for Canadian officials was that the massing of men and arms along the 49th parallel kept the military planners north of the border in a constant state of anxiety and readiness.9 They had to be prepared for attacks and often baseless rumours kept the public and politicians on edge as well.l0 As a result, the diplomatic and propaganda effect of these raids was out of all proportion to their military significance.

The positive and probably unintended result of the Fenians Raids of 1866 was that the fear of Irish-American attacks on Canada encouraged New Brunswick to join Confederation in 1867 and strengthened Canadian patriotism and political support for the new country. Canadian voters saw a strong central government as an asset in defending the "undefended" border.11 Ottawa politicians used the threat of American invasion to promote Canadian patriotism.

Although the raid on Manitoba in 1871 led by W.B. O'Donoghue was not officially sanctioned by the American Fenian Brotherhood, who were disillusioned by the cost and challenge of these border skirmishes, there is no doubt that Canadian officials feared a Fenian attack following the Riel Resistance and blamed the Irish-Americans for providing officers and money for guns and ammunition. Their great fear was that, if the dissatisfied Manitoba Metis supported American annexationists, Manitoba would withdraw from Confederation and join the United States. The combination of Irish American soldiers who hated the British Empire aided by Minnesota and Pembina promoters who coveted new territory along with the bitterness of the Metis was a genuine threat. They knew that it would not take much to set off a dangerous border war. The fear of Canadian officials was realistic, making O'Donoghue's Raid an important threat to Canadian unity, whether it was officially backed by the Fenian Brotherhood or not.

Let us reexamine the details of the Manitoba raid. In the early morning of Thursday, October 5, 1871, Irish-American and Metis attackers crossed into Canadian territory and occupied the Hudson's Bay post on the border. Accounts vary, but Captain Lloyd Wheaton of the U.S. army at Fort Pembina (on the American side) suggested about forty to eighty invaders: They came from the direction of Pembina and were led by O'Donoghue, on horseback; O'Neill, Curley and Donnelly were acting as officers or leaders, O'Neill wearing a sword. Upon arrival at the Dominion Customs House, they demanded its surrender in the name of the Provisional Government of Rupert's Land, entered it and placed a sentinel on the road in front of the house. From thence, they marched to the HBC Trading Post, demanded its surrender in the name of the Provisional Government, etc., and occupied it, and began handling the stores of the Company with a view to their removal."13

George Webster, a courier for Lieutenant-Governor Adams Archibald, observed:

About nine o'clock, the Fenians had at least twenty prisoners as they stopped all those who were not connected with them. One of the prisoners was an American citizen and as he demanded his liberation on that ground, O'Donoghue was afraid to detain him...Mr. Douglas and I had previously instructed him what to do and as soon as he got out of rifle shot of the Fenians, he ran all the way to the U.S. military post and informed Captain Wheaton of the circumstances.14

James J. Hill explained how the American army stopped the invasion:

Either the plunder had too much attraction for them or they thought they could rest on their freshly gained laurels for they remained in the post till 11 o clock when they were surprised by Col. Wheaton and 23 men from Fort Pembina coming down the road in an army ambulance and a four-mule wagon...15

Wheaton captured O'Neill, Curley and Donnelly along with ten men, 94 muskets,11 sabres and 12000 musket-cartridges; and returned to Fort Pembina, D.T. O'Donoghue was picked up by a Metis, bound and turned over to American authorities. The Captain observed:

A number of residents of the town of Pembina and vicinity were in the organization...The greater number were persons apparently of Irish descent and strangers to this vicinity. I am of the opinion that no further raids will take place unless O'Neill, O'Donoghue, Donnelly and Curley are released by the civil authorities.16

After a hearing in Pembina under a government official (with Col. Wheaton as prosecutor), the Fenian leaders were released from custody and left the community. The magistrate had decided that it did not contravene American law to invade Canada.17 A week later, Captain Wheaton reported confidentially to the American consul in Winnipeg, James Wickes Taylor, that:

The whole affair is effectually demolished and the good people of Manitoba can now be free from fear of invasion, rebellion and treason. I am satisfied that, if it had not been for my prompt action and assumption of responsibility, civil war with all its attending crime would now be raging in Manitoba. The Commissioner discharged the prisoners on the ground of "want of jurisdiction".... The evidence of the Canadians who saw O'Donoghue at the head of the defunct organization on horseback with the others acting as leaders or officers would not be heard by the "court".... I did everything in my favour to get the case continued until further evidence could be introduced, but discharge seemed determined upon and discharged they were....There is a lawless and turbulent element in the town of Pembina and they act as if under the influence of bad men who ought to know better than to injure American interests by their foolish course...18

As a result, the Fenians returned home free; O'Neill was temporarily detained in Saint Paul, but again released. O'Neill observed to an American reporter:

As I understand it, there is a good deal of dissatisfaction up there with the British government. The dissatisfaction exists principally among the French half breeds and I believe they are in the majority. The British government has but a very small force in the British territory...There was no invasion at all. There was no Fenian raid. We were not acting as Fenians and had no connection whatever with that organization.

This report was reprinted from the St. Paul Press by the Manitoban of October 23 which observed sarcastically that crimes had been committed: "Good for the Press, but what of the corduroys, and the capots, and the pemican at Pembina Post?"19 The Canadian reporter referred to the theft of goods from the HBC post at Fort Pembina, and was undoubtedly annoyed that these Irish-Americans were not held responsible for any criminal activity whatsoever.

The Red River Valley in 1871

In the meantime, the threatened invasion had caused extreme agitation in Manitoba. Rumours had been circulating for months that the Fenians were coming. In the summer and fall of 1870, local priests reported to Bishop Tache that Riel and O'Donoghue were at odds: Do not worry about the men of St. Joseph, they do not want any part in the trouble. Riel, I find is very reasonable and not wishing any war, which he realizes [would be] bad and filled with consequences not to act, but Pembina people are more to be inclined to troubles. O'Donoghue tried all he can to irritate Riel, who he is trying in his pride to dominate, but Riel also has his pride and will not lists to O'Donoghue.20

The Canadian Government took the issue so seriously, however, that it appointed Gilbert McMicken, head of Canada's "secret police" and an anti-Fenian spy, as Commissioner of Lands n Prime Minister Macdonald sent McMicken at the end of September 1871 to Manitoba to assess the Fenian threat.22 He took the train to Morris, Minnesota, the railway terminal at that time, and then continued by wagon. He gathered intelligence as he went and one of his sources was Bishop A.A. Tache who was travelling east. The Bishop told McMicken that:

The Metis were intensely agitated over the unfulfilled promises of the Government and the harsh and insulting conduct of the more recently arrived Canadians from Ontario. Alluding to the Ontario volunteers who remained behind of [sic] the first expedition as intending settlers, he said they were so hostile and abusive as to invoke severe retaliation, and he feared ere many days [sic] scenes of a deplorable character."

Tache also told McMicken that he had met O'Donoghue the previous evening as he and O'Neill were only slightly ahead of McMicken on the trail to the Red River. O'Donoghue told the Bishop that he was going in with friends to take up homesteads, but he had a "considerable" number of men with him which gave Tache "great anxiety and uneasiness."23 The Bishop distrusted the Irishman, being aware of the rumours of a Fenian attack. McMicken also heard reports that Fenians were being enrolled along the route "wearing badges of green ribbons on their breasts."24 At Macaulayville, Minnesota, across the Red River from the American military post at Fort Abercrombie, McMicken hired an express wagon to carry him day and night so that he could overtake the Fenian contingent and reach Fort Garry ahead of them. Although there were rumours of 1500 men camped along the boundary between Pembina and St. Joseph, a sergeant at Fort Abercrombie reported only about forty with O'Donoghue.25 McMicken's wagon passed the Fenians about midnight, and noted "three were ahead of the wagons as an advance guard, and five were behind them."zb A new driver being a Fenian, he observed that the organizers had made a mistake by not waiting until November as originally planned when the rivers and lakes could not be passed over; now the "Canucks" could send in their soldiers, a prophetic observation.' "Still" he said, "You ll see fun anyhow."28

When McMicken arrived in the Red River Settlement, he made a report to Lieutenant-Governor Archibald and advised him to issue an proclamation, calling on volunteers to repel the Fenians "before the Metis could take to the field". Archibald was reluctant as he feared the French were afraid of retaliation for 1869-70 and the English would not be loyal because they suspected Archibald of being proFrench.' The proclamation was printed on October 3 and immediately various companies of men came forward to protect the settlement, including Metis in the French parishes and all classes in the English parishes. The raid on the HBC Fort Pembina occurred Thursday, October 5, but word did not reach Winnipeg until Saturday, October 7, when The Manitoban, a pro-Government paper, observed: "A company of Frenchmen, numbering upwards of forty, formed in the town, left this afternoon (headed by Captain Plainval) for the front.... Riel, it is said, on good authority, is out against O'Donoghue." A week later, it reported the participation of other loyal French: "Mr. Pascal Breland and Mr. Royal are out with companies of mounted scouts towards St. Joe.... Good. Narcisse Marion had five stalwart sons at the front."3" The paper expected war on the American border.

Meanwhile, Canadian government officials were on tenderhooks, wondering if they could depend on the Metis and their supporters. Although The Manitoban reported the details of the raid on Saturday, October 7, preparations to meet the Fenians continued. There were fears of another attack at St. Joseph. McMicken observed:

Many perplexing difficulties cropped up to annoy the Governor. Fathers Ritchot and Dugas had daily interviews with him but they invariably ended by their refusing to urge Riel to enroll with his people unless the amnesty was assured to them.

Archibald finally agreed to recommend their loyalty to the government "for the present circumstance." He reviewed the troops on Sunday, October 8, in St. Boniface, and subsequently lost his position after being observed shaking hands with Riel.3' Ontario Canadians disapproved: "This was nothing more nor less than a collusive coup d'etat by Bishop Tache and Governor Archibald who had a very good chance to know by this time the result of Col. Wheaton's gallant act at Pembina - now three days old" according to Rev. A.C. Garrioch, representing the opinion in the English parishes.32

In his own defence, Archibald argued before the Select Committee of the House of Commons of 1874 that he believed that O'Donoghue was certain the Metis would join him because of the "continual persecution endured by his ex-colleagues of the provisional government."I He understood the seriousness of the Fenian threat which depended on the Metis withdrawing their support for Canada because of the persecution and the "Reign of Terror."

The volunteers, led by Major Irvine at Fort Garry, started out with 200 men on Monday, October 9, not knowing that the American Captain Wheaton had already stopped the "invasion". McMicken noted Irvine "in the evening dull, dark and drizzling, started out with all the panoply and pomp of glorious war." The soldiers only went as far as St. Norbert, before they heard that it was no longer necessary to go to Pembina; Canadian troops at Pembina arrived in November. Drawings of the events served as Canadian propaganda as they exaggerated the glorious conflict between the Canadian troops and the Fenians which never happened.

Back in Winnipeg, fear abounded. Rumours circulated in the English-speaking parishes that the French could not be trusted.34 Hostilities from the year before reemerged and paranoia resulted. McMicken reported:

The villagers were to be attacked by a large force of Metis from St. Boniface. The home guard were active; several were incarcerated on suspicion. In Mr. Cunningham's eyes, an Irish name, especially if the person who bore it was a Roman Catholic, was a strong ground for suspicion and a justifiable cause of arrest.35

But even McMicken realized that people could not be arrested on suspicion or because of their ethnic identity without evidence. At the Lieutenant-Governor's request, he went to the police station where the prisoners were being held in order to investigate. One of the prisoners was Bannatyne's nephew. McMicken rejected what he called "despotic authority" and ordered "under my authority as an officer of the Dominion specially charged with matters of criminal jurisdiction of the General Government, and the sanction of His Honour the Lieutenant-Governor of the province, to set the prisoners at liberty."6

Regarding the "invaders," Canadian officials were distressed that the American justice system did not try the Irish American leaders. In his proclamation of thanks to the volunteers who had rallied to protect the new province from the American invaders, Lieutenant-Governor Archibald regretted that "the United States civil authorities at Pembina...discharged these marauders, for reasons which I am unable to comprehend." He also made a special mention of the "200 able-bodied French Metis" who had rallied to the support of the Crown and "were prepared to do their duty as loyal subjects in repelling any raid that might now, or hereafter, be made on the country." He promised to recommend their loyal action to the Governor-General (which they hoped for to get the desired amnesty). He further noted:

If among these people there were - and I believe there were - some persons whose exceptional position might have led O'Donghue to look for their support, it only adds to the value of the demonstration, and removes the last hope of the miscreants who have invaded your soil, that they would receive sympathy or aid from any class of the population.37

Archibald was right; there were some Metis who supported O'Donoghue. Captain Wheaton reported that a Metis named Joseph Poitras of St. Joseph had been paid by a man named Doyle in the same community to cut large quantities of hay. He was responding to a report by the American Consul in Winnipeg, James Wicker Taylor, that "half breeds at St. Joseph, D.T., are ...supplied with money by Fenians." He also reported that "O'Neill, Curley and Donnelly...were at the house of a Mr. Grant; that O'Donoghue was with them, and that they were, so far as he was able to Team, intending to go to Doyle's house....The indications from the movements of these men seemed to be that a raid was intended from the vicinity of St. Joseph."38

Apparently, some supporters of Riel's Provisional Government of 1869-70 were sufficiently disillusioned with their experience of the previous year that they were prepared to support O'Donoghue's desperate attempt at invasion. O'Donoghue himself claimed in 1875 in a letter to the Speaker of the House of Commons in Ottawa that "it was simply a continuation of the insurrection inaugurated in `69, and with the same intention, and by the same parties." He also claimed that his "part in it was simply that of an agent of the people, holding a commission authorized by a resolution of the Council held at La Riviere Salle in September '70, over which Council L. Riel presided."3 Although historian J.P. Pritchett was correct to suggest that there was no evidence that Riel was involved, new evidence has come to light that Pembina Metis participated in O'Donoghue's Raid.40

Three weeks after the Fenians were released by a Pembina magistrate, three Pembina Metis were arrested at the border (the location of the actual line was in dispute) and taken by Canadian officials to Winnipeg for trial for "feloniously and unlawfully levying war against Her Majesty."41 Summarizing the results of the proceeding in late November 1871, Archibald reported to the Prime Minister:

One has been convicted, one acquitted, and, as to the third, the Jury could not agree, and the prisoner has been remanded. The one convicted has been sentenced to be hanged on the 23rd. February.42

The Lieuteant-Governor who had suffered from the stress of the threatened invasion was anxious for a conviction.43 However, the three arrested were not Irish-American Fenians as might be expected, but Red River Valley Metis: Isadore Villeneuve (acquitted), Andre Jerome St. Matte (remanded) and Louison "Oiseau" Letendre (convicted). Jerome and Letendre were buffalo hunters and cart drivers on the trains that transported goods between Fort Garry and Saint Paula Villeneuve had just returned from Athabasca with the HBC brigades when he was arrested: While Letendre apparently lived south of the boundary line at St. Vincent, Minnesota, and was an American citizen, Andre Jerome St. Matte lived north of what is now Emerson, Manitoba, but it was still part of the Pembina Catholic community of Ste. Agathe Parish in the Red River Settlemet; his father and at least some of his brothers were south of the border.44 In a deposition of January 29, 1872, Martin Jerome, Andre's father, swore as follows:

My son, Andrew Jerome now in confinement at Fort Garry, Province of Manitoba, was born near St. Boniface in said Province then known as the Red River Settlement of Rupert's Land and settled at Pembina, now in Pembina County, Dakota Territory, U.S. Then he resided in the United States about 25 years, and for about 3 years last past he has resided on the east side of the "Red River of the North" about one mile below [north] of the Old "Oak Post" known as Lieutenant Long's Post.45

The prisoners had wives and children and lived on river lots on the Red River according to the custom of the country. Letendre was married to Julie Delorme and they had eight children by 1871. Andre Jerome was married to Marguerite Gosselin and by 1871, they had eight children as well. Marguerite was pregnant with the ninth child at the time of her husband's arrest and this daughter, Angelique, was born on New Year's Eve while her father was a prisoner in the Stone Fort. At the time of their arrests, Villeneuve was about 23 years old, Andre Jerome St. Matte was 42 and Letendre was 45.49 Andre Jerome St. Matte and Louis "Oiseau" Letendre were first cousins and Andre was the uncle of Helene Jerome St. Matte whose husband was Elzear Goulet, killed September 13,1870, the first victim of the "Reign of Terror."50 The Letendre family was intermarried wide both the Jeromes and the family of Villeneuve's wife, Matilda Henry. Both her parents were related to Louis Letendre; her paternal grandmother Agathe Letendre was a sister of Louis' father; and her maternal grandfather, Francois Daunais dit Lionais, was a brother of Louis' mother 51 Both her parents were first cousins of Louis Letendre. Louis' uncle Louis and family moved to the Saskatchewan and were prominent there; Francoix Xavier Letendre(1841-1901) helped found the community of Batoche along the South Saskatchewan River in 1873.52

Most historians have not reported on these arrests because most of the records of the first two men have been destroyed. However, the Department of Justice kept an extensive file on Louison Letendre which provides eyewitness accounts, correspondence and petitions for his release.53 Although court records and newspaper accounts exist to verify that the trials took place, much of the story would have been hidden except for a valuable biographical piece about Andre Jerome St. Matte, written by a local newspaper editor, which gives the Mets side of the story. Coupled with family oral history, it s possible to reinterpret these events from a new perspective.54

Andre Jerome told his story to Joseph Bouvette (the local newspaper editor) who wrote an article entitled "Andre Jerome: First Settler in Kittson County" in 1906:

He took an active part against the British government in the Riel Rebellion and O'Donoghue Fenian Raid of 1869-70 and was imprisoned at Stony Mountain Penitentiary in Manitoba and was put through a sweat process by being bridled like a horse and obliged to break stone day and night to cause him to disclose the secret operations of his leaders, but his word was his bond, never to be broken and he took his hardships and cruelties until finally liberated.55

This passage contains some important information which requires some explanation and context. The first point is that Bouvette should have said that Jerome was kept at the Stone Fort (Lower Fort Garry) north of St. Andrews Parish (to distinguish it from Upper Fort Garry located at the Forks of the Red and Assiniboine). The Department of Justice File on Louison Letendre notes that he was held in the Stone Fort and his name is included in the Manitoba Penitentiary (Stony Mountain) Register of Prisoners.56 The Sheriff's Letter book noted that the three prisoners were being held at the Stone Fort.' While the Stony Mountain Register of Prisoners only lists Letendre, the Sheriff's Letter confirms the arrest of Villeuve and Andre Jerome was as well.58 While Bouvette's story provided the clue, we were pleased to find that Jerome's claims of arrest and imprisonment could be verified through official documents.

The second point on Bouvette's story is the reference to the "sweat process by being bridled like a horse and obliged to break stone day and night." The punishment for hard labour in those days involved being bridled and forced to haul large loads of heavy stone which would make one sweat from the exertion. Such a punishment should have been illegal in the case of Andre Jerome as the court remanded his case to the spring; he was not convicted at his first trial in November because the jury could not agree 59 Therefore, the prison officials had no right to punish him. There was also no suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act which the British had done in Ireland to allow them to round up large numbers of prisoners without trial as part of their policy of repression against Irish resistance to British rule.60 Therefore, prison officials at the Stone Fort had no right to punish him. Did the sweat process involve a more insidious goal?

The quotation "to cause him to disclose the secret operation of his leaders, but his word was his bond, never to be broken and he took his hardships and cruelties until finally liberated" indicated that coercion occurred. Torture is defined as "the act or fact of inflicting extreme pain, especially to make people give evidence about the crimes or to make them confess."61 Since Jerome claimed that he was put through the sweat process day and night in order to extract information from him when he had not been convicted, one must conclude that he was tortured. The fact that the people in charge were trying to get evidence to convict the leaders of the raid was also in line with British policies during the 1860s. While the use of torture was not documented in Fenian trials in Canada and Great Britain, there had been a large number of accused confessing and informing on their friends, suggesting coercion by government officials.62

Professor H. Senior observed about the imposition of capital punishment: "It was a practice to pass a capital sentence on raiders who possessed no legal status as military belligerants in order to satisfy public opinion, then delay the execution and ultimately release the prisoners."' While such a cynical tactic may explain Macdonald's strategy, the prisoners, their extended families and communities would have suffered fear and anxiety until the prisoners were released. Even if the effect was only psychological and there was no use of coercive torture, the threat to kill Letendre was still a powerful demonstration of the power of the new Canadian regime, especially when Riel and Lepine were being persecuted for the execution of Scott and were as yet unsuccessful in obtaining the promised general amnesty for those involved in the 1869-70 Resistance.

Pressuring witnesses to provide false evidence also happened after the North West Rebellion of 1885, according to the testimony of Louis Goulet. Although he claimed to have been a neutral by-stander and prisoner in the conflict, Goulet was arrested and held for some time before being released. He described how prosecutors offered to drop three charges against him if he would testify that Andre Nault Jr. and Abraham Montour had a meeting with Big Bear the night before the "massacre". Goulet refused and had to go to trial, but the charges were dropped for lack of evidence.

Canadian officials were well aware of O'Donoghue's involvement in the Manitoba attack as they had eye-witness testimony from people within the Hudson's Bay Company post at the border (Emerson) when it was captured.65 Therefore, surely it was not necessary to torture a prisoner, especially one that had not been convicted, in order to get evidence against O'Donoghue and his Irish-American friends. Given the climate of hatred against the Metis by the Ontario British, we suggest that the Canadian government officials were trying to get evidence to implicate Louis Riel in the Fenian Raid in order to arrest him. The fact that Riel was forced into exile and his life was in danger in Red River makes this type of persecution against his supporters not an unlikely scenario.

The historiography relating to the raid shows that the interpretation of events surrounding O'Donoghue's raid depended on the writer's ethnic background. Francophone writers, working with Metis oral history and documents collected by the Riel family and others, believed that the raid was linked to the "Reign of Terror" and the persecution of the Metis.? Anglophone Canadian historians tended to doubt the loyalty of the Metis and assumed that the Metis were waiting to see if O'Donoghue was successful in recruiting large numbers of supporters.' They also wanted revenge for the death of Orangeman Thomas Scott. While modem English-speaking historians have become more sympathetic to the French view and concluded that Riel did not support O'Donoghue's efforts in 1871, most did not notice that Metis had been arrested or question why the Pembina Metis did participate. Only two authors Commented on the arrest of the three Pembina Metis. One was Robert B. Hill, a Manitoba historian whose history was published in 1890. Although he reported that three "half breeds" appeared at the Quarterly Court on November 17, 1871, he did not know that they were Americans or that Andre Jerome St. Matte was held over the winter. He concluded that the raid made Canadian officials aware that more military protection was required. Rev. A.C. Garrioch, also partial to the Ontario viewpoint, noted in 1933 that the arrests and trials of the Metis occurred "so as to teach the French what was to be expected under the new order of things".69

If Andre Jerome was being tortured in the Stone Fort, who were the Canadian officials who would have authorized such tactics by his jailers? Archibald's reference of 25 November 1871 showed at least that he was aware that one Metis had been remanded and he was obviously keeping close tabs on the situation as the Lieutenant-Governor was anxious to punish those involved in the raid. A month earlier, he had lobbied the Prime Minister to pursue Fenian convictions in Saint Paul, Minnesota: "Would it not be well for you to telegraph to someone at Saint Paul to ask Davis, the district attorney, to spare no efforts to convince parties?' He was very disappointed that no Fenians were convicted and wanted as many convictions as he could get, whether Metis or Fenian, to deter future armed resistance. However, considering Archibald's even-handed approach to political unrest in Red River from 1870-72, it is doubtful he would have agreed to torturing prisoners for confessions if he had known about it.71

Two Canadians who had a better knowledge of the Fenian threat were the Prime Minister and his chief spy, Gilbert McMicken, whom he had sent to Manitoba as head of the Dominion Land Office after serving as head of a frontier police force to protect the United Canadas before Confederation.' McMicken's job required him to develop a spy network against the Fenians, which historian D.N. Sprague has pointed out did not give him an experience in administering a land office." Spying on political resistance movements such as the Fenians was common in both Britain and Canada.74

Some Ontario federal government members in Ottawa felt that "Riel was playing a double game."' They did not trust the Metis leaders. In November 1871, Macdonald wrote to McMicken and asked him to "quietly collect all the information you can as to Riel's connection with the [Fenian] rising & his sudden change [to aid Canada] on finding that the raid had ended in a fiasco." He further noted that Archibald did not need to know about the investigation: "It is no affair of his."76 This statement suggests that Macdonald did not want his Lieutenant-Governor involved in the spying activities and puts the responsibility for repressive anti-Fenian and anti-Metis measures on McDonald and McMicken. However, since obviously government officials at the Stone Fort would not have documented any cases of torture for the convenience of future historians, there is no official proof to substantiate Jerome's allegations.

It is perhaps more important to understand the motivation of the Pembina Metis to become involved in O'Donoghue's Raid, even if it did fizzle in its execution, because the threat of armed invasion was one that the Canadian and Manitoba governments took seriously. From the perspective of the Metis, the raid needs to be put into the context of the "Reign of Terror."" This term refers to the period from the arrival of the Canadian troops in August 1870 to the declaration of the amnesty in 1875. The most famous violent incident was the drowning of Elzear Goulet in September 1870. Identified in a Winnipeg saloon as a member of Scott's court martial, Goulet tried to escape to Saint Boniface by swimming the Red River, but drowned in the crossing. Although two Red River magistrates who investigated the suspicious death fixed responsibility, no arrests were made because of the tense situation in the community.' The newspapers blamed some of the Protestant volunteers who had a vendetta against the provisional government supporters of Riel, but the agitators were not dealt with by the Canadian justice system.79

French and English sources agreed on the interpretation of the death of Goulet. The Catholic priests knew that Goulet's death would have repercussions; as Father S. Simonet, a Riel sympathizer at Pembina, wrote to Bishop Tache on September 20,1870: "The death of Elzear would be expensive for the Government." Father LaFloch at St. Joseph (Wallialla) was equally worried:

I was in Pembina when the news of the poor Elzear Goulet...came; the information of this murder (at Pembina] has caused much disturbance, but here [St. Joseph] all is still quiet. If the amnesty comes, I believe that all will be well; but, if it is late, I fear repercussions.80 Protestant Rev. Garrioch believed that death of Goulet was retribution for the death of Scott.81

Elzear Goulet in fact lived at Pembina south of the American border which was the home of the "free traders" who challenged the monopoly of the Hudson's Bay Company. Pembina may have attracted families who were not sympathetic to British imperialistic policies. However, Metis extended families lived on river lots both north and south of the line without much regard to its national significance and they moved back and forth across the line depending on economic opportunities. Goulet was the mail carrier between Fort Garry and Pembina and, as already noted, married to Helene Jerome St. Matte, who was the granddaughter of Martin Jerome, a niece of Andre Jerome and cousin of Louison Letendre.? Oral history suggests that Helen was raised by her aunt, Mrs. Angelique Jerome Rolette, Andre Jerome's sister. Helene's father was dead and, in Metis society where kin groups valued extended family connections, such as in the close-knit community at Pembina, Andre Jerome and Louison Letendre would have felt a responsibility to avenge her husband's death. Here was left as a widow at a young age with six young children.84 The location of the Goulet home can be seen on a map found in the Letendre papers.

Jerome family history provides yet another insight into Andre Jerome's role in the raid. The trial records in the Letendre file do not specifically identify Andre Jerome at the scene of the looting of the HBC post at the border. Although "Jeromes" or "St. Matthes" are sometimes mentioned, the Christian name is not included so that it could have been any of his six brothers or other male relatives. For example, Antoine Collins testified that he "saw some of the St. Mattke's in the fort" and Antoine Paul Laronte (as spelled in the Department of Justice file) swore that he saw a St. Matthe and Letendre while the Fenians occupied the HBC post We assume that the witnesses identified Andre Jerome as the major participant in the raid rather than his brothers simply because he was the Jerome charged.

The family suggests that Andre Jerome's two oldest boys, Jean Baptiste, age 15, and Alexandre, age 12, drove the Red River cart in which the Fenians had hidden their load of rifles and ammunition. The family says that Andre Jerome gave himself up three weeks later when the arrests were made. Although in modern terms, these sons were somewhat young to be involved in a dangerous enterprise, in nineteenth-century Metis society, youngmen of this age would have been expected to work with their relatives on the bison hunt and around the farm.' Confirmation of this story can be found in some details provided by anglophone historian Robert Hill about the Fenian muskets and ammunition:

O'Donoghue's plan was to cross the frontier with a body of armed men, compelling every man he met in his path to accompany him, either as a prisoner or confederate, and thus swell his ranks till he reached [St. Boniface]....With a view to the successful issue of this plan, arms had been deposited under a hay-stack within a few yards of the frontier during the summer. On the night previous to the raid, these were moved across to the west side of the river and put in the cellar of a house standing within a few feet of the road leading down to the same and occupied by the widow of Elzear Goulet, who had been drowned the previous fall near Fort Garry. As the men marched towards the frontier, they armed themselves on passing the house.

This information suggests that, since Goulet's widow was a Jerome, the Jerome and Letendre families were intimately involved with O'Donoghue in transporting Fenian arms to the invaders. Andre's younger brother Joseph owned the river lot directly across the Red River on the Minnesota side, south of the border, so that the arms were possibly hidden in Joseph Jerome's haystack. It is not surprising that Uncle Andre and cousin Louis would use their relative's property to stash the arms and their niece's house in Pembina to distribute them.'

Perhaps the most important reason for Andre Jerome's arrest was because of his role in the Resistance of 1869-70. The deposition of Andre Nault, one of Riel's lieutenants, suggests that Jerome St. Matte and Damase Harrison were guards of Thomas Scott in Upper Fort Garry and that they insisted on a Council of War (court martial) because otherwise they would shoot him themselves. "They did not want to risk their lives in guarding this man."' Given the persecution of the Metis after the troops arrived in August 1870, if Andre Jerome had been a guard in Upper Fort Garry during the Provisional Government, he would have been a likely target for reprisals. Andre Nault himself was beaten up at Pembina and left for dead in 1871; these violent incidents were punishment for executing Scott.' Since Andre Jerome had a large number of half brothers that looked similar, it is possible that he was mistaken for one of them; in any case, which brother was arrested may not have mattered to the authorities.

Andre Jerome was acquitted at his second trial which had the same result as the first: there was not enough evidence to convince the jury to convict him? Villeneuve had been acquitted at his first trial and Letendre sentenced to hang. After diplomatic interventions by the American government based on the claim that Letendre was an American citizen and on a large petition signed by prominent citizens in Winnipeg, including most of the leading politicians, both English and French, Letendre s sentence was commuted to twenty years in prison and then he was released in January 1873 and ordered to leave the country until the twenty year sentence was up?93 One of the arguments used in his defence was that he had to support a large family and that he was "weak-minded." His friend, Paul Laronte [sic], Sr., observed:

Have known prisoner a long time - have been at most brought up with him; he is a quiet man, as far as I know; is not rich, but is a day-laborer with a large family. He passes for a good fellow, but they say his mind is rather weak since he got a kick from a horse. By his conversation, I shd. [sic] judge him to be weak-minded....Never heard that he was opposed to the Canadian Government.94

In 1872, Martin Jerome, Andre's father, sold river lot #54 north of Emerson, and Andre Jerome and his family moved south to become "the first settlers of Kittson County, Minnesota" at the mouth of the Red and Two Rivers. In retrospect, it seems that these prisoners were arrested and Letendre was convicted as political scapegoats for the resistance of 1869-70 and the death of Thomas Scott.

In terms of justice issues, it is difficult to compare the treatment of Fenians captured in earlier raids in the Maritimes, Quebec and Ontario with the Manitoba skirmish. The Manitoba raid was not officially approved by the Fenian Brotherhood who were disillusioned with past failures.95 It was not technically an "invasion" at all since it was not sanctioned by the American government. There was no engagement of Canadian or British troops since the escapade was terminated by the intervention of American cavalry from Fort Pembina who had been ordered to prevent any embarrassing incidents. And as a number of authors have already noted, the Manitoba Metis did not in general support it so that it was not a threatened uprising in the same sense as happened in Ireland under the leadership of Col. Thomas J. Kelly in 1867. The Metis were concerned with local, not international, issues and O'Donoghue helpfully provided some inspirational rhetoric and a practical supply of muskets and ammunition.

The Jerome St. Matte Brothers, 1905. Top: Elie, David and Daniel; Bottom: Louis, Andre, Jerome and Joseph. Roger was absent. Martin and Baptiste were dead in 1905. Jerome Family Cou.

Elzear Goulet, the first victim of the "Reign of Terror."

In the United States, the Irish Fenians were perceived as heroes pursuing a republican dream for their homeland. While they were at times an embarrassment to American politicians, they were treated lightly in the USA for their armed skirmishes on the Canadian border. The British Government (when dealing with Fenian activities in Ireland and England), and consequently the Canadian Government, considered them traitors, even though they were naturalized Americans and no longer British, and many were charged with treason. Although the Metis in the Red River Valley had their own personal reasons for assisting O'Donoghue and his Irish American friends, they were caught up in an international game of conspiracy and intrigue. Since the invading American Irish had threatened to take up arms against the Canadian government, the Canadian politicians used the situation to punish and repress Metis resistance in Manitoba. The difference between the Irish Americans and the Metis was obvious: the former were ex-patriots threatening attacks on Canada and Britain from the republican USA. The Metis on the other hand were defending their own homeland and their families from dispossession. While the majority under the leadership of Riel apparently decided to give the new Canadian regime a chance, some of Riel's supporters were sufficiently disillusioned with their experience of the previous year that they were prepared to support O'Donoghue's desperate attempt at invasion. They failed and, being on the losing side, suffered the consequences for taking up arms against the "new" Canadian regime.

Unlike their Fenian comrades who escaped to Minnesota and beyond, the Pembina Metis were arrested and brought to Winnipeg for trial. Like the Fenians in Ireland, they might have been called the "Pembina Martyrs" if they had become symbolic scapegoats for Canadian repression of the resistance, but this martyrdom happened to Riel after 1885, not to the veterans of the Pembina skirmish. On the contrary, having been exiled, they moved south of the border and did not become the heroes of the resistance to the Manitoba Metis. They were not the subject of balladeers and poets and their role was forgotten except in a local Minnesota weekly newspaper, a Department of Justice file, and a Sheriff's Letter book.

For historians, however, and those interested in the current legal and judicial wrangling over the question of Metis dispossession, we would argue that the Canadian Government, which had only been in possession of the new western territory for one year, made an example of the Pembina "traitors" as part of its repression of Aboriginal resistance.' This persecution helped create a political climate in which many Manitoba Metis realized that their rights would not be respected. As one of the components of the "Reign of Terror,' the O'Donoghue Raid and its aftermath convinced these local settlers that they should move farther west where they could temporarily escape the persecution which had been directed at them in the Red River Valley-" Such an atmosphere of repression helped drive the Metis out. Descendants of Metis families which suffered from the trials and legal persecution of Canadian officials have talked about the shame that such persecution engendered for their relatives.101

In conclusion, the issue of Metis participation in O'Donoghue's raid of 1871 was linked to family and local issues in the aftermath of the resistance of 1869-70. The Metis of Pembina were closely allied to the residents of the French parishes of the Red River Settlement through kinship ties and were obliged to defend their territory against hostile outsiders. The Canadian government feared Metis retaliation for the "Reign of Terror" and sought to curtail any military activity. Although Riel and his cavalry remained loyal to Canada and did not support the republican aspirations of O'Donoghue, the Red River Metis remained under suspicion in the aftermath of the threatened invasion. As with Fenian prisoners in eastern Canada and in Britain, repressive measures were sought to prevent further outbreaks of violence. The fact that the invasion was interrupted by the American cavalry and that the Metis were for the most part loyal to the Crown did not prevent three Pembina Metis from being charged with treason.

The persecution of the Pembina prisoners, Louison "Ouiseau" Letendre, Isadore Villeneuve and Andre Jerome, probably exerted the desired effect on their friends and relatives. The not-so-covert message was that, if they took up arms again against the Canadian government, they would be severely punished. However, Canadian officials may have been prepared to go farther, that is, to torture a prisoner in custody who had not been convicted in order to extract a confession. Was the Canadian Government prepared to overstep the bounds of "British Justice" in order to collect the information it needed?

In terms of Aboriginal justice issues, this case is a good example of the repression that the Metis of the Red River Settlement faced in the wake of their resistance. On the one hand, they could not get any retribution for the murder of Elzear Goulet, a prominent member of the community, or to protect their people from violent assaults by the Ontario Canadians. On the other, they were severely and illegally dealt with for participation in the O'Donoghue raid. The treatment of Andre Jerome and Louison "Oiseau" Letendre would have had repercussions throughout the parishes, resulting in increased malaise and despair. It is not surprising that many Metis left Manitoba, and, if their exile was "voluntary," it was to escape the persecution of the "Reign of Terror." The new Canadian regime was prepared to use strong measures to repress any hint of political armed resistance even though the actual "invasion" was aborted before it began. The extreme measures which were used against the Fenians in previous invasions were an overreaction in Manitoba, yet the Metis suffered the same consequences. Given the lack of strong deterrents exercised against the Ontario Protestant agitators, the Metis observed a justice system which did not treat its indigenous residents as equals and which worked to their disadvantage. "Unequal Justice" was their experience and diaspora was the result.

Andre Jerome's sons in 1880. Top: Roger and Napolean. Centre: Martin, Andrew and Baptiste. Front: Sam and Alexandre. It was Baptiste and Alexandre who drove the cart with the Fenian muskets. Jerome Family collection.

FOOTNOTES

1. Provincial Archives of Manitoba (PAM), Macdonald Papers on microfilm from National Archives of Canada (NAC), C1509, Vol. 6, Fenian Raids, 25021-037, Archibald to Macdonald, October 13,1871. Earlier drafts of this paper were delivered at the Manitoba History Conference, Winnipeg, May 1993, and the Association of Canadian Studies in the US (ACSUS), New Orleans, November, 1993. Ruth Swan is in the doctoral program, History Department, University of Manitoba. Edward A. Jerome of Hallock, Minnesota, is a greatgrandson of Andre Jerome dit St. Matte. We would like to thank Prof. Hereward Senior (McGill), Prof. Wesley Pue (UBC), Prof. D.N. Sprague (Manitoba), Dr. Jennifer Brown (Winnipeg) and Diane Payment (Parks Canada) for their comments on earlier versions of the paper.

2. In Fenian & Angla-American Relations during Reconstruction, (Ithaca & London:1969), Brian Jenkins focused on the diplomatic repercussions of the raid and dismissed the Manitoba episode with a brief reference to one of the prisoners (p. 316). In Fenianism in North America, W.S. Neidhardt (Pennsylvania State University Press: 1975) devoted 8 paragraphs to the Manitoba Raid with special attention to the role of General O'Neill. He relied on the interpretation of J.P. Pritchett, "The Origins of the So-called Fenian Raid on Manitoba", CHR 10,1929: 2342. Hereward Senior's first book on the subject, The Fenians & Canada, Toronto: McMillan: 1978, made no mention of the Manitoba raid. In The Iastlnvasion ofCanada, Senior included a chapter on O'Donoghue's raid; although he mentioned the participation of "15 halfbreeds" and a "Minnesota resident" as a prisoner, he did not elaborate or question Metis participation, pp.183 and 186. . W.L. Morton did not mention the raid in Manitoba: A History (Toronto:1957,1979). Neither did G.A. Friesen in The Canadian Prairies (Toronto: 1984). In For Better or For Worse (Toronto: Copp Clark Pitman Ltd., 1991), J.L. Granatstein dismissed the Fenians as a serious threat in 1871: "An 1871 border scare turned out not to have been caused by them" (p.13). In The Red River Rebellion (Winnipeg: Watson & Dwyer,1996:226), J.M. Bumsted noted "a handful of Metis" participated in the invasion.

3. See Joseph Kinsey Howard,StrangeEmpire:A Narrative ofthe Northwest, Saint Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Borealis Edition, 1952,1994: 102. George F.G. Stanley, "William Bernard O'Donoghue", Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. 10, Toronto & Quebec: Universities of Toronto and Laval, 1972: 556-557; identifies O'Donoghue as an American Irishman who was treasurer of Riel's Provisional Government. Stanley, Military Expeditions to Red River Toronto & Oxford: Dundurn Press, 1989: 202. A long article in The Manitoban, October 7, 1871, identified the Fenian officers who accompanied O'Donoghue to Pembina. An eye-witness account came from Capt. Lloyd Wheaton who arrested the leaders in the process of looting the HBC post, Fort Pembina, US National Archives, RG94, Records of the Adjutant's General's Office, #3248, Report to the Assistant Adjutant General, St. Paul, by Wheaton, Fort Pembina, Dakota Territory, October 5,1871. We would like to thank Alan Woolworth, Research Fellow for the Minnesota Historical Society, for this reference.

4. This tenn rm comes fromAllen Ronaghan, "The Archibald Administration in Manitoba", Ph.D. thesis, University of Manitoba, 1986, Ch. 33, p. 698. In "The So-Called Fenian Raid on Manitoba in 1871", Canadian Historical Review vol. 10, 1929, p. 41, J.P. Pritchett argued that "the O'Donoghue and O'Neill project was not Fenian in any shape or form." This point will be contested since they did provide 94 muskets, 11 sabres and 12,00 musket-cartridges according to Captain Wheaton in his report of October 5. In Toil and Trouble Stanley uses both terms, acknowledging that "the irrepressibly optimistic O'Neill was prepared to support the equally hopeful O'Donoghue. Other Fenian leaders, however, more realistic, were less enthusiastic. Angrily, O'Neill resigned his presidency of the Brotherhood, declaring that he would act on his own. He was going to support O'Donoghue and would invite other Fenian officers to join him. Colonel Curley alone responded to O'Neill's histrionics", page 204. Actually, another Fenian officer named Donnelly also joined them. Hereward Senior included the Manitoba invasion in his book, The last Invasion of Canada, The Fenian Raids, 1966-70, chapter 10: 173.

5. See for example the description by Robert Hill, in Manitoba, History of its Early Settlement, Development and Resources, Toronto:1890:335-349. Alexander Begg, History of the North-West, volume II, Toronto: Hunter, Rose & Company, 1894, chapter V: "Half breed Complications and the Fenian Raid": 65-76. George Bryce, A History of Manitoba: its Resources & People, Toronto &Montreal, The Canada History Company, 1906:176-177. In 1963, George F.G. Stanley edited the journal of Abbe J.B. Proulx as follows: "L'Invasion Fenienne au Manitoba", R.H.A. F., vol xvii, September 1963:258-68. Undoubtedly, in 1871, most Manitobans thought of the raid as a Fenian affair. The article by J.B. Pritchett published in 1929 in the Canadian Historical Review changed the view of academics but, by that time, most Manitobans had probably forgotten about it.

6. For American views of the Fenian movement, see William D'Arcy, The Fenian Movement in the United States, 1858-1886, New York, Russell & Russell, 1947 and Mabel G. Walker, The Fenian Movement, Colorado Springs: Ralph Myles Publishers, 1969. For information on the movement in Ireland, see Desmond Ryan, The Fenian Chief A Biography of James Stephens, Dublin & Sydney: Gill & Son, 1967, and Leon O'Broin, Fenian Fever: An Anglo-American Dilemma, London: Cornell University Press,1969.

7. For reviews of diplomacy between the USA and Great Britain and Canada, see Brian Jenkins, Fenians and Anglo-American Relations during Reconstruction, Ithaca, N.Y. and London, 1969 and W.S. Neidhardt, Fenianism in North America, University Park,1975.

8. For information on the Fenian attacks on Canada, see Hereward Senior, The Fenians & Canada, Toronto: Macmillan of Canada,1978 and also The last Invasion of Canada: The Fertian Raids, 1866-1870, Toronto dz Oxford: Dundurn Press,1991.

9. Senior, The last Invasion of Canada, p. 191: "The greatest deficiency of the Canadian command was that they could not respond to repeated false alarms without losing face."

10. For example, Prime Minister John Macdonald reported to Lord Carnarvon on April 14,1870, that he expected a raid by John O'Neill against Manitoba and complained about the withdrawal of British troops. The Old Ch/in, Toronto: Macmillan Company,1955, p. 61.

11. An important view of the political ramifications of the Fenian Raids came from Canada's military historian, C.P. Stacey, "Fenianism & the Rise of National Feeling in Canada at the Time of Confederation", C.H.R., September 1931: 238:261.

12. Begg, History of the North-West, vol. 11: 71: "It was well-known to [Governor Archibald] that a mere spark at that time was only needed to send the whole French population into open revolt - a fact which was not so well understood by his critics".

13. Captain Lloyd Wheaton, Report to Assistant Adjutant General, #3248, October 5,1871.

14. Hereward Senior, The Last Invasion of Canada, Toronto: 1991, p.183.

15. J.J. Hill quoted in Via Kelsey, Red River Runs North, New York: Harper 6z Bros,1951, p.181.

16. Wheaton, Report #3248, October 5,1871.

17. Alexander Begg noted in his History of the North-West, vol. II, Toronto: Hunter, Rose,1894, p. 71, that the Fenians had been released because "the evidence against them, being, it was said, insufficient to convict them of a breach of the neutralitylaws. They were, in fact, liberated as the quickest way to get over the whole difficulty." Roy P. Johnson noted that the border line was in dispute and it was not clear if the HBC post at Emerson was actually north or south of the 49th. Parallel. George Foster, a clerk in the Pembina court, reported that the Fenians were released on the assumption that they had actually not crossed the border. In "The Fenian Invasion of 1871", HSSM, Ser. III: 7 (1952): pp. 30-39. For a more comprehensive view, see Johnson, Red River Valley, ed. Clarence A. Glasrud, Red River Valley Historical Society, 1982, pp. 345-353. See also report in the Manitoban, October 14,1871. American annexationist, real estate promoter and legless lawyer Enos Stutsman was the Fenian's defence attorney; see Dale Gibson, Attorney for the Frontier: Enos Stutsman, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press,1983:157-158. He later helped to get depositions to secure the release of the Pembina Metis. See James Wickes Taylor Papers in the Provincial Archives of Manitoba, MG5,B2 (M233).

18. PAM, James Wickes Taylor papers, Wheaton to Taylor: October 12, 1871.

19. Stories of the arrests of Curley and O'Neill in Saint Paul were reprinted in the Alodtoban, October 23, 1871.

20. PAM, Belleau Papers (copy from Richardton Abbey, N.D.), Father S. Simonet, Pembina, to Archbishop Tache, St. Boniface, September 29, 1870. See also Father LeFloch, St. Joseph, to Tache, October 9, 1870: "Riel and Lepine came to see me and both are not at all anxious to start a war...Riel is worried for fear that O'Donoghue is gone to get a party of Fenians and...cause more trouble at Pembina."

21. Jeff Keshen, "Cloak and Dagger: Canada West's Secret Police, 18641867", Ontario History, v. 79, #4, December 1987: 353-381 and Cheryl MacDonald, "Gilbert McMicken, Spymaster: Canada's Secret Police", The Beaver June/July 1991: 44-49.

22. GilbertMcMicken, "The Abortive Fenian Raid on Manitoba", Histor/m/ and Scientific Society of Manitoba (HSSM) #32,1187-8,1-11. McMicken stated he received a telegram from Macdonald "urging my departure, owing to information he had received relative to the threatened Fenian movement on Manitoba, in connection with the apprehended uprising of the half breeds, subsequent to my departure from the capital", p. 1.

23. McMicken memoir, p. 2.

24. McMicken memoir, p. 3.

25. McMicken memoir, p. 4.

26. McMicken memoir, p. 6.

27. C.P. Stacey, "The Second Red River Expedition, 1871", Canadian Defence Quarterly, vol. 8, #2,January 1931:1-10. G.F.G. Stanley, Toil and Trouble: MMitary Expeditions to Red River, Toronto & Oxford: Dundurn Press, 1989, Chapter 10: "The Fenian Raid in Manitoba 1871 ".

28. McMicken memoir, p. 6.

29. McMicken memoir, p. 8. Also, Rev. A.C. Garrioch, The Correction Ltn, Winnipeg. Stovel Co. Ltd., 1933, p. 335: "To the last, Governor Archibald was not able to cast aside the policy of expediency", meaning that he had been disloyal for compromising with the French Party.

30. The Manitoban, October 14, 1871.

31. "This act on the part of Governor Archibald brought down upon his head the denunciation of a large number of people in the province and caused him ever afterwards to be unpopular with a certain class. But Governor Archibald acted for the best interests of the country, and it was well-known to him that a mere spark at that time was only needed to send the whole French population into open revolt - a fact which was not so well understood by his critics". Alexander Begg, History of the North West, p. 71. Garrioch, 1933, p. 336 and D.N. Sprague, Canada and the Metis, 2869-1885, Waterloo: Wilfred Laurier Press,1988:p. 76: "Mhe handshaking incident only brought Orangemen to new heights of vituperation in Ontario."

32. Garrioch, 1933, p. 336.

33. Archibald' testimony is cited by A.H. de Tremauden, "Louis Riel and the Fenian Raid of 1871 ", Canadian Historirnl Review (CHR), vol. 4, #2, June:144.

34. Garrioch, p. 336.

35. McMicken memoir, p. 9.

36. McMicken memoir, p. 9. The only mention of these prisoners in The
Manitoban was on October 7: "A man named Cameron was arrested last night (Friday [October 6]), on suspicion of being connected with the Fenian movement. He remains in limbo."

37. Manitoban, October 14, 1871.

38. Taylor's report was included in Wheaton's report #3248.

39. Cited by J.P Pritchett, "The Origins of the So-Called Fenian Raid on Manitoba", CHR, v.10,March, 1929, p. 41. The original is in the Provincial Archives of Manitoba (PAM), Schultz Papers, MG12, El, #7457, February 26,1875. Garrioch, p. 336.

40. Pritchett partly based his conclusion on the research of A.H. de Tremaudan who wrote "Louis Riel and the Fenian Raid of 1871", CHR, v. 4:2,1923:132-144 based on the minutes of meetings organized in the French Metis parishes in 1871 to decide on their strategy. De Tremaudan obtained access to these minutes from Joseph Riel, the brother of Metis leader, who had collected some of his papers and (according to Diane Payment) from the Union Nationale Metisse de St. Joseph. "They are mostly in the handwriting of Louis Riel himself." He wanted to challenge the bias in English-language sources: "We have seen it so often stated that the Metis only came forward after all was over that we think it necessary to insist that trustworthy sources prove quite the opposite" (footnote 25).

41. PAM, General Quarterly Court, 1863-72, MG2 B4-1, p. 195-201.The definition of treason is "the act or fact or betraying one's country or ruler. Helping the enemies of one's county is treason". Gage Canadian Dictionary. The death penalty was the punishment for conviction. In previous Fenian trials in Canada, treason was charged if the government could prove that those indicted were British subjects; see W.S. Neidhardt, Fenianism in North America, p.100. In the 1867 attack at Tallaght Hill, 207 prisoners were charged with High Treason; see O'Broin, Fenian Fever, p. 155.

42. PAM, copy of Macdonald Papers, pp. 25070-71, 25 November 1871. This is proof that Archibald knew about the arrests of three Mkis and that he knew that one had been remanded until the spring. Whether he knew about Jerome's treatment in custody is open to speculation. See PAM, Court of Queen's Bench, Winnipeg- Criminal Registers: GR2607 which lists those charged with "Feloniously and unlawfully levying war against Her Majesty" and the results of their trials: #8, Isadore Villeneuve - "not guilty" -, #10, Oiseau L'Etendre - "guilty" - and 11), Andre Jerome St. Matte - "discharged". A.C. Garrioch also noted the three M46tis arrests: p. 337.

43. For a description of the preparations to repel the invaders, see Stanley, Louis Riel, p. 111. For a copy of Archibald's proclamation calling for volunteers, see PAM, Archibald Papers, #574. See also Ronaghan's Ph.D. thesis for details and The Manitoban, October 7,1871.

44. J.E. Bouvette, editor of the Kittson County Enterprise, published a long story about "Andrew Jerome" in the silver anniversary edition in 1906. This article was republished in the Centennial Edition, June 19, 1983. The headline reads: "Andre Jerome First Settler in the County". Underneath a photo of Mr. and Mrs. Jerome, the bold text reads: "Was picturesque figure of Mixed Blood and Hardy Stock; Suffered at Hands of British For Activity As Aid of Louis Riel". The article notes that Andre Jerome was still living in 1906, so we have assumed that Bouvette interviewed Jerome himself and much of the information is "oral history". J.E. Bouvette was raised in Pembina and had family ties to the Red River Settlement. Some facts in the article are not correct based on our research. For example, "he [jerome] traced his ancestry back to the French Huguenots, his paternal grandfather having migrated from France early in the nineteenth century." According to Tanquay's Genealogical Dictionary,1887, the first Jerome in New France was a soldier, Francois Jerome dit Latour dit Beaune, from Brittany in 1698 and he married Marie-Angelique Dardenne; their eldest son, Francois Jerome dit Latour, was born in 1706 and first came to the west as a voyageur for La Verendrye. There were several generations of Jeromes who worked in the fur trade up the North Saskatchewan River before Andre's father, Martin, and his good friend, Jean-Baptiste Letendre (Louis' father) moved to Red River in the 1820s. See HBCA, 8.235/d/18 for accounts of Jerome and Letendre, Winnipeg Account Book. See our article, "Saskatchewan Voyageurs and Bison Hunters:The Jerome Family in the Northwest (1727-1821), Winnipeg: Rupert's Land Colloquium,1998. The close personal ties between the Jerome and Letendre families existed over several generations. Louis Letendre's father and uncle had lots 765 and 763, HBCA, E.6/7, Red River Settlement, Grants of Land. Isadore Villeneuve
is not listed as living at Pembina, but he married Matilda Henry, the daughter of Alexis Henry and Marie Daunais dit Lyonnaise, age 9 in 1850 Pembina Census. She is not listed in the 1860 Pembina Census. His brother Hyacinthe settled in North Dakota.

45. The Manitoban, December 2,1871.

46. In the correspondence of American consul, James Wickes Taylor, are depositions collected by the American State Department to lobby for the release of the Pembina Metis who were considered Americans. These are in the Minnesota Historical Society, and we also consulted them in PAM, MG5 B2 on microfilm. Information in his father's deposition is confirmed by the Pembina U.S. [Minnesota] Census of 1850 which lists "Andrew Jerome, 22, male, hunter". In the 1860 Census, "Andre Jerome" is listed as age 30 and a "farmer", the description used for most of the Metis heads of families. In 1870 Red River Census (Manitoba), Andre St. Matte and family are livingin Ste. Agathe Parish which extended to Pembina. In 1872, there is a record that Martin Jerome sold lot 54 on the east side of the Red River north of Emerson, Manitoba, to Andrew Hepburn. In the 1850 Pembina census, there are two Louis Batoches: age 49 (uncle married Marie Jane Hallett) and Louis 17; this is probably Louis 1 & 3, uncle and cousin of the Louis who was a prisoner. There is a Baptiste Batoch, age 25, with wife Julie; we believe this was a mistake and it was Louis 2, the prisoner. The 1850 federal U.S. Census [Pembina, Minnesota Territory] is published in the Collections of the State Historical Society, 385-405 and we also consulted it on microfilm as the Chester Fritz Library, Special Collections, University of North Dakota. The 1860 Pembina Census lists two Louis Letendres: age 60 (born in Michigan) and age 30 (born in British America). He is listed with Julie, age 28, and 4 children. The Stony Mountain Register put his age as 44 in 1872. We believe that the most reliable evidence that Louis 2 was born in 1826 was the depositions of Martin Jerome, his uncle, and Baptiste LaRocque, on January 16, 1872 in the James Wickes Taylor Papers, PAM (MGS, B2; microfilm M233). In the Red River Census of 1849, Louis Batosh is listed at age 23, married with no children, suggesting he married about that time. It also lists his uncle Louis Batosh, 48, with 12 in family, and his father Baptiste Batosh, age 58, with 7 in family (PAM, MG2,B3; microfilm M160). This suggests Louis 2 (the prisoner) moved to Pembina between 1849 and 1850 unless the Red River Census included Pembina.

47. NAC, Letendre file, Deposition of Martin Jerome, January 29, 1872. This information is confirmed by Andre Jerome appearing in the 1850 and 1860 census in Pembina and the 1870 Red River Census in Manitoba. In 1872, Martin Jerome sold this lot 54 to AndrewHepburn when Andre Jerome was released and moved south of the border to Minnesota.

48. Pembina Assomption Catholic Church Register.

49. Villeneuve was born in 1848 in St. Charles according to the list of "Half breed
Heads of Families", NAC, RGiS, vol. 1507, the son of Francois Villeneuve and Helene Vallee. Andre Jerome was born in 1829 in St. Boniface (St. Boniface Baptisms); Sprague and Frye's Genealogy (Winnipeg: Pemmican,1983) lists his birth as 1827 which is incorrect. His parents were Martin Jerome II and Angelique Letendre; he died in 1916 in Hallock, Mn. Louis "Oiseau" Letendre dit Batoche's birth date is not recorded in church records. In depositions by Martin Jerome and Baptiste LaRocquein the James W. Taylor Papers (January 16, 1872), they both testified that Louis L'Etendre (sic) was born in 1826, the son of Baptiste L'Etendre (sic). Since Louis had an uncle, cousin and son by the same name, the best way to distinguish him is by his father, birth date, and his wife, Julie Delorme. According to the Pembina Church Register and affidavits, St. Boniface Historical Society, they had 7 children by 1866 [Pembina Assomption Church baptisms; Gail Moris includes Roger born in 1849], but we have found no church record of Louis' birth, marriage or death. In Kittson County Historical Society, see Tax List of Real Property for the town[ship] of St. Vincent, Mn.,: in 1880, Julia Batosh is located on a ten acre lot in Sec. 2, Twp. 163N, Range 51 west; this suggests she was a widow and her husband [Louis Letendre dit Batoche] was dead by 1880. St. Vincent was across the Red River from Pembina and part of the Catholic parish of Pembina. Note that dates on these historical records often conflict by a few years.

50. The death of Elzear Goulet is one of the best documented incidents in Metis historiography and is often cited as a cause of continuing Metis resentment towards the new Canadian regime. See short biography on Goulet in The Collected Writings of Louis Riel, ed. by G. Stanley,
Thomas Flanagan, & Claude Rocan, Edmonton: University of Alberta Press, vol. 5: pp. 2634: "Drowned in the Red River while fleeing from Canadian militia men." See N.E.A. Ronaghan, "The Archibald Administration in Manitoba, 1870-72", Ph.D. thesis, Winnipeg: University of Manitoba, Chapter 19: "The Death of Elzear Goulet". He also gives the best documentation of the "Reign of Terror". See for example Chapter 18: "Schultz and the Beginning of the Reign of Terror". Goulet was "Lieutenant-General of the troops at Fort Garry under Ambroise Lepine...[and] took part in the court-martial which sentenced Thomas Scott to death", Ronaghan, p. 424, footnote 2.

51. Grandparents of Villeneuve's wife, Matilda Henry: Agathe Letendre married William Henry, a son of Alexander Henry the Elder; their son Alexis Henry married Marie Daunais dit Lyonnaise, daughter of Francois Daunais dit Lionais and Francoise Saulteaux; Francois was related to Louis Letendre's mother, Marguerite Lionais dit Delaunay (Morin Genealogy).

52. Diane P. Payment, Iesgens litres -Otipemisiwak": Batoche, Saskatchewan 1870-1930 Parks Service, Environment Canada,1990: 34.

53. National Archives of Canada (NAC), Department of Justice, RG13-C1, v. (r7, v.1409, L. Letendre file. The writers assume that there were files on Jerome St. Matte and Villeneuve, but they were destroyed when they were acquitted.

54. Centennial Edition of The Kittson Count Enterprise, June 29,1983, page 10 included the article by former editor Joseph Bouvette, on Andre Jerome [dit St. Mattel reprinted from the earlier souvenir edition of 1906. The Jerome family used "St. Matte" (also: St. Matte or Sammatte) as a "dit" name. This included Andre's six brothers and other relatives. These names caused considerable confusion the records. The brothers and half-brothers were: Louis, Elie, Andre, David, Jerome, Daniel, Joseph and Roger. Martin and Baptiste had died before 1871.

55. Bouvette's ancestors came from the Pembina area and he knew the Jerome family well.

56. NAC, Dept. Of Justice, Vol.1409, L. Letendre file, Guard to Macdonald, June 22,1872. Girard notes in this letter that the "poor fellow who is actually detained at the STONE FORT in the Province of Manitoba and known as Louison Letendre, a French halft*reed of Pembina, convicted as one of the Fenian leaders, at the Fenian Raid of last fall". This reference linked the STONE FORT with the incarceration of the prisoners. See also PAM, MG4 D6-1, Canada Dept. Of Justice, Canadian Penitentiary Service,Manitoba Penitentiary (Stony Mountain) Register of Prisoners,1871, 1913. The penitentiary at Stoney Mountain was not constructed until several years later. See also Philip Gouldring, The Manitoba Penitentiary and asylum, 1871-86, Manuscript Report #28, Parks branch, DIAND,1970: 23.

57. PAM, RG3, Cl (Box 4), 45: Records of the Attorney General, Manitoba Provincial Police, the Sheriff's Letter book; reference to St. Matte", 1.e. Andre Jerome, are on page 4,17,18 and 20.

58. On the Register of Prisoners page 1, Oiseau Letendre is listed as the fifth entry. Jerome and Villeneuve do not appear. Villeneuve was acquitted in November 1871 and Jerome's name was omitted because he was acquitted in the spring of 1872. It appears that a new register was begun after Jerome's acquittal; otherwise, he would have been registered along with Letendre. This is an example of how evidence of Jerome & Villeneuve's arrest disappeared from official records. Nevertheless, the three prisoners were recorded in the Sheriff's Record Book, Manitoba Provincial Police, corroborating Jerome's story in PAM, R3G Cl, 45, #17-20. The names are spelled incorrectly: "St. Malle" and "Ixtudie".

59. The Manitoban reported the trials of Louison Letendre(November 25 and December 2) and Andre Jerome dit St. Matte on December 2,1871.

60. Re: Treatment of Irish prisoners by the British: "The permanent officials assured [Lord Mass] that the recent danger was quite as bad, if not worse, than that encountered by Lord Kimberley in February, in temporarily overcoming which he imprisoned without trial 700 men and for doing so was made an Earl. Their arrests would, he hoped, be under 100, and they would be almost all principal men in the conspiracy", page 111 in Leon O'Broin, Fenian Fever: An AngloAmerican Dilemma, London: Chatto & Windus,1971; this book gives a detailed discussion of Fenian activities in Ireland from 1863-68.

61. Gage Canadian Dicliorwry.

62. O'Broin, Fenian Fever, p. 111 descn'bed Fenian trials in Great Britain
where some prisoners were encouraged to give evidence against their comrades. "Several of the prisoners had shown a disposition to 'split' which would make it easier to secure convictions at the ordinary Commission in February if they thought it advisable to try three or four of the worst of them."

63. Personal communication, December 13,1993.

64. GilaumeCharetteVanishgSpaces:A4mvirsofLouis Goulet, translated
by Ray Ellenwood, Winnipeg: Editions Bois*Brules, 1976:151-154.

65. Letendre file, evidence of HBC post manager W.H. Watt, trial notes, p. 36.

66. Dom Benoit, Vie deMgr. Tache, vol. 2,Montreal: Librairie Beauchemin, p. 175. Bishop Tache intervened with the Governor General, Lord Lisgar, to commute Letendre's death sentence and deplored the fanaticism of the Orangemen in Red River. A.G. Morice, in his Histoire de l'Eglise Catholique daps l'Ouest Canadien du Cac Superieure au Pacifique (1659-1905), (vol. 2, Montreal: Granger Freres, 1915) argued that because of the deaths of Elzear Goulet, James Tanner, the attack on Andre Nault and the conflict at Riviere des Islets du Bois [the Reign of Terror], the Metis wanted revenge (p.195-196). A. H. De Tremaudan, "Louis Riel and the Fenian Raid of 1871 ", CHR, vol. 4, #2, June 1923: footnote 25: "We have seen it so often stated that the Metis only came forward after all was over that we think it necessary to insist that trustworthy sources prove quite the opposite". This was his intention in publishing his article.

67. George Young, Manitoba Memories, 1868-1884, pp. 212-229. Robert Hill, Manitoba: History of Its Early Settlment, Development & Resources, Toronto: William Briggs, p.346. A fairer report was given by Alexander Begg, History of the North West, vol. 2, Toronto: Hunter, Rose & Company, p. 69: "It must be remembered, however, that O'Donoghue was at the time adisappointed man, on unfriendly terms with Riel and notwithstanding a strong feeling in the minds of many that the French were ready at a moment's warning to join the small party of invaders, the testimony of Bishop Tache and Governor Archibald exonerated Riel altogether from the charge of being implicated in the Fenian Raid".

68. J.P. Pritchett, "The Origin of the So-Called Fenian Raid on Manitoba", CHIZ, vol. 10, #1, March: 23-42. Pritchett concluded that O'Donoghue acted on his own without the support of the Fenians or Riel, but the fact remains that he did have the support of three prominent Fenian officers: O'Neill, Donnelly and Curley (or Kelly) and the organization supplied the muskets and ammunition. Hereward Senior argues that O'Donoghue acted on his own, personal communication, December 16,1993.

69. Hill, 1890, p. 348. Garrioch, p. 337. In his important article by J.P. Pritchett in 1929, he noted that the murder of Elzear Goulet on September 13, 1870 "was one of the most critical events in the early history of the province ofManitoba", page 25, which showed Pritchett's sensitivity to the French Canadian and Metis perspective which most English-speaking Canadian historians did not share; but he ended his story with the freeing of the Fenian raiders and did not discuss the arrest of the Pembina Metis.

70. NAC in PAM, Macdonald papers, Archibald to Macdonald, October 25,1871: 25061.

71. See Ronaghan's thesis on Archibald for a complete review of his administration. See Stanley, Louis Riel, for examples of Archibald's harassment by Canadian anti-Metis agitators, especiallyin the Election Riot of September 1872: "The Governor and his faction are still and have been badly scared" (pp. 180-87).

72. Donald Creighton, The Old Chieftain, p. 60: McMicken reported to Macdonald to expect a raid on Manitoba by General John O'Neill in April 1870.

73. See D.N. Sprague, Canada & the Mtis, 2869-1885, Waterloo:1988, pp. 95-96. Also Jeff Keshen, "Cloak and Dagger: Canada West's Secret Police,1864-6T', Ontario History 79:4: pp. 353-381. Dale 8z Lee Gibson, Railroading the Train Robbers" in Glimpses of Canadian Legal History Legal Research Institute of the University of Manitoba,1991, pp. 7194 for more information on McMicken and his police activities. For McMicken's own view, see "The Abortive Fenian Raid on Manitoba", HSSM, Winnipeg:1888.

74. Niedhardt documents the role of Henri LeCaron, a British spy who reported Fenian plans in the USA against Canada (p.143, chapter 8,
footnote 1). O'Broin gives many examples of the British use of spies and informers against the Fenians, for example, J.J. Corydon, an Irish American, "was a loose-livingcharacter and had been giving information for some time to the police in Liverpool, usually through Head Constable McHale of the Irish constabulary, who was stationed in that city for the express purpose of reporting on Fenian activities", p. 127.

75. Major C.A. Boulton, 1 Fought Riel: A Military Memoir, ed. Heather Robertson, Toronto: James Lorimer and Company,1985, p. 64.

76. Macdonald Papers, vol. 16, pp. 522-23, Macdonald to McMicken, 29 November 1871, as cited in Sprague, Canada & theMwtts, p. 96, footnote 23.

77. The source of this term was in an American newspaper story; see Allen Ronaghan, Ph.D. thesis, on the Archibald administration.

78. Stanley, Louis Riel, pp. 160-161. Garrioch who gives the Ontario Canadian point of view noted: "There was a thorough investigation over the manner of Goulet's death and the responsibility for it was traced home to three of the volunteers, but owing to the excitement connected with the occurrence, it was deemed wise to let the matter rest for a time, and it is resting still", p. 333-334.

79. Ronaghan gives the most detailed description of the coverage of this incident in the newspapers. For the French view, see Guillaume Charette, Vanishing Spaces: Memoirs of louis Goulet, Winnipeg:1976, p. 74: "In the autumn of 1870, Elzear Goulet was stoned by Wolseley's soldiers when they were garrisoned at the Fort". De Tremaudan castigated thejustice system which didnot pursue Goulet's murderers: "For the sake of appearances, an inquest was held; but even though the guilty men, a civilian and two soldiers, were known, themagistrates in the case decided that, due to the state of unrest among the people, it was better not to issue arrest warrants" in Hold High Your Heads, Winnipeg: Pemmican, 1982, p. 104. Both de Tremaudan and Goulet can be seen expressing the Metis voice on Goulet's death and the resentment felt by the community at the lack of justice. Pritchett noted that the result of Goulet's murder was the return to the settlement of Riel, O'Donoghue and Lepine to organize the September 17 meeting of French Metis at St. Norbert at which they composed the Memorial & Petition to the U.S. President; (CHR, vol. 10:1, 1929: 25-26). It prompted their direct intervention. O'Donoghue argued in a letter to the House of Commons, Feb. 26,1875, that this meeting at St. Norbert gave him his commission to organize the 1871 raid (Pritchett: 41). Dr. J.C. Schultz, opponent of Riel and the Metis, later included this letter in his own files and wrote on the top "Bourgeois Leader"; PAM, MG12, El (7455-7460). O'Donoghue signed it: "Sec. & Ty, Late Prov. Govmnt. Of Rupert's Land, N.W.".

80. PAM, Belleau Papers, LeFloch to Tache, September 20,1870; Simonet to Tache, same date.

81. Garrioch, p. 334.
82. Andre Jerome's mother was Angelique Letendre who was a sister of Jean-Baptiste Letendre, Louison's father. The brother and sister were married to their spouses on the same day in St. Boniface, 6 June,1825, Diane P. Payment, Dictionary of Canadian Biography, vol. VI,1821-1835. Helene Goulet's father was Jean-Baptiste Jerome, Andre's brother,but he was dead in 1871 and her mother was Josephte Courchene, listed in the Goulet-Jerome marriage record from Pembina Assumption Church, March 8, 1859 "a la Fourches"; they signed their names: "Elziard Goulet" and "Ellen Jerome"; Joe Rolette signed as a witness.

83. In fact, Joseph Rolette signed the register as a witness to her wedding in March 8,1859, Pembina Register, M-5.

84. In the Genealogy of the First Mefis Nation, Sprague noted that Helene St. Mathe, wife of Elzear Goulet, was born in 1844; so in 1871, she was 27 and her husband was 31.

85. NAC, Letendre file, notes of witness testimony.

86. Letendre file, testimony of Antoine Collin (p. 28) and Antoine Paul Laronte (sic; p.5). Paul Laronte Sr. testified he saw Letendre, Jerome St. Matte, his father [Martin], Joseph St. Matte, Louis St. Matte and Jimmy from Cork. He also saw "Joseph St. Matthe brought the wagon which contained the arms"; Letendre file, p. 17 of notes on witness testimony.

87. Ed Jerome suggests that this story was passed down in his family; for example, his aunt, Mary Shepherd, who lived to be 101, told it to relatives at the occasion of her 100th birthday. The Pembina Census of 1860 often lists teenage Metis boys as "voyageurs" or "laborers". Their teenage sisters are often listed as "seamstresses".

88. Robert B. Hill, History of its Early Settlement, Development and Resources, Toronto: William Briggs,1890, 337-338.

89. It should be noted that Helene Jerome Goulet, the widow of Elzear, and her six chldren were living in Saint Boniface with her mother-inlaw and brother-in-law,1870 Red River Census, so she was not living in Pembina at the time of the raid in October 1871.

90. PAM, MG3 B18, Andre Nault depositions, p. 383: re: death of Thomas Scott. Allen Ronaghan argued convincingly that Elzear Goulet was targetted by Schultz's father-in-law, James Farquarson, because of his role in Scott's court martial.

91. G.F.G. Stanley, /ouis Riel, Toronto: McGraw-Hill-Ryerson,1963,1985, p.161. He cites the deaths of Francois Guillemette, Bob O'Lone, James Tanner, and the assaults on Nault, Father Kavanaugh, and Thomas Spence, the editor of The New Nation

92. The blodtobm, March 18,1872.

93. NAC, Letendre file, letter to Edward Armstrong, Sheriff of Manitoba, Fort Carry, from E. Parent,M.O.P., [Member of Parliament], December 27,1872. Edward Armstrong, Winnipeg, to E. Parent, Under Secretary, [Department of Justice, Ottawa], January 30, 1873: "I am able to inform you that he has left the Dominion."

94. NAC, Letendre file, testimony of Paul Laronte Sr., p. 24. The article in Let M*fis reporting on Letendre's trial referred to him as "mentally unstable" and "an idiot". His lawyers used his alleged mental weakness as part of their defence strategy to prove he was not a leader of the raid.

95. WS. Neidhardt, Fenianism in North America. v. 127

96. See Leon O'Broin, Fenian Fever: An Ang-American DMemma, (London: Chatto & Windus,1971) for a detailed discussion of Fenian activities in Ireland from 1863-68.

97. W.S. Neidhardt, Fenianism in North America, (Pennsylvania State University Press,1975); Chapter 11: "The Fenian Prisoners & the Irish Vote". In The Fenians and Canada (1978), Senior described for example in 1866 "Fenian pressure on the Johnson Administration" such as lobbying for the extension of belligerent rights to the Fenians and changing the neutrality laws. The American government returned weapons that had been seized and hired a lawyer for captured Irish Americans in Toronto (pp. 111-112).

98. See O'Broin, Fenian Fever: For example, three men later known as the "Manchester Martyrs" were hanged in 1867 for complicity in the rescue of Col. T.J. Kelly in that English city (p. 202). This was in keeping with British government policy as expressed by the Conservative Prime Minister, the Earl of Derby, at the time of the Irish Uprising in 1867: "He recommended a special Commission to try the ringleaders, and especially the American Irish. It would be quite necessary to make a prompt and severe example of them; and much as he shrank from capital punishment, it would have, in this instance, to be resorted to without scruple and was indeed real mercy" (p.154).

99. For the debate on the Metis diaspora, see D.N. Sprague, Canada 6 the Mts, Waterloo: Wilfred Laurier University Press,1988; Gerhard Ens, "Kinship, Ethnicity, Class & the Red River Metis: The Parishes of St. Francois Savier & St. Andrews", Ph.D. thesis, University of Alberta: 1989; Thomas Flanagan, Metis Lands in Manitoba, Calgary: University of Calgary Press, 1991; and Paul L.A.H, Chartrand, Manitoba MEtis Settlement Scheme of 1870, Saskatoon: Native Law Centre, University of Saskatchewan,1991.

100. For details about the "Reign of Terror", see George F.G.Stanley, Louis Riel, Toronto: McGraw-Hill-Ryerson, 1963, 1985, pp. 159-164; A.H. de Tremaudan, Hold High Your Heads, Winnipeg: Pemmican Publication 1982; Allen Ronaghan, "The Archibald Administration in Manitoba", Ph.D., University of Manitoba,1987, several chapters.

101. Thanks to Yvette Villeneuve, St. Cloud, Minnesota, and Gerri Weigle, great-great-granddaughter of Ambroise Lepine, personal communication.