The New York Herald Newspaper, January 15, 1870, Page 4

NEW YORK HERALD, SATURDAY, yaNUARY 15, 1870—TRIFLE SHEET, . THE NEW NATION. Condition of Affairs at Red River. The Operations of Governor MeDougall and Colonel Dennis. APPREHENSIONS OF AN INDIAN WAR, United States Troops to be Sent to Pembina, DESCRIPTION OF THE NEW COUNTRY. St..Paun, Minn., Jan. 8, 1870. The telegraph has informed the HERALD's readers of all the important events connected with the Red River insurrection, but there 1s much transpiring here on the border which can only be communicated through the mails. The latest advices from Fort Garry are to the effect that the new provisional gov- ernment was quietly settling into working order, and had taken possession of the safe of the Hudson Bay Company and appropriated its contents for pab- lic use. One statement ts that the money was felo- niously taken, while another report is that the pro- visional government effected atoan of the Hudson Bay Company, which the latter endeavor publicly to repudiate as such, in order not to give offence to the Dominion government. We aiso hear that about forty prisoners arrested some time ago by order of the provisional government and sent across the border with orders not to return are on their way"! to St. Paul; but beyond the above news we eeu Nothing worthy of notice, Indeed, it 1s extremely dificult to discriminate in ‘St. Pani between the many reports which come in by each mail from Red River. Tnia place 1s as full of ‘unreliable stories relating to Red River as Washing- ton used to be during the war respecting the opera- Uons of the Army of the Potomac. It Is 450 miles, across a wild and uncultivated snow-covered prairie, from here to Pembina, and seventy miles thence to Fort Garry. From twelve to fifteen days are required for the passage of the mail, and this arrives at long intervals. The Hudson Bay Company having trans- acted a great deal of business in St, Paul there is Quite a circle here which does all in its power to de- Preclate the provisional government and spread damaging reports respecting its character, opera- tons and purposes. They represent that the ingur- rection and iormation of a provistonal government ‘Was all the work of the French priests of Red River, Who intended to secure in the settlement of the diMculty the same Church privileges from tne Dominion government as exist m Lower Canada, ‘These would include landed estates una ecclesiasti- Cal prerogatives of immense value to the French latholics of Red River; aud the enemies of the pro- visional government here say that just as soon as a Pledge of these privileges is given by the Dominton government the French half-breeds will be all with- drawn from tne affuir. They also say that provi- sional, Soygraor. pets and General Rielle are ready 16 harmonize With the Canadian authoriues for a small amount of money, and that as soon as Vicar General Thibault, the head of the French clergy in Canada, and Colonel De Sale, the agent of the Do- minion government, now on their way to Fort Garry, reach there, a change will come over the aspect of affairs and the provisional government will dissolve, On the other Land, while the majority of the peo- ple in St. Paul, alshougn sympathizing with the Red River movement, are remaining quiet and awaiting the development of the Canadian policy, there are a Tew agitators here who, tn conjunction with their correspondents at Pembina and Fort Garry, are con- stantly circulating Munchausen reports concerning ‘the secret operations of the provisional goverument and the wouderful things tt 1s about to do. ‘They of course studiously conceal all news favorable to the other side and flood St. Paul with rose-colored stories Of the progress and prospects of the new Red River programme. The stacements of each party are so exaggerated and conilicting that no one makes up ‘his mind on the news of one mail untii the next bas arrived, and your correspondent accordingly starts on Monday across thg wilderness for the scene of operations. AFFAIRS AT FORT GARRY Beem to have settled into perfect quietness for ihe winter. Troops are being organized and drilled im preparation for the emergencies of spring, and the new government is slowly periecting its organiza- tion. ‘There is cousideravie anxiety felt respectin, the intentions of the Indians, who tt is apprenen will make War upon the settlements next spring. There are several hundred Sioux warriors in the Red River country, who were concerned in the general ‘Minnesota trontier massacre of 1862, when over a thousand people were suddenly butcnered. .Afier a Jong Indian war the devils were driven out of the State and sought refuge beyond the United States boundary, where they still remain as ready as ever tw murder and plunder. It is feared that they will attack the Red River settlements in the spring, and there appears to be good ground for this apprehen- sion. ‘The slightest pretext would be suilicient.to imcite them, and it will be remembered that alew weeks ago, when Colonel! Dennis, of McDou- gail’s staff, communicated with them, they were then found with thelr war paint on. Colonel Denms ciaims that he dissuadeu them from any hostile act agamst the settlements, but it is very evident that gome one, either an agent of McDougall’s party or the Hudson Bay Company, had already been surring the Sioux to hostility against the Red River people. Colonel Dennis may Nave discovered that If the ludi- ‘ans were to attack Red River United States troops would be thrown snto that country immediately, and policy, even if he had no mercy, would dictate that the savages be restrained. Whether Colonel Dennis tampered with the Indians for future purposes or not remains to be fully proved. vis untyepsally be. heved here that he did commence 6 do so, and changed his tactics upon learning the temper ei Minnesota and Wisconsin people respecting indian fiostilities, especiaily when committed by the Sioux. Dennis, 1° 13 claimed, has prevaiied upon the Indians to wait until spring for orders, and 1 an attempt should then be made to coerce the Red River peopie he expects to have the gatisiaction of levtung the savages loose upon the set- Hlements that so unceremoniously Kicked him out of their limits, GOVERNOR M’DOUGALL’S Policy appears to have been very conciliatory in its Character, aud now that he has returned to Canada there is a growing sentiment here that it might havo been best for him to have succeeded. He 19 well known to be in favor of Canadian annexation to the United States, although he does not publicly advance such ideas, annexation being with tum something to be attained only after a tong, careful and patient struggle. When he first arrived at St. Paul he talked very freely of his plans, and stated that among the first public works which he should inaugurate would be a telegraph and railroad from Fort Garry to connect with those in Minnesota. He evidently looked jorward to the early annexation of the Ked River country to the Unton, and from the fact tnat his re- lations with American public men have given him in Canada the sobriquet of “the Washington fox,” tt ig reasonable to suspect that he, as Governor of tne Norihwest Territory, would direct affairs towards the consummation of his political wisites, and per- haps bring about annexation himself. As soon ag he found it impossible to accomplish anything with the Red River people, without exceeding his aathor- ity, he quietly withdrew from Pembina to St. Paul, aud thence to Canada, from which it is not believed by those who were familiar with him here that be wil return. He did not appear to be particularly dis- appointed at his rejection, and did ali in his power to prevent bloodshed and indian complications. Every one speaks in the most complimentary terms re- epecting his conduct and policy, as expressed by dum while in Minnesota, and, a8 before maicated, not a few here, including State oftictals, would have been gratified at seeing him at the head of Red River ailairs, UNITED STATES TROOPS will probably be sent to Pembina before {spring, for the purpose of Insuring security to the Kea River settlements from Indian hostilities. This may not yet be determined upon by the government at Wash- ington; bit, as the Pembina settiement has its hears Set upon the matter, and can in a great measure control Red River news, there 1s no doubt that a anilitary post will be established there before long. ‘There does not yet seem to be suilicient danger of Indian troubles to justify the expense and hardship Ancident to the establishment and maintenance of military post at Pembina, but no one can tell what ‘the Sioux may do in the spring. General Hancock, whose headquarters are at St. Paul, says wat he has laid the matter before the President and awalts structions, He will not send troops to Pembina without orders from Washington, but thinks that two companies may be statione there when spring opens for the purpose of prevent. ing by thelr presence any Indian outbreak. The nearest Unit States troops at present consist of one company stationed at Fort Abercrombie. If the Indians were to make a descent upon the Red River settlements there 1s no doubt that United States troops would be hurried to Fort Garry; but this aid Would be trifing compared with the amount of "ANCE MINNESOTA Which Would pour into te Red River copauy. As Map Showing the yet the people of Minnesota have not participated in the dimen Jiies across the border, although their sym- pathies are almost without exception with the New provisional government; but their memo- ries of the massacre of 1862 are so keen, and their hatred of the Sioux 1s so intense that upon the first’ alarm of Indian depredations hun- dreds of armed Minnesotans would rash to the Red River settlements and engage in a war of extermina- tion against the savage lugitives from justice. The newly eiected Governor of tne State and all the mem- bers of the Legisiature are in fivor of sending all needful aid to Ked River, if the Indians are incited against them, and there is no doubt that the first Sioux warwhoop would bring to Fort Garry a regi- ment of Americans. {he Sioux consider themsecives sate from American vengeance in the Red River country, and if they thougat that the Dominion gov- ernmeny would not chastise them they would fail upon the settlements in &@ moment for the sake of plunder. It remains to be seen how far Canadian or iudson Bay Company’s agents have tampered with them. Notwithstanding the proximity of the scene of operations to the United States borders, the character of the country involved in this difiicuity seems to be very imperfectiy understood. ‘The Ked River ques- tion includes the whole of RUPERIS LAND, comprising all that territory extending between the Domuwion of Canada and the Rocky Mountains, from the northern boundary of the United States to ihe Arctic Ocean. It includes about 2,000,000 square moiles, 360,000 of which are prairie or natural mea- dow land, The remainder of the territory is occu. pied by lakes, foresta and impassable tracks of snow and ice, ‘The history of the Hudson Bay Company’s occupation of ths territory since 1670, by virtue of a charter from King Charles the Second, ana of its sfer to the New Dominion last year, has already en fully detailed in the MeRALv, and It only re- mains to give a description of that section whigh has suddeniy spfang 1us0 Rollco and is KnOWn ag THE RED RIVER COUNTRY, ‘This part of Rupert's Land wad cedéd to Lord set- kirk in 1811, and was designated as follows:— All that tract of Iand or territory bounded by an imaginary line running us follows, that 18 to say, beginning on the Western shores of Lake Winnipeg, ut point in tty-two de- grees thirty minutes north Iattnde, and thence running due West to the lake Winnipegosis, then in a southerly direction through the said lake, ag’ to strike its western shores in latitude fifty-two degrees, then due west to the place where the fifty-two degrees intersect the western branch of Red river (the Assinuiboime), then due south from that point of Intersection to the height of land which separates the waters runniag into Hudson's Bay from thase of the Missouri and ppi; then in the easterly direction, along the sald height of laud, to the source of the Winnipeg river, meaning by such last-named river the principal branch of the waters which unite in. Lake ‘Selgunigah; thence along the main stream of these waters, and. the middie of the several lakes through wich they flow, to the mouth of the Winnipeg river, and thence in the northerly direction, through the middle of Lake Winnipeg, to the place of beginning. In 1812 the first colonists, consisting of several Scotch families, reached Red River, but were met by a large party of half-breeds and Indians in the ser- vice of the Northwest Fur Company, and warned not fo cavpblish & perman 1 settlement ‘The golonists, conducted by these Indians, prééeeded to the post of the Hudson Bay Company at Pembina, where they passed the winter in buifalo skin tents. In May, 1813, the emigrants returned to a place about two miles below Fort Garry and there commenced their agricultural labors. In the tall of the year they again sought refuge at Pembina, and in the follow. ing season made another attempt to plant them- selves permanently on the banks of the Red river at their original place of settlement. During the su ier, however, their house, were burned by the wandering half-breeds, and when, in 1815, the main body of emigrants arrived from Scotland they found poverty and aespondency prevatiing. The new ar- rivals with supplies of all kinds gave new life to the little colony, but in 1816 a serious conflict took piace between the settlement and tho native employés of the Northwest Colony, in which many were Killg@g on both sides and the settlers dispersed. Shorti¥ atterward Lord Selkirk arrived wiih one hundred disbanded soldiers, com- posed chiefly of Germans, French and Swiss, and, recalling the scatlered Scotch settlers, the colony was re-established— In 1818 several French Canadian families, under the guidance of two priests, arrived in the country, and im 1820 a Catnolic church was erected. -The union of the Hudson Bay and tue Northwest companies in 1821 gaye peace to the col- ony, and it commenced to grow with rapidity. In 1843 It numbered over 6,000 people, and upon the opening of the Northwestern States and ‘Territories of the United States emigration flowed into the Red River country over the American bor- der and formed settlements at varioug places, tn- cluding Oak Post, White Horse Plains and Prairie Portage, along the Red and Assiniboine rivers. ‘The principel of these are on Red river, between the mouth of Rat river and Lake Winnipeg. ‘The Red river of the north rises in Ottertall lake, in Minnesota, and flows in a westerly course for ome distance, after wich it winds to the north in latitude 46 deg. 9 min., and passes through vast prairies in an exceedingly tortuous channel, the Ppiains not being over two feet above the water in its ordinary stage in June. In latitude 46 deg. 23 min. 80 sec, a belt of timber sets in and continues, with some interruptions, aloug its banks to Pembina. In latitude 46 deg. 41 min. 12 sec, the level ¥ the prairies is thirty feet above the river. ne Uibvtarien Ips wirepm receives some iaporiqns 4 SSR ee ae gece Sa a RS See aaa aceite oa LE ae ee ee Geographical Position of the Se silfo Bs WILLS, HUDIN DAY C23, TRADING POST Scene R pay L-LAKE cluding the Cheyenne, Pembina, Red Fork, Roseau and Assinnibolue rivers. Its whole length from where it enters British territory trom the United States to its mouth at lake Winnipeg is 140 miles, and all along a good portion of this distance are scattered the settlements formed within the last few years, Equally rich and attractive districts border the As- sinniboiae and Saskatchewan rivers, and a few settle- Ments have been formed in them, but most of the emigrants to Ruperi’s Land have located themselves along Red river, THE CLIMATE of this country is remarkably muld for so northerly a latitude. Mr. Lortn Blodgett, in his standara work on the “Climatology of North America,” has pointed out the existence of a vast wedge-shaped tract, ex- tending irom forty-eight degrees to sixty degrees of northern latitude, ten degrees of longitude deep at the base, which may be denominated the Winnipeg basin. it contains 500,000 square miles of habitapie land, and is subject to few and tnconsiderable varia- uons of climate, This author gives a summer of ninety-five days to Toronto and of nimety days to Cumberland House, on the Saskatchewan river, io latitude fifty-fout degrees, A Canadian engineer, Mr. Simon Dawson, trom personal observation compares the climate of Fort Garry to that of Kingston. Professor Hindes, in an elaborate report to the Canadian goy- ernment, places the mean temperature of Red River for the three summer months al 67 76, nearly three degrees of heat more than is necessary Jor corn, While July has four degrees of heat more than 13 required ior its best development. Mr. Blodgett claims that the whole Saskatchewan Valiey has @ciimate very nearly as mild in iis annual average a8 that of St. Paul, which would give it a winter mean of fifteen degrees and an annual mean of forty-four degrees, represenung the climates of Wisconsin, Northern jlowa, Michigan, Western fansde, Norther New York and Southern New England. in a report of tho Treasury Department upon “Poyeign and Domestic Commerce of the United States,” Senate document, June 29, 1864, occurs the following summary :— < ‘The country northwest of Minnesota, reaching from Sel- Kirk aettlement to the Rocky Mountaing, and from iaitude 49 to 63 degrees on the longitude of 4 degrees, and to the late {tude 65 degrees on the Pacitic coast, 1s 48 favorable to grain and animal production as any of the Northern States. The mean temperature for spring, summer and autuma ovserved on the forty-second and forty-third paraliela in New York, Michigan and Wisconsin has accurately ley of tho Saskatchewan to latitnde 55 degrees on the Pacilic coast; and from the northwest boundary of Minne- sola this whole district of British America is threaded in all directions by the uavigable er lines which converge to Lake Winnipeg. ‘The winters commence about the 1st of December and spring at the Ist of April. The rivers break up apout the middle of April, and seed time commences soon after. The growth of vegetation 1s very rapid, harvest commencing the first week in Augu Wheat, bariey, oats, rye, potatoes, turnips, beets, carrots, cabbages, tomatoes, melons and all ordinary vegetables attain perfection in the region above in- dicated, and a large variety of frulis, including plums, cherries, currants, cranberries, raspberries, strawberries, &0., abound, TMB POPULATION of the Red River coliitry numbers about 15,000, and is divided utuong French, English, Scotch, Gana. dian, Americans and half-breeds. Fort Garry, at the junction of the Assinniboine and Red rivers, is the headquarters of the settiemegts, and was, until re- cently, tae headquarters of the fur trade of Rupert's Land. Winnipeg 15 a small town, about a quarter of a mile from Fort Garr The greater part of the Freyck reside between Pembina and Kort Garry, On both sides of the river, and also on tho Assinniboine, as far as Portage la Prairie. The English aro on the Assinnibotne, principally on the north side of the stream as far as the White Horse Plains, about haif way between Fort Garry and Port- age la Prairie, as well as some milles this ‘side of the latier place, and a distauce beyond 11 towards Lake Manitoba; they are also on the Ked river, beyond the Scotch settlement, as far as elght miles the other side of the Stone Fort, or Lower Vort Garry. Toe Scotch: settlement exiends trom Winnipeg town about six or seven miles down the Red river. Aller passing Lower Fort Garry about eight miles there is vue Indian settlement extending as far as Lake Win- nipeg. The residence, ‘silver Heiguts,” engaged and prepared for Mr. McDougall as the Governor's house, 18 about five miles from Fort Garry. THE FRENCH HALF-LREEDS are mostly given to hunting, fishing and trading for aliveilhood, They are a quick and excitable cla! of people. As @ rule they are law-abiding and honest in teir dealings. Where any of them have had educational advantages tuey profit by then, being quick to learn and intelligent at grasping ideas. Where they attention to agriculture they generally turn out good, thrifty farmers. Bat farm! a4 @ general thing 13 distasteful to them; their wants being few ae easily supplied; and trained, a8 most of them have been from iniancy, to hunting, trapping, trading, tripping, fishing, &c., the nomadic habits have become part’ and parcel of their nature, A correspondent writing from Fort Garry says:—The French are noted here for their love of gayety and fun; thelr homes are modeis of cleaniiness. Altogether they are a people that the longer you know them the better you like them. They are brave eh swe; Welt Feligion ie jue Rowan Catulic, and their cathedral and convents, &c., at Boniface would be creditable to any country. Unfortunately for Canadians coming to this country, they are impressed With the idea that half-breecs are a sort of haif-and- half specimens of humanity, hardly eutitlea to the privilege of being called rational beings. ‘This idea of the people of this country 18 not only unfortunate, but uncalled for, as those who come ‘here to judge for themselves soon see, ‘The word hal{-breed merely signifies where there is a Unge more or less of Indian blood; but whoever started the term “breed”? ought to have been choked before he had time to ap- ply it to human beings. ‘There are very few of us nowadays who have not a mixture of blood in our composition—our mother, perhaps, being an Englishwoman and our father a Scotchman or Irishman—therefore the term is as much applica ble to us a8 to those who have Indian blood in their veins, and for this reason I would advise strangers to attach no erroneous tdea to it, for I have seen as good hall-breeds as 1 have seen white men. Some of the finest ladies 1m the settlement have Indian blood tn their veins, and more lady-like, courteous and pleasant gentlewomen Inever inet in my life. THE ENGLISH HALF-BREBDS are more settled in their habits than the French, ana are more inclined to farming ana trading. ‘Tuetr houses and barns look turifty, and their families are educated, intelligent aud hospitable. Their religion is principally Episcopal, although the Catholic, Anglican, Presbyterlan and Methodist Churches are uli represented. THE SCOTCH SETTLERS are the most steady going and conservative of all. ‘Their farms are models of careful management, and their community is better educated than any others in the setllements, AMERICANS have settled in some districts, and are doing well, ‘The characteristic eaterprise of the Yankee emigrant has made him a success in Red River, as well as on the Western prairies, and Americans are becoming quite popular throughout the settlements, They have not yet taken any part in the diMculties jately inaugurated, and are looked upon tn a friendly manner by both parties, although the Canadian ele- ment is well aware that American sywpatiy 19 all with the Red River people, ‘fH FARM rovses are generally built of logs, mudded with tne clay from the river banks, which hardens and sticks fast, when dry, to the sides of the house. in the fali it 1s customary to whitewash the dweilings, and then they present a clear. and tidy appearance; thatch is mostly usod for the roofs, Brick has been success- fully tried, as the clay found in the settiement 18 of @ very fine quality, and the best description of brick can be made from it. Stone is not found in abun- dance, but there is enough for ordinary purposes for some time to come. Lumber is scarce, but Lake Winnipeg, abounds with spruce and other timber, and some Of the tributaries of Ked river are heavily wooded, % THE TRADE of the settlements is governed almost entirely by the fur business. The surplus of grain or provisions, over what is required tor consumption by the settlers themselves, is taken by the Hudson Bay Company and fur traders at fair prices from the farmers, and used in feeding the inany men who are engaged in bringing in the furs. A grea dea! of money t9 ex- pended among the peoplg fh Saving for freighting foods aores? the plafiiy from st. Cloud ana from ort Garry to the interior posts of tie Hudson Bay Company. Toe money of the settiement is kept abroad, chiefly in Engiand. The Hudson y Com- pany issue their own notes for five shillings and one pound sterling, as the currency of the country, which they redeem by granting biils of exchange at sixty days’ sight on thelr house in Lon- don, England; and to meet these bills, as well as other liabilities for goods, to carry on their Northwest trade, the conrpany ahip home their furs to London, which always meet with ready cash sale, #0 that everything in the way of cash, with the exception of the litte gold and sfiver in circulation, consists altogether of drafts on ac- count of ‘fur? shipped abroad either on Hudson Bay Company or private account. There are, of course, sales of fur in the United States and Canada, but it amounts to the same thing; the only manner im which ited River people can meet their Mabilities is through dralts drawn against fur, sold or unsold, GENERAL VIEW. But the actual settlements of Red River are not of so much tmportance in connection with the rebellion against Governor McDougall and the New Dominion as are the vast tracts of fertile soil still unoccupied in that country, On refer: tf to the map it will be seen that an immense area o! lakes and water courses indicates a low allu- vial surface, which must be inexhaustible in fertility. Scientific research has revealed that a the count Adjacent to the eastern slope of the Rocky: Mountains was once a great sea, with rivers showing weatwar@ly from tho Alleghany slopes into it, The Minnesota river now flows east aiong the bed of a river which once ran West and emptied into that great sea. Ata later pe- riod the Red Kiver country was all covered with water, formu lake much larger than any now in existence on this Continent, and the wavers of this inland sea flowed to the Guif through the channel of the Mississippi. .The gigantic changes in the face of Datur. which upheaved the Western prairies and madpan inexhausiJole territory for the husbandihea finally transformed the more northern country in the fame Dauner, aud now te explores of Ruperve THE RED RIVER TERRITORY. of the Revolution. Land finds himself at Fort Garry, in the centre of an immense basin, sheltered by surrounding moun- tains, watered by large rivers, dotved with small lakes and covered eight months in the year with luxuriant vegetation. ‘The reader ts already familiar with the Red river Portion of this basin, and if he will follow up the Assinniboine river, which empites into Red river at Fort Garry, he will find a similar splendid country stretching far towards the Rocky Mountains. Pass- ing across the smaller fertile tracts among the lakes and water courses north of Fort Garry, he will come to the productive valicy of the Saskatchewan, an- other large district, possessing every inducement to settlement. As las been already shown, the climate Of this region 1s not as severe as that of Maine, New Hampsiure and Vermont, or even Nortuern New York, and when Minnesota and Dacotah shall have filed up as they are now rapidly doing, and rallroads and markets approuch the Ked River country, 1115 a8 certain to become a populous and flourishing State as any Territory of the Union, Assuming that te prairies of Ked river and the Axssinntpoine ¢ Prairie la Portage contain an available ar f 1,500,000 acres of fertile soll, the total quautity of arable land between Ked river and Moose woods, on the south branch of the Saskatchewan, may be esti- mated as lollows:— Acres, Red river and Assinnibome prairies cast of Prairie la Portage ++ 1,500,000 Eastern watershed of the Assinnivoine an La Riviere Sale. aes 3,500,000 Long creek and the Forks of the wan. oe wa 600,000 Between Carrot river and the Main sas- KAUCHOWAN....sereee tees seseeseres « 8,000,000 ‘he Toachwood Hill range, the Moose Woods, &c., &c. +. 600,000 Mouse river, Qu’ a river. 1,009,000 The region abou > head wat of U Assinniboine, including the valley of Swau river seeeeeees 1,000,000 Total area of arable land of first quality. .11,100,000 Of land suitable for grazing purposes the area 1s much more considerabie, and 1s estimated as being equal in quantity to the above statement of aravie territory, ROUTES TO RED RIVER. The routes by which access 1s had to this basin of fertility are three in number; first, the 8i8sipp! Valley route from St. Paul via Perbina ond, the Lake Superior foute via Dog Rainy Lake and Lake of the Woods: and third, tne Hudson Bay Company’s route from York Factory, Hudsou Bay, via Mayes river, &c., to Lake Win great Mu peg. On the St. Panl route emigrants can po by rail eighty miles; thence by stageto Fort Abercroinbie, 160 miles, and thence by flatboats down Red river to Pompina and Fort Garry. it{s only duriog a small portion of the year, however, that the fed river can be navigated, owing to its tortuous course, obstruc- tons and shallowness, and most emigrants proceed overland ail the way, the distance between Fort Abercrombie and Fort Garry being 280 miles, a total of 520 miles from St. Pani. Communication in win- ter by this route is kept open, but the journey 1s at- tended with great hardship and no litte danger of perlabing on the boundiess and unsheltered prairies which the traveller must cross, and on which he must camp out in thesnow at night. Tue route in summer, however, 19 delighiful, and is each year travelled by hundreds trading between the Red Rivér settlements and tue Union. Nearly all the supplies purchased by the Red Hiver peopie are bought im Si. Paul, which already holds a relationship With the setilemcuts as close a4 Uiat of the jiudson Bay Compau, As the Internal improvements of Minnesota are pushed northward the trip to Fort Garry will speedily be- come an easy undertakiag, aud with close communt cation established annexation will be but the qu tion of a single BoD. ‘The second route 18 through an utterly nulnhabit- able country, except at widely separated points, ana foliows the chain of lakes and streams connecting Lakes Superior and Winulpeg. It cannot be traversed except tn sammer, and all*the transporta- tion is by means of small boats, which, with their baggage, have to be carried around some fifty dul- ferent rapids and shaliows. Under the most favor. able circumstances tue trip by this route ts attended With great difficulty and hardship. The otuer route, by way of York Factory, # ouly used by the far traders and can uever ve made avaliable for other pilrposes. Yale What Governor McDougall Says. Governor McDougall, fresh from the Northwest, has been interviewed by a Toromto Telegraph re- porter, and gives Wis version of the Pembina uprising. he says the French nalf-breeds made all the trouble, their object being to secure from the Canadian government @ large tract of land between Pembina and Fort Garry, The American residents come in for @ share of the Governor's con- demnation, and he accuses them of uniting in opposition with certain traders at Fort Garry, their motive being with a view to fature possession of the country by annexation. The Fenian element, he alleges, 18 aiso involved, but the Scotch and Kuglish take No partiy the disturbance, although favoring the French list of rights. All the Indian tribes, he says, are loyal, the story of the Sioux on the war-path belng utterly false,’ The Governor is very bitter in his statements of the conduct of Americans toward bim at Pembina; they watched his house, ana when they heard the rumor of his tampering with the Indian tribes endeavored to coerce hitn into sending a note forbid: any action on the part of the savages. He says James Ross — ta icanle bart in L oar tion, eee urgents, &c. ‘The Governor, nee enough, seems to have es Bae contemplated returm to the disput Lerroryy he had placed his account of the whole matter before the the presen ‘authorities, and there it reste for RECLAIMED. A Youthful Magdalen Saved from the Sea of Vice. The Trials of a Washerwoman end Wiles of a Wealthy Lothario. In the tron pallsaded pen of the Tombs Police ‘Court was piaced, yesterday morning, by the side of two professional feminine pickpockets, a young gir), with an tmitelligent, broad, girlish face, whose quiet stare around the court and into the coun~ tenauces of ull about her looked too much like innas cence tw b& uustaken for impudence. ‘The magige trate had not yet arrived, and she was waiting, with @ number of drunken men aud womea, her oppotr. tunity for being mngiscerially disposea of. In the body of tue court, on the side appropriatag to the female part of the audience, was the mothes of this ytrl, @ cleanly looking, decently attired, industrious appearing woman, whose unobtrusive dress and quiet demeanor made ber conspicuous in the bevy of trail and faded beauty that surrounded her, arrayed in its ill-fitting, dirty, faded finery and dollar store jewelry. Side by aide with the honest mother of the girl in the iron pen was a creature ig the form of a woman and tn the garb of a lady, wha ‘was thé “boss” of an up-town establishment for the retailing of vicious indulgences to apy man who came with suficieut greenbacks to command the luxury of an hour's seclusion with any one of her “girls.” Some of this creature’s “girls”? were there also, with all the “girlishness” taken out of them long ago, Wearing a borrowed finery that did duty for & poor representation of young: ladyism. Their sinutty jokes, thelr foul-mouthed talk, thelr empty migzie shook the wrinkles of fat on the rum and Whiskey marked countenance of the “hag” that owhed this cluster of feminine humanity, Now and then @ court officer ordered silence, and this small company of ‘‘devii-may-care’’ young women as- sumed the appearance of a form full of boarding School girls. ‘They filled up this interval of silence by an allur- ing and lascivious smirk und unmistakable factal and fuger signs to the mate occupants of the oppos+ site benches, ‘he overtures were not, however, re- turned by the men, rough, dirty and hardened ag @ good many of them were. An innate sense of pity seemed to disarm ali the rougher manly nature, aud the invitations to a pantomimic display of incip- lent ee were not reciprocated by the lords of the creation, When Justice Cox arrived Helen Brown, for this was the name of the girl in the prisoners’ pen, Was among the earliest brought before the magisterial eye, The officer who nad her in charge said that the girl was fourteen years of age, and that he had found her at a house of prostitution in Mercer sireet. The mother stepped forward and begged, for the sake of the best interests of her child, taat she be sent ta the House of the Good Skepherd. she told the magistrate In a few words her reasons for Uils request, and Justice Cox complied with the desire of the mother and the girl was spendiy removed to the prison part of the Tombs until ® favorable opportunity presented itself for her removal to the home that was designed for the resto- ration of her moral nature, ‘The HERALD reporter of the court had a conversa- tuon wita Mrs, Brown, and as the plain and simple narrative of her daughter's fall was not quite the old story of sin and shame, its more salient details have had @ more lasting embodiment given to them than that which they had im the narrative of the narrator dnd the memory of the listener. Mrs, Brown 13 a laundress; one of her customers Was a married wan of disunguished reputation, It Was the weekly duty of an elderly sister of Heien, named Jennie, to take this man’s domestic Hacer home, and be paid for the washing of the same. One evening this cider girl (Jennie) came home from her weekly visit. to this mar- ried man’s house with @ face flushed with in. dignation, and telling her mother in tye plainest terms that she wonld not take that “(man’s washinge home again, for he n@1 grossly insulted her. Thn two talked it over, and they decided that aa Hele’? Was 80 young she could be salcly sent with it. Hele was despatched with it and sne cOntiued to take it, tara apparently came of her industrial One day some female companions of Helen called upon her mother and told her that if they would let Helen go and work wiere they worked at arte ficial flower making, in Mercer street, she would gee from $4to $4 50 per week; they would take cai of her and see she came to no harm, and she would only have to work f-om nine A. M. to seven P. Me Th@gnother consented to let her daughter go to this wo Helen returned regularly at the appointed time every evening and quite as regularly brought her wages, Which Sometimes amounted to even more than five dollars—weeks in which it Was said she had been more than usually industrious, In one of those jes Of Antuition which seem to Preface the coming on of harm, but without the parent ground for it, the mother sus- ‘ung Wrong. She visited the house in strect, In pany with her husband, and wailing on the stoop to be adimtted to the To intensity r mudignation & respectably dressed, gray headed old man came to the door and asked girl who opened the door if Helen was tn, and that she had disappolated him the previous night. The husband had taken a pistol with him, vowing thatif their suspicions were substantiated while house they became aware that it was a brothel, he would kil the violator of his daughter, He put his hand in hls pocket, to draw the pistol, but the mother interfered, aud in the general “muss* thas ensued tie “old man” was bussied by the girls of the establishment iuto the house, and the worthy ol@ couple were left out in the cold, | Helen was speedily reclaimed by th and was induced to con- fess that she was ran away froui. BALLS LAST NIGHT, Ball of the Caledonian Cinb. Ponnie Scotland revived the memories of its cht vairpand manly traditions by @ brilliant ball last night at Apolio Hail, “Auld Lang Syne’ has be- come the motto of festivity the world over; but to the sons of the Pict and the Gael, whether in exile or on their native hilis, these words are fire, magic, enchantment, They set the soul of mirth free, They are more provocative of merriment and wholesouied- a by the man Jennie had nes# than the echo champagne corks, or even than the b ling, effervescing beverage itself, In- spired by associations and good fellowship the Cale- donlans were, therefore, “awfally jolly,” and were “bonnie and braw!,’? with an ease, grace and delicacy worthy of the land = for whi Brae Wallace fought and Mea. ‘The che % inthe ballroom indicated guests enough and room enough, essential condi tons to comfort, and the diversity and characters of the costumes turned the floor into a lovely parterre, in which bright eyes and rosy cheeks carriea one constantly back to womanly beauty as seen in tife des which mspired Scott and the village revelry oaich {ntoxica‘ed Burns with wild roliicking song. Civilizauon on sults had no place whatever, Dane~ ing Was not the statuesque thing done in ungracefut straight lines Which compine #0 much labor with pleasure. N t was The natural, but artistic, sway of the free limps tuned to measure by the poetry of native sentiment. ‘The lilt of the bagpipes was brisk 1a Waking te echoes, and, at times, by ite bewliching inspiration, Wht have induced a parg- lytic co throw away his eratehéa, a= oe ee ‘The members of,the Caledonian Club Were in char- acteristic costume in Kit, philabeg, dirk and skein dun, the pinion feather waving gracefully over the whole. Brilliant tartan plaids carried their varied and graceful hues with much effect throughjthe ball room. And as the hours wore on and excitement sent its electric spell through the company, the sym- pathy, enthusiasm and “old counterte” characteris- tes brought fort, mingling with the music—some- Umes wild and ragged, sometimes sweetly sooth- ing—and with the rainbow hues of flowers, fruits, sheen of silks made a ballroom landscape at once tasteful and luscious. It is needien: 1 that the arrangements of the committee were excellent and were carried out with becoming attention to the wants of every guest. ‘Tue effect of this slik-thread discipline was percepti+ ple in the harmouy and good humor prevalent throughout the proceedings; and as those lines are written:— Wi jumping and wi’ thumping, The very girdie rings, To sum up ail, even while the glitter of brilliant political reunions is #ull tn our eyes, it can be roy said of ie Caledonian ball that it was “unco quid, Ball of Ocean Lodge, I. 0. 0. F. The members of Ocean Lodge, I. 0. 0. F., gave their first annual reception to their frends last night at Irving Hall. Notwithstanding the inclemency of the weather upwards of 1,000 persons were present. ‘The hall was beautifully decorated with ti jumer> ous banners of the Order, and presented a ey appearance. The first sets were formed at ten o'clock precisely, under the able management of Mr. Mortimer Green, who was director of tho poor co) mittee. Dancing continued until alate hour, all present promounced the frat coception aucvers,