| Title: | Samuel Bruce, Manitoba to James [Bruce, Belfast?]. |
|---|---|
| ID | 376 |
| Collection | Irish Emigration Database |
| File | Bruce, Samuel Jr/16 |
| Year | 1862 |
| Sender | Bruce, Samuel Jr |
| Sender Gender | male |
| Sender Occupation | fisherman & hunter |
| Sender Religion | unknown |
| Origin | Manitoba, Canada |
| Destination | Belfast, N.Ireland |
| Recipient | Bruce, James |
| Recipient Gender | male |
| Relationship | brothers |
| Source | T 2919/1/31: Copied by Permission of Michael R. Bruce Esq., Corriewood, Castlewellan, Co. Down. |
| Archive | The Public Record Office, Northern Ireland. |
| Doc. No. | 9405008 |
| Date | 19/09/1862 |
| Partial Date | |
| Doc. Type | EMG |
| Log | Document added by LT, 27:04:1994. |
| Word Count | 5485 |
| Genre | |
| Note | |
| Transcript | To: James [Bruce?] [Belfast, Ireland?] From: Saml [Samuel?] Bruce jr [Junior?], Fort Garry, [Manitoba, Canada?], 19 September 1862. Dear James, I arrived here the day before yesterday, late in the evg. [evening?] after a most eventful journey. For since I last was able to write you we have been besieged by the Sioux Indians and prisoners among the Chippewas - but I had better begin at when I last wrote and tell you all that has occurred since or at any rate give you an outline of it. In the first place I hope you received my letter dated 24th August from Georgetown; I think very likely you did not as the mail carrier was chased for 10 miles by the Indians. In that letter I told you of the rising of the Sioux Indians and of the massacre at Fort Ridgley, and of our drive across the Prairie to escape them, which we did by just 3 hours; this we heard afterwards, however, As I told you in my last letter, we were to leave Georgetown the day after I wrote, in the steamer for Fort Garry, where we expected to arrive in about 4 or 5 days, and I got my things on board, and went down to sleep on board as it was cooler there than on shore. I had not got right asleep when I was disturbed by talking in the next cabin (the Captain's) and I heard the words Sioux, and Attack us, so I got up to hear what was the matter, when I found that two soldiers had just arrived with a message from Fort Abercromby that the Sioux were round there and in great number, that they were killing all the whites they could lay hands on, that the Coach (or Stage as they call it here) which crossed us at Breckenridge had been stopped within 5 miles of that place, the passengers all killed and the horses taken, that then the Sioux had gone on to Breckenridge and had killed all the people there, and had then gone on to Fort Abercromby. We had stopped all night at Breckenridge, and so had the other stage; we both started from [B----?] at the same time; within 5 miles they were stopped and killed, and in less than 3 hours they were at Breckenridge and killed the people there, so that if we had been a little later in starting that morning we would all have been killed also. After the Indians had killed the people at Breckenridge they set off for Fort Abercromby to try and get hold of some oxen and wagons of goods which were going up to make a treaty with the Chippewas, but we had overtaken them at Fort A. [Abercromby?] and the last wagon was just into the Fort as the Sioux came up. This much the two soldiers were able to tell us had occured [occurred?], but they also told us to prepare for an attack as we might expect the Indians any minute. What would have seemed the most natural thing to do would have been to start the steamer at once and get every one [everyone?] on board and make for Fort Garry, but the water was so low in the river and it is so winding and the steamer gets aground so often, that we would have been in a very bad condition on board her, especially as all her upper works were only half-inch plank, so that every shot would have gone through and through her; besides there was a lot of property at Georgetown, which no one liked to throw into the hands of the Indians without making some show of defence. So we all set off to the house of a Mr Murray of the Hudson's Bay Co. and set to work to barricade it. There was a good deal of 2 1/2 inch oak plank all ready [already?] cut, so we set to and barricaded the windows, leaving loopholes to fire out of. We had about 4 hours hard work to get the house prepared for an attack, and by this time other settlers who lived round and to whom we had sent messages began to come in, bringing all the Arms and ammunition they could muster. We were now about 45 men, 35 of whom had guns and some of us revolvers. Everyone who had spare guns of course lent them to those who had none; my arms were the best there were and were looked upon as a great stand-by in case of an attack. I kept my breech-loader and revolver myself, and lent my double rifle to a Mr Kittson, also an agent of the H.B.C. [Hudson's Bay Company?] and a very old Indian trader. After we had got the house barricaded, we got a lot of barrels filled with water and got some pemmican & some biscuits into the house, so that we were prepared to stand a pretty long siege. By the time all this was done it was nearly daylight, the time at which Indians almost always make their attack, so we all got our guns ready and except one or two scouts, kept in the house ready for anything that might occur. However no attack came and in the morg. [morning?] everyone set to work to get the house better barricaded, for we had no doubt in the world that we would be attacked. About the middle day there was an alarm of Indians; some one [someone?] saw what he said was an Indian within 1/4 mile of the house, a German settler called Probtsfield and another fellow & I set off on a scout but could see nothing, and as all about was so trampled by cattle we could make nothing of the trail. In the afternoon all the men were mustered and we began to make some kind of organisation so that we might not be all in confusion in case of an attack. We elected Mr Kittson Captain, and then told off men to each window with guns and those who had not guns were told off with axes to guard the doors in case of a rush. I had the range of the whole of the back of the house, as it was the nearest place to the cover and the place from which an attack was most apprehended, and as I had a good breech-loading rifle, I had the felicity of being put in one of the posts of greatest danger. We then appointed guards, and a relieve [relief?]; we had 5 men on guard at a time and the guard was relieved every two hours, and we had two Captains of the Guard. The Captains took the watch from 8 till 2, and the other from 2 till 6 a.m. and they took it night about to have the long watch. I was some days afterwards put on as a third Captain, as it was found too hard for two men to do all the work of the Captains. I was on guard the first night and my post was again at the back of the house and on the borders of the woods. I lay always flat on my face behind an old log of wood with my ear on the ground, so that I could hear the least noise. The guards as I said were relieved every two hours and the same men were on guard twice the same night, so that there were 10 men every night on the guard not counting the Captains. Everything however passed off quietly that night and the most of the next day, when one of the men came in, Probtsfield who was about the best man we had, and told us he had seen two men, Indians, skulking round the timber about 3 miles off, and that whanever they saw him they separated and hid in the brush; he saw them quite close and was sure about it. However he saw no more of them and we were not going to be frightened for two Indians. In the evg. [evening?] a party of 4 Chippewas came in; they knew nothing about the trouble with the Sioux and are their deadly enemies. They told us they were out on a war trail against the Sioux, but when they heard they were all round in such numbers as we supposed they got rather frightened. As however we at this time supposed the Chippewas to be quite friendly we fed and lodged them for the night, and the next day they started for home but came back again in the evg. [evening?], as they had made up their minds to go home another way. I was up a good part of the night again as we (about half a dozen of us) volunteered to double the guards for the morning watch. On Thursday night, 26th Aug. I was on guard again as we could not out of the 45 get more than about 24 reliable men, some were useless old men and some were such cowards that we could not trust them. This night as almost every night afterwards when I was on guard Probtsfield and I made a scout away out into the woods at the back of the houses to try and find any signs of Indians. You may think it was rather a foolhardy thing to do, but we knew that if the Indians were there intending to attack the house they would not attack us two by ourselves, for fear of giving the alarm to the rest and Indians always try to take people by surprise, so that if they attacked us they would put all the rest on the alert and then they would find it harder to take the house; Besides we had always a good dog with us, and at any rate it was far pleasanter to run a risk for half-an-hour or so and then to know that you might be pretty secure for the rest of the time of your watch than to be apprehensive all the time. The next night, Friday 29th, I was off guard and as I had been up two whole nights and a good part of the third I turned in, expecting to get a good night's sleep, but after I had been in bed or rather had lain down on a buffalo robe for about an hour Kittson came in and awoke us all and turned us out under arms. As he had been sitting at the door about 12 at night he had heard about a mile of, he thought, about 30 shots fired and immediately after he heard Indians' yells; this declared a party of Indians close by but what they were firing at we could not tell; we supposed it must be a party from Fort Abercromby coming to us which had been caught in an ambush. But as no attack followed and as our scouts could find no signs of a fight the next day, we made up our minds that a party of Indians had come to Georgetown to attack us, but, when they found us so strong and so well-prepared for them they were afraid to come on, so they held a council and made up their minds to leave, and that after the council they had fired the shot we heard. This may or may not have been the reason, but it was the most probable we could find. This was the 4th night and the next night as I was on guard made five nights that I was up nearly all night. Sat 30th. Today the mail carrier arrived from Fort Garry; he had passed by Pembina on his way; He said there were about 200 Chippewas there who were waiting for the steamer and who said they would sack her and kill the crew and passengers, as she had no right to be on their river. It was to make a treaty with these and some other Indians that the goods, which I mentioned as, having being got safe into Fort Abercromby, were coming up. This was very bad news as it cut off our retreat and set us with an enemy behind and before. We sent off a messenger today to Fort Abercromby to try and find out the state of things there. Sun 31st. Our messenger returned from Fort A [Abercromby?] today. He had a near shave getting to the Fort. It had been surrounded by Indians all day; they had driven off between 200 & 300 head of cattle and killed one soldier; they had also got a lot of mules. There had been an attack on the Fort during the night while he was there, but there had not been much harm done, & immediately after the Indians had gone off to the plains to secure the cattle they had taken. One of our scouts heard some shots again today when he was out scouting. Things went on like this till Thursday 4th Sept. when they were getting very much disgusted with watching constant alarms and nothing coming of it; some of them began to talk of going off, so Kittson and the Captain of the steamer made up their minds that it was best to load a flat boat that was there with all the freight of the steamer that they could and sent the rest by land in a lot of wagons which were there (there were about 30 wagons in all). This would lighten the steamboat so much that, although the river was very low, they hoped she might get down. So the men were set to work and everything was got ready for a start the next day; during the evg. [evening?] another message arrived from Fort A. [Abercromby?] to say that we had better look out for ourselves as the Sioux were still there and in greater numbers than ever, that they had made a most determined attack on the Fort and that after about 6 hours hard fighting had been beaten back; that they fought as Indians had never been known to fight before and we could not hope to hold Georgetown for an hour against them. This news made everyone work harder than ever to get ready for a start, and now the question came - were we not making bad worse by going among the Chippewas? But we made up our minds to risk them and we started, about 15 of us, with the wagons by the plains and the rest on the steamer. I went with the wagons as although it was the most dangerous still it would be the quickest in the long run, as the steamer was sure to lose so much time getting aground. Besides as soon as ever all the danger was over, I intended to go on fast on horseback to Fort Garry, and get my arrangements made. So accordingly on Friday evg. [evening?] or rather night 5th Sept. we started by moonlight and went on till about 11 a.m. the next day, Sat. when we stopped to breakfast and dinner in one. We had only made about 18 miles, so you may imagine the rate ox wagons travel at; just as we were starting a messenger came up from Fort A. [Abercromby?]. He told us a messenger had arrived there from below with accounts of the most fearful massacres among the whites upwards of 500 people killed in the neighbourhood of St. Cloud, that all the stations between Fort A. [Abercromby?] & St. Paul's had been sacked and the people killed and a lot more which I suppose you have read in the papers at home yourself & know more than we do, for although we were in the middle of the scene of action still we are so cut off from all communications still we know nothing certain of what is going on. The messenger had come through by Georgetown and finding us gone had gone down the river till he overtook the steamer; he found her stuck fast about 5 miles from Georgetown and not any hope of getting her off till the river should rise. He had also when passing through Georgetown seen 5 Sioux walking along the river; he believed them to be the advanced scouts of a large party. He brought us a note from Kittson who was on the steamer to get us to send back some wagons for the women and children, that the steamboat was deserted and that they were all going on in the flat-boat. This we did and then moved on a few miles to where we could get a good camping-place for the night and to wait for the wagons with the women and children. The night passed quiet and the next morg [morning?], we were delighted to see a party of about 14 mounted men coming towards us as hard as they could split; they were some white men who had heard of the troubles and were come off to help us. One of them was a celebrated half-breed guide called Burchinaw. He did not like the place we had chosen to camp, as it would have been hard to defend in case of attack, so while a lot of the others went off to see about the wagons with the women, which had not arrived yet, he got us to change our camp to a first-rate place which he showed us. Here we made a koral [corral?] with the wagons, and camped till the others came up; a koral [corral?] is a large circle made by bringing the ends of the wagons together and getting the off hind wheel of one locked with the near fore wheel of another; this makes a first-rate extempore fort and if your camping-ground is good you can make a good fight behind such a barricade. It was late when the wagons with the women arrived, so we did not start until the next morning, Monday Sep. 8th. We travelled hard all the day and camped late and on again the next morg [morning?]. We now knew that we were pretty safe, as far as the Sioux were concerned, as we were within a few miles of a place called the Grand Forks where there were about 2500 Chippewas assembled, besides a great many half-breeds, who were there to make the treaty I before mentioned. A good many of our party left us here and set of for Fort A. [Abercromby?], and we were reduced to about 15 men with the wagon train, and of those 15 men only about 6 were armed. However we were not at this time at all apprehensive, as we supposed that as the Chippewas were assembling to make a treaty they were quite friendly. We soon however found our mistake. On Tuesday the train was stopped to camp, about 8 miles from the Grand Forks, and Kittson and I and one or two others went on to the Indian encampment there, and staid [stayed?] there all night. The next day I bought a horse from a half-breed. During the evg. [evening?], and next morg. [morning?] Kittson began to be afraid there was something wrong, so he sent off a messenger to stop the train and not to let it come near the Indians' camp. He then went round among the chiefs and talked to them, and thought they were all quite friendly inclined, and then sent me off to the train to tell them that they need not be alarmed as there would not be any trouble. I had however hardly got to the camp when a large party of Indians came up and surrounded us where we were all sitting at supper, not one of us with a gun near us, and told us they wanted us to bring the train up to their camp at Grand Forks. Mr Murray of the H.B.C. [Hudson Bay Company?] told them we could not do so tonight. Very well, said they, we will take off the cattle now, but we will send them back in the morning, to bring the train up to Grand Forks. Well, they took off the cattle and left a lot of Indians to take care of us as they said, and to see that no one got away. By and by Kittson came down to our camp and told us not to attempt any resistance as the Indians were there in such numbers that we could not hope to succeed, and that the only chance we had of saving our lives was to humour the Indians as much as possible. He also told us to examine all the wagons and spill all the liquor we could find, as if the Indians once got drink we would all be done for to a certainty. Kittson is a man who has had great experience among Indians and has the name of being one of the coolest and most determined men on the Frontier, so we are all content to follow his advice. The next morg. [morning?] Thurs. 11th, the cattle were brought back and we all went off to the Indians' camp. At first there was no notice taken of our arrival, but after we had got everything settled about our camp, the Indians began to crowd round us and to look into the wagons and see what they could steal. I had got all my guns hidden among the bedclothes of one of the sleeping-wagons, as Mr Kittson had told us not to let it appear that we were armed; however all who had them carried revolvers under their coats. There were soon about 300 men round us and then the chiefs and headmen of the tribe came up. They made all the others leave the wagons and sit down in circles in the grass, every band by itself. The chiefs kept by themselves and would take nothing to do with the whole affair; they did not approve of what was being done, but they could not prevent it. Some of the headmen then came forward and told Kittson they wanted to talk. One of them then began a long rigmarole about Adam and how the redmen had got the land and about the Spirit under the ground and the Great Spirit, and the wrongs of the redmen and a tremendous lot of stuff and nonsense, to which of course we listened. Then he began to come to the point; he said he and his young men and their families had been brought there by their Father at Washington (The Indian Commissioner) to make a treaty, that they had been there for more than a fortnight and that the Commissioners did not come, that they [were?] making fools of them, that they did not intend to come. Then he began about the steamboat and how it frightened away the game and that the white men cut their wood to burn and a lot more in the same strain; then he said they were hungry and cold, that they wanted something to eat and blankets and ammunition for they were a long way from home; that he saw here plenty to eat, pointing to the cattle and to the wagons; that Kittson must give 12 chests of tea, 12 barrels of sugar, 12 boxes of tobacco and blankets, powder and shot and hardware all in proportion, 12 of every kind. He then pointed to the Indians all round and said, "You see here my braves; we are a great many, you are very few. We must have what we ask for; if you do not give it, we will take." Two others then spoke to pretty much the same affect, and then Kittson got up and told them a lot of stuff, about how we had been chased by the Sioux and that we had come to the Chippewas, expecting to find friends, and that they would protect us against their old enemies the Sioux. He told them that the Commissioners were coming to make a treaty with them, that he had passed them on the way, but that they were not able to come on because of the Sioux and a lot more which it would take too much time to tell you now, but he ended by giving them the tea, sugar and tobacco, and then it was getting dark, so the old fellow who had spoken first said they would wait till morg. [morning?], and in the meantime he would set a guard over us to see that no one went away and that nothing was taken out of the wagons. They then left about 40 Indians to watch us and then set off to their own camp. Such a night as we had I never spent. The brutes kept yelling and singing and dancing all night, so that it was quite impossible to sleep. And in the morg. [morning?] they all came back. The old man had promised to let us go at noon, so they were back early to get on with their pillaging. Kittson had told them that there was no powder in the train and that he did not know if there were any blankets or the other things they wanted, so they now said anything that was wanting that they had asked for must be made up for with something else. About a dozen of the Indians now went round all the wagons and opened bails to find what they wanted, and took everything they thought would be of use. I got a half-breed to get all my things out of the wagons and put them safe for me, but indeed the Indians did not take any private property except what they managed to steal. I lost nothing at all. Exactly at noon they came to Kittson and told him they had now got what they had wanted, and for us to get the oxen harnessed and go away, but that we must leave all the cattle which we did not require for the wagons. Well we got under way and managed to get off 2 oxen and two cows and a heifer. We made about 5 miles that night and camped and killed the heifer at once to be sure of her, for we were beginning to run short of provisions. That night a lot of the Indians came and camped near us, and the next day passed us on their way home, and as long I stayed with the wagons I saw no more of them. You may imagine how mad we all were to have to sit quietly there and see the hounds robbing the train, and we could do nothing; there were only 15 of us and not half of us armed. If we had had about 50 well-armed men we could have licked the whole 500 of them, and would have done so but as it was we had to submit, and Kittson says he thinks that at one time the least thing in the world would have set them on to butcher the whole of us. After the Indians had taken all they wanted, it was amusing to go and see them dividing the spoil, the ridiculous appearance they cut in fine cloth clothes and all sorts of civilised dresses. However I have no time now to enter into any further details of what went on; I have notes of it all so that I can tell you all about it sometime. After the Indians were all passed the wagons, I stayed with them for two days till I thought I had seen them past all danger, and then I got a light cart from one of the party and put my horse in it, and with another fellow, a German called Block, started ahead of the rest for Fort Garry. By the bye I was forgetting to tell you that my horse was stolen the day after we left the Indian camp, but an old half-breed who knew Kittson saw an Indian with him and took him from him and brought him back to me. After we left the wagons we soon overtook the Indians, but we put a bold face on it and went in among them and let them see we did not care for them, so they did not annoy us. When we got to Pembina, we found a H.B.C. [Hudson Bay Company?] post there, so we got the loan of another horse and pressed on for Fort Garry, where we arrived without further trouble on Wednesday evg. [evening?] 19th Sept nearly a month later than I intended to be. I lost so much time at Georgetown and coming down with the ox-train; I could have got through all right [alright?] from Georgetown at the very first by following another trail, and I would never have seen an Indian at all, and there was a man offered to take me through that way at the time we first got the alarm at Georgetown, but as there was a scarcity of arms there I did not like to leave them in such a dangerous predicament and to take my guns away from them; besides I did not at all dislike the idea of having a little Indian fight myself. However it has thrown me so late that I cannot get to the Saskatchewan this year, which is the only place one is certain of Grizzly bears. However we have a fair chance to find some on the Mouse River, which is about 8 days journey from this, and the guide says he can insure [ensure?] me, Black bear, Buffalo, Elk, Antelope and Black-tailed deer on it, so we have settled to go there. I will now tell you what my arrangements are. I have got for guide a man called Morins, a half-breed. Mr MacTavish, the H.B.C. [Hudson Bay Company?] Governor here has known him for years; he considers him one of the best, if not the best, guide in the settlement. He says I am in luck to get him; he is just returned from leading one of the companies [company's?] own expeditions; he will fight like a lion and will stick to one through anything. MacTavish says the Indians in the country all know him and will not take any liberties with any party he is with, as they are all afraid of their lives of him. This is rather a good thing as we are not at all likely to have some trouble as when one tribe commences to commit depredations the others are very likely to take it up and follow the example. I have two other men hunters who are both quiet but very determined men, and this fellow Block from Georgetown; he is the 4th. I had to take 4 men and he is more of a companion than any of the others would be and is a man I know I can depend upon. I only give him very small wages as he is not regularly engaged to work, but he is a willing fellow and will do as much as anyone else. We take two light carts for our tents and provisions, &c., as two are better than one heavy one and we can go so much quicker. The guide supplies 4 horses and I have got 3; they are buffalo-runners; the guides' one are only hacks or cart-horses. I have to mount Block. We start tomorrow and expect to be away about 6 weeks or 2 months, so you will not hear of me again till I get back. But it is impossible to say how long this letter may lie here before it is sent on, because as I told you all communication is cut off with below by the Sioux, and we do not know when the mails may be able to run again. This is of course the reason why I have not written to you before this, so it is not my fault not having been able to do so, but we are quite in war times and on a war footing here, and I suppose shall be till I get back to Chicago. When I was leaving the wagons the other day, Mr Kittson and Mr Murray and several of the others thanked me very much for having stuck by them so long and were the more obliged to me for having done so as they knew I was risking losing the sport I came out for. I may now close this long affair; I have lots more to say but I have no time to say it and I must write to Robert Dunville. Ever your affectionate brother Saml. [Samuel?] Bruce jr [Junior?] Of course this letter must go the rounds. |
