Sir:
I heard with pleasure of yr. having taken possession of the Fort occupied by the N. W. C. at the Forks of Red River. It was a measure on wh. I was fully determined and wh. was not only justified but imperiously demanded by the conduct and avowed hostilities of our implacable opponents.
With regard to intercepting the despatches of the N. W. C. it was a step arising out of the former and wh. has happily furnished its own justification to the fullest extent. A more complete disclosure of plans of deliberate villainy has never yet met my eye and I can only regret that such schemes of pillage, burning and murder should have been planned and be so nearly on the point of execution by men belonging to the same country as ourselves.
I am, Sir,
Yours sincerely,
(Signed) Robert Semple.
Red River Settlement in 1816 to 1820, taken from the Manuscript Drawing in Coltman’s Report, Public Records, London. This diagram has been reproduced many times, but not so fully as in Coltman’s original drawing for the Government.
Governor Semple to Duncan Cameron
Fort Douglas, 31 March, 1816.