Canada and the States

by Sir E. W. Watkin

"IMPORTANT STATEMENT OF PEGOWIS, THE INDIAN CHIEF.

"A few weeks ago, the venerable Chief of the Red River Indians, William King, or 'Pegowis,' left his home at the Indian Settlement—a most unusual thing for him—and came up to Fort Carry to make a formal statement, once for all, of the arrangement made by the late Earl of Selkirk with the Indians of this region in regard to their land. This statement, which he made voluntarily and deliberately, for the benefit of all whom it may concern, and for future reference if necessary, he desired to be published in this journal, and a copy thereof to be forwarded to the Duke of Newcastle. His immediate reason for doing this at present, is, he says, because he is now the only surviving Chief of the five who treated with Lord Selkirk, and as there have been many misrepresentations, he desires to see the facts placed on record before he passes off the earthly stage.

"The following is his account, taken down at his own request, by one of the editors of this journal:—

"'This transaction happened a long long time ago. I am now a very old man—I was then in the prime and vigour of manhood. We were taken by surprise when, all of a sudden, those who came before, disembarked. We had not been apprised of the coming of the foreigners—when they landed, we were greatly surprised and wondered what they meant. We were in this neighbourhood at the time. They only spoke among themselves, while the agents of the North-west Company were here. We did not know what it meant, when they asked the North-westers into the plain. As soon as they were done speaking among themselves the cannons were fired. We said, "What can it mean? It must be some great affair." The apparent harmony of the two Companies did not last long. The same summer differences arose which led to fighting: they fought twice that summer. We wondered at their proceedings—meeting in friendly council together, and then, immediately after, taking each others' lives!

"'As soon as the fighting was over, the report came that Lord Selkirk had arrived at Fort William. The ensuing winter, I called together all the Indians round here—those at Red Lake, at the Manitobah, and at the mouth of the Red River; I also invited the Crees on the Upper Assiniboine. "Come," said I—"assemble here—come and listen—this great man cannot be coming for nothing." A large multitude had gathered here early in the spring, when the Earl arrived with 30 canoes.

"'The day after he arrived, about noon, he sent for us. There were many of us, and we all left our tents at his call, and marched to the place of conference. There lay before us six kegs. He said—"Friends, I salute you." Immediately after the salutations, a day was fixed for a Council. Two personages were appointed to meet us. On the day named, one gentleman arrived, the other did not. He said—"Let us do without him who did not come." But the other soon came.

"'As soon as we had taken our seats, he said—"Friends, I have come to ask you about the lands, if you will give them to me. I do not want much—give what you choose. Will you give me as far from the river as you can distinguish the belly of a horse? It is to put settlers here— people far off, who have misery in their own country. This is why I want it. They will not trespass upon or spoil your lands that you retain outside of the limits I have named. I wish to put inhabitants upon it to cultivate the soil. I will endeavour to make the country like my own country. If I succeed in accomplishing what I intend, there will be merchants and traders from one end of the Settlement to the other, who will furnish you with goods. They will be at a little distance from each other, and you will have a chance of seeking out the best places for trading. All this I will do, if we can arrange about the land."

"'We were five Chiefs. I represented this district, the other Chiefs, other districts. The Earl said to me—"Speak you first—how much land will you give me?" I said—"I will speak last: let the others speak before me." KITCHE OTTAWA (Grand Courte-Oreille) spoke first. He mentioned Riviere aux Rose Aux. The Earl made no reply to this; whereupon the Chief mentioned as far as Pembina. The Earl said—Yes. Then he appealed to Mahkatayihkoonaya, Le Grand Noir, and asked what he would give. He said, from Pembina to Red Lake. Then he turned to La Robe Noir, who said as far as Portage Laprairie. At this the gentlemen hummed among themselves for a little, and the end was a question from the Earl. Is there no stream about there which you could mention as a limit? Mahkatayihkoonayai replied—Yes, there is la Riviere Champignon, a little beyond. The Earl said—There, that will be the limit. Then he asked Senna the Cree Chief, who said—No, I do not want agriculturists, I only want traders! The Earl said—Do you think you will ever see your trader again? (referring to the North-West Company). Never: he (the N. W. Co.) has done a bad thing—he has killed people. The Earl added—Then you do not wish to get a load of powder, a knife or a steel from settlers? Well, work diligently at the furs, and you will find a trader (meaning the H. B. Co.). The nobleman then said to me—Your turn, speak. I said—This is my place. How much will you give me for the part between this and the Rapids? I will then go below that. He said—a little further down, if you will. I replied— Yes, I will give you to the bend of the river above Sugar Point. That point I like very much—I cannot part with it—it is for my children. This satisfied the Earl, and he said further—Fear not: the people I plant here will not trouble your wild animals—they will merely work the soil. If they pass beyond the two-miles limit, do not allow them: they have no right there. At present we cannot conclude the arrangement, for I have nothing to pay you with. Let us leave the matter as it stands. I will come back, and then we will close the negociations. I am in a hurry, and cannot remain longer, but I will be sure to return. I want to go to the States and get cattle, that we may eat. That is the meat we eat. Perhaps even you may desire to get some of our cattle when you see them with the inhabitants here. But before I leave, I would like to give you something in consideration of the arrangement, which is to be made when I come back. What would you like to have? I said—Powder is useful to Indians, and tobacco they like—rum, too, they would fain have. We got what we asked. When we were done speaking, the Earl said—I want you to put your names to a paper, to show in England what we propose to do. We all said, No—wait till you come back. He asked us again to sign, but we refused, saying it would be time enough when the arrangement was completed. The Earl said—If your names were down, it would be easier for me to conclude the affair when I get back; besides, your young men would see, in the event of your deaths, what you had proposed to do. So we consented. Our names and marks were put down. We did not see why he pressed us to sign; but I now think it was in order to have us in his power, should he not do what he promised. He did not tell us what was in the paper, and I regret to say we did not even ask him what was in it. That was our ignorance. It was a great mistake, as after events showed; Lord Selkirk never came back, and never completed the arrangements about the lands. Our lands have not been bought from us—we have not received payment for them. We got some things from time to time—small supplies—but less and less as time rolled along, until we got nothing. These little presents we looked upon as a consideration for the use of our land until a bargain should be properly made. Besides, we were friendly to the settlers, and often saved them from harm. We thought this also a reason why we got things. For my part, there was a great reason why I should receive something, irrespective of the land. I was the means one time of saving Lord Selkirk's life. When he was going off, some half- breeds wished to kill him—they asked us to take pemican to an ambush ahead. I refused, and prevented them doing it. The Earl thanked me for this. The things we got, I repeat, were not in payment for our lands. We never sold them. We only proposed to do so; but the proposal was never carried out, as Lord Selkirk never came back. At the time we held council with him, there was no mention of the Hudson's Bay Company. They were not spoken of, or taken into account at all. All of a sudden, some years afterwards, it turned out that they were claiming to be masters here.

"'And now I wish this statement to go across the waters to my great and good Mother, and I pray her to cause a proper settlement to be made with us for our lands, so that our children, and our children's children, whose lands are being taken possession of by foreigners, may receive what is just and fair for the loss of their lands. I am old and feeble. I am the only surviving Chief of those who spoke to Lord Selkirk. I pray the great Mother, whose medal I have, to feel for us and help us.

"'(Signed)
"WILLIAM KING.'"