evel for
which nature destined him. Of the other active member of the rebel
council--Adjutant-General the Hon. Lepine--it is unnecessary to say much.
He seems to have possessed all the vices of the Metis without any of his
virtues or noble traits. A strange ignorance, quite in keeping with the
rest of the Red River rebellion, seems to have existed among the members
of the Provisional Government to the last moment with regard to the
approach of the Expedition. It is said that it was only the bugle-sound
of the skirmishers that finally convinced M. Riel of the proximity of the
troops, and this note, utterly unknown in Red River, followed quickly by
the arrival in hot haste of the Hudson Bay official, whose deprecatory
language has been already alluded to, completed the terror of the rebel
government, inducing a retreat so hasty, that the breakfast of Government
House was found untouched. Thus that tempest in the tea-cup, the revolt
of Red River, found a fitting conclusion in the President's untasted tea.
A wild scene of drunkenness and debauchery amongst the voyageurs followed
the arrival of the troops in Winnipeg'. The miserable-looking village
produced, as if by magic, more saloons than any city of twice its size in
the States could boast of. The vilest compounds of intoxicating liquors
were sold indiscriminately to every one, and for a time it seemed as
though the place had become a very Pandemonium. No civil authority had
been given to the commander of the Expedition, and no civil power of any
kind existed in the settlement. The troops alone were under control, but
the populace were free to work what mischief they pleased. It is almost
to be considered a matter of congratulation, that the terrible fire-water
sold by the people of the village should have been of the nature that it
was, for so deadly were its effects upon the brain and nervous system,
that under its influence men became perfectly helpless, lying stretched
upon the prairie for hours, as though they were bereft of life itself. I
regret to say that Samuel Henderson was by no means an exception to the
general demoralization that ensued. Men who had been forced to fly from
the settlement during the reign of the rebel government now returned to
their homes, and for some time it seemed probable that the sudden
revulsion of feeling, unrestrained by the presence of a civil power,
would lead to excesses against the late ruling faction; but, with one or
two exceptio