nipeg, the party
travelled, until they reached the exiles' place of refuge on the Jack
river.

Robertson's resolute demeanour inspired the settlers with new courage,
and they decided to go back with him and rebuild their homes. Before
the summer was spent they were once more on the Red River. To their
surprise the plots of ground which they had sown along the banks had
suffered less than they had expected. During their absence John M'Leod
had watchfully husbanded the precious crops, and from the land he so
carefully tended fifteen hundred bushels of wheat were realized--the
first 'bumper' crop garnered within the borders of what are now the
prairie provinces of Canada. M'Leod had built fences, had cut and
stacked the matured hay, and had even engaged men to erect new
buildings and to repair some of those which had escaped utter
destruction. Near the spot where the colonists had landed in 1812 he
had selected an appropriate site and had begun to erect a large
domicile for the governor. 'It was of two stories,' wrote M'Leod in
his diary, {83} 'with main timbers of oak; a good substantial house.'

John M'Leod was a man of faith. He expected that Lord Selkirk's colony
would soon be again firmly on its feet, and he was not to be
disappointed. A fourth contingent of settlers arrived during the month
of October 1815, having left Scotland in the spring. This band
comprised upwards of ninety persons, nearly all natives of Kildonan.
These were the most energetic body of settlers so far enlisted by the
Earl of Selkirk. They experienced, of course, great disappointment on
their arrival. Instead of finding a flourishing settlement, they saw
the ruins of the habitations of their predecessors, and found that many
friends whom they hoped would greet them had been enticed or driven
away.

Along with these colonists came an important dignitary sent out by the
Hudson's Bay Company. The 'Adventurers of England trading into
Hudson's Bay' were now alarmed regarding the outlook for furs in the
interior, and the general court of their stockholders had taken a new
and important step. It was decided to appoint a resident
governor-in-chief, with power not merely over the colony of Assiniboia,
but over all the company's {84} trading-posts as well. The man chosen
to fill this office was Robert Semple, a British army captain on the
retired list. He was a man of upright character and bull-dog courage,
but he lacked the patience and