Francois Desmarais, "In Ruperts Land"
Hi,
I received this by e-mail last year and was wondering if anyone ever read this before. I have a 3rd great-grandfather with the same name "Francois Desmarais" born 1819, just wondering if the two Francois's were related
Memoirs of Walter Traill
"In Ruperts Land"
Excerpt:
The only trouble I knew of was when a party of Sioux came.Our local
Indians the Cree and the Saulteaux, have been at war with them ever since
they crossed the line and located in the Woody Mountain district after their
massacre of the white people in Minnesota in 62. Our Indians had sent a
messenger to invite them to come to hold a Treaty of Peace and to bury the
hatchet. They were royally entertained with feasts of dog soup, fish, and a
Treaty was signed but this proved of short duration. At daybreak the
Saulteaux made a raid on their camp and scalped 17 while the rest made a
hasty retreat. This caused quite a stir as some of the Saulteaux had been
intermarried with the Sioux. Among the half breeds the feelings were running
really high, one Francois Desmarais, who is connected by marriage to the
Sioux was in the trading store while I was there.
An Indian came in with an antelope skin and began to negotiate for a
sack of vermillion paint in exchange for the skin, though he still wore red
war paint and colours on those parts of his anatomy not covered by his red
blanket, breech clout and beaded moccasins. An eagle feather in his head, he
had at his waist as further evidence of his bravery a scalping knife with a
fresh sioux scalp dangling from it.
The transaction was completed but without a sound, Desmarais seized the
Saulteaux knife and cut him open to the waist so swiftly that our clerk did
not see what happened until the unfortunate customer returned to trade the
now useless paint for some cloth to tie himself together. When the clerk
finally understood, the Indian opened the blanket held tightly around, and
thereby his whole interior fell out on the floor to be instantly covered by
his body. In a few seconds his soul was with his late victims that is the
mystical hunting grounds of all Indian braves.
His murderer was immediately put in Gaol and afterwards tried for murder
and sentenced to be hung, however a deputation of Francois friends and
relatives waited upon the Governor and the sentence was changed to Life and
he was to be sent to some sort of penal colony in the Yellow head Pass where
undesirable aredeported and where they seem to regain their liberty at a
safe distance from the Settlement.
Sometime later Walter was amazed to find that Francois was assigned to him
as a guide.
" Further on there is mention of the Iroquois ( Mohawk families that came
from Montreal and Upper State New York, and also that over 30 Sioux women
were working at Fort Ellice,
More Replies:
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Re: Francois Desmarais, "In Ruperts Land"
Sean Parisian 11/27/06
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Re: Francois Desmarais, "In Ruperts Land"
Madeline Belanger 2/11/07
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Re: Francois Desmarais, "In Ruperts Land"
Sean Parisian 2/11/07
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Re: Francois Desmarais, "In Ruperts Land"
Madeline Belanger 2/12/07
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Re: Francois Desmarais, "In Ruperts Land"
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Re: Francois Desmarais, "In Ruperts Land"
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Re: Francois Desmarais, "In Ruperts Land"
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Re: Francois Desmarais, b.April 2, 1770
7/03/00
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Re: Francois Desmarais, b.April 2, 1770
3/23/01
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Re: Francois Desmarais, b.April 2, 1770
Bob Garant 7/19/02
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Re: Francois Desmarais, b.April 2, 1770
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Re: Francois Desmarais, b.April 2, 1770