第68章

WAR

Commissioner Irvine sat in his office at headquarters in the little town of Regina, the capital of the North West Territories of the Dominion.A number of telegrams lay before him on the table.Alook of grave anxiety was on his face.The cause of his anxiety was to be found in the news contained in the telegrams.An orderly stood behind his chair.

"Send Inspector Sanders to me!" commanded the Commissioner.

The orderly saluted and retired.

In a few moments Inspector Sanders made his appearance, a tall, soldierlike man, trim in appearance, prompt in movement and somewhat formal in speech.

"Well, the thing has come," said the Commissioner, handing Inspector Sanders one of the telegrams before him.Inspector Sanders took the wire, read it and stood very erect.

"Looks like it, sir," he replied."You always said it would.""It is just eight months since I first warned the government that trouble would come.Superintendent Crozier knows the situation thoroughly and would not have sent this wire if outbreak were not imminent.Then here is one from Superintendent Gagnon at Carlton.

He also is a careful man."

Inspector Sanders gravely read the second telegram.

"We ought to have five hundred men on the spot this minute," he said.

"I have asked that a hundred men be sent up at once," said the Commissioner, "but I am doubtful if we can get the Government to agree.It seems almost impossible to make the authorities feel the gravity of the situation.They cannot realize, for one thing, the enormous distances that separate points that look comparatively near together upon the map." He spread a map out upon the table.

"And yet," he continued, "they have these maps before them, and the figures, but somehow the facts do not impress them.Look at this vast area lying between these four posts that form an almost perfect quadrilateral.Here is the north line running from Edmonton at the northwest corner to Prince Albert at the northeast, nearly four hundred miles away; then here is the south line running from Macleod at the southwest four hundred and fifty miles to Regina at the southeast; while the sides of this quadrilateral are nearly three hundred miles long.Thus the four posts forming our quadrilateral are four hundred miles apart one way by three hundred another, and, if we run the lines down to the boundary and to the limit of the territory which we patrol, the disturbed area may come to be about five hundred miles by six hundred; and we have some five hundred men available.""It is a good thing we have established the new post at Carlton,"suggested Inspector Sanders.

"Ah, yes, there is Carlton.It is true we have strengthened up that district recently with two hundred men distributed between Battleford, Prince Albert, Fort Pitt and Fort Carlton.But Carlton is naturally a very weak post and is practically of little use to us.True, it guards us against those Willow Crees and acts as a check upon old Beardy.""A troublesome man, that Kah-me-yes-too-waegs--old Beardy, I mean.

It took me some time to master that one," said Inspector Sanders, "but then I have studied German.He always has been a nuisance,"continued the Inspector."He was a groucher when the treaty was made in '76 and he has been a groucher ever since.""If we only had the men, just another five hundred," replied the Commissioner, tapping the map before him with his finger, "we should hold this country safe.But what with these restless half-breeds led by this crack-brained Riel, and these ten thousand Indians--""Not to speak of a couple of thousand non-treaty Indians roaming the country and stirring up trouble," interjected the Inspector.

"True enough," replied the Commissioner, "but I would have no fear of the Indians were it not for these half-breeds.They have real grievances, remember, Sanders, real grievances, and that gives force to their quarrel and cohesion to the movement.Men who have a conviction that they are suffering injustice are not easily turned aside.And these men can fight.They ride hard and shoot straight and are afraid of nothing.I confess frankly it looks very serious to me.""For my part," said Inspector Sanders, "it is the Indians I fear most.""The Indians?" said the Commissioner."Yes, if once they rise.

Really, one wonders at the docility of the Indians, and their response to fair and decent treatment.Why, just think of it!

Twenty years ago, no, fifteen years ago, less than fifteen years ago, these Indians whom we have been holding in our hand so quietly were roaming these plains, living like lords on the buffalo and fighting like fiends with each other, free from all control.

Little wonder if, now feeling the pinch of famine, fretting under the monotony of pastoral life, and being incited to war by the hot-blooded half-breeds, they should break out in rebellion.And what is there to hold them back? Just this, a feeling that they have been justly treated, fairly and justly dealt with by the Government, and a wholesome respect for Her Majesty's North West Mounted Police, if I do say it myself.But the thing is on, and we must be ready.""What is to be done, sir?" inquired Sanders.