IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 u M^ 128 |2.5 ^ Kii 12.2 ^ |i£ 12.0 •- ^ i 1.8 L25 |||||_^ i^ /] (9 /: /A '^ CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadiart Institute for Historical Microreproductions Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques 1980 Technical Notes / Notes techniques The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Physical features of this copy which may alter any of the images in the reproduction are checked below. L'Institut a microfilm^ le meilleur exemplaire qu'il lui a «t4 possible de se procurer. Certains difauts susceptibles de nuire A la quality de la reproduction sont not6s ci-d3ssous. 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The original copy was borrowed from, and filmed with, the kind consent of the following institution: Library of the Public Archives of Canada iVIaps or plates too large to be entirely included in one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, as many frames as required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: L'exemplaire fiimi fut reprodtiit grAce d la g6n6rositA de I'Atablissement prAteur suivant : La bIbliothAque des Archives publiques du Canada Les cartes ou les planches trop grandes pour Atre reproduites en un seul clichA sont filmAes A partir de I'angle supArieure gauche, de gauche A droite et de haut en bas, en prenant la nombre d'images nAcessaire. Le diagramme suivant illustre la mAthode : 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 i i" i ANNETTE. THE METIS SPY ; A HEB.OINE OF THE N. W. REBELLION. --»ii iiiffmrilitiiiriiiin •; : :... -saar^f^nmim^ !I* / The Metis Spj/. \ ANNETTE THE METIS SPY ; A HEROINE OF THE N. W. REBELLION. BY EDMU]NJ"D COLLINS, AUTHOR OP (( THE GREENLAND GIRL/' « THE STORY OF A DIVER," « NANCY THE LIGHT-KEEPER'S DAUGHTER," " THE LADY OP THE FLOAT- ' ING PALACE," " THE STORY OF LOUIS RIEL," &V. TORONTO : ROSE PUBLISHING COMPANY, 1886. 'h u\ Pmram ahd Bookv by HUNTER. ROSE & CO., ToMMnro; ^/ J. Sl.f^"'^' ZJ^/3 TO MY FRIEND, ■WHOSE BEAUTIFUL AND UNAFFECTED GENIUS MBN WILL SOME DAY BB DELIGHTED TO HONOUR, WITH UNVARYING AND UNEXTINOUISHABLE LOVK, I DEDICATE THIS VOLUME. ®tte %ixXiikm. c w^-,«*jv?: 48 ANNETTE; THE METIS SPY. the other lad at her side, for Julie would not remain be- hind her mistress, was off at a brisk canter towards Fort Pitt. The news which she had heard lent speed to An- nette. From far and near the Crees had come to enroll themselves under the banner of the blood-thirsty chief, Big Bear ; and the murderous hordes were at that very moment, she knew, menacing the poorly garrisoned fort with rifle, hatchet and fire. All over the territory, I may say, the Indians had now begun to sing and dance, and to brandish their toma- hawks. Their way of living during late years has been altogether too slow, too dead-and-alive, too unlike the ways of their ancestors, when once at least in each year, every warrior returned to his lodge with scalp locks dangling at his belt. Les Gros Ventres for the time, forgot their corporosity, and began to dance and howl, and declare that they would fight till all their blood was spilt with M. Riel, or his ad- jutant M. Marton. The Blackfeet began to hold pow-wows, and tell their squaws that there would soon be good feasts. For many a day they had been casting covetous eyes upon the fat cattle of their white neighbours. Along too, came the feeble remnant of the once agile Salteaux, inquiring if it was to be war ; and if so, would there be big feasts ? " 0' big feasts, big feasts," was the reply. " Plenty fat catt^ the corrals ; and heaps of mange in the store." P oalteaux were happy, and, somewhat in their old lon, went vaulting homewards. Tidings of fight, and feast, and turmoil reached the Crees, and they sallied out from the tents, while the large-eyed s()[uaws sat silent, marvelling what was to come of it all. High into the air the Nez Perce thrust his nostril ; for he had got scent of the battle from afar. And last, but not least, came the remnant of that tribe whose chief had shot Custer in the Black Hills. The Sioux only required ANNETTES LOVER IN DANGER. 49 to be shown where the enemy lay ; hut in his enthusiasm he did not lose sight of the fat cattle grazing upon the prairies. But wo return for a time to Captain Stephens and his party. When their deliverer, the Indian boy, departed, they rode along the bank of the Saskatchewan, according to the lad's instructions, and in half an hour were in sight of Pitt. Inspector Dicken was glad enough to receive this addition to his little assistance ; and informed Captain Stephens that he had resolved to fight it out against the forces menacing him. " What is the number of the enemy ?" enquired Steph- ens. "About a hundred armed braves I should judge," In- spector Dicken replied. " Big Bear accompanied by a dozen wives came under the atockade this morning, and invited me to have a talk. With the coolest etfrontery he informed me that if I would leave the fort, surrender my arms, and accompany him, with my men, into his wigwams, that he would give me a guarantee against all harm. If I refused these terms, he said he would first let his young men amuse themselves by a couple of days firing at our forces ; an 1 that afterwards he would burn the Fort and put the inmates to death. I expostulated with the greasy, swaggering ruffian, but he only swore, and reiterated his threats. Then I told him to be gone for an insolent savage, and that if I found him prowling about the Fort again, 1 should send my men to take charge of him. Thereat his squaws began to jeer, and cut capers ; and squatting upon the sod in a row they made mouths, and poked their fingers at me. Then they arose yelling and waving their arms, and followed the savage. It appears that after the chief left me, he went to the people of our town and proposed the same terms ; for an hour later, to ray horror, I saw the chief factor of the Hudson Bay Company, his wife and daughters, and several others following the Indian to his wigwams. Had 50 ANNETTE; THE METIS SPY. these people put themselves under our protection, and the men aided us in defence, we might have laughed defi- ance at the five score of the enemy who threaten." " But," returned Stephens,"! fear that you do not count at its full the force preparing itself to attack. From all I can gather a hundred or so of Plain Crees will come here to-day under Tall Elk ; while the total strength of the Stonies, who will ris3 at Big Bear's call, cannot be less than five hundred." Inspector Dicken looked grave; but he was a brave man and busied himself in making preparations. The total dumber of his force, including mounted police and civilians was 24 ; and each man had a Wincliester and about twenty rounds of amunition. " Two of my scouts are abroad," he said, "reconnoitering; they should be here by this time." While he was yet speaking a storm of yelling came from the wigwams of Big Bear, and three or four score of braves were seen pouring from their tents, like bees bundling out of a hive. Each one had a gun in his hand, and a hatchet in bis belt. The cause of this sudden commotion was soon apparent : about half a mile distant, two police scouts were riding leisurely along the plain towards the Fort, and evidently not suspecting the danger which menaced them. They advanced to a point about two hundred yards from the stockades ; then a yell went up from a body of prostrate savages, and immediately half a hundred rifles were discharged. One of the men fell from his horse, dead, upon the prairie ; but the other rode through the storm of lead to the Fort, and entered struck by half a dozen bullets. " The devils have begun !" muttered the Inspector, and he quivered from head to foot, but not with fear. The first taste of blood set the savages in a high state of exultation. They gathered yelling and dancini^, and flashing their weapons in the sun around the door of the chief. Big Bear pulled off" his feathered cap and threw it Annette's lover in danger. 61 several times in the air. Then turning to his wives he told them to make ready for a White Dog feast ; and he bade his braves go and fetch the animals. So a large fire was built upon the prairie, a short dis- tance from the chief's lodge, and the huge festival pot was suspended from a crane over the roaring flames. First, about fifteen gallons of water were put in ; then Big Bear's wives, some of whom were old and wrinkled, others being lithe as fawns, plump a,nd bright-eyed, busied themselves gathering herbs. Some digged deep into the marsh for "bog-bane," others searched among the knotted roots for the lil^tle nut- like tuber that clings to the root of the flag, while a few brought to the pot wild parsnips, and the dried stalks of the prairie parsley. A coy little maiden whom many a hunter wooed, but failed to win, had in her sweet little brown hands a tangle of wintergreen vines, and maiden- hair. Then came striding along the young hunters with the dogs. Each dog selected for the feast was white as the driven snow. If a black hair, or a blue hair, or a brown hair was discovered anywhere upon his body he was taken away ; but if he were sans reproche he was put into the pot just as he was, with head, and hide, and paws, and tail, his throat simply having been cut. Six dogs were thrown in, and the roots and stalks of the prairie plants, together with salt, and bunches of the wild pepper-plant, and of swamp mustard, were add ed for sea- soning. Through the reserves round about for many miles swarthy heralds proclaimed that the great Chief Big Bear was giving a White Dog feast to his braves before summoning them to the war-path. The feast was, in In- dian experience, a magnificent one, and before the young men departed they swore to Big Bear that they returned only for their war-paint and arms, and that before the set of the next sun they would be back at his side. True to their word the Indians came, hideous in their 52 ANNETTE; THE FEMALE SPY. yellow paint. If you stood to leeward of them upon the plain a mile away you could clearly get the raw, earthy smell of the ochre from their hands and faces. Some had black bars streaked across their cheeks, and hideous crim- son circles about their eyes. Some, likewise, had stars in pipe-clay painted upon the forehead, and others were diabolical in the figures of horrid beasts, painted with savage skill upon their naked breasts. The beleaguered could notice all these preparations with their glasses ; and the men spoke to each other in low tones. Savages seemed to be gathering from all points of the compass, and massing upon the plateau round about the camps of the Cree Chief. But several bands were stationed around the Fort, in such a manner as to cut off retreat from the stockades should escape be at- tempted. Close to the fort was the shining, yellow Saskatchewan ; and for miles, with a glass, you could see the bright coils of its leisurely waters, as that proud river pierced its way through the great stretch of plain till it became lost in the haze of the distance. " If you were only upon the river in yonder flat boat," said Captain Stephens, " you might drop quietly down to Battleford. The reinforcement /ould come quite op- portunely to Morrison." " I do not care to leave here without giving the rebels a little of our lead," the Inspector replied. " But even though I desired to do so, now, the thing as you see is impossible." Night fell, and when it came there was not a star in the sky. A heavy mass of indigo- coloured cloud had risen before the set of sun, in the south east, and crept slowly over the whole heavens, widening its dark arms as it came. So when night fell there was not a point of light to be seen anywhere in the heavens. " It would seem," murmured one, " as if God were goin g to aid the savages with His darkness." ANNETTE S LOVER IN DANGER. 53 Shortly after dark the wind began to wail like a tor- tured spirit along the plain ; and in the lull between the blasts the cry of strange night-birds could be heard coin- ing from each little thicket of white oak or cottonwood. Louder and louder grew the screaming of the tempest, and it shrieked through the ribs of the stockade, like a Titan blowing through the teeth of a giant comb. Inspector Dicken, with Captain Stephens at his side, was standing at the edge of the stockade. Not a sound came from the plateau, and not a glimmer of light ap- peared in the darkness. Then the great, wide, black night suddenly opened its jaws and launched forth an avalanche of blinding, white light. The two men bounded in their places ; then came a roll of mighty thunder, as if it were moving on tremendous wheels and destroying all the heavens. No enemy yet ! But the besieged had hardly breathed their breath of re- lief, before there arose upon the dark air, a din of sound so diabolical that you might believe the gates of hell had suddenly been thrown open. From every point around the fort went up a chorus of murderous yells, and then came the irregular flash and crack from rifles. The Inspector ran hastily back among his men : " Don't waste your ammunition," he said, " in the dark. Part of their plan is to burn the fort. Wait till they fire the torches, and then blaze at them in their own light." Every man clenched his rifle, and the eyes of the brave band glimmered in the dark. Crack ! crack ! crack ! went the rifles of the savages, and now and again a sound, half like a snarl, and half like a sigh, went trailing over the fort. It was from the Indians* bullets. " Keep close, my men," shouted the Inspector ; " down upon your faces." Drawn off their guard by the silence of the besieged, the enemy became more reckless, and lighting flambeaux i 54 ANNETTE; THE METIS SPY. of birch-bark, they began Oo wave them above their heads. The spluttering glare showed scores of savages, busy load- ing and discharging their rifles. " Now, my men ; ready ! There, have at them." Crack, crack, crack, went the rifles, and in the blaze of the torches several of the enemy were seen writhing about the plain in their agony, Together with the exultant whoop, came cries of pain and rage ; and perceiving the mistake that they had made, in exposing themselves to the guns of the garrison, the savages threw down their torches and fled for cover. The conduct of some of the savages who received slight wounds was exceedingly ludicrous. One who had been shot, in running away, began to yell in the most pitiable way ; and he ran about the plain in the glare of the light kicking up his heels and grabbing at the wounded spot. Thereafter the enemy's firing was more desultory, but it was kept up for several hours, during which not a rifle flash came from the Fort. Then there arose the sharp yelp of a wolf through the night, and instantly the firing ceased. Not a sound could be heard anywhere, save the uneasy crying, and the occasional howls of the wind. " The attack is to commence in right earnest now," Stephens whispered to Mr. Dicken ; but in what shape the hovering assault was to come would be hard to guess. They were not to be kept long in suspense, however. The pandemonium cry again went suddenly through the night and the storm ; and an assault of axes was heard against the stockades. "That is their game is it?" muttered the Inspector. "Now then, my lads, get your muzzles ready;" for the Indians had lighted a couple of torches for the benefit of those engaged chopping. " Fire carefully, picking them off" singly. Off you go !" Away went the rifles, and three more savages sprawled in the light of the torches. But others came into their places and cho])ped, and hacked, and smote like fiends, yelling, jumping, and frequently brandishing their axes DIVERS ADVENTURES FOR OUR HEROINE. 55 above their heads ; their eyes all the while gleaming with the very light of hell ! " Pick away at them boys," cried the inspector ; " they must not be allowed to get through." But the men need- ed no urging ; each one loaded nimbly, fired with delib- eration, and hit his man. This part of the contest con- tinued for fully ten minutes, but sturdy as were the posts, it was plain that they must soon give way. Sometimes, it is true, the savages would draw rearward from their work, terrified at the heap of d id and wounded now accumulating about them ; but it was only to return, as the waves that fall from the beach on the sea-shore come back to strike, with added fury. Meanwhile a number of lights had begun to appear upon the plateau, and the Inspector, turning to Captain Stephens said in a low grave voice : " It cannot last much longer. See, they are coming with torch and faggot." Scores of Indians were revealed in the blaze, hastening down the hill ; and troops of squaws were perceived dragging loads of brush wood. Then one of the posts gave way ; and another was seen to totter. In the gloom of the Fort, the paling of many a brave man's cheek was noticed. " They will be here instantly, my lads," said Inspector Dicken in the same calm, firm voice. " But we will sell our lives like men. Hurrah ! " CHAPTER V. DIVERS ADVENTURES FOR OUR HEROINE. E left Annette and her little companion speeding along the banks of the Saskatchewan bound for Pitt. They dare not come near the stockades, for the Indians had invested the high ground overlooking 56 ANNETTE; THE METIS SPY. the Fort, and would be sure to make embarrassing en- quiries of the two strange Indian boys. " My plan is this Julie," Annette said. " We shall camp in the valley beyond Turtle Hill, and when it grows dark, we can come in and see the state of affairs about the garrison. " Oui Mademosielle ; and Tall Poplar is to be at the stockade facing the river half an hour after sun-set. He said he would be there, in case that we should in any way need his assistance." " Bon, ma Julie. It seems to me that your fine chef may be of some use to us before these troubles end." Then the two dismounted, and tethering their horses set at work to pitch their tent. Annei-te had brought a tent, strapped to her saddle, from her aunt's ; and the two sweet maidens opened out the folds, set up the white cotton in a cleared plot, in the centre of a copse of white oak, where it was securely screened from passing eyes. Julie took from her pony's back a thick, large rug, which was to serve the tw» for a coverlet ; and going forth a short way the four little brown hands busied them^- selves breaking soft bi'anches from the trees. " There," Annette said, as she put down her armful in the tent ; " that will make a pillow as cosy as a sack of mallard's down. Now, Julie, we shall eat, then sleep till the afternoon ; for I suspect that there will be little rest for us while the sun is below the prairie." Julie opened the hamper, and the winsome pair fell to, making a hearty meal from home-made bread, cold quail, and butter with the very perfume of the prairie flowers. A little way beyond a jet of cold, clear water came gurgling out of the rocks ; and tripping away Julie fetched a cup. Then they fastened their hamper, put their pistols by their side, laid themselves down together, and fell asleep to the music of the little spring, and the bickering of gold finches in the leaves. When Annette awoke, it was the mellow afternoon, and DIVERS ADVENTURES FOR OUR HEROINE. the sun shone like a great yellow shield low in the west. Annette stepped quietly out, her dainty little feet hardly crushing the flowers as she went, to take a peep at the horses. They, too, had lain down ; but upon seeing the pair of large, bright, peering eyes, they arose, stretched themselves, whisked their tails, and began again feasting on the crisp, luscious grass. When the sun's upper rim lay like a little semi-circle of fire over the far edge of the prairie, the two adven- turers girded on their belts, and taking their revolvers, started away like a pair of prying fawns toward the Fort. Twilight does not tarry long upon the plains ; and when the maidens reached the confines of the Fort, the stock- ades and the enclosed buildings were a mere dusky blur. Moving cautiously along the side facing the river, they perceived a straight, tall figure, awaiting them ; and the handsome chief stepped up. " I had been anxious, and was afraid for the safety of ma Julie and Mademoiselle." "Will they attack the Fort to-night?" Annette eagerly asked. " This will be a bad night for the Fort. The braves have had a White Dog feast ; and the Indians have as- sembled from far and near to fight for Big Bear. They at- tack in half an hour." " Can they hold out inside ? " " Twenty-four men against five hundred ! " the chief replied. " First they will cut a breacl" in the stockade ; then they will go in and burn down the Fort. Big Bear has asked the Inspector to surrender, but he has refused." " What is to be done, good chief ? I have in there a white friend who saved my life ; and I would like also to help the Inspector and his followers." The chief mused. " My braves follow, and will be here befc e the first blow is struck. Perhaps I shall be able, at the last mo- ment, to meet the wishes of Mademoiselle." Julie took D 58 ANNETTE; THE METIS SPY. two or three dainty steps, and nestled her head in the breast of her lover. Again he stroked her hair, kissed her bright fa