Despite the fact that their dogs were killing valuable livestock, I found no mention of owners being forced to kill the offending animals. The dogs were too valuable; without them it would be incredibly difficult to get meat back to the colony from the winter hunting grounds. The loss of a sheep was certainly felt by the community but, as long as they had dogs, they could still kill bison and get the meat (and hides) home!

On 11 June 1814, Archibald McDonald notes:

Some of the Company Serv’t Viz.- Donald McDermot, John MacMillan, Hugh Fraser & several others of my recruits complained of their treatment in the employ, & of being compelled to buy Dogs for the use of the Co-

showing us that dogs were not cheap. The complaints may have been made on principle, of course, but if the price of a dog was insignificant then the men might not have complained too loudly, especially since they would be getting good use of the dogs for their own purposes.

Miles Macdonell remarks on an incident in January of 1815 that gives us another insight into the value that was placed on dogs at the RRS:

Took down John O’Rourkes Complaint against Bautino & other freemen – who robbed him of a dog & assembled in a tumultuous manner with Guns & Knives to assault our people. A very serious affray must have taken place if O’Rourke had not prudently allowed Beautino to take the Dog until he could obtain legal redress.

The people of Red River obviously viewed the theft of a dog as a very serious offence!

And the complaint of Alexander Bannerman against Archibald McDonald, and his demand for pemmican against McDonald’s dog’s life, given the value of pemmican to the settlers at the time, shows us that the life of a dog was probably high enough that Bannerman thought McDonald would certainly make the exchange.

Another indicator comes from the contempt in a remark Archibald McDonald made in March 1815 about Miles Livingstone:

Two months ago with the greatest ado we got him to go out for meat for himself to the plains tho’ he had 3 good dogs at home starving for the want of meat & of course for the want of Labour.- After his arrival on or about the 23 of last month, I proposed to him to be off again, & look out for something for himself – rather than have his dogs idle but no the latter action was preferable. It is pretty clear from this man’s progress in attempting to live independent, that the sooner he is got quit of the better –

Rev. MacBeth also touches on how much people valued their dogs. A group in real danger of starvation takes great care to ensure that their dogs are fed. Here it is probably not  the monetary value of the dogs that they are thinking about, but the necessity of their excellent health to haul whatever meat is obtained back home. Without their dogs, the hunters’ loved ones would die.

(reference: pages 16949-50, 18223, 18275-6 of the Selkirk Papers, M186; Rev. R.G. MacBeth. p. 91.)

There were other purposes for dogs. In August of 1812, Miles Macdonell writes about Fort Alexander that, although it was on a river (the Winnipeg) key to commerce, the river “was a scarce place for provisions. The Canadians killed two dogs for their supper.”
The winter of 1825-6 was a bitter winter. The Bison disappeared, and travel across the massive drifts of snow was nearly impossible. Dogs became a part of the diet of the starving colonists.

But other entries indicate that perhaps there were those who also had developed a taste for dog meat:

[19 April 1813] D. McNaughton & another man came in from the plains left 10 men behind who are to come in immediately & thought the weather too bad now.- the wolves ate 6 cows that were staged which obliged them to return so soon.- those left behind Killed a dog to eat with a view of throwing an odium on the country – for at the time they had a goose & 4 Ducks.

The previously mentioned incident between Alexander Bannerman and Archibald McDonald indicates that the value placed on a good dog allowed some, perhaps, to use them as a means to blackmail of a sort. Bannerman may have been telling the truth about McDonald’s dog, but not unsurprisingly – especially given the tensions in the colony at the time – it could have been a desperate attempt to get some extra food on Bannerman’s part. McDonald seems to have had his doubts. It would be highly unlikely that a settler would leave his scant food ration out where a roaming dog could nab it.

Hargrave mentions another use dogs were put to, in this case, at Lower Fort Garry:

Sergeant Rickards, since his investment with the dignity of guardian of Fort Garry against the perils of thieves and fire, has practiced the most unremitted and persevering attention to duty. This consists in “coming on watch” at nightfall and marching through the Fort with his watch dog and firelock ostensibly throughout the night.

It was a good thing Rickards had the dog… the man had a predictable habit of falling asleep on the job!
Few mentions are made of dogs as pets. In the flood of 1826, “[t]he ice broke up and the current increasing dashed this against the buildings, which at length gave way and all went floating down across the points–ice, log houses with dogs and cats frantic on their roofs.” These animals may have been house pets or at least favourites among the working dogs that were allowed to live with the family. They might also simply have been swimming and found a house onto which they could climb.

The Rev. R. G. MacBeth paints a cozy scene that suggests a fonder relationship than earlier accounts portray:

A small party of them [settlers] who had left their families with scanty supply of food, and had gone out on a winter buffalo hunt, were camping one Saturday night along the Pembina Mountains. They had their poor meal of what they brought with them; and gave all they could to their faithful train dogs. Then before retiring to rest under the lee of their toboggans, with the dogs crouched around them in the snow, they held a prayer-meeting to ask Him for food who fed Israel with manna.

But even these dogs worked for their living. Some people must have had a pet dog that doubled as family watchdog. A dog that could also work for its living, however, made far more sense for the times.

(reference: pages 16737, 16817, 18275-6 of the Selkirk Papers, M186; Hargrave page 471; George Bryce. Romance of the Selkirk Settlement Chapter XV; Rev. R.G. MacBeth. The Selkirk Settlers in Real Life. 1897. p. 91.)

There is no question that dogs were essential to life at Red River. But their working days were mostly winter days. These were hardy dogs, fit and perhaps high-strung – in terms of energy, at least. So, the major problems began when the snow and ice disappeared and the main method of dissipating all that energy melted away with the arrival of spring.

Other things were going on at the settlement in the spring – it was the season for lambing. The dogs, we must remember, were probably not all that far removed from their wolven ancestors. It seems that they frequently wreaked havoc in the lambing pens, and sometimes they even went after the larger animals!

[5 May 1813] Found Delorme & the Shepherd at the Point 2 Rams Ewes &c lamb alive – likewise the Cow & Bull & calf. The Cow was injured & much bit by Delorme’s Dogs – but the Shepherd thinks she will recover.
[15 May 1813] 5 Sheep & a lamb have been Killed by Dogs – viz 2 by Neil McKinnons Dogs. & the lamb by Dond. Mcmillns. Donald McL & B Bethunes Dogs

There are other such entries in the journals. Livestock was incredibly difficult to obtain – at the time this entry was written, there was only one bull, one cow and one calf in the RRS – and the loss of such animals was a severe blow to the colony.

Unruly dogs caused other serious problems, too:

[4 March 1815] Bannerman began to make a complaint that a dog of mine had eat his Pemican & that he would kill him if I did not restore the Pemican.

The seriousness of Bannerman’s loss is illustrated by the severity of his threat to kill Archie McDonald’s dog. McDonald was a settlement official, not just another settler. Pemmican was strictly rationed at this time, and with the propaganda the NWCo. officials were using to stir up the settlers against their own settlement officials added to the mix, this particular complaint against McDonald foreshadowed bloodshed of another type than dog!

But dog problems were not confined to idle canines. Ross mentions an incident involving runaway dogs while they were in the harness:

Many a curious and amusing incident occurs at buffalo-hunting, one of which may be noticed by way of example. A friend of the writer’s, about this time, went to enjoy a few weeks’ sport in the plains, and often repeated, with a comic and serious air, a scene which took place in his own presence. Some of the hunters who were accompanying him were conveying their families across a large plain, intersected here and there with clumps of wood. When in the act of rounding one of those woody islands, a herd of buffalo suddenly burst into view, causing two dogs who were drawing a sled, on which a child and some luggage were being conveyed, to set off at full speed in pursuit, leaving the father and mother in a state of despair for the safety of their only child. The dogs soon reached the heels of the buffalo, and all were mixed pell-mell together; the dogs running, the sled swinging to and fro, and the buffalo kicking. At length a bull gored one of the dogs, and his head getting entangled in the harness, went off at the gallop, carrying the dog on his horns, the other suspended by the traces, and the sled and child whirling behind him. The enraged animal ran a good half mile before he shook himself clear of the encumbrance, although pursued by a large party, by whom many shots were tired at him without effect. The state of the parents’ feelings may be imagined; yet, to their utter astonishment, although both dogs were killed, the child escaped unhurt!

(reference: pages 16824, 16860, 16934, 18275-6 of the Selkirk Papers, M186, Manitoba Archives; Alexander Ross, The Red River Settlement…. 1856. page 247)

The working dogs of Red River pulled another type of vehicle in the winter, too – the carriole. The carriole was a miniature version of the vehicle of the same name used with horses, and as such was more decorative in appearance than the usual toboggan-like dog sledge.

Gentleman Travelling in a Dog Carriole by Peter Rindisbacher 1825 - Library and Archives Canada, Acc. No. R9266-1052.2 Peter Winkworth Collection of Canadiana

Oddly enough, the few mentions of the dog carriole in the journals indicate that they played a political role at the RRS. The principle settler, a gentleman named Alexander McLean, his wife and family, were being wooed by the NWCo. officials, who believed that if they could coerce the McLeans into abandoning the RRS, the rest of the settlers would surely follow. Mrs. McLean, Miles Macdonell observed, was sometimes taken out in Alexander Macdonell’s (of the NWCo.) dog carriole as part of this campaign.

In an effort “to detach them from the constant intercourse they have with the N. W. Fort,” Miles Macdonell began entertaining the McLeans in earnest, inviting them for meals, tea, entertainments and, yes, making sure that Mrs. McLean was taken out in a carriole by either himself or Archibald McDonald! His efforts were rewarded as the McLean family remained with the RRS until after the Massacre of Seven Oaks, in which Alexander McLean was killed. Mrs. McLean and five of her children returned to Scotland in 1817.

The dog carriole, like the dog sled, remained in use into Hargrave’s time. He mentions that:

Early in 1866 the Bishop of Rupert’s Land [the Right Rev. Dr. Robert Machray] set out on his first visitation. Travelling westwards his Lordship touched at Portage La Prairie, Westbourne, and Fairford, thence by the Pas he reached Cumberland and the Nepowewin, returning home by Touchwood Hills and Qu’Appelle Lake. The journey was performed in a dog carriole, and occupied seven weeks.

(reference: pages 16779, 16784, 16802, 16936, 18252, 18255 of the Selkirk Papers, M186, Manitoba Archives; Hudson’s Bay Company Archives C.1/785; Hargrave, p. 159)

As I have read through the literature researching this topic, it has become apparent that, in the early days of the RRS – and well into its history – man’s best friend functioned mainly as the sled dog. A good breeding stock must have been in the area before the settlers arrived. Although there is mention of dogs being used at York Factory, I didn’t see any reference to them being brought down in the boats.

Most of the mention of dogs at work in the Red River Journals indicated that they were busiest at hauling meat from the winter kill sites back to Fort Daer or Fort Douglas.

Archibald McDonald mentions that two dog teams helped relay his goods and some supplies from Churchill Creek to York Factory when 51 members of the 1813 Group made their famous snowshoe trek, but most of the sledges used were pulled by the men in the expedition. In April of 1815, two small groups of settlers intending to desert to Canada in NWCo. canoes left for Point Futre on the Winnipeg River with their belongings packed in dog sleds.

The winter expresses, carrying mail packets from fort to fort or post to post, were taken by dog team. Hargrave gives an excellent description of the specially designed sleds:

The starting of the Northern Packet from Red River is one of the great annual events in the colony. It occurs generally about the 10th December, when the ice having been thoroughly formed and the snow fallen, winter travelling is easy and uninterrupted. The packet arrangements are such that every post in the Northern Department is communicated with through its agency. The means of transit are sledges and snowshoes. The sledges are drawn by magnificent dogs, of which there are three or four to each vehicle, whose neatly fitting harness, though gaudy in appearance, is simple in design and perfectly adapted to its purposes, while the little bells attached thereto, bright looking and clearly ringing, cheer the flagging spirits of men and animals through the long run of the winter’s day.

In the course of the long distances traversed by the winter runners, every pound weight laid on the sledges tells. So jealously was all excess in the amount of mail matter transmitted through the packets guarded against in the old times, before the institution of Red River mails, that the carriage of newspapers was disallowed, with the exception of an annual file of the ” Montreal Gazette,” forwarded to head quarters for general perusal. Newspapers were then rare and highly prized, but now the bulk of the contents of the Company’s inward bound packets consists of newspapers addressed to private individuals.

A pair of stoutly constructed wooden boxes, measuring about three feet in length by eighteen inches deep and fourteen wide, when well packed, contain an astonishing amount of printed and written matter. These receptacles are secured to the dog sledges, and the party sets forth on its journey, the dogs running at a gentle jog trot from about daylight till dusk, and the drivers accompanying them on foot.

Detail of a painting depicting a dog sled at Lower Fort Garry in 1869 - Private Collection

Although he is writing about a period some time later (1850s/1860s) than the days of the early settlement, it is unlikely that the teams and sleds had changed much.

(references: pages  16967, 18180, 18184, 18185, 18186, 18305, 18308, 18320 of the Selkirk Papers, M186, Manitoba Archives; James John Hargrave. Red River. Montreal: 1871 pages 100-1, 155-6)

I’m just back from this year’s Annual Reunion. I think it was one of the best we’ve had in a long time! I think I’ll spend this week writing about it, because a number of interesting issues were raised.

One of them concerned education at the RRS. A discussion arose about the demolition of the Centennial School, which was established in 1912 and named to commemorate the Centenary of the establishment of the Red River Colony. The story is convoluted, but ultimately Centennial School was sort of ‘replaced’ by West Kildonan Collegiate (now at 1874 Main Street, Winnipeg), which was, according to the discussion, rebuilt opposite the site of the first school. At the time this discussion was going on, I assumed that ‘first school’ meant The First School of the settlement. Now it occurs to me that it could have meant Manitoba’s first school, or Centennial School.

In any case, I began thinking about the site of ‘the first school’, and wondering if anyone really did know where it was located… exactly. To my thinking, West Kildonan seems a bit off the mark. To make things clear, by ‘first school’ I mean The First School at Red River. The distinction is important – Manitoba wasn’t founded until 1870. And the concept of public schools as an institution in the region came into being some time after the RRS was founded in 1812.

The first teacher was Francis Swords, an Irishman who came to the colony as schoolmaster in 1812. I don’t know if he taught in a designated school building, though. I suspect not, that he rather taught in one of the HBC buildings, or perhaps his home. Certainly his successor, John Matheson, Junior (of Aultbreakachy) did.

The first actual mention of a dedicated school building I’ve found is in January of 1815, when Miles Macdonell notes, “Engaged John Matheson Jun’r for Schoolmaster the School to be for the present Kept at the Old Huts which are to be put immediately in repair.” Archibald McDonald also writes, on 14 January 1815 “John Matheson & his family have taken possession of the School House this Evening.”

So, it seems reasonable to assume that The First School was a simple building, which may also have acted as the schoolmaster’s home, and certainly did by Matheson’s time, probably close to or on the grounds of Fort Douglas.

Which begs the question, then, which ‘first school’ does West Kildonan Collegiate face? And doesn’t this illustrate well the importance of semantics!

“Sunday got our last boats off in company with one of the Compy’s Crafts this afternoon exclusive of the people’s baggage & provisions they have brought few kegs of Spirits and Bales of Blankets.”  – Archibald McDonald’s Journal

The last two boatloads of Settlers to leave for the RRS had been delayed by bad weather, and so left York Factory four days after the first two departed. This second pair of boats were under the ‘command’ of Peter Fidler and Angus Matheson, one of the 1815 group of settlers who had military experience and had done some recruiting of settlers for Selkirk in Kildonan.

(reference: p. 18408-10 of the Selkirk Papers, M187, Manitoba Archives)

(reference: p. 18213 of the Selkirk Papers, M187, Manitoba Archives)

(reference: p. 18213 of the Selkirk Papers, M187, Manitoba Archives)

(reference: pp. 18211-2 of the Selkirk Papers, M187, Manitoba Archives)