establishing here a colony of poor Scotch
and English families; and though his
design was bitterly opposed by the fur
company, he was not a man to be baulked
in anything he undertook, as the subsequent
war between the rival fur companies
showed. After many hardships and
reverses, he succeeded in his purpose. "With,
various fortunes the colony has lingered on
until now, the settlement being chiefly
recruited by retired servants and officers of
the Hudson's Bay Company. The vast
mass of the population is of mixed Indian
and European blood, the wives of the fur
traders being almost invariably of either
mixed or pure Indian race. The settlers
may be divided into French, English,
Scotch, Canadian, and American; these
nationalities being chiefly so in virtue of the
fathers. The three former are the old
habitués of the place; the latter are chiefly
new comers, though some Americans and
Canadians have resided here for a number
of years. The greater number of the French
reside between Pembina and Fort Garry on
both sides of the river, and also on the
Assiniboin, principally on the North side of the
stream as far as the White Horse Plains,
about half way between Fort Garry and
Portage la Prairie, as well as some miles on
the Winnipeg side of the latter place, and
a short distance beyond it towards Lake
Maritoba. They are also on the Red River,
beyond the Scotch settlement, as far as
eight miles on the other side of "the stone
fort," as Lower Fort Garry is called. The
Scotch settlements extend from Winnipeg
town, about six or seven miles below the
Red River. After passing Lower Fort
Garry, about eight miles below it, there is
the Indian settlement extending as far as
Lake Winnipeg. This is a reserve made
over to the Salteaux tribe, and is chiefly
inhabited by those Indians who have given
up their wandering mode of life, and taken
to civilised habits. Many of them have now
good houses and farms. The whole
population may be estimated at from twelve to
fourteen thousand people; but it is difficult
to say exactly, many being almost always
absent on hunting or trading expeditions.
The French half breeds, descendants of the
lower Canadian voyageurs, so extensively
employed by the great fur companies, are
the most numerous. After them come the
Scotch, chiefly of Orkney descent; the
Canadians follow next, their farms being
chiefly about Portage la Prairie; the Americans
are not very numerous, though most of
them are in good circumstances. They
make thrifty and respectable settlers, as
Americans almost invariably do wherever
they go.

The half-breeds are of all admixtures of
Indian and white blood, and half-breeds
have intermarried for several generations:
so, in reality, a "new nation" is growing
up in the centre of the American continent.
The young men are very stalwart handsome
fellows, but are rather given to
dissipation, and are easily swayed one way or
another. They commonly bear the reputation
of combining the vices of both races;
but this is a calumny, founded on most
imperfect, and generally prejudiced
knowledge of them. There are good and bad
among them, as among others; when
educated, they are in no way inferior in good
conduct and intelligence to the whites.
They are exceedingly acute, and pick up
the elements of education very rapidly.
Most of the chief people in the territory
have an admixture of Indian blood, and
there are at present barristers, physicians,
and clergymen, all over the American
continent who are of this mixed race.
Half-breeds have not unfrequently held
commissions in Her Majesty's service.
The mixture of the two races having gone
on for years, in many cases the Indian
descent can scarcely be traced in the
features of their descendants. In almost
every instance, even in the first crossing,
the "half-breed" is very handsome in face
and figure. More beautiful faces than
some of those seen among the French half-
breed girls it is difficult to conceive, and a
really ugly face among the younger girls
is seldom seen, the fine eyes being always
a redeeming point even if the face be
otherwise homely. They soon fade,
however; at thirty their prime is over; and
when old they become very "squawy"-
looking, rapidly reverting to their Indian
ancestors.

Fond of merriment and of fine clothes,
the brulé bois, or "burnt stump," as he
delights in joke to call himself, can rarely
settle down to hard earnest industry. As
soon as he has made enough to fit out
himself, his wife, and his wife's mother,
who (contrary to the wont in more
civilised communities) is very highly respected
by him, and generally lives with the
family, he is off careering on horseback in
quest of some new excitement. The French
half-breed is more of a hunter than a
farmer, and is fond of his Indian relations,
and frequently marries an Indian wife.
The Scotch half-breed, on the other hand,