Four Months Under Arms

              Eclipse

of Sun Predicted

Page 5

Meetings continued to be held throughout the district, and it was a well authenticated rumor, that Riel had predicted to his followers, that if the sun was darkened on the 18th of March, that the claims of the half-breeds would succeed. During the early days of March a friend and myself had been getting logs for a hOLlse we were going to build in the Spring. and were working about onc and a half miles north of the river, and directly opposite Prince Albert. About 10 a.m. on the 18th of March a peculi8r yellowish color appeared on the snow, and gradually gr~w q'-lite dark, so we cashed our tools and started for town. and our path led through the village of the Sioux Indians. This was a small ared set aside for a number of the Sioux Indians who had fled to Ccmada after the Custer massacre. ::md some of the older olles would occasionally give very vivid descriptions of the atrocities they had committed on the whit2 settlers in Minnesota. One old hag called Sally, was describing onc of these crimes in Russell & Davis' butcher shop tellipg how they had roasted the infants in one of the German settlements they hFd massacred in Nlinnesota. Their book-keeper. a man named Eaton. who had been a trooper in the 11th U. S. Covolry. ond hod seen that particular atrocity, grasped a large cleaver lying on the meat bloc!" and would have kJled the old hag if others had not interferred. A number ef these Indians hod gone to town to do washing and wood cuttij'lg for the residents. but as soon as the eclipse started they left for their village, and we met them on our way uul and every Indian bad a tomahawk in his hand. and looked so ugly. we gave them C!ll the path. Scott oIld Leu.son operated the moil and possenger stage between Prince Albert and a station called Troyan the main line of the c.P.R. and a stage lefl e:1ch terminus Monday morning, and arrived at the other end of the route on Saturday evening. There was five stations on the line, and a caretaker at each one. Bob Ross was one of the drivers and his family lived in Prince Albert. He left there Munday March 16th, and stopped at Batache that night, and noticed the unrest among the crowd gathered there. Whcn he met the incoming driver at Salt Plains station he warned him to be on the lookout. so after leaving Humbolt station Friday morning for Batoche. and about mid-forenoon he saw a band of horsem2n coming, and still far away, he turned around and drove back to Humbolt, taking the caretaker with him. he drove with 011 speed and got sofely away. THE OUTBREAK

The eclipse of the sun occurred as Riel knew it would, and his followers got out of control almost immediately. Walters and Baker had a general store at Prince Albert, and a branch store at Batoche, 'where they employed two clerks, and L"ere was a telegraph office at the rear of the store. Shortly after the eclipse the crowd started to loot the store, and the operator saw what was going on, and got a despatch out to Regina before the wires were cut, thereby severing all communications with the outside world.