Four Months Under Arms

              Page 12
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Running the Blockade
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The rebels gave Sanderson his team and freedom, and they returned late on Tuesd~-y night, the last of March, with the nine dead bodies, and the wCJUnded man, Newitt. It was then seen that all the men along the fence had been shot in the back, by the rebels from the house. The nine dead were given a military funeral on the 4th of April, and all buried in one large grave in St. Alban's church yard, west of the towr., and not far from Emanuel Anglican College. RUNNING THE BLOCKADE

The North-West Transportation Company was a subsidiary of the Hudson Bay Company. and operated four stern wheel steamers on the Saskatchewan river, making regular trips from Grand Rapids, where the Saskatchewan river empties into Lake Winnipeg 'COthe head of navigation, with supplies for the Hudson's Bay Company northern posts, and bringing out the fur catch. These boats could not be operated till the ice had run out of Cedar Lake on the lower river, which was about the middle of May, and as the C.P.R. track would be laid to Medicine Hat an the South Saskatchewan river, during the winter, it was decided to send the smallest of these boats, the N orthcote, up to the Hat in the fall of 1884, haul her out on the ways, and await the run out of the ice in the spring. The largest steamer, the Marquis, and the Manitoba were berthed in the mouth of Shell river, which flows into the North Saskatchewan. about three miles above Prince Albert. The steamer, Northwest was hauled out on the ways at the ship yard for repairs, and Captain Sheets took the Northcote up to the Hat and hauled her out on the ways, to await the run out of the ice in the spring. then went to Winnipeg for the winter. The stock of provisions in Prince Albert was getting very low, and Chief Factor, Lawrence Clarke, decided to send a message to CapL Sheets to launch the Northcote, load her with supplies and come as quickly as possible. The ice had run out of the South branch on the 30th 'Of March. Wm. Drain volunteered to takc the message. He left Prince Albert on the second of April, crossed the South branch in a row boat, his horse swimming behind, then rode 110 miles across open prairie, well east of Batoche and got to the stage road at Salt Plains, and sent the telegram from the first station to Capt. Sheets. There was two cable ferry crossings on the South branch. One at Batoche, and the other at Clark's Crossing, and when he brought the boat up the fall before these cables had been lowered to the river bed. He was well aware of conditions at Batoche, but decided he w0uld go ahead as planned, but took what precaution he thought was necessary. He knew they would be fired at from both sides of the river at Batoche. The windaws were taken out of the pilot house, and it was covered with four inch oak plank. A space between the planks on the front so that the pilot sitting on the floor could see out, and the planking on the sides projected past the front so that a bullet would not come