Louis Riel Hung for a Crime He Didn't Commit
A Brief Look at the Charge of Murder Against Louis Riel
Sep 16, 2009
On the 16th of November, 1885, Louis Riel was hung in Regina for Treason against the Dominion of Canada. Years later, one of the men on the jury, Edwin Brooks, said “Louis Riel was tried for treason, but hanged for the execution of Thomas Scott”.
Riel Emerges as a Leader
Fifteen years earlier, Riel had been the head of a provisional government in Manitoba. The new Dominion of Canada was in the process of acquiring the area known then as Rupert’s Land from the Hudson Bay Company. The Métis and French settlers, who were already in the area, were concerned about the impending transfer. They had no “official” documents claiming their ownership of the land and their strip farming concept didn’t fit with the Canadian Governments square farming policy.
Concerns about the land issue seemed to be verified when a group of Canadian surveyors were seen plodding through one of the local Métis farms. A group of Métis, including Riel as a translator, rode out and confronted the surveyors, telling them to get off the Métis’ Land.
The Capture of Fort Garry
Riel decided that something had to be done to get the government to listen to the concerns of the people, and so he took one hundred and fifty Métis and occupied Fort Garry, the Hudson Bay post located at the forks of the Assiniboine and Red Rivers in present day Winnipeg, Manitoba. They then set up a Provisional Government to govern the area until an agreement could be made with the Canadian Government and the land transfer could take place.
Not all of the settlers were in favour of this new change in government. Some of the English settlers in the area had been buying up huge tracts of land and they stood to gain handsomely from the re-sale of the land to new immigrants. They wanted Riel out, and the Canadian Government in. A group of settlers got together and decided to take the Fort by force. A member of this group was Thomas Scott, a foul-mouthed bigot who hated everything French or Métis.
Dissension Among the English Settlers
The ensuing assault did not go according to plan, because there was no plan, and the English settlers were captured and imprisoned in the fort. While they were incarcerated, Scott made such a racket, cursing the guards day and night for nearly a week, that his own cell mates wanted him moved. One night Scott and two other men broke out of their cell and attacked the guards who were watching them. This was too much for the guards who dragged Scott out to the courtyard and were going to shoot him right there before they were stopped.
The Trial and Execution of Thomas Scott
Riel decided that something had to be done and so he created a military court to try Scott for treason against the Provisional Government. He did not take part in the trial. The court found Scott guilty of treason and sentenced him to be shot. Riel asked for mercy but the court maintained its decision. Scott was executed on March 4th, 1870. Riel was at the execution, but he did not pull the trigger.
Louis Riel Caught and Hung
John Schultz, another settler who was part of the raid on the fort but escaped to Ottawa, blamed Riel for killing Thomas Scott. He used the incident to rile up the English people of Canada against Riel, forcing the government to send troops to arrest Riel and bring down the Provisional Government. Riel fled west to avoid capture but years later, when he was finally caught at the battle of Batoche, it was for killing Scott that he was hung, a crime he didn’t commit.
Sources:
Maggie Siggins, Riel: A Life of Revolution (Harper Collins Publishers, 1994)
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