Havergal College - Magazine Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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Havergal College Magazine April 19. — Reception in new Assembly Hall. May 2. — Miss Maynard and Miss Gabrielle Maynard from Eng- land pay us a visit. May 6 -Death of His Majesty, King Edward VII. Accession of King George V. May 20 — Day of general mourning on the occasion of the funeral of King Edward VII. Canada mourns. May 2T — Lecture by Sir Ernest Shackleton on his Farthest South Expedition. Modest, manly, patriotic. May 24 — Empire Day. God Save King George. May 25 — Halley ' s Comet at last visible to Havergal star-gazers. General opinion in favour of Empire Day fireworks. May 26 — Queen ' s birthday. Twenty-one guns for Her Majesty, Queen Victoria Mary. Maisie Longbottom, Form V. Upper. THE RED RIVER SETTLEMENT It was with a feeling of love and pity for humanity, and a desire to give an exiled people an open, unlimited home, that Lord Selkirk, in 181 1, bought a large tract of land from the Hudson ' s Bay Company. This territory lay along the Red River, and had as its central point the famous Fort Garry. So we see that the founding of this settlement was the establishing of the greatest city of the West. The Scottish Highlanders, at this time, were being cruelly turned from their homes to satisfy the whim of selfish land-owners. Lord Selkirk, understanding the circumstances, grasped this op- portunity of encouraging a distressed people to settle in a new country. In 1 81 2, the first shipload arrived. Besides seventy industrious Scotchmen, we find some twenty Irish immigrants. In this com- pany, landing in 1813, the newcomers consisted mostly of skilled workmen, who came for the purpose of helping the former settlers in the erection of their buildings. Some of these, again, were of Irish blood. During the next two years, 193 immigrants arrived, bringing the total amount of settlers up to 270. Besides the Hudson ' s Bay Company in Canada, there was an- other, which went under the name of The Northwestern. These Nor ' westers, as they were commonly called, considered it unfair that the Selkirk settlement should be s under the care of their rivals, and they therefore set about to entice some of the settlers from their newly-found homes. In 1814, a Nor ' western officer, Duncan Cameron, appeared at Fort Garry, and as a result of his vivid descriptions of life in Upper Canada, about 180 of me original settlers were persuaded to go with him to Ontario. Thus the 18

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Havergal College Magazine Nov. t8, 19, 20. — Bazaar held in Manitoba Hall in aid of Chil- dren ' s Hospital. Miss Jones and Mrs. Richardson in charge of English Thatched Cottage, and made $333. Dec. 17. — Advertisement party. Nora Jardine looked well as Mel 1 ins ' Baby Food, and took the prize for guessing most costumes. Dec. 18. — Y.W.C.A. concert. Dec. 21. — Kindergarten Xmas Tree. Merry action-songs and drills. Jan. 10. — Back at school after enjoyable Xmas holidays. Jan. 11. — New wing inhabited, excepting the Assembly Hall, which is still decorated with ladders and paint-pots. Jan. 17. — Astronomy lecture at All Saints ' schoolhouse. Jan. 19. — Midnight. Most exciting hunt. Hunters, Miss Jones and Miss Morrison. Hunted, a strange cat. Jan. 20 — Another enjoyable Y.W.C.A. concert. Daylight comet seen by few. Jan. 26. — C omet interviewed by whole school. Jan. 27. — Delightful sleigh ride organized by Miss Morrison. Tomato soup and crackers. Jan. 28. — Our Alpine climbers commended by Mr. Wheeler as the most accomplished in Canada. Feb. 5.— At Women ' s Canadian Club lecture. Snowshoeing ex- cursion to Deer Lodge. Five-course luncheon. Feb. 11.— Miss Hanson and Miss Millidge give a lantern lecture in studio, on some of the world ' s greatest pictures. Feb. 18. — Violet-making begins. Feb. 25. — Zenana Mission lecture in Y.M.C.A. Auditorium. March 1.— Mark Hambourg in the Walker Theatre. A line con- cert. March 5. — Consul Jones gives amusing and instructive lecture on Japan. Very good lantern slides of the Cherry Blossom Land. March 19. — Violet Day. March 20. — Confirmation Service in Holy Trinity Church. March 7. — Fifth Form tea for Miss Adams. Miss Adams leaves us to get ma rried. Much sorrow at parting. March 24.— Easter Holidays begin. April 4, 5, 6. — Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra concerts. Wed- nesday matinee performance very much appreciated. April 6. — School reopens. 17

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Havcrgal College Magazine faithful ones were left to fight the battle alone, and to them is due the honour of settling the country. This was in 1814, but a year later 100 more settlers arrived, giving heart to the few who had resisted Cameron ' s wiles. The Nor ' westers, finding that the colony still flourished in spite of their former seductive plans, adopted a new plan — they would try their power over them by arms. So on the 19th of June, 1816, they at- tacked the colony at a point near Main Street North. In this skirmish, called Seven Oaks, the loyal and highly respected governor of the settlement, Robert Semple, was killed. Lord Sel- kirk was, at this time, on his way to the West, and, hearing the .dreadful news, hastened on his journey. He had in his company a numbe r of German mercenaries of the war of 181 2. This war now being over, these men, known as the De Meurons, ' were anxious to find homes this side of the Atlantic. So, on Lord Sel- kirk ' s promising to grant them land, they were willing to follow him to the West. It was through these men that the Parish of St. Boniface was founded, and named after the German apostle and patron saint, Winnifred, or Boniface. In 1820, an agent of Lord Selkirk, Colonel May, was in Swit- zerland, and, thinking he saw in the people of that country the necessary qualities of colonists, he sent over a number of them to the Red River district. But he w r as mistaken, for these people, most of whom were clock-makers and pastry-cooks, were totally unfit for the agriculturist ' s life on the prairie. The most important feature of their advent is best described by an eye-witness : No sooner had the Swiss immigrants arrived, than many of the Germans, who had come to the settlement a few years ago from Canada, and had homes, presented themselves in search of a wife, and, having fixed their attachment with acceptance, they received those families in which was their choice into their habi- tations. Those who had no daughters to afford this introduction, were obliged to pitch their tents along the banks of the river and outside the stockades of the fort. But the De Meurons and Swiss, being unsuited to the country, soon showed signs of discontent, and as a result, removed to that district which at present is the State of Minnesota. In the year 1826, a disastrous thing happened. The Red River flooded its banks, and the inhabitants of the settlement were forced to flee for safety to the higher ground at Bird ' s Hill, Stony Moun- tain and Sturgeon Creek. But the flood soon subsided, and the colonists settled down anew to pursue their labours as farmers and fur-traders. Let us now turn, in conclusion, and compare the conditions under which they lived, and those under which we live. Let us imagine ourselves in 181 6, nearly a century back, standing at the gate of new Fort Garry, comparing the sights to be seen then with those which exist to-day. The walls of the fort are fresh and strong, and a military air pervades ; to-day nothing is left but the ruined gateway, overhung with vines. We look beyond us, and stretched 19