St Johns Ravenscourt School - Eagle Yearbook (Winnipeg, Manitoba Canada)

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OTTER’S COLUMN IN THE NORTHWEST REBELLION Space requires me to address my attentions to the most contentious of the three participating columns. Information is also more forthcoming. The military ‘opening of the ball’ was the attack on Major Crozier at Duck Lake. Big Bear’s Indians then killed thirteen poor people at Frog Lake, and invested Fort Pitt. The Canadian Government, after months of procrastination, now acted with celerity. Major General Middleton, Inspector General of Militia, was given command of the expedition. Three columns were organized. The chief one under Middleton was to advance to Batoche. It consisted of the 90th Winnipeg Rifles, the 10th Royal Grenadiers, and the Midland Battalion, with artillery and scouts. The Alberta Field Force under Major General Strange consisted of odds and ends and late arrivals. We are going to study Col. Otter’s column as closely as possible. This body consisted of the Q.O.R., the N.W.M.P., the Governor General Foot Guard, and other units of artillery and scouts. This force was designated the Battleford Relief Column. It arrived in Battleford on April 27, 1885, amid the cheers of the weary citizens, and was met by Capt. Nash and some of his very fine “volunteers”. Col. Otter, a soldier of British training, but a second generation Canadian, took up his headquarters in Battleford. His enemy, the infamous Poundmaker, had encamped, with his horde of murderers, on the hill above Cut Knife Creek. The gallant colonel decided to divide his enemies strength by reconnaissance in force. He took with him, B Battery, R.C.A., A Coy. Q.O.R., the N.W.M.P., and all his other little infantry units. The little plateau, on which they were about to fight, sloped upward to the Cree camp and around the edges of the field were the Indian rifle pits. The Mounted Police rode up the hill and opened fire. B Battery galloped up and unlimbered, coming under a heavy fire. The troops formed up and Col. Otter rode forward to examine the situation. He decided, because he was nearly surrounded, to withdraw. This was accomplished with great skill. This, by no means innocuous, little battle prevented Poundmaker from joining Riel and saved Middleton from a terrible fix.. It also showed that the Canadians had defensive courage as well as offensive elan. The Militia were, unfortunately, very badly armed. Their old muzzle- loaders jumped out of their cheek-pieces every time they were fired. The men were mostly all armed with the obsolescent Snider which was aptly known as the “Gas Pipes”. The Canadian Militia was a very important part of Canada in the Horse and Buggy Age. Today, their tradition is carried on in the Canadian Reserve Army. Desmond Morton. Form III. Forty-four EAGLE

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ISANDHLWANA, BATTLE OF BLUNDERS Cetawayo, the Zulu em P eror had built up a large army, and by 1879 the British and Boer colonists were trembling in their boots. The otherwise prosperous South African colonies had often been wasted by native wars. However, the British government was not to be so openly defied. Its commissioner, Sir Bartle Frere, despatched an ultimatum to Cetawavo’s court, ordering him to put down his army and behave himself. This quaint little effort was boorishly overlooked by “The Cannibal King” as the troops called him. „ he Government gathered up its ruffled feathers and despatched General Thesiger (Lord Chelmsford) and some troops to the scene. On arrival the men were organized into three columns simply named Left, Right and Centre. Our business lies with the Centre column where the General posted himself. co umn was composed of the first and second battalions of the 24th Regt. (The South Wales Borderers), a battalion of the Natal Native Contingent (armed), some artillery and detachments of other corps. The objective of this column was to advance over the Buffalo River at Rorke’s Drift and move onto Cetawayo’s kraal. The troops passed over the Buffalo and encamped near the kopje of Isandhlwana. Next morning Thesiger moved out of camp to support the Right Column which was in difficulties. The camp was under the ostensible command of Lt. Col. Pulleine of the 24th. However, Col. Durnford was senior and should have been in command. If he was, the mistakes made were his; if not, Pulleine’s and Thesiger’s. The garrison of the camp consisted of six companies of the 24th and some of the native troops. Reports of the enemy approach were signalled and a messenger sent to Thesiger. The troops formed company square and moved out of camp. Dunford’s mounted troops were far out to the right and were soon engaged. Thesiger took notice of Pulleine’s efforts to contact him but this was not treachery as Thesiger thought that the attack was just a feint. At the camp troops were sent to support Durnford and thus gaps were left between the companies. Into these gaps the Zulus poured. Every unit was cut off and massacred. Pulleine’s body was found surrounded by ten dead Zulus. Only twenty men escaped, including the future Sir Horace Smith- Dorrien. The Colours of the 24th were carried by their bearers to the river where they were dropped in, to be later restored to the Regiment. come f rom defeat as well as victory. The great lesson of the terrible battle was the necessity to close up. Shoulder to shoulder, although capable of great misuse, saved the day in the battles of Abu Klea and Abu Kru and won the battle of Omdurman. With close, organized and courageous defence Korke’s Drift was held and so might have been Isandhlwana against enemies with few or no rifles or artillery. Desmond Morton, Form III. EAGLE Forty-three

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SUPERSTITION IN “THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE” . Egdon Heath loomed like a huge monster out of the evening twilight, fw £ cour ltless years. The heath was a wild, desolate expanse ot land that had remained isolated from the progress of the modern world, this also may be said about the people who lived there. They are simple ha : rd w°rkmg citizens. Their work is usually in the heath, cutting , or in Egdon, tending the gardens. This close relationship of the past and present generations to nature has bred many superstitions and pnSnm S that h ' ve been handed down through the years. Some of these customs came from pagan religious rituals, while others were formed P ar ficular happening of the past. Thus it was only natural that these people dwell on the supernatural a great deal. The fiist irrational abject attitude of mind to the sunernatural appears in the first book, “Three Women”. Christian Cantle had bin bom on a day when no moon shone. A friend of his mother’s had an almanac which stated, “No moon, no man,” and that was the fear when fj.fi 11 ™ born. All the people of the Heath believed this except those who had some form of educational training. Christmas was celebrated at Egdon as in many other places. Houses were decorated and holly was brought in from the heath A number of the younger men each year gathered and revived the morning scenes n ? n ? -° f th n aC w S P articularl y enjoyed it. The play itself Consisted aLfir skirmishes between the Turkish Knight and the Valiant Soldier th« Aft . er , t] ?e Players had performed the host usually invited the group to sup and drink. a “9 n E f don Heath Sunday proper did not begin till dinner time and even then it was a somewhat battered specimen of a day.” Early Sunday mornings the men of Egdon gathered at Fairway’s house for the local haircutting session. Each victim perched on top of a ' box, while Fairway endeavoured to shear the hair with little regard for what he was doing. PSt was not uncommon to find small nicks behind the ear after such a visit, and to flinch m pain or exclaim in any way was considered bad manners as Fairway made no charge. This was carried on throughout ar-Ln f ip ™ to ° wi A ndy Fairway’s friends found shelter around the corner of the house. After leaving Fairway’s they all nro ceeded to the Sunday wash, which was followed by the dressing hour Then they all went to dinner. g Throughout “The Return of the Native” Eustacia is often referred to as a witch or as having some supernatural power to cast spells on people Susan Nunsuch, a very superstitious woman who was convinced ot Eustacia s evil powers, vowed to prove her point correct. On Sunday morning after waiting a number of weeks she found her chance The parson had made a call for prayers, when a piercing scream was heard Susan has stabbed Eustacia with a stocking-pin. “If Eustacia were to bleed an end would come to the bewitching of Susan’s children.” Susan is still not satisfied that Eustacia’s charm is broken. So she piepares a small wax image of a human. She places clothes on it a red r if ? b ? a aad a P a r of sandals. When it was finished any of the Egdon inhabitants would have recognized it as Eustacia. She then proceeded to remove a quantity of pins from her sewing basket and thrust them one EAGLE Forty-five