"An Incident at St. Andrews"
(private commission)
digital hand-rendering based on ink, pencil crayon,
Pantone marker, and gouache techniques
24" x 15" at 195 ppi • 2020
Adapted from the recollections of Agnes Johnstone, as told to Clara (Johnstone) Nelson:
The Johnstones were an English Metis family living on the prairies in the latter half of the 19th Century. Early in their married life, William and Amelia Johnstone lived in the precincts of St. Andrews and Selkirk, Manitoba. During that time, the French Métis were greatly vexed with Dr. Schultz, who at the time was engaged in bad business, land speculation, and calling for Canada to annex the Red River settlement. Schultz hated Louis Riel's provisional government, and rallied Protestants and anglophones against it. Riel at this time was in command of the Lower Fort Garry.
Late one night in the summer of 1870 a party of French Métis were chasing Schultz through the St. Andrews township. Schultz, desperate, somehow found himself at the Johnstone cabin and pleaded with Agnes, who was alone but for her daughter Kate. Schultz scrambled into the family's hayloft just as the angry delegation arrived, and Agnes barely managed to get Kate out the kitchen window before they beat on the door and demanded to search the house.
Kate, scrambling barefoot across the moonlit furrows, succeeded in alerting her father who was calling at a neighbouring homestead. William, arriving at last, had to let the party in. Schultz, hidden under bags of straw, managed to evade capture and, seizing William's fine saddle horse, made his way to Fort Alexander in an all-night journey to meet the Wolseley Expedition and ensure his survival. Wolseley, who had arrived on the 21st of August, sailed down the Winnipeg River only to find that Riel had known of his coming already and summarily abandoned the fort.
From Wikipedia:
Sir John Christian Schultz, KCMG (1st January, 1840 – 13th April, 1896) was a Manitoba politician and businessman. He was a member of the House of Commons, a Senator, and the fifth Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba.
Schultz was born in Amherstburg, Upper Canada. Despite humble origins, he saved enough to study medicine at both Queen's and Victoria Colleges. Though failing to graduate, he nonetheless advertised himself as a physician and surgeon after moving to the Red River settlement in 1861. He also worked as a businessman and speculator, eventually owning a number of stores in the colony including the general store which was the first building at Portage & Main. Arrested for improper business practices in 1868, his wife and supporters soon broke him out of prison. He continued on in the area, openly defying the Council of Assiniboia.
Schultz was a major figure in the early, highly partisan publishing world of the Red River area, using his Nor'Wester to promote ending the Hudson's Bay Company's rule of the district and opening it to settlement. Following his arrest and jailbreak, the paper ran his side of the story and a criticism of the HBC's legal authority. He sold the Nor'Wester in 1868; Louis Riel confiscated it the following year.
Initially on good terms with the francophone community, Schultz' unscrupulous business practices soon made him unpopular with established settlers. By 1869, he had emerged as leader of the ultra-loyalist Canadian Party, promoting the annexation of Red River by the Canadian government and encouraging new anglophone/Protestant immigration from Ontario. Schultz and his followers were actively engaged in land speculation, and were viewed with extreme suspicion by most of the Métis community.
During the Red River Rebellion (1869–70) Schultz emerged as one of the leading opponents of Riel's provisional government, his followers engaging Riel's in military skirmishes. Schultz and a number of supporters were taken prisoner by Riel, though Schultz managed to escape and tried to free those remaining. He was forced to leave the region in February of 1870. Schultz spoke against the Riel government during his Toronto exile and played a significant role in souring Protestant opinion of the Métis leader, often calling the ill-fated Thomas Scott a hero and urging Ontario's Orangemen to avenge his death.
Schultz returned to Manitoba in September after the Canadian government had taken it using Ontario militias. These soldiers frequently engaged in anti-Métis violence, and there is little doubt Schultz encouraged them. The new Government of Manitoba sought to reconcile the province's various factions, generally regarding Schultz a disruptor. Lieutenant Governor A.G. Archibald hated Schultz, and refused to consider him for his administration. In Manitoba's first provincial election (30th December, 1870) Schultz was defeated by HBC spokesman Donald Smith in the riding of Winnipeg and St. John; the militiamen rioted.
The Canadian Party remained a parliamentary force after this defeat. Archibald warned Prime Minister John A. MacDonald that they were promoting Métis extermination. Surprisingly, Schultz actually defended Indigenous rights for most of his time in Parliament, seeking better compensation for those under Treaty 3 and trying to protect the bison from eradication. He also sought to provide the Métis with sufficient provisions for farming. Strikingly out of character, true, but likely explained by the reduced influence of Riel after 1875. Schultz continued to be his leading opponent in the 1870s and supported Riel's expulsion from Parliament and five-year banishment from Canada. It may also be noted that Schultz stood to benefit from some of the policies he advocated for Indigenous people.
Schultz was born in Amherstburg, Upper Canada. Despite humble origins, he saved enough to study medicine at both Queen's and Victoria Colleges. Though failing to graduate, he nonetheless advertised himself as a physician and surgeon after moving to the Red River settlement in 1861. He also worked as a businessman and speculator, eventually owning a number of stores in the colony including the general store which was the first building at Portage & Main. Arrested for improper business practices in 1868, his wife and supporters soon broke him out of prison. He continued on in the area, openly defying the Council of Assiniboia.
Schultz was a major figure in the early, highly partisan publishing world of the Red River area, using his Nor'Wester to promote ending the Hudson's Bay Company's rule of the district and opening it to settlement. Following his arrest and jailbreak, the paper ran his side of the story and a criticism of the HBC's legal authority. He sold the Nor'Wester in 1868; Louis Riel confiscated it the following year.
Initially on good terms with the francophone community, Schultz' unscrupulous business practices soon made him unpopular with established settlers. By 1869, he had emerged as leader of the ultra-loyalist Canadian Party, promoting the annexation of Red River by the Canadian government and encouraging new anglophone/Protestant immigration from Ontario. Schultz and his followers were actively engaged in land speculation, and were viewed with extreme suspicion by most of the Métis community.
During the Red River Rebellion (1869–70) Schultz emerged as one of the leading opponents of Riel's provisional government, his followers engaging Riel's in military skirmishes. Schultz and a number of supporters were taken prisoner by Riel, though Schultz managed to escape and tried to free those remaining. He was forced to leave the region in February of 1870. Schultz spoke against the Riel government during his Toronto exile and played a significant role in souring Protestant opinion of the Métis leader, often calling the ill-fated Thomas Scott a hero and urging Ontario's Orangemen to avenge his death.
Schultz returned to Manitoba in September after the Canadian government had taken it using Ontario militias. These soldiers frequently engaged in anti-Métis violence, and there is little doubt Schultz encouraged them. The new Government of Manitoba sought to reconcile the province's various factions, generally regarding Schultz a disruptor. Lieutenant Governor A.G. Archibald hated Schultz, and refused to consider him for his administration. In Manitoba's first provincial election (30th December, 1870) Schultz was defeated by HBC spokesman Donald Smith in the riding of Winnipeg and St. John; the militiamen rioted.
The Canadian Party remained a parliamentary force after this defeat. Archibald warned Prime Minister John A. MacDonald that they were promoting Métis extermination. Surprisingly, Schultz actually defended Indigenous rights for most of his time in Parliament, seeking better compensation for those under Treaty 3 and trying to protect the bison from eradication. He also sought to provide the Métis with sufficient provisions for farming. Strikingly out of character, true, but likely explained by the reduced influence of Riel after 1875. Schultz continued to be his leading opponent in the 1870s and supported Riel's expulsion from Parliament and five-year banishment from Canada. It may also be noted that Schultz stood to benefit from some of the policies he advocated for Indigenous people.
Details from "An Incident at St. Andrews"
