Of Coins and Querns
During the nineteen seventies and part of the eighties I did quite a lot of historical research and archaeological surveying on the famous Prairie portage of the fur trade between the Assiniboine River and Lake Manitoba and the surrounding Portage Plains.
One of the results was a short publication of that prehistoric survey in the October 1983 issue of the Manitoba Archaeological Quarterly
It was at that time that three historical artifacts came to my attention on a historical Plains Ojibway camp that had been discovered in what would have been the upper levels of the prehistoric Campbell-Lee site. It would have been occupied in the early nineteenth century before the arrival of the American Dakota after 1862.
One of the results was a short publication of that prehistoric survey in the October 1983 issue of the Manitoba Archaeological Quarterly
It was at that time that three historical artifacts came to my attention on a historical Plains Ojibway camp that had been discovered in what would have been the upper levels of the prehistoric Campbell-Lee site. It would have been occupied in the early nineteenth century before the arrival of the American Dakota after 1862.
Location of archaeological surveys for publication.
These particular artifacts were as follows: two coins; one Irish, one Swedish and a fragment of the hand stone of a rotary quern stone pair.
Irish coin, George II 1742
Same as above, reverse side.
Swedish coin, 1758
Fragment of top stone.
Before I solve the mystery of how they got on the site I would like to provide some information on the items in hand.
The fragment of quern hand stone
The Scottish Quern stones, came in pairs and were either in the form of saddle querns or rotary querns
In the case of the rotary quern the bottom stone was called the quern and the upper stone was called the hand stone.
The fragment is part of a hand stone.
The fragment of quern hand stone
The Scottish Quern stones, came in pairs and were either in the form of saddle querns or rotary querns
In the case of the rotary quern the bottom stone was called the quern and the upper stone was called the hand stone.
The fragment is part of a hand stone.
A complete pair found in a field at Williams Point near Antigonish, Nova Scotia from about the same period. [An excellent site try “From Querns to Quilts.”]
“Mara Riley’s costume page” informs us that the above detail from the engraving by Thomas Pennant entitled, "Women at the Quern. “gives us some idea of the dress of the women of the Selkirk plantation who used the Quern stanes when they were whole.
It shows the types of petticoats, jackets or shortgowns, and checked neckerchiefs that are worn by the women of the Plantation on the Red River,
The women facing the artist appears have a ring brooch fastening her neckerchief while She is also wearing a cap common elsewhere in Britain at this time, while the girl wears her hair tied back with a fillet.
In his paper on milling at Red River Barry Kaye Department of Geography, University of Manitoba
in Manitoba History, Number 2, 1981. Noted that:
...throughout the colony’s early years the settlers ground much of their grain in simple handmills or querns. ....
Many of the Kildonan settlers brought querns with them from Sutherland.
The Coins
According to information on line provided by “John Stafford-Langan” the Irish coin is an Irish halfpenny of George II, of a kind struck at the Royal Mint in London for export to Ireland typical of the type issued in 1741, 1742, 1743, 1744 and 1746. It has larger lettering than the 1736-1738 type and the 'U' in GEORGIUS (as opposed to a 'V') distinguishes it from the 1747-1753 type.
This particular coin is so badly struck one wonders if it was not a counterfeit. However it may have been over cleaned and polished in its role as a gaming piece in the Indian camp.
The Swedish coin is that of the reign of King Adolf Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp the monarch who was known to school children as the king who ate himself to death.
Now as George Bryce in MHS Transactions, Series 1, No. 19 Read 26 November 1885 pointed out in the first ship load to York factory, that of 1811, besides the 70 Highlanders, there were some 20 Irish colonists and employees. So that accounts for the Scottish quern and the Irish coin; and the “Encyclopedia of Canada's peoples /Swedes / Christopher S. Hale” on line states that “the earliest known Swedes to have come to this country were three men who were among the settlers sent to the Red River valley by Lord Selkirk in the 1810s.
They were Michael Hedén, a blacksmith, who arrived in 1812
with the second Selkirk expedition, and a Lieutenant Holte, formerly an officer in the Swedish navy, who arrived with the fourth party in 1815. That accounts for the presence in the region of the Swedish coin.
Answering the big question:
On November 14, 1815 a new Governor, William Semple, arrived with 80 more colonists (Morton 1939:573) and with the spring, the pemmican war broke out again between the English joint stock company and the Canadians in their partnership called the North West Company. This was all part of the ongoing corporate war for the fur trade. During this war the Canadians sought to recruit the Lake Superior Ojibway to attack the colony but this had been tried before and, again, had little success . Nevertheless in 1816, it was Ottawa warriors along with the Canadian's Negro Bonga, who captured Lagomodiere, the colony courier.
If the majority of the Greater Ojibway bands hesitated in taking sides in this corporate war, the Buffalo hunters of the Upper Assiniboine country did not, and Cuthbert Grant, their leader, could report to his Canadian masters:
The Half Breeds at Fort Despreries I am happy to inform you that they are all united and stanch (sic) and ready to obey our commands they have sent one of them here to see how things stood and to know weather (sic) it was necessary that they should all come, which of course I send word that they should all be here about the first of May.(P.A.M. MG2 A1:8896)
These Half-breeds of whom he speaks had strong kinship ties to Plains Ojibway or cart Indians as they were sometimes called because of their adaptation of the Red River cart and the Buffalo Hunt, who also resided in villages along the Assiniboine from white horse plains to Brandon house.
These Ojibway were in fact all part of the White Horse Plain Buffalo hunt and entered the high plains to hunt together with the half-breeds. Therefore while Grant was indeed inciting the young men among the Metis, he was also drawing in young warriors from among the Portage Bands.
In spite of the chaos of the peddler’s war the Ojibway and half-breed women continued to look after their gardens including the ones at the Half Way Bank summer village and on April 25, 1816 the trader at Brandon House record noted this fact:
Capt. Grant and Black Duck came here with a quantity of furs Traded part with them & they took notes for 27 skins to be paid them at the Forks where they are going to next month they went away [I gave] them 2 gal mixed rum and a little wheat, Barley and potatoes for seed as they have houses and gardens half way to Portage la Prairie.(HBCA B/22/a/19)
There is some controversy among the local academic experts as to whether Capt. Grant was Cree or Ojibway. I know he was not a member of the Sonnants "Cree" band the "Cree" speaking band of Yorston's Guide (Father of the Fox).
As there was already intermarriage within these bands it matters very little. In that generation there may have been "Cree" elders but in the generations that followed the families that remained on the Assiniboine become part of the Plains Ojibway bands.
While the buffalo hunting Ojibway were attached to the Norwesters because of the trade in buffalo meat the Ojibway on the east side of the Red River were not. For example on May 10, 1816 the Premier, an Ojibway leader from east of Red River, was at the Forks. The following is a sketch of his speech from the Canadian record (written out by a Canadian and stolen from their records by Lord Selkirk when he captured Fort William):
Premier (Chief) Speech to Governor Semple
"Father I thank you for having come on our Lands, these people here (Pointing to Mr. Cameron the Canadian) after having spoiled our lands, made us Pitiful we who comes far I was never accustomed to Cloath (sic) myself with Skins. I have still a son at Lac La Pluie whom they keep in Slavery, which I hope to have him soon here (then facing Mr. Cameron proceeded thus) "You who wished me to call me Your Father, and when I saw you make appearance with your Regimental dress, I was not pleased, and foresaw it would not end well. You see the consequence of it To Day --- I never approved your measures you took against these people" (the English)(P.A.M. MG 2 A1:9211)
This makes it clear how the Ojibway bands were divided on the issue of the fur-trade conflict.
Then on May 12, 1816 the Canadians, captured the English provisions brigade on the Assiniboine and plundered the English post at Brandon House.
Thus the stage had been set for an armed confrontation when the Canadian fur brigades come down the Assiniboine River from the interior.
On the 17th and 18th of May Indians runners came in to the Red River from the west to warn the people that they could be attacked. I must assume that this information was coming from the Portage Bands to their relatives in the Peguis Red River band and was then being relayed on to Semple. At least two of Peguis’ sons had become cart Indians and were members of the Portage bands.
Taking heed to the warning, Semple brought most of the settlers into the fort on the 17th and a watch was placed on the walls.
On the 19th a settler, Alexander Murry, was on his way home from his field at Frog Plain and he saw what he said were six armed Metis.
Before they could escape he, his wife and two neighbours, were captured by this group. He would report later of the six Metis;
"That they were all armed with guns, swords, and spears [and] that they were all dressed & painted like Indians going to war, except one who spoke a little English to [Murry] ordering him to go with them to Frog Plain" (HBCA E 8/6 fos. 115-116 incl.).
He was wrong of course for this was a mixed band of scouts made up of Metis and plains Ojibway buffalo hunters.
While they were in captivity it was the women who protect the settlers from any abuse.
Then the arrogant Semple made his mistake. Instead of allowing the Canadians and their servants to pass unmolested, which, considering his secure defensive position, would have made more sense, Semple marched out with some of his servants to challenge them.
What follows is an excerpt from the description of the fight that followed given by an English Company survivor:
That the Govenor (sic) in consequence pressed forward till he came in sight of the Half-breeds who immediately rode toward his party, which on that moved off a little to the left of the road, that about this time and before the Half-breeds were within gunshot, a gun went off by accident belonging to Mr. Holt . . . the half-breeds continued to advance and spreading on both sides as they come within gunshot nearly surrounded them and then halted upon which one Boucher a Canadian advanced from their party who rode up to the Governor and asked what do you want to which the Governor replied what do you want friend, we want our Fort, said he, go to your Fort friend said the Governor no you damned scoundrel said Boucher you have destroyed our Fort dare you say so to me said the Governor and immediately seized the bridle of his horse and called to some of his men to take him prisoner upon which Boucher stepped off his horse and escaped to his party. . . . after Boucher ran away, a shot was fired from the party of Half breeds, a second shot was also fired by them immediately afterwards which wounded Mr. Holt, that upon this the Governors party gathered close around him and some of them fired upon the half-breeds, who seeing the whole party close together fired a volley upon them which killed and wounded nearly the whole. The half breeds continued however their fire. That the deponent was placed a little to the right of the party with Michael Kilkenny, George Sutherland, and Donald McKay who being at a short distance did not close round the Governor but fought simply to defend themselves until Kilkenny called out to the deponent who was on his knees . . . they both endeavoured to escape, and were followed by Sutherland and McKay and also Mr. White the surgeon, they pursued by about six Half breeds who kept firing and killed Mr. White who was the last of the party, Kilkenny and Sutherland outran the others and swam across the river himself, and McKay found a Batleau in which they crossed, that no others escaped excepting themselves John Pritchard and Anthony McDonald whom he saw a prisoner in the hands of Fraser the half-breed, (HBCA E 8/6, folio 96-7)
It was an Plains Ojibway warrior who counted first coup on Semple the English war chief during the fight.
Both Holte and Hedén were in the fire fight at Seven Oaks and Holte was killed there.
As he had fired the first shot he became a trophy target and it would have been then that the Swedish coin would have been found and taken to the Indian encampment along with his scalp.
The next day it was Peguis and The Blackman, Red River Indians who gather up some of the dead in two carts and brought them in for burial (HBCA E 8/6 folio 130-31).
That day the colonists gave up the Fort to the Canadians and on the 21st of May, 1816, the settlers left the colony once more.
With the colonists gone their homes were looted and the trophies carried away. In the case of the Portage band some loot ended up on the camp on the Portage Plains.
Among other things these included an Irish coin and the top stone of a quern which had been taken there to be used to sharpen steel and iron tools in the camp.
The gross damage to the stone was due to multiple strikes on it in the modern era particularly by the variations of the disc plow used in farming the field. Very often lithic prehistoric artifacts show such strikes as thin lines of rust across their surfaces where the discs have crossed it.
The coins, brightly polished by the Indians, probably became gaming pieces in the moccasin game or a variation of the plum stone game.
“Mara Riley’s costume page” informs us that the above detail from the engraving by Thomas Pennant entitled, "Women at the Quern. “gives us some idea of the dress of the women of the Selkirk plantation who used the Quern stanes when they were whole.
It shows the types of petticoats, jackets or shortgowns, and checked neckerchiefs that are worn by the women of the Plantation on the Red River,
The women facing the artist appears have a ring brooch fastening her neckerchief while She is also wearing a cap common elsewhere in Britain at this time, while the girl wears her hair tied back with a fillet.
In his paper on milling at Red River Barry Kaye Department of Geography, University of Manitoba
in Manitoba History, Number 2, 1981. Noted that:
...throughout the colony’s early years the settlers ground much of their grain in simple handmills or querns. ....
Many of the Kildonan settlers brought querns with them from Sutherland.
The Coins
According to information on line provided by “John Stafford-Langan” the Irish coin is an Irish halfpenny of George II, of a kind struck at the Royal Mint in London for export to Ireland typical of the type issued in 1741, 1742, 1743, 1744 and 1746. It has larger lettering than the 1736-1738 type and the 'U' in GEORGIUS (as opposed to a 'V') distinguishes it from the 1747-1753 type.
This particular coin is so badly struck one wonders if it was not a counterfeit. However it may have been over cleaned and polished in its role as a gaming piece in the Indian camp.
The Swedish coin is that of the reign of King Adolf Frederick of Holstein-Gottorp the monarch who was known to school children as the king who ate himself to death.
Now as George Bryce in MHS Transactions, Series 1, No. 19 Read 26 November 1885 pointed out in the first ship load to York factory, that of 1811, besides the 70 Highlanders, there were some 20 Irish colonists and employees. So that accounts for the Scottish quern and the Irish coin; and the “Encyclopedia of Canada's peoples /Swedes / Christopher S. Hale” on line states that “the earliest known Swedes to have come to this country were three men who were among the settlers sent to the Red River valley by Lord Selkirk in the 1810s.
They were Michael Hedén, a blacksmith, who arrived in 1812
with the second Selkirk expedition, and a Lieutenant Holte, formerly an officer in the Swedish navy, who arrived with the fourth party in 1815. That accounts for the presence in the region of the Swedish coin.
Answering the big question:
On November 14, 1815 a new Governor, William Semple, arrived with 80 more colonists (Morton 1939:573) and with the spring, the pemmican war broke out again between the English joint stock company and the Canadians in their partnership called the North West Company. This was all part of the ongoing corporate war for the fur trade. During this war the Canadians sought to recruit the Lake Superior Ojibway to attack the colony but this had been tried before and, again, had little success . Nevertheless in 1816, it was Ottawa warriors along with the Canadian's Negro Bonga, who captured Lagomodiere, the colony courier.
If the majority of the Greater Ojibway bands hesitated in taking sides in this corporate war, the Buffalo hunters of the Upper Assiniboine country did not, and Cuthbert Grant, their leader, could report to his Canadian masters:
The Half Breeds at Fort Despreries I am happy to inform you that they are all united and stanch (sic) and ready to obey our commands they have sent one of them here to see how things stood and to know weather (sic) it was necessary that they should all come, which of course I send word that they should all be here about the first of May.(P.A.M. MG2 A1:8896)
These Half-breeds of whom he speaks had strong kinship ties to Plains Ojibway or cart Indians as they were sometimes called because of their adaptation of the Red River cart and the Buffalo Hunt, who also resided in villages along the Assiniboine from white horse plains to Brandon house.
These Ojibway were in fact all part of the White Horse Plain Buffalo hunt and entered the high plains to hunt together with the half-breeds. Therefore while Grant was indeed inciting the young men among the Metis, he was also drawing in young warriors from among the Portage Bands.
In spite of the chaos of the peddler’s war the Ojibway and half-breed women continued to look after their gardens including the ones at the Half Way Bank summer village and on April 25, 1816 the trader at Brandon House record noted this fact:
Capt. Grant and Black Duck came here with a quantity of furs Traded part with them & they took notes for 27 skins to be paid them at the Forks where they are going to next month they went away [I gave] them 2 gal mixed rum and a little wheat, Barley and potatoes for seed as they have houses and gardens half way to Portage la Prairie.(HBCA B/22/a/19)
There is some controversy among the local academic experts as to whether Capt. Grant was Cree or Ojibway. I know he was not a member of the Sonnants "Cree" band the "Cree" speaking band of Yorston's Guide (Father of the Fox).
As there was already intermarriage within these bands it matters very little. In that generation there may have been "Cree" elders but in the generations that followed the families that remained on the Assiniboine become part of the Plains Ojibway bands.
While the buffalo hunting Ojibway were attached to the Norwesters because of the trade in buffalo meat the Ojibway on the east side of the Red River were not. For example on May 10, 1816 the Premier, an Ojibway leader from east of Red River, was at the Forks. The following is a sketch of his speech from the Canadian record (written out by a Canadian and stolen from their records by Lord Selkirk when he captured Fort William):
Premier (Chief) Speech to Governor Semple
"Father I thank you for having come on our Lands, these people here (Pointing to Mr. Cameron the Canadian) after having spoiled our lands, made us Pitiful we who comes far I was never accustomed to Cloath (sic) myself with Skins. I have still a son at Lac La Pluie whom they keep in Slavery, which I hope to have him soon here (then facing Mr. Cameron proceeded thus) "You who wished me to call me Your Father, and when I saw you make appearance with your Regimental dress, I was not pleased, and foresaw it would not end well. You see the consequence of it To Day --- I never approved your measures you took against these people" (the English)(P.A.M. MG 2 A1:9211)
This makes it clear how the Ojibway bands were divided on the issue of the fur-trade conflict.
Then on May 12, 1816 the Canadians, captured the English provisions brigade on the Assiniboine and plundered the English post at Brandon House.
Thus the stage had been set for an armed confrontation when the Canadian fur brigades come down the Assiniboine River from the interior.
On the 17th and 18th of May Indians runners came in to the Red River from the west to warn the people that they could be attacked. I must assume that this information was coming from the Portage Bands to their relatives in the Peguis Red River band and was then being relayed on to Semple. At least two of Peguis’ sons had become cart Indians and were members of the Portage bands.
Taking heed to the warning, Semple brought most of the settlers into the fort on the 17th and a watch was placed on the walls.
On the 19th a settler, Alexander Murry, was on his way home from his field at Frog Plain and he saw what he said were six armed Metis.
Before they could escape he, his wife and two neighbours, were captured by this group. He would report later of the six Metis;
"That they were all armed with guns, swords, and spears [and] that they were all dressed & painted like Indians going to war, except one who spoke a little English to [Murry] ordering him to go with them to Frog Plain" (HBCA E 8/6 fos. 115-116 incl.).
He was wrong of course for this was a mixed band of scouts made up of Metis and plains Ojibway buffalo hunters.
While they were in captivity it was the women who protect the settlers from any abuse.
Then the arrogant Semple made his mistake. Instead of allowing the Canadians and their servants to pass unmolested, which, considering his secure defensive position, would have made more sense, Semple marched out with some of his servants to challenge them.
What follows is an excerpt from the description of the fight that followed given by an English Company survivor:
That the Govenor (sic) in consequence pressed forward till he came in sight of the Half-breeds who immediately rode toward his party, which on that moved off a little to the left of the road, that about this time and before the Half-breeds were within gunshot, a gun went off by accident belonging to Mr. Holt . . . the half-breeds continued to advance and spreading on both sides as they come within gunshot nearly surrounded them and then halted upon which one Boucher a Canadian advanced from their party who rode up to the Governor and asked what do you want to which the Governor replied what do you want friend, we want our Fort, said he, go to your Fort friend said the Governor no you damned scoundrel said Boucher you have destroyed our Fort dare you say so to me said the Governor and immediately seized the bridle of his horse and called to some of his men to take him prisoner upon which Boucher stepped off his horse and escaped to his party. . . . after Boucher ran away, a shot was fired from the party of Half breeds, a second shot was also fired by them immediately afterwards which wounded Mr. Holt, that upon this the Governors party gathered close around him and some of them fired upon the half-breeds, who seeing the whole party close together fired a volley upon them which killed and wounded nearly the whole. The half breeds continued however their fire. That the deponent was placed a little to the right of the party with Michael Kilkenny, George Sutherland, and Donald McKay who being at a short distance did not close round the Governor but fought simply to defend themselves until Kilkenny called out to the deponent who was on his knees . . . they both endeavoured to escape, and were followed by Sutherland and McKay and also Mr. White the surgeon, they pursued by about six Half breeds who kept firing and killed Mr. White who was the last of the party, Kilkenny and Sutherland outran the others and swam across the river himself, and McKay found a Batleau in which they crossed, that no others escaped excepting themselves John Pritchard and Anthony McDonald whom he saw a prisoner in the hands of Fraser the half-breed, (HBCA E 8/6, folio 96-7)
It was an Plains Ojibway warrior who counted first coup on Semple the English war chief during the fight.
Both Holte and Hedén were in the fire fight at Seven Oaks and Holte was killed there.
As he had fired the first shot he became a trophy target and it would have been then that the Swedish coin would have been found and taken to the Indian encampment along with his scalp.
The next day it was Peguis and The Blackman, Red River Indians who gather up some of the dead in two carts and brought them in for burial (HBCA E 8/6 folio 130-31).
That day the colonists gave up the Fort to the Canadians and on the 21st of May, 1816, the settlers left the colony once more.
With the colonists gone their homes were looted and the trophies carried away. In the case of the Portage band some loot ended up on the camp on the Portage Plains.
Among other things these included an Irish coin and the top stone of a quern which had been taken there to be used to sharpen steel and iron tools in the camp.
The gross damage to the stone was due to multiple strikes on it in the modern era particularly by the variations of the disc plow used in farming the field. Very often lithic prehistoric artifacts show such strikes as thin lines of rust across their surfaces where the discs have crossed it.
The coins, brightly polished by the Indians, probably became gaming pieces in the moccasin game or a variation of the plum stone game.