Wandering Trader Introduction

Lore & Background

Wandering Spirit's band suffered from the decline of the buffalo population during the 1880s, which they had traditionally depended on for sustenance. Buffalo were becoming scarce throughout Canada due to overhunting, creating animosity between the Plains Cree and the Métis, who were seen as infringing on hunting grounds. The introduction of firearms and European settlers' demand for buffalo fur robes and pemmican allowed unsustainable hunting. The Plains Cree often trespassed on Blackfoot lands in search of buffalo and blamed deaths on the Hudson's Bay Company. In the absence of buffalo, Indigenous groups relied on government rations administered by local Indian agents, which were often insufficient or spoiled. The Plains Cree felt treaties were not being respected. After extensive fighting with the Blackfoot, the Canadian government ordered the Plains Cree to relocate to Frog Lake, where they shared territory with the Woods Cree. Frog Lake was not a reserve, and Big Bear's band subsisted there with minimal provisions or government assistance. Indian agents tried to force them onto a reserve by denying rations. The local Indian agent, Thomas Quinn, was noted as 'a mean-spirited, petty little man completely lacking in compassion.' He once summoned natives to the ration house in promise of food only to declare it an April Fool's prank. After a disagreement, Wandering Spirit threatened Quinn, saying he 'used to enjoy killing a person' and missed the feeling. The government recommended Quinn relocate for his safety, but he refused.

In Their Own Story

The Frog Lake Massacre occurred within a wider context of starvation, ecological change, and political and cultural conflict. Contrary to Big Bear's attempts at diplomacy, Wandering Spirit favoured a more aggressive resistance strategy that resonated with warlike members of the band. This culminated in the deaths of nine European traders. Even though Big Bear was against the attacks, he later served time in jail for not preventing it. Wandering Spirit held ruling power at the time of the attack and led the men into the Frog Lake settlement while Big Bear was away. After seeing the success of the Métis in the Battle of Duck Lake, the Cree felt more confident and seized the opportunity to move against the colonial government. They hoped to take hostages and seize provisions before joining the Métis and Louis Riel at Fort Pitt. When the attack began, they took Thomas Quinn as a hostage in his home. After allowing townspeople to attend mass, the Cree took them as hostages inside. When the Cree attempted to move their hostages to the war camp, Quinn refused to cooperate, leading Wandering Spirit to shoot him in the head with his rifle. This caused panic, and spurred by Wandering Spirit's actions, his warriors massacred eight more unarmed people. With nine hostages dead, the Cree took the remaining settlers as prisoners. Big Bear had been eating breakfast with the wife of the HBC manager when he heard the news, but immediately returned to put an end to the violence. He moved the tribe further north to isolate them from further violence.

Reader's Guide

Two weeks after the Frog Lake Massacre, Wandering Spirit resolved to capture Fort Pitt, which contained provisions and ammunition appealing to the starving Cree. The conquest was supported by Louis Riel, as Fort Pitt housed a North-West Mounted Police detachment that could prove a threat during a rebellion. It was a brief and almost bloodless conflict. After Corporal David Cowan was shot and killed, Fort Pitt was surrendered to the Cree. The death of an NWMP officer caused an uproar. Settlers projected anxieties of another Riel conspiracy onto the Cree, who were depicted in newspapers like the Saskatchewan Herald as villainous. Wandering Spirit insisted the Cree had only been reacting against starvation and there was no larger plot. His band followed him out of a sense of crisis but generally abhorred the violence. The band retreated north with stolen supplies. They were pursued by law enforcement, and after several months Wandering Spirit was cornered. He surrendered and attempted suicide by stabbing himself in the chest, but only pierced a lung. He was taken into custody. At his trial in Battleford, Magistrate Charles Rouleau—whose home had been burned down by the Cree during the Looting of Battleford—oversaw the proceedings. Wandering Spirit spoke freely about his actions, an admission of guilt to clear his conscience and have assurances for his afterlife. He was not permitted access to legal counsel, and the trials were held in English, preventing many accused from defending themselves. Missionaries often encouraged Indigenous prisoners to plead guilty regardless of whether they committed the crime. Originally Wandering Spirit refused to speak to missionaries until he had a 'spiritual awakening' prior to his execution, at which point he was baptized. Even though he pleaded guilty, he insisted he played only a minor role in the uprising, feeling immense guilt. He said he 'fought against it, Imasees nor the others would let [him] go.' On September 22, after confessing to shooting Thomas Quinn in the head at point-blank range, Wandering Spirit was sentenced to hang by Rouleau, who described him as 'the greatest killer ever to walk on two legs in America.' The use of the death penalty was seen as a way for the government to reassert dominance during civil unrest. The Canadian government hoped to make an example of Wandering Spirit and his men to discourage future uprisings. Sir John A. Macdonald said on the hanging that 'we must' (source cuts off).

Did You Know?

• Wandering Spirit was also known as Kapapamahchakwew, Papamahchakwayo, and Esprit Errant.
• He was born c. 1845 and died in 1885.
• He once threatened Indian agent Thomas Quinn by saying he 'used to enjoy killing a person' and missed the feeling.
• After surrendering, he attempted suicide by stabbing himself in the chest, but survived the wound and was later executed by hanging.
• Magistrate Charles Rouleau, who sentenced him, had his own home burned down by the Cree during the Looting of Battleford.