Gabriel Dumont by George Woodcock

The book begins with an extremely emotional account of an encounter between Canada’s two greatest Metis. After having lost the Battle of Batoche, and therefore losing their way of life, the two courageous Metis leaders met in a pit and had a discussion. Nobody quite knows what was said between Gabriel Dumont and Louis Riel, but I like to think that both might have shed a few tears.

One of the main emphasis’s of the book was the contrast in heroe stature of the two men. Louis Riel was a passionately religous man, well educated unlike most Metis, fighting the battles with a cross in his hand while dancing around and miraculously avoiding gunfire. Gabriel Dumont on the otherhand was more of a traditional Metis. Growing up in the days of Buffalo hunts and becoming an excellent navigator and hunter on the great prairie lands. An illiterate man, but what he lacked in education he made up for in courageousness and leadership on the battlefield. The argument that George Woodcock, the Great Canadian Anarchist, makes is that Dumont was much more of a heroe than Reil. However, he is disgruntled with the fact that Canadians do not appreciate this. He believes that Gabriel’s courageousness was overshadowed by Riel’s execution. Riel was a martyr for the great Metis cause, a cause that Woodcock believes Riel did more harm to than good.

I t is true that people are worshipped if they die during their popularity. In the US, you have to look no further to artists such as Tupac, Jim Morrison and Kurt Cobain whose records all seem to have benefited from their death. In Canada, during CBC’s contest for the Greatest Canadian, Terry Fox deservingly placed second. Would he have placed second if he had survived cancer? Would he even be more popular than Rick Hansen, who travelled all the way around the world on a wheelchair, if he had survived cancer? Canadians definitely glorify people that die for their cause. We take pride in someone who was at their pinnacle of glory when their time on earth ended. That is a large part of the reason of why we remember Riel, although his qualities were not superior to that of Dumont’s. I think this is a sign of a very sophisticated culture. A culture that is so overfilled with the enjoyment of life, that they cherish stories of death to deflate the balloons of their well-being. Very much like the Greeks, who also were infilicted with the overfullness of life, and took pleasure in Dionysian Festivals involving sacrificing animals and the ultimate ‘Devils concotion’ of sexual pleasure and pain.

While Louis Riel was a very courageous man in battle, Dumont is possibly the bravest man to ever walk the prairies. In the battle of Duck Lake, he was wounded by a cannon ball that shaved his head. Had he fallen into a state of unconciousness, his men would surely of become demoralized. Lying on the ground, bleeding profusely, he continued to fight. Even during the final of Batoche, he was still suffering from these wounds and a complete lack of sleep, but his leadership and marksmanship were still maintained. In the buffalo hunts, he was always at the lead of the pack, rushing through the storming herd of buff’s, fearlessly ready to supply food to his Metis friends and family. In the battle of Fish Creek, Dumonts army was outnumbered by a count of 5 to 1. But through Dumont’s knowledge of prairie warfare and leadership, his men were able to drive off the attacking army with heavy casualties. Extremely skilled in the art of sharp-shooting and navigating, later in his life he participated in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show where he was well known for his courageousness even in the Easter United States. Confidently walking through storming troops of horses and putting his marksmanship skills to the test, people travelled great distances to see the capabilities of this great Metis warrior. A great leader Dumont was. Never scared to go to battle.

There were times before Middleton’s troops approached Batoche to destroy the Metis that Dumont wanted to partake in guerilla warfare on their encampents during the nights. he figured flying through the camps on horses, firing off guns then retreating to the woods and making indian war-calls, would have demoralized Middleton’s troops and caused them to lack sleep. After a few days, they would be so exhausted that they would not be able to fight properly. But Riel, the man everyone turned to because of his religous visions, vetoed these ideas because God told him that the battle had to be won in Batoche; barricading the men into a city and fighting from pits, rather than fighting by the traditional style of plain warfare that the Metis were accustomed to. He knew that this was less probable to achieving victory, however, he sincerely expected a miracle to happen the day of the battle. It did not, and it was this insensibility, and lack of desire for battle, that caused the Metis to eventually lose the war and their culture.

While far too many years have past to reshape Canadians visions on the great Metis cause, one should not forget the courageousness of Dumont that has been overshadowed by the religious fantasies of Riel.

Tags: Gabriel Dumont, George Woodcock, Louis Riel, Marc Desilets