No temptation would induce me to continue
longer in office, even were it considered desirable that I should
continue to hold my appointment, which for the good of the country I
ought not. At the same time. Her Majesty's Government cannot continue
much longer to ignore this territory. By such a course they are only
sowing the seeds of further trouble, which I shall not be sorry to
escape.
"I am afraid I have let my pen run away with me; but in our isolation
local matters absorb our whole energies, and we look upon the affairs
of Europe, or even the fall of Charleston, as of minor importance.
"Believe me, yours very truly,
"A. G. DALLAS.
"EDWARD WATKIN, Esq., London."
The extract from the "Grit" paper, the "Nor 'Wester" was as follows: -
"THE HUDSON'S BAY TERRITORY.
["From the 'Nor' Wester.']
"IMPORTANT STATEMENT OF PEGOWIS, THE INDIAN CHIEF.
"A few weeks ago, the venerable Chief of the Red River Indians, William
King, or 'Pegowis,' left his home at the Indian Settlement - a most
unusual thing for him - and came up to Fort Carry to make a formal
statement, once for all, of the arrangement made by the late Earl of
Selkirk with the Indians of this region in regard to their land. This
statement, which he made voluntarily and deliberately, for the benefit
of all whom it may concern, and for future reference if necessary, he
desired to be published in this journal, and a copy thereof to be
forwarded to the Duke of Newcastle. His immediate reason for doing this
at present, is, he says, because he is now the only surviving Chief of
the five who treated with Lord Selkirk, and as there have been many
misrepresentations, he desires to see the facts placed on record before
he passes off the earthly stage.
"The following is his account, taken down at his own request, by one of
the editors of this journal: -
"'This transaction happened a long long time ago. I am now a very old
man - I was then in the prime and vigour of manhood. We were taken by
surprise when, all of a sudden, those who came before, disembarked. We
had not been apprised of the coming of the foreigners - when they
landed, we were greatly surprised and wondered what they meant. We were
in this neighbourhood at the time. They only spoke among themselves,
while the agents of the North-west Company were here. We did not know
what it meant, when they asked the North-westers into the plain.
