Heavenly Manna

Riel
Originally uploaded by The Stranger

Riel had a vision that God had anointed him as "the prophet of the new world."

I am glad the Crown has proved that I am the leader of the half-breeds in the Northwest. I will perhaps be one day acknowledged as more than a leader of the half-breeds, and if I am, I will have the opportunity of being acknowledged as a leader of good in this great country

Do you know these people of mine are just as were the children of Israel, a persecuted race deprived of their heritage. But I will wrest justice for them from the tyrant. I will be unto them a second David

God has always taken care of the half-breeds. He fed them for many days in the desert. Providence enriched our prairie with the buffalo. The plenty in which our fathers lived was as wonderful as the heavenly manna. But we were not sufficiently grateful to God, our good Father, hence it is that we have allowed ourselves to fall into the hands of a Government which only thinks of us to pillage us. Had he only understood what God did for us before Confederation, we should have been sorry to see it coming. And the half-breeds of the North-West would have made conditions of a nature to preserve for our children that liberty, that possession of the soil, without which there is no happiness for anyone; but fifteen years of suffering, impoverishment and underhand, malignant persecution have opened our eyes; and the sight of the abyss of demoralization into which the Dominion is daily plunging us deeper and deeper every day, has suddenly, by God's mercy as it were, stricken us with horror. And the half-breed people are more afraid of the hell into which the Mounted Police and their Government are openly seeking to drive us, than of their firearms, which, after all, can only kill our bodies. Our alarmed conscience have shouted out to us: Justice commands us take up arms. Dear relatives and friends, we advise you to pay attention. Be ready for everything. Take the Indians with you. Gather them from every side. Take all the ammunition you can, whatsoever storehouses it may be in. Murmur, growl, and threaten. Stir up the Indians. Render the police of Fort Pitt and Battleford powerless. We pray God to open to us a way to go up. And when we get there, as we hope, we shall help you to take Battleford and Fort Pitt. Have confidence in Jesus Christ. Place yourselves under the protection of the Blessed Virgin. Implore St. Joseph, for he is powerful with God. Commend yourselves to the powerful intercession of St. John the Baptist, the glorious patron of the Canadians and half-breeds. Be at peace with God. Keep His commandments. We pray Him to be with you all and to make you succeed.