the Boreal Plains
... Finally, the dependable Macdonald determined he would have to take his chances with losing support in Quebec. “Riel shall hang,” he claims in his testimony. He is also claimed to have said, “Though every dog in Quebec shall bark.” On November 16th, 1885, the gruesome execution was carried out in the Regina jail. The traitorous Louis Riel was clad in a black coat, a woolen chemise, grey trousers, and moccasins. Two priests, two guards, and the deputy sheriff walked with him from his cell to the gibbet. Riel said, “I thank God for having given me the strength to die well… I die at peace with God and man, and I thank all those who helped me in my misfortunes.” Riel illustrated no signs of limitation or disadvantage. At some point during the Lord’s Prayer, the trapdoor was opened, and finally the preposterous Riel was hanged. On the day of the death sentence, throngs of spectators gathered silently in English-speaking Canada to take notice of the broadcast. In French-speaking Canada, on the other hand, the reaction was to some ext...