position, in the hell-pits they had dug for themselves, effectually shielded them from danger. The brunt of the fighting fell disastrously upon the gallant Ninetieth. From the outset they were incessantly exposed to the concealed fire of the dusky foe. But they stubbornly held their ground; and, taking advantage of whatever cover was available, they spiritedly gave back the fierce fire of lead. Round the mouth of the ravine, where the enemy had their stronghold, a terrific fusilade was kept up throughout the morning; while a desperate conflict was raging in the bluffs on either side. Here the black coat of many a prostrate Winnipeg rifleman showed how fierce had been the strife.

The morning's death-roll and other casualties of this gallant regiment, which was to bear so noble a part in the now opened campaign, attest the heroism which actuated its ranks. Two of its officers, viz., Capt. Wm. Clark, and Lieut. Charles Swinford, were to fall, the latter subsequently dying of his wounds. Among the first of the rank and file of the 90th to give up their life on the battle-field, were Privates Ferguson and Hutchinson, of "A" Co., who fell in the opening charge, and were both shot in the heart. The death missive was also to come to Privates Wheeler, of "B" Co., and Ennis of "D" Co. The 90th, during the day, had fourteen wounded, viz., Corps. Thacker, Lethbridge, and Code; Ptes. Kemp, Matthews, Lowell, Swan, Jarvis, Johnson, Chambers, Canniff, Bowden, Hislop, and Blackwood -a glorious list of casualties!

The death-roll of "A" Battery comprised three gunnersDemanolly, Harrison, and Cook; with the following wounded: Sergt.-Major McWhinney; Gunners Moiseau, Ainsworth, Asselin, Imrie, Woodınan, Langarell, Ouillette, and McGrath; Bombardier Taylor; and Drivers Turner and Wilson-a proud total of three dead and twelve wounded! "C" Company, Infantry

School, lost one killed-Pte. A. G. Watson-and six wounded. The names of the latter are as follows: Col.-Sergt. R. Cummings; Ptes. H. Jones, R. Jones, E. Harris, R. H. Dunn, and E. Macdonald. Capt. Gardner, of Boulton's Mounted Scouts, was also wounded; and the troop suffered the following losses: Sergt. Stewart, and Troopers Langford, Perrine, King, Bruce, Thompson, and D'Arcy Baker-all wounded.

But the engagement was not yet over. Though hemmed in on three sides, the half-breeds stubbornly kept to their riflepits, from which the hurtling shell and enfilading musketry fire failed to dislodge them. So closely were they now beset that the encouraging voice of Dumont, their half-breed leader, could be distinctly heard. It was now past noon, and the state of affairs, if not critical for the Métis marksmen, was decidedly unpleasant. More than one rifle-pit had become the grave of a half-breed; while, in the bush, many of his dusky kin had gone to the happy hunting-grounds of the race. But the rebel commander kept his head, and had well gauged the strength of the force opposed to him. His only fear was of the crossing of Montizambert's force from the west side of the Saskatchewan, and cutting off his retreat. But this force, though it had been signalled early in the day, had not yet joined Middleton.

Meanwhile death was reaping his harvest; and, outside the crowded hospital tents, the pitiless rain beat on the fevered faces of the wounded.

"The fight rolls on, Death stalks around,

And blood-red gashes drench the ground."

Middleton's force continued to close in upon the enemy. The guns took up new positions; and the battery supports, and the thin red line of "C" Company, under Major Smith, pressed on to secure possession of a knoll some distance up the ravine. On the left, a company of the 90th, under Capt. Forrest, and

Lt. Hugh J. Macdonald, the gallant son of the Dominion Premier, made a dash across an open stretch of prairie, and gained the top of the gully. In other parts of the battle-field, Capt. Peters of the Battery, Major Boulton, of the Mounted Scouts, and Majors Buchan and Boswell, of the Rifles, were pluckily contesting points of advantage with the enemy. The latter, now hard pressed, sullenly withdrew, but still showing too bold a front for defeat. The gunners, getting the position of the rebel farm-houses, now hotly played upon them, and drove the half-breeds further up the ravine. The houses were then set on fire, and the guns brought to bear on the Indian ponies, that were coralled in the woods. In ten minutes the equine Bartholomew was complete.

At last our Canadian Blucher came up. Montizambert's Column, with difficulty had got punted across the river, and Capt. Mason's Co. of the Grenadiers was the first to appear on the scene. It was quickly followed by the remainder of the battalion, by the Winnipeg Artillery, and by Lord Melgund and the Scouts. The fresh troops were sent to relieve the fatigued advanced skirmishers, but the guns were ordered to the rear. From now till dusk the firing was weak and desultory, the half-breeds having melted away from the ground. Presently the bugles sounded the recall, and the rain damped the waning ardour of the troops. The fight was over, though the day can hardly be said to be won. It brought no signal victory.

What were the decisive results of the day's engagement could at least be counted under the white sheets, and their country's flag, by the hospital door. Of the 350 men actively engaged in the heat of the strife, close upon 50 were hors-de-combat. How many more hearts were to be pierced, when news of the day's conflict reached the friends of the fallen, one shuddered to

think. To one man in the field the cessation of the fight must have brought infinite relief. Old campaigner as he was, the strain of the day's anxieties on General Middleton must have been intense. Through the varying fortunes of the day he bore himself valorously, and personally directed each movement, no matter into what danger it led him. Frequently, while riding along the front lines, giving orders and encouraging the men, he exposed himself recklessly. Early in the fight a bullet pierced his cap. Equally heroic was the bearing of his two aides-de-camp, Capts. Wise and Doucet, who were both wounded. The former had his horse shot under him, as had Major Buchan, Field Adjutant, and Major Boulton, in command of the Mounted Scouts. Cool and soldier-like was also the conduct, during the day, of Col. Houghton, chief of the General's field staff, and of Capt. Haig, R. E., acting Q.M.G.

To be "mentioned in the despatches" is an honor that fell to the lot of a young hero in the fight, which, before closing this chapter, we must not omit to chronicle. Says General Middleton:

"I cannot conclude this report without mentioning a little bugler of the 90th regiment, named Wm. Buchanan, who made himself particularly useful in carrying ammunition to the right front when the fire was very hot. This he did with peculiar nonchalence, walking calmly about crying, 'Now, boys, who's for cartridge?""

The number of rebels known to be present at Fish Creek, under Gabriel Dumont, was 280 men. They had eleven killed or died of wounds, and eighteen wounded.

THE CRISIS AT HAND.

HE battle of Fish Creek was the prologue to a three days' hot fighting before Batoche, which was happily to end the insurrection and dash the hopes of the madman, Riel, and his lawless half-breeds. For a fortnight after the affair of the 24th of April, there hung over the region a heavy electrical atmosphere of pent-up war feeling and military preparation, soon to discharge itself on the wooded ravines that encompass Batoche. With even greater activity and excitement did the breeds prepare to make a determined stand round the homesteads their sedition had emperilled; and Nature helped them in their work. Her hand, in seeming kindness, had raised a rampart of woods around her wild and wayward children, and locked them in the fastnesses of Mother Earth. From Dumont's Crossing to Batoche, the whole country is a mass of wooded ravines, often fifty feet deep, and the valleys are covered with underbrush. In these ravines tribal instinct and tactical skill planned a defence well calculated to keep the loyal troops at bay. "The half-breeds," it has