Red River Cart

By Lawrence J. Barkwell The Metis were responsible for the development of the versatile Red River cart used to transport goods over the prairie terrain. In effect the Metis commerciali!ed the buffalo hunt with the invention of the Red River cart. Today the Red River cart is one of the best"known symbols of Metis culture. The legacy of the Red River cart is still found in cities such as #innipeg Manitoba which have very broad roadways. $ortage %venue in #innipeg is wide because it is the original cart trail west and carts used to travel from three to twenty carts abreast. The cart drawn by either an o& or horse was used to transport meat buffalo hides pemmican trade items and personal belongings to and from the bison hunt and centres of trade in the 'nited (tates.

%s the #est developed settlements sprang up far away from the river transportation routes. Red River carts which had been used for years by the Metis became the chief mode of land transport to service these otherwise unreachable communities. %s the need for larger and stronger carts increased they became more refined. % much lighter spoked wheel gradually replaced the solid wheel. Made in a dish shape these new wheels did not sink as far into the earth making them easier to pull. The rawhide )green shaganappi* which bound the entire cart together became as tough as steel when dry and so strong it would support a +,-"kilogram load. .ne drawback to the carts was the loud noise the carts made because of the screeching of wood rubbing against wood as the wheels turned on unlubricated a&les. /rease could not be used because this would pick up dust and dirt which would wear out the hub and a&le in no time.

Red River 1arts from $embina camped on (t. %nthony2s 3ill 04,4. Minnesota 3istorical (ociety )5o. +-,*.

.n 5ovember 0, 04-0 at $embina in the Minnesota Territory %le&ander 3enry reports that his Metis employees are using carts with solid one"piece wheels. By (eptember 604-6 they have7 8a new sort of cart which facilitates transportation hauling home meat etc. The wheels are about four feet high and perfectly straight9 the spokes are perpendicular without the least bending outward and only four to each wheel. These carts carry about five pieces )of :- pounds* and are drawn by one horse.0 By March of 04-; the men were building carts with more spokes and larger dished wheels of <rench"1anadien design. 1art making itself became a Metis industry and being a teamster replaced employment as a voyageur in the boat brigades. <rom the early 04--s to the advent of the railways in the west the Metis dominated the transportation industry. % number of Metis families in the (elkirk and $embina districts began raising o&en to haul Red River carts. In the mid"04--s the number of carts in use had increased as trade increased. =Metis> caravans or trains have annually increased in number and now two hundred carts make the yearly pilgrimage across the prairies si& hundred and fifty miles to (t. $aul8They are laden with buffalo hides pemmican peltries fur embroidered leather coats moccasins saddles ?c. these they sell or e&change in (t. $aul and return again to their secluded home86
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@lliot 1oues ed. The Manuscript Journals of Alexander Henry and David Thompson, 1799-1 1!. Minneapolis M57 Ross ? 3aines Inc. 0:A,7 0:0.
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<rank Blackwell Mayer "ith #en and #encil on the $rontier in 1 %1& The Diary and '(etches of $ran( )lac(*ell Mayer. (t. $aul7 Minnesota 3istorical (ociety $ress 0:4A7 6;B"6;4.

Metis family with cart at Turtle Mountain 5orth Cakota. $ublic %rchives of Manitoba Transportation D Red River 1art ;B )500B6:*

The si!e of Metis commercial operations was huge. Metis buffalo hunts were of colossal si!e. In 04A, %le&ander Ross a settler in Red River reported in detail on an e&pedition that left the Red River (ettlement on June 0, 04+-. #hen the role was called at $embina 0 A;- people were present with 0 60- Red River carts. In 04A: it was reported that at least 6 ,-- carts had passed through (t. 1loud M5 carrying A-- tons of freight for the 3udson2s Bay 1ompany.;

Alexandria #ost %ugust B 04A:.

The versatility of the cart was unmatched. #ith its high wheels the cart could transverse the rutted prairie be disassembled and floated as a raft across streams or covered with waterproof hide and transformed into a boat. The wheels were simply removed and lashed to the bottom to form a raft. %t day2s end the cart could then be both covered with

hide and used to provide shelter for the traveler or when do!ens were encircled form a portable corral for livestock. In winter the cart frame could be used as a sled pulled by a horse. The first Mace used in the Manitoba Legislature was constructed from part of a Red River 1art a&le with the hub on the end.

The most e&perienced Metis freighters could handle ten carts provided they were in a caravan. 5ormally one man would handle si& carts with three being the minimum. In contrast a teamster could only handle two wagons with ease.

/eorge Cawson a member of the 04B6"04B, Boundary 1ommission made notes on the difficulties met when traveling over the prairies in the vicinity of the Milk River7 Red River 1ountry 1arts are little use in this part of the country to anybody but the 3alf"Breeds. #hen broken there is no hard wood to repair them and from the stony and rough character of the EroadsF breaks are necessarily freGuent. The sand and grit also rapidly wears away the a&les unless iron bushes are used and then a poplar a&le has to be substituted at risk of breakdown any moment. The e&treme dryness of the air causes them to split and crack in all directions especially the hubs and when this happens the spokes work loose and nothing will save the wheel. By keeping the wheel always wet this may be avoided but water is scarce. #ith the 3alf"Breeds time is no obHect and cheapness is everything. They put on light loads and travel in large trains so that if one cart breaks down the load may be distributed and the fragments retained for future repairs.+ By 0406 there were cart trails all across the west and the Metis were able to provide the provisions without which the (elkirk (ettlers would have starved. Later the maHor commercial trails were $embina to Red River and $embina to (t. $aul Minnesota Red River to <ort @llice Red River to 1arlton and <ort 1arlton to <ort des $rairies )now @dmonton*. #ith the demise of the great buffalo herds and the arrival of the railway the Metis were reduced to using their carts to pick buffalo bones. These were sold for processing sugar and making fertili!er and buttons.

Metis buffalo bone pickers at Minnewaukan Cakota Territory May 6+ 044A )Montana 3istorical (ociety*

/eorge M. Cawson +eneral Diary and ,ote )oo( 1 7!7 ++. ).n line http7IIwww.ourheritage.net accessed 5ovember 6- 6--B*

.rille 3augan %rmand Jerome and <abian Le1lair at Juno Beach <rance.

Red River Metis 3eritage group arrives at Batoche )Lawrence Barkwell 6--,*

Jatrina Barkwell beside cart $embina to #innipeg trek 6--6. )Lawrence Barkwell 6--6*

Bibliography7 Barkwell Lawrence J. Leah M. Corion and Carren R. $rKfontaine. Metis -e.acy& A Metis Historio.raphy and Annotated Bibliography. (askatoon7 /abriel Cumont Institute #innipeg7 $emmican $ublications and Louis Riel Institute 6--0. Barkwell Lawrence J. Leah M. Corion and %udreen 3ourie. Metis -e.acy, /olume T*o& Michif 0ulture, Herita.e and $ol(*ays. (askatoon7 /abriel Cumont Institute #innipeg7 $emmican $ublications 6--B. Brehaut 3.B. EThe Red River 1art and Trails The <ur Trade F Historical and 'cientific 'ociety of Manito1a (eries III 5o. 64 0:B0IB67 ,";,. 1oues @lliot ed. The Manuscript Journals of Alexander Henry and David Thompson, 1799-1 1!. Minneapolis M57 Ross ? 3aines Inc. 0:A,7 0:0. /ilman R.R. 1. /ilman and C.3. (tult!. The 2ed 2iver Trails, 1 34-1 745 (t. $aul7 Minnesota 3istorical (ociety $ublications 0:B:. Jno& .live. ERed River 1art.F The )eaver .utfit 6B6 0:+67 ;:"+;. Mayer <rank Blackwell . "ith #en and #encil on the $rontier in 1 %1& The Diary and '(etches of $ran( )lac(*ell Mayer. (t. $aul7 Minnesota 3istorical (ociety $ress 0:4A. Lrooman 5icholas 1.$. EThe Metis Red River 1art F in Journal of the "est Lol. +6 5o. 6 (pring 6--;7 4"6-.

Lawrence J. Barkwell 1oordinator of Metis 3eritage and 3istory Research Louis Riel Institute 0-;"0,- 3enry %venue #innipeg Manitoba R;B -JB