Gabriel Dumont

[http://www.alittlehistory.com/Mtfullst.htm]

http://assumption.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/singleitem/collection/p170... ___________________________

His family were at various times involved in farming, trading, hunting and trapping in what is now the province of Saskatchewan. Gabriel was raised a Métis, learning both French Catholic and Cree customs. By the time he was 12, he was considered an accomplished shot with both gun and bow, and was well known as a master horseman. In 1848, the Dumont family moved south to the area of Regina, Saskatchewan. Dumont, and his older brother Isidore, became buffalo hunters. Over time, Dumont learned six languages, and established a reputation as a guide, hunter and interpreter. He was also famed for his drinking and gambling. Dumont participated in skirmishes with First Nations, including the Blackfoot and Sioux. Dumont married in 1858, in Dakota territory. Unlike her husband, Madeleine spoke English. They never had children. In some places it states that they adopted a son and a daughter

Gabriel Dumont (December, 1837 – May 19, 1906) was a leader of the Métis people of what is now western Canada. In 1873 Dumont was elected to the presidency of the short-lived commune of St. Laurent; afterward he continued to play a leading role among the Métis of the South Saskatchewan River. He played a critical role in bringing Louis Riel back to Canada, in order to pressure the Canadian authorities to pay attention to the troubles of the Métis people. He was adjutant general in the provisional Métis government declared in Saskatchewan in 1885, and commanded the Métis forces in the North-West Rebellion or North West Resistance of 1885.

Following the defeat at Batoche Dumont made his way via the Cypress Hills to Montana where he surrendered to the U.S. Cavalry. However, the U.S. Government determined that he was a political refugee and he was shortly released.

In 1886, Dumont joined Buffalo Bill's Wild West where he received top billing as a rebel leader and crack marksman. Although the Canadian Government granted a general amnesty in the summer of 1886, Dumont did not return to Canada until 1888, in order to lecture in Montreal. He retired to Batoche in 1893 eventually obtaining title to the lands he had settled in 1872. He returned to his former life as a farmer, hunter and trapper, and dictated two memoirs of his experiences in the rebellion. He died from natural causes in 1906.