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Roblin's daughter donates Riel rope

Believed to have been used in hanging of Métis leader

By: Larry Kusch

Tuesday, Sep. 25, 2012 at 9:01 AM | Comments: 0

Phil Hossack / Winnipeg Free Press Philippe Mailhot displays the rope and old envelope in which it was stored.

In August 2010, a few months after Duff Roblin died, the former premier's daughter, Jennifer, visited the St. Boniface Museum carrying an important historical artifact.

It wasn't a piece of Roblin memorabilia she was donating -- but a relic dating back to the time of Louis Riel, Manitoba's founding father, that her dad had kept for more than four decades.

Inside an aged envelope lay a tiny clump of rope strands, each no longer than 10 to 12 centimetres. On one side of the envelope was written, "Rope that hung Riel." There was more text explaining how it had been passed on by a Capt. Young in 1885 to J.B. Silcox, a protestant minister, in Winnipeg. On the other side of the envelope were the words: "Given to Duff Roblin on May 6, 1969 by the grandson of J.B. Silcox."

Philippe Mailhot, director of the museum, said Monday the artifact is not yet available for viewing at the Tache Avenue institution, which already boasts the largest Louis Riel collection on display anywhere. But he expects it will be by the next Louis Riel Day on Feb. 18, 2013.

The museum already possesses Riel's coffin, the hood that was wrapped around his head before he was hanged, a pair of his moccasins, a shaving kit and other personal items. It even has a 22-cm piece of hangman's rope that, the story has it, arrived in St. Boniface inside the coffin alongside his body. But the authenticity of the rope has not been well-established.

Mailhot said the discovery of the rope strands is significant because of how they were passed down through the years.

The Capt. Young referred to on the envelope is likely Capt. George H. Young, who commanded the unit that escorted Riel from Batoche, Sask.,upon the conclusion of the Northwest Rebellion, to Regina, where the Métis leader was tried for treason and hanged.

J.B. Silcox was a minister in the Congregational Church and was "not a fan" of Riel, said Mailhot.

"Capt. George Young was a known historical figure having played a known historical role in the events (of 1885)," Mailhot said, adding he was well-placed to have either witnessed the hanging or have access to the rope afterwards.

"Contextually, it holds water for me," he said, of the likely authenticity of the strands.

Jennifer Roblin could not be reached for comment on Monday.

Mailhot said he wants to compare the strands of rope donated by the Roblin family to three small pieces of rope thought to be used in Riel's hanging in an RCMP museum in Regina.

Jodi Ann Eskritt, curator of the RCMP's historical collection unit, said she will help the St. Boniface museum director in any way she can. "I think he's got a pretty good chance that, yes, that is a genuine piece of the rope," she said Monday. At least as genuine as can be determined without DNA testing.

"For those of us who are history buffs... that is very, very exciting," Eskritt said of the latest find. "It is a very unique moment to touch the real thing and to have the real thing."

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca

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