Book Description

Batoche is a collection of poems by Kim Morrissey which deal with the events leading up to and surrounding the Northwest Rebellion of 1885. Kim Morrissey presents the basic facts of several well documented historical events - the Duck Lake Massacre (March 26, 1885), the skirmish at Fish Creek (April 24, 1885) and the battle at Batoche (May 9-12, 1885) which comprise the Northwest Rebellion. However, the author assumes a different perspective in retelling the story of the Metis uprising. Morrissey interprets the events through the eyes of some of their participants. Some of the characters are well-known such as Louis Riel, Gabriel Dumont and General Middleton. Others are the lesser known or the often forgotten participants of this intriguing period of history. One such individual is Marguerite Riel (Louis' wife who is usually overlooked by the history books), who is left sick and alone with two small children to raise following the hanging of her husband. From the words of an anonymous soldier in Middleton's force writing a letter to his family in eastern Canada, to an interpretation of the events through the eyes of one of Riel's children to the aftermath of the rebellion on the Batoche settlement, Batoche goes beyond the bare historical facts. Kim Morrissey has reconstructed history taking into account all the hopes and dreams of a people and the rumours and prejudices of an era.