Along with this the settlers gathered
quantities of a very succulent weed known as "fat-hen," and so were kept
alive. The Colonists knowing now what the soil could produce obtained
small quantities of grain and even with their defective means of
cultivation, in the next year demonstrated the fertility of the soil of
the country.
It was somewhat distressing to the Colonists again in 1813 to make the
journey of sixty miles to Pembina, trudging along the prairie trail, but
there was no other resource. The treatment of the Colonists by the
"Nor'-Westers" had not thus far been unfriendly and the Canadian traders
had even imported a few cattle, pigs, and poultry for the use of the
settlers, and for these favors Governor Macdonell expressed his hearty
thanks to the Montreal Company. The fatigues and mishaps of the journey
to Pembina were, however, only the beginning of trouble for the winter.
The reception by the French half-breed residents of Pembina was not now
so friendly as that of the previous winter. At first the Nor'-Wester
feeling had been one of contempt for the Colonists and pity for them in
their hunger and miseries. The building of Fort Daer was an evidence of
occupation that caused the jealous Canadian pioneers to pause.
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