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Salomon Boucher.1(b. 1862)

Salomon was born at St. Franois Xavier, the son of Jean Baptiste Boucher Sr. andCaroline Lesperance. He married Rose Marie Ouellette, the daughter of Mose Ouellette

and Isabelle Dumont. On November 19, 1883 he had signed a petition protesting the 1883

Order in Council transferring the Metis lands at St. Louis to the Prince AlbertColonization Company.

Salomon was a member of Captain Corbet Flamants company, one of the 19dizaines led by Gabriel Dumont during the 1885 Metis Resistance. The Provisional

Council minutes of April 16, 1885 show an order for Salomon Boucher, Modeste

Rocheleau and Franois Vermette to go and hunt up men, arms and ammunition as far asthe McIntosh farm and its neighborhood.2

In Father Cloutiers journal there is a story related by Salomon regarding the fighting

at Touronds Coulee.

Around 10:00 oclock a man appears between the cannon and medressed in

grey and with a beltSalomon Boucher thinks that it is one of his (men) hewatches him a time scrutinizing his surroundingsSal shows his head and the top of

his chestthis grey one puts him in his sights, but Sal does not give him the time to

aima short time later Sal receives a bullet through his hatshort time later, a manshows himself (a target at 200 yards) Sal shoots three shots and three times the man

bends his head. He sets the target at 100 yards and hits him; the soldier falls on his

back with his arms stretched outthis one was at the place where the Sioux was hit

the first. Another (soldier) follows and has the same endthe Metis crygood,good, back down to earth, back down to earth.3

Jerome Henry was wounded at about 10 a.m. near Salomon Boucher; it wasSalomon who dressed his wound.4

Lepine reported: I had fun to watch James Short and Salomon Boucher firing: they

fired like they were sighting pheasantstaking their time.5

During the first evening at Touronds Coulee Salomon Boucher and James Short

were the only ones awake for a long timeduring a certain time before sleeping (some ofthe men) shot in the air without aiming, while blocking their ears (and) James Short

turned and said to them; My God are you ever stupid.6

1 A signator to the November 19th, 1883, William Bremner petition from St. Louis de Langevin for a survey

and patents to their land.2

Canada Sessional Papers, Minutes of the Provisional Government, April 1885. 1886, Vol. 13, (No. 43),

pp. 41-49.3 Gabriel Cloutier, P.A., V.G.Journal de labb Cloutier, Vols. 1 and 2, 1885. Archives de lArchevch de

Saint-Boniface (AASB), Vol. 2: pp. 16-17.4 Cloutier, op citVol. 2, p. 17.5 Cloutier, op citVol. 2, p. 19.6 Cloutier, op citVol. 2, p. 17.

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Elie Dumont mentions Boucher as a member of a group of seven men fighting as a

unit on the fourth day of battle at Batoche.7The group consisted of Elie Dumont, PatriceTourond, Baptiste Deschamps, Edward Fitcall, Modeste Laviolette, Patrice Dumont and

Salomon Boucher.

Edited and Compiled by Lawrence Barkwell

Coordinator of Metis Heritage and History Research

Louis Riel Institute

7 Cloutier, op citVol. 2, p. 108.

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