The Bell of Batoche, stolen and hidden for a number of years, was on display at the St. Vital Museum Saturday.
The bell was taken in 1991 by a Manitoba Métis man from its long-time Ontario home. However, that was not the first time it traded hands.
Canadian soldiers were the first thieves of the bell, taking it from a Saskachewan church as a trophy after beating the Métis in the Battle of Batoche in 1885. It hung in Millbrook, Ontario for decades, cracking in a fire that burnt down the building that housed it.
“Then it went back to the (Millbrook) Legion,” said Bob Holliday, president of the St. Vital Historical Society. “And Billy Joe Delarond and another fellow ‘borrowed’ it and brought it back to Manitoba.”
Delarond returned the bell to Batoche earlier this month. It was then loaned to the St. Vital Museum in recognition of shared history of the communities.
Louis Riel organized the first Union Nationale Métisse in Batoche in 1884. The group was gifted the bell and named its guardian by Bishop Vital-Justin Grandin. The Manitoban Union Nationale Métisse was then set up in St. Vital, the city named after the Bishop, in 1887.
“So there’s a big St. Vital connection,” said Holliday.
Concerned that the bell might be stolen again, Holliday ensured it was locked up tight during its overnight stay at the museum Friday.
“It will be housed in the jail cell,” he said, “and the cellblock will be locked, the jail will be locked and the building will be locked and alarmed.
“Anybody who tries to pilfer it will have a great battle ahead of them.”
For Holiday, being the temporary keeper of the artifact is worth the hassle. “We’re just thrilled that we have the Bell of Batoche in our little museum.”
The bell will be on display at the St. Vital Museum until 3:00 p.m. Saturday. It will then be moved to the St. Boniface museum.
