It happened that in the town of Terrebonne, where the little F. X. Matthieu was living, there was a highly educated civil officer, a notary public—the office of notary then being a profession that required special legal, and classical education. The name of this notary was Velade; and, besides his official duties, he was schoolmaster, receiving a small stipend from the government, and nominal fees from his pupils. Velade was a student of government, and a great admirer of the United States. American liberty and law as developed in this country, he taught in his school almost to the entire neglect of the Canadian system. This he not only taught, but actually instituted. Every term his school held an election after the American plan. Some of the boys also regularly celebrated the Fourth of July, carrying American flags. This was in connection with some young men from the United States who had come to Terrebonne, and started a nail factory. With this extreme Americanism, however, the townspeople were not altogether pleased, and sometimes broke up their demonstrations.
While still a mere boy, Matthieu went to Montreal, where he was engaged in clerking, and there acquired a certain impress and manner that distinguishes him even yet from the farmer. Being already imbued with ideas of free government, it was easy for him to find and join the Sons of Liberty—a secret organization auxiliary to the party called “Democrats,” who opposed the “Bureaucrats.”
The Sons of Liberty, or patriots, carried their movement to the point of armed resistance. They drilled regularly in secret, using sticks for guns; and at night met in secluded places to make cartridges and mould bullets. Mr. Matthieu has preserved to this day his old bullet mould, used at that time, which he has now presented to the Oregon Historical Society. He was himself a very useful member of the Sons of Liberty, since, being a store clerk, he could procure lead and powder more easily than some others. One of the services of this company was to guard the house of Papineau, whose appeals he heard in public, and whose boldness was bringing on the threatened crisis.
As is well known, however, the movement collapsed. Before a blow was struck, many of the Sons of Liberty were placed under arrest and executed. Mr. Matthieu recalls the hanging of sixteen patriots in one market place, tied in pairs, back to back. Though then a youth of not twenty years old, he was himself in danger of the same fate and sought safety at Terrebonne. While here, almost in hiding, he was approached by a certain Doctor Frasier, a Scotchman, holding some government position, and who, as it happened, was an uncle of Dr. John McLoughlin, then Hudson’s Bay chief factor at Fort Vancouver, Oregon Territory. Matthieu was asked why he did not leave Canada.