Today is the anniversary of the 1885 execution of Louis Riel, the Métis "father of Canadian confederation."
It's not unusual in many towns across the country to find "a piece of the rope" used to hang Riel. In fact, these rope pieces are so common that it's said that if they were laid end to end, they would reach from Atlantic Canada to British Columbia.
A fitting, if somewhat grisly remembrance of one who has come to be seen as a patriot, despite having been convicted of and executed for treason.
