When the great MacTavish--the head of the Nor'-Westers--was there he was often opposed by the younger men, yet he ended the strife with his tyrannical will and silenced all opposition.
The Nor'-Westers at their meeting, July, 1814, under Honorable William McGillivray, after whom Fort William was named, decided to oppose the Colony and sent two of their most aggressive men to meet force with force, and to give Miles Macdonell, the new Dictator, either by arms or by craft, the reward for his tyranny, as they regarded it.
The whole body of the traders were incensed against Lord Selkirk, for had not one of the chief Nor'-Wester partners written two years before from London saying, "Lord Selkirk must be driven to abandon his project, for his success would strike at the very existence of our trade." The two men chosen at the gathering in Grand Portage were well fitted for their work.

Most forward was Alexander Macdonell.

On his journey writing to a friend he said: "Much is expected of us....

So here is at them with all my heart and energy." But the master-mind was his companion Duncan Cameron who, as a leader, stands out in the conflicts of the times as a determined man, of great executive ability, but of fierce and over-bearing disposition.

The Nor'-Westers, having planned bloodshed, all agreed that Duncan Cameron was well chosen.