Their enmity towards Great Britain was compounded of quite different grievances.

Behind the recent Indian wars on the frontier they saw, or thought they saw, British paymasters.

The red trappers and hunters of the forest were bloodily defending their lands; and there was a long-standing bond of interest between them and the British in Canada.

The British were known to the tribes generally as fur traders, not "land stealers"; and the great traffic carried on by the merchants of Montreal, not only in the Canadian wilderness but also in the American Northwest, naturally drew Canadians and Indians into the same camp.

"On to Canada!" was the slogan of the frontiersmen.