"
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. He had been a
leading explorer and trader in the Lake Superior district and knew the
fur traders' route as few others did. His well-nigh thirty years of
service made him a man of outstanding influence in the Company.
Moreover, he could be bland and jovial. He had the Celtic adroitness. He
knew how to ingratiate himself with every class and possessed all the
devices of an envoy. His appearance and dress at Red River were notable.
Having had some rank as a U.E. Loyalist leader in the war of 1812, he
came to the Forks dressed in a scarlet military coat with all the
accoutrements of a Captain in the Army. He even made display of his
Captain's Commission by posting it at the gate of Fort Gibraltar.
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