A.N. McLeod now became the superior officer in the Fort and made
preparation for defending it. He himself occupied the late Governor
Semple's quarters and passed out compliments to white and native alike,
praising them for their daring, their adroitness and their success. A
great meeting was then gathered in the Governor's apartments and a levee
was held at which all of the servants and employees of the Company were
present, and in a speech McLeod told the audience that the English had
no right to build upon their lands without their permission--a new
doctrine surely.
Leaving Fort Douglas McLeod with his officers and the Bois-brules all
mounted, made an imposing procession up to the site of old Fort
Gibraltar. Here Peguis, now the chief of the Saulteaux who had shown
such kindness to the settlers was camped, and to him and his followers
McLeod showed his great displeasure. The Indian always loved the
British-man, whom on the west coast he called, "King Shautshman," or
King George's man.
The Indian is taciturn, unemotional, and cautious. He knew that the
Bois-brules had assumed their garb and committed the outrage of Seven
Oaks, and therefore the tribe were unwilling to be under the stigma
being thrown upon them.
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