Several
places were gutted and demolished; in other cases property
was destroyed, and some establishments were set on fire."
All this while Major Morris and his police, and nearly
two hundred able bodied men, with 200 rifles and plenty
of ammunition were cooped up in the Fort, peeping out at
the squaws pillaging the town. It seems a little illogical
that we should call out our young men from Halifax, from
Quebec, from Montreal, from Kingston, from Ottawa, and
from the other cities that put forces into the field, to
go out into the far wilderness to protect property, when
able-bodied men with arms in their hands stood by and
watched unmoved a body of savages and squaws pillage
their town, and give their property to the flames. It
was to relieve this town that Colonel Otter made the
brilliant march, upon which writers and orators have not
been able to bestow enough of eulogy.
CHAPTER XV.
After the defeat of the police and civilians at Duck
Lake, Riel and Dumont felt thoroughly confident of being
able to deal with the forces which they were apprised
the Canadian Government would send into the field against
them. They held many long consultations together, and
in every case it was Dumont who laid down the details of
the military campaign. "These Canadian soldiers," he
would say, "can not fight us here. We will entrench
ourselves in positions against which they may fire cannon
or gatling guns in vain.
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