hin old
Fort Henry at Kingston; and, {28} in recognition of his error, he left
in his will a sum of money to benefit the families of those on the
British side who had lost their lives through his invasion. Of his
followers, some were hanged, some were transported to Tasmania, and
some were set free. During that winter the 'Hunters' made various
other attacks along the border, which were defeated with little effort.
Though now the danger seems to have been slight, it did not seem slight
to the rulers of the Canadas at that time. The numbers and the power
of the 'Hunters' were not known; the sympathy of the American people
was with them, especially while the filibusters were being tried at
drum-head court-martial and hanged; and there was imminent danger of
the United States being hurried by popular clamour into a war with
Great Britain.

All through the summer of 1838 the rebel leaders in the United States
had been plotting for a new insurrection. They were by no means
convinced that their cause was lost. Disaffection was kept alive in
parts of Lower Canada and the habitants were fed with hopes that the
armed assistance of American sympathizers would ensure success for a
second attempt at independence. It may be {29} the sheerest accident
of dates; but Durham took ship at Quebec on the first of November, and
Dr Robert Nelson was declared president of the Canadian republic at
Napierville on the fourth. A copy of Nelson's proclamation preserved
in the Archives at Ottawa furnishes clear evidence of the aims and
intentions of the Canadian radicals: they wanted nothing less than a
separate, independent republic, and they solemnly renounced allegiance
to Great Britain. At two points near the American boundary-line,
Napierville and Odelltown, the loyal militia and regulars clashed with
the rebels and dispersed them. Once more the jails were filled, which
the mercy of Durham had emptied. Once more the cry was raised for
rebel blood, and the winter sky was red with the flame of burning
houses which had sheltered the insurgents. Hundreds of French
Canadians fled across the border; and from this year dates the
immigration from Quebec into New England which has had such an
influence on its manufacturing cities and such a reaction on the
population which remained at home. Another fruit of this ill-starred
rebellion was the haunting dirge of Gerin-Lajoie, _Un Canadien errant_.
Twelve of the leaders were {30} tried for tre