mischief was then already done.

In its defence the Government urged that no half-breed had actually
been dispossessed of his river-front claim, and that many who were
demanding scrip had already received land in Manitoba. It contended
further that the agitation of the half-breeds was fanned by white
settlers in Prince Albert, eager to speculate in scrip, and hinted
darkly at mysterious forces and personages in the background, in Canada
and elsewhere. No attempt was made, however, to prove the truth of
these latter charges or to bring the guilty to justice. Doubtless the
grievances were not so great as to justify rebellion; the less excuse,
then, for not curing what was curable. Doubtless, also, this was not
the first time nor the last that a government lacked energy or vision,
and had it not been for the other factor in the situation, Louis Riel,
no heavy penalty might have followed. But unfortunately, luck or
Nemesis, the other factor was very much to the fore.

Wearied of unending delay, the Metis looked {79} again to Riel, then
living in exile in Montana. He was the one half-breed with any measure
of book-education and knowledge of the vague world beyond the Lakes.
Early in the summer of 1884 James Isbester, Gabriel Dumont, Moise
Ouellette, and Michel Dumas trudged seven hundred miles to Montana, and
laid their case before him. He needed little urging. The call
appealed strongly to his erratic ambition. His term of banishment had
expired, and he hastened to the Saskatchewan to organize the Metis.
Still the Government did not stir, though it knew the reckless daring
of Riel and the influence he wielded. Riel at once set to work to fan
the discontent into flame. Though the English-speaking half-breeds
drew back, he soon gained remarkable ascendancy over his
French-speaking compatriots. He preached a new religion, with himself
as prophet, threatened to dethrone the Pope, and denounced the local
priests who resisted his campaign. He held meeting after meeting, drew
up an extravagant Bill of Rights, and endeavoured to enlist the support
of the Indian tribes. Still all the Government did was to send, in
January 1885, a commission to take the census of the half-breeds,
preparatory to settling their claims. Yet, {80} speaking in the House
of Commons, on March 26, 1885, Sir John Macdonald made it clear that
the half-breeds could not get both Indian scrip and white man's
homestead. On the very day that this