0}

Selkirk's genial presence and his magnanimity of character quickly
banished any prejudices which the colonists had formed against him. In
view of the hardships they had endured, he divided among them, free of
all dues, some additional land. To the discharged soldiers he gave
land on both sides of the river. They were to live not far removed
from Fort Douglas, in order that they might give speedy aid in case of
trouble. The settlers were enjoined to open roads, construct bridges,
and build flour-mills at convenient places.

Meanwhile, the disturbances in the fur country were being considered in
the motherland. When news of the Seven Oaks affair and of other acts
of violence reached Great Britain, Lord Bathurst thought that the home
government should take action. He sent an official note to Sir John
Sherbrooke, the governor of Canada, instructing him to deal with the
situation. Sherbrooke was to see that the forts, buildings, and
property involved in the unhappy conflict should be restored to their
rightful owners, and that illegal restrictions on trade should be
removed. When Sherbrooke received this dispatch, in February 1817, he
selected two military {131} officers, Lieutenant-Colonel Coltman and
Major Fletcher, to go to the Indian Territories in order to arbitrate
upon the questions causing dissension. The two commissioners left
Montreal in May, escorted by forty men of the 37th regiment. From
Sault Ste Marie, Coltman journeyed on ahead, and arrived at 'the Forks'
on July 5. In Montreal he had formed the opinion that Lord Selkirk was
a domineering autocrat. Now, however, he concluded after inquiry that
Selkirk was neither irrational nor self-seeking, and advised that the
accusations against him should not be brought into the courts. At the
same time he bound Selkirk under bail of L10,000 to appear in Canada
for trial. When Coltman returned to Lower Canada in the autumn of
1817, Sherbrooke was able to write the Colonial Office that 'a degree
of tranquility' had been restored to the Indian Territories.

While in the west Lord Selkirk had gained the respect of the Indians,
and in token of their admiration they gave him the unusual name of the
'Silver Chief,' Selkirk was anxious to extinguish the ancient title
which the Indians had to the lands of Assiniboia, in order to prevent
future disputes. To effect this he brought together at Fort {132}
Douglas a body of chiefs who represented the Cree and Saul