Before many suns had set, this company of dusky warriors
had brought their canoes to shore near the swift rapids
which run by Montreal. The news of their coming was
received with enthusiasm by the officers stationed at
this place. Every friendly addition to the British ranks
was of value now that war had begun. Sir Guy Carleton,
the governor of Canada, was especially delighted that
these bronzed stalwarts had made their appearance. He
prized the abilities of the Indians in border warfare,
and their arrival now might be of importance, since the
local Canadian militia had not responded to the call to
arms. The French seigneurs and clergy were favourable to
the king's cause, but the habitants on the whole were
not interested in the war, and Carleton's regular troops
consisted of only eight hundred men of the Seventh and
Twenty-Sixth regiments.

No time was lost by the governor in summoning the redskins
to an interview. Chief Brant, it appears, was the leading
spokesman for the Indians on this occasion, and a sentence
or two of the speech made by Carleton has been preserved
by Brant himself. 'I exhort you,' was Carleton's earnest
request of the Indians, 'to continue your adherence to
the King, and not to break the solemn agreement made by
your forefathers, for your own welfare is intimately
connected with your continuing the allies of his Majesty.'
In reply the Indians asserted once more their ancient
pledges. 'We acknowledged,' said Brant, 'that it would
certainly be the best in the end for our families and