The several attempts made to repossess themselves of the
strong hold of Quebec having, in every instance, been
met by discomfiture and disappointment, the French, in
despair, relinquished the contest, and, by treaty, ceded
their claims to the Canadas,--an event that was hastened
by the capitulation of the garrison of Montreal, commanded
by the Marquis de Vaudreuil, to the victorious arms of
General Amherst. Still, though conquered as a people,
many of the leading men in the country, actuated by that
jealousy for which they were remarkable, contrived to
oppose obstacles to the quiet possession of a conquest
by those whom they seemed to look upon as their hereditary
enemies; and in furtherance of this object, paid agents,
men of artful and intriguing character, were dispersed
among the numerous tribes of savages, with a view of
exciting them to acts of hostility against their conquerors.
The long and uninterrupted possession, by the French, of
those countries immediately bordering on the hunting
grounds and haunts of the natives, with whom they carried
on an extensive traffic in furs, had established a
communionship of interest between themselves and those
savage and warlike people, which failed not to turn to
account the vindictive views of the former. The whole of
the province of Upper Canada at that time possessed but
a scanty population, protected in its most flourishing
and defensive points by stockade forts; the chief object
of which was to secure the garrisons, consisting each of
a few companies, from any sudden surprise on the part of
the natives, who, although apparently inclining to
acknowledge the change of neighbours, and professing