By modern standards， the North-West Rebellion seems no big deal. Canadian forces easily quelled the uprising of a couple of hundred Metis settlers along the South Saskatchewan River. A majority of Metis in the region sat out the fighting， and only about one hundred persons died in the conflict. （Although that figure of one hundred deaths was significant in this sparsely populated region.）

　　The importance of the North-West Rebellion， apart from establishing the ability of Canadian government to successfully carry out a military action far from its center of power， is symbolic. As has been often noted by historians， the debate over the North-West Rebellion and the subsequent trial of Louis Riel reveals the tensions that continue to distinguish Canada： east versus west， native versus non-native， French-speaking versus English-speaking， American versus Canadian. Over time， Louis Riel has been seen as "a demagogic madman，" as an innocent victim of Prime Minister John Macdonald's fanaticism， or as a martyred national-liberation leader. None of these characterizations is entirely accurate； each contains some measure of truth. The North-West Rebellion and the trial of Louis Riel is best understood as the product of a particular place and time： the Canadian frontier， in a time when civilization and its institutions confronted the traditions of a more primitive people.

　　The North-West Rebellion had its roots in an earlier crisis. In March 1869， The Hudson's Bay Company owner of a large swath of land called Rupert's Land （including present-day Manitoba and Saskatchewan）， agreed to sell most of its land to the Canadian Government in return for 300，000 pounds in cash and land grants totaling seven million acres. Before the transfer became effective on December 1， decisions had to be made what to do with the 12，000 settlers living in the Red River area of Rupert's Land， near present-day Winnipeg. About four-fifths of these settlers were Metis， persons of mixed white （usually French） and Indian ancestry.

　　When a Canadian survey team showed up in the Red River region in the fall of 1869， local residents became concerned about what the impending transfer might mean for their independent lifestyle. Louis Riel， one of the few English-speaking Metis， persuaded the surveyors to abandon their mission and set about organizing his neighbors to oppose the appointment of William McDougall as the new lieutenant-governor to run the Red River settlement. Riel took the offensive， seizing Fort Garry， a fort on the Red River owned by the Hudson's Bay Company， and then forming a provisional government with himself as the president. In March 1870， a provisional court court-martialed for treason， sentenced to death， and executed Thomas Scott， the most unrepentantly racist and uncooperative member of a group that had attempted to re-take Fort Garry from Riel's government. News of Scott's execution infuriated English-speaking Canadians in Ontario， many of whom loudly called for his head. In June 1870， Canadian negotiators reached agreement with Riel's government to establish a new province to be called Manitoba. Settlers were promised the right to retain their land， and and additional 1.4 million acres within the province were pledged to be reserved for future Metis possession. When word， however， reached Riel that the amnesty he thought had been promised in the negotiations was not forthcoming， he fled to the Dakota Territory in the United States.

　　The next several years saw Riel go in and out of Canada， and in and out of the Canadian Parliament. For periods of time， he lived in Minnesota and in northern New York， but he continued to be drawn to Metis politics. In October 1873， even with an outstanding warrant for his arrest， Riel won election to the Canadian Parliament. He traveled to Ottawa with plans to take his seat， but fearful of arrest and with a $5000 reward posted for his capture， he decided to return instead to the United States. In February 1874， Riel won the seat again， even though he was hiding in Montreal， far from his Red River home， at the time. Fellow legislators， calling him a "fugitive from justice，" voted to expel Riel two months later， but that didn't stop Metis voters from giving him the unclaimed seat back for a third time in September. Tired of dealing with the Riel issue and anxious to put the 1869-70 problems behind them， legislators voted in 1875 to grant amnesty for participants in the Red River uprising——but in Riel's case the amnesty was conditioned on his agreeing to a five-year banishment from Canada.

　　Shortly after meeting with President Grant in Washington to discuss the plight of his people in Canada， Riel claimed to have a vision in which God appointed him as his "prophet of the new world." Growing signs on mental problems followed. To some people， Riel proclaimed himself the Biblical King David. He also had a propensity for ripping his clothes off， explaining that it was beautiful， as Adam and Eve did before the first sin， to be nude. These and other unusual claims and practices landed Riel in an asylum near Montreal in March 1876. He would remain there until February 1878.

　　Meanwhile， back in western Canada， several thousand Metis migrated from Manitoba to lands near the Saskatchewan River. Following Metis custom， the settlers claimed long， narrow lots， almost all with river footage. Problems arose when， in the summer of 1878， Canadian government surveyors working in the area adopted the English system of square lots， plotted without regard to river access. When Gabriel Dumont requested the area be resurveyed to conform to Metis notions of workable lots， the Government Lands Office dismissed the idea， citing the great cost of conducting a second survey. In addition to complaints about the shape of lots， Metis expressed frustration over having to wait three or more years to receive title to land and argued that they were entitled to land grants similar to those provided in the Manitoba Act. Anger among the Metis simmered until the summer of 1884 when a delegation， led by Gabriel Dumont， traveled to St. Peter's Mission， Montana.

　　The reason for the delegation's visit to the United States was to recruit Louis Riel， who had settled into a teaching position at the Mission following his release from a second Canadian asylum， to assist them in their struggle with the Canadian government. Riel responded to the call， and headed north to the small river town of Batoche. By March 1885， after having found little success in petitioning Ottawa for a redress of grievances， Riel took the radical step of calling a meeting in a local church where he called for a vote on setting up a provisional government， which Riel called "the Exovedate" （from Latin， meaning "out of the flock"）， and taking up arms against the Canadian government. At the same time， Riel announced his intention to establish a new church under a new pope， Bishop Bourget of Montreal. He assured followers that God will help the members of his flock as his new chosen people， and engaged in a ritual in which he breathed the "Holy Spirit" into each person declaring support for his cause.

　　The first violence of the 1885 North-West Rebellion erupted on March 26 when a party led by Gabriel Dumont， on a mission to a general store by Duck Lake， encountered two mounties. The Metis rebels chased the mounties as they raced to rejoin a larger group of CMP. As Dumont and his band fired shots over their heads， the mounties retreated to Fort Carlton. Meanwhile， the rebels returned to Batoche where they gathered more men and then headed back toward Duck Lake. When the rebels met the mounties， the mounties drew their sleighs into a defensive circle. Two rebels approached the mounties under a white flag， but fighting erupted and the mounties shot both men. The killing of the two rebels led to a fire fight that left twelve mounties and five rebels dead， with others on both sides seriously wounded.

　　When word of the Duck Lake violence reached Prime Minister MacDonald， he ordered that 2，000 Canadian troops be sent west over the still-uncompleted rail lines of the Canadian Pacific. By mid-April， the troops， led by Major-General Frederick Middleton， arrived in Qu'Appelle， 175 miles southeast of Batoche. The arrival of the troops came after a massacre of nine whites at Frog Lake earlier in the month had dramatically increased tensions in the area.

　　The troops encountered their first fighting on April 24 near Fish Creek， as Middleton was leading the men north toward Batoche. Dumont and about 200 rebels had hid above a ravine looking down on Fish Creek， hoping to ambush the Canadian soldiers. A scout foiled the plan when he spotted the rebels in the woods. Before long， the Canadian troops were commanding the higher ground firing down into the woods where the rebels had sought refuge. By the end of the day， six Canadian soldiers lay dead and another forty-nine wounded. The rebels lost four men——and forty-five horses.

　　The climactic battle between the badly-outnumbered rebels and Middleton's troops began on May 9 near Batoche. As a gunboat carrying troops steamed up the Saskatchewan River， other troops marched over land to the rebel-held town. Knowing the rebels were pinned down and low on ammunition， Middleton was content to led the fighting drag on for several days. By May 12， when it became apparent that the rebels ammunition was all but gone， the troops charged. Many rebels， including Riel， fled into the woods north of town in the face of the