94 THE ROARING FORTIES 



ican shore, cut her loose, and burned her. In 

 the slight skirmish that accompanied the sei 

 zure of the vessel an American was slain. No 

 further progress was made by the invading 

 party on the island, but the destruction of the 

 Caroline by British troops in American territory 

 caused a fierce wave of indignation to sweep 

 through the United States. To this incident, 

 more perhaps than to any other cause, was due 

 the prolongation of active movements against 

 Canada across the border. Popular feeling was, 

 of course, no less wrathful on one side of the 

 boundary than on the other; for the Canadians 

 were deeply irritated at the sympathy and con 

 nivance given by the Americans to the insur 

 gents. 



Diplomacy was prompt to take up the affair 

 of the Caroline, and urgent demands for repa 

 ration for the violation of American territory 

 were made by the United States upon the 

 British Government. The latter assumed re 

 sponsibility for the act as a regrettable but 

 necessary proceeding of defence in time of insur 

 rection and flagrant war, during which the United 

 States was a base of supplies for the enemy. 

 Negotiations dragged according to their wont 

 until a fresh incident gave an exciting impulse 



