The Cypress Hills, what is now southern Saskatchewan, was a good environment, wooded and well watered. This area had been inhabited by the First Nations for a very long time. By May of 1873, fifty lodges of Assiniboin people were in close proximity to two posts operated by Montana traders. However, by late May, relations between the camp and the forts were especially tense. On June 1, 1873, traders and wolf hunters attacked the camp. Thirty Assiniboin people died. Women, children, and at least twenty men were killed. The Cypress Hills Massacre enraged the whole Canada. They wanted Americans to respect their sovereignty. After this massacre, the NWMP sent 300 officers into the prairies to institute control and ensure peace over the area.