Bois-Brûlés

The song is about "General" James Dickson who planned to raise an army of Bois-Brûlés for the purpose of setting up a kingdom in California.

[3] William H. Keating described a group of Métis buffalo hunters he encountered at Pembina by the Red River of the North in 1823 as Bois brulés.

The Bois brulés often dispense with a hat; when they have one, it is generally variegated in the Indian manner, with feathers, gilt lace, and other tawdry ornaments.Later in the 19th century, the people in 1869 came into temporary prominence during the Riel Rebellion in the Red River area.

[5] They were alternatively called Métis; historically the majority were descendants of French Canadian men and First Nations women.

The young Canadian adventurer Martin McLeod, later a fur trader and Minnesota Territory politician in the United States, referred to the "Brules" in 1837 in his journal of travel to the Red River of the North region with James Dickson, who had a dream of an Indian empire.