Open fighting broke out between the disgruntled Métis and the North-West Mounted Police along with hastily raised militia on March 18 at Duck Lake.

However, Jackson's mental health was affected by the religious event, and by the turmoil and excitement of open rebellion, and within days, Riel imprisoned Jackson, perhaps thinking he had gone insane but also fearing that his eccentric religious ideas and his support for Henry George's radical philosophical ideas against private ownership of land may cause discord within his (Riel's) followers.

Once there, he changed his name to Honoré Jaxon and joined the labour union movement in Chicago, Illinois, and was active in socialist circles as well.

[4][5][6] He returned to Canada briefly between 1907 and 1909, spending some of the time interviewing former participants of the Rebellion and addressing labour/socialist meetings.

He collected books, newspapers, and pamphlets relating to the Métis people in an attempt to establish in their honour a museum in New York.