TERRIBLE FIGHTS OVER THE BORDER
The Marquis de Jonquière was released at last from his English prison
and sailed away to succeed Galissonière as Governor of Canada.
Jonquière's term of office is looked back upon with shame by the
people of Canada, but is it strange that the servants of King Louis
the Fifteenth in any quarter of the world where the French flag yet
flew should be animated by low motives and a desire for gain? See
what an example their monarch set them! Jonquière was an able man,
but he was mercenary, and thought only of lining his own pockets and
those of his creatures with the profits of the Canadian fur trade.
With him went Francis Bigot to fill the important office of
Intendant. Bigot's is one of the most infamous names in French
Canadian annals. He was a lawyer, ambitious, intelligent, and fond
of luxury and display. Yet with all his intelligence he fell easily
a prey to the wiles of a certain Madame Péan, who turned the King's
service to her private advantage. Servants, lackeys, upstarts were,
by her influence, placed in responsible positions. If they happened
to be ignorant and dishonest, it was no bar to their promotion.
Taxes were multiplied and the {194} poor people of Canada were made
to suffer. Bigot and his official band of robbers held office to the
last moment of French dominion in Canada, but Jonquière died in the
midst of his peculations and money-making schemes.
In 1752 his successor, the Marquis Duquesne, appeared on the scene.
Before setting out from France, the new Governor had been ordered to
arrest the pretensions of the English to the Ohio and western region
and drive them from the territory. No English were to be allowed to
carry on trade there. Duquesne began by sending out 300 Canadian
Militia to build a French fort on Lake Erie, the command of which was
afterwards given to Legardeur de St. Pierre. A second fort was built
twenty miles away.
In the meantime the English colonists continued to cast their eyes
lovingly on this great and fertile region to the west. Almost every
month exploring parties went out, and returned full of enthusiastic
reports of its commercial advantages. By and by a body was formed
called the Ohio Company, including amongst its members many of the
leading men of Virginia. To this Company King George granted 500,000
acres, on condition that 100 families should be settled on the
territory within seven years and that a fort should be built.
Seeing this, the Pennsylvanians became jealous of Virginia and formed
plans to secure the Ohio region for themselves. Each told different
and conflicting stories to the Indians. The Virginians tried to stir
up suspicion against the Pennsylvanians, {195} and the Pennsylvanians
retorted by creating distrust of the Virginians. The result of all
this was that the tribes, who up to now had been faithful to England,
began to look suspiciously upon the actions and the policy of both
these colonies. All this, of course, was playing into the hands of
the French. An English fort or two was built, but in spite of the
efforts of the Governors of New York, Pennsylvania, and Virginia,
very little was done for several years to assert English sovereignty.
The qualities the Indians admire are vigour and courage. When the
tribes saw the bold and daring efforts of Canada to Frenchify the
western country, they were naturally led to range themselves on the
Canadian side.
All that happened during the next few years, of the battles and
skirmishes, the forts that were taken, and the massacres that were
carried out, does not properly belong to Canadian history. It must,
however, be mentioned that it was at this time, when Governor
Duquesne in his citadel at Quebec was rejoicing at the prospect of
bringing the western region under French rule, that we first hear of
a young Virginian whose name was destined to be world famous. The
name of this youth was George Washington. He was only twenty-one
years of age when Governor Dinwiddie of Virginia sent him to
expostulate with a party of French Canadians who had just captured an
English trading fort. Getting no satisfaction from the Commandant
there, young Washington went on to Fort Le Breuf, where, as we have
seen, Legardeur de St. Pierre was in charge. {196} St. Pierre
received Washington courteously, but could not give him any
satisfaction. The French were there, and there they meant to stay,
in spite of all the English protests. It was now plain that there
was serious trouble looming ahead. All these proceedings being
reported to England, at last, after many delays, King George's
ministers decided to send a large force to America to drive the
French back across the Canadian border. The command of this force
was given to General Braddock, a stern and peppery old soldier,
wholly ignorant of Indian warfare. Before Braddock could cross the
Atlantic with his regiments, English and French were at each other's
throats in earnest. The French had built Fort Duquesne, and Colonel
Washington, with a force of regulars and backwoodsmen, was sent to
capture it. A bloody battle was fought, in which Washington was
defeated; and now the Indians were more than ever on the French side.
But the schemes and labour of the last three years had undermined
Governor Duquesne's health, and a new Viceroy appeared in Quebec.
This was the Marquis de Vaudreuil, a native of Canada, whose father
had formerly also been Governor.
Vaudreuil entered with spirit upon the duties of his office. He
needed all his faculties, for stirring times were in prospect.
General Braddock and his Englishmen were in the north awaiting
soldiers who were crossing the Atlantic. The French were also
resolved to maintain what their Canadian advance guard had won.
Field-Marshal Baron Dieskau was appointed to command six regiments of
French {197} soldiers who left their native shores in a squadron of
fourteen battleships, four frigates, and many transports.
You must remember that during all this time there had been no war.
If you had asked any of the French courtiers or ambassadors they
would have told you that perfect peace existed between the two
nations. But that was only a diplomatic fiction. At all events,
whatever was happening in Europe between Old France and Old England,
on the other side of the great ocean New France and New England were
engaged in a life-and-death conflict. It was not strange that the
hand of both mother-countries was extended to help them. Only if
England could have looked into the future five-and-twenty years and
seen her ungrateful American children tearing down her noble old flag
with taunts and insults, perhaps she might not have given her help or
spilt her blood so freely to protect America from the French. After
all, it may be as well that nations do not know all the evils that
are to happen. Their course is to do their duty manfully and
honestly for the present; posterity can take care of itself.
Moreover, the separation of America from England was no real evil,
because that separation was to build the foundation of Canada's
greatness in the British Empire and loyalty to the British crown and
flag.
On the arrival of General Braddock the various colonial Governors
held a consultation. They decided that the three forts, Duquesne,
Niagara, and Crown Point, at the head of Lake Champlain, should be
captured. We have already seen that another {198} French fort,
Beauséjour, was doomed to destruction. It was while Beauséjour was
being surrounded by Monckton and his New Englanders that the other
expeditions were setting out for their destinations. Braddock
decided to take Fort Duquesne himself. Governor Shirley led the
expedition against Niagara, and Colonel William Johnson was ordered
to take Crown Point. Braddock took 1000 English veterans and 1200
Virginian Militia into the heart of the wilderness. The commander of
Fort Duquesne was Contrecoeur. When he was told the size of
Braddock's army he saw little hope of standing a siege, but he might
intercept the English soldiers in the woods. It was a splendid
opportunity for the kind of warfare Indians loved. Two hundred
Frenchmen and 500 redskins were sent to lie in ambush on the trail
which Braddock would take with drums beating and fifes playing. On a
beautiful July day the scarlet-coated regiments of Braddock moved on
unconscious to their doom. Every moment they looked to see the great
walls of the Fort Duquesne burst upon their gaze. Through the forest
they came to the river, the Monongahela, and forded it. Hardly had
they crossed, when a strange apparition sprang into the middle of the
wide woodland path. He wore war-paint and flaming feathers, but in
spite of this dress he was really a French officer. He flung his
right arm into the air as a signal, and instantly the forest rang
with savage yells. A shower of bullets, fired by unseen hands, fell
upon the advancing English. Astonished and taken at such a
disadvantage, they yet did not hesitate to return the fire. The
intrepid French leader who had given the {199} signal so openly, paid
for that act with his life; but it was not easy to fight, however
valiantly, against a hidden foe. Braddock and his officers thought
it cowardly to fight behind trees; they charged hither and thither in
pursuit of the enemy, and were mowed down like grass. The troops
became at length huddled together in a panic, shooting, if they shot
at all, blindly and without aim. In vain did the General's
aide-de-camp, Washington, urge him to scatter his men singly under
cover. Braddock, on horseback, galloped fearlessly in every
direction ordering the ranks to advance. Not until four horses had
been shot dead beneath him did he order a retreat. The command had
scarcely passed his lips ere a bullet pierced his body, and he fell,
to rise no more. His last words were, "We shall know better how to
deal with them another time." The retreat soon became a disgraceful
flight. Arms, baggage, and artillery were abandoned. Yelling
Indians pursued them, only stopping in order to scalp the helpless
wounded. Had it not been for the hope of plunder, very few of the
British forces would have escaped death or captivity. Cannons,
stores, arms, and papers fell into the hands of the victorious
French. Upwards of sixty British officers had been killed, and of
all Braddock's army less than half took refuge in the English Fort
Cumberland.
Tidings of Braddock's defeat were carried by the swiftest couriers to
Canada, and there caused much rejoicing. The Marquis de Vaudreuil
sent the good news off at once to his King, but his letter never
reached its destination. The ship that bore it, _Le {200} Pierre
Alexandre_, was overhauled by an English man-of-war in August, and
the captain threw overboard the bag of Canadian letters. Not till
nearly two months after the battle had been fought did the news of
the victory reach France by way of England. But it was otherwise on
the American side of the border. It put an end at once to Shirley's
expedition against Niagara. For a time it was thought that the
attack on Crown Point would also be given up. It might have been had
it been entrusted to another man than Sir William Johnson. Johnson
was a settler on the Upper Hudson River. He had married Mollie
Brant, sister of the celebrated Chief Brant of the Mohawks, who had
acquired great influence with the Iroquois tribes in his locality,
and it was on his account that the Mohawks refrained from joining the
French. Johnson was not a skilled soldier, but he was wise and
daring. Braddock's papers, which had fallen into the hands of
Governor Vaudreuil at Quebec, convinced him that Crown Point would be
attacked.
Baron Dieskau was sent with 3500 men, half of them Canadian farmers,
to go to the defence of Crown Point. Johnson had behind him some
5000 men, raw Militia from Massachusetts and Connecticut. Before
attacking Crown Point, Johnson deemed it prudent to build another
fort on the Hudson, known as Fort Edward; from this fort he marched
to the foot of a large lake, to which he gave the name of his
sovereign, and there built Fort George. He was still engaged in
building it when the French general marched upon Fort Edward. A
scout brought {201} Johnson the news, and immediately he despatched
1000 men to oppose his defence. Dieskau, remembering the success of
the manoeuvres against the hapless Braddock, thought to repeat them
here. He arranged to keep his own men out of sight amongst the trees
and bushes until the enemy should pass by. Had this plan been
carried out it is probable that none of the English forces would have
escaped alive. But the redskins set up their war-whoops a little too
soon, and the English, seeing that they were about to fall into an
ambuscade, beat an instant retreat upon Fort Edward. Dieskau now
made a hasty resolve to bring the whole strength of his forces to
bear upon Fort George. Johnson had made this fort of great strength,
protecting it by forming trees into a sort of breastwork, from behind
which his cannons and musketry could be used with fatal effect, but
Dieskau was not to be turned aside. He ordered his troops to fling
themselves on the fort. Legardeur de St. Pierre was killed. Dieskau
led forth the French veterans unsupported, leaving the Canadians and
Indians scattered behind the trees. These, you will remember, were
precisely the tactics which had led to Braddock's defeat. The
soldiers advanced gallantly, and, like the English before Fort
Duquesne, were mowed down like grass. Dieskau's body was pierced by
three bullets. A Canadian who attempted to drag him from under the
walls of the fort was shot dead, falling across his General's legs.
None now came to his assistance. The French were beaten back and
Fort George was saved. The New England troops left their defences.
General Dieskau, while leaning {202} against a tree, suffering from
the wounds he had received, was fired at and again wounded by a
renegade French Canadian, who some years before had deserted.
Dieskau reproached him for firing on a wounded man, but the fellow
answered that it was better to kill the devil than be killed by him.
The French commander was carried to Johnson's own tent and treated
kindly. The Iroquois wanted to torture him to death, but Johnson
sternly refused. For this victory Johnson was made a Baronet and
presented with a purse of £5000. He had begun his career as a
private in the army, and had risen to distinction from sheer force of
character. As for Dieskau, he never recovered from his wounds, and
although he was carried back to France, it was only as a bedridden
invalid, to die.
The French still held the positions at Niagara and Crown Point.
Three out of the four English expeditions had failed to achieve their
purpose, the French remained undisputed masters of the Ohio valley,
and their victory over Braddock enabled them to attack the undefended
frontiers of Virginia and Pennsylvania. During the winter of 1755-6
French war-parties from Fort Duquesne repeatedly attacked the
settlements of the English, behaving very cruelly, and killing or
carrying away as prisoners more than 1000 souls. In spite of these
temporary successes of the French, Vaudreuil and the Indians were not
happy. All this fighting had drawn the farmers away from the soil,
and the harvest was very scanty. The necessaries of life became very
dear, but, worse than all, dishonesty and corruption were eating out
{203} the very heart of Canada. The Intendant Bigot was at the
height of his infamy; he descended to every trick of rascality to
achieve his ends.
Trade had almost ceased, the supply of beef given out, and the people
were reduced to eat horseflesh. As the famine increased the Governor
ordered flour to be given to the people; crowds attended at the
bakers' shops struggling to be served. At first they were given one
pound apiece, afterwards only half a pound. Owing to the scarcity of
money, the promises to pay, written on cards, were made to pass as
currency. Bigot began to issue what were called ordinances; he
issued these notes recklessly. Money was sent from time to time from
France, but it was not enough to fill the need. The value of the
paper money went down and down, and when England finally acquired
Canada it was found that 41,000,000 livres of ordinances were in
circulation. Bigot got up a Company to import commodities from
France and to buy up all the grain in the country districts. The
poor people had to deal with this Company and to pay their charges.
The supplies for the King's service had to be bought from the Company
in Quebec. The citizens could procure bread only through the
Company's stores, which in the two leading cities were known as "La
Friponne" or "The Cheat." It was in this way that gigantic frauds
were committed which paralysed the colony only to enrich a few
individuals. Canada was costing France 15,000,000 francs a year, and
France had already spent upon her 80,000,000 francs, but, distressed
as she herself was, she did not grudge these sums to her colony.
{204}
In the spring of 1756 the people welcomed with joy the arrival of a
fresh fleet bearing 1000 soldiers, a supply of food and ammunition,
and a large sum of money. Almost as great a boon King Louis bestowed
upon Canada when he sent her the new Commander-in-Chief of the
Canadian army, the Marquis de Montcalm. This hero was forty-six
years old, a splendid soldier, of high character, culture, and
determination. Could Canada be saved to the flag of the lilies? If
so, surely it was the virtuous Montcalm who could achieve this great
task.
{205}