* The old chief spoke truly. They had been "tempted by the Bostonians,"

but not by the Boston patriots. General Gage, then governor of

Massachusetts, and other loyalists in Boston, sent emissaries among the

Indians in various ways, and these were the tempters which the old chief

confounded with the enemies of the crown. I shall have occasion

hereafter to speak of Connelly, one of Gage's 'emissaries, who went to

Virginia, and, under the auspices of Lord Dunmore, carried promises and

money to the Indians on the frontier, to instigate them to fall upon the

defenseless republicans of that stanch Whig state.

** So interpreted by Burgoyne in his "State of the Expedition," &c.

Sabbath Morning in Burlington.--Visit to the Grave of Ethan Allen.--Ira

Allen

161and were soon in comfortable quarters at the American, fronting the

pleasant square in the center of the village.

The next morning dawned calm and beautiful. The wind was hushed, and the

loveliness of repose was upon the village, lake, and country. It was our

second Sabbath from home, and never was its rest more welcome and

suggestive of gratitude, for the preceding week had been to me one of

unceasing toil, yet a toil commingled with the most exalted pleasure. I

had been among scenes associated with the noblest sentiments of an

American's heart; and when, mingling with the worshipers in St. Paul's

Church, the clear voice of Bishop Hopkins repeated the divine

annunciation, "From the rising of the sun unto the going down of the

same, my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord," I felt

that our own country, so late a wilderness and abiding-place for pagans,

but now blooming under the beneficent culture of free institutions that

were born amid the labor-throes of the Revolution, was a special

illustration of that glorious declaration.

Early on Monday morning we procured saddle horses and rode out to the

resting-place of General Ethan Allen, a burial-ground embowered in

shrubbery, lying upon the brow of the hill overlooking the Winooski, and

within sound of its cascades. It is on the south side of the road

leading east from Burlington, nearly half a mile from the University of

Vermont, that stands upon the summit of the hill, upon the western slope

of which is the village. Allen's monument is a plain marble slab,

resting upon a granite foundation, and bears the following inscription:

THE

CORPOREAL PART OF

General Ethan Allen

RESTS BENEATH THIS STONE,

the 12th day of Feb., 1789,

AGED 50 YEARS.

his spirit tried the mercies of his God,

IN WHOM ALONE HE BELIEVED AND STRONGLY TRUSTED.

Near his are the graves of his brother Ira * and several other

relatives. The whole are inclosed within a square defined by a chain

supported by small granite obelisks. A willow drooped over the tombs of

the patriot dead, and rose-bushes clustered around the storm-worn

monuments. The dew was yet upon the grass, and its fragrant exhalations

filled the air with such grateful incense, that we were loth to leave

the spot. We galloped our horses back to the village in time for

breakfast, delighted and profited by our morning's ride. Halt-

* Ira Allen was born in Salisbury. Connecticut, in 1752. He went to

Vermont in early life, and became one of the most active citizens of

that state, particularly in the controversy between Vermont and New York

respecting the territory called the New Hampshire Grants. It is said

that when the Revolution broke out he sided with the crown and went to

Canada. His stanch Whig brother, Ethan, indignant at his choice,

recommended the Vermont Assembly to confiscate his brother's property.

Ira heard of it, and challenged Ethan to fight a duel. Ethan refused, on

the ground that it would be "disgraceful to fight a Tory," and so the

matter ended. Ira finally became a warm republican, and was active

during the remainder of the war. He was a member of the Convention which

formed the Constitution of Vermont, and became the first secretary of

the state. He was afterward treasurer, member of the council, and

surveyor general. He rose to the rank of major general of militia, and

in 1795 he went to Europe to purchase arms for the supply of his state.

Returning with several thousand muskets and some cannon, he was captured

by an English vessel and carried to England, where he was accused of

supplying the Irish rebels with arms. A litigation for eight years, in

the Court of Admiralty, was the consequence, but a final decision was in

his favor He died at Philadelphia, January 7th, 1814, aged 62 years.

Burlington and Vicinity.--Adjacent Lake Scenery.--Place of Arnold's

first Naval Battle.--Military Operations on the Lake

162ing near the university a few minutes, we enjoyed the beautiful view

which the height commands. The Green Mountains stretched along the east;

the broken ranges of the Adirondack, empurpled by the morning sun,

bounded the western horizon; and below us, skirting the lake, the

pleasant village lay upon the slope, and stretched its lengthening form

out toward the rich fields that surrounded it. To the eye of a wearied

dweller in a dense city all villages appear beautiful in summer, but

Burlington is eminently so when compared with others.

We left the metropolis of the lake for Plattsburgh about noon. On our

left, as we emerged from the harbor, were the Four Brothers, small

islands swarming with water-fowl, and the bald point of Rock Dunder, a

solitary spike rising, shrubless and bare, about twenty feet above the

water. Before us spread out the two Heros (North and South), green

islands, which belonged to the Allen family during the Revolution. The

first landing-place below Burlington is Port Kent, on the west side of

the lake, ten miles distant. A little below is Port Jackson, nearly west

of the south end of Valcour's Island. This is an interesting portion of

the lake to the American tourist, for it is the place where our first

naval battle with Great Britain was fought. This event took place

October the 11th, 1776. The American flotilla was commanded by Benedict

Arnold, and the English vessels by Captain Pringle, accompanied by

Governor Carleton. In order to a lucid understanding of the position of

affairs at that time, we must consider for a moment the connecting chain

of events from the autumn of 1775, when General Schuyler was at

Ticonderoga and Crown Point preparing to invade Canada, to the meeting

of the belligerents in question.

The forces under Generals Schuyler and Montgomery proceeded to execute

the will of September 10, 1775 Congress, and in September appeared

before St. John's, at the Sorel. Finding the fort, as they supposed, too

strong for assault, they returned to and fortified _Isle Aux Noix_.

Schuyler went back to Ticonderoga and hastened forward re-enforcements,

but was unable to return on account of sickness. Montgomery succeeded

him in command. He captured Fort St. John's and Fort Chambly, and

entered Montreal in triumph. He then pushed on to Quebec, when he was

joined by a force under Arnold, and early in December laid siege to that

city. After besieging it unsuccessfully for three weeks, the Americans

December 31, 1775 commenced an assault. Montgomery was killed, the

Americans were re-pulsed, and many of them made prisoners. Arnold was

wounded. He became the chief in command, and kept the remnant of the

republican army together in the vicinity of Quebec, until the arrival of

General Wooster early in the spring and General Thomas in May. General

Carleton soon afterward received re-enforcements from England, and by

the middle of June the Americans, after retreating from post to post,

were driven out of Canada.

Not doubting that Carleton would follow up his successes by providing

water craft upon the lake, to attempt the capture of Ticonderoga and

Crown Point, a council of officers, under General Gates, who in June was

appointed to the command of the Northern army, resolved to abandon the

latter post and concentrate all their forces at the former. Accord-

* This sketeh was made from the pilot's room of the steam-boat just

after leaving Port Jackson. On the left is a point of the main land, and

on the right is seen a portion of Valcour's Island. The high ground in

the extreme distance, on the left, is Cumberland Head, and that dimly

seen in the center of the picture is the Vermont shore.

Formation of a little Fleet--Excursion down the Lake.--Appearance of the

British Fleet.--Plan of the Battle.

163ingly, General Sullivan, who was at Crown Point, withdrew with his

forces to Ticonderoga, and active measures for offensive and defensive

operations were there adopted. Materials for constructing vessels, as

well as skillful artisans, were scarce. The latter had to be obtained

from the sea-ports; yet such was the zeal of the Americans, that by the

middle of August a small squadron, consisting of one sloop, three

schooners, and five gondolas, was in readiness and rendezvoused at Crown

Point under Arnold, who received the command of it from General Gates.

The sloop carried twelve guns, one schooner the same number, the others

eight, and the gondolas three each. Toward the close of the month Arnold

sailed down the lake, under positive instructions from Gates not to pass

beyond _Isle Aux Tètes_, near what is now called Rouse's Point, and to

act only on the defensive. He halted at Wind-mill Point, four miles

above _Isle Aux Tètes_, to reconnoiter, and anchored his vessels across

the lake, to prevent any boats of the enemy from passing up.

As soon as Carleton was advised of the movements of the Americans at

Ticonderoga, he sent seven hundred men from Quebec to St. John's, to

construct a fleet, and in the course of a few weeks several strong

vessels were finished and armed for duty. A radeau called the

_Thunderer_ (a kind of flat-bottomed vessel carrying heavy guns), and

twenty-four gunboats, armed each with a field piece or carriage gun,

were added to the fleet. Forty boats with provisions accompanied the

expedition.

Convinced that his position was dangerous, for the British and Indians

were collecting on the shores, Arnold fell back about ten miles to _Isle

La Motte_, where he need not fear an attack from the main land. Here his

fleet was considerably increased, and consisted of three schooners, two

sloops, three galleys, eight gondolas, and twenty-one gun-boats.

Ignorant of the real strength of the armament1776. which he knew

Carleton was preparing at St. John's, and unwilling to engage a superior

force on the broad lake, Arnold withdrew his fleet still further back,

and anchored it across the narrow channel between Valcour's Island and

the western shore.

Early on the morning of the 11th of October the British fleet appeared

off Cumberland Head, moving up the lake, and in a short time it swept

around the southern point of Valcour's Island. The enemy's force was

formidable, for the vessels were manned by seven hundred chosen seamen.

Captain Pringle was commodore, and made the _Inflexible_ his flagship.

Among the young officers in the fleet was Edward Pellew, afterward

Admiral Viscount Exmouth, one of the most distinguished of England's

naval commanders. The action began about twelve o'clock, by the attack

of the Carleton upon the American schooner _Royal Savage_ and three

galleys. The latter, in attempting to return to the line, grounded,

* Explanation of the Map.--A, American fleet under Arnold; B, 21 gun-

boats; C, schooner Carleton, 12 six pounders; D, ship Inflexible, 18

twelve pounders; E, anchorage of the British fleet during the night, to

cut off the Americans' retreat; F, radeau Thunderer, 6 twenty-four

pounders and 12 six pounders; G, gondola Loyal Convert, 7 nine pounders;

H, schooner Maria, 14 six pounders, with General Carleton on board; I,

the place where the American schooner Royal Savage, of 8 six pounders

and 4 four pounders, was burned. This plan is copied from Brasrier's

Survey of Lake Champlain, edition of 1779.

Severe Battle on the Lake.--Escape of the Americans through the British

Line.--Chase by the Enemy.--Another Battle

164and was burned, but her men were saved. Arnold was on board the

_Congress_ galley, and conducted matters with a great deal of bravery

and skill. About one o'clock the engagement became general, and the

American vessels, particularly the _Congress_, suffered severely. It was

hulled twelve times, received seven shots between wind and water, the

main-mast was shattered in two places, the rigging cut to pieces, and

many of the crew were killed or wounded. Arnold pointed almost every gun

on his vessel with his own hands,1 and with voice and gesture cheered on

his men. In the mean while the enemy landed a large body of Indians upon

the island, who kept up an incessant fire of musketry, but with little

effect. The battle continued between four and five hours, and the

Americans lost, in killed and wounded, about sixty men.

Night closed upon the scene, and neither party were victors. The two

fleets anchored within a few hundred yards of each other. Arnold held a

council with his officers, and it was determined to retire during the

night to Crown Point, for the superiority of the vessels, and the number

and discipline of the men composing the British force, rendered another

engagement extremely hazardous. Anticipating such a movement on the part

of the Americans, the British commander anchored his vessels in a line

extending across from the island to the main land. A chilly north wind

had been blowing all the afternoon, and about sunset dark clouds

overcast the sky. It was at the time of new moon, and, therefore, the

night was very dark, and favored the design of Arnold. About ten o'clock

he weighed anchor, and with the stiff north wind sailed with his whole

flotilla, unobserved, through the enemy's lines. Arnold, with his

crippled galley, brought up the rear. It was a bold movement. At

daybreak the English watch on deck looked with straining eyes for their

expected prey, but the Americans were then at Schuyler's Island, ten

miles south, busily engaged in stopping leaks and repairing sails. The

British weighed anchor and gave chase. Toward evening the wind changed

to the south, and greatly retarded the progress of both fleets during

the night. Early on the morning of the 13th the enemy's October, 1776

vessels were observed under full sail, and rapidly gaining upon the

Americans. The _Congress_ galley (Arnold's "flag-ship") and the

Washington, with four gondolas, were behind, and in a short time the

British vessels _Carl et on_, _Inflexible_, and _Maria_ were alongside,

pouring a destructive fire upon them. The Washington soon struck, and

General Waterbury the commander, and his men, were made prisoners. **

The whole force of the

* Sparks's Life of Arnold.

** Among the prisoners was Joseph Bettys, afterward the notorious outlaw

and bitter Tory, better known as "Joe Bettys." He was a native of

Saratoga county, and joined the Whigs on the breaking out of the

Revolution. While a captive in Canada, after the battle on Lake

Champlain, he was induced to join the royal standard, and was made an

ensign. He became notorious as a spy, and, having been caught by the

Americans, he was at one time conducted to the gallows. At the instance

of his aged parents, Washington granted him a reprieve on condition of

his thoroughly reforming. But he immediately joined the enemy again, and

for a long time his cold-blooded murders, his plunder and incendiarism

made him the terror of the whole region in the neighborhood of Albany.

At last he was captured (1782), and was executed as a spy and traitor,

at Albany.

Bravery of Arnold on the Congress Galley.--Desperate Resistance. --

Retreat to Crown Point--Effect of the Battle.

165attack now fell upon the _Congress_, but Arnold maintained his ground

with unflinching resolution for four hours. The galley was at length

reduced almost to a wreck, and surrounded by seven sail of the enemy.

Longer resistance was vain, and the intrepid Arnold ran the galley and

four gondolas into a small creek on the east side of the lake, about ten

miles below Crown Point, and not far from Panton. He ordered the marines

to set fire to them as soon as they were grounded, leap into the water

and wade ashore with their muskets, and form in such a manner upon the

beach as to guard the burning vessels from the approach of the enemy.

Arnold remained in his galley till driven off by the fire, and was the

last man that reached the shore. He kept the flags flying, and remained

upon the spot until his little flotilla was consumed, and then, with the

small remnant of his brave soldiers, marched off through the woods

toward Chimney Point, and reached Crown Point in safety. The rapidity of

his march saved him from an Indian ambush that waylaid his path an hour

after he passed by. Two schooners, two galleys, one sloop, and one

gondola, the remnant of his fleet, were at Crown Point, and General

Waterbury and most of his men arrived there on parole the next day, when

all embarked and sailed to Ticonderoga. General October 14, 1776

Carleton took possession of Crown Point, and for a few days threatened

Ticonderoga, but the season was so far advanced that he prudently

withdrew, and sailed down the lake to go into winter-quarters in Canada.

* The whole American loss in the two actions was between eighty and

ninety, and that of the enemy about forty.

Although the republicans were defeated, and the expedition was

disastrous in every particular, yet such were the skill, bravery, and

obstinate resistance of Arnold and his men against a vastly superior

force, the event was hailed as ominous of great achievements on the part

of the patriots when such fearful odds should not exist. Arnold's

popularity, so justly gained at Quebec, was greatly increased, and the

country rang with his praises. Sparks justly observes, respecting

Arnold's conduct in the engagement on the 13th, that "there are few

instances on record of more deliberate courage and gallantry than were

displayed by him from the beginning to the end of this action."

We arrived at Plattsburgh at about two o'clock in the afternoon. The day

was excessively warm, and I felt more like lounging than rambling. In

fact, the spot has no Revolutionary history worth mentioning, for its

existence as a lonely settlement in the wilderness is only coeval with

that of our independence. Count Vredenburgh, a German nobleman, who

married a lady of the household of the queen of George II. of England,

obtained a grant for thirty thousand acres of land on Cumberland Bay,

and just before the Revolution he settled there. When the war broke out

he sent his family to Montreal, and soon afterward his splendid mansion,

which stood where the Plattsburgh Hotel now is, and his mills, three

miles distant, were burned. He had remained to look after his property,

and it is supposed that he was murdered for his riches, and his house

plundered and destroyed. In 1783 some Canadian and Nova Scotia refugees,

under Lieutenant (afterward Major-general) Mooers ** who were stationed

on the Hudson near Newburgh, left Fishkill Landing in a boat, and,

proceeding by the way of Lakes George and Champlain, landed and

commenced the first permanent settlement in that neighborhood, within

seven or eight miles of the present village of Plattsburgh. Judge

Zephaniah Platt and others formed a company, after the war, to purchase

military land-warrants, and they located their lands on Cumberland Bay,

and organized the town of Plattsburgh in 1785. Such is its only

connection with the history

* It is related that while Carleton was at Ticonderoga, Arnold ventured

in the neighborhood in a small boat. He was seen and chased by young

Pellew (afterward Lord Exmouth), and so rapidly did his pursuers gain

upon him, that he ran his boat ashore and leaped on land, leaving his

stock and buckle behind him. It is said that the stock and buckle are

still in possession of the Pellew family.--See Ostler's Life of Admiral

Viscount Exmouth.

** Benjamin Mooers served as a lieutenant and adjutant in the

Revolution. He commanded the militia in the battle of Plattsburgh in

1814. For thirty years he was county treasurer, and often represented

his county in the Assembly and Senate of New York. He died in February,

1838

Battle of Plattsburgh.--Military Remains.--Incidents of the Naval

Battle.--Relic of Washington.

166of our Revolution. It is a conspicuous point, however, in the history

of our war with Great Britain commenced in 1812, for it is memorable as

the place where one of the severest engagements of that contest took

place, on the 11th of September, 1814, between the combined naval and

military forces of the Americans and British. General Macomb commanded

the land, and Commodore M'Donough the naval forces of the former, and

General Prévost and Commodore Downie * those of the latter. The

engagements on the land and water were simultaneous, and for some time

the issue was doubtful. The Americans, however, were successful. When

the flag of the British commodore's ship was struck, the enemy on land,

disheartened and confused, retreated across the Saranac, and the carnage

ceased. The loss of the Americans was about one hundred and fifty; that

of the enemy, in killed, wounded, prisoners, and deserters, more than

one thousand.

I passed a considerable portion of the afternoon with General St. John

B. L. Skinner, who was a volunteer under Macomb in the battle. He was a

member of a company of young men and boys of the village, who, after the

military had gone out on the Chazy road, organized and offered their

services to the commander-in-chief. They were accepted, and the brave

youths were immediately armed with rifles and ordered to the

headquarters of General Mooers. Only three of the company were over

eighteen years old, and not one of them was killed, though for a long

time they were exposed to a hot fire while occupying a mill upon the

Saranac and keeping the enemy at bay. General Skinner's beautiful

mansion and gardens are upon the lake shore, and from an upper piazza we

had a fine view of the whole scene of the naval engagement, from

Cumberland Head on the north to the whole region in the neighborhood of

Albany. At last he was captured (1782), and was executed as a spy and

traitor, at Albany.

the whole region in the neighborhood of Albany. At last he was captured

(1782), and was executed as a spy and traitor, at Albany.

Valcour's Island on the south, including in the far distance eastward

the blue lines of the northern range of the Green Mountains. The bay in

which the battle occurred is magnificent, fringed with deep forests and

waving grain-fields. A substantial stone break-water defends the harbor

from the rude waves which an easterly wind rolls in, and the village is

very pleasantly situated upon a gravelly plain on each side of the

Saranac River.

A short distance from the village of Plattsburgh are the remains of the

cantonments and breast-works occupied by Macomb and his forces; and to

the kind courtesy of General Skinner, who accompanied me to these relics

of the war, I am indebted for many interesting details in relation to

that memorable battle. ** But as these have no necessary connection with

our subject, on account of their remoteness from the time of the

Revolution, I will bid adieu to Plattsburgh, for the evening is far

gone, the lights of the "Burlington" are sparkling upon the waters near

Valcour's Island, and the coachman at the hotel front is hurrying us

with his loud "All aboard!"

It was nearly midnight when we passed the light on Cumberland Head, ***

and we reached

* Commodore Downie was slain in the battle and buried at Plattsburgh.

His sister-in-law, Mary Downie, erected a plain monument to his memory

over his remains.

** General S. mentioned one or two circumstances connected with the

naval engagement worth recording. He says that, when the fleet of the

enemy rounded Cumberland Head, M'Donough assembled his men on board his

ship (Saratoga) on the quarter-deck. He then knelt, and, in humble,

fervent supplication, commended himself, his men, and his cause to the

Lord of Hosts. When he arose, the serenity of faith was upon his

countenance, and seemed to shed its influence over his men. A curious

incident occurred on his ship during the engagement. The hen-coop was

shot away, and a cock; released from prison, flew into the rigging, and,

flapping his wings, crowed out a lusty defiance to the enemy's guns.

** There he remained, flapping his wings and crowing, until the

engagement ceased. The seamen regarded the event as encouraging, and

fought like tigers while the cock cheered them on. A notice of a relic

of Washington, in the possession of General S., may not be inappropriate

here. It is a pouch and puff-ball, for hair-powder, which belonged to

the chief several years. It is made of buckskin, and is about twelve

inches long. The puff is made of cotton yarn. Mr. Gray, who was a number

of years sheriff of Clinton county, readily recognized it as the one

used by himself in powdering Washington's hair, when he was a boy and

attached to the general in the capacity of body servant. When La Fayette

was at Burlington, in 1824, Mr. Gray went up to see him, and the veteran

remembered him as the "boy Gray" in Washington's military family.

*** On this point Is situated the farm presented to Commodore M'Donough

by the Legislature of Vermont. The point is connected with Grand Island,

or North Hero (the largest island in the lake), by a ferry.

Rouse's Point and Military Works.--The Territorial Line.--Isle Aux

Noix.--Historical Associations

167Rouse's Point, the last landing-place on the lake within "the

States," between one and two in the morning, where we remained until

daylight, for the channel here, down the outlet of the lake, is so

narrow and sinuous that the navigation is difficult in the night. On a

low point a little northward of the landing the United States government

commenced building a fort in 1815, and, after expending about two

hundred thousand dollars, it was discovered that the ground was British

soil. The work was abandoned, and so remained until the conclusion of

the treaty formed by Daniel Webster and Lord Ashburton in 1842, when the

territorial line was run a little north of the fort. It is now in course

of completion.

The morning on which we left Rouse's Point was clear and calm. A slight

August 8, 1848 mist lay upon the water, and over the flat shores of the

Richelieu or Sorel River, which we had entered, a thin vapor, like a

gauze veil, was spread out. We watched with interest for the line of

separation between the territories. It was about four o'clock in the

morning when we crossed it, twenty-three miles south of St. John's, and

so became "foreigners." A broad stripe like a meadow-swathe, running

east and west, cut in the dwarf forest upon either side, denotes the

landmark of dominion, and by a single revolution of the paddle-wheel we

passed from the waters of our republic to those of the British realm. In

less than an hour we were at the landing-place on _Isle Aux Noix_, a

small low island in the Sorel, strongly fortified by the British as one

of their most important outposts in the direction of the United States.

This island is all clustered with historic associations. While the fussy

custom-house officer and his attendants are boarding our boat, let us

look into the mirror of retrospection.

When the French settlement at Chimney Point was broken up on the

approach of General Amherst in 1799.

They gave it a name significant of this fact. Commanding, as it does,

completely the outlet of Lake Champlain, the importance of its position,

in a military view, was at once appreciated. But the French held

possession only a few months, for in the spring of 1760 they were driven

from it by Amherst in his march toward Montreal. After the treaty of

Paris in 1763, the necessity for a garrison upon _Isle Aux Noix_ no

longer existed, and the fortifications were allowed to crumble into

ruins.

In the autumn of 1775 the island was occupied by the Americans, under

General Schuyler. With a considerable force, destined to invade Canada,

he sailed down the lake and appeared before St. John's. Informed that

the garrison there was too strong for September 6, 1775 him, he returned

to _Isle Aux Noix_ and fortified it. From this post he sent out a

declaration among the Canadians, by Colonel Allen and Major Brown,

assuring them that the Americans intended to act only against the

British forts, and not to interfere with the people or their religion. *

* The sketch was made from the pilot's room of the steam-boat, about

half a mile above the island, looking east-northeast. The landing is a

little beyond the trees on the right, where sentinels are stationed. The

island is small, and wholly occupied by the military works. A broad fen

extends some distance from the northern side, and the wild ducks that

gather there afford fine amusement for sportsmen during the hunting

season.

St.John's St.--Custom-house Officer.--Suspicious of an Israelite.--

Apparently treasonable Acts of leading Vermonters.

168Early in October the Americans, under General Montgomery (Schuyler

being ill), left the island and proceeded to St. John's, whence they

marched victoriously to Quebec. From that time until the close of the

Revolution no permanent garrison was established there, but the island

was the halting-place for the troops of both parties when passing up and

down the lake. It was the principal scene of the negotiations between

some of the leading men of Vermont and British officers, which were so

adroitly managed by the former as to keep an English army of ten

thousand men quite inactive on our northern frontier for about three

years. * The British strongly fortified it in 1813, and it has been

constantly garrisoned since.

We arrived at St. John's, on the Richelieu or Sorel River, between six

and seven o'clock in the morning, where our luggage was overhauled by

the custom-house officer, who was received on board at _Isle Aux Noix_.

The operation was neither long nor vexatious, and seemed to be rather a

matter of legal form than induced by a desire or expectation of

detecting contraband articles. In fact, the polite government

functionary seemed to have great faith in mere assertions, and to rely

more upon physiognomy than personal inspection of the luggage for

assurance that her majesty's revenue laws were inviolate. He looked

every trunk-owner full in the face when he queried about the nature of

his baggage, and only two persons were obliged to produce their keys for

his satisfaction. Our trunk was of prodigious size and weight, and made

him very properly suspicious of the truth of my allegations that its

contents were only articles for personal use. A descendant of Abraham at

my elbow, with nothing but a rotund bandana handkerchief, appeared to be

my scape-goat on the occasion, for while the officer was making him

untie its hard knots, he ordered my luggage to pass. I was told that the

word of a poor Jew is never believed by the uncircumcised Gentile who

"sits at the receipt of customs but in this instance his incredulity was

rebuked, for the Israelite's bundle contained nothing but a tolerably

clean shirt, a cravat, and a small Hebrew Bible. At eight

* In 1779-80 the partial dismemberment of Vermont and its connection

with New York and New Hampshire produced great bitterness of feeling,

and the Legislature of the former demanded of Congress the entire

separation of that state from the other states, and its admission into

the confederacy upon a basis of perfect equality. The disputes ran high,

and the British entertained hopes that Vermont would be so far alienated

from the rebel cause, by the injustice of Congress, as to be induced to

return to its allegiance to the British crown. Accordingly, in the

spring of 1780, Colonel Beverly Robinson wrote to Ethan Allen from New

York, making overtures to that effect. The letter was not answered, and

in February, 1781, he wrote another, inclosing a copy of the first.

These letters were shown to Governor Chittenden and a few others, and

they concluded to make use of the circumstances for the benefit of

Vermont. Allen sent both letters to Congress, and at the same time wrote

to that body, urging the justice of the demand of his state. He closed

his letter by saying, "I am as resolutely determined to defend the

independence of Vermont as Congress is that of the United States; and,

rather than fail, I will retire with the hardy Green Mountain Boys into

the desolate caverns of the mountains and wage war with human nature at

large." * In the mean while, some British scouting parties had captured

some Vermonters, and Governor Chittenden sent Ira Allen and others to

negotiate with Colonel Dundas for an exchange of prisoners. They met

upon _Isle Aux Noix_, and there Dundas, under the direction of General

Haldimand, made verbal overtures similar to the written ones of Robinson

to Ethan Allen. The proposals of the British officers were received by

Allen with apparent favor. Haldimand and Dundas were delighted with

their skill in diplomacy, and readily acceded to the proposition of

Allen not to allow hostilities on the Vermont frontier until after the

next session of its Legislature. The British force, consisting of about

ten thousand men, was thus kept inactive. These negotiations with the

enemy excited the suspicion of the Whigs and the fears of Congress; yet

with such consummate skill did Allen manage the affair, that when he

reported the result of his mission to the Legislature of Vermont, where

British emissaries as well as ardent Whigs were in waiting, he satisfied

both parties. Soon afterward a letter from Lord George Germain to Sir

Henry Clinton was intercepted and sent to Congress. It contained so much

evidence of the treasonable designs of the leading men in Ver mont, that

Congress felt more disposed to accede to the demands of that state, and

thus retain her in the Union. Peace soon afterward ensued, and Vermont

was one of the United States included in the treaty. How far the designs

of the Allens, of Chittenden, the Fays, and others, were really

treasonable, or were measures of policy to bring Congress to terms, and

prevent hostilities upon their weak frontier, can not be certainly

determined. The probabilities are in favor of the _ruse_ rather than the

_treason_. At any rate, they should have the benefit of a doubt, and a

verdict of acquittal of all wrong intentions.

** A convention, held at Westminster on the 15th of January, 1777,

declared "That the district and territory comprehending and usually

known by the name and description of the New Hampshire Grants of right

ought to be and is declared forever hereafter to be a free and

independent jurisdiction or state, to be forever hereafter called,

known, and distinguished by the name of New Connecticut, alias

Vermont."--See Slade's State Papers, p. 70.

Military Remains at St. John's.--Present Works.--Athenaise.-- Approach

of the Americans in 1775.

169o'clock my companion and our luggage proceeded by rail-road by way of

La Prairie to Montreal, while I prepared to journey to the same city in

a light wagon by way of Chambly and Longueuil.

St. John's is pleasantly situated upon the western side of the Sorel, at

the termination of steam-boat navigation on Lake Champlain, and near the

head of Chambly Rapids. It has always been a place of considerable

importance as a frontier town since the Revolution, although its growth

has been slow, the population now amounting to not quite four thousand.

The country on both sides of the river here is perfectly flat, and there

is no place whence the town may be seen to advantage. A little south of

the village, and directly upon the shore, is a strong military

establishment, garrisoned, when we visited it, by three companies of

Highland infantry. Accompanied by an intelligent young gentleman of the

village as guide, I visited all the points of historic interest in the

vicinity. We crossed the deep, sluggish river in a light zinc shallop,

and from the middle of the stream we obtained a fine view of the long

bridge ** which connects St. John's with St. Athenaise on the opposite

shore, where the steep roof and lofty glittering spire of the French

church towered above the trees.3 After visiting the remains of

Montgomery's block-house, we recrossed the river and rambled among the

high mounds which compose the ruins of old Fort St. John's. They occupy

a broad area in the open fields behind the present military works. The

embankments, covered with a rich green sward, averaged about twelve feet

in height, and the whole were surrounded by a ditch with considerable

water in it. We lingered half an hour to view a drill of the garrison,

and then returned to the village to prepare for a pleasant ride to

Chambly, twelve miles distant.

Military works were thrown up at St. John's by the French, under

Montcalm, in 1758, and these were enlarged and strengthened by Governor

Carleton at the beginning of our Revolution. Here, as we have seen, the

first organized American flotilla, under Arnold, made a regular assault

upon British vessels and fortifications, and aroused Sir Guy Carleton to

a sense of the imminent danger of Montreal and Quebec. Here too was the

scene of the first regular siege of a British fort by the rebellious

colonists. In September, September 6 1775, the Americans, as we have

already noticed, sailed down the Richelieu and appeared before St.

John's. They were fired upon by the English garrison when about two

miles distant, but without effect. They landed within about a mile and a

half of the fort, and, while marching slowly toward the outworks, a

small party of Indians attacked them and produced some confusion. In the

evening General Schuyler was informed, by a man who appeared to be

friendly and intelligent, that, with the exception of only fifty men

retained in Montreal by General Carleton, the whole regular British

force in Canada was in the garrison at St. John's; that this and the

fort at Chambly were strongly fortified and well supplied; that one

hundred Indians were in the fort at St. John's, and that another large

body, under Colonel John Johnson, was hovering near; that a sixteen gun

vessel was

* This view is taken from the eastern side of the river, near the

remains of a block-house erected by Montgomery when he besieged the fort

in 1775. On the right is seen the fort, which incloses the magazine, in

the center is the building occupied by the officers, on either side of

which are the barracks of the soldiers. The large building on the left

is the hospital, and the smaller one still further left is the dead-

house. The river here is about a quarter of a mile wide. The present

military works are upon the site of those of the Revolution.

** It was built by the Honorable Robert Jones, the proprietor, and is

called Jones's Bridge.

*** This spacious church was not finished. The old one, a small wooden

structure, was undisturbed within the new one, and was used for worship

until the completion of the exterior of the present edifice-

Advance of Montgomery against St. John's.--Mutiny in the American Camp.-

-Operations at St. John's.

170about ready to weigh anchor at St. John's; and that not a single

Canadian could be induced to join the insurgent standard. The informer

was doubtless an enemy to the Americans, for his assertions were

afterward proved to be untrue. General Schuyler, however, gave credence

to them, and returned with his troops to _Isle Aux Noix_, where illness

obliged him to leave the army in charge of Montgomery, and retire to the

healthier post of Ticonderoga. Thence he soon went to Albany, and, his

health being partially restored, he was active in forwarding re-

enforcements to _Isle Aux Noix_.

Montgomery, with more impetuosity and less caution than Schuyler,

determined to push forward at once, for the season was near when

military operations there would be difficult. About this time a small

train of artillery and a re-enforcement arrived, and he made vigorous

preparations to invade Canada. Before leaving the island, a chevaux-de-

frise was thrown across the channel to intercept the progress of

Carleton's vessels up the lake. On the September, 1775 seventeenth his

whole force was landed on the west side of the Richelieu. On the

eighteenth he led a corps of five hundred men, in person, to the north

side of the fort, where the village now is. There he met a detachment

from the garrison, which had just repulsed and pursued a small party of

Americans under Major Brown, and a short skirmish ensued. Two field

pieces and the whole detachment would doubtless have been trophies for

the Americans had they been true to themselves; but here that

insubordination which gave Montgomery so much trouble was strongly

manifested, and caution, secrecy, and concert of action were out of the

question.1 Montgomery pushed on a little further north-west, and, at the

junction of the roads running respectively to Montreal and Chambly,

formed an entrenched camp of three hundred men to cut off supplies for

the enemy from the interior, and then hastened back to his camp to bring

up his artillery to bear upon the walls of the fort. The supplies for a

siege were very meager. The artillery was too light, the mortars were

defective, the ammunition scarce, and the artillerists unpracticed in

their duties. The ground was wet and swampy, and in many places closely

studded with trees. In a day or two disease began to appear among the

troops, and, in consequence of their privations, disaffection was

working mischief in the army. To escape these unfavorable circumstances,

Montgomery proposed to move to the northwest side of the fort, where the

ground was firm and water wholesome, and commence preparations for an

assault. But the troops, unused to military restraint, and judging for

themselves that an attack would be unsuccessful, refused to second the

plan of their leader. Unable to punish them or convince them of their

error, Montgomery yielded to the pressure of circumstances, and so far

gratified the mutinous regiments as to call a council of war. It

resulted, as was expected, in a decision against his plan. Disorder

continually reigned in the American camp. Irregular firing occurred

almost daily, and the enemy threw some bombs, but it was a waste of

ammunition by both parties. At length the proposed plan of Montgomery

was adopted, and the camp was moved October 7, 1775 to the higher ground

northwest of the fort, where breast-works were thrown up.

While the main army was thus circumvallating St. John's, but, for want

of ammunition and heavy guns, unable to breach the walls, small

detachments of Americans, who were joined by many friendly Canadians,

were active in the vicinity. One, under Ethan Allen, attempted the

capture of Montreal. Of this foolish expedition I shall hereafter write.

But another, and a successful one, was undertaken, which hastened the

termination of the siege of St. John's. Carleton, supposing that the

fort at Chambly, twelve miles northward, could not be reached by the

Americans unless the one at St. John's was captured, had neglected to

arm it, and kept but a feeble garrison there. Montgomery was informed of

this by Canadian scouts, and immediately sent Colonel Bedell of New

Hampshire, Major Brown of Massachusetts, and Major Livingston of New

York, with detachments, to capture the fort. The method of attack was

planned by Canadians familiar with the place. Artillery was placed upon

bateaux, and during a dark night was conveyed past the fort at St.

John's to the head of Chambly Rapids, where it was mounted on carriages

and taken to the

* Montgomery's dispatch to General Schuyler.

Attack upon and Surrender of Fort Chambly.--Repulse of Carleton at

Longueuil.--Surrender of St. John's.--The Spoils

171point of attack. The garrison made but a feeble resistance, and soon

surrendered. This was a most important event, for it furnished

Montgomery with means to carry on the siege of St. John's vigorously. **

The large quantity of ammunition that was captured was sent immediately

to the besiegers, who, by vigorous exertions, erected a strong battery

within wo hundred and fifty yards of the fort. A strong block-house was

also erected before it, in the opposite side of the river. The former

was mounted with four guns and October 30. six mortars, and the latter

had one gun and two mortars.

While these preparations were in progress, Carleton, informed of the

capture cf Fort Chambly, left Montreal with a re-enforcement for the

garrison at St. John's. He embarked upon the St. Lawrence in bateaux and

flat-boats, and attempted to land at Longueuil, a mile and a half below

the city. Colonel Seth Warner, with three hundred Green Mountain Boys,

was on the alert in the neighborhood, and lay in covert near the spot

where Carleton was about to land. He allowed the boats to get very near

the shore, when he opened a terrible storm of grape-shot upon them from

a four pound cannon, which drove them across the river precipitately and

in great confusion. The tidings of this event reached Montgomery

November 1, 1775 toward evening, and Colonel Warner soon afterward came

in with several prisoners captured from one of Carleton's boats that

reached the shore. The eommander-in-chief immediately sent a flag and

letter to Major Preston, the commandant of the garrison, by one of

Warner's prisoners, informing him of the defeat of Carleton, and

demanding a surrender of the fortress to prevent further effusion of

blood. Hostilities ceased for the night, and in the morning Preston

asked for a delay of four days before he should make proposals to

surrender. The request "was denied and the demand renewed." There was no

alternative, and the garrison surrendered prisoners of war. The siege

had continued six weeks, and the bravery and perseverance of the British

troops were such, that Montgomery granted them honorable terms. They

marched out of the fort with the honors of war, and the troops

* This is a view of the south and west sides of the fort, looking toward

the river. It stands directly upon the Richelieu, at the foot of the

Chambly Rapids, and at the head of the navigation of the river up from

the St. Lawrence. It is strongly built of stone, and, as seen in the

picture, is in a state of excellent preservation.

** The spoils taken at Chambly were 6 tons of powder; 80 barrels of

flour; a large quantity of rice, butter, and peas; 134 barrels of pork;

300 swivel shot; 1 box of musket shot; 6364 musket cartridges; 150 stand

of French arms; 3 royal mortars; 61 shells; 500 hand grenades; 83 royal

fusilleer's muskets with accouterments; and rigging for 3 vessels. The

prisoners consisted of 1 major, 2 captains, 3 lieutenants, captain of a

schooner, a commissary and surgeon, and 83 privates. The colors of the

seventh regiment of British regulars were there, and were captured.

These were sent to the Continental Congress, and were the first trophies

of the kind which that body received. There were a great number of women

and children in the fort, and these were allowed to accompany the

prisoners, who were sent with their baggage to Connecticut.

Surrender of St. John's.--Insubordination.--Retreat of the Americans out

of Canada.

November 3 grounded 172their arms on the plain near by. The officers

were allowed to keep their side-arms, and their fire-arms were reserved

for them. Canadian gentlemen and others at St. John's were considered a

part of the garrison. The whole number of troops amounted to about five

hundred regulars and one hundred Canadian volunteers.1 The Continental

troops took possession of the fort, and Montgomery proposed to push on

to Montreal.

Insubordination again raised its hydra-head in the American camp. The

cold season was near at hand, and the raw troops, unused to privations

of the field, yearned for home, and refused, at first, to be led further

away. But the kind temper, patriotic zeal, and winning eloquence of

Montgomery, and a promise on his part that, Montreal in his possession,

no further service would be exacted from them, won them to obedience,

and all but a small garrison for the fort pressed onward toward the

city. **

The fort at St. John's remained in possession of the Americans until the

latter part of May, 1776, when they were completely driven out of

Canada. Arnold and Sullivan, with their detachments, were the last to

leave that province. The former remained in Montreal until the last

moment of safety, and then pressed on to St. John's, with the enemy

close at his heels. Two days before, he had ordered the encampment

closed there, and a vessel upon the stocks to be taken apart and sent to

Ticonderoga. Sullivan, who was stationed at the mouth of the Sorel, also

retreated to St. John's. The commanders wished to defend the fort

against the pursuing enemy, but the troops absolutely refused to serve

longer, and they all embarked, and sailed up the lake to _Isle Aux

Noix_. When every loaded boat had left the shore, Arnold and Wilkinson,

his aid, rode back two miles and discovered the enemy in rapid march

under Burgoyne. They reconnoitered them a few moments, and then galloped

back,

* The spoils of victory were 17 brass ordnance, from two to twenty-four

pounders; 2 eight-inch howitzers; 7 mortars; 22 iron ordnance, from

three to nine pounders; a considerable quantity of shot and small

shells; 800 stand of arms, and a small quantity of naval stores. The

ammunition and provisions were inconsiderable, for the stock of each was

nearly exhausted.

** Armstrong's Life of Montgomery,

Rendezvous of Burgoyne's Army at St. John's.--Departure for Chambly.--

French Canadian Houses, Farms, and People.

173stripped and shot their horses, set fire to the works at St. John's,

pushed off from shore in a small boat, and overtook the flotilla before

they reached _Isle Aux Noix_. Having no vessels with which to pursue the

Americans, Burgoyne rested at St. John's. In the course of the autumn he

returned to England.

Early in the summer of 1777 St. John's was the theater of active

preparations, on the part of the British, for the memorable campaign

which terminated in the capture of Burgoyne and his whole army at

Saratoga. This campaign was planned chiefly by Lord George Germain, the

Secretary of War, and Burgoyne, with the approval of the king and the

full sanction of the Council. Burgoyne was made commander of the

expedition, and arrived at Quebec on the 6th of May. Carleton gave him

his cordial co-operation, and St. John's was the place of general

rendezvous for all the regulars, provincials, and volunteers. On the 1st

of June an army of six thousand men was collected there, and, embarking

in boats, sailed up the lake to Cumberland Head, where it halted to

await the arrival of ammunition and stores. These collected, the whole

armament moved up the lake to the north of the Bouquet, where, as

already narrated, a council was held with the Indian tribes. As the rest

of the story of that campaign, so disastrous to British power in

America, has been told in preceding chapters, we will return to St.

John's, and pass on to Chambly.

I left St. John's about eleven o'clock in a light wagon, accompanied by

the young man who acted as guide among the old military remains. There

is but little in the appearance of St. John's to distinguish it from a

large village in the States, but the moment we emerged into the country

I felt that I was in a strange land. The road traverses the line of the

Chambly Canal, which runs parallel with the Richelieu or Sorel River.

The farm-houses are thickly planted by the roadside; so thickly that all

the way from St. John's to Chambly and Longueuil we seemed to be in a

village suburb. The farms are diminutive compared with ours, averaging

from fifteen to forty acres each, and hence the great number of

dwellings and out-houses. They are generally small, and built of hewn

logs or stone. Most of the dwellings and out-houses are whitewashed with

lime, even the roofs, which gives them a very neat appearance, and forms

a beautiful contrast in the landscape to the green foliage which

embowers them. I was told that each house contains a _consecrated

broom_. When a new dwelling is erected, a broom is _tabooed_ by the

priest and hung up in the dwelling by the owner, where it remains

untouched, a sort of Lares or household god.

Many of them have a cross erected near, as a talisman to guard the

dwelling from evil. They are generally dedicated to St. Peter, the chief

patron saint of the rural French Canadians. A box, with a glass door,

inclosing an image of the saint, a crucifix, or some other significant

object, is placed upon or within the body of the cross, and the whole is

usually surmounted by a cock. A singular choice for a crest, for it is a

fowl identified with St. Peter's weakness and shame.

It was in the time of hay harvest, and men, women, and children were

abroad gathering the crops. As among the peasantry of Europe and the

blacks of our Southern States, the women labor regularly in the fields.

They are tidily habited in thin stuff of cotton or worsted, generally

dyed blue, and all of domestic manufacture. Their costume is graceful,

and, sitting loosely, gives full play to the muscles, and contributes to

the high health which every where abounds in the rural districts of this

region. Their broad-rimmed straw hats, like the Mexican sombrero, afford

ample protection against the hot sun. These also are home-made, and the

manufacture of them for our markets, during the long Canadian winters.

affords quite a cash revenue to most of the families. These simple

people are generally

The Richelieu and its Rapids.--Chambly.--The Fort.--Beloeil Mountain.--

Large Cross

174uneducated, and superstition is a strong feature in their religious

character. They art honest, kind-hearted, and industrious, have few

wants, live frugally, and, in their way, seem to enjoy a large share of

earthly happiness.

The Richelieu has either a swift current or noisy rapids nearly the

whole distance between St. John's and Chambly. The stream is broad, and

in many places deep, for it is the outlet for the whole volume of the

waters of Lake Champlain into the St. Lawrence. In some places the

foaming rapids produce a picturesque effect to the eye and ear, and vary

the pleasure of the otherwise rather monotonous journey between the two

villages.

Chambly is an old town, at the foot of the rapids, and bears evidence of

thrift. A Frenchman bearing that name built a small wood fort there,

which was afterward replaced by the solid stone structure pictured on

page 171. The latter retained the name of the original fort, as also

does the village. It is a military station at present, and, being at the

head of the navigation of the Richelieu or Sorel from the St. Lawrence,

has a commanding position

The river here, at the foot of the falls, expands into a circular basin

about a mile and a hall in diameter. The old fort is dismantled and

ungarrisoned, and is now used only for a store-house. Near it are seen

the remains of the battery erected by Bedell, while pre paring to storm

the fort in 1775. I tarried at Chambly long enough only to reconnoiter

ant sketch the old fortress and the features of the Beloeil, the only

mountain range in view, ant then went to an inn to dine, a mile on the

road toward Longueuil. There I learned that a French Canadian, nearly

one hundred years old, was living near. Although the sun was declining,

and we had seventeen miles' travel before us, I determined to visit the

old man.

* This sketeh is taken from the southeast angle of old Fort Chambly,

showing the rapids in the fore ground. The mountain is twenty miles

distant, near the Sorel. On the highest point of the range the Bishop of

Nancy, a French prelate, ereeted a huge cross in 1843, the pedestal of

which was sufficiently large to form a chapel capable of containing

fifty persons. In November, 1847, during a severe thunder gust, the

lightning and wind completely demolished the cross, but spared the

pedestal, and that, being white, may be seen at a great distance.

Francois Yest.--His Age and Reminiscences.--Temperance Pledge.-- Ride to

Longueuil.--A Caleche.

175and sound in his memory. We met him upon the road, coming toward the

inn. He had just left his rake in the field, and had on a leather apron

and broad-rimmed hat. He was a small, firmly-built man, apparently

sixty-five years old. Conversation with him was difficult, for his

dialect, professedly French, was far worse than Gascon. Still we managed

to understand each other, and I gleaned from him, during our brief

interview, the facts that he was born in Quebec in 1752; remembered the

storming of the city by the English under Wolfe; removed to Chambly in

1770; was a spectator of the capture of the fort by a detachment from

Montgomery's army in 1775; assisted in furnishing stores for Burgoyne's

army at St John's in 1777; and has lived upon and cultivated the same

small farm of thirty acres from that time until the present. He was

ninety-six years old, and appeared to have stamina sufficient for twenty

years more of active life.

He seemed to be a simple-hearted creature, ignorant of the world beyond

the Richelieu and the adjacent village, and could not comprehend my

movements while sketching his honest countenance. He was delighted,

however, when he saw the outlines of an old man's face, and knew them to

be his own; and when I presented him with a silver coin, he laughed like

a pleased child. But when the young man who accompanied me, with

intended generosity, offered him a glass of brandy, his eyes sparkled

with indignation, and in his bad French he uttered an emphatic refusal.

He had signed the temperance pledge a year before, and he felt insulted

by the seeming attempt to win him from his allegiance. Glorious old

convert, and firm old preacher of principle in the very den of the

fierce lion, for decanters were at his elbow, and a friendly hand

proffered the contents to his lips! A vow of total abstinence from

intoxicating drinks at the age of ninety-five! For that I pressed the

hard hand of Francois Yest with a firmer grasp when I bade him adieu.

We had a pleasant ride from Chambly to Longueuil (seventeen miles) over

a plank road. Unlike similar roads in New York, the planks were laid

diagonally. They had been in use twelve years, and were but little

decayed. The country all the way to the St. Lawrence is flat. The soil,

though rather wet, is productive, and almost every rood of it was under

cultivation. Here and there were a few groves, but no forests; and a

solitary huge bowlder by the road-side, shivered by lightning, was the

only rock that I saw between the Richelieu and the St. Lawrence.

When within three miles of Longueuil, the glittering domes and spires of

Montreal appeared in the distance like gems set in the dark mountain

that formed a background beyond. It was five o'clock when we reached

Longueuil, a mile and a half below Montreal, on the opposite side of the

river. There I parted from the young gentleman whose light wagon had

conveyed me from St. John's, and proceeded to Montreal on the steam

ferry-boat that connects it with Longueuil. Neither cab nor omnibus was

in waiting, and I was obliged to ride a mile in a rickety calèche, *

drawn

* The caleche is a two-wheeled vehicle, much used in Lower Canada. It is

similar in form to our gig, but, instead of having but one seat, there

is one for the driver upon the dash-board. Four can ride comfortably in

one of them. Some are made elegantly, with a folding cover to ward off

the sun or rain, and they are a pleasant vehicle to ride in. I found

them in universal use in the narrow streets of Quebec. Such was the

vehicle in use in Canada at the time of our Revolution, and mentioned by

the Baroness Reidese, as the kind in which she and her children traveled

with the British army.

Ride in a Caleche.--Safe Arrival of my Companion.--An Evening Stroll.--

Aurora Borealis

176by a representative of Rosinante. The vehicle, horse, driver, and

ride altogether made a funny affair. The driver was a little Frenchman,

with a jocky-coat and breeches, and a red tasseled skull-cap.

All the way he belabored his beast with blows and curses, but the

animal's hide and ears seemed impervious. I could think of nothing but a

parody on a couplet of the old song, "If I had a donkey," &c. As we

wheeled up a narrow court from St. Paul's Street to the Exchange Hotel,

a merry laugh of half a furlong's audibility rang out from a group of

young ladies upon an upper piazza, and that was my first evidence that

my traveling companion, Miss B------had arrived safely, as per

consignment in the morning to the care of the urbane proprietors of that

excellent establishment. She had rambled through the city with pleasant

company until thoroughly wearied, so I took an evening stroll alone. The

day had been very warm, but the evening was cool. The stars were

brilliant, yet it was too dark to see much beyond the dim forms of massy

buildings, wrapped in deep shadows. But above, in the far north, a

phenomenon seldom exhibited in summer was gorgeously displayed; more so

than we often see it in lower latitudes in winter, and I stood an hour

in the Place d'Arms, watching the ever-changing beauties of the

brilliant Aurora Borealis. It is a strange sight, and well might the

ignorant and superstitious of other times regard it with fearful wonder.

Lomonosov, a native Russian poet, thus refers to the sublime spectacle:

"What fills with dazzling beams the illumined air?

What wakes the flames that light the firmament?

The lightning's flash; there is no thunder there,

And earth and heaven with fiery sheets are blent;

The winter's night now gleams with brighter, lovelier ray

Than ever yet adorned the golden summer's day.

"Is there some vast, some hidden magazine,

Where the gross darkness flames of fire supplies--

Some phosphorous fabric, which the mountains screen,

Whose clouds of light above those mountains rise,

When the winds rattle loud around the foaming sea,

And lift the waves to heaven in thundering revelry?"

Montreal--A ride to the Mountain--Innervating view--Visit the City

Churches--Parliament house--grey nunnery

177

CHAPTER VIII.

HE pleasure-seeker will find much about Montreal to amuse him; and the

staid traveler, searching for the gold of general knowledge might fill a

large chapter in his journal, in recording what is noteworthy amoung

present things there.

(!!!The remainder of the page is damaged.!!!)

The Grey Nuns at Prayer.--First Settlements at Montreal.-- Cartier.--

Jealousy of the Indians.

178Sisters of Charity connected with it, being devoted to the relief of

poor and infirm old persons, and the nurture and education of orphans. *

The building is spacious, and a large number of both classes are there

made comfortable. Our visit was at mid-day. When the clock struck

twelve, a long procession of the nuns, veiled, marched slowly into the

chapel, singing a Gregorian chant, and knelt within the nave in prayer.

We followed in respectful silence. Each nun had a small crucifix and

string of beads attached; and whatever may have been the case with their

thoughts, their eyes never wandered, notwithstanding strangers were

gazing upon them. They were habited in dark drab dresses, bound with

black velvet and looped up behind; aprons with stripes, and over the

head (on which they wore a cap with a deep border), covering the face

and neck, a thin black veil was thrown, through which the features were

discernible. Some were young and pretty, others old and plain, but the

sacred character of their labor of love invested them all with beauty.

We visited a few other places of note, and, after "lunch," I left my

company and went down to Longueuil, where Carleton was defeated by

Warner in 1775. We are upon historic ground; let us open the old volume

a few moments.

Montreal is built upon an island thirty miles long and twelve wide, and

is upon the site of ancient _Hochelaga_, a noted Indian village which

gave its name to the river in this vicinity. The first white man who

visited the spot was Jaques Quartier or Cartier, a October 3, 1535

French navigator, who discovered the Gulf and River St. Lawrence, and

gave them the name they bear. ** The vicinity, even up the slopes of the

mountain, was tilled and covered with corn-fields.

Cartier was enchanted with the view from the mountain--a view of "thirty

leagues radius"--and, in honor of his king (Francis I.), he called it

Mount Royal. In time the name was modified to Montreal, and in this form

was borne by the white settlement that gathered there in 1640. The spot

was consecrated by the superior of the Jesuits, and a chapel built in

1642.

The Indians, at first friendly, became jealous, and at length hostile.

The town was stockaded and slight bastions were built, but finally a

strong wall of masonry was constructed, fifteen feet high, with

battlements and six gates. The town gradually increased in size and

commercial importance, and at the time of our Revolution was nearly as

populous as Quebec. When, toward the middle of the last century,

hostilities commenced between the English and French colonies, Montreal

was an important place as a frontier town. There Duquesne de Menneville

and Vaudreuil de Cavagnal, French governors of Canada, fitted out their

expeditions against the English on the Ohio and the unfriendly Indians

of New York. Montreal was threatened by the English under Amherst in

1759, but it was not until the autumn Septembers 8, 1760 of 1760 that it

passed out of the possession of the French. Quebec surrendered a year

before, and Vaudreuil retreated to Montreal, with a determination to

make

* This hospital was founded by M. Charron and others, in 1692. In 1748

it passed into the hands of a society of ladies, at the head of whom was

Madame Youville, who, being left a widow at the age of twenty-eight,

determined to devote her life and fortune to the relief of the infirm

poor. In 1755 the plan of the establishment was enlarged, so as to

embrace orphans, the cause of which was singular, as given in Bos-

worth's "Picture of Montreal." One winter day, as Madame Y. was passing

the "Little River," she saw an infant hard frozen in the ice, with a

poniard sticking in its throat, and one of its little hands raised

through the ice as if in the attitude of demanding justice against the

perpetrator of the crime. Madame Y. was dreadfully shocked at the sight,

and, on consultation with her associates, it was resolved to extend

their charity and protection to orphans and foundlings.

** He arrived in the gulf on the festival of St. Lawrence (10th of

August), and, on account of that circumstance, named the waters in honor

of the saint.

*** He built a fort on the Ohio, which was called Fort Duquesne. It is

memorable as the place near which Braddock was defeated in 1755, when

Washington's military talents were first conspicuously developed. The

name of the fort was changed to Pitt, and the present city of Pittsburgh

stands upon its site.

Montreal in 1760.--Captured by the English.--Ethan Allen in Canada.--

Proposed Attack on Montreal.

179 there a bold stand in defense of French dominion in Canada. The

English invested Montreal in September, 1760.

Amherst approached down the St. Lawrence from Oswego, General Murray

advanced up the river from Quebec, and Colonel Haviland took post on the

south side of the St. Lawrence, opposite the city. Vaudreuil perceived

that September 6, 1760 resistance would be vain, and two days afterward

the city was surrendered to the English. With this event French dominion

ceased in Canada. The terms of capitulation were honorable to both

parties. Private property was respected; the revenues of the priesthood

were held sacred to their use; the Roman Catholic religion was

undisturbed; the privileges of all classes were preserved and

guaranteed; and every thing was done to reconcile the people to their

new masters. General Gage, afterward Governor of Massachusetts, was

appointed Governor of Montreal.

Montreal remained in quiet possession of the English until 1775, when

the invading army of the insurgent colonies disturbed its repose, after

the capture of Forts St. John's and Chambly. A month previous to these

events the town was alarmed by the appearance of an American detachment

under Ethan Allen, but the result quieted their fears. When the command

of the Northern army devolved upon Montgomery, he sent Allen, who had

been traversing Canada in the neighborhood of the St. Lawrence, to

retrace his steps and further arouse the people in favor of the

rebellion. Active and brave, Allen gathered a large number to his

standard. A week after he left the American camp at _Isle Aux Noix_ he

was at St. Ours, twelve miles south of the Sorel, with two hundred and

fifty Canadians under arms He wrote to Montgomery that within three days

he would join him in laying siege to St. John's, with at least five

hundred armed Canadians. On his way to join the main army, he marched up

the east side of the St. Lawrence to Longueuil. When between that place

and La Prairie, he fell in with Major Brown, at the head of an advanced

party of Americans and Canadians, who informed him that Montreal was

weak and defenseless, and proposed to make a joint attack upon the city.

Allen had confidence in the courage and judgment of Brown, and, as the

scheme opened an adventurous field, he agreed to the proposition

* The island with buildings, seen on the left, is St. Helen's or Helena,

now strongly fortified. It is in front of the city, a mile distant, and

is a beautiful summer resort. It formerly belonged to the Barons of

Longueuil, and is now the property of the crown. The picture is a fac-

simile of the print, with all its defects in drawing.

Battle near Montreal.--Capture of Allen.--Brutality of Prescott-- Harsh

Treatment of the Prisoners.--Biography of Allen.

180Allen was to return to Longueuil, procure canoes, and cross the St.

Lawrence with his troops below the city, while Brown was to cross above

the town, with two hundred men, and the attack was to be made at

opposite points simultaneously.

September 24, 1775 Allen crossed the river at night with eighty

Canadians and thirty Americans.

It was a rough, windy night, and so few were the canoes that they had to

cross three times, yet the whole party passed the foaming waters in the

light vessels safely before daylight. At dawn Allen expected to hear the

signal of Brown, but the morning advanced, and it was evident that the

latter had not crossed over. Guards were placed upon the roads to

prevent persons from carrying intelligence into the town, and Allen

would have retreated if his boats could have carried all over at once.

The Americans being discovered, armed men were soon seen issuing from

the gates. A force of forty British regulars, more than two hundred

Canadians, and a few Indians came down upon them from the town; but,

notwithstanding the disparity in numbers, such was the bravery of some

of the Americans, that the engagement lasted an hour and three quarters.

At length, his men having all deserted but twenty-eight, seven of whom

were wounded, Allen agreed to a surrender upon being promised honorable

terms. They were marched to Montreal, and the officers who were on the

field acted very civilly toward them; but when they were delivered into

the custody of General Prescott, they experienced the most brutal

treatment at his hands. On learning, by conversation with Allen, that he

was the same man who had captured Ticonderoga, Prescott was greatly

enraged, threatened him with a halter, and ordered him to be bound hand

and foot in irons and placed on board the Gaspee war schooner. A bar of

iron eight feet long was attached to his shackles, and, with his fellow-

prisoners, who were fastened together in pairs with handcuffs, he was

thrust into the lowest part of the ship, where neither seat nor bed was

allowed them. * We shall have con-

* Ethan Allen was born in Roxbury, Litchfield county, in Connecticut. He

went to Vermont at an early age, and about 1770 took an active part in

the disturbances that occurred between the Hampshire Grants and the

state of New York. The Legislature of the latter province proclaimed him

an outlaw, and offered fifty pounds sterling for his apprehension. A

party, determining to capture him while on a visit to his friends in

Salisbury and lodge him in the jail at Poughkeepsie, came near effecting

their object. He afterward led the expedition against Ticonderoga, and

his former sins were forgotten by his enemies. In the autumn of 1775 he

was twice sent into Canada to observe the disposition of the people,

and, if possible, win them over to the American cause. On returning from

his last tour to camp, he was induced by Major Brown to cross the St.

Lawrence and attack Montreal. The former failed to co-operate with him,

and he was captured and put in irons. He remained five weeks in irons on

board the Gaspee, at Montreal, and when Carleton was repulsed by Warner

at Longueuil, the vessel was sent down to Quebec. There he was

transferred to another vessel, where he was treated humanely, and sent

to England to be tried for treason. He was placed in charge of Brook

Watson, a resident of Montreal, and afterward Lord Mayor of London.

Allen, in his grotesque garb, attracted great attention in the streets

of Falmouth, where he was landed. He was confined for a time in

Pendennis Castle, near Falmouth, and was sent to Halifax in the spring

of 1776. He was confined in jail there until autumn, and was then sent

to New York, then in possession of the British. There he was kept about

a year and a half. In May, 1778, he was exchanged for Colonel Campbell,

and returned to his fireside in Vermont. He never afterward actively

engaged in military service. He died at Colchester, Vermont, February

13th, 1789, and his remains repose in a beautiful cemetery near the

Winooski, at Burlington. Ethan Allen was a blunt, honest man, of purest

virtue and sternest integrity. In religion he was a free-thinker, and

passed for an infidel. An anecdote is related of him, which illustrates

the purity of his principles. He owed a citizen of Boston sixty pounds,

for which he gave his promissory note. It was sent to Vermont for

collection. It was inconvenient for Allen to pay, and the note was put

in suit. Allen employed a lawyer to attend the court, and have the

judgment postponed until he could raise the money. The lawyer determined

to deny the genuineness of the signature, as the readiest method of

postponing the matter, for in that case a witness at Boston would have

to be sent for. When the case was called, it happened that Allen was in

a remote part of the court-house, and, to his utter astonishment, heard

his lawyer gravely deny the signature of the note. With long and fierce

strides he rushed through the crowd, and, confronting the amazed "limb

of the law," rebuked him in a voice of thunder. "Mr.--------, I did not

hire you to come here and lie. That is a true note--I signed it--I'll

swear to it--and I'll pay it. I want no shuffling, I want time. What I

employed you for was to get this business put over to the next court,

not to come here and lie and juggle about it." The result was, that the

postponement of the claim was amicably arranged between the two lawyers.

Montgomery's March upon Montreal.--Flight and Capture of Prescott.--

Escape of Carleton.--Mutiny in Montgomery's Camp.

181siderable to say of the character and career of the brutal Prescott,

while commanding afterward on Rhode Island.

The cause of Major Brown's failure to cross, and, with Allen, attack

Montreal, has never been explained. The plan was good, and would

doubtless have been successful. Half carried out, it proved disastrous,

and both Brown and Allen were blamed, the one for proposing, the other

for attempting, such a hazardous enterprise.

After the fall of St. John's, General Montgomery pressed on toward

Montreal. Carleton knew its weakness, and at once retreated on board one

of the vessels of a small fleet lying in the river. Montgomery entered

the town in triumph the day after Carleton and November 13, 1775 the

garrison left it. He treated the people humanely, and secured their

confidence and good will. Finding there a large supply of woolen goods,

he set about clothing his army, so that those who accompanied him

further in the campaign might be prepared for the rigors of a Canadian

winter.

As soon as Montgomery saw the disposition of the garrison to flee, he

dispatched Colonel Easton with Continental troops, cannon, and armed

gondolas to the mouth of the Sorel. This force was so advantageously

posted that the British fleet could not pass, and General Prescott,

several officers, members of the Canadian Council, and one hundred and

twenty private soldiers, with all the vessels, surrendered by

capitulation. * At the midnight preceding Governor Carleton was conveyed

in a boat, with muffled oars, past the American post to Three Rivers,

and arrived safely at Quebec. The Americans were very anxious to secure

Governor Carleton, for his talents, judgment, and influence formed the

basis of strength against the invaders. They were watchful in their

guard-boats, but a dark night and a secret way favored his escape, and

they secured a far inferior captive in Prescott, whose conduct, on many

occasions, made him a disgrace to the British army.

Notwithstanding all officers, and it required all the address the

general was master of to induce a respectable force to march to Quebec,

after garrisoning Montreal. But amid all these discouragements *

* There were eleven sail of vessels. Their contents were 760 barrels of

flour, 675 barrels of beef, 376 firkins of butter, 3 barrels of powder,

4 nine and six pounders, cartridges and ball, 2380 musket cartridges, 8

chests of arms, 200 pairs of shoes, and a quantity of intrenching tools.

** Guy Carleton, afterward Lord Dorchester, was Wolfe's quartermaster at

the storming of Quebec, and was appointed a major in the British army in

1772. In 1774 he was constituted Captain-general and Governor of Quebec

or Canada. He successfully commanded the British at Quebec when attacked

by Montgomery in 1775, compelled the Americans to raise the siege in

1776, and drove them out of the province. In October he recaptured Crown

Point. He was unjustly superseded in military command by Burgoyne in

1777. He was appointed to succeed Sir Henry Clinton in 1782, and was in

command of the British troops when they evacuated New York on the 25th

of November, 1783. He died in England at the close of 1808, aged 83

years the important posts in Canada except Quebec were now in possession

of the Americans, Montgomery justly asserted, in a letter to Congress,

that, "till Quebec is taken, Canada is unconquered." Impressed with this

idea, he determined to push forward to the capital despite the

inclemency of the season and the desertion of his troops. The term of

service of many had expired, and others absolutely refused to proceed

further. Insubordination manifested itself among the

Return Home of the Disaffected.--Visit to Longueuil.--The Village

Oracle.--Fruitless Historical Research.

182the hopeful general did not despair. He knew that Arnold was

traversing the wilderness along the Kennebeck and the Chaudière to join

him, and was then, perhaps, menacing Quebec; and he knew also that the

troops under Carleton and M'Lean were hardly adequate to defend the

city, even against a smaller force than his own. He winnowed his army of

the recusant and mutinous, and then pushed onward down the St. Lawrence.

*

I remarked that I left my pleasant company at Montreal, and went down to

Longueuil. My object was to ascertain, if possible, the place where

Warner planted his battery and repulsed the boats of Carleton. Longueuil

is an old town, chiefly composed of small stone houses with steep roofs.

It has a spacious French church, of antique appearance, though not more

than thirty years old. The people all speak bad French, and for more

than an hour I sought the "oldest inhabitant." That mysterious creature

was an old woman of unknown age, and so deaf that she could not hear

half I said, or understand a word. I reciprocated the latter infirmity,

and now confess profound ignorance of all she attempted to say. An

intelligent lad came to the rescue, and silenced our jargon batteries by

referring me to his uncle, who lived near the beach, and "knew every

thing." He was a man about fifty, and spoke English pretty well. I made

my business known, and he at once assumed the patronizing air of Sir

Oraele, said he knew it all, and pointed to the shore a little above as

the very spot where "the cavalry horses were stabled," and where "the

English dragoons drank a health to King George and vowed death to the

Yankees." He knew Sir George Prévost, and praised the veterans of

Wellington who accompanied him. As British dragoons and Wellington's

veterans were not with Carleton, and as my mentor's first birth-day

doubtless occurred twenty years after the time in question, I properly

doubted his knowledge of the facts I was in search of. I told him that

it was the American Revolution I was inquiring about. He did not seem to

understand me, and I called it _rebellion_. "Oh oui yes, yes, I know,"

he exclaimed. "Two hundred crossed here for St. John's. Captain Glasgow

was a fine fellow. Pity Lord Elgin wasn't as great a man as Sir John

Colborne." With exhausted patience, I explained to him the time and

nature of the revolution of the last century, but he had never heard of

it! He knew nothing behind his own "life and times." As he represented

the "collective wisdom" of the village, I despaired of better success,

and returned to Montreal with the fruit of a three hours' expedition

under a hot sun--a Yankee's postulate--a shrewd _guess_. I was as little

successful in my search at Montreal for the battle-ground where Ethan

Allen and his men were made prisoners. An intelligent gentleman, who was

one of the leaders in the rebellion there in 1837, assured me that the

spot was unknown to the inhabitants, for tradition has but little

interest in keeping its finger upon the locality, and not a man was

living who had personal knowledge of the event. It is probable that the

northern suburbs of the city now cover the locality, and that the place

is not far from the present Longueuil ferry-landing.

Having accomplished my errand at Montreal, we departed for Quebec toward

evening, in the fine steamer _John Munn_, accompanied by our Burlington

friends of the morning. The magnificent stone quays were crowded with

people, and our boat had a full complement of passengers. At the lower

end of St. Helen's we entered the St. Mary's Rapids, and, darting past

Longueuil, were soon out of sight of the spires of Montreal. The banks

of the river are low, and on either side villages and cultivated fields

exhibited an ever-changing and pleasing panorama. Beloeil Mountain

loomed up eastward of us, and the white chapel, the pedestal of the

bishop's huge eross upon the loftiest summit, sparkled like a star in

the beams of the setting sun. It was twilight when we arrived at William

Henry, or Sorel, an old town, forty-five miles below Montreal, at the

mouth of the Richelieu or Sorel River. A

* Several hundred of the militia, regardless of order, took the nearest

route to their respective homes in New England and New York. About three

hundred arrived in a body at Ticonderoga, and, flinging their heavy

packs over their shoulders, crossed the lake on the ice, and traversed

the wilderness through the deep snow to their homes in New Hampshire,

Massachusetts, and Connecticut. It was an undertaking quite as perilous

as the siege of Quebec. The endearments of home were the goal of the

one, military glory was that of the other. The choice, though not

creditable to them as patriots, deserves our respectful homage.

Arrival at-Sorel.--Voyage down the St. Lawrence.--Morning View of

Quebec.--The Walla ol Quebeo.

183French engineer named Sorel built a fort there as early as 1665, and

the present town occupies its site. Our boat tarried there an hour for

passengers and freight, but it grew too dark to see much of the town. A

motley group crowded the narrow wharf, and when we left, the forward

deck was covered with cabbages, leeks, and onions for the Quebec market,

which afforded perfume gratuitously for the whole boat.

Sorel was a place of considerable importance at the time of our

Revolution. Standing at the mouth of a navigable river, and at the

narrowest part of the St. Lawrence between Montreal and Quebec, its

possession was important to both belligerents. When the Americans

approached Canada in 1775, Colonel M'Lean, with a Scotch regiment of

Royal Highlanders, went up from Quebec and took station there. When

Carleton left Montreal to reenforce the garrison at St. John's, M'Lean

was to join him near Longueuil; but the unexpected repulse of the former

by the Green Mountain Boys, and the spreading of American detachments

over the country east of the St. Lawrence, between it and the Puchelieu,

so alarmed M'Lean, that he not only fell back precipitately to Sorel,

but abandoned that post to Colonel Easton, and retired to Quebec. At

Sorel, Colonel Easton did good service a few weeks later, when, with

floating batteries and cannon on shore, he disputed the passage of the

British fleet retreating from Montreal, and captured the whole flotilla,

with General Prescott.

Leaving Sorel, we passed several islands, and then entered Lake St.

Peter's, an expansion of the St. Lawrence about twenty-five miles long,

and having an average width of nine miles. A half moon dimly lighted the

sluggish waters, and defined an outline of the huge serpent of smoke

which our vessel left trailing behind. The shores disappeared in the

night shadows, and one after another of the passengers retired to bed,

until the promenade deck was deserted, except by two young ladies, whose

sweet voices charmed us for an hour with "Dearest May" and kindred

melodies. It was near midnight when the nightingales ceased their

warbling, and I sought the repose of my stateroom.

Three Rivers, St. Anne's, the Richelieu Rapids, Cape Rouge, Chaudière,

Sillery Cove, and New Liverpool were all passed during our slumbers, but

we were upon the deck in the morning in time to catch the first glimpse

of Quebec in the distance. A forest of masts, above which loomed Cape

Diamond crowned with the gray citadel and its threatening ordnance, were

the first objects in view. But as our vessel made a graceful sweep

toward Point Levi, and "rounded to" at the Queen's Wharf, I think I

never saw a more picturesque scene.

It was just at sunrise, and the morning was cloudless. As the orb of day

came up from the eastern hills, the city, spread out upon the steep

acclivities and along the St. Charles, reflected back its bright rays

from a thousand windows, and roofs of polished tin. All was a-glow with

luster, except the dark walls and the shipping, and for the moment the

creations of Aladdin's Lamp seemed before us. The enchantment was soon

over, and was succeeded by the sober prose of travel, as we passed

slowly to the upper town along the narrow and crooked Mountain Street,

through Prescott Gate, closely jammed in a pigmy coach. We found

comfortable quarters at the Albion, on Palace Street, one of the most

respectable English hotels in the upper city. After breakfast we ordered

a barouche, to visit the Falls of Montmorenci, the Plains of Abraham,

and other places of note, and obtained a permit from the commandant to

enter the citadel. Before making the interesting tour, let us turn to a

map of the city, trace out its walls and gates and general topography,

and consult the chronicle of its history; then we shall view its

celebrities understandingly.

* Explanation of the Diagram.--A is the St. Charles River; B, the St.

Lawrence; a is Palace Gate; 6, Gate St. John's; c, Gate St. Louis; d,

Governor's Garden, wherein is a stone monument in memory of Wolfe and

Montcalm; e, the portion of Cape Diamond at the foot of which Montgomery

was killed; the grand battery; g, Preseott Gate; h, Hope Gate; o is a

bold point of rock in the Sault-au-Matelot, where Arnold was wounded.

The walls here given, with the citadel in the upper town.

Situation of Quebec.--Early Settlements and Growth.--French Operations

in America.--Approach of Wolfe to Quebec

184Quebec is situated upon and around a lofty promontory at the

confluence of the St. Lawrence and the St. Charles Rivers, and is so

strongly guarded against intruders, by steep acclivities on nearly three

sides, that it has been aptly named the "Gibraltar of America." Art has

added strength to these natural defenses, and, except on the rear, it is

absolutely impregnable to any known implements of war. Before it spreads

out a magnificent basin, where a hundred ships of the line might ride at

anchor; and around it, as far as the eye can reach, industry has planted

a beautiful garden. The plains of the St. Charles, the towering Cap

Tourment, the Falls of Montmorenci and of the Chaudière, the lovely

Island of Orleans, and the pleasant slopes of Point Levi, unite, with

the city itself, to make up a cluster of attractions with which those of

few places on earth can vie. July, 1608 The foundation of the city was

laid two hundred and forty years ago, by Samuel Champlain, and yet it is

just upon the margin of the primeval forest, which extends from a narrow

selvage of civilization along the St. Lawrence to the Arctic regions.

When Champlain, with great parade, laid the foundation stone of the

future city, Old _Hochelaga_ (now Montreal), discovered by Cartier more

than a hundred years before, was blotted from existence, and but a few

whites were planting corn and sowing wheat where the Indian gardens had

flourished. Religion and commerce joined hands, and the new city soon

became the capital of French dominion in America. From it missionaries

and traders went westward to obtain peltry and furs, make geographical

discoveries, and convert the heathen, and in a few years the French

language was heard in the deep forests that skirted the vast lakes, from

the Thousand Islands at the foot of Ontario to the broad waters of the

Huron. Immigration steadily augmented the population, churches and

convents were erected, * and the bastioned walls of old Fort St. Louis,

mounted with cannon, were piled around the temples of the Prince of

Peace at Quebec; for the treacherous Algonquin, the wily Iroquois, and

the bloody Huron, though mutual enemies, coalesced in jealousy of the

French and a desire to crush their rising strength. As the colony

increased in power, and, through its missionaries, in influence over the

Indian tribes, the more southern English colonies became jealous, and a

deep-seated animosity between them prevailed for a generation. At length

the two governments quarreled, and their respective colonies gladly

espoused each the cause of the parent state. To guard the St. Lawrence,

the French built a strong fortress upon the Island of Cape Breton, and

also began a cordon of forts along the lakes and the Ohio and

Mississippi. Frontenac, Oswego, Niagara, Duquesne, and Detroit arose

along the frontier. Fleets and armies came from the Old World; the

colonists armed and formed strong battalions; the savage tribes were

feasted, and bribed, and affiliated with European warriors, and

wilderness America became a battle arena. In a little while the

different fortresses changed masters; Louisburgh, the strong-hold of

French military power in America, fell before the skill and bravery of

Amherst and Wolfe; and at the beginning of 1759 Quebec was the only

place of considerable importance in possession of the French.

We have considered, in a preceding chapter, the success of Amherst and

Wolfe in the capture of Louisburgh, and the high reputation which that

event gave them. Pitt, relying upon the skill and bravery of these two

commanders, resolved, if possible, to conquer all Canada in a single

campaign, intrusting the chief command to Amherst. That general, with a

large force, attempted to join Wolfe at Quebec, by sweeping Lake

Champlain and capturing Montreal; he was unsuccessful, and Wolfe alone

had the glory of the siege of Quebec.

Wolfe embarked eight thousand troops at Louisburgh, under convoy of a

fleet of twenty-two ships of the line, and an equal number of frigates

and smaller armed vessels, commanded by Admirals Saunders and Holmes. He

landed his army safely near the Church of St. LauJune 27, 1759 rent,

upon the Island of Orleans, a few miles below Quebec, where, under the

direction of Sir Guy Carleton (afterward governor of Canada), batteries

were erected.

* These were placed upon the most accessible portions of the promontory,

and near them the rude buildings of the people were erected. To these

circumstances Mr. Hawkins, author of a capital "Guide to Quebec,"

ascribes the present irregular course of the streets.

Position of Montcalm's Army.--British Possession of Orleans and Point

Levi.--Land near Montmerenci.

185The brave and accomplished Montcalm, with an army of thirteen

thousand men, six battalions of which were regulars, and the others

Canadians and Indians, occupied the city with a garrison, and a strongly

intrenched camp upon the heights of Beauport, extending from the St.

Charles to the River Montmorenci. The center of the camp and Montcalm's

headquarters were at Beauport.

The whole front was intrenched and well defended from the English

cannon. Beyond the right wing a bridge was thrown across the St.

Charles, and strongly protected, to keep up a communication with the

city. There were also two batteries for its defense, placed upon hulks

sunk in the channel.

Wolfe sent General Monkton to take possession of Point Levi, opposite

Quebec.

He landed at Beaumont, and marched up to the point with little

opposition, where he erected batteries, from which the shots dealt

destruction upon the lower town lying upon the St. Charles, but had no

effect upon the walls of the city. Finding efforts from that point

unavailing, Wolfe, with his division on Orleans, crossed the north

channel of the St. Lawrence, and encamped near the left bank of the

Montmorenci, within cannon-shot of the left wing of the enemy on the

other side of the river. He met with fierce opposition, but succeeded in

maintaining his ground and erecting two batteries there. Still, Quebec

was too distant to be affected by any of his works, and he resolved upon

the bold measure of storming the strong camp of the enemy. On the last

day of July the troops at Point Levi, and a large number of grenadiers

under General Monkton, crossed the St. Lawrence in the boats of the

fleet, and landed a little above the Montmorenci. At the same time those

below Montmorenci, under Generals Townshend and Murray, crossed that

stream by fording it near its mouth, at low water, and joined the other

division upon the beach. The enemy at once made arrangements to receive

them. The right of the French was *

* This sketch is taken from Durham Terrace, near the north wall of the

Castle Garden. In the foreground are the tops of the houses below in

Champlain, Notre Dame, and St. Peter's Streets, and in the distance,

across the St. Lawrence, is seen Point Levi, with its pretty little

village, its church and wharves. On the extreme left, in the distance,

is the upper end of the Island of Orleans, which divides the channel.

The point seen is the place whore Wolfe erected batteries.

Junction of the English Division.--Severe Battle.--Wolfe disheartened.--

Camp broken up.--Wolfe's Cove

186under Baron de St. Ours, the center under De Senezergues, and the

left under M. Herbin The garrison in the city was commanded by M. de

Ramezay.

It was nearly night when the English divisions joined, and heavy

thunder-clouds were rolling up from the west. The grenadiers, impatient

of restraint, rushed madly upon the enemy's works, before the other

troops that were to sustain them had time to form. Consequently they

were driven back to the beach with a severe loss, and sought shelter

behind a redoubt which had been abandoned by the enemy. The French kept

up a galling fire, till the gathering tempest burst with great fury upon

the belligerents. Night closed in while the storm was yet raging. The

tide came roaring up against the current of the St. Lawrence with

uncommon strength, and the British were obliged to retreat to their camp

across the Montmorenci, to avoid submersion on the beach by the foaming

waters. The loss of the English in that unfortunate attempt was one

hundred and eighty killed and six hundred and fifty wounded.

Wolfe was greatly dispirited by this event, for he was very sensitive to

censure, and that he expected for this miscarriage. The emotions of his

mind, co-operating with fatigue of body upon his delicate constitution,

brought on a fever and dysentery, that nearly proved fatal. It was

nearly a month before he was able to resume the command. When

sufficiently recovered to write, he drew up a letter to Pitt, in which,

after detailing September 2 the events, referring to his illness, and

frankly confessing that he had called a council of war, he said, "I

found myself so ill, and am still so weak, that I begged the general

officers to consult together for the general safety.... We have almost

the whole force of Canada to oppose us. In this situation there is such

a choice of difficulties, that I own myself at a loss how to determine.

The affairs of Great Britain require the most vigorous measures; but

then the courage of a handful of brave men should be exerted only where

there is some hope of a favorable event." When this letter reached

England, it excited consternation and anger. * Pitt feared that he had

mistaken his favorite general, and that the next news would be that he

had either been destroyed or had capitulated. But in the conclusion of

his melancholy epistle Wolfe had said he would do his best; and that

best turned out a miracle of war. He declared that he would rather die

than be brought to a court-martial for miscarrying, and, in conjunction

with Admiral Saunders, he concerted a plan for scaling the Heights of

Abraham, and gaining possession of the elevated plateau at the back of

Quebec, on the side where the fortifications were the weakest, as the

French engineers had trusted to the precipices and the river beneath. **

The camp at Montmorenci was broken up, and the artillery and troops were

conveyed across to Point Levi, whence they were taken some distance up

the river by a September 12 a portion of the fleet under Holmes, while

Saunders, with the rest of the fleet, remained behind to make a feigned

attack upon the intrenchments at Beauport. Montcalm, unable to

comprehend these movements, remained in his camp, while Bougainville was

stationed a little above the Plains of Abraham, to watch the operations

of the division of the English fleet that sailed up the river.

At night the troops were all embarked in flat-boats, and proceeded up

the river with the tide. Bourgainville saw them, and marched up the

shore to prevent their landing. It was starlight, yet so cautiously did

the boats, with muffled oars, move down the river toward daylight, with

ebb tide, that they were unperceived by the French detachment, and

landed safely in a cove below Sillery, now called _Wolfes Cove_. The

first division was commanded by Lieutenant-colonel (afterward General)

Sir William Howe, and were all on shore at dawn The light infantry

scrambled up the woody precipice, and dispersed a French guard under

Captain de Verjer, *** while the rest of the army clambered up a winding

and steep ravine.

* The news of the failure of Wolfe at Montmorenci reached England on the

morning of the 16th of October, and was published in an extra Gazette of

that date. The same evening Captain Hale arrived and brought the news of

the triumph upon the Plains of Abraham. The general grief was suddenly

changed into great joy, and a day for public thanksgiving was set apart

by the old king.

** Pictorial History of England, iv., 609.

*** The French guard, who could not comprehend the noise below them,

fired down the precipice at random, and so the British fired up. They

all fled but the captain, who was wounded and taken prisoner. It is said

the poor fellow begged the British officer to sign a certificate of his

courage and fidelity, lest ho should be punished for accepting a bribe,

in the belief that Wolfe's bold enterprise would be deemed impossible

without corruption.

Ascent of the English to the Plains of Abraham.--The Battle-ground.--

Preparations for Battle.--Wolfe's Ravine.

187The second division, under General Townshend, landed in good order,

and before sunrise five thousand British troops were drawn up in battle

array upon the Plains of Abra September 13, 1759 ham, three hundred feet

above the St. Lawrence.

The appearance of the English troops upon the heights was the first

intimation Montcalm had of the real intentions of his enemy. He at once

saw the imminent danger to which the city and garrison were exposed, and

immediately marched his whole army across the St. Charles to attack the

English. He brought his troops into battle line about ten o'clock in the

morning. He had two field pieces; the English but one, a light six

pounder, which some sailors succeeded in dragging up the ravine at about

eight o'clock in the morning.

I am indebted to Alfred Hawkins, Esq., of Quebec, for the following

account of the position of the two armies, and the present localities

identified therewith: "The battle-ground presents almost a level surface

from the brink of the St. Lawrence to the St. Foy Road. The _Grand

Allée_, or road to Cape Rouge, running parallel to that of St. Foy,

passes through its center. That road was commanded by a field redoubt, a

four-gun battery on the English left, which was captured by the light

infantry. The remains of this battery are distinctly seen near the

present race-stand. There were also two other redoubts, one upon the

rising ground in the rear of Mr. C. Campbell's house--the scene of

Wolfe's death--and the other toward the St. Foy Road, which it was

intended to command. On the site of the country seat called Marchmont,

at present the residence of Major-general Sir James Hope, K.C.B., there

was also a small redoubt commanding the intrenched path leading to the

cove. This was taken possession of by the advanced guard of the light

infantry immediately on ascending the height. At the time of the battle

the plains were without fences or inclosures, and extended to the walls

oh the St Louis side. The surface was dotted over with bushes, and the

roads on either side were more dense than at present, affording shelter

to the French and Indian marksmen.

"In order to understand the relative position of the two armies, if a

line be drawn to the St. Lawrence from the General Hospital, it will

give nearly the front of the French army at ten o'clock, after Montcalm

had deployed into line. His right reached beyond the St. Foy Road, where

he made dispositions to turn the left of the English. Another parallel

line, somewhat in advance of Mr. C. G. Stewart's house on the St. Foy

Road, will give the front of the British army before Wolfe charged at

the head of the grenadiers of the twenty-second, fortieth, and forty-

fifth regiments, who had acquired the honorable title of the Louisburgh

Grenadiers, from having been distinguished at the capture of that place,

under his own command, in 1758. To meet the attempt of Montcalm to turn

the British left, General Townshend formed the fifteenth regiment _en

potence_, or representing a double front. The light infantry were in the

rear of the left, and the reserve was placed near the right, formed in

eight subdivisions, a good distance apart."

Wolfe placed himself on the right, at the head of the twenty-eighth

regiment of _Louisburgh Grenadiers_, who were burning with a desire to

avenge their defeat at the Montmorenci. The English had waited four

hours for the approach of the French, and were fully *

* This scene is about half way up the ravine from Wolfe's Cove, looking

down the road, which is a steep and winding way from the river to the

summit of the Plains of Abraham. It is a cool, shaded nook--a delightful

retreat from the din and dust of the city in summer.

Battle on the Plains of Abraham.--Bravery and Death of Wolfe.-- Death of

Montcalm.--Burial-place of Montcalm.

188prepared for action. Montcalm was on the left of the French, at the

head of the regiments of _Languedoc, Bearne, and Guienne_. Wolfe ordered

his men to load with two bullets each, and reserve their fire until the

French should be within forty yards. These orders were strictly obeyed,

and their double-shotted guns did terrible execution. "The hottest of

the fight occurred," says Hawkins, "between the right of the race-stand

and the martello towers." *

After delivering several rounds in rapid succession, which threw the

French into confusion, the English charged furiously with their

bayonets. While urging on his battalions in this charge, Wolfe was

singled out by some Canadians on the left, and was slightly wounded in

the wrist. He wrapped a handkerchief around to stanch the blood, and,

while still cheering on his men, received a second wound in the groin; a

few minutes afterward another struck him in the breast and brought him

to the ground, mortally wounded. At that moment, regardless of self, he

thought only of the victory for his troops. "Support me," he said to an

officer near him; "let not my brave soldiers see me drop. They day is

ours--keep it." He was taken to the rear, while his troops continued to

charge. The officer on whose shoulder he was leaning exclaimed,

"They run, they run!" The light returned to the dim eyes of the dying

hero, and he asked, with emotion,

"Who runs?"

"The enemy, sir; they give way every where."

"What," feebly exclaimed Wolfe, "do they run already? Go to Colonel

Preston and tell him to march Webb's regiment immediately to the bridge

over the St. Charles, and cut off the fugitives' retreat. Now, God be

praised, I die happy!" These were his last words, and in the midst of

sorrowing companions, just at the moment of victory, he died. Montcalm,

who was gallantly fighting in the front rank of the French left,

received a mortal wound, and died the next morning about five o'clock,

and was buried in an September 14. excavation made by the bursting of a

shell within the precincts of the Ursuline Convent, where his remains

still rest. *** When Lord Aylmar was Governor of Canada, he

* The Martello Towers are four strong structures erected at different

distances in rear of the city, between the St. Lawrence and the St.

Charles. Cannons are mounted upon their tops. They are very thick on the

side toward the open country, but thin toward the city. The object of

this manner of construction is, that, if taken by an enemy, they can

easily be laid in ruins by the shot of the garrison.

** James Wolfe was born in Westerham, in Kent, January 2d, 1727. He

entered the army very young, and soon distinguished himself by skill,

judgment, and bravery. After his return from the expedition against

Louisburgh, in 1758, he was appointed to the command of that section of

the expedition against Canada that went up the St. Lawrence. His assault

on Quebec was one of the boldest military achievements ever attempted,

but, just at the moment of victory, he lost his life, at the early age

of 32 years. His body was conveyed to England on board the Royal

William, and buried at Greenwich on the 20th of November, 1759, where,

in the family vault, the hero rests by the side of his father and

mother. His father, Edward Wolfe, was a lieutenant general, and died in

March of the same year, aged 74. The British government erected a

monument to the memory of the young hero, in Westminster Abbey.

*** Lewis Joseph de St. Veran, Marquis de Montcalm, descended from a

noble family of Candiac, in France. He was educated for a soldier, and

distinguished himself at the battle of Piacenza in 1746. He rose by

degrees to the rank of field marshal, and in 1756 was appointed Governor

of Canada. He ably opposed the English under Abercrombie, but fell while

gallantly fighting Wolfe at Quebec, on the 13th of September, 1759. His

remains are within the grounds of the Ursuline Convent at Quebec. A few

years ago a plain marble slab was placed to his memory, in the chapel of

that nunnery, by Lord Aylmar, on whieh is the following inscription:

Honneur a

Montcalm

Le destin, en lui dérobant

La victoire,

L' a recompensé par Une mort glorieuse.

Monument where Wolfe fell.--Capitulation of Quebec.--Levi's Attempt to

recapture it.--Ills Repulsion.--Capture of Montreal.

189caused a small granite pillar, about ten feet high, to be erected

upon the spot where Wolfe fell upon the Plains of Abraham, now just

within the southern suburb of Quebec. It bears the brief inscription,

Here died Wolfe, victorious. That Vandalism under the specious guise of

reverence for the great, of which I have already had occasion to speak,

has sadly mutilated this monument, as may be seen in the engraving. The

pedestal has lost many a pound of _relic_, and the iron railing around

the monument has been broken down.

Wolfe and Montcalm were both able commanders, and were idolized by their

respective troops. The former, though so young, was almost reverenced by

his officers, for to bravery and great military skill he united all the

virtues and graces of the perfect gentleman. The expressions of

attachment made by General (afterward Marquis) Townshend illustrate the

sentiment of his officers and men. In a letter written just after the

battle, he says, "I am not ashamed to own to you that my heart does not

exult in the midst of this success. I have lost but a friend in General

Wolfe. Our country has lost a sure support and a perpetual honor. If the

world were sensible at how dear a price we have purchased Quebec in his

death, it would damp the public joy. Our best consolation is, that

Providence seemed not to promise that he should remain long among us. He

was himself sensible of the weakness of his constitution, and determined

to crowd into a few years actions that would have adorned length of

life."

Five days after the battle the city of Quebec capitulated and passed

into the September 18, 1759 possession of the English, and the remnant

of the grand army of the French, under M. Levi, who succeeded Montcalm,

retired to Montreal. General Murray was left to defend battered and

half-ruined Quebec, and the British fleet, fearful of frost, retreated

down the St. Lawrence to the ocean. Levi determined on attempting to

regain all that the French had lost, and in the spring of 1760 he

marched upon Quebec with a motley army of ten thousand men, composed of

French, Canadians, and Indians. Murray, with seven thousand men, went

out and attacked him, but was sorely defeated, lost all April 28, 1760

his guns, and was nearly cut off in his retreat back to the city. Levi

followed up his success vigorously, and as soon as the ice left the St.

Lawrence he brought up six French frigates and prepared to beleaguer the

city by land and by water. He encamped upon the heights above Point

Levi, and felt sure of his prey. Fortunately for the English, Lord

Colville arrived at this juncture with two good frigates, and destroyed

the French vessels under the eyes of Levi. Thoroughly frightened by the

suddenness of the event, and May 16 learning that these two fast sailers

were only the van of a powerful fleet, the French commander retreated

precipitately to Montreal, leaving his artillery and stores behind him.

Vaudreuil, the governor general of the province, was at Montreal, and

Amherst, Murray, and Haviland proceeded to invest that city. Despairing

of succor from abroad, Vaudreuil capitulated on the 8th of September,

and on that memorable day French power in Canada expired and hostilities

in America ceased. Peace ensued between the two governments by the

conclusion and signing of a treaty at Paris, on the 10th of February,

1763, and thus ended the famous "Seven Years' War." From that time the

two races have not been arrayed in battle against each other in the

Western world, except while the French were here as allies in 1780--81,

and assisted in the battle at Yorktown and the capture of Cornwallis. *

* Since my visit to Quebee (August, 1848) the remains of this monument

have been removed, and a column forty feet high, surmounted by a bronze

helmet and sword, has been erected. The monument is from the design of

Sir James Alexander

Collection of an Army near Boston.--Washington's Appointment.--His

Generals.--Expedition under Arnold planned

190Quebec enjoyed tranquillity until the Americans, under Montgomery and

Arnold, invaded Canada in the autumn and winter of 1775. We left the

former pressing forward toward the city, with the rigors of a Canadian

winter gathering around him. Let us return and watch the progress of

that little army of patriots, and also consider the wonderful expedition

of the brave Arnold through the wilderness of the east.

We mentioned incidentally, in a previous chapter, that when the tidings

of the capture of the forts on Lake Champlain reached the Continental

Congress, that body promptly took action to defend the liberties of the

people, and secure their rights by force of arms, if necessary. The

skirmishes at Lexington and Concord, the menaces against Massachusetts,

and Boston in particular, fulminated by the home government, and the

arrival of several regiments of British troops, for the avowed purpose

of crushing the anticipated rebellion, aroused a spirit of resistance in

the colonies hitherto unknown, even when the Stamp Act, ten years

before, had awakened a terrible storm of indignation throughout the

land. From all directions men flew to arms, and in a few weeks a large

patriot army invested Boston, and threatened Governor Gage and his

mercenary troops with destruction. The incongruous material which

composed the army was partially organized by appointing Artemas Ward *

commander-in-chief until the general Congress should act in the

premises. That action was not long delayed, and on the 15th of June

Congress adopted a resolution to appoint a general "to command all the

Continental forces raised for the defense of American liberty." George

Washington was unanimously chosen to fill the important office, ** July

12, 1775 he repaired to Cambridge, near Boston, and took command of the

army. He-set about organizing and disciplining the troops, and making

preparations for an active campaign.

About the middle of August, a committee of Congress visited Washington

in his camp, and a plan was then devised to send a force to Canada, by

way of the Kennebec River, to co-operate with Schuyler, already

preparing to invade that province by way of the North ern lakes. Arnold

was then at Cambridge, uttering loud complaints of ill usage upon Lake

Champlain. His bravery was well known, and the proposed expedition was

exactly suited to his adventurous disposition. To silence his complaints

and to secure his services, Washington appointed him to the command of

that perilous expedition, and at the same time gave him a commission of

colonel in the Continental army. Eleven hundred hardy men were detached

for the service from the army, consisting of ten companies of musketeers

from New England and three companies of riflemen from Virginia and

Pennsylvania. Arnold's field officers were Lieutenant-colonel

Christopher Greene (the hero of Red Bank, on the Delaware), Lieutenant-

colonel Roger Enos, and Majors Meigs and Bigelow. The riflemen were

commanded by Captain Daniel Morgan, the renowned partisan leader in

subsequent years of the war.

Arnold and his troops marched from Cambridge to Newburyport, where they

embarked September 18 on board eleven transports for the mouth of the

Kennebec. They reached Gardiner in safety and found two hundred bateaux

ready for them at Pitts-ton, on the opposite side of the river.

Carpenters had been previously sent to construct

* Artemas Ward was a native of Massachusetts, and graduated at Harvard

in 1748. He was successively a representative in the Legislature and

member of the Council of his state. He was also a justice of the Court

of Common Pleas for Worcester county. Having considerable military

knowledge, he was chosen to command the army that gathered around Boston

in the spring of 1775. Congress appointed him the first of the four

major generals under Washington, and to him was assigned the division of

the army at Roxbury, when the siege of Boston, in 1776, took place. He

resigned his commission a month after that event, yet, at the request of

Washington, he continued in command till toward the last of May. He was

a member of Congress under the Confederation, and also after the

adoption of the present Constitution. He died at Shrewsbury in 1800,

aged 73 years.

** Four major generals and eight brigadiers were appointed at the same

time. To the former rank were chosen Artemas Ward, Charles Lee, Philip

Schuyler, and Israel Putnam (the Major Putnam in the French and Indian

war); to the latter, Seth Pomeroy (supposed to be the soldier who shot

Dieskau), Richard Montgomery, David Wooster, William Heath, Joseph

Spencer, John Thomas, John Sullivan, and Nathaniel Greene. Horatio Gates

was appointed adjutant general, with the rank of brigadier.

Arrival at Fort Western.--Norridgewock Falls.--The Ancient Indians.--

Father Ralle.--Fatiguing Portage.

191then rendezvoused at Fort Western, opposite the present town of

Augusta. This was on the verge of an uninhabited and almost unexplored

wilderness, * and toward its fearful shadows these brave men turned

their faces.

A small reconnoitering party was sent in advance to Lake Megantic, or

Chaudière Pond, and another to survey the course and distances of the

Dead River, a tributary of the Kennebec. The main body moved forward in

four divisions, a day apart in time. Morgan, with the riflemen, was in

the van; next were Greene and Bigelow, with their companies of

musketeers; Meigs, with four other companies, followed, and the rear was

brought up by Elios, with three remaining companies. Arnold was the last

to leave Fort Western. He proceeded in a birch canoe, passed the several

parties, and overtook Morgan on the third day at Norridgewock Falls.

Here, upon a beautiful plain on the eastern bank of the river, the

ancient Norridgewock Indians, a tribe of the Abenakes, had a village,

and in the midst of the grandeur, beauty, and fertility of nature, and

the barbarous heathenism of man in this picturesque region, Father

Ralle, a French Jesuit, had erected a Christian altar, and taught the

sublime truths of the Gospel. **

Here the first severe toils of the little army began, for they were

obliged to carry all their bateaux, provisions, and stores around the

falls, a mile and a quarter, into the navigable waters above. The banks

were rocky and precipitous. They found, too, that their boats were

leaky, and much of their provisions was spoiled or greatly damaged.

Seven days were consumed in passing the falls and repairing the 191these

vessels. The troops vessels. The same labor, though not so fatiguing,

was demanded at the Carratunc Falls.

* Colonel Montressor, a British officer, had traversed the wilderness

fifteen years before. He ascended the Chaudière from Quebec, crossed the

Highlands near the head waters of the Penobscot, passed through Moose-

head Lake, and entered the eastern branch of the Kennebec. Arnold

possessed an imperfect copy of the printed journal of Montressor, and

this, with information received from some St. Francis Indians who

visited Washington's camp, gave him an idea of the country and the

privations his men must suffer. The same region was traversed by a

French missionary named Decuillettes, more than two hundred years

before. He crossed the St. Lawrence to the sources of the Kennebec, down

which river he descended to its mouth, and thence coasted eastward to

the missionary station on the Penobscot.--Hildreth, ii., 84.

** Father Ralle resided among the Norridgewocks twenty-six years, and

possessed great influence over them. He was considered an enemy to the

British settlers in Massachusetts, and an expedition was planned against

him and the settlement. A party fell upon them suddenly, and killed and

scalped the priest and thirty of the Indians. This event occurred in

1724, and when Colonel Arnold was there, in 1775, the foundations of the

church and altar were still visible, but the red men had forever

departed. Father Ralle left a manuscript dictionary of the Abenake

language (the dialect of the Norridgewocks), which is preserved in the

library of Harvard University.

Voyage up the Kennebec.--The Dead River.--Elevated Country.--A Freshet.

Return of Enos.--His Trial and Acquittal

192Desertions and sickness reduced their number to about nine hundred

and fifty effective men when they arrived at the great carrying-place,

twelve miles below the junction of Dead River with the Kennebec. So

rapid was the stream, that the men waded more than half way, pushing the

bateaux against the current; yet they were in good spirits, and seemed

to partake of the enthusiasm of their leader.

Arnold now examined his muster-roll and commissariat. The troops, though

somewhat reduced in number, were strong and enthusiastic, and he

ascertained that he had twenty-five days' provisions in store. The

Chaudière, on which were French settlements, he estimated to be at a

distance of ten days' travel. The weather was fine, and the prospect so

encouraging that they pushed forward with alacrity. The great carrying-

place was a portage of fifteen miles, broken by three ponds. Oxen

dragged the bateaux part of the way on sleds, and the baggage and stores

were carried on the shoulders of the men. Over craggy knolls and tangled

ravines, through deep morasses, creeks, and ponds, they pursued their

journey, sometimes carrying their vessels and the vessels sometimes

bearing them, until they reached the Dead River. The ponds afforded an

abundance of delicious salmon-trout, and want of food had not yet been

among their privations. The surface of the Dead River was smooth, and

the waters flowed on in a gentle current in the midst of the magnificent

forest, now rendered gorgeous by the brilliant hues imparted to the

foliage by early frost. Occasional falls interrupted their progress, but

the labors of the men were far less severe than hitherto. Suddenly the

monotony of the vast forest was broken by the appearance of a lofty

mountain covered with snow, at the foot of which Arnold encamped three

days, raising the Continental flag over his tent. * A small hamlet

called Flag-staff, in commemoration of the event, is upon the camp-

ground, and the lofty eminence bears the name of Mount Bigelow. **