receive from the commander-in-chief. By his instructions of January the 18th, 1759, the words had been added "or other his superior officers." They were not included in the subsequent letter. In spite of what passed, Whitmore wrote to Pitt with reference to the Quebec expedition, remarking “that the inferior force of the enemy renders it extremely improbable that any inconvenience can arise by the exchange of regulars for provincials;" himself furnishing the condemnation of his conduct.

It has been said that Amherst wrote to Wolfe that he would send him three hundred Boston pioneers, and, accordingly, he appealed to Thomas Hutchinson, the lieut.-governor of Massachusetts to obtain them. Hutchinson greatly exerted himself in despatching them and wrote to Wolfe advising him to borrow the troops from the provincials of the Louisbourg garrison, to be replaced by the Boston pioneers. Wolfe accordingly applied for them. Whitmore again shewed his bad spirit; instead of making a selection and ordering the men to join Wolfe's corps he contented himself with asking for volunteers. As none offered to go he would give no orders and none went.

On the 1st of June the fleet sailed out of Louisbourg harbour. The soldiers were in excellent spirits and they cheered with all their hearts as the bands played what may be called the national air as troops are sailing from home, "The girl I left behind me." Knox, who was a captain of Kennedy's, the 43rd, tells us that at every mess table that night, of every rank, the toast drunk was, "British colours on every French fort, post and garrison in America."*

a Company of Light Infantry from this Garrison. Bragg's Regiment, three Companies of Granadiers and all the Rangers are ordered to embark when you see fit.

"Major Gen1. Wolfe."

"ED. WHITMORE.

Can. Arch., A. & W. I., 88, p. 78. Whitmore's letter is not given by Wright. Whitmore was drowned in a voyage from Louisbourg to Boston, in January, 1762. The ship, by stress of weather, put into Plymouth. Whitmore is represented as accidentally falling overboard.

The name of captain R. N. Knox will frequently appear as an authority during

1759]

THE SAINT LAWRENCE.

239.

Previous to sailing Wolfe wrote at length to Pitt. He related the rebuff he had received from Whitmore, and he had the generosity to say that it had proceeded from a scrupulous obedience to orders. He explained the reason of his application, that he found the four new companies of rangers so bad that he expected no service from them unless mixed with the light infantry. Several transports had not arrived, but he had taken flour from Louisbourg. He had applied for money to Amherst, "but he could send me none. This is one of the first sieges perhaps that ever was undertaken without it."

There were one thousand of the Boston militia at Louisbourg. It was from this body he asked for one hundred. pioneers. After the fleet had left he heard that three hundred Massachusetts men were preparing to embark.*

The fleet under Saunders' command came in sight of the coast of Newfoundland on the 29th of June. The snow still lay upon the hills. Sailing between Newfoundland and the north headland of Cape Breton, the ships passed the Bird islands on the 9th, and on the 12th they reached the inhospitable island of Anticosti, which for the centuries it has been known is avoided by all but the lighthouse-keeper, the sportsman, and the occasional fisherman, remaining to this hour in its isolation. The fleet had now reached the waters within a few miles of the scene, forty-five years previously, of the

Wolfe's campaign. He belonged to Kennedy's, the 43rd, and was born in Edinburgh; finally he established himself at Dalkeith, where he died in 1790. In 1769 he published two quarto volumes, the "Historical journals of the Campaigns in North America, for the years 1757, 58, 59 and 1760, etc.”

• Hutchinson, in his history of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, describes these 300 men as 'sent to Quebec." They do not appear to have gone further than Louisbourg. The corps is not shewn on the several states, especially that on the 12th of October, when the full force is given, amounting in all to 8,817, in which the only provincial regiments named are 5 companies of rangers. None of the rangers were present before Quebec on the morning of the 13th of September. Of the 6,500 men raised by Massachusetts, 2,800 were in Louisbourg and Nova Scotia, the remainder served with Amherst. Wolfe spoke highly of Hutchinson's zeal for the public service and very great knowledge of the affairs of his province. His history of Massachusetts is one of the most valuable works we possess of the annals of the American continent.

dreary failure of sir Hovenden Walker and "Jack" Hill, who commanded the land troops. There was the same difficulty for the British fleet in ascending the river, but admiral Saunders had not been selected as the brother of the man midwife who, in interesting circumstances, had attended the queen's female favourite. On the 18th the ships arrived at Bic, where the "Richmond," with Wolfe on board, had previously anchored. By the 20th the fleet was at the mouth of the Saguenay. A storm threatened for a time many of the transports, the anchors of which were dragged, but the wind changed, and the fleet arrived on the 23rd at île aux Coudres. Here they met admiral Durell, whose arrival has been recorded.

As the ships advanced, the signal fires were seen from height to height, announcing at Quebec that the main English fleet was in the Saint Lawrence. At that date Canada was settled as far as Rimouski on the south shore. On the north shore settlement reached Malbaie, some sixty miles below the island of Orleans. The population, however, was scattered, and not numerous.* As little faith could be given to the pilots who had been pressed to perform their duty; sounding boats were sent in advance of the fleet, and the navigation was undertaken by the seamanship of the several

* On the north shore settlement extended to the île aux Coudres, being somewhat continued to Malbaie, Les Eboulements and the bay of Saint Paul. In 1739, the total population of these last-named parishes is given as 445. [Census 70-71, vol. IV., p. 60.] In 1765, two years after the conquest, the following parishes are named: Île aux Coudres, Eboulements, Baie St. Paul, Petite Rivière, St. Joachim, St. Féréol, Ste. Anne du Nord, Château Richer, L'Ange Gardien, Beauport and Charlesbourg, with 901 familes and 4,946 of population. On the south shore, below the island of Orleans, there were the parishes of St. Thomas, Montmagny, île aux Grues, L'Islet, Port Joli, Ste. Anne de la Pocatière, St. Denis, Kamouraska, Rivière du Loup, Ile Verte, Trois Pistoles and Rimouski. By the census of 1765, settlements in addition are named at St. Valier, Berthier, St. François du Sud, Cap St. Ignace, St. Roch and Rivière Ouelle. In 1739 the population of the island of Orleans was 2,318, and from the island of Orleans to Rimouski was 3,323. In 1765 the population of the island of Orleans was 2,303. No parishes are named after Rivière du Loup suggesting that the settlements east of that place had been abandoned. Including Rivière du Loup on the north shore from St. Vallier, there were at that date 1,425 families and 7,890 of population. [Ib., pp. 64-65.1

1759]

"OLD KILLICK."

241

captains.* The channel was laid off by different coloured flags, and the ascent was successfully accomplished. On the 25th of June the vessels reached the east of the island of Orleans, and advanced to the village of Saint Laurent. On the afternoon of the 26th, Wolfe from the "Richmond," gave

As the fleet was ascending to Quebec Knox was in the "Goodwill" transport, the master of which was an old sailor named Killick. The pilot, who had been one of the men taken prisoner, was ordered to carry the vessel through under penalty of death; he was very angry and showed so much ill-will that the sailors would have thrown him overboard, except from admiral Saunders' order that no prisoner should suffer ill-treatment. Knox understood French: had the pilot known the fact he might have been more guarded. "Some of your ships," said he, "may return to England, but they will have a dismal tale to carry, for Canada will be the grave of the whole army, and I hope ere long to see the walls of Quebec decorated with English scalps." Killick rightly gauged the situation or possibly understood the man. The story cannot be better told than in Knox's own words: "He would not let the pilot speak, but fixed his mate at the helm, charged him not to take orders from any person but himself, and going forward with his trumpet to the forecastle, gave the necessary instructions. All that could be said by the commanding officer and the other gentlemen on board was to no purpose; the pilot declared we should be lost, for that no French ships ever presumed to pass there without a pilot. “Ay, ay, my dear,” replied our son of Neptune, “ 'but, damn me, I'll convince you that an Englishman shall go where a Frenchman dare not show his nose." The "Richmond" frigate being close astern of us, the commanding officer called out to the captain and told him our case; he enquired who the master was, and was answered from the forecastle by the man himself, who told him he was old Killick, and that was enough!" I went forward with this experienced mariner, who pointed out the channel to me as we passed, shewing me by the ripple and colour of the water where there was any danger, and distinguishing the places where there were ledges of rock (to me invisible) from banks of sand, mud or gravel. He gave his orders with great unconcern, joked with the sounding-boats which lay off on each side with different coloured flags for our guidance, and when any of them called to him and pointed to the deepest water, he answered: "Ay, ay, my dear, chalk it down, a damned dangerous navigation, eh? If you don't make a splutter about it, you'll get no credit in England." After we had cleared this remarkable place, where the channel forms a complete zigzag, the master called to his mate to give the helm to somebody else, saying, "Damn me if there are not a thousand places in the Thames fifty times more hazardous than this; I am ashamed that Englishmen make such a rout about it." The Frenchman asked me if the captain had not been there before. I assured him in the negative, upon which he viewed him with great attention, lifting at the same time his hands and eyes to heaven with astonishment and fervency."

This passage has been already published, and is well known, but it is too remarkable to be omitted.

R

orders for the landing to be made on the following morning. At midnight he sent lieutenant Meech, of the rangers, with forty men, to feel what was before them. They came upon a party of Canadians, who were burying their property. Meech, believing himself to be surrounded, ordered his men to fire, when the Canadians retired. Meech made no attempt to pursue, but took possession of a house, and at daylight sent in search of one of his men, who was missing. He was found dead, and scalped. The rangers followed the trace of the Canadians to the north of the island, where it was seen that they had embarked for the north shore.

The troops landed, and parties marched over the island to find it deserted. On the church door was a letter from the curé to the worthy officers of the British army, "asking their protection for the church and his dwelling, regretting that they had not arrived earlier, so they could have enjoyed the asparagus and the vegetables in his garden." The ornaments and the plate of the church, together with all that could be removed, had been taken away.

The island of Orleans is twenty miles in length and six miles at its greatest breadth; the main channel runs to the south of it; at its western point the harbour of Quebec commences. From this spot Wolfe first looked upon the fortress he was present to attack. The Beauport shoals lay to the north of the seven miles of water between him and Quebec; to the south, Point Lévis projects to approach Quebec on its western side within a mile and a half; to the east of Point Lévis the channel is two and a half miles wide, the chord of the projecting point being four miles from east to west. The French intrenchments extended along the north shore to the falls of Montmorency; the left of the line being protected by the rapid current of the stream descending to the falls, making its passage impracticable. The right of the line rested upon the river Saint Charles, bridged to admit of access to Quebec. Before him stood the fortress with the flag of France waving in the sunlight. On the same morning there was a violent storm; fortunately, the troops were dis