251. After his victory on Lake George, Montcalm was unable to prosecute his march upon Fort Edward. His army was almost worn out by fatigue and the use of inferior provisions; he had no oxen or horses to transport the cannon; and the food, bad as it was in quality, had become scarce; moreover, in view of the scarcity then prevailing in Canada, he was under the necessity of sending away the militia to attend to the harvest.

Under these circumstances he contented himself with destroying the fort and intrenchments recently occupied by the English, His troops were then distributed amongst the garrisons at Carillon, Crown Point, and the military posts along the Richelieu, between which the work of completing roads was carried on during the remainder of the

season.

252. In the meantime, the troops of Lord Loudon returned from Halifax. But no further military operations of a regular kind were prosecuted in 1757 on either side. 253. Before winter set in, the case of Canada, owing to various causes already mentioned, became truly deplorable. The harvest proved very deficient both in quantity and quality. By February 1758 the scarcity which had prevailed was converted into a famine. We learn from the reports of French officers, addressed to the Ministers at Paris, that "the people are perishing of want. The Acadian refugees, during the last four months, have had no other food than horse-flesh and dried fish, instead of bread. More than three hundred of them have perished by starvation. The Canadians have only a quarter of a pound of bread per day. Horse-flesh is six sous a pound. A soldier

"Massacre of Fort William Henry" would be more correct, as Fort George did not exist until two years after, when General Amherst caused the latter to be constructed on a site near to that of Fort William Henry.

receives half a pound of bread a day, and his weekly allowance of other food is reduced to three pounds of beef, three pounds of horse-flesh, two pounds of peas, and two pounds of dried fish." By the month of April the famine became very severe, and the daily allowance of bread to the people was reduced to two ounces. "Everywhere a horrible dearth existed. In the month of May there remained scarcely any meat or bread. Beef and flour could not be bought for twenty-five sous per pound each, and gunpowder (needed for the chase) was at the rate of four francs."

To add to the general horror with which such a state of affairs must have inspired the mind of every thoughtful person in the colony, the conduct and modes of living practised in some circles were in strange contrast with the prevailing symptoms of distress. Reckless extravagance, whose only visible means of support consisted in a heartless system of robbery and misappropriation of the public resources, reigned in the private habitations of Bigot and his coadjutors.* Gambling and immorality infected the atmosphere in which these people breathed, with little or no attempt at disguise. The officers of the army and marine service were drawn into the vortex. As has been remarked to have frequently occurred in the world's history, in other communities, on a greater or less scale of magnitude, when a ruinous crisis was at hand, everything seemed to foreshadow the early fall of the colony.

An official of the time wrote-" At Bigot's residence the play was such as to frighten the most determined gamblers. Bigot himself would join in games at hazard with ten, fifteen,

*Cadet and Pean, as well as Bigot, lived in great style and luxury, supporting many lackeys, chambermaids, &c. According to arrangements made by Governor Vaudreuil, large numbers of savages were provisioned at Montreal, Three Rivers, and Quebec. At the last-named city, the cost of food for the savages exceeded that of maintaining the citizens.

thirty, and even forty persons, losing perhaps two hundred thousand francs. While play was going on at Quebec in Bigot's house, they gambled likewise at M. de Vaudreuil's in Montreal. The King had forbidden games of hazard, but his orders were openly disobeyed. Montcalm was indignant at these scandalous proceedings, and made representations on the subject. He feared to see all the resources of his officers swallowed up by these games of hazard carried to excess."

In the course of the spring of 1758, the severity of the famine was mitigated through the arrival of ships from France laden with flour and provisions. These vessels had narrowly escaped capture by the numerous English cruisers, which rendered the communications between the colony and Europe extremely difficult. At the same time, the preparations for another campaign, destined to be more desperately contested than any preceding one, put an end to some of the social evils of which mention has been made in this chapter.

CHAPTER XXVI.

CAMPAIGN OF 1758.

254. THE bad success of the British arms in America during the season of 1757 having occasioned great dissatisfaction in England, the Ministry, at the head of which was William Pitt, recalled Lord Loudon, and appointed a number of excellent officers to commands. Amongst these were General Amherst, commander-in-chief, BrigadierGeneral James Wolfe, and Lord Howe.

It was enjoined upon the colonial Governments to raise

as many troops as possible for service in the campaign of 1758, and the call was responded to at once by offers from Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New Hampshire, to furnish, at least, fifteen thousand men. In course of the winter, preparations were made for resuming operations in the same directions as before-Louisbourg in Cape Breton, Carillon and Crown Point on Lake Champlain, and Duquesne on the Ohio. But now the views of the British were no longer limited to considerations about colonial frontiers. Having the command of the ocean, and the ability to place far superior forces in the field, the Government, with Pitt at its head, contemplated nothing short of the extinction of French power in America. It is probable, in fact, that at this time the better informed and more sagacious among the authorities in Canada, learning the intentions of the English to direct against them operations on a greater scale of magnitude than had ever been witnessed before, began to perceive that the struggle would now be for the maintenance of a mere footing on their own soil. It is certain, from the desponding tone of the letters of Montcalm and others, addressed to the French Ministry at this period, that the dreams of generations of Frenchmen about establishing the transatlantic "Empire of New France" were passing away for ever.

255. Louisbourg fell into the hands of the English after a siege and a spirited resistance, which lasted from A.D. 1758. the 7th to the 26th of June 1758. General Wolfe, on the side of the assailants, and M. de Drucor, the commandant of the place, distinguished themselves. The latter, however, was compelled to surrender at discretion, after having endeavoured in vain to obtain terms of capitulation. This was the most important success yet obtained since the war began, for it deprived the French of their only stronghold on

the coast of North America. The fall of Louisbourg placed in the hands of the victors prisoners to the number of five thousand five hundred, eleven ships of war, eleven military standards, together with large quantities of arms, military. stores and provisions. In consequence of their victory, the English became undisputed masters of Cape Breton and Isle Royale (Prince Edward's Island).*

256. In the south, General Forbes, at the head of fifteen hundred regular troops, and about five thousand militia, marched from Philadelphia in the beginning of July. The expedition was intended to operate against the French in the valley of the Ohio. Nearly four months were spent in surmounting the difficulties of the route across the Alleghanies, as far as the banks of the Monongahela; but a somewhat different route was followed from that which

*The siege and capture of Louisbourg added greatly to the reputation of the British forces. The principal officers employed, Boscawen and Amherst, received the thanks of Parliament.

Wolfe, being then in a subordinate position, was not so honoured, but, as he had given ample proofs of the highest military genius and heroism, was soon after promoted to the rank of major-general.

Wolfe had previously made himself known by his services in Germany and Scotland. At Louisbourg he completely gained the hearts of all by the promptitude, daring, and energy with which he executed the boldest plans of Amherst, and the admiral. "Chosen by Amherst to head the troops at Fresh Water Cove, he was the first to leap ashore and scale the cliffs, exposed to the fire of masked batteries and crowds of musketeers. He then led a detachment through the woods, amidst ambuscades of lurking savages, a distance of six miles, to a point where he erected a battery commanding an important outpost of the French. Next, after tracing out lines for batteries near the sea-shore, he repulsed a sortie at the head of the Highlanders and Light Infantry, and then seized another important outpost. In short, whenever there were hard blows, difficulty, and dangers, Wolfe was always in the foremost rank-all being ready to follow and serve one who had gained the affection of the whole army, from the general down to the rudest soldier." Such was the young general who, a year later, was destined to lose his life in the execution of an exploit still more decisive than the taking of Louisbourg.