of other parts of Canada, and particularly of Quebec, to the end, that, banishing all fear, and putting their confidence in his fortune and his fidelity, they might espouse the cause of America. Having thus satisfied the inhabitants of Montreal, he entered the city, on the 13th of November.

The troops of Montgomery, generally but ill equipped, were greatly annoyed by the cold of the season, which in that climate. began to be very severe. Especially in their march from St. John to Montreal, the lands being continually low and marshy, they encountered innumerable difficulties, which only an incredible constancy enabled them to surmount. Arrived at Montreal, some murmurs began to escape them; and the greater part of the soldiers, whose term of service had expired, were inclined to return to their homes; but general Montgomery, by his words, by the influence he had over them, and by a distribution of woollen clothing he had bought in the city, retained a part of the discontented; the others abandoned the army, and caused it to experience a diminution the more sensible, as it was already none too large. But, the more obstacles multiplied, the more kindled the elastic genius of the intrepid Montgomery.

The taking of Montreal by the provincials entirely paralyzed the naval apparatus of the governor. He found himself blockaded, in the part of the river St. Lawrence which is comprehended between the city and the mouth of the river Sorel. Below this point, the passage was interdicted him, by the floating batteries and rafts, armed with artillery, under the command of colonel Easton. The taking of the governor himself appeared inevitable; which was to be considered as the decision of the war of Canada, as the pledge of the conquest of the capital, and of the entire province. Its fate depended absolutely upon the presence of this chief, whose courage and prudence presided over all. In a position so perilous, he found the way to escape, and at the very instant when his ruin appeared impending. He threw himself into a boat; and, having caused the oars to be muffled, to diminish the noise, he had the good fortune to pass, favored by the obscurity of the night, through the guard boats of the enemy, and to arrive sound and safe at Quebec. General Prescot, who after the departure of the governor, had taken command of the squadron, was forced to surrender.

With him fell into the power of the provincials many other officers, several members of the civil administrations of Canada, the volunteers of this province, and a corps of English soldiers; all of whom had taken refuge on board the ships, when general Montgomery was on the eve of arriving at Montreal. Having left a garrison in Montreal, as also in the forts of St. John and Chambly, to keep open a communication between Quebec and the colonies, to secure the submission of the Canadians, and to overawe the Indians, as well as the garrisons of Detroit and Niagara, he marched towards Quebec, with a

corps of little more than three hundred men, the sole residue of all the army.

}

While these events passed in the upper part of Canada, the city of Quebec was itself menaced, from an unexpected quarter, with a most imminent peril.

Washington, in his camp near Boston, had conceived an enterprise as surprising for its novelty as terrific for the obstacles and dangers which it presented in the execution; but if it was hazardous, it was no less useful. He thought there must exist a way, which, though unfrequented, and known only by the mountaineers in the mild season, led from the upper parts of New Hampshire and the province of Maine, across deserts, marshes, woods, and almost inaccessible mountains, into Lower Canada, on the part of Quebec. He calculated that an attack directed against this point, would produce the greater effect, as it would be the more unexpected; for not only no army was ever known to pass through these rough and dismal solitudes, but never had human being, until then, even imagined it was possible. Washington knew, besides, that the city of Quebec was by no means in a state of defence. His plan coincided perfectly with that part of the army which was to penetrate into Upper Canada by way of the lakes and the river Sorel. It was known how insufficient were the forces of governor Carleton, who, compelled to divide them, could not hope to resist two corps that should attack him simultaneously, the one towards Montreal, the other towards Quebec. If he persisted in defending the part contiguous to the first of these cities, the second fell into the hands of the Americans; if, on the contrary, he marched to the succour of Quebec, Montreal and all the adjacent country could not escape them.

The command of this adventurous enterprise was confided to colonel Arnold, a man even more rash than audacious, of a genius fertile in resources, and of a firmness not to be shaken. There were selected, to follow him, ten companies of fusileers, three of riflemen, and one of artillery, under the orders of captain Lamb. A few volunteers joined them, among whom was colonel Burr, who afterwards became vice-president of the United States. The corps amounted in all to cleven hundred men. The province of Maine is traversed by a river called the Kennebec, which takes its source in the mountains that separate this province from Canada, and, running from north to south, falls into the sea, not far from Casco bay. Opposite the sources of the Kennebec, on the other side of the mountains, rises another river, named the Chaudiere, which goes to empty itself into the St. Lawrence, a little above the city of Quebec. In going from one of these sources to the other, it is necessary to pass steep mountains, interrupted by frequent torrents and marshes. No living being is found in all this space. Such is the route colonel Arnold was to take, in order to arrive at Quebec.

He had received instructions to endeavor to correspond with the army of Upper Canada, by means of the Indians of St. Francis, who inhabit the banks of a river of this name, situated between the Chaudiere and the Sorel. He was also to employ all possible means to conciliate the friendship of the Canadians, and to inform general Washington of whatever should happen to him, from day to day. He carried with him six thousand pounds sterling, and proclamations in abundance; they were used then with the same prodigality that they have been since.

All the preparations being completed, and the troops appearing animated with extreme ardor, colonel Arnold departed from the camp of Boston about the middle of September, and arrived at Newburyport, situated at the mouth of the Merrimac.

The vessels that waited for him there, conveyed him to the mouths of the Kennebec. The wind being favorable, he entered the river, and found two hundred batteaux in preparation, at the town of Gardiner. Having laden them with his arms, ammunition, and provisions, he thus proceeded up the river to fort Wester, situated upon the right bank. Here he divided his corps into three detachments; the first, composed of riflemen, and commanded by captain Morgan, formed the vanguard, to explore the country, sound the fords, prepare the ways, and especially to reconnoitre what the Americans denominate portages. These portages are places where, the rivers ceasing to be navigable, it becomes necessary to carry by hand or sumpter, all the lading of the batteaux, and finally the boats themselves, until the streams become navigable anew. The second detachment marched the day following, and the third, the day after that. The current was rapid, the bed of the river rocky, and often interrupted by falls and other impediments. It happened at every instant, that the water entered the batteaux, and damaged or drowned the provisions and ammunition. At every portage, and they were encountered continually, the boats were to be unladen, and transported upon shoulders, to a navigable place. The way upon land offered difficulties no less formidable than this of the water. It was necessary to penetrate through thickest forests, to scale frightful mountains, to wade through quagmires, and traverse horrible precipices. The soldiers, while hewing a way through so many obstacles, were forced to carry all their baggage; and accordingly they advanced but very slowly. Provisions began to fail them before they arrived at the sources of the Kennebec. They found themselves constrained to eat their dogs, and even aliments still more strange. Numbers, wasted by continual fatigues and hardships, were attacked with maladies. As soon as they reached the source of Dead river, which is a branch of the Kennebec, colonel Enos received orders to send back all the sick, and all those to whom it was not possible to furnish provisions. But this officer, embracing the occasion, returned with all his detachment

to the camp at Boston. All the army, on seeing him appear, were transported with indignation against a man who had abandoned his own companions, in the midst of danger, and whose desertion might occasion the miscarriage of the whole enterprise. He was brought before a court martial, but acquitted, in consequence of the acknowleged impossibility of procuring sustenance in these wild and desert places.

Meanwhile, colonel Arnold pursued his march, with the two first divisions. He had employed thirty-two days in traversing fearful solitudes, without perceiving a single habitation, a single human face. Marshes, mountains, precipices, were encountered at every step, and appeared to cut off all hope of success, or rather all hope of safety. Death was to all more an object of desire than of fear; their toils, their hardships, their sufferings, had no end. Their constancy, however, did not desert them; the law of necessity seemed to sustain their energies. Arrived upon the summit of the mountains that separate the waters of the Kennebec from those of the Chaudiere and of the river St. Lawrence, the feeble relics of food that still were found were divided equally among all the companies. Arnold said to his soldiers, they must now push forward to seek subsistence, since they had no other resource, no other chance of preservation. As to himself he was to be seen every where, reconnoitring the places, and searching for some means to escape famine. The companies were still thirty miles distant from any inhabited place, when it was found that every species of subsistence was consumed to the last morsel. Despair became general; all at once, Arnold appeared, and brought with him wherewith to satisfy the first wants of nature. They resumed their march; and at length discovered, with inconceivable joy, the sources of the Chaudiere, and, soon after, the first habitations. of the Canadians. These showed themselves heartily well disposed towards the Congress, and offered the Americans all the succours that were in their power. Arnold, who was impatient to reap the fruits of so many toils and of so many perils, would wait no longer than was necessary for the rear guard to come up, and to assemble the scattered soldiers. He then gave out a proclamation of general Washington. It was drawn up in the same style as those of generals Schuyler and Montgomery. The Canadians were exhorted to enter into the confederacy, and resort to the banners of general liberty; they were told, that the colonists came not to oppress or despoil them, but, on the contrary, to protect persons and property, in a country they considered friendly; 'Let them remain, therefore, in their dwellings; let them not fly from their friends; let them furnish the troops with all the necessaries in their power, for which they might depend upon full payment.'

Arnold continued his march, and arrived, the 9th of November, at a place named Point Levy, situated opposite to Quebec, upon the

right bank of the river St. Lawrence. It is easy to imagine the stupor of surprise which seized the inhabitants of Quebec, at the apparition of these troops. They could not comprehend by what way, or in what mode, they had transported themselves into this region. This enterprise appeared to them not merely marvellous, but miraculous; and if Arnold, in this first moment, had been able to cross the river, and fall upon Quebec, he would have taken it without difficulty. But colonel Maclean had been seasonably apprised of the approach of the Americans, by a letter, which Arnold, being still at the sources of the Kennebec, had confided to an Indian of St. Francis, to deliver to general Schuyler, and which this savage had suffered to be taken from him, or perhaps had voluntarily given up. The English had consequently withdrawn all the batteaux from the right bank to the other side of the river. In addition to which, the wind this day blew so violently, that it would have been impossible to cross the river without manifest danger. These two circumstances saved the city. Arnold was forced to lose several days; and he could have no hope of being able to pass, except in the night, the river being guarded by the frigate Lizard and several smaller armed vessels, that were anchored under the walls of the city. But, during many successive nights, the wind was even more impetuous than by day. Meanwhile, the Canadians bad furnished Arnold with batteaux; and he waited only for a fit time to attempt the passage.

The commander of Quebec found himself provided with few means to defend the city. The spirit that prevailed among the inhabitants could not fail to alarm him; and the garrison was very feeble. The merchants and English were much dissatisfied with the French laws, which had recently been introduced into the province, and the little regard shown by the government for their petitions. They complained, that all favors, that all privileges, were reserved for the French inhabitants; and that the desire to win the benevolence of these enemies, had caused the government to despise friends. These Frenchmen they said, 'elated with pride by so many attentions, incessantly insult and outrage the English. Even in private circles, these zealous subjects are forward to discourse upon affairs of state, in order to sound the opinion of those that hear them, and afterwards to go and report their words to persons in authority. Thus the liberty enjoyed by the English in their actions and speech, is transformed into symptoms of disaffection, disloyalty, and sinister designs.' The English citizens also manifested an extreme disgust at the license of the soldiery, and as the conduct of the governor, who had left the city without garrison, when the troops had been sent against the insurgents in the part of the Sorel and of Montreal, without even having taken the precaution to organise the companies of militia. It appeared, also, that little reliance could be placed in the fidelity of the French, the greater part of whom were wavering, and some even declared