great line of intercourse in their dealings with the Indians of the west, as well as the track of communication with Louisiana, the Illinois, and the Mississippi, which was frequently interrupted by the warlike Autagamis, and their allies the Sioux and Chicasaws. M. de Vaudreuil at length brought those savages to pacific overtures; and, as a means of increasing the population of the French settlements, and strengthening the garrisons, he proposed that 150 of the convicts, which were condemned in France to the galleys, should be annually sent to Canada. At this period, (1714,) there were no more than 4500 men, from fourteen to sixty years of age, able to bear arms, in all Canada, while the English colonies could raise about 60,000. During the remainder of M. de Vaudreuil's administration, terminated by his death in 1725, the French colonists enjoyed the blessings of peace; and the cultivation and trade of the province prospered under his vigilant, firm, and just government, which for twenty-one years was attended with the approbation of his sovereign, and the esteem and admiration of those under his command. The Chevalier de Beauharnois, who succeeded to the government, planned an unsuccessful enterprise to cross America to the South Sea; and he also erected the important fort at Crown Point, with several others, in order to keep the English east of the Alleghany mountains. During his long administration the interests of Canada were generally attended to; the colony enjoyed the blessings of peace; some important changes were made in the laws; several church decretals, which clogged industry, and pressed heavily on the people, were repeal ed; and the conduct of the nuns, which was for some time complained of as irregular, and very different from the vows by which they pretended to regulate their character and habits, was controlled. In 1745, a royal edict directed that no countryhouses should be built but on farms of one acre and a half in front, and by forty back. This law confined the population along the banks of the rivers. In 1746, the Count de la Galissoniere, a nobleman of great acquirements, succeeded M. de Beauharnois ; but, being unable to obtain that assistance in carrying his plans into execution which he expected from France, he was superseded, in 1747, by M. de la Jonquiere; who was also succeeded temporarily by the Baron de Longuieul, until the arrival of the Marquis du Quesne, in 1752, as governor-general. Preparations were made by him immediately after for active warfare with the English colonists, and hostilities were commenced on their traders on the Ohio. The Sieur de Vaudreuil Cavagnal succeeded him in 1755. The English army, commanded by General Braddock, was repulsed this year; and, on the following year, the celebrated Marquis de Montcalm, who had arrived from France, with a strong reinforcement of regular troops, destroyed Fort Oswego, the outworks of Fort George, and the sloops and bateaux that were intended to attack Crown Point. Next year, he reduced Fort George; but the victory was disgraced by the massacre of 2000 of its inhabitants by the savages under his command, which completely roused the indignation of the British, and led to those mighty preparations which I have already noticed in the Historical Sketch of Nova Scotia, and which finally destroyed the power of France in America. The financial affairs of Canada, and the interests of private individuals, were also about this time placed in a ruinous position, by the profligacy and villany of M. Bigot, the intendant-general. CHAP. V. PREPARATIONS MADE BY THE ENGLISH FOR CONQUERING CA NADA. - FORCES UNDER GENERAL WOLFE LAND AND AS CEND THE HEIGHTS. - BATTLE OF THE PLAINS OF ABRAHAM. - DEATH OF WOLFE. - SURRENDER OF QUEBEC. - DEATH OF MONTCALM. - SURRENDER OF NIAGARA. - TICONDERAGO. CROWN POINT AND MONTREAL. THE INTENDANT-GENERAL M. BIGOT'S FRAUDULENCY. - GOVERNOR MURRAY'S REPORT. SUCH was the condition of Canada when the English, exasperated by the massacre at Fort George, and animated by the surrender of Louisburg, unanimously resolved on subduing all the northern French possessions in America. It was therefore determined to conquer Canada, by attacking Quebec, Fort Niagara, and the forts at Ticonderago and Crown Point. To the army under General Wolfe, and the fleet under Admiral Saunders, was assigned the conquest of Quebec; to General Amherst, the commander-in-chief, the reduction of the forts at Crown Point and Ticonderago; and that of Niagara to General Prideaux, but which afterwards devolved on Sir William Johnston. The latter expeditions were afterwards to concentrate their forces with those under General Wolfe. In the month of June 1759, the English fleet reached the Island of Orleans, where Wolfe landed with an army of 8000. The French disposable forces, exclusive of the garrison of Quebec, consisted of about 10,000 men, with a reserve of 2000. Wolfe first attempted the entrenchments at Montmorenci, landing his troops under cover of the fire from the ships of war; but he was gallantly repulsed by the French. After some delay, it was determined to effect a landing, in order to carry the heights of Abraham, above Quebec. This daring resolution was effected on the 12th September, with surprising secrecy and intrepidity. The ships of war sailed nine miles up the river above Quebec to Cape Rouge. This feint deceived M. Bougainville, who, with his division of the French army, proceeded still farther up along the banks of the river, to prevent the British debarking. During the night, the English ships dropped down silently with the current to Wolfe's Cove, and at four o'clock in the morning the troops began to land. At eight, the British army ascended the precipitous heights, with two field-pieces in front; the 48th regiment and the light infantry forming a reserve, and the royal Americans covering the landing. The Marquis de Montcalm, who was then at Beauport, marched across the St. Charles on the 13th, and imprudently formed in front of the British army, with only one field-piece, and before he could concentrate all his disposable forces. He then advanced most gallantly; but the scattered, quick firing of his troops, which commenced when within about 250 yards of the English line, was far from being so effective as that of the British. The latter moved forward regularly, firing steadily, until within twenty or thirty yards of the enemy, when they gave a general volley, and the French were soon after routed. Bougainville had just then appeared in sight, but the |