[2] A transcript lately issued by the Canadian Antiquarian and Numismatic Society of Montreal, of the expense book of the commissary under Arnold which has entries from February to May, 1776, goes to show that, to give the invader his due, large sums of money were disbursed for beef and other supplies. During the war bread was very dear and wheat was scarce. A brown loaf cost thirty _sols_ or 1 s. and 3 d. a pound; white, 25 _sols_, or 1 s. ½ d. a pound. CHAPTER IX MONTREAL, AN AMERICAN CITY SEVEN MONTHS UNDER CONGRESS 1776 THE CONGRESS ARMY EVACUATES MONTREAL MONTREAL UNDER CONGRESS--GENERAL WOOSTER’S TROUBLES--MONEY AND PROVISIONS SCARCE--MILITARY RULE--GENERAL CONFUSION--THE CHATEAU DE RAMEZAY, AMERICAN HEADQUARTERS--THE COMMISSIONERS: BENJAMIN FRANKLIN, SAMUEL CHASE AND CHARLES CARROL--FLEURY MESPLET, THE PRINTER--THE FAILURE OF THE COMMISSIONERS--NEWS OF THE FLIGHT FROM QUEBEC--MONTREAL A STORMY SEA--THE COMMISSIONERS FLY--THE WALKERS ALSO--THE EVACUATION BY THE CONGRESS TROOPS--NOTES: I. PRINCIPAL REBELS WHO FLED; II. DESCRIPTION OF DRESS OF AMERICAN RIFLES. Meanwhile the efforts of Montgomery and Arnold with a force of about one thousand, five hundred men, among whom were the Canadians under Major Duggin, formerly a Quebec barber, were engaged in besieging Quebec, a more difficult task than they expected. On the last day of 1775 Montgomery met his death. Arnold was wounded in the foot and many of the congress soldiers had caught the smallpox. Still the siege went on, although under great depression. The death of Montgomery had placed General Wooster in command of the province till the appointment of General Charles Lee in February. “For God’s sake,” wrote Arnold to Wooster at Montreal on December 31st, “order as many men as you can possibly spare consistent with the safety of Montreal.” But Wooster had his own troubles. The Canadians around him could not be relied on. Besides he had no cash. Price, of Montreal, who had enticed the Americans over, had enabled them to subsist as an army, having already advanced about £20,000; but now he was “almost out of that article himself,” and could find no one in the city willing to lend. (Price to General Schuyler, January 5th.) Wooster, therefore, looked upon Montreal as the place to be reserved for a retreat. “I shall not be able to spare any men to reinforce Colonel Arnold,” he wrote to Schuyler on January 5th. “What they will do at Quebec for want of money God only knows, but none can be spared from Montreal.” Yet in the last week of January Wooster had been enabled to send about one hundred and twenty from Montreal.