The Bastonnais: Tale of the American Invasion of Canada in 1775-76Lespérance, John
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The Bastonnais: Tale of the American Invasion of Canada in 1775-76
Lespérance, John
Canadian Invasion, 1775-1776 -- Fiction
So soon as the first canoe was made, Cary Singleton launched it, and,
accompanied by two men, made the reconnoissance which so much frightened
the gossipping laundresses. He did not approach the north shore as near
as he had intended, for fear that the women might give the alarm and
betray his design, but he saw enough through his glass to enable him to
report that the secluded basin, sheltered by dense trees, and known as
Wolfe's Cove, would be a favorable place for the landing of the invading
army. Accordingly, after three days devoted to the repose of his troops,
and the replenishing of his stores from the neighboring farm houses,
Arnold, on the night of the 13th November, undertook to cross the St.
Lawrence. He was favored by darkness and a storm, and from ten in the
evening till four in the morning, by the aid of thirty birch-bark canoes
and a few rafts, he was engaged in the hazardous work. Backwards and
forwards the fragile vessels plied silently over the broad bosom of the
river, bearing a freight of taciturn armed men, on the point of whose
muskets literally trembled the fate of Canada. As the morning dawned the
whole of the Continental army, with the exception of 160 men who were
left at Levis, was safe in the recess of Wolfe's Cove, and Arnold had
won another stake in the lottery of war.
V.
ON THE RAMPARTS.
Very early that same morning, Zulma Sarpy drove into Quebec, accompanied
by a single servant. As she neared the city, she caught a glimpse of the
rebel troops surging up the gorge of Wolfe's Cove and forming in groups
on the fringe of the skirting wood. They could not as yet be seen from
the city, although the authorities had, an hour or two previously, been
apprised of their landing. The sight wonderfully exhilarated the girl.
She was not astonished, much less intimidated by the warlike view.
Rather did she feel a thrill of enthusiasm, and a wild fancy shot
through her mind that she too would like to join in the martial display.
She stopped her horse for a moment to make sure that her eyes were not
betraying her, and when she was satisfied that the men in the distance
were really Continentals, she snapped her whip and drove rapidly into
Quebec, in order to enjoy the malicious pleasure of being the first to
communicate the fact to her friends.
In that anticipation she was not disappointed. Her story at first was
not credited, because a glance at the Heights of Levis, across the
river, revealed the presence of troops there. But when she insisted and
detailed all the circumstances, the news spread with rapidity. From one
street it passed into another; from Upper Town it flew into Lower Town,
and according as the news was confirmed by other persons coming into the
city, the people grew wild with excitement and crowded to the ramparts
to satisfy themselves.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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