officer--in later years famous as a navigator--was on the alert with a
force of upwards of two thousand soldiers. He had double work to do,
to guard these apparently impregnable cliffs, and to assure the arrival
of provisions from the country by river and land. It was the expected
arrival of a convoy of provisions that proved an important factor in
the successful accomplishment of a plan that Wolfe had devised for the
capture of the city.

While the siege was in progress, the news from the west and from Lake
Champlain was discouraging for the French. Niagara had been
surrendered by Pouchot to Sir William Johnson, who had taken command on
the death of Prideaux--killed at the beginning of operations--and a
large force that was brought up by Ligneris from the Ohio valley to
{254} succour the post had been severely defeated. Crown Point and
Ticonderoga had been abandoned by Bourlamaque, and there was for a time
some expectation of the advance of Amherst to the St. Lawrence;
Montcalm was obliged to weaken his army by sending his ablest general,
Levis, with a force of fifteen hundred men, to look after the defences
of Montreal, but the sluggish English general wasted his time on the
banks of Lake Champlain.

It was quite clear to Wolfe and Saunders that Amherst was not to give
them any assistance in the difficult work before them. It was on the
night of the 12th of September that Wolfe carried out the project which
had been for some time forming in his mind. He had managed to
concentrate a force of four thousand men above the fortress without
awakening the suspicions of the French, who were confident that
Bougainville was fully able to prevent any force from attempting so
impossible and foolhardy an exploit as the ascent of the high cliffs.
The visitor to the historic places around Quebec will be deeply
interested in a cove, just above Sillery, now known as Wolfe's Cove,
but in old times as the Anse-au-Foulon. A zig-zag and difficult path
led from this cove to the top of the height, and Wolfe conceived the
hope that it was possible to gain access in this way to the table-land
where he could best give battle to Montcalm. He saw that the cliff at
this point was defended by only a small guard, under the command, as it
afterwards appeared, of Vergor, who had been tried and acquitted for
his questionable surrender of Beausejour. When the {255} English boats
dropped down the river with the tide at midnight, on the 12th