about ten at night. They plied continually to and fro until midnight,
when all had crossed the river without the enemy perceiving or even
suspecting our operation, although so near to us were their posts on
their left that we heard distinctly their voices. All was executed
without the least noise, disorder, or confusion--a rare occurrence on
such an occasion. Le Borgne acted well, and at the same time
economized his ammunition so well that he had wherewith to fire upon
the English at intervals until one in the morning. Imagining us then
to be near Montreal, he hoisted the white flag to capitulate, and the
English, not having the smallest notion of our retreat, granted him
immediately very honorable terms. We had eighty men killed or wounded
during the siege--a very inconsiderable loss for a cannonade of
sixteen days' duration, from five batteries, besides a bomb battery,
without an instant's intermission. Had it been a stony instead of a
sandy ground, we must have lost above one-half of the garrison, and
could not have resisted so long.

So soon as everyone had passed the river, we set out for Montreal,
crossing through the woods, which, in a straight line, is only eight
leagues from Isle aux Noix, always half running one after the other,
after having marched in this manner, from midnight until twelve at
noon, over fens, swamps, mosses, and sinking often up to the waist in
marshy ground, without reposing or halting one minute. Instead of
being near Montreal, as we imagined, we were thunderstruck on finding
ourselves, by the fault of our guides, to be only at the distance of
half a league from Isle aux Noix: our guide, not knowing the road
through the woods, had caused us to turn round continually for twelve
hours without advancing!

We were so near an English post at the Prairie de Boileau, that a
grenadier of the Regiment de Berry, seeing his commander, Cormier,
sink down with fatigue, and not in a condition to go any further,
carried off a horse from them which was upon the borders of the wood,
and mounted his commander on it; otherwise he would have been left
aside and taken prisoner by the English, or scalped by the Indians.

Having lost all hopes of going to Montreal through the woods, we took
the road to Fort St. Jean, on the River Chambly, four leagues lower
than Isle aux Noix, and five leagues by land to Montreal. My strength
was so entirely spent, that it was with great difficulty I could draw
one leg afte