withdrew to the fort. The breastworks
afforded a good shelter for our men.

Our army began to throw up earthworks, and at night the Rangers were
sent into the trenches to pick off the enemy, and distract their
attention from the workmen.

All of our cannon had now been brought over; and on the night of the
twenty-fourth Bourlemaque, the French commander, abandoned the fort with
most of his army, and rowed down the lake, leaving four hundred men to
defend the place.

As soon as our guns were in place, a sharp cannonade began from both
sides.

Amherst wished to know what the soldiers under Bourlemaque were doing,
and a number of Rangers had been sent down the lake to watch them, and
some of them were constantly returning with news of the movements of the
enemy.

[Sidenote: THE FRENCH ABANDON TICONDEROGA]

A batteau and two whaleboats had been brought over from Lake George; and
on the night of the twenty-fifth Rogers ordered sixty of the Rangers to
embark in these boats, to cut a boom which the French had placed across
the lake, just above the fort.

When we were halfway to the boom, we saw lights moving at the fort, and
the enemy ran down to the shore, and began to get into their boats.

Rogers cried out: "They're getting ready to leave. Go for them, boys!"

Our boats attacked some of the enemy's batteaux which were separated
from the main body. We rowed among them and fired right and left. One of
the crews showed fight, but we killed three or four of them, and the
rest jumped overboard and swam ashore. Rogers sent our boat after
another boat. I was in the bow, and kept firing at them, till at last
they turned to the shore, and escaped into the woods. At about ten
o'clock, while we were still fighting, the fort blew up with a
tremendous noise.

We remained at this place, and in the morning took possession of the
boats that we had driven ashore. They contained a large quantity of
baggage,--fifty kegs of powder, and a number of cannon ball. Later in
the day I examined the fort. It was completely destroyed by the
explosion of its powder magazine.

Two hundred Rangers, under Captain Brewer, were sent to watch the enemy
at Crown Point. The rest of us were sent to the sawmills, to look out
for flying parties of the enemy. We remained there two weeks.

On the 12th of August we were ordered to the front of the army, and the
whole army marched to the fort at Crown Point, which had been blown up
and destroyed by th