Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1904-11-01

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the st. Charles river valley, as well
as on the st. Lawrence edge, Indian
and backwoods sharp-shooters had
been pouring gallant rife fire upon
the English, to which no effective re-
ply could be made. The thin red line
of soldiers that had 80 often stood be-
tween humanity's progress and the
armed world in opposition, keeping
open the pathway Of the future, was
drawn up in three ranks. The lines
were not long enough to reach aross
the plateau, and tho left flank, where
Townshend commanded, was refused
drawn back at a right angle from the
battle front.
Col. Burton, with the light In
fantry, was held in reserve to antici-
pate a possible attack from Bougain-
vile. That worthy officer, however,
knew nothing of the landing and re-
mained quietly in camp at Cap-Rouge,
expecting the return Of the British
ships with the changing tide. The sky
was overcast, and fitful showers, light
in charaqker and brief in duration, be-
sprinkled the sod, soon to be wetted
by liquid substance Of greater con-
sistence and more ominous color.
II the scarlet-clad Englishmen pre-
sented a vivid though menacing pic
ture to the French, the aspect Of the
latter was sufficiently picturesque to
awaken the admiration of their foes.
Very handsome the white coats OF the
French regulars looked against the
green grass that morning. Alas!
many of them were destined to sport
the red colors of England before the
day was decided.
The two armies were about equal In
number. The qualities of the French
regulars were as high as those Of the
British army, but the average Of the
French forces was sadly diminished
by the fact that the larger portion Of
their army was made up Of Canadian
militia. These hardy peasants were
excellent fighters in forest service, but
poor material indeed with which to
face regular troops in the open.
But Montcalm had been hasty. He
might have waited longer, until
Bougainville with his excellent divi-
sion had Joined him, or at least
reached position from which he could
support the French attack by demon
stration in force in the rear Of the
English. Fight the French must, Of
course, or starve, but they would not
have starved in a few hours, and q
few hours might have materially
changed the situation. There were
battery after battery of field pieces
back in Quebec which should have
been dispatched to Montcalm's assist
ance. His repeated and most pressing
requests to de Ramesay, the COM
mander, had only brought three guns
to him, and the cowardly de Vaudreuil,
the governor of the province, was
holding at BEAUFORT thousands Of men
idle in their intrenchments, who
should have been dispatched to his as
sistance.
How explain the Frenchman's reck-
less haste? The fact was that Mont
calm had always beaten the English.
He had never in his whole career met
a single commander among them who
appeared to have the slightest mill
tary genius, and he made the fatal mis-
take of despising his foes. Perhaps
the fact that they lay there stubbornly
taking the CALLING skirmish fire from
the coverts on either flank so silently,
in spite of its CHASTITY effectiveness, re-
plying only to his heavier guns with
their two six-pounders, gave him
greater confidence; at any rate, at ten
in the morning he ordered an advance.
With feverish impatience the Eng
lish held themselves in restraint un-
der the peremptory orders Of their
commander. AS Wolfe saw the French
rising on the crest Of the hill, giving
evidence of their intention to join bat
tie in close encounter, he walked rapid
ly up and down his own line speaking
those simple, hearty words Of encour-
agement, as he passed by his soldiery,
which do much to make man hero.
A culver of delight ran through the
compact ranks. With fierce pleasure
the men looked to their pieces and
made themselves ready.
Suddenly the crest of the slope in
front of them was tipped with flame