On the night of the 20th Colonel Carleton, with six hundred men, rowed
eighteen miles up the river, and landed at Pointe aux Trembles on the
north shore. Here, many of the fugitives from Quebec had taken refuge,
and a hundred women, children and old men were taken prisoners by
Carleton, and brought down the next day with the retiring force. Wolfe
entertained the prisoners kindly, and sent them, on the following day,
with a flag of truce into Quebec.
On the night of the 28th, the French made another attempt to burn the
English fleet, sending down a large number of schooners, shallops, and
rafts, chained together, and filled, as before, with combustibles.
This time, the fire was not applied too soon, and the English fleet was
for some time in great danger, but was again saved by the sailors, who,
in spite of the storm of missiles, vomited out by cannon, swivels,
grenades, shell, and gun and pistol barrels loaded up to the muzzle,
grappled with the burning mass, and towed it on shore.
It was now the end of July, and Wolfe was no nearer taking Quebec than
upon the day when he first landed there. In vain he had tempted
Montcalm to attack him. The French general, confident in the strength
of his position, refused to leave it.
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