[doughty] P.ATTL1-: OF THE PLAINS OF ABRAHAM 391 



^'' qui n'était pareillement qne de 3 à -i mille hommes, mais la nôtre 

 " prit malheureusement la fuite à la première décharge des ennemis, 

 " et elle aurait été entièrement détruite si 8 à 900 Canadiens ne' se fus- 

 "sent jettes dans un petit bois qui est près de la Porte St. Jean, d'oii 

 " ils firent un feu si nourri sur l'ennemi qu'il fut obligé de s'arrêter 



" pour lui répondre C'est dans cette retraite, que M. de Mont- 



" calm reçut une balle dans les reins comme il était prêt d'entrer en 

 "ville par la Porte St. Louis." 



The Eeverend John Entick, who published a- history of the war 

 in 5 vols, in 1763, also mentions the Canadians as being placed on the 

 bank, and on the borders of the bank of Cote Ste. Geneviève, and on 

 his plan, which is apparently the same as Jeffreys, the Canadians are 

 shown to be in this direction. 



From a relation by one of the nuns of the General Hospital, ad- 

 dressed to a member of the community in Paris, it appears that a por- 

 tion of the engagement Avas witnessed from the windows of the hos- 

 pital. " iSTous vîmes de nos fenêtres ce massacre," and again, "l'ennemi, 

 "maître de la campagne et à deux pas de Notre Maison." 



I have visited the General Hospital for the purpose of observing 

 what portion of the ground is visible from the windows, and I do not 

 think that any of the troops could have been seen who were upon the 

 level ground. On the plan it will be noticed that the Canadians are 

 placed on the sloping ground of Cote Ste. Geneviève, and if this posi- 

 tion is correct, they would have been seen from the windows of the 

 hospital. It would appear from the writings of Johnstone, that even 

 before Montcalm arrived on the heights, fighting had taken place on 

 this declivity between the Canadians and the English. "When op- 

 " posite M. de Vaudreuil's lodgings, the first news of what had passed 

 " during the night was the sight of your army upon the Heights of 

 " Abraham, firing at the Canadians scattered among the bushes.'' 

 A^audreuil's lodgings were beyond the Eiver St. Charles, and the only 

 portion of the heights visible from this place would be the border, 

 near Cote Ste. Geneviève. 



All this evidence confirms the accuracy of the plan, so far as the' 

 position of the Canadians is concerned. 



As many residents of the sister country have evinced a deep in- 

 terest in the question of the site of the battle of the Plains of Abraham, 

 it may be advisable to give an extract from the journal of a cultured 

 American, Professor Siliman, of Yale College, who visited the battle- 

 field early in the present century. Professor Siliman came to Quebec 

 in the company of some officers, and he appears to have taken a deep 

 interest in everything that he saw. He admits that from a boy he 



