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Michigan CHAPTER Nine Final Success of the English
The state of affairs among the people of New France at this time was almost pitiable. The resources of the country were strained to their utmost. All the able bodied men were in the military service, leaving the tilling of the fields to the women and children and the old men. Provisions of every sort were excessively dear. A barrel of flour cost two hundred francs. Domestic animals, having scant supply of food were slaughtered for meat. British ships hovered about the entrance to the St. Lawrence and prevented the bringing in of supplies from the home country. Montcalm was at Quebec with the main portion of his army, but it numbered scarce three thousand men. Vaudreuil, the governor, was intensely jealous of him and threw every obstacle in his way. Apparently the two1 men had very poor opinions of each other. Montcalm bore himself very discreetly and said little. Vaudreuil was constantly writing to Versailles disparaging the commandant and urging his removal. The upshot of the matter was that Montcalm was made lieutenant-general and given superior authority over the governor in all
military matters, with Levis as second in command. But the French court was too busy with other affairs to give much attention to Montcalm's urgent appeal for help. He begged for men, arms, munitions, food and a navy to keep the St. Lawrence open. In reply he was informed that he must do the best he could with what he had; that the interests of France at home required her chief attention to the state of affairs in Europe. Three or four hundred regulars with a small quantity of munitions were sent over to him, which it was hoped would be sufficient for the coming campaign. At the same time came to him information that the English were preparing to attack Canada with a force of fifty thousand men and a great fleet. A census of New France taken shortly before showed about thirteen thousand effective men. There were in the colony, in addition to these, about three thousand five hundred regulars, and there could be called into the service the militia and the coureurs de bois of Detroit and the lake posts.
Michigan
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