e heads. They were actually scaling
the wall when a French officer, realizing the blunder, roared: "Shoot!
shoot! you fools! Don't you see those men will seize you?"

[Illustration: THE COUNTRY ROUND TICONDEROGA]

Cleaning guns and eating snatches of food, Montcalm's men slept that
night in their places behind the logs. Montcalm had passed from man to
man, personally thanking the troops for their valor. When daylight
came over the hills with wisps of fog like cloud banners from the
mountain tops, and the sunlight pouring gold mist through the valley,
the French rose and rubbed their eyes. They could scarcely believe it!
Surely Abercrombie would come back with his heavy guns. Like the mists
of the morning the English had vanished. Far down the lake they were
retreating in such panic terror they had left their baggage. Places
were found on the portage by French scouts where the English had fled
in such haste, marchers had lost their boots in the mud and not stopped
to {260} find them. Such was the battle of Carillon, or
Ticonderoga,--good reason for Amherst refusing to go on to Quebec.

The year closed with two more victories for the English. Brigadier
John Forbes and Washington succeeded in cutting their way up to Fort
Duquesne by a new road. They found the fort abandoned, and, taking
possession in November, renamed it Pittsburg after the great English
statesman. The other victory was at Frontenac, or Kingston. As the
French had concentrated at Lake Champlain, leaving Frontenac unguarded,
Bradstreet gained permission from Abercrombie to lead three thousand
men across Lake Ontario against La Salle's old fur post. Crossing from
the ruins of old Oswego, Bradstreet encamped beneath the palisades of
Frontenac on the evening of August 25. By morning he had his cannon in
range for the walls. Inside the fort Commandant de Noyan had less than
one hundred men. At seven in the evening of August 27 he surrendered.
Bradstreet permitted the prisoners to go down to Montreal on parole, to
be exchanged for English prisoners held in Quebec. Furs to the value
of $800,000, twenty cannon, and nine vessels were captured. Bradstreet
divided the loot among his men, taking for himself not so much as a
penny's worth. The fort was destroyed. So were the vessels. The guns
and provisions were carried across the lake and deposited at Fort
Stanwix, east of old Oswego. The loss of Duquesne on the Ohio and Fort
Frontenac on La