He has
furnished arms and ammunition, pioneers, sappers, miners,
gunners, carpenters, and boats.'
While Wolfe was doing his eight days' work of preparation
at the Lighthouse Battery, between the 12th and the 20th,
Amherst, whose favourite precept was 'slow and sure,'
was performing an even more arduous task by building a
road from Flat Point to where he intended to make his
trenches. This road meandered over the least bad line
that could be found in that country of alternate rock,
bog, sand, scrub, bush, and marshy ponds. The working
party was always a thousand strong, and shifts, of course,
were constant. Boscawen landed marines to man the works
along the shore, and bluejackets for any handy-man's job
required. This proved of great advantage to the army,
which had so many more men set free for other duties.
The landing of stores went on from sunrise to sunset,
whenever the pounding surf calmed down enough. Landing
the guns was, of course, much harder still. It accounted
for most of the hundred boats that were dashed to pieces
against that devouring shore.
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