detachment were the twenty-four brave fellows of the Light Infantry, who had volunteered for the valorous task, consisting of Fitzgerald, Robertson, Stewart, McAllester, Mackenzie, McPherson, Cameron and Bell, and the sixteen others whom these had selected to accompany them, each of the original eight having had the privilege of naming two others, as already described. These were under the command of Captain Delaune. Three companies of the Light Infantry composed the balance of the first detachment to attempt the ascent. Their orders were to surprise and capture the French post from the rear, and further on, we shall see how they carried out their instructions. But first they were to give a signal as soon as they reached the heights, upon which the remainder of the Light Infantry were to force the pathway and attack the picket in front. Why the latter part of this order was never obeyed will appear later. There was the utmost impatience amongst the troops to gain the summit, and each corps was anxious for its turn to come, while awaiting the result of the initial effort. That result was not long in doubt. Eagerly the volunteers clambered up the precipitous steep, often unable to maintain a footing without the assistance afforded them by the shrubbery, and sometimes slipping backwards with loose earth and stones, or because of the insufficient strength of the boughs or saplings upon which they depended for support. Despite the anxiety of each to be first upon the heights, much caution was necessary to avoid alarming the post at the head of the narrow pass to the left. Silence was of course essential to safety, and hence the rapidity of the ascent was moderated by a fear that every crackling bough or rolling stone might betray their presence. Frequent landslides have so changed the face of the cliff, that it is almost impossible now to form an absolutely correct idea of the steepness of the cliff at the point where the advance guard climbed up; but Admiral Saunders is authority for the statement that the difficulty of gaining the top of the hill was scarcely credible, on account of both its abrupness and height, showing that it had no path where two could go abreast, and that the men were obliged to pull themselves up by the stumps and boughs of trees which covered the acclivity. The advance guard reached the summit in safety, Captain Donald McDonald commanding Fraser's Highlanders, being among the first to set foot upon the plateau. Immediately after the Light Infantry, of which the main body was commanded by Colonel Howe, Colonel Fraser followed with his detachment of Highlanders, and then the Grenadiers came struggling up, pulling themselves along by boughs and stumps of trees. In their haste they sometimes grasped at fancied helps, decayed roots and rotten branches, or at stones but slightly imbedded in the earth, which proving but treacherous supports, often sent them recoiling upon those behind them and for a moment blocked the passage. The cold night air had thoroughly chilled the men and rendered particularly grateful the gill of rum which had been served to all ranks before the embarkation. They were glad enough, too, of the exercise of climbing the hill, despite the dangers with which it was surrounded. They |