MLLE. DE VERCHERES
During the forenoon, Madeleine went down to the little wharf, or landing place, not far from the fort, accompanied by a hired man named La Violette. Suddenly the sounds of firing came from the direction of the field where the settlers were at work, and the next instant the servant, La Violette, cried out, "Run, run, here come the Iroquois!" Turning, she saw forty or fifty Iroquois at a distance of a pistol shot. She and the man made a dash for the fort, and seeing that they could not overtake her, the Iroquois fired at the fleeting girl and man, but missed both. Reaching the fort, she caused the gates to be closed and fastened, and then set about making the place as secure as possible. A few palisades had fallen, through which an Indian could enter the enclosure. She helped to carry palisades, or pickets, to the places where they were required, and assisted in setting them up.
Then Madeleine went to the blockhouse where the ammunition was kept and here she said, "I found two soldiers, one hiding in a corner and the other with a lighted fuse in his hand. 'What are you going to do with that?' I asked. He answered: 'Light the powder and blow us all up.' 'You are a miserable coward,' said I, 'go out of this place.' I spoke so resolutely that he obeyed. I then threw off my bonnet and, after putting on a hat and taking a gun, I said to my brothers: 'Let us fight to the death. We are fighting for our country. Remember that our father has taught you that gentlemen are born to shed their blood for the service of God and the King."
To understand fully the courage of this girl of fourteen, it must be remembered that these words were addressed to mere lads, twelve and ten years of age respectively. The brothers were worthy of their heroic sister. They responded to the call, which also inspired the two soldiers with some courage, for they took up their guns and began firing from the loopholes upon the Iroquois, who, ignorant of the weakness of the garrison, and always reluctant to attack a fortified place, occupied themselves with chasing and butchering the people in the neighbouring fields.
Shortly after the appearance of the Iroquois, a settler with his family in a canoe, was seen approaching the landing. The soldiers would not venture from the fort, so Madeleine went to the landing alone, and with a musket in hand, escorted the family to the fort. The very boldness of the affair caused the Iroquois to think it was a ruse to draw them near the fort, so that the garrison could rush out upon them, and they did not dare to attack Madeleine and those she was conducting to the fort. The arrival of the settler added one to the fighting strength of the garrison, and Madeleine now gave orders that the Iroquois should be fired upon whenever seen within range. When night came on a gale began to blow, accompanied by snow and hail; and the Iroquois hoped to be able to climb into the fort under cover of darkness. Madeleine now made the distribution of her small force, upon whose vigilance the lives of all depended. The two soldiers she stationed in the blockhouse, and as it was the strongest part of the post, she led there the women and children. "If I am taken," she said to the two soldiers, "do not surrender, even if I am cut to pieces and burned before your eyes. The enemy cannot hurt you in the blockhouse, if you make the least show of fight."
The outer and chief defence of the fort was a wooden wall, or palisade, at each corner of which stood a small tower, or bastion. In two of these towers Madeleine placed her two young brothers, in the third tower she placed the old man of eighty, while she took the fourth tower herself. All night long, through the howling wind and driving snow, the cries of "All's Well" were kept up from the fort to the blockhouse. "One would have thought," related Madeleine to Governor Beauharnois, "that the place was full of soldiers. The Iroquois thought so, and were completely deceived, as they confessed afterwards." They had held a council to make a plan for capturing the fort in the night, but had done nothing because such a constant watch was kept.
"At last, the daylight came again; and, as the darkness disappeared, our anxiety seemed to disappear with it. Everybody took courage, except the wife of Sieur Fontaine, who, being extremely timid, asked her husband to carry her to another fort. He said: 'I will never abandon this fort while Mademoiselle Madeleine is here.' I answered him that I would never abandon it; that I would rather die than give it up to the enemy; and that it was of the greatest importance that they (the Iroquois) should never get possession of any French fort, because if they got one, they would think that they could get others and would grow more bold and presumptuous than ever. I may say with truth that I did not eat or sleep for twice twenty-four hours, but kept always on the bastion, or went to the blockhouse to see how the people there were behaving. I always kept a cheerful and smiling face and encouraged my little company with hope of speedy succour."
Seven days passed, and although the weather continued to be raw and cold, the Iroquois kept the field, still hoping to be able to capture the fort and scalp its garrison. "We were a week in constant alarm, with the enemy always about us," relates Madeleine in her narrative to Governor Beauharnois. "At last M. de la Monnerie, a lieutenant, sent by M. de Callières (then commanding at Montreal), arrived in the night with forty men. As he did not know whether the fort was taken or not, he approached as silently as possible. One of our sentinels, hearing a strange sound, cried out, 'Qui Vive?' I was at the time dozing, with my head on a table and my gun lying across my arms. The sentinel told me he heard a voice from the river. I went up at once to the bastion to see whether it was Indians or Frenchmen. I asked, 'Who are you?' One of them answered, 'We are Frenchmen, it is La Monnerie, who comes to bring you help.' I caused the gate to be opened, placed a sentinel there and went down to the river to meet them. As soon as I saw M. de la Monnerie, I saluted him and said, 'Monsieur, I surrender my arms to you.' He answered gallantly, 'Mademoiselle, they are in good hands.' 'Better than you think,' I returned. He inspected the fort and found everything in order and a sentinel on each bastion. 'It is time to relieve them, Monsieur,' I said, 'We have not been off our bastions for a week.'"
So ended the siege of Verchères, for learning that the garrison had received reinforcements, the Iroquois abandoned the undertaking, and sneaked away to try their fortunes at other little posts, where there might be a garrison numerically stronger.