1692.] THE HEROINE OF VERCHERES. 303 



and a number of women and children. The seig- 

 nior, formerly an officer of the regiment of Carig- 

 nan, was on duty at Quebec ; his wife was at Mont- 

 real ; and their daughter Madeleine, fourteen years 

 of age, was at the landing-place not far from the 

 gate of the fort, with a hired man named Laviolette. 

 Suddenly she heard firing from the direction where 

 the settlers were at work, and an instant after 

 Laviolette cried out, " Run, Mademoiselle, run ! 

 here come the Iroquois ! " She turned and saw 

 forty or fifty of them at the distance of a pistol- 

 shot. " I ran for the fort, commending myself to 

 the Holy Virgin. The Iroquois who chased after 

 me, seeing that they could not catch me alive 

 before I reached the gate, stopped and fired at me. 

 The bullets whistled about my ears, and made the 

 time seem very long. As soon as I was near 

 enough to be heard, I cried out, To arms ! to arms ! 

 hoping that somebody would come out and help 

 me ; but it was of no use. The two soldiers in the 

 fort were so scared that they had hidden in the 

 blockhouse. At the gate, I found two women 

 crying for their husbands, who had just been 

 killed. I made them go in, and then shut the 

 gate. I next thought what I could do to save 

 myself and the few people with me. I went to 

 inspect the fort, and found that several palisades 

 had fallen clown, and left openings by which the 

 enemy could easily get in. I ordered them to be 

 set up again, and helped to carry them myself. 

 When the breaches were stopped, I went to the 

 blockhouse where the ammunition is kept, and 



