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Madeleine
de Vercheres
(1678-1747):
Heroine of New France
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Madeleine
was the daughter of the seigneur
of Vercheres. On October 22, 1692 she was working in the fields
with the farmers. Both her parents were away. The Iroquois
launched a surprise attack on the farmers. Madeleine had already
experienced the grief of the war between the Iroquois and the French.
Her 16-year-old brother and her brother-in-law had been killed in
Iroquois raids. She knew she had to do something.
Madeleine ran
from the fields to the fort. There were only two soldiers in the
fort and her younger brothers. Iroquois warriors quickly surrounded
the fort. She realized that the warriors did not know that the fort
was almost empty. She thought of a plan. They would fool the
Iroquois into thinking that the fort was full of soldiers. The canons
and rifles were fired from different locations in the fort. They
banged pots together and made a lot of noise.
The Iroquois
kept up the attack for several days, but Madeleine, her brothers
and the two soldiers were able to prevent the Iroquois from capturing
the fort until help arrived from Montreal. Madeleine's bravery
and quick thinking saved the fort and the lives of many of the farmers.
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Why
didn't Madeleine de Vercheres surrender to the Iroquois?
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