In response to the Iroquois offensive, New France developed several countermeasures: a flying column of soldiers to patrol the St. Lawrence, militia units, and palisades on a number of the seigneuries.
The Iroquois raids abated for a time, but soon resumed. One of the more colourful confrontations occurred early one morning in October 1692 at Vercheres when a party of Iroquois surprised a score of settlers outside the seigneurial stockade. One of the potential victims was Madeleine Jarret (1678-1747), the fourteen-year old daughter of the seigneur who was absent at the time. An Iroquois having come so close as to seize her by the neckerchief, Madeleine escaped only by untying the knot and leaving the piece of material in the would-be captor's hand. Then, entering the stockade, she slammed shut the gate and shouted a call to arms.
I went up on the bastion where the sentry was, I then transformed myself putting the soldier's hat on my head, and with some small gestures tried to make it seem that there were many people although there was only this soldier.
Madeleine fired a round from the artillery piece and thereby alerted neighbouring settlements. Word was passed on to MontrÄal and the following day a hundred men set out for Vercheres: they arrived shortly after the Iroquois had withdrawn into the surrounding forest. This watercolour by C.W Jefferys (1869-1951) re-creates the fear and bravery of the inhabitants of Vercheres. Madeleine still wears her neckerchief in this re-creation of the events.
