Oxford eagle. (Oxford, Lafayette Co., Miss.) 1876-current, 1883-09-27
sHE N.LU the roar.
An Incident Of Pioneer Life in
Canada.

&nDAL0f 0tt HtAiNb ft'tHS~
is related OF - mere child de
Tending a fort seven days against
ASSEMBLING savagcs. In Howard
! Eggleston's recent historic 80
tries the story is told as follows d;
aOno October morning. 10
1902. the inhahitants OF Verchsr-
se. o settlement twenty miles be
low Montreal, were in the field
1T work. There were but two
soldiers within the fort. The
commander and his wife were
abseut. Their daughter Made
leine, Il girl Of fourteen, stood
on the landing with kjred
man, when she heard firing.
"Run, mademoiselIe. ruin 7
cried the man. Here comes
the iregaoihp
Looking round, the girl saw
the Indians near at hand. She
ran for the fort, aud the Indians,
seeiug they could not catch her,
fred at her. Their bullets
whistled round her, aud made
the time scom very long rs she
afterward said.
"As room rs she neared the
fort she cried out, 30 armsl !
hoping that che would get as
sistance. Bnt the soldiers were
so frightened that they had
hidden III The block house.
"When Madeleine reached the
gate Of tho fJr she found two
woman there crying Tor their
husbands, who were " the fields
aad had just been killed. Made.
1esne forced them in and shat
the gate. She instantly wentto
examine the dofsnces of the
fort, and found that some Of the
palisades had fallen down, ieay-
ling holes through which thu
enemy could easily enter.
she got what help she could
aud set them up. Then the lit
Tie commander repaired to the
block house, whore she found
the brave garrison of two, ono
man hiding'n a corner, and the
other with q lighted match IN
his hand.
"What are you going TO do
with that match? said Made
leine.
Light the powder and blow
ms all up answered tho soldier
asYou ara a miserahle COW
ard = said the girl. go cut off
this plaeeF
people are always likely to
III time Of panic, the one
person who shows resolution
aud GOODNESS. The soldier did
"a Madeleine babe him, She
then flung aside her bonnet. put
OH q hat aud took a gun.
"Aer whole FORCE consisted
aforementioned soldiers,
her two littls br 3thcrs, aged ten
and twelve, and an old man OIL
eighty and some women and
children, who did nothing but
set up q continual screaming, as
soon as the hrinu crtp messeea,
Let rs hght to tho death.
said brave Madeleine to iier lit.
tile brothers, who seem to hare
possessed no small share OF her
own courage. wa are fighting
for orr country and our religion,
Remember our father has taught
you that gentlman are born to
she'd their blood for the service
of God and the king.
"Aadeleine now placed her
brothers and the soldiers at the
loop.holds, where they fired at
the indians lurking and dodg.
ing about outside. The savages
did not know how large the
garrison was, and therefore hes
itated to attack tho fort, and
numbers or them fell before the
we'll directed shots Of the sold
ierr.
"rhe girl commander sue
ceeded, after a while, IN stop.
ping the screaming of the wo-
men aud children, for she was
7 determined that tho enemy
should perceive no sign of fear
or weakness she few from has
ton to bastion TO see that every
defender was doing his duty
she caused a cannon to be fred
from time to time, partly to in
timidate the savages aud partly
in hope that the noise might
convey intelligence of the sitna
tion and bring them help.
ssThus the fight went on, day
after day, and night after night,
the heroic girl keeping up her
yigilant oxertion so constantly
that it was forty eight hours be
fore she caught o wink OF sleep.
Ser a whole week Madeleine
held TIE fort. with no favoring
circumstances but the stormy
weather, which prevented the
Indians from setting fire TO the
wooden defences. At the end
of that time reinforcements
came down tho river and raised
the siege.'n
a carafaI observer who has