The Montgomery tribune. (Montgomery City, Mo.) 1892-1910, 1906-03-09
ne north. Often two or more Of thess

ahead again, growing more wary az
the river was approached, hiding be-
hind rotting logs and beneath tangled
underbrush all the day and issuing
forth at night to resume the broken
journey. At last the outer edge of
the pest reached the brink OF the St.
Lawrence and peered furtively from
behind the parted foliage for any sight
Of life upon the surface Of the water,
then retreated into the darkness, there
to skulk in lendish preparation.
Along the shore 1t sped opposite Que
bee and down the river towards the
sea.
One night the settlers heard the
moaning of the wind and the splash
ing of the spring rain, and smiled and
thought how needful 1t was for the
tender, growing crops. But men
neither smile nor tend crops when the
red plague Is abroad. That night the
stream was crossed and the unseen
scourge spread itself through the
miasmatic boys, hiding within the dark
recesses of the virgin woods, all ST.
lent, mysterious, noxious. Then when
all the clearings had been surrounded
and the darkness of a cloudy night
had rendered 1t a At season for things
foul and Internal. the p~estilence lying
dormant in the hidden places Of the
land awoke.
There vas the silence of death with
out; no wind stirred the leaves; the
very wild beasts had fled in terror,
leaving their haunts vacant and
dumb; the earth seemed to shudder
as IL In horror Of the grewsome food
her surface would have to drink that
night. A red light flashed its glare
upon the darkness; a savage yell
broke the tension of the awful mo-
ment; a woman's scream pierced the
very heart Of nature; a stream Of
blood cleaned near the flames-the
red plague had come, and the woods
were filled with the fitting forms Of
human demons as the bloodthirsty
Iroquois rushed to the attack.
After her recovery Renee had given
herself over to her new work with
an enthusiasm that the nuns applaud
ed. Until she regained her strength
she wa kept employed with her
needle. Eventually she was permitted
to carry out her great desire, that Of
nursing the sick. Soon the fame Of
"L'Ange," the beautiful nurse, spread
through all the town and many tales
were told Of her angelic sweetness by
the poor fellows after their recovery.
She was kept busy with her merciful
1nfnicfrnfinnc for thu hand IF Hicooco
lay heavy on the place that winter,
and many settlers, their strength re-
duced by the scarcity of provisions,
due to the crops failure of the previ-
Gus season, fell victims to numerous
diseases and were brought to the nuns
for their gentle care.
Often calls came from the outlying
seigniories for nurses to go and attend
!, those too i'll to be removed to the city.
; These were cheerfully answered by
, the nuns, Renee going several times
herself. 1t was in response to one Of
these demands in early spring that she
begged permission of Frontenac to go.
The comte hesitated an instant, be-
cause the seigniory to which she was
summoned lay some ten leagues up
the river, farther off than any previous
call had been. But as there was no
special reason for fearing immediate
q trouble with the Indians, and he could
send a goodly party to escort her, he
could not find 1t In his heart to refuse
her urgent request.
The little settlement to which she
: went consisted of half a dozen farms,
n Dn1h -lk - ~x,,. 80 H. ,r- $685.
it. At a spot centrally located was
, the home of the seigneur, flanked with
: various buildings, among which was
!, a blcckhouse where was kept the pow
/ der and other warlike munitions, in
Guiding a small cannon. This was
8 built to serve as the last defense
: against an attacking force. About the
group of buildings was a palisade, with
a bastion erected at each corner. In
E times of trouble with the Indians the
(. families retired to this enclosure, aban-
( doning temporarily their homes. The
4 seigneur and his wife had spent the
winter in Montreal, leaving affairs in
O charge of the head farmer. Through
improper management two OF the
servants employed about the seigniory
had fallen Ill with scurvy and were in
good chance of dying from sheer neg.
. lect. hence the urgent message for heir
I sent to Quebec.
When Renee arrived there she found
0 besides the sick men a couple of half
grown girls. two boys. sons of the
K s%eigneur, aged 10 and IL. and an ole
: man of so. also the wife of one of the
farmers. who stayed to dc the cook.
ing. and two soldiers loaned by From
: tenac to guard the scigneur's posses
! sions in his absence. The other de
pendants were scattered about on the
outlying farms with their families. al,
hands at work as befitted the season.
/. Renee managed within a few days
, after her arrival to secure some order
! out Of the confusion. and her attention