y the commissioners of the confederated colonies.

Having succeeded in obtaining the neutrality of the English colonists
through his agent Marie, D'Aunay then determined to attack La Tour's
fort on the St. John, as he had now under his control a sufficient
number of men and ships. In the spring of the same year, however, when
La Tour was absent, D'Aunay mustered all his vessels and men, and laid
siege to the fort, but he met with most determined resistance from the
garrison, nerved and stimulated by the voice and example of the heroic
wife. The besiegers were almost disheartened, when a traitor within
the walls--a "mercenary Swiss," according to a contemporary
writer--gave them information which determined them to renew the
assault with still greater vigour. D'Aunay and his men again attempted
to scale the walls, but were forced to retire with a considerable
force. Then D'Aunay offered fair terms if the fort was immediately
given up. Madame La Tour, anxious to spare the lives of her brave
garrison, which was rapidly thinning, agreed to the proposal, and
surrendered the fort; and then D'Aunay is said to have broken {104} his
solemn pledge, and hanged all the defenders except one, whose life was
spared on the condition of his acting as executioner.

One would fain not believe what the contemporary historian adds, that
D'Aunay forced Madame La Tour to remain with a rope round her own neck,
and witness the execution of the brave men who had so nobly assisted
her in defending the fort. The poor lady did not long survive this
tragedy, as she died a prisoner a few weeks later. All the acts of her
adventurous and tragic career prove her to have been a good woman and a
courageous wife, and may well be an inspiring theme for poetry and
romance.[2]

D'Aunay now reigned supreme in Acadia. He had burdened himself heavily
with debt in his efforts to ruin his rival, but he had some
compensation in {105} the booty he found at St. John. By the capture
of his fort La Tour lost jewels, plate, furniture, and goods valued at
ten thousand pounds, and was for a time a bankrupt. His debts in
Boston were very heavy, and Major Gibbons, who had sent vessels to Fort
La Tour in 1643, was never able to recover the mortgage he had taken on
his estate. Bereft of wife and possessions, La Tour left Acadia and
sought aid from Sir David Kirk, who was then governor of Newfoundland,
but to no purpose. Various stories are told of his career for