to see if she could discover her, but instead of seeing her cow, she saw about one hundred rebels, near the chapel sitting in the bushes; luckily she was not seen by them Brigands, she immediately returned to the village, [and] gave the alarm. (Hughes to Napier, NAC RG10 vol. 96: 39772, my emphasis)

4) On 3 December 1838, Kahnawake resident Jacques Sohahio testified under oath

that on Sunday the fourth day of November 1838 at about nine o'clock am, a report was spread in the said village of Caughnawaga, that a large force of armed Rebels had been seen near the Chapel situated about fifteen acres from the village, by a woman who was in search of a cow. (testimony of Jacques Sohahio, 3 December 1838, NAC RG10 vol. 96: 39801)

5) Similarly, in 1847, a British army officer by the name of John Richardson wrote in his travel journal Eight Years in Canada that while

the Indians [...] were attending their morning service utterly ignorant of the rebellion that had commenced, a squaw who had gone into the woods in search of a stray cow, fancied as she approached a particular spot where she perceived the glimmering of arms. She looked more closely, and with that keenness of glance for which the Indian is remarkable, [...] she discovered that her impression was correct, for she now distinctly saw several men moving cautiously among the trees, while others were lying down apparently in ambush. With characteristic presence of mind, she affected not to have seen anything extraordinary, but continued her way, diverging gradually from the part, yet seemingly in search of some lost object. In this manner she continued to make such a circuit that brought her at once near the church, and out of the view of those whom she had so opportunely discovered. She now entered the building and apprised the Indians of the danger that threatened them. (Richardson 1847: 61)

In this case, a mid-nineteenth century writer generalized the noble character of the Indian race and drew upon stereotypes of the day to describe a specific event.

6) Without citing his sources, historian Louis N. Carrier provided this account in 1877:

Le dimanche, 4 novembre, une sauvagesse de Caughnawaga qui était à la recherche de sa vache, dans un bois, près du village, aperçut un nombre considérable d'hommes armés cachés dans ce bois, et se disposant à surprendre les sauvages durant la messe. Immédiatement, sans éveiller l'attention des hommes embusqués, elle s'en retourna au village et annonça sa découverte aux sauvages rassemblés dans l'église pour le service divin. Aussitôt, ils sortirent de l'église, saisirent les armes qui leur tombèrent sous la main, des mousquets, des haches, des tomahawks, des barres de fer, etc., etc., et poussant leur cri de guerre, ils firent une charge si prompte et si furieuse sur la bande d'hommes armés qu'ils les mirent en fuite; la confusion fut telle qu'ils firent 64 prisonniers. (Carrier 1877: 112)

7) Sellar, who wrongfully identifies George de Lorimier as the head-chief , wrote that a woman looking for her cow saved the village: she, young and fleet of foot, fled with the intelligence that there were armed men entering the bush. A brave was sent out as a scout and he speedily returned, confirming the girl's statement (Sellar 1888: 572).

8) As with Borthwick (1898: 61) and Kingsford, who provides a short section entitled Attack on Caughnawaga (1898: 167), historian and priest E. J. Devine has stated that

forty [Patriotes], armed with sticks and pikes, set out for the Indian village, where they arrived at sunrise. They halted in [...] the vicinity and sent five of the chiefmen to sound the dispositions of the Indians. While those envoys were employed in urging the Indians to lend them their guns, a squaw caught sight of the rest of the patriots and ran frightened to the village to relate what she had seen. (Devine 1922: 360)

9) An historical article by writer Silas Salt published in the Standard of Montréal in October 1926 accounts that a squaw that was looking for her cow saw the Patriotes hiding in the trees and warned the community. The braves then seized their muskets and tomahawks and coming with war-whoop, they threatened the rebels with destruction unless they came forward and surrendered (Standard, 23/10/1926: 41). In some cases, this version of the event is ridiculed. For instance, author P. Rochon writes:

chacun des participants, aussi bien chez les Indiens que chez les Patriotes, a sa version des événements qui se sont déroulés à Caughnawaga, le matin du 4 novembre 1838. Il y a même une légende qui veut que ce soit une vieille Indienne, cherchant sa vache, perdu dans les bois environnants, qui aurait aperçu les Patriotes, s'avançant armés vers le village, et aurait donné l'alerte aux siens. On ne nous dit pas si elle a retrouvé sa vache. La seule chose dont on soit certain, c'est qu'il ne s'est pas tiré un seul coup de feu, d'un côté comme de l'autre, ce matin-là. (Rochon 1988: 134)

In other cases, a different version is provided. For example, John Fraser accounts that

in the early morning of Sunday, the 4th, the patriots of Chateauguay marched in force on Caughnawaga to disarm the Indians. The Indians were then attending early mass in a small chapel half a mile behind the village. The chapel was surrounded by the patriots. They said they came to parley. The Indians expressed surprise that friends should come armed, and...