With the elimination of the Hurons, the Iroquois turned their attention to the St Lawrence valley in a bid to expel totally the French from eastern North America. Though the experience of the 'terror' was traumatic, the Canadians held firm and in time developed effective countermeasures.
This sculpture, "Sans Merci", by Louis-Philippe HΘbert (1850-1917) illustrates the peril which faced settlers and their families. During the 1650s there was constant danger from bands of marauding Iroquois In the face of this threat, the Canadians learned to fight with desperation. They knew that the sting of death was preferable to the torture and slow death that would result from being taken alive by the enemy.
