Belle of Batoche (11 page)

Belle looked at the empty bell tower, then back at the ruins of Batoche, now silhouetted in the early evening light. “I think we have a big job ahead of us. It would sure be nice to have a friend by my side while we rebuild Batoche.” She grinned at Sarah. “And I know my mama will have a very long list of chores that you could help me with!”

As the gentle twilight wrapped around them, the two new friends smiled at each other and together started walking back through the tall prairie grass toward their home.

Author's Note

Whereas Belle, Sarah and the embroidery contest are fictional, the historical events in this story are based on fact. Batoche was attacked by General Middleton, acting on behalf of Prime Minister John A. Macdonald on Saturday, May 9, 1885; the
Northcote
was disabled by the Metis defenders lowering a ferry cable; Father Moulin was shot in the leg; and the rebellion did end on Tuesday, May 12, 1885.

Marie-Antoinette was the christened name of the twenty-pound silver bell given to St. Antoine du Padoue church by Bishop Grandin. The bell bears the inscription: “Vital-Justin Grandin, Eveque
de St. Albert” and had Xavier Letendre dit Batoche, the founder of Batoche, and his sister Marie Letendre-Champagne as godparents.

Marie-Antoinette was stolen during the rebellion by three Millbrook Orangemen named McCorry, Stainthorp and Nattras, and is still missing today.

The Tourond family is real, with changes made to allow this story to be written. The entire family took part in the Rebellion. One son was on Louis Riel's council, and because the family had harbored the rebel leader, the Tourond house was burnt to the ground. Josephte Tourond, a widow, lost two sons in the battle; one more was critically wounded; and two others were captured and taken to Regina for trial. One of them was my great-grandfather, Patrice Tourond.

Jacqueline Guest
is a Metis writer who lives in a log cabin nestled in the pinewoods of the Rocky Mountain foothills of Alberta. She is the author of many other books for children, but
Belle of Batoche
is her first story to incorporate family history and her first book for
Orca Book Publishers.

You can find out more about Jacqueline and her stories through her website:
www.jacquelineguest.com

For more titles in the Orca Young Readers series, please
click here
.