La Corriveau

The connection Michel Clavet had with the famous trial in St.-Vallier in 1763 "the legend of Corriveau",was that Michel testified that 2 other men and himself,saw Dodier dead in the horses stall.

the others. I deliver here to you the history, most exact possible,

of Marie-Josephte Corriveau, the most beautiful girl of the

surroundings of Saint-Vallier. What really occurred

One day of spring 1749, the parishioners of the small village of

Saint-Vallier go joy eusement to the church to celebrate the

marriage of most beautiful girl of the surroundings. The

husband-to-be is the happy winner in a fight where most beautiful

and richest young men of the county disputed the beautiful one

to him. This couple lived happy during 11 years. The only shade

in the table perhaps is that the couple will remain without child

with the greatest misfortune of the father of Marie-Josephte, skilful

In spite of its great beauty, it has a rather frightening reputation all

the same, it is called the witch of Saint-Vallier. One morning, the

neighbors see arriving the very dishevelled and very stupefied

young woman. She tells while sanglotant that she has just found

her husband died in her bed. The late one is popular and he is

sincerely regretted. Each one expresses its more sharp

Nobody suspects the widow so much his pain is obvious.

However, when one sees it with the arm of Louis Dodier and

convoler in second weddings 3 months only after the death of its

first husband, that made jaser. Three years are passed and the

suspicions end up being erased the ones after the others. The

morning of January 27, 1763, one finds the body of Louis Dodier,

its second husband, in his stable, the crashed to pieces cranium

by what initially appears to be irons of its horse. This time, justice

gets information and the investigation shows that the unhappy

one was not struck by the horse but by an iron fork found close

from there. One exhumes the body of the first husband and one

notes that his death was caused by molten lead versed in the

ears, during his sleep undoubtedly. The evidence accumulates,

so much crushing against the widow, that nobody has any more

any doubt about his culpability.during the trial, a spectacular

incident occurs so much that the lawyer of the Crown chokes

himself and loses its wig of it. The father of Marie-Josephte,

maintaining an old man with white hair, advances towards the

judges, kneels and while sanglotant known as:

Stop, Messrs! Do not condemn a innoncente. It is me which killed

Louis Dodier. I am the only culprit; do to ego what you will want.

Insane from pain following testimony of a certain Isabelle Sylvain,

and by not seeing any means of saving his daughter whom it

adores, it comes to be sacrificed for her. Marie-Josephte accepts

coldly and without stumbling the "sacrifice" of her father. Mr.

Corriveau is condemned to be hung. As for Marie-Josephte, for

complicity, it is condemned to receive 60 blows of whip in 3

different places: under the scaffold, on the place of the market of

Quebec and in the Saint-Vallier parish, at a rate of 20 blows at

each place. Also, with being marked with the left hand of the letter

The court also condemns Isabelle Martin for perjury at the time of

his testimony and to receive, it as, 60 blows of whip under the

same conditions as Marie-Josephte Corriveau, but that the letter

with being marked with red iron on its left hand would be the "P".

His/her father is led to the prison beside his daughter who,

inhabited by the joy of having escaped the scaffold, does not

even condescend to throw to him a glance of pity and

recognition. The superior of the Jesuits in Quebec, the reverend

Clapion father, is called near condemned to death to receive his

confession. It is estomaqu� to learn that the girl from condemned

and indeed culprit. Upon the confession of the old man, the priest

follows to him to understand that it does not have the right to

sacrifice his life and of fruster ends of justice. The truth is

revealed with the authorities and one is all the more relentless for

the loophole which it loosely agree to see her old father

undergoing hanging in his place. A new lawsuit takes place and

"Marie-Josephte Corriveau will be put to death for this crime, by

hanging, on the plains of Abraham. Its body will be connected and

suspended on the place which the governor will believe duty to

After the execution, one forges on the corpse of the torture victim

an iron envelope "" which one suspends forty days to the arm of

immense a gibet on the heights of L�vis. Which alarming thing

that this iron cage which is balanced with the wind for the

inhabitants of L�vis and the passers by, all this history marks the

imagination of people and quickly becomes prone more or less

At one time when displacements are difficult, people, for a certain

time, do not dare any more to pass by the point of L�vis and

prefer to go to Quebec by way water to make their purchases and

to sell their food products. That caused a considerable wrong to

the small trade and the landlords of the place.

One night, some citizens, less superstitious than the others,

detach the cage of the bracket and hide it along the enclosing wall

In 1849, the cage is discovered and made speak about it again. It

is exhumed and offered to the glances curious about people. That

lasts a couple of weeks but a beautiful morning, one realizes that

the cage disappeared. It was however held under key in the

basement of the sacristy. Did the devil once again remove?

Not, the devil, this time is called P.T Barnum (the circuses Barnum

& Bailey). Now, those which visit his Boston Museum can see a

window where one sees a mass of old broken scrap, twisted and

corroded by rust and fire. A Small card carries this inscription

"From Quebec". It is all that remains famous cage of Corriveau.