BY Eliza Chase
"Here lies the East...does not the day break here?"
JULIUS CAESAR, II
CONTENTS.
THE BAY OF FUNDY
THE BASIN OF MINAS
PORT ROYAL
ANNAPOLIS
DIGBY
HALIFAX
GRAND PRÉ
CLARE
L'ISLE DES MONTS DESERTS
CHRONOLOGY.
DATE
1604. De Monts' first landing on Eastern coast. (May 16)
1604. De Monts and suite arrive at Port Royal. (about June 1)
1606. De Monts returns from France with supplies for his colony.
1606. Port Royal abandoned.
1610. Return of De Poutrincourt.
1612. Jesuit priests sent oat from France. (Founding of St. Sauveur
colony at Mt Desert)
1613. Destruction of Port Royal by Argall. (after breaking up settlement
at Mt. Desert)
1628. Scotch colony broken up at Port Royal.
1634. Port Royal held by French under De Razilly.
1647. Feud between La Tour and D'Aulnay.
1654. Port Royal under Le Borgne yields to English.
1684. Incursions of pirates.
1690. Sir Wm. Phipps captures and pillages Port Royal.
1691. Port Royal held by French under De Villebon.
1707. Unsuccessfully besieged.
1710. Bombarded by seven English ships; the fort yields, name changed to
Annapolis Royal.
1713. Treaty of Utrecht, ceding Acadia to the English.
1727,1728. Oath of allegiance exempting French Acadians from taking arms
against France.
1744. Port Royal bombarded and besieged three months.
1745. De Ramezay's unsuccessful attack.
1755. Forts Beau-Séjour and Gaspereau taken by Moncton.
1755. Dispersion of the "Neutrals".
1763. Return of exiles, and founding of coast settlements. Treaty
between France and England
1781. Annapolis Royal surprised and taken by two war ships.
1850. Last occupation (by military force) of old fort at Annapolis.
INTRODUCTION
In the rooms of the Historical Society, in Boston, hangs a portrait of
a distinguished looking person in quaint but handsome costume of antique
style. The gold embroidered coat, long vest with large and numerous
buttons, elegant cocked hat under the arm, voluminous white scarf and
powdered peruke, combine to form picturesque attire which is most
becoming to the gentleman therein depicted, and attract attention to
the genial countenance, causing the visitor to wonder who this can be,
so elaborately presented to the gaze.
A physiognomist would not decide upon such representation as a
"counterfeit presentment" of the tyrannical leader of the expedition
which enforced the cruel edict of exile, -
"In the Acadian land, on the shores of the Basin of Minas; where
Distant, secluded, still, the little village of Grand Pré
Lay in the fruitful valley."
Yet this is Lieutenant-Colonel John Winslow, great-grandson of one of
the founders of the Plymouth Settlement. Could he forget that his
ancestors fled from persecution, and came to this country to find
peaceful homes?
It was not his place to make reply, or reason why when receiving orders,
however; and it seems that the task imposed was a distasteful one; as,
at the time of the banishment, he earnestly expressed the desire "to be
rid of the worst piece of service" he "ever was in."
He said also of the unhappy people at that time, "It hurts me to hear
their weeping and wailing." So we conclude that the pleasant face did
not belie the heart which it mirrored.
It is a singular coincidence that, for being hostile to their country
at the time of the Revolution, his own family were driven into exile
twenty years after the deportation of the unhappy French people.
Have not even the most prosaic among us some love of poesy, though
unacknowledged? And who, in romantic youth or sober age, has not been
touched by the tragic story of the dispersion of the people who
"dwelt together in love, those simple Acadian farmers, -
Dwelt in the love of God and of man. Alike were they free from
Fear, that reigns with the tyrant, and envy, the vice of republics.
Neither locks had they to their doors, nor bars to their windows,
But their dwellings were open as day and the hearts of their owners;
There the richest was poor, and the poorest lived in abundance."
Of the name Acadia, Principal Dawson says in "Canadian Antiquities - ,
that "it signifies primarily a place or region, and, in combination
with other words, a place of plenty or abundance; ..." a name most
applicable to a region which is richer in the 'chief things of the
ancient mountains, the precious things of the lasting hills, and the
precious things of the earth and of the deep that coucheth beneath',
than any other portion of America of similar dimensions."
We naturally infer that the name is French; but our researches prove
that it was originally the Indian Aquoddie, a pollock, - not a poetic
or romantic significance. This was corrupted by the French into
Accadie, L'Acadie, Cadie.
So little originality in nomenclature is shown in America, that we
could desire that Indian names should be retained; that is, when not too
long, or harsh in sound; yet in this case we are inclined to rejoice
at the change from the aboriginal to the more musical modern title.
Though a vast extent of territory was once embraced under that name, it
is now merely a rather fanciful title for a small part of the Province
of Nova Scotia.
Acadia! The Bay of Fundy! There's magic even in the names; the very
sound of them calling up visions of romance, and causing anticipations
of amazing displays of Nature's wonders. Fundy! The marvel of our
childhood, filling the mind's eye in those early school days with that
astounding picture, - a glittering wall of green crystal, anywhere from
ten to one hundred feet in height, advancing on the land like the march
of a mighty phalanx, as if to overwhelm and carry all before it! Had it
not been our dream for years to go there, and prove to our everlasting
satisfaction whether childish credulity had been imposed upon?
Our proposed tourists, eight in number, being a company with a leaning
towards music, bound to be harmonious, desiring to study the Diet-tome
as illustrated by the effects of country fare and air, consolidate under
the title of the Octave.
