In the Chronicle office, Halifax, I met with another case of Nova Scotian courtesy. Having been informed that the paper had been publishing a series of articles on the South Shore recently, I called to ascertain whether they could be readily found, and saw an editor who kindly put one of his young ladies at the task, and she, after some searching, brought copies of the proper dates to me, and it was all done with a ready willingness and a smile that plainly meant she was glad to be of service. Why the boys up here allow such girls to remain single after they are sixteen can only be explained by the possible fact that all the girls are much the same: such little experience as I have had leads me to think this the probable explanation.
A morning train from Halifax put me in the “Evangeline” country by ten o’clock. I had hoped for a day in Truro in order to thank in person T. S. Patillo, who was kind enough to answer my written questions with good advice as to the route best suited to my wishes, advice which I followed with great satisfaction to myself. That I did not see him is, however, wholly his own fault, in that he suggested such an attractive course that I could not forsake the country of his selecting one moment earlier than must be.
Wolfville is the usual headquarters of those who wish to see Grand-Pré, and there I found John Frederick Herbin, the only descendant of the Acadians living in the locality. He has made a study of the expulsion and the causes which led to it, and claims that the poem “Evangeline” is a remarkably correct page of history.
The following facts are taken from his book on the subject:—
Acadia was first settled in 1605, though it had been known to French fishermen and traders since 1504.
Acadia, or Cadie or Kaddy, is a Micmac Indian terminal meaning the place of; that is, a region, field, land, etc.
In 1636 dikes began to be used on the salt marshes. About 1675 the French first settled in the Grand-Pré neighborhood. The first inhabitants came from the west of France—a country of marshes.
In 1704 Col. Benjamin Church left Boston to ravage the coast. At Minas (this is part of the Minas country) he cut the dikes, destroying the crops. He destroyed three villages and burned many houses.
In 1710 the English came into final possession of this country, but the French never lost the hope of some day regaining it. However, the Acadians, who by treaty right could leave the country if they wished, prepared in 1713-14 to do so, but this would have stripped the country of inhabitants and cattle and have left the English garrisons in a sad predicament for their daily bread, and consequently they by one pretext and another, managed to prevent it. Up to 1730 every effort was made to compel the French to take the oath of allegiance to the English Government, but they “were remarkably faithful to the government” (French).