an entire day of an all too short vacation. Another time I should be
inclined to cut out both Yarmouth and Halifax and lay the time out
dreaming the length of some country road or drifting along the edge of
one of the beautiful bays.
The histories tell us that Halifax was settled in 1746 at the
solicitation of the New England colonies, in order to crowd out the
French, who were inclined to use the harbor as a naval base from which
to harry said colonies. The extensive fortifications on Citadel Hill
are the pride of Nova Scotia, but there is no attempt to make the
hill attractive outwardly. It is merely a rough pasture lot hillside,
crossed by wandering footpaths with a few uninteresting cannon and
fortifications in sight at the summit.
Dalhousie College is a monument to the War of 1812. It seems that at
that time certain patriotic Nova Scotians moved over the borders into
the eastern section of Maine, and the inhabitants thereof, in order to
continue their life of ease and luxury, cheerfully took the oath of
allegiance to the British crown. The customs duties collected at the
port of Castine were kept when the land was surrendered at the close
of the war, and this money was known as the “Castine Fund.” After much
debate as to what should be done with it, the entire amount was used
for the endowment of Dalhousie College.
St. George’s Church is interesting from the fact, if it is a fact, that
the building was erected in circular form in order that there might be
no corners in which the Devil could hatch mischief for such idle hands
as might come within the holy precincts, it would thus appear that
those who wish to avoid the machinations of the evil one should avoid
dark corners.
I took up my abode in the King Edward Hotel because it was near the
depot. This was satisfactory in most respects. The head waiter did not
fill his job very full, but much can be forgiven any hotel that places
before its patrons that dear delight which the King Edward calls “pie,”
a rich stew of some fruit on which is placed a square of rather thick,
but very light and fluffy pastry. It is more after the manner of some
of the old Astor House “deep dish” confections than any other that I
know of, but, in the language of the late Mr. Noah Webster, has even
those skinned a mile, all due to the remarkably light, flaky nature of
the pastry and exceeding richness of the cooked fruit.
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).
In 1720 they again asked permission to leave, but were prevented from
doing so.
In 1730 they took the oath of allegiance, being exempted from taking
up arms against French or Indians. From this date they were known as
French Neutrals.
As an indication of their feeling in 1744, when other French attempted
unsuccessfully to force them into a position antagonistic to the
English, they responded in part: “We live under a mild and tranquil
government, and we have every reason to be faithful to it.”
In 1749 the Acadians were called on to take the oath without
restriction or forfeit all their rights and possessions.
In 1750 they were pleading for permission to leave the country.
“They bore insult and indignity for forty years in a vain hope that a
time would come when they would be finally secure on the lands their
fathers had taken from the sea and made beautiful and rich beyond any
other in America.”
The expulsion was the work of Governor Charles Lawrence, who is
characterized as the most infamous of all the governors of Nova Scotia.
“It was done without the sanction of the English Government,” whose
“orders forbidding this action were received too late to prevent it.”
All their arms had been seized; their priests and archives carried off.
Lawrence concealed his purpose from the English Government until too
late for its intervention; he even deceived his own Lords of Trade at
Halifax.
The male inhabitants were summoned to meet at the church at Grand-Pré,
“to hear the king’s orders.” Four hundred and eighteen men gathered in
the church. No suspicion of danger had entered their minds up to the
moment when they were notified “That your Lands & Tenements, Cattle
of all Kinds and Live Stock of all Sorts are Forfeited to the Crown
with all other your Effects Saving your money and Household Goods, and
you your Selves to be removed from this his Province.” They were then
declared prisoners.
The expulsion was conceived in sin and carried out in iniquity, its
sole purpose being plunder, as the country and wealth of the Acadians
would then fall to the English. Lawrence himself is accused of
profiting greatly.
In other words, it was a plain case of highway robbery, the only excuse
being trumped up charges against the inhabitants to the effect that
they were plotting against the English. These appear to have had no
foundation in fact, as has been amply proved by recent discoveries in
the archives of England and France. Under such circumstances it was one
of the most brutal cases of rapine, even for those rough times, that
can be found in history.
The little basin, known as Wolfville Harbor, offered my best
opportunity for noting the tremendous rise and fall of the tide, though
the basin itself is not deep enough to show the extremes. Just outside,
the greatest difference between high and low water, the extremes only
occurring in spring and fall, is 55 feet 6 inches. But every full
or new moon there is a high tide that comes within a very few feet
of these figures. While interesting to see once, the vast expanse
of yellow mud and the thick muddy water which surges back and forth
destroy the beauty of the waterside; its novelty is the only attraction.
For my ride to Grand-Pré I asked for a talkative driver who knew the
country and its story, and was given one who filled my soul with great
content.
Before arriving at the points of interest he told of two ghosts seen
by his father when a young married man--he himself, of course, does
not believe in ghosts, though it is hard to explain their appearance
to others. One brilliant, moonlight night, when the ground was covered
with snow, father, while on his way to convoy his wife home from a
neighbor’s in Wolfville, saw two men come out of the woods and pass
through the fence to the road, neither climbing over it nor letting
down the bars, but as a puff of smoke might pass. These started down
the road a short distance ahead of him, but made no noise on the hard,
frozen snow, while his shoes made the orthodox crunching sound as shoes
should on flesh and blood feet. He even stopped a moment in order to
assure himself of their quiet progress. Whether he moved at a lively
pace or slow, the figures kept the same distance ahead of him, and even
when he broke into a run he was unable to overtake them. At last they
turned in toward a house, went up to the front door and disappeared.
Not having any fear of ghosts, father followed, but found the door
locked. He then passed around to the back, to find the door there
locked as well, made some effort to arouse the people, but without
success, and finally went on his way. At this time a man lay sick in
the house who eventually died, and the ghost-seer always believed that
these had something to do with that event, though unable to surmise how
one man could have two ghosts, as this was long before the days of Dr.
Jekyl and Mr. Hyde. It seems highly probable that the sick man had a
double personality, and that he was entitled to these two spirits, who
were identical in appearance and bearing. This is the first time, so
far as my knowledge goes, that such a circumstance has occurred, but
the more one thinks on the subject the more reasonable does it seem.
At first we drove out on high land overlooking the Gaspereau Valley, a
sight well calculated to please the lover of the beautiful. This valley
is a noted apple growing region, shipping about $60,000 worth of the
fruit during a normal year. Apples and potatoes are the chief product
of this part of the country, and my driver stated that the apple
growers are prosperous and that few of the orchards are mortgaged.
All fruit has been shipped to England heretofore, but the present
Democratic free trade antics of the United States will probably result
in much of it being sent to the nearer market to the detriment of its
apple growers; let us hope that they were among those who helped mount
the schoolmaster on the donkey’s back at the late election, and that
they will but receive their deserts. More talk on this subject might be
regarded by the powers that be as apple-sauce, and in the interests of
harmony we will desist from further comment.
Near the mouth of the Gaspereau River is the historic landing place
where the deportation of the helpless Acadians was consummated.
After following down the river for a space we turned to the left and
mounted another hill, from the summit of which one may look down on
the village of Grand-Pré (great prairie). Before beginning the descent
we passed the Scotch Covenanter Church, erected in 1804, which still
retains its box pews and high pulpit.
At the foot of the hill we came out on the meadows which were salved
from the sea the better part of three hundred years ago. Here stood the
chapel in which the Acadian men were held prisoners until they could be
placed on board the transports; the locality over which Longfellow has
woven such a spell of romance.
The site of the chapel, priest’s house and burial ground was
originally an island in the salt marsh; now it is merely a gentle
elevation on the edge of the meadow.
The Evangeline well is presumably the well attached to the priest’s
house. After the deportation it was filled up and plowed over for many
years. Twenty-five years ago it was opened and an interesting lot of
Acadian implements were found in the bottom.
The burial ground is marked by a large cross built of stone used in the
foundation of the church and the priest’s house and in other Acadian
cellars. Beneath it are three graves and about it rest the remains of
those who died in Grand-Pré during its occupation by the people, about
eighty years.
Just north of the church site stands a row of willows set out by the
people of Evangeline’s day. These have stood probably two hundred
years, and shielded the Acadian Chapel and the priest’s house from
the north winds of winter until 1755 when, after the removal of the
Acadians, the buildings were burned.
On returning to Wolfville I again interviewed Mr. Herbin, and among
other items gathered the following account of a legend which has to do
with one of the nearby villages:
Immediately after the expulsion a considerable number of those who had
escaped the clutches of the British, gathered at what is now known
as East Minas, on high ground from which a large territory could be
overlooked, in the belief that French ships would come for them. It is
claimed that they had a priest with them, though Mr. Herbin regards
this as doubtful, as the priests had been removed from the country
during the summer in anticipation of the removal of the inhabitants
later.
These are said to have erected a small chapel with walls about six feet
high and steep pitched roof. Here they worshipped during the winter,
but in time were discovered by the English and forced to again flee.
So sudden was their departure that they were unable to carry with them
the silver service used in the chapel, which had been brought from some
other point, and this was hastily placed for safe keeping in a spring
of water conveniently near.
Many years passed, the chapel had crumbled and the spring dried up,
when several men appeared in the locality and, after making much
inquiry, located a great tree, the stump of which is still to be seen,
that was standing in the days of the French. Taking a line by this and
another mark of which they appeared to have some record, they passed
into the forest, but were unable to find the site of the spring, all
signs of which having long since disappeared.
Later three men, who had learned the object of the unsuccessful
treasure-hunters, instituted a search on their own account. One of
them, named Bishop, stumbled on a slight depression which he believed
to be the dry bed of the spring, and began to dig, but immediately the
heavens darkened and strange noises issued from the surrounding woods,
while half-seen shapes threatened to pounce upon him from the nearby
trees.
About this time he concluded not to be selfish over his discovery, but
to call in his friends that all might share alike, and commenced a
search for them with zealous haste. But when they endeavored to return
to the spot he was not able to locate it; the earth had been replaced
and leaves and sticks scattered over it as formerly, and even the trees
had been shifted about until the search was hopeless.
EPILOGUE.
The novelty of the tides having worn off, the immense mud flats
left by the outgoing water and the railroad ride from Wolfville to
Yarmouth convinced me that I had followed good advice in selecting
the south shore for my jaunt. Not that the Annapolis Valley is other
than beautiful and well kept, it is both, and the Fundy tides are
interesting, but to travel with day after day their muddied waters and
wastes of yellow flats cannot be compared with the sparkle of the clean
waters of the Atlantic and its rock-encrusted coast line, innumerable
harbors and occasional beautiful stretches of wave-swept sand beach.
INDEX
A
Acadia, Origin of name, 72
Acadian expulsion, A story of, 56
American privateers loot Lockport, 36
Argyle, 12
B
Barrington, 17
Bradford, Capt. Bartlett, 44
Burchtown, 26
C
Campbell, Lord William, on Nova Scotia, 1767, 4
Cape Lahave, 53
Cape Sable, 22
Champlain describes the coast, 6
Chester, 68
Churchill, Josiah, 35
Cobb, Capt. Sylvanus, 42
“Cod flakes”, 38
Cole, Benjamin, 43
Conrad, Jason, 49
“Cow-reeve”, 30
Crescent Beach, 55
Crowell, William B., 21
D
Doggett, Gerb, 45
Dory sailing, 60
Dublin Shores, 55
E
Etienne, Claude Turgis de Sainte, 22
Evangeline country, 72
F
First South, 61
Fort Point, 56
Freeman, Captain Nathaniel, Ghost of, 44
French expulsion from Nova Scotia, 72
French shore, 13
Fundy tides, The, 75
G
Garretson, Freeborn, 18
Gaspereau Valley, 76
Getsans Point, 56
Ghost Ship, 51, 65
Ghosts, 44, 51, 52, 53, 75, 79
Girls of Nova Scotia, The, 47, 71
“Gloucester” of Canada, 61
Grand-Pré, 74
H
Halifax, 69
Herbin, John Frederick, 72
Hunts Point, 40
J
Jordan, 31
K
Kempton, Jason, 48
Kempton House, Port Medway, 48
King Edward Hotel, Halifax, 71
L
La Héve, 41, 58
Latour House, 21
Legend of early times, 57
Liverpool, 41
Lock, Dr. Jonathan, 35
Lockport, 35
Loyalist refugees from New York, 27
Lunenburg, 60
M
McNutt, Col. Alexander, 27
Mack, S. E., 41
Mahone Bay, 63
Manuel, James E., 64
Mersey House, Liverpool, 41
N
New Hillcrest Hotel, Lockport, 35
New Jerusalem, 27
Nine Mile Woods, 14
Norsemen, Relic of, 11
Nova Scotian Spirit, The, 5, 12, 21, 41, 47, 61, 63, 71
O
Oak Islands, 64
Oak Park, 15
P
Perkins, Col. Simeon, 41
Petite Reviere, 51
Port Latour, 20
Port Lomeron (or L’Omeroy), 22
Port Medway, 47
Port Mouton, 39
Port Rossignal, 41
Pubnico, 13
R
“Raged Islands”, 36
Riverport, 60
Roseway River, 26
S
Saint Louis, Fort, 22
Shelburne, 27
Silk socks better than cotton, 19
Smuggler A, 45
Solid Rock, 21, 24
Sperry House, Petite Reviere, 51
Spirit of Nova Scotia, The, 5, 12, 21, 41, 47, 61, 63, 71
T
“Teaser,” The, 65
Thanksgiving Day in Nova Scotia, 32
Tour, Claude de la, 22
Tour, Charles de la, 22
Tourist Committee, 11
V
Villagedale, 21
Voglers Cove, 49
W
Warman, Charles, 41
West Dublin, 55
Western Shore, 64
Wilde, J. N., 48
Wolfville, 72
Wolfville Harbor, 75
Wood, Samuel, Rev., 17
Y
Yarmouth, 11
“Young Teaser,” The, 66
It is Commonly Rumored that death and Taxes are the only certainties
placed before the inhabitants of this Vale of Tears. But after Mature
reflection it has become the firm Conviction of this Traveler that the
End of a pleasant Excursion is quite as certain as either, though not
quite as sad. Be this as it May, as all Orthodox story books have it,
there can be no Doubt in the Mind of any who has given due Heed unto
the Matters herein set forth, that this particular trip has reached a
Definite End.
Transcriber’s Notes
In the Index:
First South moved from E to F.
Grand-Pre changed to Grand-Pré.
La Heve changed to La Héve.
Oak Islands changed to Oak Island.