Shepherdstown register. [volume] (Shepherdstown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1849-1955, 1896-08-13
ANOTHER TALE OF ACADIA.
LAND OF EvANGELINE,
A AnH

! indistinct in the twilight,
Stand like Druids OF ED. with voices sad ana
prophetic.
rest on their bosoms.-EgdngetiHe
From the time IN my schoolboy days
when | read Evangeine, the beautiful
poem of Longfelow the immortal, have
had a desire to look upon the scenes so
beautifully portrayed and visit the little
valley that the patient industry OF the
ancient Acadians reclaimed from
the sea. as well as the hills nearby from
which they cleared the 'primeval for
ests" and built their happy homes. L
would ask permission to remind the
reader of little history. Acadia is the
ancient name for Nova Scotia. 1t was
settled by the French originally, but
was ceded to the British by the peace
of Utrecht in 1913. At this time about
all of the population were French. ana
| as they were not consulted as 10 thelr
willingness to become British subjects it
was with difficulty that they were per-
! shaded. or forced. to take the oath OF
allegiance to the British crown. The
! British government gave them special
privileges. and in 1147, history says,
| thew numbered $4,000 souls and have
| 60 600 cattle They had with great pa
tience and industry thrown up bikes ana
| reclaimed from the sea and placed .uh.
der cultivation thousands OF acres oil
land. They were at this period living
| i'm comfort surrounded by plenty and at
neace with the world Later on war
was waoed between the British and the
French in Canada, and, as the Acadiahs
were descended from the latter nation,
hN~ Z hn
with assisting them. To punish them
for this supposed sympathy WIN tne
French if was resolved by the British TO
confiscate their property ana oahlsh
them from their homes. Inc Governor
after making preparation Oy bringing
vessels into the harOor called the iilIi@o
jtants together, told them that thelr
homes. lands and cattle had oeen LOT
feited to the crown and they were TO be
banished to other colonies seven
thousand were in this way sent away
but the remainder fled to the WOODS
with their families, where huhdreGS
perished with hunger and cold, whlle
others found their way to other french
settlements.
As this bit of history came up before
me. coupled with the fact that Long
fellow had based his poem upon IT, the
reader will not wonder that | was glad
70 have A chance to board steamer ana
in company with my genial friend, MT
Walter Finson, another l. ,. treasury
official. cross the bay of Fundry to Dlg-
nv. on the Nova Scotia coast, ana from
there explore the land | so much lonSeu
TO see.
The town of Digby sits comfortably
among the hills at the head OF the lam
Gus Annapolis. 1t contains about l,ooO
people who appear good natured ana
happv. We boarded the Dominion AT
lantic express and proceeded upon our
way ND the Annapolis valley along the
basin. The Annapolis basin is an arm OF
the bav of FundrY, of limited width
reaching through Digby Gut ana eN-
tending east along the green slope oil
North Mountain about twenty miles 10
Anapolis As we passed out OF the town
Of Digbv we were impressed with the
MANY pretty cottages backed up against
the hillside. From Digby the railroad
coils around the western end OF Anapo-
lis basin. crosses over long bridges that
snan Bear river and arms of the baSln'
and then makes its way up the valley.
The Annapolis valley is fertile. AS
general thing farming is done on
small scale. Every available spot is
utilized and oats are often sown I'D the
front wards up even to the front doors
of the houses CAS- we passed one'humole
house the writer saw in new-mown
ward piles of hay. A man was driving
toward stable wagon just loaded, 10
which "A single horse was attached. sew
eraI children toddled beside their sire,
while the mother, rake in hand, brought
mn the rear Again we saw beside the
road load of hay drawn by TWO aole
oxen. This driver, too, was acconpa-
MED by his help-mate, and as the woman
with rake over her shoulder gaZed
through the window at the passengers
the man LITERALLY took the bulls by the
horns TO keep them from running from
the passing train. Noticing these Things
together with the Indian women and
childred. remnants of the Michiac tribe
vet lingering in these parts, VINO were
busilv picking blueberrieS by the road
side. made the time pass pleasantly un-
iii we reached Annapolis, the oldest town
ON the American continent north OF st.
AUGUSTINE. The stop at this historic
town. that had been settled by the
French as early as 1904, was brief. The
train once more starts. We eaten
hurried glimpse of the town as we leave
if The Annapolis basin once more comes
into full view. We look back ana see
Digby twenty miles behind us, ana the
many smaller villages that line the oaSih
on~each side. As we make our way TO
Kentville we pass Middleton, III the
centre of a fruit growing district and
a number of other small but thriving
towns.
At Kentville we stopped for the night
As we stepped from the train we were
greeted by our friend Mr.. VIM. Eaton,
or Billy" as every one calls him, who
lives now at Halifax, and is lu Ter
Maiesty's mail service. Tut who was
born and raised in thu heart of the land
of EvangeliMe. Mr.. Eaton is little
man with big hc&r;. and he had come
all the way from Halifax to show us
7 over the historic land in which he had
Spent most of the forty years of his pill
orimape on earth. Our friend pilOted
ms TO the Aberdeen hotel, where, to use
his words. 'there was good bed, a good
cook. and a fellow that could mix cock
tai. good enough to break your heart
Kentville was named after Queen VIC
toria's father, the Duke of Kent. With
its ?. 500 people it sits at the foot Of Ca
naan heights, at the head OF the Corn
wallis valley, and is surrounded by
| fine farming region.
Its streets of sand are lined on either
side with stately elms that lend to it the
secluson of forest. As we drove with
our friend out of the town across bridge
snaninp the brook that here meets the
tidal waves of the CORVALLIS river we
saw for the first time since we left home
a mighty oak tree, testifying to the fer
tihty of the loomy soil in which it grew.
Driving a mile farther through the hills
lined with large pines and ancient oaks
we reached an elevation from which the
eve could scan the whole Acadian land
| from mountain to mountain.
No one could imagine fairer scene,
The main valley is fourteen miles wide
and is cut up into five smaller valleys,
owing to low ridges running parallel TO
! 4 mountains RptWppn