[ganong] INDIAN PLACE-NOMENCLATURE 447 



name for the country. In the second place the termination ia is not 

 at all the e or ie sound which the Indian theory requires. In the 

 third place (and this is much more important) the presence of the r, 

 which is invariable in the sixteenth century forms, excludes a Micmac 

 origin, since, as all who know the language agree, there is no trace 

 of an r sound in that tongue, nor can the Micmacs sound it when they 

 try. In the fourth place, and most conclusively of all, the name 

 appears upon the earliest maps, especially that of Gastaldi of 1548, 

 in company with an assemblage of other names which are exclusively 

 European, not a single one of those upon the Atlantic coast at least, 

 having a native origin. 



How then did the Arcadia or Larcadia of the sixteenth century 

 maps become the Arcadie and La Cadie of Champlain and the commis- 

 sion of de Monts ? That seems to me very easy of explanation. We 

 know that towards the close of the century, great interest, with 

 plans of colonization, were centered upon that region. Naturally 

 all records would be searched for information concerning it, and especi- 

 ally all available maps would be studied for its geography. As 

 attention became directed especially towards the region which lay 

 between the large and indefinite Florida on the one side and the even 

 larger and more indefinite Canada or New France on the other, it was 

 found that while some maps gave to this region no name, others 

 called it Arcadia or Larcadia. This name would therefore come into 

 prominence in all of the discussions relating to colonization and trade 

 in that country. With conversational use of the name among those 

 concerned, the word would gradually be familiarized into forms more 

 consistent with the genius of French speech, making Arcadie or 

 Lar cadie instead of Arcadia or Larcadia, while, as the maps themselves 

 did not agree exactly in the form, some differences in the familiar 

 usage would naturally occur. Then, in 1603, Champlain and the 

 writer of the Commission of de Monts each wrote the word in the form 

 most familiar to himself. It was neither a time nor a subject for the 

 refinements of exact scholarship, and anything that served a purpose 

 sufficed. 



Thus the name Acadie goes back to Larcadia which appears under 

 circumstances that seem to preclude a native Micmac origin. Whence 

 then did it come, and why does it appear upon Gastaldi's map ? 

 Obviously this question is no concern of the present inquiry, since my 

 duty in the case is ended with the transference of the word from an 

 Indian to a European category. Nevertheless the matter is of interest, 

 and I venture to add some comment. Upon Gastaldi's map of 1548 

 it occurs in company with a series of European names, viz. : S. maia, 

 Larcadia, Angoulesme, Flora, Le Paradis, Tierra de los breton, Buena 



