2 ACADIAN GEOLOGY. 



region now constituting the provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, 

 and Prince Edward Island, which still retain Acadia as their poetical 

 appellation, and as a convenient general term for the Lower Provinces 

 of British America as distinguished from Canada. Hence the title 

 " Acadian Geology " is appropriate to this work, not only because that 

 name was first bestowed on Nova Scotia, but because the structure 

 of this province, as exposed in its excellent coast sections, furnishes 

 a key to that of the neighbouring regions, which I have endeavoured 

 to apply to such portions of them as I have explored." 



I find, however, that the Commissioners on the Settlement of the 

 North-eastern Boundary had previously given a very different explana- 

 tion of the name. They say, as quoted by Prof. Hind : — * 



"The obscurity which has been thrown in past times over the 

 ten-itorial extent of Acadia, that country of which De Monts re- 

 ceived letters patent in 1603, was occasioned by not attending to 

 the Indian origin of the name, and to the repeated transfer of the 

 name to other parts of the country to which the first settlers after- 

 wards removed. Even before the appointment of De la Roche, in 

 1598, as Lieutenant-General of the country, including those parts 

 adjacent to the Bay of Fundy, the bay into which the St Croix 

 empties itself was known to the Indians of the Moriseet (Maliseet) 

 tribe, which still inhabits New Brunswick, by the name Peska dura 

 quodia\ from Peskadum^ fish, and Quodiahj the name of a fish 

 resembing the cod," — which fish is supposed to be that known as 

 the " Pollock." 



They further state that the French softened this word Quodiah 

 into Quadiac, Cadie, and finally Acadie, while the English have 

 changed it into Quoddy, as in the well-known name Passamaquoddy, 

 still applied to the bay above mentioned. Independently of the 

 natural objection of an Acadian to believe in the derivation of this 

 honoured and euphonious name from a word meaning a kind of 

 cod-fish, I had great doubts as to the correctness of this etymo- 

 logy in any respect ; and with the view of fortifying myself in the 

 belief of the derivation of my old friend St Pierre, I have applied 

 to the Rev. Mr Rand of Hantsport, Nova Scotia, whose acquaint- 

 ance with the Micmac and Maliseet languages is second to that of 

 no man living, and am happy to say that he confirms my previous 

 opinion, and illustrates it in many curious ways, so that we need not 

 any longer speak of the meaning and origin of the name Acadia as 

 doubtful. 



Mr Rand informs me that the word, in its original form, is Kady 

 * Report on Geology of New Brunswick. 



