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And now after two hundred years what remains to be seen of the Acadian labors of half a century at Tatamagouche? In truth, there is little, but what there is we shall write of under the following headings: Burial-Places. The one on Steele’s Island which we have already mentioned, while not French, but Micmac, was probably used during the Acadian occupation of Tatamagouche. Only an archaeologist, or one familiar with Indian culture and customs, would be able to determine its antiquity. The Micmac mode of burial varied with the times and after their Christianization they adopted to an extent, at least, Christian burial rites. Originally, they wrapped their dead in birch bark, placed them in a sitting position as in life and with elaborate ceremonies either buried or cremated the bodies. If evacuations were made and the soil thoroughly searched and sifted for relics, it is possible that the age of this burial-place might be determined. The state of preservation of the skeletons recently found nearby would, however, indicate that the burials were not prehistoric and if the numerous tales of the finding of such relics as beads, crucifixes and pipes near the spot have any factual basis, it is evident that the burials were made after the Micmacs had been converted to Romanism by the French Missionaries and had had contact with the Europeans. *Public Archives, 1906 Page 183 et sequa. Back |
