266 J. Ci. BOUEmOT 



triangular island, off the most eastern coast of Cape Breton, and one of the most dangerous 

 parts of the continent until the present lighthouse was erected. It is doubtful if it is 

 Indian — it is probably a corrupted European name since, like Cape Breton, and Porto 

 Novo, an island in the vicinity, it must have been first seen and named by the Basques, 

 Bretons or Portuguese who visited these waters so many centuries ago. Scatari was also 

 called Ponchartraiu on some French maps, but it was never so known for any length of 

 time. luganiche is believed by some persons to be a Portuguese word, but even so 

 earnest a supporter of the claims of that people to early discovery as Dr. Patterson admits 

 that it is Micmac, although the meaning is now lost. Mabou is a small harbour on the 

 western coast of Cape Breton, at the mouth of a river, of the same river which flows 

 through a beautiful and fertile valley, whose fine meadow lands, rich with grasses, and 

 shaded by noble elms and maples, afford a charming contrast with the rugged hills that 

 stretch from the picturesque bay of Whycocomagh to the waters of the Gulf. Discousse 

 is a fishing village in He Madame, nearly opposite St. Peter's Bay, and called Decoux by 

 Pichon. Catalone or Catalogne is a reference to the picturesque lake, situated in the hilly 

 country between Mira and Louisbourg, and only separated from the great Mira Bay by a 

 narrow sandbar. The correct spelling is really Catalogue, which, some contend, is clearly 

 the French version of the Spanish Cataluna or the ancient province of Catalonia in Spain, 

 of which the mountainous features might in some respects be compared to this section of 

 Cape Breton. It is claimed that both Catalogue Lake and Mira Bay, which are only 

 separated from each other by a mere sandbar, have been named by the Portuguese and 

 Spanish sailors that anchored frequently, centuries ago, in the bay. On the other hand, 

 it is a fact all important in the discussion of this point, that in several documents relating 

 to Louisbourg, still among the Paris Archives, there are references to a M. de Catalogne, 

 who was an ofiicer of the garrison from 1728 to 1*735. A M'lle de Catalogne, either his 

 daughter or sister, was married to a M. de G-annes in 1Ï30, who was sent to New York in 

 1738 to purchase flour for the use of the inhabitants of the town. M. de Catalogne died 

 about 1735, for there is an allusion in one of the official papers to some difficulties that 

 occurred in that year, respecting the disposition of his property.' It is probable then that 

 Lake Catalogue received its name from this officei", though the archives so far accessible 

 give us no evidence that he had property in the vicinity. Mire," as the bay is invariably 

 spelt in French documents, it may be added, would be naturally the French adaptation of 

 Mira, the origin of which was probably unknown to the French of Louisbourg.^ 



The origin and meaning of Gabarus — the name of the Bay so famous in the history 

 of the two sieges of Louisbourg — have perplexed inquirers. In all the French writers it 



' " Can. Archives," 1887, cccv, cccvii, cccxviii. 



' It is an interesting fact tliat in the " Ulloas' Voyage to South America" we read of a village of Mira near 

 Quito, Chili, where the savants made some astronomical observations. A small river of the same name is also 

 situated to the N. AV. of the village in question. See Ulloa, i. 2o9. 



'■' Since the remarks in the text were in type, I have seen an entry in the Index to the Quebec " Collection de 

 Manuscrits," etc., which would intimate that a French officer, de Miré, may have given his name to the bay and 

 river in Cape Breton. Two references are given of "de Miré" (iii. 284, 385) but one of them refers only to the 

 bay, and the other to a M. de Miry (not Miré), a lieutenant ordered in 17-4G to make a descent on tlie Kew England 

 frontier. I cannot, however, find there was ever an officer of the name of Miré, or Jliray (as the hay is generally 

 spelt in French maps) at Louisbourg. As in the case of Gabarus, however, it is just possible we may have an easy 

 solution of the whole question in the existence of a French officer or merchant who lived for a while in Cape 

 Breton. 



