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But on the French maps of the Eighteenth Century the word occurs as "L’Ormet", which in French means "The Helmet". Considering the shape and size of the Island it was not an inappropriate name. * On the French maps the word, Brule does not occur probably because they were incomplete and only the most prominent geographical features named. But the name is found often in documents and maps of the late Eighteenth Century. It was first applied to what is now known as Brule Point. In the course of time the name was extended to cover the adjacent territory and Harbour. It is one French name which has come down to us uncorrupted. Brule, a part of the French verb, "bruler" - to burn, was often used as a noun to designate an area of burnt land. It seems that in prehistoric times, there had been a very extensive forest fire on Brule Point which the French therefore called Brule. The tradition is that the fire was set by Huron Indians during one of their predatory raids against the Micmac Indians, with whom they continually carried on intermittent warfare. Barrachois is another French word meaning a sand beach or low ground. The
name was in common use by the French and was evidently adopted to designate the
low tongue of land which ends in what is now known as Sand Point. Probably the
earliest occurrence of the word in print is on the plan of the DesBarres estate
made in 1804-05 by James Millar and Wellwood Waugh. There the Harbour is called
"Burrough Iwo", for with Miller and Waugh spelling was a matter of
private judgment. Later on, modern cartographers such as Bayfield used the
spelling, Barrachois. Back |
