Aspy Bay facts for kids
Aspy Bay is a beautiful bay located on the Atlantic Ocean. You can find it near the very top of Cape Breton Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. Important natural spots along its coast include the Wilkie Sugar Loaf hill and the Aspy Fault.
Some of the small towns and villages along the bay are Smelt Brook, White Point, South Harbour, and Dingwall.
The name "Aspy" might come from the Basque language. It could be named after Aspe peak in the Pyrenees mountains or a monastery called Santa Maria de Axpe near the Bay of Biscay. An old French map from 1780 shows the area as "Aspe." Even older records from the 1700s called it Egmont Bay. Back then, many French fishing boats, called shallops, used to be there.
When the first permanent settlers arrived, many of them were Loyalists. At that time, the local Miꞌkmaq people called the area Wegwaak. This name means "Turning Suddenly."
Contents
History of Aspy Bay
Early European Visits
Some people believe that John Cabot landed in or near Aspy Bay in 1497. If this is true, it would be the first time Europeans landed on what is now Canadian soil, after the Norse explorers. To remember this idea, Cabots Landing Provincial Park has a special monument. It includes a stone marker and a statue to honor Cabot's possible landing.
Fishing Life
In the early days, settlers in Aspy Bay and nearby Bay St. Lawrence caught many fish. They would catch cod, mackerel, and dogfish. Merchants would then buy these fish. They were often sold to buyers in Halifax or to farmers living inland.
Shipwrecks and Survival Stories
The weather around Aspy Bay can be very unpredictable. The coastline is also rugged, especially near St. Paul Island. This caused several sad shipwrecks as the area was being explored and settled.
In 1761, a sailing ship named the Auguste sank in Aspy Bay. Sadly, 114 people lost their lives. Many important Canadians were on board, including Charles-René Dejordy de Villebon and Louis-Joseph Gaultier de La Vérendrye.
Another ship, the St. Lawrence, was wrecked near Cheticamp in December 1780. The crew came ashore and were stranded. An officer named Lieut. Prentiss took a boat to find help. They faced a very tough journey along the rugged coast. After weeks of eating only boiled kelp and roots, they finally reached the sandy beaches of Aspy Bay. They were exhausted, frozen, and had no food left. They were so desperate for food that they considered a terrible choice, but thankfully found edible plants just in time. A group of local Miꞌkmaq people eventually rescued them. The Mi'kmaq shared a story about another French ship that had wrecked in Aspy Bay years before. They had helped those survivors too, who had suffered greatly from cold and hunger.
Local Legends
Early European settlers in the area told stories of finding a very large skull. They said its teeth looked like human teeth, but much bigger. One tooth was sent to Sydney for study. It was recorded to be eight inches long and four inches wide!
Local Mi'kmaq hunters also had a legend about a huge creature. They said it was unlike any animal they knew. This creature had been seen in the waters of Aspy Bay. People were so scared that they wouldn't go near the area for a while. Other settlers reported seeing huge bones, like thigh bones, at the bottom of a nearby lake. However, there have been no reliable sightings of such a creature in modern times.
Telegraph Connection
In 1856, Aspy Bay became an important place for communication. It was chosen as the Nova Scotia end point for the Transatlantic telegraph cable. This cable helped send messages across the Atlantic Ocean.
