INGONISII, BY LAND AND SEA. 43 



coast. It suffers much more from the action of 

 water and frost than the harder rocks surround- 

 ing it, so that where it appears on the surface 

 there are sure to be odd depressions in the soil, 

 " sink holes," into which earth and trees have 

 settled ; or, in cliff faces, deep hollows, coves, or 

 caverns. The path along Middle Head follows 

 closely the trend of the shore, and from it we 

 found ourselves looking down into the most sug- 

 gestive little cove that smugglers would care to 

 own or story- writers to dream over. Its open- 

 ing to the sea was narrow, and all its walls were 

 high and steep, yet it had a tiny sand beach 

 where a boat could land easily even if storm 

 waves beat angrily on the stern cliffs outside. 



About halfway out on the Head we came upon 

 a spring, — a cup-shaped hollow in the mud, 

 filled with sun-warmed water, — which tempted 

 us to rest near it under the low pines and 

 spruces, where Cape Smoky could be seen across 

 the bay, its richly toned cliffs wonderfully worn 

 by waves, and its lofty head resting in the haze 

 that gives the mountain promontory its name. 

 Its outer point, which cuts in twain waves 

 unchecked from the Grand Banks, is called 

 ''the Bill of Smoky." From this point back 

 to the Ingonish light the syenite crags rise 

 supreme above waves or ice. Near the light- 

 house the lines of Smoky grow more gentle. 



