ANTICOSTI. 187 



projecting verge overhead. This was a sight to make the 

 superstitious quake with fear. It was well known that the 

 island had no inhabitants at that season of the year that no 

 human beings but themselves were there. And the rope in 

 that strange situation too! It was marvelous indeed! At 

 length one ventured to pull the rope, to ascertain whether it 

 was fast above, or whether it had merely caught in the rocks 

 while falling. Mystery ! it tolled a bell. Shuddering, the 

 hardy sealers stood aghast, regarding each other with faces 

 pallid and eyes that betrayed their fear. Then they looked 

 upward toward the crag. All was still nothing visible 

 but the dark brown rock, the snow, and desolation. Then 

 with trembling hands they pulled the rope again. Sharply 

 the peal of the bell rang out upon the frosty air ! Again 

 and then again ! There was mystery up above. And as the 

 notes prolonged, and reverberated from point to point, it 

 seemed as though they had summoned creatures into being 

 and waked the surrounding wastes to populous civilization. 

 Convinced that no other agency but their own produced the 

 tones, for it was only when they pulled that the bell tolled, 

 the sealers picked their way around the coast until they 

 found a place to -ascend to the plateau above. Over the 

 rocks from which the snow had melted, and through thickets 

 of spruce and pine, they followed the windings of the cliff until 

 they reached the point desired. Then amazement filled 

 their senses. A camp deserted tents half buried in the 

 drifts, charred and blackened brands from which no welcome 

 smoke ascended ! And the tents were made of old sails, light 

 spars, and cordage. On the edge of the cliff swung a ship's 

 bell. One of the tents was more carefully constructed than 

 the others, and seemed to have been barricaded around its 

 base by logs and pieces of timber. Pushing the canvas aside 

 from the entrance, a horrid sight was revealed. In the cen- 

 ter of the apartment was a kind of pit in which lay a 

 shriveled human trunk, minus the head, legs, and arms, with 

 the ashes of a fire underneath ! This apartment had evi- 



