XVII 
THE HALF WAY HOUSE 
FROM Ingonish to Aspy Bay is a 
frightful country, almost uninhabited, 
excepting for the settlement of Neils 
Harbour, which lies on the rocky 
coast a mile from the Half Way House. 
The Half Way House is eighteen miles 
from Ingonish and was put in the wilderness 
by the government for the succour of those 
obliged to pass that way, for it is said that 
formerly people perished on the mountains or 
in the swamps. In bad weather it must be 
very difficult to cross that country ; and the 
Half Way House with its warmth and good 
cheer must be a welcome sight to the weary 
and half-frozen traveller. 
Climbing the hill out of Ingonish, we looked 
constantly back at the beautiful and unfolding 
views. The road was so stony and weather- 
worn that part of the time we preferred to 
walk, and Dan preferred that we should. We 
came to an occasional lonely starved little 
254 
