Cape North 
We should have liked to go with Katie, but 
there were reasons against it, and we contented 
ourselves with climbing a bare spur to the top 
of another mountain, hoping for a view of the 
whole earth. As is always the case, it was far- 
ther to the top than it seemed, and it was a 
very steep slope upon which huge cliffs and 
crags jutted out, not pleasant to surmount, and 
perhaps not always quite safe. And at the top 
— nothing ! He who climbs these mountains for 
a view of the world will find himself on the edge 
of a mile-wide plateau which is rough and hubbly, 
and across which one cannot possibly see farther 
than a few rods. So, after all, it does not pay 
very well, for the view down into McDougal's 
Cove from the mountain-top is not as good as 
the view from the cove up the mountain, and 
the latter can be had without any exertion. 
In the McDonald home were a number of 
sealskins, the seals being caught near here. 
They are not the fur-bearing seal, but are 
covered with a coarse light-coloured hair, so 
their only value is in their leather. We did 
not see any seals, but Charlevoix did, and in his 
letters he tells certain things about them which 
we may believe or not as we please : — 
293 
