[40] The place they had escaped in the great village of the whites they had been told was a Hell. It had been explained to them, however, that there were several of those places in London, and that they were only _imitations_ of hell, but they seemed to believe that these catacombs (as there were so many millions of the bones of Frenchmen gone into them) might be the real hell of the pale-faces, and it was best to run no risk.
Mr. Melody and myself both agreed that their resolve placed them on the safe side at all events, and that we thought them wise in making it if they saw the least cause for apprehension. "They could easily run to the river, however, in their drive, and see the other place, the _Morgue_;" but that could not, on any account, be undertaken, as the two objects had been planned out for the same visit; and, from the Doctor's dream, it did not appear in the least certain in which of the places they were liable to incur the risk, and therefore they thought it best not to go to either. There was a great deal yet to see above ground, and quite as much as they should be able to see in the little time they had yet to remain there, and which would be much pleasanter to look at than white men's bones under ground.
Their minds were filled with amazement on this wonderful subject; but their curiosity to see it seemed quite stifled by the Doctor's dream, and the subject for the present was dropped, with a remark from Jim, "that he was not sure but that this accounted for the white people digging up all the Indians' graves on the frontiers, and that their bones were brought here and sold." The Catacombs were thus left for Daniel and myself to stroll through at our leisure, and the Indians were contented with the sketch I made, which, with Daniel's account, put them in possession of the principal features of that extraordinary and truly shocking place.