Trifter

British ships were a common sight off the coast of Newfoundland in the 1800’s and from time to time would have to enter one of the numerous inlets that littered the barren coastline, to replenish their supply of drinking water. On one such ship was a young man who was very adept at playing the bagpipes, and during many long nights he would entertain his fellow shipmates with the music of bonnie Scotland.

One day the ship lay at anchor in a tiny passage at the foot of Placentia bay. The piper and another sailor asked for and received permission to spend the afternoon exploring the nearby hills. The terrain was difficult, and at some point in the afternoon they suddenly came upon a steep cliff, the piper lost his footing and fell to his death. The other sailor returned to the ship but being afraid he might be accused of playing some part in the pipers death, decided not to tell the true story. He explained instead, that they had become separated and after searching for more than an hour, he had returned to the ship, hoping that his friend may have done the same. The following day a search was carried out but without success, and the ship left, eventually returning to England, without finding the pipers body.

Around that same time visitors to that area of Placentia bay began to report hearing music coming from the nearby hills, as the strains of the bagpipes were carried over the winds. The stories continued for years and the tiny inlet became known as Piper’s Hole. Many ships refused to anchor there, but gave the area a wide berth.

More years passed and the piper’s companion, now an old man, lay at the point of death in a London hospital. The old man desperately wanted to tell someone the truth about what happened that long ago afternoon at Piper’s Hole. Clasping the hand of the visiting clergyman, he poured out his story – this time the truth, and passed away with a burden that had followed him for years, finally lifted.

Meanwhile far across the Atlantic, in Piper’s Hole, the bagpipes fell silent, never to be heard again.