Scandinavian Sketches, or, a Tour in Norway

Preface

. Cervantes has justly said, that he who publishes a book runs an immense risk, because it is impos sible to compose one that shall entertain every reader. What occasioned apprehension to so re nowned a sage might well be viewed with anxiety by one of such moderate pretensions as myself. Had I followed my original intention, the hazard would have been of a less formidable character ; an unpretending 12mo would have supplied the place of the present more promising volume, and the title page would have checked in limine all immediate expectations by an explicit announce ment that its contents furnished but a mere Guide de Voyage. Influenced, however, by friends who, from the favorable reception experienced by a former work, naturally augured a similar display

PREFACE.

. of taste and discernment on the part of the public, I have enlarged my plan, still keeping in view my principal object, and avoiding such an increase of matter or bulk in the present volume as might prove inconvenient to the tourist. I have, at the same time, endeavoured to render it not altogether unattractive to that more extensive class of readers who, wanting the inclination or opportunity of vi sisting Norway, may be desirous of becoming ac quainted with a country interesting in itself, as well as from the associations with which it is con nected. W. H. B. London, April, 1835. Page 1 CONTENTS.

Chapter I

Voyage from England — Coast of Norway — Boundaries — Mountains — Glaciers — Valleys — Fjords .—Lakes — Harbours — Depth of the North Sea — Tides — Aspect of the country — Absence of Towns — Climate — Animals — History of Norway— Divisions — Constitution. . . . .

Chapter II

Opsolo — Christiania — Public Institutions — Population — Climate — Harbour — Fjord — Drobak — Moss — Citadel — Guides — Mode of Travelling — Posting — Carriole — Horse — Post-Houses — Fare — River Glommen — Oudal — The Bear — Saeters — The Lemming — Kongsvinger — Void — Houmh — Executioner of Christiania — Mesoilt- — Vestgaard — Moe — Mosquitoes — Elk — Peasantry — Novel mode CONTENTS. VI Page 42 155 of Punishment— Roraas— Excursion to see the Fins—Cop per Mines— Norsk Boatmen— Fins — Reindeer — Rogstad — Game— Trondhjem— National Bank— Leeren Falls— Fences — Fair — Drunkenness of the Norsk Peasantry.

Chapter III

Route to the North Cape — Aagaard — Folden Fjord — Torghatten — Luroe — Mode of capturing sea-fowl — Bodoe — Yachts —Food ofthe cattle— Vest Fjord — Fisheries — Salten Strom Reindeer — Nordland — Malstrom — Currents — Finmark — The Lemmings — Hindde — Senjen — Tromsoe — Alten — Hammerfest — Whales — North Cape — Ingenious mode employed bythe foxes to catch birds — Return route to Trondhjem — Route to Stockholm. .....

Chapter IV

Route from Trondhjem to Christiania — Guldal — Salmon — Trout — Mode of repairing the roads — Rise — Reindeer — Drivstuen — Kongsvold — Ascent of Sneehiitten — Dover Fjeld — Tofte — Cowhouse — Instinct of the cows — Slates — Gulbrandsdal — Losne Vand — Sinclair's grave — Large families — Lillehammer — Mjosen Soe — Observations on the peasantry — Regulations concerning the destitute.

Chapter V

Route from Christiania to Bergen — Ringerigets — Magnificent scenery of the Fille Fjeld — Falls of Staleim and Scfte CONTENTS. Page 204 280 Vossevangen — Ascent of Lornehorgen — Remarks on the route, etc. — Bergen — Ascent of the Lyderhorn— Boat ex cursion along the coast — Sea-serpent — Kraken — Birds — Singular notes of the Colymbus Arcticus — Land at Sveen — Ousen — Country vehicles — Sondeln Fjord — Fall of rock — Herring fishery at Andam — Wolves — Molde — Christ iansund — Route from Molde to Trondhjem — Molde to Ve blungsnaes — Grandeur of the scenery — Bears — Romsdals Horn — Strange assertion respecting the summit — Vignes Tindene — Curious traditions — Ingenuity of a blind man — Peculiar situation of a parsonage — Dangerous track — Fine waterfall — A new way of escaping a broken neck !— Scenery to Lessoe — Dead trees. .

Chapter VI

Route from Lessoe to Skiaker — The author's bones shaken — His temper rufHed — The peasantry — Fine scenery from Lomb — Extraordinary pass — Loms Fjeld — Glaciers — Fortunsdal — Lystre — Sogne Fjord— Skiolden — Intoxication — Route to Vettie Giel — Perilous path — Mode of conveying a corpse to Fortunsdal — Vormelien — The dead horseman — Leerdalsoren — Fretton — Ascent of the Hardanger Fjeld— Nature of the track — Saeter — Bridges — Ouseskaveln — View from it — Curious fissures — Noble pass — Remarks on the route — Ouse — Eifjord — Vorring Foss — Soe Fjord — Ullensvang — Folgefond — Miserable post-hou se — Amusing scene at a saeter — Curious stones — Route to Kongsberg — Mines — Superstition of the Miners — An unnecessary digression — Drammen — Christiania — Coast route — Conclusion . SCANDINAVIAN SKETCHES 8fC„ 8sc, Sfc.

Chapter I

Voyage from England — Coast of Norway — Boundaries — Mountains — Glaciers — Valleys — Fjords — Lakes — Harbours — Depth of the North Sea — Tides — Aspect of the country — Absence of Towns — Climate — Animals — History of Norway — Divisions — Constitution. I oesigned, after my voyage to Australia, to spend my days, not as was Sinbad's intention, at Bagdad, but in England ; a truant disposition, however, in duced me once more to ramble ; and a wish to see Nature, in a clime very different from any other, led me to visit the fjords and snow-capt mountains of Norway. Fabatus holds, that " all sea-faring men are mad ; B VOYAGE FROM ENGLAND. the ship is mad, for it never stands still ; the mari ners are mad to expose themselves to such imminent dangers ; the waters are raging mad, in perpetual motion ; the winds are as mad as the rest ; they know not whence they come, nor whither they would go ; and those men are maddest of all, that go to sea ; for one fool at home they find forty abroad."

Now it signifies little whether he who said this was mad, or I, who profited not by his opinion : it is sufficient for the reader to know that I was " shipped, by the grace of God, in good or der, and well conditioned, in and upon the good bark, Emanuel, whereof is master, under God, Hans Wittusen, and bound to Christiana ! "* The breeze, though fair, was light, but soon increased, and impelled us with rapidity along the shores of merry England. I shall, however, continue my voyage without pausing to describe, as viewed from a distance, either the appearance of Dover Castle, or of Calais, and pass at once into the North Sea. On leaving the straits which separate the rival * The above is the preamble to a bill of lading. Persons who dislike sailing vessels may proceed from London to Hamburgh, thence across Holstein to Kiel ; by steam to Copenhagen, Gothen borg, and Christiana ; or by steam from Hull to Gothenboro-, etc.

VOYAGE FROM ENGLAND. nations, we saw no land until we descried Lindesnæs, or, as we term it, the Naze of Norway, which forms the southern extremity of that country : the sole objects, therefore, to relieve the monotonous effects of ' only seas around, and skies above' were some pie-bald porpoises, and occasionally vessels freighted with the productions of different climes. Of variety on board our vessel there was none, for the silence that usually prevailed would have been creditable to the strictest worshippers of Harpocrates, being frequently uninterrupted for hours together. We were certainly enlivened by the rude chaunts of our mariners, when engaged in their devotions ; but this was only every morning and evening. On these occasions the mate officiated as priest, and the crew went through their orisons with great apparent piety.

In all, they amounted, including the captain and mate, to six men and two boys ; and these northern sons of Neptune formed a strong contrast with our own sailors, — whatever they did being generally executed without noise ; while in most English merchant ships the crew, when at work, make far too much. I had supplied myself with provisions, but would recommend per sons subject to illness, who embark in a Norwegian b BOUNDARIES. vessel, to take likewise a few medicines : unless the master thereof be better furnished in this re spect than ours was, who, for both internal and ex ternal complaints, had nothing, save camphor-drops and vinegar.* The wild and weather-beaten coast wears the as pect of hopeless sterility ; its rocky precipices often rise with an abruptness similar to those of St. Helena ; and at one spot the shore bore a striking resemblance to a portion of that singular island.

We got a view of Mandal, a small town more famous for its salmon fishery than for the beauty of its environs, which consists of craggy hills with a scanty verdure, and of Christiansand, where there is a fine light-house. Then passing Faeder island, on which there is also a light, we entered the Fjord of Christiana, and reached that capital on the eighth day after our departure from Southampton. The distance is 800 miles. Norway extends from the 71st degree of latitude, to the 57th ; and from 5 degrees to 18 degrees of * The sum charged upon the vessel (if only 135 tons), for Light money and Corporation dues, was 71. 6s. ; in addition to which, a demand was made of 1 1. 13s. 3d. on the score of there hein«- a passenger on board, and no cargo ! ! MOUNTAINS. east longitude. Its length from the North Cape to Lindesnœs is about 900 miles ; but the breadth varies from 240 to 30 miles ; the extent of coast is 1600 miles.

The proper name is Norge : and that of a native Norman or Normand ; while Gamle Norge (Old Norway) is an expression applied to it, as Old England is by ourselves. To the south and S. E. it is bounded by the North Sea and Skager Rack, or Sleeve ; to the west and north by the Northern Ocean ; and it is separated from Sweden by a range, 350 miles in length, known by the name of the Kiolen Moun tains and other denominations. It is essentially a mountainous country, plains of any extent being unknown ; it may, in short, be considered one vast mass of mountains furrowed by deep and circumscribed valleys. The ranges, with the above exception, traverse it with no great regu larity, but extend in every direction, forming gene ral continuous chains, but sometimes detached masses ; the most lofty, which are to the westward, rising 8000 feet.

Snow lies upon nearly the whole of them all tiie year round, though often only in patches of small extent ; but upon some it occupies a considerable space. With respect to snow GLACIERS, VALLEYS, &C. 6 found far beneath the summits, while upon the lat ter there is none, which not unfrequently happens, some peculiarity must of course exist in the soil or situation, as it occurs even at places with a southern aspect. The most striking mountains south of Trondhjem, are those of the Fille Fjeld, Romsdals Horn, Vinges Tindene, Folgefond, Ousascaveln, and Dovre. [Fjeld, pronounced Fee-eld, implies the continuous summit of a range, and also a mass, of mountains.] Of glaciers, the two finest that I saw wrere on Loms Fjeld and Folgefond ; but no one could give me any information as to whether they increase or not ; though, judging from the termination of both in precipices, it does not appear probable they can advance without descending as an avalanche.

There are likewise glaciers of some note at Justedal ; and between Trondhjem and the North Cape there are, as might naturally be expected, several. There are reports of the glaciers having increased greatly in some places : as, for instance, at Justedal, wdiere nine farms are said to have been gradually covered by one ; but these must be received with caution. The valleys, or ravines, by which the ranges are intersected, are usually of great depth, and almost ASPECT OF THE COUNTRY. invariably narrow ; of these, many being filled to some height with salt water, and communicating with the sea, are termed fjords ; which are literally estuaries, or inlets, that run far into the land, ramify greatly, and rarely exceed four or five miles in width. At a distance from the coast, they are still more circumscribed.* The fjords terminate, and their branches also, often very suddenly, in a valley or ravine, which sometimes extends only a mile or twTo beyond the head of the inlet, or of its ramification ; while in other parts of the country we find it of some length, and enclosed by eleva tions rising with abruptness to the height of several thousand feet, but at the same time admitting of a scanty vegetation, and occasionally even of dense forest.

Here and there the rocks resemble gigantic walls, being quite vertical, with scarcely a vestige of herbage upon them, and from 500 to 1500 feet high. At other places farms and isolated spots of cultivation, at a distance from them, are seen • but many miles may likewise be passed without meeting with twenty acres of land available for any purpose : * When a valley is broad, a considerable portion is commonly occupied by a lake. FJORDS. the acclivities ascending at once from the water, so as not always to admit even of landing. The in lets, on the west coast, appear to be rarely frozen to a greater distance from their heads than ten or twelve miles, which has been attributed to the currents ; but a far more probable cause is their im mense depth, and the greater mildness of the winters. It is only among the islands, near the coast, that the currents are particularly rapid, unless after long continued rains, or any unusual melting ofthe snows, and during strong winds ; and even if they were inland, they could not flow with the rapidity of many large rivers, whose courses are neverthe less arrested by frost.

From the Naze, easterly, the bays are seldom, if ever, clear of ice in winter ; and so intense was the frost many years since, that the ice extended from the capital to Faeder Island, a distance of 50 miles : but this is the only instance within a long period. Fabricius attributes the circumstance of the West Coast remaining clear of ice to the constant agita tion of the ocean, which appears by no means im probable ; at all events, this eternal beating of the waves against the rocks — for not twenty yards of beach did I observe — may have some effect ; par- FJORDS. ticularly when acting in conjunction with the southerly and westerly winds, so prevalent, and so much milder than the prevailing winds to the eastward, which are from the north and N.E. A fjord has been termed ' a deep inlet of the sea, corresponding with the Firth of Scotland' ; but I object to this definition, as not conveying the remotest idea of one that extends into the mountains, and differs from the Scotch firths quite as much as the Norwegian valleys do from the En glish : and with respect to another definition, namely, that " Norivay is characterized by numer ous little bays along the line of coast : these are called fjords"; I need only state that of these " little bays" Christiana Fjord is ten miles wide at the entrance, about 30 miles from the sea narrows to one mile, and then widens to Christiana itself, 14 miles farther : and that the fjords on the west and north-w7est coast extend, in some cases, full 100 miles inland.

Besides their depth, and the abruptness and height of their banks, (from 2000 to 5000 feet) there are other features worthy of observation ; one is the almost entire absence, in many of them, of coves and bays, and the rare occurrence of diverging valleys, except near the FJORDS. coast ; and another is the circumstance of the temperature being much wrarmer in summer and colder in winter, upon some of them than else where. Such, for example, is the case on Soe Fjord; but I was unable to ascertain the reason of this. Of the transparency of the water much has been said and written, waiters having even asserted that the bottom may be clearly discerned at a depth of 500 feet ; while " sub-aqueous mountains," with " submarine forests" were so plainly distinguishable that one voyager, " shrank back with horror as he crossed the apices" ofthe first, or viewed the dense thickets of the last !

The fjordal waters are un doubtedly beautifully clear, but most certainly not to the extent stated above. Off the coast it is not impossible that the bottom may be seen at a depth of 200 feet, which is the case near the Isle of Man; but in the fjords themselves, overshadowed as they are by stupendous elevations, I never could define objects beyond 40 or 50 feet ; nor during boat excursions of 1 50 miles along the coast among low islands, was I enabled to obtain more than a very indistinct view of objects 45 feet beneath the surface. Several lakes are likewise called fjords, the LAKES. reason of which appears to be their general resemblance to the latter ; for they are all of considerable length and comparatively narrow width ; and like wise bounded by eminences more usually lofty than the contrary.

Lakes are very numerous from the North Cape to the Naze, and several are of large size ; such are the Mjosen Soe, Randes and Tyre Fjords, Fœmund Soe, Otte Vand, and others : those of Sweden, however, are much more extensive. The principal river is the Glommen ; there are streams in every direction, but they generally have the character of mountain torrents, except where they occasionally form lakes. No country possesses a greater number of safe harbours ; indeed, the entire coast may be regarded as a series of them, for the shores are protected by innumerable islands, or rocky islets, extending along the entire coast, and increasing in size to the northward, behind which the most secure anchor age can be found. From Dover Straits to Jutland Reef, commencing at Skaw Point, the western extremity of Jutland, and extending in a crescent like shape 100 miles to the westward, the depth of the North Sea varies from 8 to 70 fathoms ; but TIDES twenty miles from that reef, and nearer the Nor wegian coast, no ground was obtained with 150 fathoms.

Between the capital and Christiansand we find not less than 85 fathoms ; and on passing the latter, the soundings decrease to 57 ; but from the Naze northerly we are again in deep water, no ground being got in some places with 130 fathoms, although 50 or 55 miles from the land we have so little as 35. Among the islands the depth is very great ; and far up the fjords, as in Soe Fjord, 80 miles from the coast, it is known to exceed 300 fathoms. Thirty miles below Christiania, a place was pointed out to me that is considered unfathom able. There are no tides on the south coast, but to the westward they are pretty regular, though, of course, influenced greatly by the winds, as well as the nar rowness of the channels through which they flow. On most of the fjords there, between Molde and Stavanger, the rise and fall was from five to ten feet ; strong winds, however, must affect the tides still more in these estuaries, as from whatever quarter they may blow outside, no sooner do we arrive some way from the coast than we find them deflected by the enormous banks, and blowing in- WHIRLPOOLS. variably either up or down ; which consequently increases or diminishes the body of water accord ingly.

Long continued rains, or a rapid melting of the snow, by causing freshes, will naturally have a similar effect. North of Molde the rise is more considerable than to the southward ; and so con fined are some of the channels that when the water, in passing through them is opposed by a strong and adverse wind, it becomes agitated in a most extraordinary manner, and forms whirlpools : such is the celebrated Malstrom, or Moskoestrom, opposite the North Folden Fjord, and near the extremity of the Lofodden Isles, which is caused by the rushing of the Ocean, as the tide ebbs or flows, amongst a chain of islands and rocks. It is considered most dangerous at half flood and half ebb, particularly when during the latter the waters are driven back by a strong westerly wind : but at other times boats cross it with impunity.

The width is about seven miles, and the dangers attend ing a passage across it have been greatly magnified. This whirlpool, however, is surpassed both in danger and violence by another, scarcely known even to the fishermen, called Salten Strom. It is some way up the Salten Fjord, here very narrow, CULTIVATION. though immediately above it widens considerably, being some miles across : the turmoil is caused, as in the Malstrom, by the sea rushing through a circumscribed channel. The depth in some parts is 25 fathoms, notwithstanding which, one man is said to have been " taken down at a place where a vacuity is formed to the very bottom and to have recovered himself by clinging to the boat!!!" Granting this to be correct, this man has outdone Nicholas the Fisherman, wTho explored the dark recesses of Charybdis !

The aspect of Norway is strictly alpine, the summits of the mountains being either quite bare, or having upon them snow, Iceland moss, or a few insignificant shrubs ; the hills, together with vast tracts of the lower grounds, shrouded with forests of firs ; and in the valleys we find the ash, lime, alden, sycamore, hazel, etc. ; oaks also are common in the southern parts, and various fruits grow well, wherever sheltered, throughout the country, but not far north of Trondhjem. Cultivation is carried on to a considerable extent, and often neglected in a manner quite unaccountable. As might naturally be expected, an im mense portion of country is utterly useless to man ; SCARCITY OF TOWNS. but from that which is not, infinitely greater ad vantage might be derived. The energies ofthe in habitants however have never been exerted to their full extent, in so far as regards improve ments in agriculture ; nor did I meet in the in terior with more than a very few instances of a determination to break in upon the general mono tony of the vegetation.

One obvious reason why the country wears such a look of neglect is, that persons of property reside for the most part near the towns ; what we term a gentleman's country house being very seldom seen at a distance from them ; except in particular districts. It is an error to suppose Norway bears a close resemblance to Switzerland ; for the two countries are widely different ; the mountains of the former being, with some exceptions, commonly rounded, and rising with far less majesty, its valleys more limited, and its fjords totally different from any thing seen in Helvetia. Towns likewise are so rare ly met with, except on the coast, that in a journey of 750 miles I saw only Roraas and Trondhjem, with one or two small villages ; and in another, not one save Bergen and Molde until I reached Kongsberg a distance, by the route I went, CLIMATE. of not less than 1000 miles !

So likewise we meet with neither the remains of feudal magni ficence nor monastic architecture ; and this is one reason why travelling becomes, after a time, so wearisome. In Nordland with a population, of 57,791 souls, there is one town, and that has only 277 inhabitants. In the Amts of North and South Trondhjem, with a population of 135,136, there are two towns, Trondhjem and Roraas. North Bergenhuus Amt, containing 69,778 inhabitants is without a town: and in South Bur geuhuus Amt. which includes 104,471 inhabitants, we find Bergen alone. Christian Amt. and Hede mark, whose united population is 168,832 are likewise without a single town. Spring and summer are hardly known in the north : the transitions from winter to spring and summer being so sudden, that no sooner does a thaw take place than vegetation goes on with al most incredible rapidity.

Such likewise is the case as regards the changes from summer to autumn and winter, which are equally sudden : — O 'tis the touch of fairy hand That wakes the spring of Northern land ! CLIMATE. It warms not there by slow degrees, With changeful pulse the uncertain breeze ; But sudden on the wondering sight Bursts forth the beam of living light, And instant verdure springs around, And magic flowers bedeck the ground. W. Herbert. In the eastern part of Norway the cold sets in about the middle of October, lasting until the middle of April ; and all the rivers, lakes, bays, and fjords, are frozen ; yet, on the west coast, as already stated, the two last remain open, except perhaps on two or three occasions in a century, and that even to the North Cape. So intense is the frost to the eastward in some seasons, that Pontoppidan declares the spittle, instead of falling as usual, is converted into a hailstone before it reaches the ground ; — a degree of cold which few wTould be ambitious to encounter.

The heat of summer in. some of the valleys, extraordinary as it may appear, equals at times that of the West Indies ; and wh^e at Bergen, I felt it quite as oppressive as in those colonies. At Kongsberg the mercury rose to 110 degrees, in the shade : but, from all I could learn, the summer of last year was one of the hottest ever c ANIMALS. known. There are many valleys where the sun is invisible during four entire months : which is not to be wondered at when we consider the great height of the mountains that inclose them. In these, corn may be seen growing on one side, and nothing, save grass, on the other. The seasons differ greatly, according to locality : spring being later by a fortnight at Trondhjem, than in the more southern districts. Although the cold is less in tense to the westward, a far greater quantity of snow fell the relast winter (33 — 34) than about the capital.

The charms of Norway, in winter, have been depicted in colours nearly as glowing as those of the aurora borealis itself ; but it requires some stretch of the imagination to form a high opinion of the beauties of a country, when the surface is concealed by one universal sheet of snow ; and I dotibt if most persons will not agree with myself in giving the preference to the milder landscapes of the south. Many are of opinion, that the climate has so far altered, that the summers are not so warm, and the winters less cold, but more tedious, than formerly. The animals are the elk, reindeer, another deer of which I know not the name, wolf, fox, hare, BIRD:- FISH, &C I '.I marten, ermine, benver, otter, etc. am! glutton. Thf last, according to Pontoppidnn. (whom J love to quote, because he is always amusing) •' if he rinds a carcase six tunrs as biy as himsrlf, will not leave otf' eating so long as a mouthful is left ?' nay. the Bishop adds, m a uote ' derived from tuques tionable authority 1 that, " when chained to a wall. he will not decline the stones and mortar, hut will vnt himself into the wall, being by no nuaii a nice creature, but eating nil he can gfel '" There are also several kinds of snakes.

Of land-birds we find the various species of grouse, eagles, hawks, partridges (rare), crows, etc. etc. ; and of acruatic birds an endless variety Fish, toOj abound : and the genera, as the reader iniint be well aware, are exceedingly numerous . but he can peruse the account of them in the works? on Natural History. Many persons believe they arc not so plentiful as formerly but the herrings seemed to me absolutely innumerable. Nor was there any deficiency of salmon, except at particular places, which is always liable to happen, although the cause cannot very easily be explained. It is not impossible that the comparative, scarcity of hsh may, in some measure, arise from the increase in c2 SCANDINAVIA. the population, which must of course produce a greater consumption; but this is not probable, as a still denser population could hardly be expected to make any very considerable impression upon the prodigious shoals of herrings, cod, and makarel, etc. that annually resort to the northern coasts.

It has even been affirmed that the first had entirely de serted the coast, which is irreconcileable with my own observations ; for at two places alone I counted in all full seventy boats actively employed in taking them, and the number enclosed by the nets was perfectly miraculous. Of minerals Norway produces silver, iron, lead, cobalt, alum, and a small quantity of gold ; but no coal. Mineral springs, too, are found, but only in one or two places, as near Roraas, and at Frede rickshall. A glance at the history of Norway, although scarcely required in a work of this description, may not perhaps be unacceptable to the general reader. Scandinavia, Scandia, or Suevia, included Den mark, Norway, Sweden, Lapland, and Finland. Pytheas, a navigator of Marseilles, who lived a short time before Alexander the Great, penetrated to these regions.