New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1857-06-12

the stecks, and number Of sturdy workmen busy
at tbeK several tasks. There was an arr Of "ssso-
ciated labor" and the "model lodging house !"
about the whole place, which was truly refreshing
TO behold, except touch Of barren utiitarianlsm
in the cutting away Of the graceful frs left from the
forest, and thus depriying the houses of all shade
and ornament. We met many woOd-teams, haul
ing knees and spsrs, and were sorely troubled 70
get ont Of their way. Beyond the bay the hlus OF
NOrraDd ceased sinking into those broad, monoto-
nous fluctuations which extend nearly all the way
to Stockholm Gardens with thriving fruit-trees
now began TO be more frequent, giving evidence of
climate where Man has right TO live. doubt
whether il was ever meant that the human race
should settle in any zone 80 frgid that fruit cannot
ripen.
Thenceforth we had the toughest roads which
were ever made upon a foundation Of snow. The
increase i'll travel and in the Temperature Of the air,
and most of all, the short, loosely -sttached seds
used to support the ship-timber, had worn them
into succe ssOn Of holes channels and trOughs, in
and out Of which we tramped from morning till
night. On going down bill, the violent shocks fire.
quenty threw our runners completely into the air,
and the wrench was so great that it was miracle
how the sled escaped fracture. All the joints, it is
true, began to work apart and the ash shafts bent
in the most tcklish way; but the rough little con-
yeyance which had already done US such hard SER
vice, held out CALAMITY to the end. We reached
Mo Myskie on the second night after leaving
SuHdsyall, and was greeted with "Saidam atei-
koom ga Sid from the jolly old Tripolitan land
lord. There WAS an unusual amount of travel
northward on the following day, and we were de-
tanned at every station, so that it was nearly mid
night before we reached the extortiOnate inn at
Gefe. The morning dawned with snow-stOrm,
but we were within 100 miles Of Stockholm, and
drove III the teeth of it TO Elfkarleby. The
renowned cascades Of the Dial were by no means
what had expected, but it was at least satisac-
ton to living water after the silent rivers and
fettered rapids Of the North.
The snow now getting rapidly thinner So
scant was it on the exposed Upsaa plain that we
fully expected being obliged to leave sleds on
the way. Even before reaching Upsala, our postil-
lions chose the ess-traveled fed-roads Whenever
they led in the direction, and beyond that
town we were charged additional pOst-money for
the circuits We were obliged to make to keep our
runners on the snow. On the evening of the 18th
we reached RoIebro, only IA miles from Stock
holm, aud the next morning, in splendid sunshine,
drove past Haga park and palace, into the North
Gate, down the long DrOttning -gatan, and up to
Kahu's Hotel, where we gave sleds to the valet
de-place, pulled off our heavy boots, threw aside
our furs for the remainder of the Winter, and sat
down to read the pile Of letters and papers which
Herr Kahu brought us. 1t was precisely two
months since our departure in December, and in
that time we had performed journey of 1920
miles, $50 of which were by reindeer, and nearly
500 inside of the Arctic Circle. Our frozen noses
had peeled off, and the new skin showed no signs of
the damage they had suStained-so that we had
come out of the fight not only without a scar but
with marked increase of robust vitality.
/ must confess, however, that, interesting as the
journey has been, ard happily as we have endured
its exposures, should not wish to make it again.
1t is well to see the North, even after the South;
but as there is no one who visits the tropics with
out longing ever after to return again, SO, l imlg
inc, there is no one whO having once seen Win
ter inside the Arctic Circle, would ever wish to see
another. In spite Of the warm, gorgeous and
ever changing play of color lowering over the path
Of the unseen sun, in spite of the dazzling auroral
dances and the magical TRANSPORTATION of the forests,
the absence of true daylight and of all signs OF
warmth aud life, exercises at last depressing in-
Huence on the spirts. The snow, so beautiful
while the sunrise setting illumination lasts, wears
CHASTITY monOtOny at all other times, and the air, so
celebrating, even at the lowest temperature, be-
comes an enemy to be kept out, when you know
his terrible power to benumb and destroy. To the
native of warmer zone, this presence OF an I'M
seen destructive force in Nature weighs like
nightmare upon the mind The inhabitants of the
North also seem to undergo a species of hberna-
ton, as well as the animals. Nearly half their
time is passed in sleep; they are silent in COM
parson with the natives of the other parts OF the
world; there is little eXuberant gayety and cheer
funess, but patience, indifference, apathy almost.
Aspects of Nature which appear to be hostile to
Man often develop and bring into play his best
energies, but there are others which depress and
parayze his powers. am convinced that the e1-
treme North, like the Tropics, is unfavorable to
the best mental and physical condition of the hui
man race. The proper zone of Man lies between
800 and $50 North.
To one who has not an unusual capacity to enjoy
the experiences of varied travel, shosld not re-
commend such journey. With me, the realization
of long cherished desire the sense of novelty the
opportunity for contrasting extremes and the In
terest with which the people inspired me, far out
weighed all incOnyeniencies and privations. In
fact, was not fully aware of the gloom and cold
in which had lived until We returned far enough