Raftsman's journal. [volume] (Clearfield, Pa.) 1854-1948, 1857-11-18
NORTHERN EUROPE.


is from Vossevangen, in Norway, ssa compact
little village, half buried in trees, clustered a
bout the massive old church, with its black,
pointed tower, and roof covered with pitched
shingles, in the centre of the valley, while the
mountains around shone bald and bright thro'
floating wells of vapor which had risen from
the lake,
"Leaving the valley, we drove for some time
through pine forests, and here, as elsewhere,
had occasion to notice the manner in which
this source of wealth has been drained of late
years. The trees were very straight and beau
tifui, but there were none of more than mid
die age. All the fine old timber had been cut
away all Norway, in fact, had been despoiled
in like manner, and the people are but just a
waking to the fact that they are killing goose
which lays golden eggs. The government so
prudently economical that it only allows
| SlOO, 900 worth of silver to be quarried annu-
ally in the mines of Kongsberg, lest the sup
ply should be exhausted, has, l believe, adop
ted measures for the preservation of the for
ests, but am not able to state their precise
character. Except in valleys remote from the
rivers and fiords, one now finds very little ma
| ture timber.'
| Crossing ssthe Hardanger Fiord, broad,
winding sheet of water, with many arms"
they reached Vik, at the head of a bay on the
| southern side.
awe were now but eight miles from the Vo-
I ring Foss, and set out betimes the next morn
! ing, taking with us bottle of red wine, some
| dry bread, and Peder Halstensen as guide. l
mention Peder particularly, because he is the
| only jolly, lively, wide awake, open-hearted
Norwegian l have ever seen. We walk
ed across the birch-wooded isthmus behind
Vik to the Eyfordsvaud, lake about three
miles long, which completely cuts off the fur
| ther valley, the mountains on either side fall
ling to it in sheer precipices thousand feet
high. By this time. we had reached the
other end of the lake, where in the midst Of a
little valley Of rich alluvial soil. covered with
patches of barley and potatoes, stood the ham
| let of Sebo. Here Peder procured a horse
| for my friend, and we entered the mouth of a
sublime gorge which opened to the eastward
a mere split in the mighty ramparts of Har-
| danger field. Peder was continually shouting
to the people in the fields Look here these
are Americans-these two-and the other one
| is "a Germani This one talks Norsk, and the
others DON'T
owe ascended the defile by rough foot
path at first through alder thickets, but after
| ward over immense masses of rocky ruin which
had tumbled from the crags far above, and al
most blocked up the valley. In silence, desc
lation and awful grandeur, this defile equals
any of the Alpine passes. In the Spring when
the rocks, split by wedges of ice, disengage
themselves from the summit and thunder down
upon the piled wrecks of ages, it must be ter
rrbly sublime. a bridge, consisting of two
logs spanned across abutments of loose stones,
and vibrating strongly under our tread, took
us over the torrent. Our road, for some dis
tance, was now mere staircase, scrambling
up, down, under, over and between the chaos
of sundered rocks. little further, and the
defile shut in altogether, forming cul de sac
of apparently perpendicular walls from two to
three thousand feet high. slow are we to get
out Of this p l asked Peder. sYonder,' said
he, pointing to the inaccessible summit in
front. But where does the stream come from 2
sThat you will soon see.' Lo! all at once a
clean split from top to bottom disclosed itself
in the wall on our left, and in passing its
mouth we had glimpse up the monstrous
chasm, whose dark blue sides, falling sheer
three'thousand feet, vanquished at the bottom
in eternal gloom and spray.
"Crossing the stream again, we commenced
ascending over the debris of stony avalanches
, the path becoming sleeper and sleeper, unit
the far-off summit almost hung over our heads
1t was now a zigzag ladder, roughly thrown to-
gether, but very firm. The red mare which
my friend rode climbed it like cat, never
hesitating, even at an angle of 90 deg, and
never making a false step. The performance
of this noble animal was almost incredible.
| should never have believed horse capable OF
such gymnastics had 1 not seen it with my
own eyes, had 1 not mounted her myself al
the most difficult points, in order to test hel
powers. You, who have climbed the Mayen
rcand, in going from the Glacier of the Rhont
to the Grimsel, imagine slant higher, steep
: er, and composed of loose rocks, and you vii
? have an exact picture of our ascent We
e climbed well, and yet it took us just an houi
s and half to reach the summit.
< esWe were now on the great plateau of the
: Hardanger Field, $500 feet above the sea.
: wild region lay before us-great sweils' GOV
J.. cred with heather, sweeping into the distance
S and given up to solitude and silence. A lev
e insulated peaks, streaked with snow, rose from
: this upper level, and deep break on our lef
= revealed the top of the chasm through which
8 the torreut made its way. At its extremity,
: mile or more distant, rose light cloud of va
= por, seeming close at hand in the thin noun
I