East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1861-01-03
From Chambeis Edinburg Journal
A Winter Underground.

The short but glorious summer Of
Lapland was drawing to close, and /
remembered with regret that the hour Of
my departure from Kubliz was at hand.
Kubliz is place but little known. 1t
lies in Swedish Lnpland, about one hun
dred and fifty miles beyond the extreme
limits of Norway, and its silvery rivers
and emerald pastures are surrounded by
the far stretching moorlands, of which by
far the greater part of the country con-
sists.
And the people? ! Inever met young
face or an old one among these simple
people that had not pleasant smile for
the stranger; neverwent into a Lap
land hut without finding even q kind.
ly welcome, for my worthy little host
would hustle to fill the biggest bowl
with milk, and tho largest basket with
berries, and to produce great piles of
smoke" and dried fish from the sea
coast, and luxury unparalleled, perhaps
great black loaf, brought all the way from
No way, (for Lapland has no brcad,) to
do honor TO the foreign guest How
could / help growing fond of these queer,
elfn looking, soft-hearted people?
The village of Kubliz was built of
green boughs and wattlos, the posts alone
which supported each COTTAGE being of
pine timber. In fact, the huts were not
cottages-they were lcafy booths such
as the rowing Tartar sometimes rears; and
these summer palaces of living verdure
added to the holiday air Of the place, and
were suggestive of perpetual picnic
But the true houses were under the earth
not above its surface. The green tents
1 have been describing were mere tenn
porary pavilions, and beneath them, with
only low chimney, like magnifed
molehill peeping out Of ground, were the
true homes Of the Laplanders, the cav
erncd storehouses Of all their worldly
wealth, and their owa dwellings for more
than nine months in the year. And now
the time was coming when the green
boughs were to be deserted, and the sun
/
to vanish, and the strange underground
life, like molc's, was to begin again for
the long, iron-bound srtic winter. Peter
Wow, the chief man Of the village, in
whose wigwam ! dwelt, warned me that
the daylight would speedily cease, and
that he had better prepare the boat to
convey me down the river southwards, so
that might reach Norway "before it
got dark"
a strange idea seized me-what if l
were to stop behind! have been here
through the daylight, the long three
months day, that puzzled me SO tersibly
at first, and robbed me of my sleep, and
made mo blink like an owl at the un-
wcarying sun that would shine at mid
night, and which upset all the habits Of
my previous life. rccollectcd what a
strange sensation that had been, how new,
fresh and piquant; and it is not often, let
me tell you, that somewhat world worn
and world wearicd man, who has passed
his grand climacteric, can discover .
sensation that shall be at once new, fresh
and piquant. hal promised to spend
Christmas with my sister in Gloucester.
shire, to be sure; but, "pshaw!' thought
], "I can 90 next summer, Maria Jane
: hasn't seen me these eighteen years and
more, so she can probably wait till
Easter; and my nephews and nieces won't
, fret too much, dare say, about the non.
appearance of All uncle they never SET
their juvenile eyes upon. My mind is
! made up. TIL stay all night
A pretty long night, too, reader-a
5 night that begins in early October and
ends in June. Having tried perpetual day