The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1867-06-14
The Norwegians-A Strange Coun try

The Norwegians-A Strange Coun try.
A letter on Norway, written by ". w.
THOMAS, late United States Consul at
Gothenburg, Sweden, describes Norway
as follows:
Imagine huge table land, rising from
8, ,060 to 5000 feet above the sea-onc vast
rock, in fact, bleak and barren, covered with
snow, swept with rain, frozen In winter, sod,
den in summer-the home Of few reindeer
and Layps, and you have Norway proper
nine-tenths Of the Norway that is shown Oh
the map. . 4 E.s-.
But the rock is not whole; it is cracked
apart here and there, and the assures show
like slender veins over the country. The
sides Of these ravines are steep as the cleft
left by an ak, and their depths are always
filled by foaming brook or river tumbling
along from the drenched table land above
to the sea. | have looked up from the bot
tom of one these valleys, and seen the per-
pendicular rock rise 5000 feet on either
side, and heaven show like strip of blue
ribbon. Wherever in these dales there lies
a bit of earth 'twixt rock and river, there
the Norwegian peasant has built his cot;
and it is on such bits of earth that inhabi-
ted Norway is situated, and here lives its
200, 600 people. The land just round bis
door gives the Norwegian his potatoes, rye,
above for every stray blade for the rest he
depends upon the sea and river. Were it
not for the excellent fisheries along this
northern shore, Norway would be unina
habitahle. ,ca.s s.c14 80 i. aa's-at5
The Norwegians rely much On their fish,
erios. In the extreme north, they depend
upon them altogether. Long before you
reach Hammcrfest, town of 1900 inhabi-
tants even the fir, spruce and pine cease
| nothing stands the cold but stunted birch,
the size Of a currant bush. The dwellers
here are too poor to import food they must
live on the fish they catch. They are too
poor to buy salt, and depend upon the sun
to dry their fish for them. The summer
may be foggy then the fish rot instead Of
| dry, and the unfortunate Northmen must
live all winter on -'asrotten fish, This is no
exaggeration, and the result is there is nine
hundred lepers whose flesh is rotting, whose
limbs are dropping off, one after the other,
in the hospital at Bergen. This leprosy cx-
lists in no other country in Europe, and is
directly caused by this putrid diet Even
in the south the life of the Norwegian is,
from birth to death, a hand-to hand fight
with. nature. The boushs of the birch are
| regularly Cul anu Utica aS Wlntcr Icuoer loF
sheep, and in hard seasons straw and the
inner bark Of trees must be ground up to
help out the oatmeal which makes the
Norseman's bread
Il. is said that thousands of these Norwe=
gians are willing and anxious to come to this
country. They have heard Of its adyanta-
ges through American emigration agents,
and also from their friends in this country
but many them cannot accumulate means
to make the journey. The correspond ,nt
proposes to have their passage money ad-
vanced, the emigrant pledging himself to
work given time in consideration therefoy
on their arrival. There are Norwegian set.
Elements in Wisconsin, and perhaps in other
states, and they are hardy, industrious
and useful population. f