The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1874-08-22
From Away Up North.
Judge Cation in LapIand or Whereabouts.

Judge Cation in Lapiand or Thercabo"ts.
| We are kindly permitted to publish the fol
lowing extracts from u private letter OF the
Hon J. D. Cation 20 friend in this city. They
will richly repay perasal:
HAMMEREEsT, June 30 1874
here we are, 81 degrees wlthin the polar
circle, where the day is two months long
Last night ut 1919 o'clock we went fishing
| to the mouth Of the harbor where we could
look out to sea. At midnight the sun is about
as high above the horizon rs it is at home an
hour before sunset. In slowly descending to
that point, il seemed to stand still for Il min
ute or two, and ;hcn commenced ascending
again. OF course it was us light as at mid,
day all the time. II is a strange sensation
surely, with no time TO 90 to bed or get up,
only when you are sleepy and have slept
enough Children arc playing in the streets
at midnight rs much as at midday, and SO OF
men working on the docks. Even the fish do
not know when 1t should be night, for Mrs.
Cation, Laura and Miss McKinay each caught
a cod within 3 minutes of midnight wEich
they thought quite point. We caught 81
cod, rot in Il little before one o'clock, had
some cooked at once and then went to bed.
The fish up here aIc very fine, and, rs every
where else, the sooner they are cooked after
caught the better.
We were 4 days sailing up the coast among
this wonderful labyrinth OF islands, mostly
naked rocks with little irrtilen hooks here and
there, in which the tisheImcn's hutS are CuS
tered At first the mountain tops were Gov
cred with snow, but as we came north ii
crept more and more down the sides, and on
the last day reached to the waters edge, cN-
Ccpt where most exposed TO the sun. II was
curious to see Il little garden growing green
and great snow bank within 100 feet of 1t.
1t has IN the main been unplCaSantly cold,
but the season is said to he nearly , months
later than usual though in 1861 the snow re
manned ul summer. We were days from
Trondhjam pronounced Tronycm), and there
was not Il light lit on the steamer all the
way. BY wonderful piece Of luck we cross
ed the polar circle precisely al midnight and
3 minutes later an opening between the is
lands enabled US to see the sun about m inch
above the horizon and to watch him lifting him
self up above the water giving light to anJth.
er day. This, of course was the first md
night sun we had ever seen, SO ii WAS IN
event; now 1t Is becoming m Old story There
are many Laps in town, most Of them arc too
poor to own reindeer, and so have to go cod
fishing for living There are Il few rem
deer on this island. | saw ten yesterday on
the mountain side, but could not get close
enough to them for careful inspection These
Laps are Il peculiar race, the smallest white
men have ever seen. Mostly light hair but
not very light compilations, very short, broad
faces with high check bones, dress as pcCu.
liar rs our Indians. This is the most north
crn town in the world and has considerable
trade There are some 30 sca.going vessels
in this port, mostly small. The principal
trade is IN fish, cidcrdown and itrs, We saw
number Of the cider ducks on our way for
the last two days. They are strictly protect
ed by law. | am really much pleased with
the NOrwcgians as a very hOspitablc, indus
trious, honest people. The great industry ON
this northwest coast is fishing. The gulf
stream strikes this coast for 800 or 400 miles,
so that even the bays and CULTS never freeze,
and navigation is open all winter to this
point. We arrived here the 2Sth and travel
tomorrow morning for Allen Fjord which is
quite in the interior, where we shall remain
a few days and then go to Tromso for few
days or Il week, and then back to 1rOndhjam
and thence across the country To Christiana.
1t is now really too cold for comfort mere
but little further south | expect to find il
delightful. know of no tour 50 full Of inter.
est, and certainly none equal to il for health.
Mrs Cation is improving even beyond my
hopes, and for her sake desire tO lngcr in
these barren regions rs long as possible. |
feel sure | shall take her home quite restored
To health, which YOU know is the great object
of This tar or journey. We often think Of
home and MI our kind ncighborS, and long
to be with them again, for after all there is
no place like home" Yours ever,
J. ID. ClTuN.