The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1876-08-25

nine or ten in the forenoon, you Woult
wonder that they do not all emigrate Z
more civil climes. But they love theil
mountains and solitudeS more even thsi
the dweller in the most favored city de
llirhts in its best street. After having
Travelled over the world, the Norwegian
often comes back to his home In his ma
live daiea valley and by the los water
falD or ford which delighted him wheh
child. .
NORWEGIAN SCENERY.
And I have been drawn hithes BY an M
other lie, It is the scenery. The route
which we have chosen shows US the oesI
in Norway; and that is saying . gte .n
deal. We are not bound Tor the MOTIF MOTT
Cane. A few hundred miles more woulq ,
carry ma thither. But beyond a sight Of
The ann Al midnight when you pass within
,bs Arctic Circle, and the reflection that
Tb Nh Won are standing on the point Of
rocL Which rises 900 feet above those
Northern waters, there is probably no
more land beyond until you reach the
North Pole, there is nothing 70 make the
Journey thither desirable. There ia re-
alIy no night in the part Of Norway
where I am now writing. The twilight
continues from sunset to sunrise-a Pc
Rod Of about six hours. And the scenery
is incomparably grander than II is fur.
Their to the north. 1t, to be sure, would
be something Of an achievement to see
the Laplander in his hut, or TO be drawn
by his reindeer over the snow. But these
nomadic Mongolians, like our own lndi-
ans, are far more attractive ut distance
than near at hand. True, they are not
sayages, but good Lutheran Christians,
80 far as found in Norway or Sweden
But they are dirty and poor. It is
enough for me 10 know that not long ago
they were accustomed to come down and
feed their herds on the mountains over
which we shall pass.
THE WEST COAST.
Having commenced this letter at Laer-
dalsoren, l finish Il at Christiana, the
capital OF the kingdom. And inasmuch
as our way has not been beaten track,
at least to Americans, perhaps ! had bet.
ter describe It, We may, for the sake oil
convenience, break II into several parts.
The first stage includes the coast from
Stavanger 10 Bergen, and beyond to the
Sogne Fjord. The scenery here, as else
where in Norway, Is unique, l am not
aware that there Is anything like it in
other portions Of the world. The west
coast Is studded with several millions Of
rocky islands, which constitute a complete
breakwater 10 the sea and safe defence
against all invasion. The channel fol-
lowed by the steamers is from one to
twenty miles inland, and the water is as
calm as that Of river, although storms,
maybe, are raging on the ocean. There
is seldom any vegetation on these islands.
They rise out Of the water mass OF
stone, often several hundred feet in height.
Inland the mountains are visible, some
Of them clothed with perpetual snow and
with glaciers which are many miles In
extent. Outside OF Bergen, Stayanger
and Troudhjen there are, along the west
coast, comparatively few inhabitants, and
such Us there are obtain scanty liyeli-
hood by fishing, supplemented by the
milk Of few cows or goats which man
age to pick enough grass to sustain lille.
Stayanger is city Of Is, 900 to 10000 in:
habitants. Bergen has about 81, 900, and
Troudhjen about 10000. My journey
did not take me to the latter OF these
places, which is the last city south Of the
North Cape. Before the union OF Nor.
way with Denmark it was the capital Of
the nation, and even now the coronation
OF the king takes place there. The Ca
thedral, in point Of size, architecture,
and antiquity, Is the first OF these
Gothic piles in Scandinavia. It is
q place OF considerable commerce. But
Bergen is the most important commercial
centre in the kingdom. Its shipping is
connected with many parts OF the world.
The chief export OF all these places is
fish. Indeed the salmon and the cod are
the wealth OF these shores. In return
for them and such other products as can
be spared, the supplies necessary to sus-
tain the population are secured. Into
these cities the fast and fashionable habits
OF places more directly in connection
with the rest OF the world have not pene.
trated TO any considerable extent. The
habits Of the people are simple and iru-
gal. And yet they live quite comfortably.
Az rule they are intelligent and even
some are highly cultivated. Elementary
education Is compulsory in Norway, and
inability to read and write is very rare in
any part Of the land. A higher culture
is quite common even among those who
are in the middle walks Of life. Through.
ont all Scandinavia the attention paid to
education is very great. Strange "a 1t
may seem, in Iceland it is especially
marked. It is not an uncommon thing
there Tor the trayeler to discover that his
guide Is able to converse with him intelli-
gently in Latin. But must pass on to
other parts Of our journey. l shall,
however, never forget Bergen and Sta
yanger, with their quaint wooden houses
covered with red tiles. and their pleasant
inhabitants.
THE soGNE FJoRD.
The second stage Of our tour brought
rs up the Sogne ford to Its head at
Laerdal and over its two moet wonderful
branches-the Noeroens and Awrlands.
It is always difficult to convey by writing,
to others, any clear conception Of natural
scenery. And how shall I describe this
water course, in such away as 10 enable
those who read II, to get the faintest idea
Of its granduer? The whole way is amid
rugged and barren mountains which rise
abruptly from the water, and between
which occasionally green valley Of q
few acres in extent may be seen. These
mountains are always one great mass OF
stone and usually so precipitous that an
ascent would be impracticable. Among
the them ford winds and sends
out ih arms in many directions.
To the traveller it lis very IRE.
quently a question whore an exit for
the steamer shall be found. No one but
a skillful pilot could guide her through
the passes. But as We ascend toward the
head Of the water course the scenery be-
comes more and more wonderful. At
length It eliminates near Gudyangen in
the Noeroens ford. Here the mountains
Of solid rock rise perpendicularly 1000
to 5000 feet on either side and continue
for miles. Down these precipices many
riyelets from the SHOWS above descend and
aud are broken into mist which the wind
q II ".