Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1886-09-29
THE MIDNIGHT sun.
THE GRAND SPECTACLE TO BE WITNESSED
EREMORNING AND EVENING MEET.


THE GRAND SPECTACLE TO BE WITNESSED
WHEREM0RNING AND EVENING MEET.
[E. X. Taylor in San Francisco Chronicle.]
No one comes to Norway without taking
the trip to Norland to see the sun at mid
night. Tourist steamers make regular sum-
mer trips from Throndjhem, but, being a
few days in advance of the first of these, l
travelled by a comfortable mail packet, and
was thus enabled to visit all the coast towns.
AS almost all the entire route lies between
the Skjeergaard Islands and the mainland,
it is equivalent in smoothness to river
voyage. The Kjolen range, extending
along the coast, is remarkable for the gro-
tesque and fastastic shapes of its lofty
peaks. Alternating with these snow-clad
cliffs are smiling valleys and fertile fields,
which give brightness to the landscape.
Arctic birds, penguins, osprey and elder
ducks abound. Whales and porpoises ap-
pear. On the rocks immense numbers OF
Goldfish are spread to dry. The course be-
ing exceedingly tortuous, vessels navigate
only by daylight. The harvest which ma
ture fails to yield upon the bleak shore is
amply compensated for by that of the sea.
The west coast people are farmers of the
deep, and during February, March and
April, make their headquarters upon the
rugged Lofoten Islands. Hither the her.
ring come and the cod and whale pursue.
i,rof. huxley estimates that these cod con-
sumo 7OO,OOO,O 900 herring alta single banquet.
In single steng $4,000 barrels of herring
are frequently takens The fish are driven
into shallow cove, nets placed across the
mouth, and then they are dipped out at
leisure, to be salted and barreled almost be-
fore they are dead. There are from 700 to
900 fish in barrel. Cod are caught with
both net and line.
Owing to the long Arctic day, vegetation
grows very rapidly. Barley sown in May
is harvested in July. Even the turf on the
house tops is covered with long grass. The
same effect of sunlight is observed in the
animal kingdom. Wagtails frequently
rear two broods in one season, so rapid is
the development of their young. At Bodo,
the sun being continually above the horizon,
Twas enabled to devote twenty of my twen-
ty-two hours stay to an excursion into the
country, embracing visit to Saltstrom.
This famous whirlpool, compared with
which the maelstrom seemed insignificant,
is formed by the pressure of rising tide
forcing stream through narrow strait in
to q subsidiary ford. AS the tide rises or
falls faster than the basin can fill or empty,
the force of the current becomes enormous
and its roar terrific. Owing to eddies, q
wedgeshaped wall of water extends inward
from the mouth of the ford until its apex
disappears in the vortex of the whirlpool.
From Hammerfast, the northermost town
of Europe, the voyage is speedily made to
that rugged promontory, Nordcap, from
whose summit the nocturnal sun is seen
riding high over the mysterious Arctic
ocean.
MY deepest impressions from witnessing
the sublime spectacle of the midnight Sun
were received at point nearer the Arctic
Circle. It was one of those hush evenings
which occur with falling barometer; 80
still that the CLASSY surface of the undula-
ting sea was unruffled even by the breath OF
zephyr. Southwark, above a wall OF
cloud, majestic mountains reared their
snowy peaks. Far in the West tloated
fleet fishing craft, and long lines of water
fowl were winging their way to rocky rest
ing places. About the sun, which, from
my stand near the compass, watched
swinging Northward, lay several parallel
strata of feecy clouds. The water horizon
rolled up higher and higher until, like
great golden globe, the sun rested upon its
rim. The lower cloud stratum became
orange tinted. The next was dyed with
saffron shades, while the rosy reflection OF
the upper stratum painted the delicate
pink of Kjolen cliffs in the South. For
several moments the motion of the earth
seemed checked, the sun still resting on the
oceans rim, and then-most startling Wis
ion "a line of light appears below the fiery
orb-the horizon is retrograding. BY thus
forcing the mind to regard the sun as sta
tionary in his true position, and centering
the attention to our own planetary motion,
an effect is produced far more amazing than
that experienced by the startled Hezekiah
when the shadow retreated on the great
dial of Ahaz.