Morning journal and courier., 1893-12-02

Journey when It was already fairly night
down there at tie bottom of the marrow
walls of the ford.
The place into which Peter dexterously
guided our boat was the most forbidding
| and gruesome ever had the fortune to en-
ter. From the middle of the stream the
opening was wholly unobservable; but my
guide informed me that hundreds more
like 1t could bs found among the tremen-
| dous walls of the Norwegian fords. 1t
was practically vertical fssure two thou-
sand feet high, and perhaps as dssp bslow
the waters surface. One edge was almost
| as smooth and rounded as q hewn pillar
for sll its mighty height. The other COR
| reepondingly followed, would have closed
agsinst 1t, had the same inconceivable ma
| ture-force which separated 1t set it again
| In place, with perfect lsminstion and with
out an inch Of variance or waste space.
The two edges of these formations reach
ing above the clouds were not fifteen feet
apart at the entrance; but away in there
were weird and awful depths; for while
sight could not penetrate them, the whis-
pers, murmurs, plaintive songs and
hosrser threnodies of falling waters, told
| the wondrous story of erosions, displacs
ments, boat battles aud all the elemental
| struggles which the dead centuries had
known.
Not fifty feet from the entrance our boat
| grated against q shelving rock. It was al
most as level as a floor, and but few
inches above the water. Beyond this the
| rock had perhaps centuries before been
eaten away or had given away, forming q
/ covered hollow like half of q truncated
cone. This spot, resembling q section of
/ the prehistoric beehive huts of Ireland,
was to be our resting place for the Dight-
a place which had probably sheltered more
human beings before me than the greatest
and Oldest hotel in Norway; ard thus
| learned of another interesting custom of
| Norwegian pesssntry. As / have before
| pointed out, the hords are their real high
| ways. Journeys of hundreds of miles are
| still made by entire families or parties
too poor, or too thrifty, to seek shelter
and food at the ford side hamlets. They
have for centuries used these nature built
stations. Their food, fuel and sheep skins
| for covering are brought with them In
their boats; and water, the sweetest,
purest, coldeet water In the world, is leap
| ing or triekling from every rock.
Peter had no sooner built a CHEEKY fire
for each halting party from immemorisl
| custom contributes to the public supply,
and there Is always fuel at hsnd-than he
| explained, torch in hand, some of the Gu
rious characteristics of this quaintest hos
i pice had ever beheld. A genuine Nor
wegisn inn without landlord, station with
| out master, hotel without host On the
same rocky level, but just around pro-
| j:ction of the 6ssure wall, was a tiny pad
| dock with little walls, knee high, built of
| loose stones. The source of certain unsc-
| countable sounds had already heard with
dire forebodings were now made clear.
| Three tiny Norwegian cows we're MUNICH
ing their green fodder, and two of the
tiniest calves had ever seen stood grsvely
| beside them. These might belong to the
| cragsman we were about to visit, Peter
told me. In any event, here the peasant
| ry, who often changed the grazing places
of their little herds, penDed the animals
at night; and the wise little things, CON-
| scious as their masters of the danger of
| night-rosming or misstep, never budged
/ from the few square yards of rock to
| which they were meekly led from the
| boats.
Where we built our fire, 6res had been
| lighted since the time of Harold Hsarfsgre.
In hole or little chamber In the rock
were q few rude iron utensils which had
perhaps been used for centuries by these
ford wsyfarers; and another little tnden-
| tion in the wall served a sort of toll
box. where those who felt able or willing
| to do so deposited few ore, nearly the
smallest coin In the world, in tribute to
the eagle nest farmer, thousands of feet
| above, to whose possessions this strange
| place was a sort of lower and outer lodge.
| Having drawn our boat upon the rock we
| slept within 1t. Il was a wakeful night
1 for me. The soughing of the wind through
| the narrow issure was full of ghostly
| plants and voices; while the falling of
| near yet unseen waters of differing vol
umes from varying heights seemed almost
srticulste with wild speech and song; as If
| the mighty mythologic heroes of Morse
| land in coucourse within this mysterious
chasm we're returned for night to chant
their ssgss there of love, of the chase and
of war.
1t was late when we awoke. The calves
had mysteriously disappeared. Peter was
then sure they were Frederickson's on the
cliff-top above. Their owner had come
with a companion, and without disturbing
us had slung the little animals over their
shoulders and were now scaling the heights
with them. Peter said We must make
haste, as the COWS were TO follow, and we
should overtake the crsgsmen at home be-
fore they began another descent. With q
bit of food In our hands we started, Peter
in the van. The way led for a few hun
dred feet, past the cragsmsn's bost-house,
along the edge of what was on three sides,
an almost vertical hollow cube cut by ma
ture from solid stone. More than q tcore
of waterfalls could be seen. Some seemed
| u
ing down the black rock sides. Others
poured from cups and hollows larger &C.
cumulated volumes. And still others is
sued like spousing tunnels from csvernous
holes in the rocks Ali fell in an immense
pool of such great depth that the discharge
of the waters from the black csuldron was
without ripple where they mingled with
those of the ford.
, The other side of the mighty hollow
cube was broken into irregular masses of
rock, some ploughed as smooth as though
poliehed by lspidsry, and between These
tremendous displacements were powdered
stone and detrius of ssnd: SO knew ths,
sometime, thousands of years sgo. u par
eel of glaciers had tilted into the chssm
and thus provided q not altogether peril
] ous way for our ascent. A zig gag path,
{ forming altogether q distance of perhaps
{ two miles, led up the broken cham side
, and at three places huge timbers hsd
l been rigged for raising and lowerir {
9 with rude windlssses. snimsls, with hug,
{ leather bands fastened around their bod
= les, aud all things that cou'd not clint
D or be carried on thete sturdy crsgsmen''
I bacds. Here then WAS half the mystery
d of these famous eagle-nest Norwegian
: farms removed. Peter said they We're 81
8 equally accessible both upon the coast
r and the fords. They have simply seemed
: inaccessible TO those travellers who max
. books from steamers decks, and hav
|, been put among the eagles, the cloud
: and the glaciers, in the pictures, with
out go much as q rope and swinging
q wicker basket 70 aid the readers imsgfna
7 tion In cafe ascent.
We met the head farmer aud his Sol
, on their way back to the ford-side pad
/ dock, near the upper edge of the cbssm
I was much more of q curiosity to thes
). good folk than they to me; for 1 was tn
u first foreigner thas had ever visited this
= or, so far as can learn, any other, ca
= gle-nest farm In Norway. Peter mad
u them know easily enough who he was
. and the greetings at the farmhouse, O
II houses, for several branches of one fam
lily were huddled in great roomy house
IT along the plstesu, were rather an ovs
n ton than a welcome. / was altogethe
D disappointed; for had looked for~ar
l. to knowing in this experience the uttel
'e most desolstion In which human being
sr can sustain life. Il was glad to fud on
ot anywhere in Norway.
y The esgle-nest farm comprised altt
4 gether two or three hundred acres {
le partially tillsble and grazing land.
of mountain stream ran through Ii. Tt
IN cliff edge above the ford was protects
sr by low wallis of timber and stone. Tt
1T entire tract might be called "swsil," {
T. little corrie or ssucer-shaped depressio
q; such as you will ind in the Scottis
ct Highlands. In front was q misty lin
re above the ford; then a mighty panorsn
az OF mountain, valley and waterfall as fl