Durango semi-weekly herald., 1901-09-02
SUMS RAYS SHUT OUT.
Mountainous Western Coast Of Nor.
way Described by William E.
Curtis.

| FJAERLAND. Norway. July IL
(William f. Curtis in Chicago Record.
Herald).-We have driven in n car.
riage across the widest part of Nor.
way. and through what is known as
the Valdres country. in some respects
the richest and most attractive part
of the kingdom; and, at the lovely
little town OF Laerdalsoren. touched
one of the arms of the Sognefjord
the longest and the deepest and one of
the most lovely of the Norwegian
| fjords. The western coast of Nor
way was once mighty rock. long
single mountain of granite which has
been split into many sections. and the
sides of the canons thus created have
been worn smooth by the waters that
have pounded against them for mil
lions of years. In a geological sense
| Norway is the oldest, as Japan Is the
youngest of all nations.
| The breaks between the mountains
which have been filled with water
from the sea. are so narrow and intri-
cate that it often seems doubtful
whether the little steamer can find
its way. At places the water is over
| 4 900 feet deep. Some of the preci
pices are 5000 feet high and there
are many corners that the suns rays
never reach. The Inhabitants of the
little town OF Laerdalsoren do not see
the sun for seven consecutive months
of the year. so high and so steep are
the mountains which enclose 1t.
| Biologists declare that all these
| fjords have been carved out by glac
iers. and the last of the mighty stone
cutters, called Jostedalsbrae, the
| largest glacier Europe still remains
near by and covers $50 miles of ter
ritory at the top of the mountains
and the ravines that lie between are
also filed with perpetual ice. 1t has
| the appearance of harmless inert
| thing. No one would imagine the
| mysterious force it has exerted. II
is well worth going to see. for in tive
ravines near Fjaerland the ice comes
| down to the bottom of the valleys and
intrudes itself among the luxurient
orchards. the smiling meadows anf
the lazy grain fields that nod at each
other in the sun.
The glacier needs washing badly.
| The ice is covered with the dust OF
| centuries. 1t is perhaps 5000 feet
high and 1000 feet wide at the place
where it touches bottom, and is as old
| as Norway. A man who used to live
in Minneapolis keeps restaurant
near by, and assured me that 1T
gradually melting away The sun
representing modern progress, is max
| ing gradual inroads upon the mass of
ice, and has reduced it about three
feet during the last half century, a
| few inches every year. A volume of
muddy water flows from its vitals,
not clear like that of the other streams
of Norway, but of slate color, and you
| can see where the sun has warped and
split the ice and left great caverns
that are blue like the inside of an ice
| palace.
A drove of cattle wandered around
| nipping the tender grass that is brave
enough to grow between the boulders
that cover the ground and the base OF
The glacier. and the little rivulets run
down between the scrub pine and juni-
| per bushes on the sides of the noun
| tains that rise on either side. Sew
| eral OF them swell with reinforce
ments and become respectable cat
eracts which the people call "skjael-
| desnipa."
The skydsgut who drove us in a
stolkjaerre to the glacier was only
6 years old and his name was Thor.
Neither in form nor manners does he
resemble the terrible thunder god, but
he is a eturdy little fellow, and when
! at the end of the journey ] handed
| him half crown he said "tak"
| tthanks) in a solemn and lacOnic man
ner and gravely offered me his hand
The politeness of the people Is no.
ticeable everywhere. Men in the fields
often lift their hats as you pass along
| the highway, and the women and chill
dren that you meet make quaint
! taught manners from the cradle, and
respect to strangers is one of the most
| important rules for them to observe.
While driving through other coun-
tries ones carriage is often followed
by groups of urchins who demand pen
MES or "baksheesh." as the Turks
|
them you may expect shower OF
stones or dust, but, while we have
seen many children along the high
ways and in the villages of Norway,
no one of them has as yet shown the
slightest impertinence; none of them
has ever asked gift or shouted a
saucy word, and we have yet to see
! a single beggar, young or old. A
several places along the road chill
dren have offered strawberries ana
| flowers for sale, and when they receiv-
ed their payment they made their lit
tie courtesy and say TAX" in the most
respectful manner. but otherwise have
not made a sound. In fact the gray
ity of the children is amusing. They
look so old, so serious, and act as If
they were responsible for the welfare
of the community.
The hospitality of the people has
been homely but hearty and cordial.
! 'Hbafr bnp,ae nra pIafp hpt slaap and