Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1907-03-14
CONTINUED from last week. }

prettiest little town Imaginable.
Here, by way of variety, we were
given a delightful boat ride up a
busy little stream to picnic grounds
ideally situated in beautiful val
ley at the foot of to Uering noun
tain. Strawberries, blueberIies
and raspberries here grew in abun-
dance in their wild state, and most
of the boys almost forgot the de-
1icious lunch that had been prepared
for us by the fair ones of the city,
in their anxiety to rob the bending
bushes of their tempting fruit. The
Norwegian wild strawberry is a
small but exceedingly fine favored
fruit, surpasinsg III taste the most
highly cultivated hot house product
in this country, and when served
with the rich yellow cream for
which Norway is famous, forms a
dainty fit to grace the feast of
Lucullus.
The twenty-first was an eventful
day, spent in Laurvik, the home of
the father of our director, and the
place of his boyhood days. We
enjoyed a buggy ride through a
magnificent private estate, in the
center of which stands Treskoel
palace, which was unfof tunately
inaccessible to us by reason of ex-
tensive preparations being made for
the reception of the royal family.
Upon our return we were given an
open air lunch in a magnificent
beechwooo grove, the only one in
Norway. One of the most clabo-
rate public banquets was here
served us in the dining room of one
of Europe's most famous sanitari-
urns, during the progress of which
Prof. Christianson was the recipi-
emf of a number o. beautiful and
valuable tokens of esteem.
On the twenty-second we ar
rived at Skien, busy manufacture
ing town, where we were also CIV
en- boat ride and enjoyed the
novelty of climbing one hundred
and twenty-five feet of raging tor
rent by way of a series of five
locks. The narrow pathway on
each side of the locks was packed
with people who had come from
miles inland to see ''the Amer
leans. - We rendered number of
selections for them which, judging
IRON the insistence of the applause,
was thoroughly appreciated. The
scenes along the Norwegian rivers
are undergoing rapid and radical
changes. Owing to their turbulent
character they have been navigable
only for short distances, and have
been of interest chiefly to the tour
list, who admired their wild grand
eur; but English, German and
American capitalists, seeing the
vast possibilities in the almsot I'M
limited power of the numerous falls
are developing these resources, and
the population, which formerly de-
pended upon agriculture, hunting
and fishing, is now at work in
the numerous saw mills, flour
mills and factories of all kinds
erected along their shores.
At Fredrickshald on the follow
ing day we visited Fredricksten,
Norway's famous and formidable ole
fortress which, according to the
treaty signed last year, is now dis
rnantled and is used as an officers
training school and is one OF the
chief points of interest to the visit
or. We were cordially received by
the old commander of the post anc
one of his lieutenants who escorted
us from point to point and gave u:
its history for several centurie:
past. We were here entertained a
Ancker-Ro, the residence of one o
Norway's oldest and esteemed lam
lilies. The present head of the fam
lily is a mighty hunter, and a vas
hall with galleries extending al
around is filled with trophies of hi
skill, and the walls of which arr
hung with the weapons will
which he and his ancestors brough
down their game. We were herr
served an elaborate luncheon in ;
spacious conservatory where spark
ling fountains and the fragrance o
tropical flowers nearly caused us t
forget that we were only few de
grees removed from the Arcti
circle. After the concert a gran'
ball was given in our honor, AM
we again had an opportunity to ex
hibit our terpsichorean accomplish
ments. We also met Oscar Berg
Norway's most famous band maste
and popular composer.
At Fredrickstad, on the day fol
lowing. the twenty-fourth, tn