of these rivers are navigable, and all of them are, for eight months of the year, covered with ice. The climate is severe. For six weeks of the year, the country is veiled in the darkness of one uninterrupted night. But, as if to recompense the inhabitants of these regions for such a privation, the sun, - As he nearly dips his flaming orb, Wheels up again, and re-ascends the sky, and, in some parts, remains above the horizon for six weeks. The heat of summer is also as excessive in degree, as the cold of winter. Rye and barley ripen in 66 days, and the growth of all vegetation is equally rapid. The plague of this country are the clouds of gnats which darken the air in summer. The species of plants indigenous to this region do not exceed 800, among which the most numerous are of the cryptogamous species. The only domestic animals of the Lapps are rein-deer and dogs. The rivers abound in excellent fish, and a variety of wild animals exist in the country. The Western Bottens are a fine looking race of men, of mild and hospitable manners, and high spirit. Their ordinary language is the Swedish. The Lapps do not perhaps exceed 10,000. They are divided into districts of families, over each of which a chief magistrate, called a Lapplansman, with two assistants, presides. If parties are not satisfied with his judgment, an appeal lies to the ordinary courts of the kingdom. The annual amount of taxes paid by this simple people does not exceed 600 dollars. Umeae, the capital of Lappmark, is situated upon the river of the same name, and has a population of above 1000 souls. The town of Piteae has nearly the same number of inhabitants. We have already said that all the Lappmark territory, on the east of the Torneae, belongs to Russia. Authorities.] Whitelocke's Journal of the Embassy to Sweden in 1653-4.-Marshall's Travels, 1773.-Coxe's Travels.-Eric Tuneld, Geographie öfver Konungariket Sverige, författed af Gjörwel. Stockh. 1785-1792. 4 vols.-Tableau de la Suede, par M. Catteau. Lausanne, 1790, 2 vols. 8vo.-Acerbi's Travels through Sweden, Finland, and Lapland, in 1798 and 1799.-Dan. Djurberg, Beskrifning om Svea Rike. Stockh. 1806.-Consett's Tour.-Boisgelin's Travels, 1810.B. Nyerup Rejser til Stockhom i Aarene, 1810, og 1812, etc. Kiobenh. 1816, 8vo.-Dr. Thomson's Travels, in 1812, 8vo.-Carte Generale et Physique du Royaume de Suede. Par.-Karta öfver Sverige, etc af C. Akrell. Stock. 1811. NORWAY. Name, Boundaries, and Extent.] NORWAY, or as it is called by the people of the country, Norge, or Norryke, that is, the Northern kingdom,' or 'kingdom of the Normans,' comprehends the western, but smaller part, of the Scandinavian peninsula. It is bounded on the N. by the Northern Ocean; on the N. E. by Russia; on the E. by Sweden; on the S. by the Cattegat; and on the W. and N. W. by the German Ocean. The breadth of this country is various, being greatest in the parallel of Bergen, where it is 240 miles; N. of the parallel of Drontheim it grows very narrow in some places not exceeding 60 English miles. In several parts of Finmark, however, it exceeds 150 miles. Including the windings, and the coast stretching E. from Cape Naze to Stromstadt, Norway presents a shore of more than 2,000 British miles in extent. In the N. this country is separated by mountains and rivers from its only foreign neighbour, and on the E. Nature has erected a mighty barrier between it and the sister-country. Its superficies is 151,171 square miles. CHAP. I.-HISTORY-PHYSICAL FEATURES-CLIMATE, History.] HAROLD HARFAGER, or the fair-haired king of Norway, appears in history so early as 870, spreading terror and desolation throughout the Hebrides. This prince laid the foundation of that authority which the kings of Norway, and afterwards of Denmark, when the monarchies were united, exerted over the Orkneys. Olaf I., called Olaus Friguessan by some historians, having been converted to Christianity in England, compelled his Norwegian subjects to embrace it. Olaf II. continued the work begun by his predecessors, and made use of religion as a pretext for wresting the government from a few petty kings who then ruled along with him in this country. Canute the Great, king of Denmark, conquered Norway in 1028, but did not retain it long. In 1263, Haco, king of Norway, was defeated by Alexander III., king of Scot 24 "The boundaries between Sweden and Norway were, and, perhaps, still are, the znost exactly determined of any in the world; having been drawn with the utmost accuracy, even through the most desert and inaccessible wildernesses. For a length of 1196 British miles, it was every where determined to an inch. The march-stones rested on firm plates, in which the point of commencement was accurately pointed out. Above this, the whole had the form of uncemented stones, three ells high and nine round. On the top of all these were five particular stones; one in the middle, with the king of Denmark's name on the Norwegian, and the king of Sweden's name on the Swedish side. Two lines cut out on the under part of the stone, pointed out the direction in which the next march-stone was to be found. Two other stones, called directors, were situated on the continuation of these lines, some feet from the middle stone, to point out the direction of the boundary line. Two other stones, the witnesses, surrounded the middle stone on other sides, that its place might be still more accurately ascertained, if any accident should remove the stone from its proper place. Between the march-stones, the wood was every where cut through for a breadth of 16 ells, so that the one march-stone might be seen from the other. These were seldom more than four English miles from one another. In every parish touched by the boundary was deposited a very accurate description and plan of the proceedings of the commissioners of the two governments, together with a very minute description of the boundary, so far as it was connected with that Praestigelt, or parish. These documents were signed by all the Danish and Swedish commissioners, who were present at fixing the boundaries; and were carefully deposited in the churches. This very clear and definite boundary line, was fixed in October, 1751; and it was besides agreed, that the limits should be reinvestigated every 10 years, the march-stones kept in order, and the woods again cut. These limits were actually gone over anew and improved, in 1786 and 1806; in their whole extent, from Swinesund, at Stromstadt, to the eastern extremity of the Lake Enare, on the frontier of Russian Lapland. It must be observed, however, that, since the peace of Fredericksham, in September, 1809, Eastern and Western Finmark are now entirely bounded on the S. by Russian Lapmark, from the source of the Muoniojock, the eastern branch of the Torneae River, to the old frontier at the Lake Enare; all this tract of Swedish Lapmark, being ceded to Russia by that treaty. "Adam, canon of Bremen, who wrote a treatise De situ Daniæ et reliquarum Septentrionalium Regionum,' about the year 1080, speaking of Norway and Sweden, calls them "two widely-extended kingdoms of the North, hitherto almost unknown." The same historian gravely relates, that, "to the eastward of Sweden, where it borders on the Riphean mountains, there are vast deserts and mountains of snow, where are herds of monstrous men, which shut out all approach; also Amazons, Baboons, and Cyclops, having but one eye in the middle of their foreheads: Hemantopedes, skipping or leaping with one foot only. Man-eaters without speech!" land, in the famous battle of Largs, in Ayrshire. From 1034, Norway was governed by its own king; and when, in 1319, the male-line of the royal house was extinguished in Haco VII., the States elected the young Swedish king, Magnus VIII., the son of Haco's daughter. Olaf IV., the grandson of Magnus, was elected king of Denmark in 1376, and, after the death of his father, governed both countries. This prince, having died without issue, was succeeded by his mother, Margaret, daughter of Valdemar III., king of Denmark; and, from this period, Norway remained united with Denmark, but preserving, with a few exceptions, its own constitution. The union of these two kingdoms lasted till 1814, when, as related in our historical sketch of Sweden, the king of Denmark, in his quality of absolute sovereign of Norway, ceded this State to his Majesty the King of Sweden, on the 14th January, 1814, to be thenceforth united to the kingdom of Sweden. Physical Features.] The coast of Norway is high, bold, rugged, and deeply indented, especially in the northern parts, with arms of the sea running deeply into the mainland, and surrounded by a multitude of small shares, which within the polar circle expand into large islands. The coast is remarkably deficient in good harbours, though possessing in many instances a great depth of water; and it is remarkable that banks of seashells have been found here sometimes 200 feet above the present elevation of the sea. The interior is generally mountainous, interspersed here and there with romantic glens and fertile vallies, especially in the southern parts. It is intersected by many rivers full of cataracts, creeks, and inlets of the sea, together with numerous large and small lakes, which, bordered with woods of deciduous trees, of variegated foliage, and forests of tall and stately pines and firs, afford altogether most romantic scenery; to which, however, the preponderance of naked rocks and barren mountains gives rather the appearance of grandeur than of beauty. Marshes and fens occupy large districts of this country, and nowhere in Europe are found such a number of precipices, cataracts, and glaciers, as exist here. Mountains.] The Norwegian mountains form a grand and extensive chain, running nearly 1,200 British miles, in a N. N. E. and E. direction, terminating at Tanafiord, and occasionally detaching lateral ridges from the main chain. They commence near the southern extremity of Norway, and are denominated by different appellations as they advance in their course.25 The most southern part of the chain is generally known by the appellation Seveberget. The Dovrefieldt forms, in the Sneehätta, the highest part of the chain, from which a branch strikes off in a S. E. direction, forming the frontier between Sweden and Norway. North of this the great Norwegian range is composed of mica slate and granite, and denominated the Kioelen mountains; it gradually declines in elevation as it runs to the N. E. and E., separating Swedish Lapland from Norland and Finmark, and terminating at Tanafiord, beyond which there are no traces of this chain. Upon the authority of Bishop Pontoppidan, these mountains were believed to exceed the Alps in elevation, which is now known to be false. The highest mountain of the whole range, the Sneehaetta, was scaled by 15 In the language of Norway, aas means a long but low ridge of mountains; kullen, an isolated top of a mountain; ruden, a round mountain of small projection; egg, a sharp ridge; hammer, a rocky headland; bakke, a small hill; moe, a small sand-hill; tind, the peak of a mountain; find, brae, or jokul, an ice-mountain; fieldt, a high ridge of mountains. Esmark, in 1800, and found to be not more than 8,115 English feet high, or little more than half the height of Mont Blanc. It is composed of mica slate. The highest passes of the Norwegian mountains are those of Fillefieldt, between Bergen and Aggershuusstift, 3,973 feet, Harebacken and Jerken, over the Dovrefieldt, not far from Sneehaetta,' 4,575, and 4,563 feet, respectively: an inconsiderable height when compared with those of the Alps and Pyrenees.26 Glaciers.] In several places of the Sneehaetta, where the rays of the sun fall obliquely, the snow-line is at an elevation of 3000 feet; but in exposures where the rays have full force, the snow melts even as high as 7000 feet, during the heats of summer. There are glaciers in these mountains, but none comparable for magnitude to those of the Alps. Amongst the Kiölen mountains, the ordinary site of the glaciers, between the latitudes of 67° and 68°, may be placed at 2,325 feet of elevation. These seem to owe their formation to the alternate influence of thaw and frost in changing gradually the lower zone of snow into an icy wall. The beautiful and fantastic groups often presented by these glaciers, are, by the simple northern tribes, ascribed to the invisible powers of magic. Hence they are called jegna in Lapland, and jokul in Iceland and Norway, from the Gothic verb gyckia, which signifies, to trick or bewitch the eye. As the glaciers, from their low position on the mountains, are in a state of perpetual though gradual decrease, the melted water that flows from under them, washes down quantities of mud and small gravel, which sometimes accumulating near the border of the ice, form a soft ridge, or mound, of various heights, from one fathom to six, or even ten fathoms. Such collections of stony fragments, which, in Switzerland, receive the name of moraines, are called jokulsgarde, or glacier-earths, in Iceland. But where the sides of the mountain are steeper, the weight of the glacier at last overcomes its cohesion; it then cracks, separates, and precipitates itself with a tremendous crash into the subjacent valley. This kind of accident is, in the higher parts of Norway, called jokul'sbrackin. Rivers.] Of the numerous streams that descend from the Norwegian mountains, none are navigable, and all of them are inconsiderable, except the Glommen. This river, called also the Storelf, or Great River, rises from the Lake Oesting; and, after a meridional course of near 300 British miles, enters the sea at Friederickstadt. Notwithstanding its magnitude, which is equal to that of the Thames at Putney, it is unnavigable by reason of cataracts in some places, and shoals in others. The only purpose to which it is applied, is that of floating trees from the interior forests to the coast; about 50,000 being annually, at an average, brought down the stream in this manner. The Drammenelf, after having received the Beinna, flows into the west side of Christiana Bay. The Altenelf and Tanaelf are the largest streams in Finmark. The Altenelf is, how In the narrow pass of Kringelen, leading over the mountains from the coast into the interior, and from thence to Sweden, is a wooden cross erected to commemorate the catastrophe of Colonel Sinclair, and a regiment of 900 Scotch, who, in the summer of 1612, were surprised, and "dashed to pieces like potsherds," by a handful of Norwegian peasants. This officer, in the service of the great Gustavus, had been despatched by him to recruit in Scotland; and finding, on his return, the Swedish coast blockaded by a Danish fleet, was compelled to land on the western coast of Norway; whence he advanced into the country, crossed the great chain of the Dovrefieldt, and had nearly traversed the entire breadth of that kingdom, when he was suddenly overwhelmed by the sturdy mountaineers. Only 60 of the whole regiment were spared, and these afterwards fell victims to the untamed ferocity of their conquerors. ever, unnavigable; as in its course through the mountains, below Masi, it dashes over perpetual falls the whole way, and the mountains rise like perpendicular walls above the river, reducing it at last to a mere fissure, so that it is not navigable 15 miles above Alten. The Tana is celebrated for its vast shoals of salmon. Lakes.] The lakes of Norway are numerous, and several of them are of considerable size; as the Mioesen, 60 miles in length, 18 broad in the centre, and contracting towards the extremities: it contains a fertile island of 10 miles in circumference. The Rund-Sion, 50 miles long, but only 2 miles broad; and the Tyer, 15 miles in length and breadth. The lake of Faemund, near the source of the Glommen, 35 miles long, by 8 broad. What was formerly called Danish Lapland, abounds in lakes, as the Zolmihjauri, Zgarajauri, Jissjauri, Abyjauri, Jedickjauri, Gurjajauri, and others too numerous to mention, and too unimportant to describe. In several of these lakes are found floating islands or mardynes, composed of pieces of turf or sea-grass, originally torn from their situation by the water, and afterwards matted together by the action of the currents. Seas.] The branches of the sea, which indent the coasts of Norway, are so numerous, that a bare enumeration of them would be tedious. It is somewhat remarkable, however, that among these numerous inlets, scarcely any good harbour is to be found. Off the coast of Nordland is the whirlpool of Maelstrom, the dangers and wonders of which have been much exaggerated by the credulous Pontoppidan. This whirlpool, so much magnified, except in bad weather is fearlessly approached by boats, and is seldom dangerous to ships.27 The North Cape.] The principal promontories are Lindesnaes on the S. W.; the Stat on the W.; and Cape North and the Northkyn on the N. Acerbi thus eloquently describes the feelings with which he surveyed the scenery of the North Cape at midnight: "Here every thing is solitary, every thing is sterile, every thing sad and despondent. The shadowy forest no longer adorns the brow of the mountain. The singing of the birds-which enlivened even the woods of Lapland-is no longer "This phenomenon is situated between two islands, belonging to a group called the Loffoden islands, between Drontheim and the North Cape."I had occasion," says an American writer, "some years since, to navigate a ship from the North Cape to Drontheim, nearly all the way between the islands or rocks and the main. On inquiring of my Norwegian pilot about the practicability of running near the whirlpool, he told me that with a good breeze it could be approached near enough for examination without danger, and I at once determined to satisfy myself. We began to near it about 10 A. M. in the month of September, with a fine leading wind, N. W. Two good seamen were placed at the helm, the mate on the quarter-deck, all hands at their station for working ship, and the pilot standing on the bowsprit, between the night-heads. I went on the main-topsail yard, with a good glass. I had been seated but a few moments, when my ship entered the dish of the whirlpool; the velocity of the water altered her course three points towards the centre, although she was going eight knots through the water. This alarmed me extremely for a moment. I thought that destruction was inevitable. She, however, answered her helm sweetly, and we run along the edge, the waves foaming round us in every form while she was dancing gaily over them. The sensations I experienced are difficult to describe. Imagine to yourselves an immense circle running round, of a diameter of one and a half miles, the velocity increasing as it approximated towards the centre, and gradually changing its dark blue colour to white-foaming, tumbling, rushing, to its vortex; very much concave, as much so as the water in a tunnel when half run out; the noise, too, hiss ing, roaring, dashing all pressing on the mind at once, presented the most awful, grand, solemn sight, I ever experienced. We were near it about 18 minutes, and in sight of it two hours. It is evidently a subterranean passage. From its magnitude, I should not doubt that instant destruction would be the fate of a dozen of our largest ships, were they drawn in at the same moment. The pilot says that several vessels have been sucked down, and that whales have also been destroyed. The first I think probable enough, but I rather doubt the latter " |